Assassin's Creed- Instinct

Chapter 7- Fend for yourself

Cara's POV

I awoke, some hours later, on a dusty road. I scarcely remembered how I passed out, however I did remember that Ezio and I were ambushed.
Ezio?!
If he were hurt, or killed, I would never forgive myself.
My fears were unfounded, as I saw him before me. He was not in his Assassin robes, which I found most odd. He was stripped of his uniform, in commoner's clothes.
He was also sitting in a corner, hands bound together with a sharp rope. The sight made my heart shatter.

The man whom I had looked up to, seen as a mentor even. Stripped to nothing.
I, however, was still fully clothed and armed. I wondered where we were, but I suddenly didn't care when I saw the all too familiar figure of Cesare Borgia in the doorway.
Uncle Cesare.

I decided to close my eyes, and pretend I was still out as I listened to their conversation.
"Ah, Ezio. Long time- no see." Cesare spat.
"I stayed away for a reason. Now, what do you want with me?" Ezio caved in. Surely, he had something else planned. Whatever it was, I hoped it was good. Uncle Cesare was a man of great power, and great idiocy.
"I didn't actually come for you. I came for dearest Cara. You were just a bonus." I heard Cesare walk towards me, speaking with malice in his voice. I resisted the urge to kill him there, and then.
"What do you want of us? What do we have that we could possibly offer to you?" Ezio spat back.
"With little Principessa," I felt his fingers touch my face 'lovingly', "I want to finish what I started 7 years ago with her Father. She also has something that I believe belongs to me." What? What could I possibly have that Cesare could want?
"I swear Cesare you... You... Codardi! Kill her and I swear I'll-"
"You'll what? What can you do when your hands are bound? I was going to have her shot at dawn, but since you're putting up such a struggle..."

I heard a sword unsheath next to me. My heart pounded against my ribcage and I couldn't take it anymore. I opened my eyes, to see Ezio crying a river. His eyes shone when he saw I was awake.

Rolling, I dodged the blade by barely an inch. Before anyone had a chance to do anything, I used my blades to cut Ezio's bindings on his hands, and passed him a sword.
"What? Impossible! GUARDS, SIEZE THEM!" Cesare hollered. He fleed like the coward that he is, as about 6 guards replaced him.

It took seconds to kill the guards off. They barely put up a fight.
"Ezio, go and fetch your armour and weapons. Do you know where they are?"
"Sí."
"Then go, I'll fend off the guards. Meet me at the gates when you have finished." I ordered. He nodded, and took off down the corridor.

I decided to go to the gates straight away, since I didn't know how long Ezio would take.

As soon as I got to our meeting point, guards flew towards me in groups of 7 or so. They were no match, and so I took them on easily. The brutes came next, and they were more of a challenge. I killed them off, regardless. The last resort came along: agile guards.

Agile guards were the annoying kind with daggers, who dodged your attacks with ease. These were by far the hardest, and most infuriating, ones to kill.
I was down to about the last 2, when I heard scuttling on the rooftops. Ezio was standing there, blades unsheathed, staring down at the fight with his cape blowing in the wind.
All of a sudden, his face dropped and his eyes widened. What at?

I was soon to find out.

Ezio's POV
Getting my blades back was nothing short of easy. The guards barely put up a fight, and I was soon in the storage lock-in that held my blades, robes, and other weapons.

I trusted Cara to make it out alive. I had seen for myself that she could handle herself, and I liked that she took authority over the situation. Usually, I am left with all of the arrangements for battle. I would have done the same as she told me to do, had I have taken control. We thought alike, something I had grown fond of.

I immediately felt calmed as my belongings were returned. Pulling my hood up, I set off to meet Cara at the gates.

I ran across the rooftops, gazing down on the oblivious townspeople. This town made for a wonderful free-running practice place. I would have to bear that in mind.

I stopped on a rooftop just in front of the gates. Cara was surrounded by 3 agile guards, the worst sort in my opinion. She slashed the stomach of one, pushing him away to be sent to his demise. She was now left with just two guards, with about 25 corpses laying limp at her feet. There were even brutes, the most heavily armoured.

She paused from her battle to look up at me, her blades dripping with the blood of her enemies. Her long, brown hair swayed in the wind. Her hood was up, and she truly looked the spitting image of her great father.

As we stood gazing at each other, I saw a sight that I never wanted to see.

A guard wore a smirk on his face, as he plunged his blade into her side.
She cried out in pain, as she fell to the floor. Limp, lifeless.

I felt a rage that I hadn't felt since I saw Father, Federico, and Petruccio be hanged for treason. Leaping from the rooftop, I cut the two grinning guards down in record time. They had no time to react, as they scarcely saw me coming. I wanted nothing more than to make them suffer as much as possible.

I was Cara's first real friend, she had told me, and only now did I realise that she was mine. I had just seen my only real friend be wrongfully stabbed.

I cradled her head in my arms, and closed her eyes.
Throwing her over my shoulder, I begun the walk back to the Isola Tiberina.

"Requiescat en pace, principessa."