Writings, I suppose

Go ahead and post random snippets about your characters. c:

The night was young... and rather cold. Florence, for some reason, always had cold nights in winter. The streets that night were dark, very dark. Almost all the lanterns along the street were dead, giving the snowy Italian city an eerie, yet serene look to it. In many ways, Amadeo chose nighttime as a good time for a walk. Despite the temperature being low, and the man's age slowing him down considerably, he didn't have to trudge through several inches of snow. People walking the city during the day took care of that for him.


Looking up at the sky, he remembered the whole reason he had moved back into Florence. Living in Venice... it didn't feel right. Reaching into one of the many pouches attached to a belt at his side, he pulled out a small ring. Silver with a purple gem, it was. He looked back down to examine the ring despite having examining the ring plenty of times over the course of the last year. Placing it back in his pouch, it hurt to even look at that ring.


It had been little over a year since the one he held close and loved more than anything had passed. Her own cousin had been responsible for her death. However, he had felt like he had some closure in her death. Not something Assassins were encouraged to do, he saught revenge on Alverita's murderer, Porfirio. Leaving Alverita's body for a short time, Amadeo ran after her cousin and caught him by surprise. He stabbed him repeatedly, the tears never stopped falling...


He came out of his thoughts when he came to an empty Florentine courtyard. In the center, there was a fountain, several benches around the small hold of water. Here, the snow wasn't as trampled and packed together. Amadeo had the slightest troubles going through the snow, pulling the cape around his shoulders tighter as a gust of wind blew through the courtyard. Nearly jumping out of his skin when he felt something warm and wet drop onto his hand, he looked down. Giving a small chuckle, he wiped his eyes. "Crying and not even noticing... I am getting old." Looking up when he heard something behind him, he moved into a defensive position. The next thing he knew, he was face first into the snow.


Lifting his head, he noticed he was suddenly surrounded... by guards? He hadn't done anything, had he? They weren't here five minutes ago... and for God's sake, he was an old man. He didn't need an ever so pleasent shove into the snow.


He heard one of the guards make a sound of irritation, kicking the Assassin in the side. "Get up, assassino." Amadeo winced in pain, pushing himself up onto his hands and knees and soon, he was back on his feet. Glaring at the guards around him, he noticed one of them had an... interesting figure for a guard. Placing his hand on the hilt of his sword, he smiled. "You haven't had enough of me, have you, dear sister? Had to come back to see your older brother?" The girl in question snorted, stepping out of the shadow of a large building. "Exactly, assassino. Now, surrender your life."

The man gave a weak chuckle, looking at Celia as she stepped out of the light. Pulling his sword out, wielding it like he has always wieldied it, backhandedly. "I'm good for a few more fights." His smile turned cocky, like it always had been. Before he could set off at a run at his sister, he felt the side of a sharp sword sinking into his flesh, the feeling worse than what he had experienced in his younger days. The guard who attacked him slid the sword across his stomach before taking it away, the assassin getting a look at the bloodied blade as he coughed blood onto the snow.


The man fell to his knees, holding his stomach. The cut that the guard had given him was fatally deep, the fate of the battle sealed. He watched as the blood dripped endlessly onto the snow, staining it red. Wincing, he stabbed his sword into the ground, using it as leverage to stand back onto his feet. The energy used in standing caused his injury to bleed heavier. Shaking his head, he looked up to the sky. "I'll be there soon, cara mia..." Looking back down to lock eyes with his sister, he realized he still had some time left. Enough time to kill his sister.

"If you think I'm going to go down easily, Celia," The old Assassin's voice ringing out in the Florentine courtyard, "then you are horribly mistaken." Right after he had spoken, Amadeo coughed. He used his free hand to cover his mouth and once he pulled it away, he saw an alarming amount of blood.

Celia laughed at the old man, giving him a cocky smile. "You're not going down easily? Shame, I thought you would go down as easily as your uncle..."

At this comment, the wounded man gave the hardest and coldest glare he had ever given. He dropped his sword, the weapon making a loud clanging sound against the stone despite the amount of snow. The many protracted his left hidden blade as a replacement to the sword, his glare never leaving his sister. Starting at a slow walk towards the woman, it progressively became a fast run. As he came close to Celia, she held out her sword. Bringing her arm forward, she stabbed the man through the stomach as he came close. A choked sound came out of Amadeo, however it wasn't enough to stop him. Grabbing the Templar by the shoulder, he repetitively stabbed her in the stomach with his protracted hidden blade.

"Vittoria agli assassini, mia sorella." He watched with satisfaction as the woman sputtered before he pulled back his hidden blade to stab her in the neck. Lifting his foot up, he pushed her to the ground, the sword in his stomach going with her. The man felt relief now that the one responsible for his uncle's death was now dead. "Requiescat en pace" was the last thing he said to her as he turned around to face the guards. "Go home. She doesn't need you anymore."

One guard stepped forward. "We were told not to leave until you were dead, Celia or not."

Amadeo gave a final smirk, protracting his second hidden blade. "Then let us fight." His old, raspy voice cracked as he coughed once more but he quickly regained his composure, slowly moving to a fighting stance. The lead guard ran at him, however Amadeo grabbed the guard's arm, pulling on him to bring them face to face. Amadeo kneed him in the stomach, following with a quick stab to the stomach with his hidden blade. Pushing the guard aside, he didn't notice the second guard sprint at him. Only when the guard stabbed him with his dagger did he realize. The Master Assassin choked, gripping the guard's shoulders as the dagger was ripped out of his body. Looking down, he saw blood dripping the tails of his robes, but more importantly the wounds in his stomach running blood like little waterfalls, the flow only increasing with each increasingly weak beat of his heart. He retracted his hidden blades, looking up at the dark, star-filled sky.

The man fell forward onto his knees, the guards backing away from him. Using his arms to keep his weight supported, he received a coughing spell, to which he coughed up an unhealthy amount of blood. Now too weak to hold himself up any longer, he fell forward. The beaten Assassin struggled to look up at the guards. "I hope you fall with the rest of your corrupt ways, bastardi." His face fell back down into the snow. Amadeo gave his last moment up to thought, his vision slowly growing blurry and black. He smiled faintly, turning his head to look at left hand. Moving his hand to look at his wedding ring, he sighed. "I'm almost there, cara mia..."

His final thought before giving up his life was after about one of the most painful years of his life, he would finally meet up with the one he loved once more.

It was a perfect day to walk throughout the city of Venice. The sun was shining, and it was nice and cool. The sound of crunching leaves were heard as Alverita made her way through a shortcut, as she was heading to her destination. Her husband, Amadeo had left her a note to meet him on one of the bridges in the city for a gondola ride for yet another anniversary. A smile crawled across her face as she continued down the road and thought to herself. "That man is a hopeless romantic." She let out a slight chuckle at her joke before approaching a clearing.

As she walked into the clearing, she took note that there was not a single person around. That was rather odd, especially for a city that was as lively as this one. She stopped in the middle of the courtyard, her eyes scanning the area, looking at rooftops, into alleys, and in the windows. Something wasn't right, and the feeling in her gut wasn't making her feel any better. Alverita had decided to shrug the feeling off and continued on her way. It was probably nothing.

Before she could make her way into another alley, a figure had appeared right in front of her. "Stop right there, assassina." Her eyes softened at the figure once she saw his face, and let out a shaky sigh. "Porfirio, and for what reason does your presence grace me this time?" A cold hard glare was shot from the man to the assassin as he spat out his responce, lacing each word with venom. "If you must know, my dear cousin, we have some unfinished business to take care of. I plan on clearing things up, by claiming your life." With that, Porfirio had grabbed a hold of the hilt of his sword, unsheathing it, and pointing the blade at Alverita. The woman tensed up a bit, taking a step back, and resting a hand on her short-blade. "Porfirio, mi primo, can't you let the things of the past go? What has happened has happened. It's done." She forced a smile onto her face as she slightly turned on her heels and started to walk to the right of him, her gaze still fixed on him, and her hand still readied on her blade. "Besides, I have places to be right now, so, can't we talk later?"

The man let out a dark chuckle as he shook his head and stepped closer to the assassin. "I don't think so 'Rita. The only place you'll be going is to hell. You'll be reunited with your family once more." Those words made her heart sink, as she did not want to fight someone she was once so close to, and someone she had loved so much. She shook her head once more before speaking out. "Primo, listen to yourself! You don't know what you're saying! You can't fight your fami--.." Alverita was forced to pull out her short-blade before being able to finish her sentence, holding it up, and blocking an unexpected blow of her cousin's sword. She stumbled back a bit, and quickly regained her balance, letting out a heavy sigh. "Very well. If it is a fight that you want, then so be it, that is what you shall get." Alverita was quick on her feet, running up to the man and slashing at him. Porfirio had done his best to block her swings, but it barely worked; He had been grazed by her dagger multiple times. He hadn't expected her to be so agile, he underestimated her. It was time to fight dirty. As Alverita was about to throw another swing at him, Porfirio put his leg up, kicking her in the gut, making her stumble and fall to her back.

Alverita cursed under her breath and leaned up from the floor, her eyes becoming wide. She quickly rolled to the left as Porfirio attempted to stab her. She rolled to the right this time as he attempted to pull the same move yet again. Quickly getting annoyed, Alverita jumped to her feet and grabbed a hold of Porfirio's arm as he slashed at her. She winced, noticing the blade had made contact with her, giving her a gash on her arm. The assassin merely shrugged it off as she roughly put the man's arm behind his back and slammed him against the floor. He spat out a few curses as he hit his face against the hard stone floor. He was sure that the force of impact was enough to break his nose.

Alverita stood, wearing a victorious smirk on her face, applying pressure to the man's arm on his back with her foot. She kicked the man's sword aside and scoffed. "Porfirio, you should know better than to mess with an assassina." Her eyebrows furrowed as she heard the man chuckle. "Ah, perhaps you speak the truth..but then again.." The man had pulled out a dagger with his free hand, reaching behind him, stabbing the female in the leg that was pinning him. Alverita let out a cry of pain, stepping off her cousin and moving back to pull the weapon out of her calf. Porfirio had risen to his feet once more, a dark grin painted over his semi-bloodied face. "Then again, baby cousin, perhaps you should have known better than to betray family." Alverita finally got the dagger out of her leg, slightly grunting in pain, and shot a glare at her cousin. "Pendejo! I never betrayed you. If I recall correctly, it was you who put a sword through me first!" The woman stood up once more, watching the man as he retrieved his weapon and pointed it at her once more. Porfirio let out at dark chuckle and nodded. "Ah, and trust me prima, I will not hesitate to do so again."

Porfirio had started at Alverita, quickly walking towards her, his blade ready to swing. As he got closer, he raised his blade higher, then abruptly stopped in his tracks, taking a shaky step back. His arms fell to his side as he looked over to his shoulder. "You little..." The assassin had used his own dagger against him, and beamed it into his shoulder. Alverita took her own short-blade, and did the same, flinging the weapon at his leg this time, the weapon lodging into his thigh. Her cousin fell to his knees, dropping his sword and clutching onto his wounds. The assassin slowly started to approach the man, flicking her wrist, her hidden blade revealing itself. She put a foot onto his chest and pushed him, forcing him flat onto his back. Kneeling onto him, she traced his neck with the hidden blade. "Hurting you brings far more pain to me than it does to you, primo." A shaky sigh escaped her lips as she brought the blade to his stomach. "Once again, I will decide to spare your life...but not without a cost." With that, she thrust the blade into his abdomen, and taking it out just as quickly. Porfirio's cry in pain broke her heart, but she hid her emotions through a blank expression on her face.

The female assassin gave a quick pat to the man's cheek as he stood up, looking down to her cousin who was clearly in pain. She shook her head and spoke in a soft tone. "Lo siento mi primo, perdoname..I hope that our business is now taken care of." She gave the man a look of pity, and turned on her heels, walking away towards the alley she was heading into before. Porfirio sat up, grunting in pain as one hand clutched his open stab wound on his stomach, and the other hand pulling out the daggers. Slowly and carefully, he pushed himself up onto his feet, and grabbed a hold of his sword once more. He wasn't finished, no, not yet. He was going to win this battle. The man took shaky steps, moving quietly after Alverita, until he was right behind her. "Mi prima..'Rita." He roughly grabbed onto her shoulder, turning her around to face him, and thrusting his sword into her chest with great force, twisting it to add to the pain. This time around, he had the pleasure of seeing his cousin's face as he stabbed her.

Alverita yelled in pain as she was stabbed, clutching onto the sword to stop Porfirio from twisting it anymore. Her vision blurred as her eyes began to water, and tears started to roll down her cheeks. She attempted to speak, but no sound was able to come out; instead, she painfully coughed, sputtering out blood as she did so. Porfirio slowly withdrew his sword from out her chest, and pushed her, making her hit the ground hard.

The man wore a victorious smirk this time, his words laced with venom, and having the impact of bricks. "Now, our business is done. Have fun rotting in hell with that sorry family of yours, puta." Porfirio looked up just in time to see another figure walk into the empty courtyard. He examined the figure, letting out a chuckle as he recognized the garments the man wore. It was Amadeo. "Ahh, 'Rita, seems like someone is here to see you off. I'll let you two be alone." With that, Porfirio swiftly turned on his heels, limping out of the courtyard.

