The Medici Girl

Monteriggioni

Contessina sat stiffly in her saddle when they approached the imposing fortress that was Monteriggioni. By all means it was not really a fortress, but it looked like one with its high walls and towers. The cold gray stone on the façade gave the village an unwelcoming feel to the blond causing her to grow more nervous with every step her little gelding made. Of course, Ezio had done his best to ease her nerves during the almost fifteen hour ride from Firenze. Her nerves never let her relax and her poor gelding could feel lit.

The little horse was exhausted trying to keep up with the larger horse that Ezio rode and Contessina felt sorry for the poor creature. She patted the bay horse on the neck as they came to the gate of the ancestral home of the Auditore family. They rode in at a slow pace with Ezio leading while Contessina trailed behind with her blond hair braided down her back. Surprisingly, there were not many people on the streets when she rode in and she was thankful for that. The people who were on the street seemed to stare in curiosity of the woman Ezio had brought home with him. This made Contessina feel as though she were nothing more than a spectacle for all to see.

"Who is she?" The blond heard as she rode by the tailor's shop where two women were talking amongst one another.

"I don't know, you don't think it's her , do you?" The dark haired woman said to the auburn haired one standing next to her.

"If it is, we better spread the word. She is finally here." The auburn woman said before turning around and speaking with the tailor as Contessina rode along nervously anticipating some sort of negativity. She nearly started panicking when she turned around to see the two women had disappeared to who knows where.

When Contessina looked forward again she was no longer worried about the two women. Instead she allowed her eyes to settle on the villa at the top of the hill and before her was a fountain with a very familiar symbol carved out of fine stone. On each side of the fountain was a staircase leading up to the next landing where a group of mercenaries stood looking down at her and Ezio. She watched as her husband stopped his horse at the bottom of the first steps and dismounted before she came to a stop next to him.

"Ezio! Is that her?" One of the men from above yelled out with a warm smile on his face as the other two men beside him beamed down with their own smiles. Contessina did not know if she should run, though she would not get very far because her legs felt boneless, or if she should hide.

"Ignore them." Ezio came up to her with a comforting smile on his face as he reached for her waist. He gently helped her down from the little gelding as a young man came running down the stairs to grab the reins of the horses. "They have been waiting to see what you look like since they found out about you." Contessina heard Ezio say as she let him guide her off the horse and set her feet firmly on the ground. "Careful." He said when her legs nearly gave out on her and she grabbed on to his lapels.

"It's been a long ride." Contessina said trying to right herself and after a moment or so her legs felt like they had bones again. She looked up at her husband's face with nervousness upon hearing the men above talk amongst themselves about how beautiful she was. "Who are they?"

"My Uncle employs them to spy and occasionally fight, but they live here in the village keeping the peace." Ezio said taking her hand as the young man unloaded the saddle bags from the horses before handing them off to a young boy beside him. "Welcome to Monteriggioni, Contessina." He said bringing the back of her hand up to his lips and kissing it.

"It is not what I was expecting." She said seeing the dreary village that could use a lot of improvement. Monteriggioni was a far cry from Firenze like Ezio had told her on the way, but he was working to slowly improve it in any way he could. The village was in dire need of a doctor as several children had been sick as of late.