The Eagle and the Lion

Vengeance Served Cold is Sweeter

It was a clear and balmy afternoon in Florence, and Ezio and Leonardo were out for a stroll down the busy streets. The market stalls were busy as ever, and the smell of fresh baked bread permeated the air.

"Mmm, you smell that, Leo?" Ezio's stomach lowly grumbled. He reached for his purse, and and looking up, noticed his friend had coins in his hand already.

"Don't worry about the money, Ezio. Lunch is on me today." Leonardo winked at the young man and paid for a loaf of braided bread. "What do you say about some wine with this bread at my place?"

Ezio nodded. "Bene, Leo, that sounds-"

"You there!" A gruff shout behind the two interrupted his thoughts. Ezio turned to see a city guard striding towards him, sword in hand. "We need to have a little chat." Behind him, a handful more guards followed suit.

Leo turned pale. "Ezio," he warned. "Don't do anything stupid..."

Ignoring him, Ezio whipped out a white handkerchief and tossed it up into the air. A maiden of the street rushed up to Ezio then and snatched the linen away and ran off. A look of puzzlement crossed Leonardo's face, and he began looking around nervously. Clutching the loaf of bread to his chest, he tugged at Ezio's sleeve.

"Ezio, I think it's best if we headed out...like right nowww..." Ezio shushed him. "No. It's alright. Watch this." He led Leonardo to an alcove where they watched as the guards became distracted.

Leonardo looked on as the young woman ran back to the scene, again with the handkerchief. She giggled and danced, fluttering the cloth about the guards' faces. They edged closer, like moths to a light.

"Did she perfume it?" Leonardo wondered aloud.

"Hush!" Ezio hissed. He pointed out the guard that had alerted him. The guard pulled the handkerchief from the girls hand and inhaled into it deeply. He moaned in pleasure and his eyes rolled back into his head. Just then, his facial features began to twitch and spasm violently, followed by his limbs. The guard's head lolled around on his neck, and foam formed about his lips. The other guards began to shout in fear and confusion, pushing away the girl and screaming for a priest. The sickened guard began flailing his arms about like a windmill, sword still out, and managed to slice a fellow guard's nose clean off.

"My God!" Leonardo cried out. Recoiling, he buried his face in Ezio's shoulder.

The whole street corner was in chaos now. Patrons and Merchants fled every which way, knocking each other over more than making any headway. The guards were at each other's throats, all shrinking away from the seemingly demonized victim. The public ladies shrieked in laughter, thoroughly entertained. The poisoned guard was now lying facedown on the street, oozing foam and blood from his eyes and mouth.

Leonardo grabbed Ezio's hand and dragged him off the street and away from the chaos. Once they were hidden, he grabbed Ezio by the shoulders and shook him.

"What was that!?" Leonardo's voice quivered. Ezio chuckled, and embraced Leonardo, trying to calm him down.

"Alright, I have time to explain now. This was a plan I had been working on for quite some time, I just didn't expect you to have to see all that. Did you recognize the guard who took the cloth?"

Leonardo shook his head. "No, I- I don't recall. I wasn't thinking about it."

"That was Giovanne DaGardi, he was a known predator among women and children. The woman who took the handkerchief was a mother of one of the most recent victims."

Leonardo's eyes widened. "I heard there were assaults of such a manner, but I didn't know much more than that. But that was months ago, Ezio!

Ezio nodded. "You know the phrase 'Vengeance served cold is sweeter,' right? The plan was to wait until DaGardi was least expecting of justice brought upon him."

The two walked back to Leonardo's home. Over the bread and wine, Ezio anwered all of Leo's questions.

"So what happened out there? Was he really possessed?"

"Of course not, Leonardo. The doctors around here carry a stronger strain of the common medicine here for a higher price, to a certain audience. I happened to join in on this secret. I let the woman have a bit. She mixed it up with the scent they carry at the brothels to ah, excite the patrons there. He never saw his death coming."

Leonardo nodded his head slowly. "So how did you orchestrate this so well? I thought we were in for a simple day of bread and wine."

"We were expecting it later this week, but I had a confidant falsely lead DaGardi on that I was on to him. He came to me thinking he was ahead of the game, you see."

Leonardo looked out the window and pondered all of this. After a long moment, he stood up and began clearing the table. Ezio joined in. As they washed dishes together, Leo added:

"I'm glad it's done. Another evil gone this day." He turned his face to Ezio and smiled warmly. "What would I do without you, my friend?"

Ezio smiled mischievously, and suddenly splashed the water on Leonardo. "Have dry clothes, silly!" The two burst into laughter.