Amadeo quickly rushed down to Alverita's side, and held her in his arms. "Alverita! Mi amore, what..." The man couldn't think of anything to say, he was horrified at the sight of his wive's wounds, knowing that they were fatal. Once again, she tried to speak, but had difficulty, coughing out blood and taking sharp gasps of air. Amadeo was filled with rage, and looked back to the limping man, debating on whether or not to go after him and kill him. Before he could react, Alverita let out a small whimper and grabbed onto his robes, tugging on them to get his attention. He quickly turned back to her, leaning down closer to hear her speak. The female shook her head, pulling him even closer, struggling to speak in her now, low and raspy voice. "Amadeo, don't..Leave him, he'll get his..trust me." A tear rand down her cheek, ad as if on cue, Amadeo brought a hand to her face, cupping her cheek and wiping the tear away with his thumb. A slight smile came onto her face as she leaned over to burrow her face into his chest. Amadeo had a lump in his throat, and his breath became shaky as he tried his best to hold back his tears. He held onto her tightly, kissing the top of her head, trying his best to speak in a comforting voice. "Don't worry cara mia, be strong, you're going to make it. I know you will" That was a lie, and he knew it. As much as he wanted to believe it too, he knew it wasn't going to happen.

Alverita pulled back, taking shorter intakes of air as she struggled to breath, and weakly shook her head. "No Amadeo.." She let out another painful cough before continuing. "I know I won't make it..I.." Her breathing became staggered as she too, tried not to cry, though it was already to late for that. She gave him her signature smile, before pulling him in for a kiss, tears quickly rolling down her cheeks and dripping off her chin. Alverita pulled back from him weakly as her breathing started to become slower and slower. She grabbed a hold of his hand, squeezing it weakly, and speaking with her last breath of air. "Te amo, mi amor." Her body slowly became limp in his arms, as he shook his head and clutched her tightly. "No..NO! 'Verita!" He gently shook her and pulled her in, holding her in a tight embrace against his chest, resting hist chin on her head. His voice cracked and became even more shaky as he spoke, the tears had already begun rolling down his face. "Come back! You can't go, you're stronger than this!" Pulling away from her, he simply looked at her with sad, tearful eyes. With a gentle motion, he glided his hand over her face, shutting her eyes. A tear rolled off his chin, and landed on her cheek. Leaning in once more, he kissed where the tear landed, and spoke in a low, sad voice. "Requiescat en pace, mi amore..." He reached into his pocket, pulling out a beautiful necklace with a purple gem. The tears were still coming down his face as he slowly and carefully put the necklace on with shaky hands. Amadeo pulled her in for one last time, burrowing his face into her neck, and whispered. "Happy anniversary."


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Sorry for the long freakin fanfic. >:U I got carried away..NOW I'M IN A GLASS CASE OF EMOTION.

The whole scene was familiar to him, the plea filled looks of the captive novices, the rich smell of blood and wood combined. But somehow he couldnt help but smile some, he, Aashiq, was at it again. It was years since he last had this hauntingly similar mission, the one that made his life harder for the most part. Shifting on the beam he was pearched on, the old assassin let out a grunt as a pain shot up his leg, instantly clutching the nearest wall. Aashiq grinned at himself, it seemed the only goal his life had now was to remind himself of how old he was getting.

Positioning himself for the right moment, the man slipped off the beam landing on the two guards, the blades in his boots slid out, puncturing both the men in the chest, with a solid 'thunk' when Aashiq pulled each of his feet up to release them from the bodies. The assassin, moved with a sight limp, over to the panicing young novices. They glanced up at him, a mixture of fear and doubt, still having so much to learn. Aashiq took no time in cutting the ropes loose, they both jumped up in praises, slightly trembling, the older man only laughed patting their backs, he didnt want to frighten them more, but they still had to get out.

Hiding his limp more, Aashiq motioned the two assassins to the window, one attempted to climb only to fall with a loud thud. The sudden noise caused several guards to rush to the doorway drawing their swords. One of them instanly went for the novice on the ground, Aashiq had to act quicker then planned, he drew his own sword barely catching the guard's as it was swung down. He gasped, the pain in his leg, not aggreeing with the movements, turning his head, he looked up to noticed the two novices had already made it out the window. Pulling back up on his sword, the guard swung again, the two swords clanged, and Aashiq's sword, used so many times to save him, cracked from its handle with clang on the ground. He stared for a moment, at his shattered weaponry, then back at the guard who swung back, thrusting his blade into the assassin's abdomen. Aashiq lurched forward onto the guard, sputtering up blood before sliding down onto the floor. The guard looked down, kicking his limp body over with his foot before signaling the others out of the room, grabing a torch before he left and tossing it into a near patch of hay. The older man laid there, on his back feeling the heat behind him rising, vision blurring in and out. He looked over to the window, and a smile crept across his face, it was over, finally.Aashiq only had his eyes closed for a moment, before he felt his body dropped down again, the cracking of the burning building was still loud, and the heat was still strong even outside. With blurry vision, he watched as his savior crouched down next to him and grabed onto his bloodied hand. The sound of the fire and the light sobbing slowly started to sound further away, but he still could feel her pressance. Aashiq squeezed the woman's hand, before he tried to muster up words, "do not waste tears on me, Leikari, moja láska, I am still always with you" pulling out one final smirk,"....smile for me.." he let his hand fall, suddenly the pain was gone, his walk was normal, and he was back on the sand filled streets of that small fishing village. Aashiq was home.

Leikari's Death

It had been three years since her love had died. She was an old assassin now, but she looked just as young and was as fit as she was ten years ago, with a few gray hairs here and there.. Leikari traveled alone, never to bond with another again, as she did with Aashiq. As each day passed, she was reminded of that faithful day, when yet another person that she loved, was killed. The female looked to the blindingly white sky and images filled her head. Blood. Screaming. Grunts of pain. The clanking of swords clashing head on. Those hazel eyes..The blood stained dirty blonde hair.. She closed her eyes tightly and opened them again as the snow picked up, moving her back to reality. She had a mission to fulfill, which just might be her last. Her mission was to infiltrate a highly guarded palace that rested on Mount Okuhotaka and assassinate the Emperor. However.. this mission had a strange feeling to it..as though.. this was the last time she'd ever be in her homeland again.

The snow picked up slowly as she continued to walk through it until it turned into a blizzard. Leikari's eyes strained to see anything that might look like a shelter or even the palace. Squinting, she shook her head as the cape she wore around her shoulders fluttered as the wind picked up. She had to find some sort of shelter or she would die and she knew this. Pushing onward, the wind threatened to whip off her hood and the cape. Tucking her face down a bit, she had to force herself to move forward, placing one leg in front of the other. She stumbled as she stepped into a deep part of the snow, her hands fell into the snow, instantly they felt frozen, as did her knees. Staring blankly down at the snow, she couldn't give up yet. She had to finish this one mission first.. Come on idiot.. Get up. She pushed herself up, opened and closed her hands before pushing herself forwards once more.

After what seemed like hours, the storm died down, and she could see a faint silhouette in the distance. But..It didn't look like a building..What the? What is that? She started to move faster towards the faint outline. It seemed like she was running forever when she gasped as she realized what the figure was. He was wearing red, brown boots. He had dirty blonde hair..Hazel eyes. "...Aashiq?" Her eyes were wide with supurise. "...Am I dead?" Aashiq shook his head with a smirk, before he extended an arm and pointed to the left. Her eyes followed his hand, as her head turned, she saw what looked like a palace. "The Palace..Oh Aashiq I-" She looked back in the direction he was, but saw nothing but snow falling softly onto the ground. Leikari waited a moment before her lips crept back in a smile. Warmness filled her body, as though someone were keeping the wind from hitting her. Her mind fell back to images of him before she grinned and moved onwards towards the palace. With the snow lightly falling from the white sky, she quickly moved with ease through the snow, which was only but ankle deep now. Soon, she came close enough to see the palace clearly. It was tall, made of bricks, and had walls all around where the towers separated. As she was informed, it was highly guarded with three guards on each small bridge and two guards per tower. This will be difficult.. There are so many.. I'm not sure I'll be able to do this..

She lifted her left hand and snapped off the small cape, which fell silently to the ground, then blew away as a small icey breeze made her shiver. She worn nothing but her robes and that cape, surely she would freeze to death.. The warmness had left her just as she left the spot where she had seen Aashiq. Her body shuddered a bit before she waited behind a rock, which was luckily to the right of her. She waited until the snow picked up again, which wasn't long. She began to shiver before making her way over the rock and quickly ran at the wall. Slipping her slender fingers to grip into small cracks in the wall, which were eroded from time and so many snow storms hitting it constantly, and pulled herself up. Continuing this step, she waited a moment to hear the guard turn before she leaped over the wall, extended her hidden blade and shoved it into his neck, while also covering his mouth with her other hand. Softly she put his body on the floor before she wipped around and shoved her hand which the blade extended, into the other guard's stomach. He had came running, sword raised at her, but she turned around just in time. With her blade still in his stomach, she grabbed his side with her other hand and shoved him off the side of the wall only to hear his scream and body smash into the concrete below the wall. A grin of satisfaction creased her lips before she heard a yell behind her. She snapped her body towards the yelling,grabbed her sword and slammed it into the male's stomach, which as she did so, the guard managed to slam the sword down on her shoulder, which slid off of her metal shoulder pad and hit at the base of her neck. Her eyes closed tightly before she lifted up on the sword before pulling it out and stabbing him through the heart. He grunted and fell to the ground, the sword sliding down her neck and only opening the wound more. Her hand held the newly given wound, seeing not only how deep it was, but how bad it was bleeding. She didn't have time to worry about wounds now, she had to find the emperor and kill him.

Making her way through many guards and suffering wounds that battered her arms, legs, and shoulders. After what seemed like going through thousands and thousands of guards, she finally made it to the throne room. Blood trickled from her robes down to the shiny floor from her wounds of swords slashing at her endlessly. "It's time to die.." She said running up to the Emperor. Though he held out his hand as a sign for her to stop and strangely, she did. "Child, before you do this, I have someone I want you to meet." He pointed to the entrance where she had originally came from. Turning her head, she saw someone she had been searching for all her life. "You...My parents' MURDERER. Prepare to DIE." She exclaimed. The ninja simply took his battle stance and she did the same. Leikari was weak now, especially in her old age, but she could still fight. Taking out her blood covered sword, she limped towards the man, sword held to her left, ready to swing. Though, she was too slow, a sudden pain splintered into her stomach. She coughed, blood splattering on the floor and the sword, which had pierced her abdomen. She grinned, blood streaming down the corner of her mouth. Swinging her sword to the right, she made contact with the ninja's right arm. His cry of pain rang out before she quickly let go and released her hidden blade, which she stabbed through his chest, at the cost of yet another two stab wounds to be made in her abdomen. "I won't fall until you're dead.." She rasped, just barely able to cough out some more blood before she shakingly reached into her pocket, grabbed a knife, and flung it at the Emperor, which gasped and fell forward, his body falling off his chair and onto the floor. The ninja fell to the floor and his hands released the hilt of the sword, which caused the end to tilt forward and slide out of the wound she was given.

This is it..This is the end.. She thought as she exited the doors and limped away from the palace. It was a miracle that she was still alive, but being the stubborn woman she was, she managed to make it to the desolate outreaches of the palace before she finally succumbed to her wounds and blood loss before she fell to her knees. Swaying slightly in the wind, the female stared off in the distance, her vision blurring in and out. Finally, she fell into the snow, her robe fluttering softly in the wind. Her face felt frozen.. her body.. felt.. cold.. It was finally her time..After such a long and tragic life, it was time for it all to end here.. As she barreled in and out of consciousness, she saw something ahead..Three forms.. Three..figures.. She only saw colors, Blue..white..and red.. Mother..Father..Aashiq.. I'm coming.. It was then that all finally went black. Vision was nothing.. until she appeared at the end of a long tunnel.. Back with the ones she loved.

Recruited

"Almost there madonna." Her hazel eyes looked up, gazing at the man who was accompanying her. He must have noticed the fatigued look on her face. She kept quiet however, simply nodding at the man's statement. She wasn't in the mood to talk to anybody. That would happen to you too if you had to travel far from your home, all the way to this foreign country. Sure, she's heard of this country, and the people here speak a somewhat...similar language to the people back home in España, but she still wasn't comfortable about the long travel here. And how long will she have to stay here? Hopefully not long at all. She didn't even want to be here, honestly. The Brotherhood recruited her out of pure pity, and she knew it...well, at least that's what it felt like to her. And now, here they are, sending her to Italia not even a week or so in the damn Order. Sure, she was taught the basics; hell, she already knew the basics from being trained as a thief for half of her life. It was pretty much common sense and basic skill. They decided to brand her finger early as well, for reasons unknown. Usually the new recruits would have to go through weeks, maybe even months of training to earn that mark. Nope, not this little recruit. They just branded her like a barn animal and sent her off to train here.
Rolling her eyes she put her hand out, observing her newly branded finger. It wasn't the prettiest sight, it still had some healing to go through. Letting out a small disgusted noise, she put her arm to her side and continued to follow the man she was with. A few minutes later, the man stopped, turning to face her, a smile on his face. "Here we are." She stopped as well, looking over the building they stood beside. This was it? She turned her gaze to scan her surroundings, seeing if he was implying their destination to be somewhere else, before looking back at him with a questioning look. "This here? It's so..." She wanted to continue her sentence, but decided not to, not wanting to offend the man in any matter. "...Nevermind." The man glanced at her for a moment before climbing up the building with speed. Looking around for a split second, she looked back up at the man, who was now waving at her to join him on the roof. Giving a quick nod, she grabbed onto the grooves of the wall and made her way up the side of the building, pulling herself onto the roof. Giving her a quick nod, her escort motioned his head to a hole in the ceiling, and casually jumped down into it. "What the..." Quickly walking to the entrance, she looked down with a confused look, before grabbing onto the bars and swinging herself inside. There were quite a few people inside, and when she swung in, they stopped what they were doing and just stared at her. Dropping down, she cleared her throat and walked next to her escort, who led her to the front desk.

