Broken Sisters

Chapter 4: Recovery

Her veins filled with adrenaline as she saw his blade eject as he supposedly went to put his arm around her waist. She tried to grab his arm but he kicked her legs from under her and twisted her arm painfully behind her. He pushed her head down and stabbed his blade into her back.

The agonizing pain made her gasp and then cry out. People were already starting to flee. Somewhere there were shots being fired. Piero yanked on her hair, forcing her head back as he pulled his blade from her body. He leaned down and put his mouth to her ear. "Long live the Templar Brotherhood," he muttered darkly in her ear.

He let her go and started to walk away. She gritted her teeth and got up. As soon as she turned to try and kill him, he kicked her in the face, having expected her retaliation. The kick made her vision go black and she collapsed.

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When she came to, she felt nothing but pain. She blinked away the sleepiness as she tried to sit up only to fall back with a cry of agony. The wound in her back blazed with pain. She panted as she tried to bear the pain. What happened to me? I can't remember anything! she thought as she heard a door open somewhere.

She opened her eyes and saw Ezio standing over her. "Catalina, don't move. The doctor is on his way."

"Ezio, what happened to me? Everything is a blur." Her voice was strained.

"You were attacked by a spy."

"A spy?" she gasped, clutching the sheets of the bed she lay on. She scrunched her face up, gritting her teeth against the agony. "Find him!" she grunted.

"I already have our brothers searching for him."

A man stepped into the room quickly. She recognized his face. "Doctor Leonardo." She felt a bit of relief. Someone she could trust to do the work right.

Doctor Leonardo grimaced at the sight of her. "I had hoped to never deal with a serious wound on you. It pains me to see you in so much pain."

"This is the life of an assassin. It was bound to happen." She managed to laugh a bit. Somehow it seems stupid. I shouldn't be easily outmatched with all of my training. She closed her eyes.

"Ezio, help me get her undressed. From the face she's making, it may be worse than it seems. Be gentle now," Doctor Leo said quickly as he set his bag down. Ezio nodded.

She opened her eyes again. I am not prepared for this! She felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment as the three of them worked on getting her out of her party clothes. She kept gasping in pain with the movement and it was difficult to focus on getting undressed. She just wanted to lay there and die. She couldn't stand this.

When it was over and she was in her undergarments, she rolled onto her stomach to allow Doctor Leo to begin working on her wound. A thought crossed her mind. I will be out of work for a while with this wound. She was not going to be able to handle sitting on her hands while recovering. She needed to go out, live the thrilling life she had as an assassin. She needed to move.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the examination. "Ouch!" she shouted, feeling something be pulled from the wound. She gripped the pillow till her knuckles were white.

She shook with the pain when it was over. She heard a low whistle from Doctor Leo. "Whoever attacked you really wanted you dead."

"What is it?" Ezio queried.

"It's a highly toxic poison made from special plants. This little container here was supposed to break upon injection but that didn't happen. If it had, she would be screaming and clawing at her skin. She would be foaming at the mouth and possibly even trying to kill herself or vomiting blood."