Assassins creed - Understanding

Chapter 4 - Lost in a Gondola

So she just happened to be there?’

‘Yes, that’s what I keep saying!’ I sighed.

‘Sure, her dead body just appeared?’

‘She was killed, can you not understand?’

‘Were you the one who killed her?’             

I stopped walking and just stared at him. Was he being serious?

‘No, Pettrio, I did not kill her.’ I said it calmly instead of shouting; he had lost his sister after all. He hated me; he blamed me for her death. Duccio was still in Roma, and a letter had been sent out to him, but it had not yet arrived.

That night, there had been an attack on out farm, that’s what Rodero had said. They had been lured out of their bedrooms by a thief, and they ran after him.  They had gone a far way, and then I returned, finding Flavia’s body. I called the guards, and by that time Rodero and the others had returned. Nobody knew why they decided to attack Flavia, or what they were after. Nothing was taken from any of the rooms.

‘Si. Valentina, capisco, but I still blame you for her death. I do not know why, but I do.’

I stared at him helplessly. Everyone here-Rodero, Pettrio, Petricco and Gustav blamed me for her death. If only Duccio were here, would he believe me? I doubt that. Nothing was more important to him than his den and his people.

‘What reason has everyone have against me?’

Pettrio started walking away. Without a glance back he said plainly; ‘You can’t trust everyone here.’

Trust me to get into a fight when I’m angry.

I looked over my shoulder and saw the three thieves chasing after me, hot on my heels. I could hear their angry voices yelling over to me. It was accelerating, none the less, that I could still outrun three fully grown men. It was a way I could lose the anger flooding my veins. Anger at Pettrio, anger at Duccio, and most unusually, anger at Flavia.

I flew through the streets, trying to lose my pursuers amongst the crowd. They were still running after me, as I could see. I unhooked one of my throwing knives and flung it in the air with deadly accuracy. It hit the first thief on his knee, making him fall over and stop in his tracks. The others didn’t even give him a second glance and continued pounding after me.

I took to the roofs, using a window ledge to haul myself up. It seemed like a good idea, but then I realized I was running from thieves, not merchants. They practically lived on roof tops. I kept running anyway, maybe I could jump down from the next building. I could hear the footsteps of my new friends after me, and I knew they were close. Cazzo, there was no time to jump of this damn roof!

I leapt from roof to roof, flying like an eagle, but the thieves were vultures. My heart began to pound. It wasn’t like I had gotten into trouble like this before, it’s just that by this time I would have escaped or they would be dead.

There was a long drop, so I couldn’t just jump off. And the next building was too far to jump across, the gap stretching for more that 3 meters.  I wouldn’t make it!

I had to try. I was Templar, dammit! I sped up, even though my legs were burning. I was going to make this jump.

I got closer and closer to the buildings edge edge. The thieves saw that I would not stop, and they sped up to, trying to catch me before I jumped.

I took three giant steps, and plunged my arms into the air, followed by my legs.

I heard people say that when they fell from great heights, it was like flying. That you felt like a bird, eagle or vulture. That you were free for that fraction of a second. You would expect them to be soaring through the air like a dove, landing elegantly.