"Il novizio dalla Spagna." The older man behind the counter looked over to her, along with everyone else in the room, and let out a sound that sounded like one of disgust. She was confused. Was it what she was wearing? Looking down at her clothes, she didn't see anything that with it. It was the simple attire of a Spaniard thief. She glanced around the room with a slight frown on her face. People were whispering and murmuring things about her, she knew it. Bringing her gaze back to the bureau leader, he pointed to a few pillows against the wall, right near the entrance. Moving towards it, she leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor and sat. "Rimanere lì, novizio." Switching his gaze over to the other man that brought her here, he impatiently tapped at the desk as if he was in thought. "Chi può essere il sua insegnante?" "Ah...Amadeo?!" A smirk crawled on the bureau leader's face and he snapped his fingers. "Sì! Andare a cercare per lui, cercare i bordelli. Portarlo qui in fretta." With a nod, her escort left the bureau quickly in search for an..Amadeo? What was that? Clearing her throat, she looked at the bureau leader once more. He simply returned her gaze with a glare, and spoke a few words to an assassin by his side. From what she heard, and was able to translate, it was something about more Spanish filth coming into the country? Filth? What have the Spaniards done to the Italianos? What Spaniard filth was in this county?...The Borjas, is that who they were talking about? They weren't all that bad... Pulling her hood over her face, she brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Letting out a sigh, she rested her head on her knees. It felt as if she wasn't quite welcomed here. Not only that, but she was tired as well. The trip from España took a toll on her, and now she was paying the price. Closing her eyes, she decided to rest for a bit while she waited until anybody thought of some place to put her.

An hour passed by and she was still there waiting. It seemed like she was there longer than that. As if on cue, she heard a thud in front of her, and she quickly lifted her head to see what it was. That same man who escorted her here and popped back in and walked back over to the counter, going into a hushed conversation with the bureau leader. Suddenly she turned to look at another man as he too dropped into the building. Looking down, the new man locked eyes with her, the corner of his mouth twitching as if he wanted to smile. Alverita didn't mean to stare, but she was fascinated by the scar going down the left side of his face and ending at that very same corner that twitched. She wondered how he got it. "Salve..." Alverita simply nodded back at him and gave him a small wave. "Amadeo, non gioco con lei. Lei è un spagnolo." The man now known as Amadeo, looked over to the bureau leader with a quirked eyebrow. "Oh sì?" He brought his hand to his chin, rubbing the stubble that grew along his jawline with a smirk crawling onto his face. The escort assassin shook his head and took a step forward before speaking to Amadeo. "Mio dio, Amadeo. Don't you ever rest? Give your cazzo a break for once, you just came out of a brothel. Don't even..no. Plus, you have real business to take care of with her." The assassin's gaze averted from Amadeo and went to Alverita. He furrowed his brows before waving her to come over. Picking herself up from the small pile of pillows, she cautiously walked over to the three men, quickly looking at each of them, and landing her gaze on Amadeo. "Amadeo," The bureau leader's fingers tapped against the counter as he began. "Lei è una nuova recluta dalla Spagna. Un ladro ex. L'ho assegnato a voi per un lungo periodo di tempo." Alverita tried her best to translate the bureau leader's words, but his heavy accent made it slightly difficult.
She watched how the smirk from Amadeo's face quickly faded at the man's words however. "W-wait...what?" The assassin looked over to the leader, then down at her with raised eyebrows a kid would give to their mother when they were told to do something they really didn't want to do. Ulrico, why would you pull me out of fun for this? I thought you had my back?!" Ulrico, the escort assassin couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "Only following orders, fratello." The bureau leader shook his head as if he was annoyed with the conversation already. He waved Amadeo to go. "Andare via. Conoscerla o qualcosa del genere, basta farlo da qualche altra parte." Amadeo let out an annoyed grunt and looked down at her with a frown. "Non riesco a crederci...Uhh..." Amadeo let out another sigh before waving her to go outside of the bureau.

Giving the others a quick glance, she walked over to the entrance and climbed up the wall with speed. Pulling herself onto the roof, she stood up straight and looked around, her hand acting as a visor to block the sun. This country...the city..it was rather large. Beautiful scenery. Alverita turned around as she heard a huff behind her, dropping her hand to her side. Well..at least you're...carina. Not a hard sight to look at." She just stood there, looking at him with big eyes, and staying quiet. Clearing his throat, Amadeo ran a hand through his hair before holding his other hand out to her. "Not much of a talker hmm? ...Maybe you don't understand me..uhh..Amadeo Lorenzi." She forced on a small smile, it was rather noticeable that it wasn't a genuine smile, and grabbed his hand firmly, shaking it. "...Your robes...do you always wear them like that?" The assassin furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he took his hand back away from hers. Mi scusi?" "You look like yo have been...comó se dice?...Ah, your clothes, they are all ruffled up, as if you were in a rush to put them on." Letting out a dry laugh, the man looked down, adjusting his sash to the best of his abilities. "Well, I kind of was. They pulled me out of un bordello to meet you." Alverita simply stared at him before realizing what a 'bordello' was."..Un burdel." She quickly looked to the hand she used to shake his, and wiped it against her own clothing. Gross. Amadeo simply rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Ha ha, very funny. I'm not contagious." The thief looked up at him with a blank expression, then looked around. She ignored that last statement and started to walk away, not interested in him or this assassin crap whatsoever. Amadeo was once again confused. They pulled him out of a good time fore someone who hadn't even introduced themselves to him. He brought his hand up, rubbing the bridge of his nose with two fingers before letting his arm drop and walking after her.
"What? I gave you my name, I think it's going to be necessary to know yours if I'm going to teach you, sì cara mia?" The girl abruptly stopped in her tracks, slowly turning to face the assassin. "What did...um, lo siento señor, I don't know what your customs are, pero, I don't think it's normal to call someone that in any culture." He stopped as well, giving her a weird look of his own. "What?" Alverita let out a sigh, putting a hand on her hip. "You called me 'your face.' That is weird in any language, is it not?" The assassin stared at her for a few seconds before asking again. ".....What?" The recruit let out an annoyed grunt. "Cara mia? That means 'my face,' which is a eird thing to sa--.." Her sentence was cut short as she watched the man with furrowed eyebrows eyebrows facepalm. "Idiota, you need to realize you're not in Spagna anymore. 'Cara mia' means 'my dear' in Italiano. Mio dio." She gave him a cross look. What a jerk. "Why are you even...calling me that? Nosotros que acabamos de se reunió, and you are calling me these names." Alverita stared at him as he stood quiet shaking his head. This was the most...awkward first meeting she's ever had. Talk about first impressions. Letting out a huff, she noticeably forced another smile before speaking.

"...Alverita." The man looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "What did you just call me? She quickly brought her hand up to her face and rubbed her temple. "No señor. That's mi nombre....Alverita." Amadeo let a smirk quickly crawl onto his face as he brought a hand to his chin and rubbed the stubble that grew along there. "Well, Alverita, do you have a last name? Or should I be generous and give you mine? Alverita Lorenzi has a nice sound to it." The new recruit smiled, but this time it was genuine."As much as that name sounds good, I'm going to have to decline that offer. Lo siento. Mi nombre es Alverita Romero-Vinciguerra...You can leave the Romero part out though, I'm sure it's not in your custom to say su madre's last name in yours, verdad?" The assassin hesitated a moment before walking closer to her. "Well Alverita, novizio mio, it seems that it won't be all that bad training you...Now that we've officially met, ciao." The man gave her a pat on the back before jumping down into the crowd below them. She looked over the edge, confused. Was it something she said? She shrugged it off and shouted after him. "H-hey! Adondé vas?! Where are you going?!" The man simply looked up at her and did a half-assed wave, before walking off and shouting. "Back to the bordello of course! I have some unfinished business. You may join me if you like?" With that, he disappeared into the crowds, leaving Alverita up on the roof with a dumbfounded look on her face. This stay in Roma was going to be quite the challenge...especially with a teacher like that. The recruit let out a huff, sitting on the edge, her feet dangling, before leaning back and laying down with her arms behind her head like a pillow. Hopefully this stay would be short. She was getting homesick already.

"Jesus..." Amadeo yawned and rubbed his eye, pouring himself a cup of coffee. It was too early for him. Being used to waking up at 12 nearly every day, 8 was a rude awakening. But he still had to go out and pick something up, and it was important that he got it and returned home before Alverita woke up.

The Assassin went into the laundry room, picking out a simple outfit that he deemed to be clean. Putting it on, he also pulled on his boots and soon, he was out of the house.

His friend, Cirillo, just returned from a small trip to Europe and while he was there, Amadeo requested that he got something for him, promising he would pay it back. Amadeo was lucky that his friend returned the night before, or he wouldn't have what he needed.

A few hours later, the man finally returned home. Stopping at Cirillo's house usually meant stopping at his house and then going to talk about Templar conspiracies or something, which usually lead to forgetting the real reason for coming to him. God damn that doctor.

Amadeo carried a medium-sized box to the front door and somehow, unlocked and opened it. As he walked in, he was greeted by Alverita, who was giving him the look Amadeo didn't appreciate. "So."

"...Sooo... cara mia..."

"...What's in the box?"

"...Nothing of your concern." Amadeo smiled and walked past the girl, stopping to kiss the top of her head. [color=#309eff]"Happy birthday, by the way."lor=purple]"...What's in the box?!" Alverita followed Amadeo, who stopped to look at her. "It wouldn't be any fun if I let you open it now. But if you insist." He strolled to the couch, plopping down on it. Following him was Alverita, who also plopped down and had the box placed on her lap. "There you go. And you better like it since there's no returns."

She gave him a cross look before slowly opening the box. Inside the box was something that was all too familiar to Alverita, but she couldn't put her hand on it. "Amadeo, if this is what I think it is, I'm going to kill you." She pulled a case out of the box, a case that is suited for a small instrument. Amadeo pat her back and leaned back against the couch. "Then you'll have to kill me." He smirked.

Alverita rolled her eyes and looked down at the case on her lap. She undid the clasps and slowly opened it, a small gasp escaping her mouth. "Amadeo! Do you have any idea how much this is?!" Carefully, the girl pulled the new vihuela out of the case and strummed the .

"No, I really don't. Cirillo got it for me when he went back to Europe. It's straight from Spagna, you know." Amadeo sat up and smirked. "But really, I owe him for what he did. So don't forget to thank him."

Amadeo pulled the novice into a quick kiss, pulling away almost as quickly. "Happy birthday, cara mia."

The rhythmic sound of their boots hitting the cobblestone floor was heard throughout the streets as they made their way to the structure. Looking to the right, she saw her cousin; her best friend. The man looked back down at her, giving her a smile and a rough pat on the back. Ah, well it seems my baby cousin is all grown up now, hmm? I haven't seen you in a while, you look different." A light chuckle escaped her lips as she slightly shook her head, a smile making its way across her face. "Si, mi primo, I'm not your baby cousin anymore though, Porfirio. I'm only a year or so younger than you, you know." She stumbled a bit after her cousin playfully pushed her to the side, quickly regaining her balance and shooting a glare his way. He simply gave her his signature smirk. For as long as she remembered, he always had that smirk. She shook her head, looking forward and stopping in front of the structure.

She took a sharp intake of air, and nervously exhaled. Her mission has officially begun. She had been sent back to Spain and been here for about a week or so to attend a banquet and gather information about her target, Rafael Rodriguez, get as close to him as possible, and assassinate him without being caught. It was her first mission without the company of her mentor, Amadeo, let alone her first mission outside of Italy. She looked down, adjusting her dress before having her arm grabbed and being pulled into the entrance. "You look fine, Alverita. Now hurry before we miss the captain's big entrance." Quirking an eyebrow, she looked over to her cousin, rather confused. "Big entrance? This banquet is for him?" Porfirio quickly glanced at her, giving her an annoyed look. "Dios mio 'Rita, don't you listen? Haven't you seen the posters? Heard the heralds? He's looking for a wife. All the fair ladies from the rich district have been invited." He playfully nudged her, speaking in a jokingly manner. "Hey, perhaps he'll choose you to be his wife." Alverita's eyes widened a bit. "W-wait what?" Porfirio couldn't help but laugh at the look on her face, shaking his head and putting a hand on hers, ruffling her hair around and speaking in a sarcastic tone. "Don't worry, you are safe. You're far too ugly for him to even notice you anyways. That scar on your face doesn't do any justice for you either..exactly how did you get it again?" The female shot a quick glare at her cousin and waved his question off before stepping through the door, her cousin right behind her.

Alverita's eyes widened once more, this time, in awe as she looked around the room. It was beautiful; the room was big and bright, festive decorations all around. Her eyes scanned around the room, examining the people. She felt rather..underdressed compared to the other girls, but she didn't mind, not at all. She didn't want to look like a bulky ornament. "Are you just going to stand there? Move!" Alverita was pulled out of her thoughts as Porfirio pushed her throughout the room, and through crowds of people. Stopping her at a group of people, he looked over to his cousin and smiled. "Now, I'm sure you recognize that man there, no?" Alverita gave a slight nod, forcing a smile on her face as the man turned to look at the two.

