Assassin's Creed: Chronos (Ezio x OC)

27 - Mother & Father

December 20, 1477

Monteriggioni, Italy

"So, it's normal for children—even girls—to go to school for... twelve years, you said?" Ezio inquired as he munched on a piece of bread, freshly stolen from the kitchen after dinner. Beside him, Catherine also chewed on her own, snickering as she finished off the lump.

"Yup! We start from kindergarten when we're babies basically—I don't even remember how old, so like... grade zero, and then we go all through elementary to middle school to high school, which ends at twelfth grade, and then we go on to college or university where we learn about more specific subjects, which will be about what we wanna do for our future job. It's kinda like what you were doing. Sort of. Your Dad was gunna teach you banking, anyways, but we don't get apprenticeships really unless you intern or something. I wouldn't be doing that even if I was back home yet, though—you generally do that in your third or fourth year of college and then graduate after the fourth. From there you can go to a higher set of schools call Graduate School and you get a higher degree, and with more schooling you can get a PhD. I was still in College trying to get the lowest degree—a Bachelor's—in geology. That's study of Earth."

His brow scrunched, "You can obtain a 'degree' in the study of the Earth? What would such a thing be used for?"

"Well," she snickered some more. "You can do a lot. You can research how the Earth's surface moves and predict what it will do, and you can figure out the history of the Earth, too. Like the world is actually millions of years old—not thousands, and wasn't made in seven days."

Ezio paused mid-chew, and stared at her, eyes narrowing suspiciously. Catherine just grinned and soon laughed.

"And here I thought you really were from the future! I see now you are just mad," he scoffed.

"Oh, but I am—and your time still has much to learn. Anyways, have I satisfied your curiosity about why I'm more intelligent than you are despite being a woman?" she winked, and he made a face.

"Perhaps if woman are all as arrogant as you?"

She jabbed a finger at him, "Hey. It's confidence, not arrogance. And technically I do have more knowledge. I bet you don't even know how to take a derivative."

"Whatever you say," he chuckled before finishing the last of his bread. He let out a deep breath of air then and laid back on the rooftop. For once, the skies were clear, so they only had to brush off yesterday's blanket. There was still more snow to come, they knew, but for tonight it was a good time to lay out and talk—with two lanterns, cloaks, and blankets, of course. It was still a little cold, but they were keeping warm and comfortable. Frankly, just talking served as a good distraction from the weather, and already they had talked for at least an hour.

They had conversed a lot lately. Ever since she'd confessed the truth just two days ago, he'd had her tell all about her life—her real life. She'd told him about where she'd come from, and how she'd lived, and about her dogs and her childhood. She told him as much as she could within reason and what the world was like, and he had found that mind-boggling. He'd asked the most questions about it yesterday, and she'd laughed and enjoyed telling him all about it, although making sure to refrain from telling him how or why it happened; just that it was. Thankfully, he believed her. That she couldn't help finding odd, but he did. He just believed her without question, and it made her chest swell with a strange kind of joy. Just to have someone she could tell this all to—to be able to think on those times and not have to hide it away; it was a wondrous feeling.

"Oh, by the way—was Mario furious with you?" Ezio asked, and the redhead winced slightly.

"A little. He wasn't happy I didn't consult him, but he ultimately left me to 'accept the consequences of my actions'," she hummed, pulling her cloak a bit closer. There had been many more words than that, but mostly the man had been concerned above all. He had told her not to say anything for her—and Ezio's—safety in the first place, but she had explained what she could. It softened him some to know it had been from her guilt, but regardless there was nothing more to be done about it. He urged her not to tell anyone else, and to that she did agree. As she'd told Ezio, she didn't want Claudia to know—not yet—and not even his mother or even Ottavio. It was just too dangerous, but the young man she just had to tell.