The Medici Girl

A Walk in the Garden

The heat of July bore down on Ezio's bare back as he looked at the younger man in front of him. The two of them were circling each other like two lions ready to fight, but Ezio knew he had the advantage over Sandro. He was broader and had strength on his side while the younger man was leaner. Of course the training was mostly for Sandro to learn grappling and there was no better teacher than the assassin himself. The Auditore man's eyes looked for potential weaknesses in the boys stance to give himself an opportunity just as he would if facing an armed combatant. Sandro kept his eyes on Ezio's trying to determine what he was going to do next. 

The first move was made by the younger man thinking he could grab Ezio around the waist to knock him off balance. Ezio had been expecting it, but he still let out a gasp when Sandro nearly knocked the wind out of him. However, the broader man was able to use his center of gravity to stay standing before putting his arm under Sandro's and flipping him to the ground. Once the younger man was on the ground, Ezio was able to put him in a headlock causing the men around the ring to cheer. 

"I yield!" Sandro yelled after a few moments of being held in Ezio's grasp. He slammed the palm of his hand down to tap out and then the older man let him go. "Best four out of five?" Sandro said as Ezio stood up offering him a hand. 

"A little more practice, then maybe we can go again." He said pulling the lean young man off the ground and then patting him on the back. "You focus to much on what you think I might do rather than reacting to what I actually do." Ezio said before going over to sit on the wall. 

"So I should pay attention to what exactly?" Sandro asked standing there in front of the man he had come to respect. 

"Your opponents weaknesses." Mario's voice interrupted as he came to stand by his nephew. "You need to work more on observation and not focus on predicting moves. I saw you try to beat Ezio by rushing in before even making a decision, which will get you killed in a real fight." Ezio watched as the younger man's face fell at the mention of his mistakes. 

"Don't worry, Sandro. You will get it in time." The assassin said trying to encourage his friend who seemed to be trying everything he knew to succeed. "As they say, Rome was not built in a day and neither was Firenze." 

"Although, I'm sure if the Medici had any say in it, it would have been!" One of the mercenary's said before laughter erupted from the rest of the men around them. Ezio scoffed knowing that they were probably right about the Medici and knowing his wife's family, it was not out of their line of thinking. 

"Alright, that is enough. Get back to it." Mario said as he watched the others come in closer to the ring. "Ruffio, get in there with Sandro and work on his stance." The Auditore said as Ezio stood up to grab his shirt from the railing before putting it on along with his boots. "Nipote, where are you going?" Mario asked as the young Auditore began to walk towards the square for some time by himself. 

"I'll be back, Uncle." He gave the old man a wave as he ran down the steps and through the village out to the stables. Ezio needed some time to himself after spending most of the day training himself to be a better fighter or in his case, assassin. No doubt he still had much to learn, but he was quickly becoming more refined in his skill. 

The young man found himself leaning on the fence of the paddock where the broodmares were kept with their offspring. Most of the crop were on the ground sleeping in the hottest part of the day with their ears twitching or tails slapping the grass every now and then while their mothers grazed nearby. However, there was one little colt that was not set on sleeping. Instead the little thing was trying to pick a fight with his dam. Ezio had to chuckle at the little black colt. He was barely a week or so old and he was a force to be reckoned with. Mario had been right, there was something special about the old grey's foal and it was showing. Still, there was something he saw in the colt too.