"Ahh, mi hijo, so nice of you to join." The man wrapped an arm around Porfirio, introducing him to the other people in the group before turning back to Alverita. He squinted his eyes at her before putting on a dark smile. "Well, if it isn't my dear sobrina. I'm surprised to see your lovely face here." he wrapped his free arm around her shoulders pulling her close and laughing. "Have you been keeping up with the vihuela? I hope I didn't waste my money and time." A slight frown crawled onto her face as she nodded her head at the man's statement. "I've been getting better at it, tío." that was a lie, she hadn't touched the instrument in months, but she'd say anything to avoid disappointing people, even the people she doesn't like, like her uncle. She knew her uncle was responsible for the death of her family. He had always been quite the jealous one, always competing with her father, and her father always winning. The last straw was when her pathetic excuse of a father married tio Bernado's sister; her mom. Her uncle didn't approve, devised a plan to kill her father, and ended up in the death of her whole family. She promised herself to get revenge..one day. But now wasn't the time, or place.

The novice was brought out of her thoughts as the room started to get louder and people started to applaud. The group turned their attention to the direction the commotion was coming from. "Mira 'Rita, here comes the captain now." Porfirio motioned his head in the direction if the commotion and smiled. Alverita looked past the crowd of people and at said captain, examining him. That was him. That was her target. Her eyes scanned the room, looking for any position possible to assassinate the man with stealth. She quickly took note of the possible routes, and also taking notes on all the guards. She silently cursed to herself as she noticed that pretty much every man in the room was affiliated with the Borgia, including her uncle and cousin. This was going to be quite a challenge..but nothing she couldn't handle.

Once again, Alverita was pulled out of her thoughts as her arm was punched. She turned her head to the side, giving Porfirio a snotty look as he gave her a questioning one. "Oye, 'Rita, have you gone deaf or something?" Rolling her eyes, she crossed her arms and shook her head. "No, what brings you to thin-.." Porfirio cut her off, and moved behind her. "Ah shh, you talk too much prima, besides.." Letting out a little chuckle, he put his hands on her shoulders and started pushing her towards the front of the room, where the commotion was. "Didn't you hear them? They want all the señoritas to line up. That means you idiota." He gave her one last shove, and Alverita stumbled out of the crowd, regaining her balance and nervously getting into the line of ladies. She quickly leaned forward, looking to the left, seeing her target stand in front of a girl, examine them, and then move to the next one doing the same routine.

Leaning back to her spot and standing straight in line once more, she let out a nervous sigh. Her eyes scanned the crowds of people before her, examining them. She bit her lip in an attempt to stifle her laughter as her cousin made faces at her. He's such an idiot. Before she knew it, her target was right to her side, examining the girl next to her. She gave her cousin a glare. He knew why. It was for pushing her up here with the rest of the girls. The man slowly moved in front of her, a malicious smirk on his face. He was tall. She was face to face with his chest. She looked down, not wanting to make eye contact with him, and contemplating whether or not to take her chance now and kill him right then and there. No, that wouldn't be a smart move, she had to be subtle about it, not make a scene. The novice was brought out of her thoughts as the captain brought his hand to her chin, raising her face up to look at him. She practically froze, tensing up as the man examined her, the same smirk still planted on his face as he turned her head. "Señorita, comó te llamas? Not one to dress for such an occasion, hmm?" He turned her head back to face him once more, letting out a dry chuckle. Alverita gave him a slight glare as he traced the scar on her face, before pushing his hand away and staying silent. "Ah, quite the feisty one I see, hmm? What happened to you here my dear?" Alverita's glare grew stronger as she was called that little pet name. That's it. She was done being polite. She gave a disgusted sound before speaking. "Ninguno de su negocio. Keep those filthy hands to yourself." A frown crawled upon the captain's face at the disrespect the assassin was showing towards him. He simply shrugged it off, regaining his smirk once more, and speaking in a darker tone. "Te voy a arreglar tu, mi querido." Roughly grabbing onto her wrists, he dragged her out in front of the other girls and turned to face the crowd. "Ella es una chica terco. I'll take her." Letting out a dry laugh, he turned back to her, leaning to her ear to speak. "Tu tienes dos días para descansar y prepararse. Then it’s the wedding..I'm sure you'll be a satisfactory wife, and bear me many sons, yes?"

Letting go of her wrists and standing straight once more, he gave her a quick pat on the cheek, before turning in his heels and making his way over to a group of high ranking Borgia guards. Alverita just stood there for a moment, taking in what had just happened. As the other women left the line, they gave the assassin looks of jealousy, and murmured rude things about her to each other. She gave a look of disgust before making her way back to Porfirio. Why would they be jealous of her, for that man? When she reached her cousin, she gave him such a cold glare. "Pendejo! Why did you push me up there? Now that...thing expects me to marry him and 'bear him many sons.' No, I refuse." As she crossed her arms, bringing one hand to her face to rub the bridge of her nose in frustration, Porfirio couldn't help but laugh in her dilemma. "Pues, aren't you a lucky señorita, hmm? All the ladies would kill to be that man's wife, and of all the ladies, he chooses you. How odd." Punching his arm, she let out a frustrated grunt before continuing. "Why did you even push me up there? It's wasn't funny, I don't like that man." Porfirio's smirk quickly faded as a more serious expression took the place of his amused one. Grabbing onto her arm and pulling her close, he spoke in a low tine so only she could hear. "Estás loca? You have no choice. Tienes que casarse con él. He'll have you killed if you don't. That's what he did when his first wife bore him a daughter, he got rid of her. Plus, you'll be bringing even more of a reputation to our familia, though we don't really need it." He gave a light chuckle, leaning back and patting her arm before he continued. "But then again, I forget that you could use the reputation." Alverita gave him a disgusted look. She couldn't believe the words that were coming out her cousin's mouth. He was so selfish..Then again, aren't all Templars? Rolling her eyes, the assassin crossed her arms and went into thought. Was there a way she could avoid all this? Suddenly it hit her. She was marrying her target! It was the perfect chance to assassinate him. Why was she complaining? A smirk crawled onto her face, nodding at the idea; she looked over to Porfirio and tugged his arm. "Pues, I should be getting prepared then soon, verdad?...Pero this is the nicest dress I have." Letting out a laugh of, what seemed like pity, Porfirio shook his head and spoke. "Dios mio, prima, you're a mess, you know that? Don't worry, the man will provide you a dress, he doesn't want his wife to look like a beggar up at the alter. That would be embarrassing, si?"

Rolling her eyes at her cousin's annoying sarcasm, she looked around the room. The people were dancing in a noble manner, too proper for her comfort. She’d rather dance at a poor-man's bar. Much more fun than this, though the place was far nicer than any place she'd been to. She wouldn't mind going to another one of these events, of course, as long as she wasn't forced to be engaged to someone she just met again. Letting out a sigh, the assassin frowned, turning her gaze over to her cousin. She couldn't see how he was able to live like this. Such an odd lifestyle. Hesitating for a split second, Alverita spoke with a slightly curious tone. "What's so good about this life? The high-end noble life seems so wrong. So....corrupt." That's exactly what it was. The man quickly turned to face her, narrowing his eyes as he began. "Listen prima, it'd do you well to stay in line and keep that mouth of yours shut. Don't speak such nonsense. The Borja and the rest of us Templars, we are all striving for a better world, ridding the filth and non-believers. Hopefully this man will put you in your place, because if he doesn't, then I will." Slightly wincing at his words, she stood quiet for a moment before nodding. "Lo siento. I didn't mean to offend you." The man let out a scoff, resting a hand on her shoulder, and shaking her head. "Don't worry. I'm not mad at you..I just don't want my little prima to end up like that man's other wives...you know…dead."

The woman's hazel eyes stood fixed on her cousin for a moment, before wandering over to her new 'fiancé.' What a pig. Who kills their own wife? Alverita was glad this man was her target. One more dirty scum off the earth. Shaking her head, she turned her gaze over to Porfirio once more, already tired of the festivities. "Oye, how much longer will this banquet be?" Her cousin cocked an eyebrow up, somewhat tilting his head in curiosity, and wearing a slightly smug grin. "Not for a while. They still have the dancing and the feast...por qué? You have somewhere better to be?" She furrowed her brows, letting out a frustrated sigh and looking towards the exit of the structure. "Actually..Estoy cansado...I'm just going to head on out. Get some rest and get prepared for my big day, no?" That last part was said with a rather sarcastic tone. She just wanted to get out of that place. After receiving acknowledgment from her cousin, she turned on her heels and headed for the exit, meeting eyes with the captain on her way out, noticing his grin, and returning it with a dark smirk of her own. She was looking forward to killing him. The sooner she got him, the sooner she could relax and enjoy España.

Alverita let out a sigh of relief when she was out of the building. Her eyes scanned the area, taking note of the couples that lingered outside of the banquet. Shaking her head at the sight, she let out a little disgusted sound and continued on her way through the town. She didn't have anywhere to go necessarily, besides of course, her uncle's...villa if you may. To her, it was like a fortress. Heavily guarded like one, certainly not a way she'd want to live. She continued on, deciding to go to the villa, taking the longer route instead. Walking down many streets, she was deep in thought. There were many things running through her mind. Her main thought being if she was going to stay here in España. That would be great, she missed her country. The month or so she spent in Italia, she had been homesick the whole time. Of course, the assassins here would probably send her back to Italia to finish her training. A frown crawled onto her face and she let out a huff. It wasn't fair, but maybe it was for the best. She did have Amadeo back in Roma. He wasn't all that bad...Not bad at all, actually. He probably would be the only thing she'd miss in that country. She had to get him something from here, but what?

Almost on cue, the sounds of merchants trying to draw in customers pulled her from her thoughts. "Come señorita! I bet I have a few things you can't pass up to buy! Don't be shy, come!" Alverita smirked as she examined the merchant and his shop. She was curious of his offers and strolled over to his stand, scanning the objects he had for sale. They were things a typical tailor would sell, but one item caught her eye. A certain uniquely designed cloth to be exact. "May I see that cloth, señor?" With a nod, the merchant grabbed the cloth and handed it to her. "It's custom made, I made it myself. There's no other one in España, no, the world like it." A smile made its way onto her face as she looked the cloth over, then returned her gaze to the merchant with a large grin on her face. "Ah sí, it's one of a kind, no? cuanto cuesta, señor?" "Pues, para tí, mi querida, I'll let you have it half off. A couple of copper pieces should do." The novice was in shock. How kind of the man to do that. Giving him the amount she owed, she took the cloth with a grin. "Hopefully maestro would like this.." She looked over the shop once more before having her eye catch another item. A pair of leather gloves. The merchant followed her gaze and took the gloves, handing it over to her with a nod. "Here, take them." "What? I..How much?" The man chuckled and shook his head. "From me, to you. Buenas noches señorita." Alverita gave him a smile, slightly bowing to him. "Muchas gracias, señor." Walking off, she continued to the villa, looking down at the items she had in her hand. A scarf for maestro, and gloves for..Aashiq. "Hopefully they'll like it."

After a while, she finally got to her uncle's villa. Looking the structure over, she let out a sigh, and continued inside the building. It was quite the place, to be honest. Great big space..well, at least it was big from what she was used to for the past ten years. Up the stairs she went, walking down a long corridor, until she reached the end of the hallway. Stopping in front of one of the rooms, she slowly opened the door. She still didn't feel safe in this..Templar environment, even though nobody knew of her being part of the brotherhood. It was just instinct to be overly aware of her surroundings. After scanning around the room and deeming it safe, she went in and closed the door behind her. Within a matter of minutes, she got undressed, put on an under gown, and tucked herself right into bed. She laid in bed for a few moments, mind racing about her target, her cousin and uncle, her past, and Amadeo. Letting out an agitated huff, she turned on her side and closed her eyes. Sleep quickly took over. Finally, some well-deserved rest.

Two days of preparing passed by rather quickly. Seems that time wasn't on her side. Then again, the sooner the wedding, the sooner her target dies. "Señorita, come, let me tie that up for you." With a huff, Alverita walked over to the servant girl who was ordered to help her get dressed. "I don't understand why he can't let me get dressed on my own. I've done it for diesinueve años, I don't see why I can't do it now." The servant girl turned Alverita and tied the lacing on the back of the dress tightly. "My lord wants you to look your best, milady. He doesn't want to marry someone who looks like a beggar." Wincing from the pain of how tight the dress was being tied onto her, she managed to get a glare at the servant. "I see.." After what seemed like hours, Alverita was finally dressed and ready to be married. Looking down at her dress, she gave a smile. It was quite the fancy dress. Pure white, lacing and gems scattered across it, and those sleeves, she loved those cut sleeves. If only her padres could see her now. Maybe then, would they have put an effort to love her. A frown crawled across her face at the thought of her parents. Ungrateful bastards. The servant must have noticed Alverita's mood change, because she quickly reassured her, though, for the wrong reason. "Don't worry señorita, you'll do fine. All there is to it is walking down the aisle and giving him that kiss." Alverita noticeably winced at that last part. The servant woman laughed, giving the assassin a pat on her arm. "I hope you can dance too, milady. There will be a feast and some dancing. It's what happens after the wedding that you have to worry about, what you have to...do right." The novice quirked an eyebrow in confusion. "Lo siento señora, as you can see, I'm no good at this marriage thing...After the marriage, you say?" "You truly are a child, milady..you know, consummation? The marital bed?" Alverita was confused for a second before she understood what that meant. Her heart felt like it dropped as she just stared at the giggling servant. Okay, she was going to have to kill this man soon. But...it can wait until after the feast and dancing of course.

