Souls Through Time (EzioxOC/DesmondxOC)

Chapter 7 - Amelia

Amelia stood in the courtyard of the harem, inhaling deeply as the scents of jasmine and incense drifted through the air, mingling with the cool evening breeze that whispered through the shaded arches. The familiar hum of the place, with its gentle voices and occasional bursts of laughter, provided a fleeting comfort, but her mind was far from at ease. She watched as Paola spoke quietly with Ezio, her sharp eyes noticing the weight he carried in the way his shoulders slumped, the exhaustion etched into the lines of his face. His eyes—usually bright with defiance or smoldering with anger—were dulled, haunted by grief he had yet to learn how to bear.

"Amelia, go with Ezio to Leonardo's. You know the way, and he could use the extra eyes." Paola's voice, firm yet kind, broke through her reverie, drawing her back into the present. There was a note of quiet gravity in Paola's words, a subtle reminder of the trust she placed in Amelia. It was a kind of reassurance that Amelia hadn't felt in a long time, the recognition of her experience and the understanding that she could be relied upon.

Amelia nodded, letting a small, reassuring smile curl the edges of her lips despite the tension that coiled in her chest. "Of course," she replied, turning to Ezio. Her smile softened as she met his weary gaze, offering a touch of warmth. "Come on, let's go."

They stepped into the lively streets of Florence, leaving the cool shade of the harem behind. The marketplace buzzed with energy, vendors shouting over one another to attract buyers, their hands gesturing animatedly as they displayed vibrant fabrics and baskets of ripe fruit. Amelia's eyes swept across the scene, drinking in the familiar pulse of the city she had known since childhood. Each alley held a memory, each shadow offered a potential escape route. She moved through the crowd with a quiet grace, her senses alert to every sound and flicker of movement.

But amid the habitual scan for threats, her gaze drifted to the skyline—its rooftops and church spires etched against the deepening blue of the evening sky. Florence had always been a city of contradictions: beautiful yet brutal, a place where danger and art walked hand in hand. Amelia felt the weight of its history, its secrets, and the invisible threads that bound her to this place. It was a weight she bore willingly, but today it seemed heavier, thickened by the presence of Ezio beside her.

She could feel his eyes on her as they walked, his curiosity practically vibrating in the space between them. He had always been one to ask questions, to dig deeper, even when the answers might not offer comfort. She sensed the moment when he finally gathered the nerve to speak, his voice low, hesitant, yet laced with a note of wonder that caught her off guard.

"You're always watching. Like you're expecting something." He observed, his gaze cutting into her with a directness that she rarely encountered.

Amelia hesitated, her steps faltering for just a moment as she considered how much of herself she was willing to reveal. She had grown so accustomed to keeping her pain hidden behind a wall of smirks and sharp retorts. But something about the sincerity in his voice, the unguarded curiosity, made her pause. She cast a sideways glance at him, her expression turning more serious, her usual defenses slipping away like a mask she no longer had the energy to hold up.

"When you've lost as much as I have, you learn to expect danger around every corner." Her voice was quieter than she intended, the edge of vulnerability slipping through despite her best efforts to keep it buried. She let the words hang between them, knowing they revealed more than she had planned to share.

Ezio didn't push her for more, but she caught the shift in his expression, the way his brow furrowed as he processed her words. She could see the questions forming behind his eyes, the desire to understand, but before he could speak again, the noise of the city swelled around them, filling the silence as they reached Leonardo's workshop. She felt a wave of relief at the interruption, grateful for the reprieve, the chance to tuck her emotions back behind the careful armor she wore.