Hidden in the Shadows(Ezio Auditore )

Time flies

      It had been six months since I had left Nuremberg to come here, six months of slow progress. I was in and out of Firenza most of the time, sometimes gone for a couple months at a time, tracking down known associates of the Templars to find any leads on Ludwig Weisenbach but no such luck. Sometimes I would return home with some serious injuries but I had hid them so well no one had seemed to notice, that and I had noticed I had healed much quicker then most. Of course Father had sent me letters explaining the situation back home, how most of the city had turned on the governor and had been under trial for treason against the Church, and always gave me new information he had received about Ludwig. Of course when I returned back to Firenza I would help out Aunt Greta with smaller, home, missions or the Orphanage and most of my time I had spent with Federico, helping him fight or joining him on his new missions, and the Auditore family to get better acquainted with them. I helped Giovanni and Maria with anything I could, even held conversations with her sometimes, I taught Petruccio about all the birds and how to identify them and helped him add to his feather collection. Claudia had become one of my closest friends and whenever anyone gave her trouble or her 'so called friends' teased her I was their to beat their asses and defend her.

      However, Ezio had become my best friend ever since we met. He was funny, sweet, protective, loyal, charming, and a huge flirt. There wasn't a day that went by that the girls here practically threw themselves on him in which he returned the favor but as soon as they even looked at me in the wrong light Ezio had quickly came to my defense and put them in their place. I had grown the closest to Ezio, he had known more about me then anyone else had: My thoughts and feelings towards something, my fears, likes and dislikes, he seemed to know exactly what set me off. Anytime I had a problem or had to cry- which was very rarely- he was always there to listen, talk to, and comfort me. It was like he knew everything about me without me saying a thing to me. It didn't help that he and I both loved to roam the city at night from the rooftops, leaping through the air, or running through the streets and occasionally getting into fights. In a way it was like Ezio was my partner in crime but it didn't help or stop the fact that Ezio tried his hardest everyday to get me to smile even a little bit, even trying flirting, but he wasn't so successful, and I brushed off his antics.

      I was currently leaning up against the outside stone wall of the seamstress shop, waiting for Claudia to come out. I left my hood halfway up as my hair rested over my shoulders, casually twirling a small dagger in my hands. Everyone in town had come to know me- a sweet, gentle girl who knew how to defend herself and the fact that I was foreign had helped eased their minds, but they knew better then to mess with me. They even called me 'L'angelo nero di firenze', the black angel of Florence. Most of the men attempted to flirt but most were to scared to even approach me and women kept the gossip about me flowing. I hated nobility sometimes.  Seeing the announcement of Federico and I being engaged had spread throughout the city like a wildfire and some girls even gossiped about either how lucky I was or how it should have been them.

     "Ahhhhh la mia bella rosa" I heard a familiar voice purr, sending an uncomfortable feeling throughout my body as I held back the puke trying to rise up in my throat. Veiri de'pazzi. an annoying sixteen year old twat who happened to be the son of a Templar. "It's so good to see you again, I have missed seeing your beautiful face"

     "Go away de'pazzi" I growled as I flashed the templar a look of disdain. Ever since I had arrived here and Veiri caught wind he decided to add me to the list of women he wanted to sleep with, constantly flirting with me or trying to corner me. Quite a few nights I had sent him home with a broken nose, swollen lip, or even black eyes and yet he was still persistent as ever- and even more annoying then I previously thought. Anytime Ezio was with me I had to keep them from attempting to fight one another. I knew Ezio had the moves to fight though he never really had any official training and Veiri, well he fought like a bitch. I had talked to and slowly been convincing Giovanni to let me teach Ezio how to fight. One thing I could admit though was that Ezio was very skilled with a sword. Given the chance he'd make an amazing assassin but due to the fact Ezio had been a Casanova and couldn't keep out of trouble he held off, wanting his son to mature first.