A knock on the door was heard, startling both women. "Rita? Are you almost ready? I want to be the first to see mi prima." Rolling her eyes, the assassin turned to the servant and gave a slight smile. "Listen señora, can you do something for me, por favor?" As the woman nodded, Alverita grabbed a bag and put it in the woman's hands. "I need you to put this under my soon to be marital bed. It only consists of my belongings, so there's no reason to look inside..However, if I find out you did look inside, I'll be sure to have you whipped." The servant gave a quick nod before scurrying out the room with the bag. Alverita trusted that woman would obey her. The fate of this whole mission was in that bag. Turning to face the doorway, she smiled at the man leaning against it. "Hmm...Not too bad, prima. Now let's get going. You don't want to be late for your own wedding, now do you?" Alverita hooked her arm with his and rolled her eyes, letting out an annoyed sound and speaking in a sarcastic tone. "Ah but of course, I don't want to keep mi amor waiting."

They both walked off, turning down many corridors until they reached a big door. She let out a sigh before looking over to her cousin with a smirk. He looked back down at her with his own smirk and let out a scoff. "What, now you're happy to be getting married? Make up your mind, sí? You're lucky you are all fancied up right now too. Vamos." Alverita rolled her eyes as Porfirio opened the grand doors. Her hazel eyes grew wide as she saw what was beyond the door. A giant hall...no..a chapel, fully decorated, and people, so many people, not a single person she knew, safe for the exception of her uncle and cousin. She gave a quick glance to her cousin as they walked down the aisle, before looking forward and locking eyes with her target. Within moments, she had reached the alter, and her cousin left her side, leaving her with the target. She hoped that this wouldn't take too long. Her eyes scanned around the church as the priest started with the ceremony. The girl examined the interior of the structure. So heavily designed, it truly was a sight. She took note of the people there too, all dressed up in such a noble manner, ways she hadn't seen in ten years...well...ways she hadn't followed in that long anyways. She didn't understand them. Nobody that knew her besides her primo and tío were there, yet the church pews were all full. Alverita was sure that this man standing next to her didn't know everybody in the church....But they all knew him. Maybe that's all that mattered, to him at least. Fame. Popularity. Fortune. Typical weaknesses for a man who craves power...weaknesses for a Templar. Alverita noticed everything get quiet, and it suddenly felt like all eyes were on her. She looked up at the man who stood beside her as he gave her a cold look. Her gaze turned to the priest as he simply raised a brow. "Well señorita? Will you take him as your husband?" Whoah, she must have been zoned out for a while. She cleared her throat before doing a slight nod and answering. "Ah, sí..I...do." The priest stared at her for a moment before continuing. "Bien. Put the ring on her, Rafael." Alverita became nervous as the captain raised her left hand, hoping he wouldn't notice the brand on her finger. She let out a small sigh of relief when he didn't as he slid a silver ring onto her ring finger. It had swords on the side, and in the middle, a big red Templar cross etched into it. "Now, you may kiss."
....Fuck.
The man, Rafael started to lean in, getting closer to her face, and she just leaned back, away from him. He then gave her a look that pretty much hinted that things won't be pretty if she messed this ceremony up. He waited not even half a second before taking things into his own hands and grabbing her, pulling her closer, and forcing a kiss on her lips. Alverita stood frozen when he pulled away. He was an impatient one. Gross. A slight look of disgust was planted on her face as the people attending the wedding started applauding and cheering. Her new husband hooked arms with her and took her back down the aisle, the people in the pews following closely behind them. Now the celebration begins.

The Templar captain insisted on having Alverita change into a different dress for the wedding banquet while everybody made their way to the event. She had given herself a quick overview on how she looked. She liked this dress better. It was more colorful, not as big either. It fit her figure more naturally if anything. The only thing that was uncomfortable about it was the dress went lower and was tighter than her wedding dress, and the torso part was lined with a giant red cross. She let out a sigh, patting down her dress one last time, before opening giant double doors. A smile made its way onto her face as she observed the scene. There was a big table, the longest she'd ever seen, and it had quite the display of food. The open area acted as a banquet floor. Couples danced as the bards and minstrels sung. Walking into the room, she locked eyes with her husband, who was sitting at the table. She quickly looked away in search of her cousin, acting as if she didn't see Rafael at all. Too bad he saw her. She was making her way to Porfirio after she spotted him, but her trip was cut short when someone grabbed her by the arm. Turning around, she gave a glare at the person who grabbed her. Of course. The captain. "Adondé vas, mi esposa? I believe you owe me a dance." The novice squinted her eyes slightly before shaking her head. "Lo siento, pero, I uhh.. I can't dance." She'd throw any lies out there in order to avoid him until the time was right. "Bah, I know you're a bit...childlike, but don't throw that nonsense at me. Vamos." He dragged her out onto the floor, not necessarily in the softest manner either. Alverita cursed under her breath. She really didn't want to dance with this...filthy man, but she might as well take advantage of this situation. Putting the palm of her right hand against his, she stepped to the music before spinning and switching to the other hand. "So, señor, what exactly do you do? You're apparently a big figure here, what exactly am I missing?" The man gave a dark chuckle before shaking his head. "It isn't wise to question my work. You are too young to understand politics anyways." A frown was planted on her face. That wasn't the answer she was looking for. She thought she would have gotten some information on the Templars here...She could ask her cousin...but she didn't want to look suspicious. Letting out a huff, she stopped dancing, pulling her hand away from his and giving him a look before speaking. "If you don't mind me, but I'm going to get comida and go rest. Soy cansado." Without waiting for a response, she turned on her heels and headed for the table with the feast on it, leaving the man with a frown on his face. She examined the food carefully. This country is known for having at least one person die from poisoning at an event like this. She hesitated before grabbing a bread roll and an apple. She wasn't very hungry in the first place. Looking up from the table, her eyes scanned the room in search of her cousin. She would have gone over to him, but he seemed to be busy swooning one of the ladies that were fortunate enough not to be chosen to be married. Letting out a huff, she took a bite out of the piece of bread and walked out of the room, making her way to her new room for the night.

Finally making it to the room after taking her time in order to eat, she opened the door to the room, walking in and just fell onto the bed with a huff. Just a little while longer until this mission is done and over with. Then she can relax and enjoy being back in her country. She had this all planned out. Lifting herself off of the bed she walked around before stopping at a chest in the corner of the room. Opening it, she smiled to see her regular assassin robes in there, just for her escape. She had put them in there earlier in the day when nobody was looking. Next to the robes was a little silky chemise that they expected her to wear at night. Picking the garment up, she looked at it, cocking her head slightly to the side. It was rather short...but the material felt nice. The design on it was fancy as well. After a moment, Alverita closed the chest and put the garment on top of it, reaching behind her back to untie her dress. She untied the strings until the dress was loose enough to slip out of. Finally, she was out of that dress. It was nice and all, but the tight corseting made it rather difficult to be comfortable. She looked down at her own chemise before looking at the one that her new husband expected her to wear, grabbing it once again and holding it against herself to compare it. She couldn't help but let out a laugh. This little...thing didn't even reach to her knees, while the one she had on was well past it. Whatever, it didn't matter, that man wasn't going to enjoy it on her for long. The girl took her chemise off, slipping on the much shorter one, and stuffed both her chemise and her banquet dress into the chest. Alverita heard footsteps out in the corridor, but thought nothing of it, assuming it was another servant rushing to the ballroom. She started to get nervous as the footsteps got louder and seemed to get closer. She quickly ran to the bed, getting on the floor besides it and reached for the bag that she sent the maid to put under the bed before. She was glad to see that the servant did her job. Opening the bag, she retrieved a dagger, before tossing the bag back under the bed and standing straight.

The door slowly opened, and a figure slipped their way into the room as she put her hands behind her back to hide the weapon. "Que hermosa, I'm pleased you found my little gift. Though, it seems it is too long on you. Shame." The man, Rafael, closed the door behind him with a smirk on his face. "You're rather early señor. I thought you would have stayed at the...festivities a while longer." The man started walking closer to her, beginning to undo his clothes, the smirk never leaving his face. "Qué tontería.. You really think I would pass up the chance to have you? Loca." The assassin quickly slid the dagger into the sleeve of her chemise, and forced a smile onto her face. "I'm rather flattered, my lord, thou-..." Her sentence was rudely cut off as Rafael grabbed her and pushed her onto the bed. She shot him a glare, leaning up and opening her mouth to protest, only to be pushed down once more, and have the man over her. She needed a way to kill him without him seeing the weapon. She needed a distraction, and quickly. Without hesitation, the novice wrapped her legs around the man's waist, and with a quick motion, she flipped him so that she was on top of him. He let out a grunt, before grabbing the collar of her chemise with one hand, dragging her down and roughly kissing her while his other hand went up her leg. This wasn't the kind of distraction she had in mind but it had to do. As gross as it was, she continued to kiss him, slowly pulling out the knife from her sleeve and moving her hands up his chest while he started untying the lace of her gown. When her hands were by his neck, she firmly pressed the dagger against it. Finally, she pulled away, pressing the dagger harder against his neck while a dark smirk was planted on her face. The man had a grin on his face as well, thinking she was playing a game with him. Letting out a scoff, Alverita jerked her head in an attempt to move the hair out her face. "Oh Rafael, it pains me to cut this fun short, but it has to be done." Her words were laced with venom, Rafael tensing up as his grin slowly faded away. "Que estás haciendo, pendeja?" As he went to grab her wrist and opened his mouth to call for guards, Alverita simply sliced his throat and watched as he gagged and sputtered blood with his neck flowing with blood. She wiped her mouth, making a disgusted sound, her eyes being fixed on him for a while longer, watching as his life literally spilled out of him, before climbing off of him and reaching for the bag that was under the bed.

The girl couldn't help shake the grin away, her mission was a success. Now...for the long trip back to Italy. She shook her head, opening the bag and putting the dagger back in it before strolling to the chest from earlier. The assassin didn't want to leave. Not yet at least. Well, not ever, but that wasn't up to her. Opening the chest, she pulled out her robes, slipping out of that chemise and putting on her corset, tying it comfortably. She then quickly put on her undershirt, followed by her upper tunic, and finishing up with tying the sash around her waist. After adjusting her hidden-blade on her wrist and slinging the bag over her shoulder, she put up her hood and quickly left the room. As she began to walk down the corridor, she heard someone walking towards her. Quickly looking up, her body tensed as she saw who the person was. Porfirio. With a lady friend as well. Alverita looked down, as she passed the couple, hearing them in a hushed tone. "Quién es eso?" "No sé." The assassin looked back, her heart dropping as Porfirio made for the room she just came out of, and opened the door, his face being one of shock, and the woman he was with shrieking loudly. "STOP, ASESINA!"
Shit.

Alverita turned forward once more and started running, only to hear her cousin not too far behind her. She had to shake him off somehow. It wasn't her desire to fight her cousin, let alone have him know she's an assassin. She continued to run, making a sharp turn down one corridor, then down another only to collide into a group of women. Pushing away from the ladies, she gave them a quick look to see if they were okay. Courtesans. Of course they would be the ones to get in her way. "Obtener el infierno fuera de mi camino!" She pushed the courtesans out the way and started for a run, only to be roughly grabbed by the shoulder, spun around, and instant pain surging throughout her body. Her vision blurred, tears glazing her eyes. She heard the shouts of the courtesans, and them scampering away. Looking down, it finally registered. He stabbed her. Her own blood, her own cousin, the only one she truly loved, stabbed her. Alverita coughed, sputtering out blood as Porfirio jerked the weapon up, making it all the more painful for the novice, a smirk crawling onto his face as he heard her cries of pain. "So you killed the captain, what of my cousin, asesina?" The man pulled the sword out of her, waiting for his answer, and watching as she stumbled back until she fell onto her back. Alverita opened her mouth in an attempt to speak, but her voice was rather shushed and raspy. "Y-you actually...stabbed me..." Porfirio's eyebrow rose as he hesitated, taking a step forward before noticing who was on the ground in front of him. Noticing that it was in fact his cousin...His cousin?..A...betrayer? It couldn't be. It didn't matter right now; he'd deal with it another time, right now she could be dying. He dropped his sword, rushing to her side and propping her up, holding her close to him. "What have you done?!’Rita, estás loca?..I'm sor-...I'll bring you to un medíco." Alverita simply grunted in pain and shrugged him off, not wanting him to touch her. Her eyes pierced through him like daggers, the look she gave him being the harshest he'd ever gotten. "Quita tus manos de mí, Porfirio." With that, Alverita revealed her hidden blade, thrusting it right below his collarbone, and slamming her free hand into the side of his neck. Out cold. The novice painfully wriggled out of the unconscious man's grasp, slowly got up, and made for the exit of the structure.

Each step she took was shaky and full of pain. She was surprised she even made it out of there...surprised to even be alive at all right now. It had to be a miracle..no, she didn't believe in such nonsense. Luck? Perhaps she was just that strong-willed. Whatever it was, she hoped she could keep it up for a while longer, until she reached a doctor. Now, she was walking on a long dirt road, a good distance away from the structure she was in before. There was hardly anybody out at this time of night. Just the occasional group of people passing by on their way home, or a few courtesans here and there. Every single one of them, looking at her with a shocked expression, trying to help, but Alverita refusing. She didn't want any help, she couldn't trust anyone. Alverita looked down, removing her hand from the wound on her stomach. She had never seen so much blood before, her hand and the majority of her torso basically covered in it. Putting her hand back onto the wound and applying pressure, she continued to walk, bringing her free hand to her mouth and coughing out that familiar dark red. The novice stopped in her tracks, and continued to cough. She couldn't help it. Suddenly her vision started blurring, and she didn't feel as if she had the strength to go on any longer. Alverita fell to the ground, hard, withering in pain from the impact. So this was it? This was how she was going to go, huh? She couldn't help but smile though. " Estaré allà aviat, Carlito.." Her vision blackened on and off, going in and out of consciousness. The only thing she heard was the worried screams and shouts from some women.

"Señora, hey. Wake up." Alverita slowly opened her eyes only to see a new face over her. It was a young man who was carrying her to..God knows where. He wore a smile on his face as he spoke. "Are you alright, señora? I found you lay--.." The man cut his sentence short and furrowed his eyebrows as he watched her fall unconscious once more. "I guess not." The man let out a huff, and quickened his pace, almost running. Within a few minutes, he reached a house, tapping his foot against the door several times, like a knock. Once the door started to open, he barged into the house, not waiting for the door to be opened all the way, and into the bedroom, placing Alverita on the bed. The man who opened the door came into the bedroom and spoke in a curious tone. "Ramón, was there a reason for all the rush-...ah I see. Who did you bring to the house this time?" The younger man, Ramón, shook his head before turning to face his father. "It's not like that this time you crazy old man. I need you to get me a bowl of water, some rags, and bandages. Prisa por favor, Ella que está perdiendo mucha sangre." The old man hesitated before walking away, speaking as he did so. "Why is it that every time you bring a girl home, I get stuck doing things? Why can't you bring a nice lady home, and get her to surprisingly stay with you, so I can have nietos?" "Just get what I asked for, padre. Dios mio." His father eventually came back with the supplies he requested and left the room as he started undressing her and quickly applying medicine to her wounds, before finally bandaging her up. He stared at her for a moment before putting her bloodied clothes and the rags in a wooden bin. He went through his outfits, taking out one of his shirts, and putting it on her, then pulling a blanket over her as well. Sitting down on the floor, he leaned his back against the bed, closing his eyes and waiting for any response from the girl.

It had been daytime for quite some time, the sunlight coming from the cracks in the window shutters, and of course, landing on her face. Her eyebrows furrowed and she shut her eyes tighter in an attempt to keep the light away, but it was no use. Her eyes slowly opened as she moved her head away from the beam of light, and looked around the room. Where was she? She felt..dizzy, and weak. Leaning up into a sitting position, a wave of pain surged through her torso, causing her to give a muffled sound of pain. Oh yeah, that’s why. She looked down, quick to notice she wasn't wearing her usual robes, but instead, wearing some...shirt. Slowly pulling the shirt up, her eyes widened when she saw the amount of blood on the bandages patched on her torso. Wait, bandages? And a random shirt? Exactly where was she? And how did she get here?
"So, you're finally up, huh? That's a relief." The sound of the other voice in the room made Alverita jump, another painful grunt escaping her mouth, as she looked over to the floor to the side of the bed. Some random man was just on the floor, his arms on the bed and his head resting on them as he looked at her with those...oddly colored grayish blue eyes. "I was afraid you wouldn't make it señora. You've got quite the wound. Va directo a través de ti. Literally in through the stomach, out through the back." Alverita's eyes were stuck on him before looking down at what she was wearing. The man seemed to know what she was thinking, immediately pointing to a wooden bin in the corner of the room. "I took your bloody clothes off and put them ove--.." The man was cut off by the palm of Alverita's hand hitting hard against his cheek. Being somewhat taken aback, he watched as she slowly and painfully stood from the bed and walked over to said bin, staring at her bloodied clothes. "Dios mio, is this how you thank someone who saved your life?" The girl turned around, giving the dark-haired man a cross look before snapping at him. "Tengo derecho. I was on my way to a doctor, and here I am, stripped from my clothes in your room, I assume.. Estás tu un médico?" She kept an eye on him as he got up and spoke. "Me? Nahh, no way. I'm a mercenary. Which means I know a thing or two about fixing up wounds." He paused, giving the girl a rather cocky smile before continuing. "This is my first uhh..damsel in distress incident though." He frowned once more, running his hand through his hair. "Too bad the damsel is married." Wait..married? Looking down, Alverita noticed the ring that was still on her finger before shaking her head and a small nervous laugh escaping her lips. "Oh no señor, you misunderstand, I'm not married, this is just a mere trophy." She couldn't help but smile as the man in front of her had his smile return to his face. "Well, aren't I the lucky one then? Ramón Banderas Desoto." She looked down at his hand, hesitating before taking it. "Alverita Vinciguerra Romero...now, when are my usual robes going to be fixed up? I have to be on my way." Ramón brought her hand to his lips, planting a kiss on it before letting it go and answering. "Lo siento señorita, No vas ninguna parte solo. At least not until you're doing better. You're in no condition to." Well this was rather unfortunate. Her plans of what she thought of as taking a break from the lessons of the assassin ways have been ruined. Instead of relaxing, she'd have to stay here and recover from her...excruciatingly painful injuries. Well, it couldn't be that bad, this Ramón guy seemed nice and somewhat trustworthy...letting out a sigh of defeat, she nodded. "Fine, fine. But once you deem it 'safe enough,' me voy, sí?" Ramón gave a small nod before a look of concern covered his face. "If you don't mind me asking, Alverita...How did you get that wound of yours? It is a rare sight to see a woman stabbed through the torso like that...I mean, en público...The hangings and beheadings are a common everyday thing, but torture and sights like you are kept from the public's eye." Alverita thought for a moment, trying to come up with something to say. Her eyebrows furrowed at the cause of her wound, and she just shook her head, responding in a somewhat shaky voice. "I can't tell you that right now..sea una conversación para otro día." She forced on a happy expression, looking up at him and cracking him a smile. "Since I'm bring forced to stay here, might as well show me around, no?" With a grin, Ramón put his arm around her to help her, and began to give her a tour. Perhaps staying here with him won't be that bad.

About two weeks passed by, and Alverita was doing better. Somewhat. Her wound hadn't yet healed, and it still hurt a whole lot and still bled a lot as well, but it certainly was better than it was when she first got it. During the course of the two weeks, she gained the trust of that mercenary, and had gotten rather close to him. Now here she was, in his room, sitting on the floor and packing her things up. "Exactly where are you going again?" "I told you already, me voy a Italia." She looked over to him as he let out a huff and watched her from the doorway, leaning on it. "Yes, yes, but where? And..and why? Do you really have to?" Raising an eyebrow, she crossed her arms and shook her head. "To Roma. I have to go back for more training." He shifted uncomfortably before speaking once more. "Back to your assassin duties.." "You don't seem too excited, Ramón." The man answered, his tone laced with concern. "Pozo, claro que no. You're badly injured, and you're traveling to another country to do dangerous things...and I won't be there with you to make sure you-..." Alverita gave him a questioning look when he stopped his sentence short. "..What?" "I'll go with you." Letting out an amused chuckle, she shook her head once more and slowly stood up, grunting in pain as she did so. "Why would you come to Roma with me? Vols ser un assassí?" "Nah, I have my own battles to fight along with the mercenaries. I'll just accompany you there. Asegúrese de que llegar a salvo." He gave her a smile and dragged her into a hug, though, she didn't really hug him back, but just stood there instead with furrowed eyebrows. "Ramón, you really don't have to. Don't waste any more of your time on me." Ramón chuckled, and slightly pulled away, putting a finger under her chin and bringing her head up to look at him. "I won't be wasting my time. Vamos...you can leave some of your stuff here. I'll take care of it. I'm sure you'll be coming back, verdad?...Of course you will, what am I saying. Me voy a te casar con uno de estos días." Alverita couldn't help but laugh at that last statement. Marry him? Not anytime soon, that's for sure. She nudged him and put on a sarcastic tone as she began to speak. "Well, you have got quite the plan there. Ponerse en la fila." Her tone went back to normal and she pulled away from him completely as she continued. "And don't worry, of course I'll come back..Now..If you're coming with me, we have to leave now...but..I need help with one last thing.."

"We sure got lucky." The mercenary joined the novice on the deck, looking over the side of the ship, down at the moonlit-waves. "Glad that you have connections with people in the ports. We would have been riding to Roma on horseback only. Toma mucho tiempo, confía en mí. That's how my first trip to Roma went. No diversión " She looked over to him with a small smile. "How long are you staying there?" Ramón glanced at her, and looked back down at the water just as quickly. "Not long at all. Once you get to your destination, I'm leaving back to Barcelona." A disappointed frown was planted onto her face. "I see.." She cleared her throat and spoke. "...Gracias otra vez, por todo...Especially for getting mi vihuela from the rooftop..." He noticed her mood had changed, moving closer to her and hooking arms, watching as she twisted the ring on her finger. Perfect, a subject change, hopefully something to cheer her up. "No problema..You never did tell me where you got that, or why you wear it like a married woman." Alverita hesitated. She didn't want to talk about it. She didn't want to remember any of it, especially her cousin, but she did promise this man she would explain. She shifted uncomfortably, unhooking arms with him and leaning against the rim of the boat. "Pues..It's tied to the reason you found me like you did." "I guess it's story time then." Damn it. There was no way out of telling it now. Letting out a huff, she began to tell her story. "I was..sent back to Barcelona for my first mission outside of Roma. It was to attend a banquet for a captain, and assassinate him. Turns out, the reason for the banquet was for him to choose a lady to marry." Alverita stopped for a second, rolling her eyes at that. "Ironically, he chose me. So I was forced to marry him a few days later. That was...I'm not getting married for a while because of that experience." Ramón laughed, putting on a joking tone, hoping to lighten her mood up. "Trust me, I'll make you change your mind about that..why didn't you just kill him up front, right then and there though?" She let out a scoff at his little joke and shook her head. "Vamos a ver. And, I would have killed him at first sight if all the men in that banquet weren't guards." Watching Ramón nod at her answer, she looked down and continued. "There was a little feast and some dancing afterwards. I left early to get some rest, but of course, that bastard captain was close behind. He expected fun on the marital bed. I gave him fun alright, I pinned him down and sliced his throat. It was surprisingly satisfying. On my way out of the room, I was chased down by a guard. He caught up and just stabbed me." Looking back up, she forced on a smile. "That guard that stabbed me, I knew him. Él estaba muy cerca de mí..Mi primo. I guess you can't trust anybody, not even family...strange, because I find myself trusting you." The mercenary stood silent for a moment before wrapping an arm around her. "I'm sorry...Let's go, you should get some rest." With that, they both went below deck for the night.


A few days passed, and they finally reached the port outside of Rome. Stepping off of the ramp, a sigh of relief escaped her lips. It felt great to be back on land. She was kind of nervous of water, her not being a good swimmer and all, so of course sailing across a body of water for a few days made her uneasy. Her eyes scanned around, taking in the scene, remembering the way around the city. "So this is Italia? Roma to be exact? Hmm.." She turned her gaze to look at the man who appeared next to him, nodding before looking forward once more. "Sí. Beautiful, isn't it? It's refreshing to be off of that boat. I don't enjoy the rocking back and forward very much." Ramón let out a little snicker for some reason, to which Alverita cast him a questioning look before walking towards the stables only a few feet away. The mercenary followed her, reaching the stable and guiding one of the horses out by the reigns. He fastened Alverita's belongings onto the saddle and helped her mount the horse, before hopping on in the saddle behind her. "You lead the way, 'Rita." Tossing her pay to the stable owner, the novice grabbed the reigns and dug her heels into the animal's side, clicking her tongue, the horse starting to trot forward, and making her way towards the bureau. She wasn't going to go all the way to the bureau with her comrade. That wasn't a smart idea, it was a hideout, only for assassins to know of. When she got close enough, she'd just hop off the horse and got the rest of the way on foot. Letting a sigh escape her lips, she stood quiet the remainder of the ride. All she thought about was the events of the mission, and now, wondered if anyone was in the bureau..specifically Amadeo. She smiled at the thought of him, the smile quickly fading at whether or not he'd approve of her long absence. Either way she was anxious, and somewhat relieved to be back. Only a few more minutes to go...

OMFG finally.
If it doesn't translate in Spanish, try Catalan. /nod.

"Aashiq!" quick footfall fallowed with a light thud, the two teenagers toppled over in the dirt "hodinky von Cemal!" the first boy exclaimed, adjusting his hood, returning to his crouched position just behind a bush. The second boy gave a confused look, trying to get a look at what his friend was watching. "Aashiq, what are you..." he was quickly hushed, a hand firmly being placed on his head, shoving the boy down. "hush Cemal, talk less, enjoy the view." the teen now known as Aashiq, grinned down at his friend, before turning his gaze back to the small clearing. There was a lake, one of the many around the large fishing village, coverd by some trees, where to two boys were hiding, but it was what was in the lake, that is what held their attention. Three woman were giggling, taking what they thought was a private bath. Cemal gasped, scrambing backwards, tugging at his friends robes, "Aashiq! this isnt right! those woman...!" another harsh glare shut the dark haired novice up, "you obviously.." Aashiq paused, staring for another moment "have no appreciation for the female body" he then stood, stepping passed the toppled over Cemal and out of the shrubbery.

Cemal quickly followed after, a confused look plastered on his face "but...". Rolling his eyes, the blond novice waved his companion off, striding slightly ahead of him, head held high and a smirk of his face "you still have growing to do" they made their way into the bustling market, Cemal trying to keep up with Aashiq's fast paced walk, brushing past busy people trying to buy fish, or coming in off of great wooden ships, yelling at eachother, each having large baskets "are you ready for the ceremony Aashiq?" Cemal huffed, finally being able to catch up to his friend. "of course I am, musíte sa opýtať? I have been ready since I joined." with a snort, Aashiq hoisted himself up a wall and up onto a building, pausing for a moment to glace down at Cemal, then continue his walk. Cemal stared up at the wall, clumsy in his footing but made it up, floping down onto the rooftop with a sigh. "your....so...lucky" the novice huffed to the other, wiping his forehead of sweat. Aashiq grinned, now laid up against a part of the roof, "it will be most fitting" he paused, holding up his hand "after the ceremony, a few short months of rising through the ranks, I shall be a master assassin in no time" clenching his fist at the final statement, Aashiq looked back to the panting Cemal, who nodded quickly "won't it hurt?" the other novice quickly shook his head as though the thought disgusted him "do I look weak to you Cemal?" he glared, getting up from the sitting position, getting closer to the other boy "n-no, I just ment, It is your whole finger, that has to hurt some, yes?" Aashiq picked him up, more roughly then he should have, briging the other novice closer. "I will be an assassin my father would be proud of, porozumieť?" Aashiq shook his wide eye'd friend slightly, "I will not cry over losing a finger like you would" when he finally let go, Cemal stumbled back, trying not to fall off the roof, "I wouldn't cry!, I was just wondering..." The blond novice sneered, stalking over to the other edge of the rooftop "maybe if your skilled showed like mine" he didnt turn back around to face his friend "maybe we could find out how you would react?" Cemal frowned at the insult, shuffling his feet before looking back up at him but thought better to keep his mouth shut. "....its going to start soon" Aashiq glanced back, before taking off across the rooftops, Cemal, shocked, quickly followed after trying to keep up.

The two novices bounded across the rooftops, staying out of the sight of curious eyes. The two then began to slow, then bothing jumping down into an empty street. Aashiq let out a long sigh, his breath came out shaky, he was nervous very nervous in that fact but there was no way he would ever let Cemal see that or anyone. Cemal walked forward slightly, punching Aashiq in the chest. "good luck brother" Cemal's eyes were bright, grinning to his friend. Aashiq paused, before quickly headlocking the boy, shaking him some before tossing him with a laugh, "Luck? why have luck when one has skill" the dark haired novice laughed, quickly gaining his balance, "if your head can fit though the enterence way!" Cemal laughed and ducked down under the bridge as Aashiq made to chase him. After his friend was out of sight, he brought a hand up to his chin, feeling over the small stubs of hair that unevenly speckled his jaw and chin. Images in his mind of assassins, all in awe at his pressance danced around in his head, complements and applause went along with them.If only his father could see him now, finally earning the ceremony becoming an actual assassin, having the ceremony of getting his finger removed, almost like a right of passage.

Aashiq then nodded to no one in particular, before following the same movement Cemal had did to get under the bridge and before him an iron door, clad with a creed symbol across the front, he quickly pushed through, the main area was empty, all the assassins had moved into the hall for the evenings ceremonies. The novice slowly followed down one of the dark hallways, lit by torches on the wall every few feet or so then large double doors to which he pushed them open, the massive hall opening up. The room was decorated in flags drapped down over the wall with the creed symbol in the middle, along with a large firepit in the middle. The room was filled with Assassins, some in different colored robes marking their rank with stripes and more color. Aashiq shuffled past a few assassins, making his way to a line of other novices, there were four infront of him, all whom he was sure he could outbest in the blade and agility.looking out towards the crowd he noticed the ever excited Cemal, who was waving frantically to get his attention, to which he refused to make eye contact with, when one of the master assassins took their place near a knee high stone pillar.

The room hushed as the man began to speak "My brothers, what we have standing before you is the future of our brotherhood, none which I would be ashamed to see take my place" the man paused, looking out over the four novices, Aashiq smirked, he was really the only one to fit that statement. "Please come forward, take your place among our ranks.." it was about time, Aashiq didn't bother watching the first four go through thr right of passage, to him, they didnt deserve it like he did, the harsh clang of steel on stone echo'd throughout the room, two of the four novices yelled out in pain, which Aashiq glared in disgust. Finally. It was his turn, he stepped up the few steps up to the alter, the master assassin held the bloody blade, shimmering with red from the novices before him. "Ahh...Aashiq Philo, son of Dekel Philo.." Aashiq stood proudly, puffing out his chest slightly, and quickly laying his hand on the stone before him. "ah" the master assassin chuckled "full of haste just like your father, you are ready?" the blond nodded, trying to hold back his eagerness to the blade. The man before him pulled back the blade, sending it down onto Aashiq's finger, the pain was instant, even he found himself wincing, hoding back the sudden throbbing, what came next hurt more. A hot iron was placed over the new wound, sealing it from letting out more blood and infection.

Aashiq almost yelled out in pain, but his will wouldnt dare let him open his mouth, then it was over, the teen glanced down at his hand, his ring finger missing, replaced with air. Another assassin to the right began handing him a hidden blade, when he was stopped by the master assassin, "no no, Aashiq gets somthing different" a smile danced across the blonds face, finally, he was being recognized, but to his surprise, the man held up a pair of boots "these were your fathers, his most prized weapon" Aashiq stared confused, boots? a weapon? his eyes then went wide as the higher ranking assassin pressed a hand under the bottom, sharp shiny blades shot out from under the heel, "you are your blade" and with that, he handed Aashiq the boots.

Once he stepped down off the alter, Cemal was by his side again, "I can not believe you did that with such a calm face brother!" the boy was easily excited, as he followed Aashiq to a nearby bench "it was nothing" Aashiq snorted, his finger throbbed intensly still, every little movement he still felt pain, but only he was to know that. Aashiq sat down at the bench, sliding the boots he had now off and tossing them aside, then the new ones on, pausing to stare at them for a moment. "are those going to be easy to use...?" Cemal wondered outloud, his voice trailing off as he continued to look at Aashiq's new boots "of course, if my father could, then so will I" the two novices then stood, Aashiq bringing his hand up to examine it. "what will you do now? I heard the othe-" Aashiq cut him off, "I am going to find some swooning woman" he smirked, looking back at his friend who stood confused, "and have more fun then they will ever hope to have" with a dark chuckle, Aashiq turned and left, not bothering to see Cemal's responce as he passed through the hall and out back into the village. He quickly pulled himself up onto the bridge, then up onto a building, moving down across several more roofs until coming to a rough stop, a small smile spread across his lips as he stared down at a small house.

Taking no time to jump down onto the dirt road, striding off to the door, then inside, a sweet smell quickly hit his nose. "....Aashiq?" a woman quickly looked up from her pot she was stiring, then rose "oh my dear boy, look at you.." the woman grabbed his face, rubbing at it with a damp cloth "...mother" his mother shushed him patting his face after she was done, "sit, sit how was your day?" Aashiq laughed, sitting down on one of the small pillows, she quickly went back to stirring the pot "I ah, it was rather boring.." he held his hand, still proud of what had happened "...did they do it?" Aashiq paused, not wanting to answering the question out right, "Aashiq tell me...dont pla-" "yes" his mother threw up her hands, pointing the wooden spoon at her son "your father would not want you to follo-" Aashiq got back up, shaking his head, "mother please, I want to honor father, I will" he seen that his mother began to get tears on the edges of her eyes "you honored him when you were born Aashiq, Copak to nechápete?" he shook his head, letting out a sigh before pulling her into an embrace "you will see, matka, you will see" he then pulled away, wiping her eyes first with a smile, "I have to go..." she frowned, lightly patting his arm "I do not want to lose you too.." Aashiq laughed shaking his head, "you won't matka, I will be back later" he then quickly turned, smiling again before he left closing the door tightly behnd him.[center]

"Again." "Oh come ooonnn maest--.." "I said again." A huff escaped the girl, her shoulders slumping for a moment before she straightened up, bringing the sword up and running at the man once more. She took a swing at him, and he countered her yet again, slightly moving to the side and grabbing her arm to stop her swing. "Amade--.." The man put his free hand against her back and shoved her down to the floor before she could finish, a smirk crawling onto his face as his little novic let out complaints. "Dios mio, this isn't fair." Rolling onto her back, she looked up at the figure standing over her with a pout. "Really mestre, this isn't fair. We have been doing this for hours. I'm tired." Amadeo gave a quick glance around and let out a chuckle, kneeling down and balancing on his toes as he held his hand out to her. "Come on 'Verita. You have to get this right. If you were in a sword fight with a Templar, you'd be dead already." "Well swords aren't my thing anyways." she mumbled as she grasped his hand. A smirk was painted onto her face as she pulled her arm back, making Amadeo fall forward on top of her. She didn't hesitate to flip him onto his back and sit on him, a leg on each side of him. She couldn't help but laugh as she saw Amadeo trying to process what just happened. "See maestro, I like the element of surprise better." Amadeo cleared his throat and slightly shifted before speaking. "Now cara mia, as much as most men would enjoy this, I'm not sure it's a good idea to do this to a Templar..you're still vulnerable." The novice quirked her eyebrow, but before she could question, she was on her back once more with Amadeo pinning her. She let out an annoyed huff and propped herself up onto her elbows and looked up at him, giving him another pout. "Are we done yet 'Deo?" "Not until you show me that you've learned something." Alverita furrowed her brows in thought before giving her mentor an innocent grin. "Por fav--." "Nope." "Pleaase 'De-.." "Nuh uh."

The girl waited a moment before wrapping her arms around the man's neck, bringing him down closer, much much closer. That grin turned into a smirk as once again, Amadeo cleared his throat and shifted. "What are you doing now, novice? Do you know how ridiculous we look on the side of the road like this?" Alverita snickered, moving closer to nudge his nose with her own. "What? I've seen many people do this by the river when I pass by." The man rolled his eyes and snorted before continuing. "There's two things though, cara mia. One, they have something totally different on their minds, and two, it doesn't really work with us, you know, because we're right next to the colosseum and all. Too many people around." The novice took a quick glance around, noticing the people walking by and shaking their heads at the two, before looking back at him. "I see..wait what do the people by the riverside have in mind then?" "Uhh..well, you see..they usually..do things..after." Alverita cocked an eyebrow for a moment before smiling. "Ah yes! I almost forgot. This?" Before Amadeo knew it, he was lip-locked with his novice. It threw him off guard, but he wasn't one to show it...or one to complain. Hell, he sure wasn't the one to refuse the offer either.

"Well it's about time amico mio! You finally made the move." The two quickly pulled away from each other and Amadeo rolled off of and sat up next to Alverita. "You told me you were going to train her, fratello." Amadeo let out a dry laugh and shook his head. "I was. And...I did. We were testing her swordsmanship." "Yeah? With which sword?" Amadeo brought a hand to cover his slightly red face, and tried to keep himself from laughing at his friend's dirty joke. "Go fuck yourself Cirillo. It's not what it looks like." The doctor looked down at the two, his hands on his hips and head shaking "Sure sure, I believe you. Speaking of swords, do you mind uhh..sheathing yours?" Cirillo turned his attention to the novice and pointed at Amadeo. "You know, little one, don't believe what this fool says. Bedrooms are best for this." If it wasn't for that mask, Amadeo would have loved to smack the grin that was guaranteed to be on that man's face. The assassin got up, brushing his robes off and adjusting them before turning back to his novice and holding out his hand. Grabbing his hand, Alverita pulled herself up and brushed herself off as well before grabbing the sword that was on the ground and handing it back to Amadeo. She looked at Cirillo with an innocent smile. "I don't think it would be a good idea to train with swords in a bedroom, señor. There'd be no room." Cirillo almost instantly bursted out in laughter at the novice's response. "Oh little novice, you give your mentor here too much credit. Don't fill those lies in his head." Amadeo sucked his teeth and shook his head. That fucking doctor was going to get it. He was relieved that the girl didn't understand what his friend was implying; he could tell by that confused look on her face. Alverita shook her confusion off and looked over to Amadeo with a smile. "See maestro, the element of surprise. You didn't see that coming, did you?" Amadeo shook his head and chuckled, taking his sword and sheathing it. "I don't think it's a good idea to do that with Templars, cara mia." "Yeah, Amadeo would get jealous. He gets ugly when he's jealous. Trust me." The assassin sent an unseen glare to his friend before looking over to the novice and messing up her hair. "Come on, let's head back to the bureau. I'll tell the bureau leader you did well." Cirillo let out a laugh before speaking in a low tone. "I bet she did." "God damnit, shut the hell up Cirillo." With that, the assassin grabbed Alverita's hand and walked off in the direction of the bureau. "Don't have too much fun you two! Play safe!" The doctor's grin grew wider when his friend turned around, flicking his hand under his chin. "Yeah yeah, back to you, fratello." Just some more blackmail on Amadeo.

Time of Need

A body flopped to the floor, blood from the wound in the man's gut splattered across the floor upon impact with the ground giving a final twitch. Aashiq smirked in the dark, his teeth being the brightest thing in the dim lit room, his smile soon faded once he glanced down followed by a curse as he bent down wiping stray blood splatter off his boots. The target had been simple, some corrupted man, doing some corrupted deed, Aashiq had too many under his belt to keep track....or care really. The israelian stood, fixing the deep hood over his head, stalking quickly out the way he came, across old wooden rafters and out a small window. The sun shown brightly in the assassin's face, he had to squint before pulling himself up onto the roof of the building, which overlooked the sea. Aashiq's robes fluttered forward on the breeze from the ocean, brining a hand up to steady his hood he paused glancing at his hand more so at the gap where a finger had been, two years had passed since his ceremony and two years closer to master assassin. He shook his head, returning to the present, glancing up at what was soon to be his escape route, a tall cliff that smoothed off once at the top climbable but it would difficult, he glanced at the path he had taken to get down to the building which would have been easier but more obvious. Without another hesitation, he lifted himself up onto the first few rocks, pausing to get footing before continuing to scale the cliff. With a final grunt Aashiq pulled himself up onto the ledge, sitting back for a moment to catch his breath before standing again glancing down at the building, men were going in soon to find his handywork inside which only caused another grin out of the assassin. He turned qucikly, briskly walking a ways away from the cliff he glanced around his eyes scanning the area around him a heavy sigh escaped his lips as he brought a hand up another deep breath, a strong whistle soon followed it echo'd before fading out across the area. Aashiq walked alittle further, his own foot steps out beat by the sounds of hooves were loud then slowed down to his side, he smiled turning to pat the muzzle of the animal "Tu je moje dievca...." he took no time to climb up onto the horse, it snorted and stomped in return before settling. He made a distict click, bringing the heels of his boots to the horse's side, it lurched forward taking off down a lone path away from the cliff and the building. Aashiq didn't have to travel far, his village soon came up over the path as he road the horse over to a post, swinging a leg over and hoping down off the tall animal, tieing the reins up in a motion he knew so well. The bustle of the town soon filled the assassin's ears as he glided through the crowds, somthing that never seemed to change day to day in the town, fish slapping onto tables, people trying to get lower prices, fights breaking out, all familiar sounds. Aashiq brushed pasted a few more buildings until getting to the bridge, quickly flicking eyes to the streets around him before decking under, boots thudding as the made contact with the small atch of ground infront of the door. He slipped in away from curious eyes into the dark hallway of his second home, the sound of the door shutting let a familiar echo vibrate down the hall as he walked along the walls, his boots making little to no sound on the hard floor. "Philo" Aashiq stopped suddenly, turning to the voice that called to him, "Ra'ees?" a man leaned on the wall, the tip of his hood covering his face as he slowly glanced up, pale green eyes meeting Aashiq's hazel ones. The man had low sinking shoulders they shrugged as the other assassin pushed off the wall, his face was still young, he had been promoted along with Aashiq during the ceremony, as other assassin's hood raised, the light hit his face. Eyes, though pale, shown fire and a sharpness. Thin lips stayed a fine line as Ra'ees stepped closer dark hair falling forward, longer then what Aashiq was used to and too european for his liking. "what do you want brother? I have things to do." Aashiq asked, words quick as he glanced down the hall, "you must make time to listen." Ra'ees rubbed an old scar on his cheek, looking towards the ground as he spoke "it is Cemal". The blond sighed, they were always coming to him when his friend had done somthing, this was nothing new "what of him? Ra'ees, is there a point to thi-" "he has been captured". Aashiq stopped, eyebrows furrowing "Cemal would not be captured, he is the fastest in our brotherhood, speak sense Ra'ees or none at all" he turned, with a snort, about to continue on his way down the hall "Salim returned barely breathing, without him, speaking of templars, the word is straight from him" Ra'ees frowned at Aashiq's back, waiting for a responce, but Aashiq could not give him one, confusion and shock took over him, thinking of his eager friend full of energy and life. "...where is he?"

A thin trail of blood intwined saliva slipped out and over Cemal's lower
lip as he slumped over from the latest impact to his gut. The two men infront of him loomed over, silently discussing their next move.The two then began to move, one untieing his hands,the other quickly grabbing hold of Cemal's arm, the man behind him held him still, though Cemal himself had no energy to move, the man infront drew a dagger, slipping the end of the blade neatly under his fingernail. Cemal bit his lip, his own teeth digging into his lip as the first nail began to be pryed off, his leg shot out enough, jabbing the templar in the leg "petite merde!" stumbling back, the first man jumped up grabbing his leg "qu'a t'il fait?" the second man came around to examine his partner, "m'a frappé!" the first man seethed as he stood again, regaining his composure. The second turned, balling up a fist that quickly made contact with the side of Cemal's head, he only jerked to the opposite of the impact, almost too tired to even feel the pain. "obtenir sa jambe" the first man growled through his teeth "casser il en morceaux". Cemal slowly lifted up his head it shook as it rose to see the two men, the second only grinned, stalking closer to him. The assassin couldn't understand the foreign language but as he watched the templar walk closer, stopping infront of him, a feeling of dread soon followed. The first man, now in a fiery temper kicked on of Cemal's legs out infront as the Second quickly stomped down. The bone instantly cracked causing Cemal to sputter out a shout as his leg bent down in an unatural position. Another stomp followed by another scream echo'd as tears began to well in Cemal's eyes as he tried to surpress the pain, one final stomp and Cemal toppled over, the pain instantly making him blackout out on the dusty ground around him.

Aashiq's back pressed firmly against the wall of the warehouse as he stayed to the shadows being casted to his favor, the night was brisk and the wind was strong, he glanced up as he noticed a window just above him. Finding a groove in the wall, he scaled it, silently but quickly, looking in the window into the large room. He had followed Ra'ees's direction exact not bothering to listen to what he had to say after, Cemal was the only friend he bothered to have, and he was not going to have him slaughtered by templars. As Aashiq squinted to see in the dark room, he seen two men leave the room, their voices getting further as they shut the door behind them, he took this chance to slip in the window sliding down a beam to the ground with a light puff of dirt. He moved to the body on the floor, leaning on one knee, gently turning the body over "..Cemal" Aashiq brought a hand to his friend's neck, feeling for a pulse, it was there, but slow. He took a moment to examining the rest of Cemal, stoping at his leg and wincing, it was a crumpled mess, bruised, distictive lumps pushing the skin. Gently lifting him up and over his shoulder, Aashiq briskly walked to the door he avoided before, he knew now there was no danger on either side. Using his shoulder to press the door open, the assassin was back out in the night air, walking a short ways to his horse, carefully placing his friend on the back of the horse before getting on himself.It took little to no time to get back to the village, some lights still flickered in houses as Aashiq rode to the edge of the village to a final house, where its light brightly shown through all the windows. Aashiq dismounted, going around the side of his horse to pick his friend up once more when the door to the house swung open an older man came out, face wrinkled from age but eyes bright even in the night, rushed to Aashiq and the limp Cemal. "Let me see him, give him here" The older man retreived Cemal as an older woman shown herself in the door way, greif stricken face, and wide eyed. These people Aashiq remembered well, the Asad family, Cemal's parents, his father being the doctor of the village it seemed right to take him here. After his father rushed him in, the door was left open, Aashiq took it upon himself to walk in, taking the familiar house in as he slowly shut the door behind him. The house was larger then the one he had grown up in, many apothecary equipment stood on the shelves and on tables, he looked up in time to see a door shut, so he took to leaning on the wall. "Thank you for bringing my brother home" the voice surprised Aashiq, it was soft and calm under the current situation, he turned to see a young woman standing in an open doorway "I would not thank me just yet" he smirked, nodding to the door. The girl seemed tp glide over to him, casting a look over to the shut door "hes strong, he will live" she looked back to him, a smile fluttered across her face, "you were very brave Aashiq...to save him" Aashiq shook his head, he couldn't help but smirk "ah it was nothing...really" he lifted off the wall, bringing a hand to his chin. "it has been a long time Evona...you have grown". Evona laughed lightly, leaning back on a near table, a finger drawing circles along it's top "ah, you have grown too Aashiq, well and....full..". He stared for a moment, an eyebrow raised as he crossed his arms, stepping closer, "oh!" she continued, looking at his arm, "you have hurt yourself.." she quickly turned, slowly bending to reach under the table. He paused, looking at what she had pointed out "oh it is nothin-..inu to je pohlad" tilting his head some, looking with his eyes what he couldn't do with his hands. Etona popped back up, holding what seemed to be a bandage, stepping closer and placing a hand on his shoulder, "it seems you need tending to as well hm?". Aashiq chuckled, glancing at her hand as it slid across his chest "tending you can provide yes?" he asked as she bit her lip, staring up at him "oh yes, tending that will keep you firm-" The door in the back swung open as the two quickly seperated, Cemal's father came out, with eyebrows furrowed his mind elsewhere, he looked up at his daughter "Evona, get my glasses from my room" the girl rolled her eyes, turning quickly and leaving the living area. "Aashiq, I can not thank you enough for bringing my son home" The assassin cleared his throat, turning some from the older man "of course, I could not see him left to die, I will return tomorrow to see of his condition" among other things, Aashiq amused himself at the thought as Cemal's father nodded, turning to go back into the room. He then left, the night air greeting him once again with a cool breeze the day had been more than eventful and he needed a long rest.

The corridor seemed to go on forever as she ran down it, her face mask on to make it easier to breath in the smoke-filled halls. She approached a door that she remembered to be an exit. Barging in, her eyes widened as she covered her face from the sudden burst of flames. Quickly scanning the room, there was possibly no way of escaping. Parts of the ceiling had  collapsed, and everything was engulfed in flames. Alverita looked back down the direction she came from and was barely able to make out figures in the smoky clouds. She had a bad feeling in her gut, but the curiosity and the actual fear she felt got the better of her. She slowly backed away from the figures, but called out to them. "Madre?...Padre?" She strained her eyes to see if she could get anything out of the silhouettes walking towards her. Nothing. Well, at least not until one of them pointed a sword at her. Alverita panicked, turning back to the room, and to her surprise, it was clear. No flames, no smoke, and no debris blocking the way. She ran into the room, opening the nearest window and looking down. Whoah, she definitely didn't remember this floor being so high up. She put one leg out of the window, digging it into a groove on the wall before doing the same with the other foot. She was about to climb down before she remembered something. Carlito. Shit, she seen him in the house before, and told him what to do. Hopefully he got out this time. Feeling unsure, Alverita went to pull herself back into the window, when those two figures from before slashed at her hands and pushed her. What was supposed to be a short two story fall, felt like a fall from the top of the Vatican. Alverita screamed, bracing herself for the impact, and when the ground finally came, she hit it, back-first, hard. The wind was literally knocked out of her, she attempted to move but it was no use. She laid there, staring at the burning,collapsing building before her.
She didn't even notice five figures approaching her until they were right above her. Although it was a dark night, the light from the flames helped her out in figuring out who they were. It was her family. Her parents, uncle, cousin, and little brother...but not what they looked like ten years ago. It's what they looked like now...or what they would have looked like now. Her parents looked like burnt and charred corpses, but their faces were still readable. She'd recognize those looks of disappointment and hatred anywhere.  She was afraid of them. Her cousin and uncle looked like their present-day selves, and her little brother..he didn't look burnt..he looked normal, and grown..a young teenager. She couldn't help but smile at him, until she felt a sharp pain. Looking forward, they weren't outside of her burning house anymore, but in that torture chamber she's been to. This time she was the one whose arms were chained to the wall. She looked down at the cause of the sharp pain. Her father put a sword through her. She wasn't surprised. Her mother stabbed her next, twisting the same sword to hear Alverita's painful screams. She was surprised to see Carlito reaching for the sword, and was heartbroken as he too used it to cause her excruciating pain. Alverita should have been dead now, she knew it, but wondered why she wasn't. She looked up at her cousin with her tear-filled eyes. He didn't look like he was going to stab her, and she was glad he didn't. Instead, he simply shook his head and spoke. "Join us again. Join our cause, and you'll feel power, not pain." Alverita hesitated for a moment. Join the Templars..she thought about it for a moment, about the benefits, but she shook her head and her cousin frowned. She got nervous when her uncle picked up a mace and moved closer to her. As he was getting ready to swing, she closed her eyes tightly and once again, braced herself for impact.

Instead of feeling a hard blow to the head, she felt something warm on her shoulder. She felt soft shaking too. Slowly opening her teary eyes, she shot up and glanced around, her breathing hard. Her eyes took a few moments to adjust to the dark room, but she soon realized she was back at the bureau, with sleeping assassins everywhere. It was all another dream?...well...more like another nightmare. But it felt so real. This wasn't the first nightmare she had like this, but is was definitely the one that felt most real. She jumped at the sudden warm feeling on her arm, clenching her fists and looking down. Alverita was relieved to see it was her mentor's hand. "Mio dio cara mia. I tried waking you up sooner, but you just couldn't.. And look, you're freezing. Are you alright?" She looked over to the man, who was leaning up on one arm and had a look of concern on his face. She must have looked paranoid to him. She looked the other way to wipe away any tears that threatened to fall. "Want to talk about it?" The novice let out a small whimper and shook her head before looking back over to him. "Come then, get some rest." He patted her pillow in a way to tell her to lay down. She didn't have it though, she just sat there and stared. He thought for a moment before putting on a joking tone and smiling. "You want to come over here instead?" He slightly raised his blanket, not serious about the offer, hoping to lighten her mood up, but Alverita took it seriously. Within seconds, she was cuddled up next to Amadeo, her face burrowed in his collarbone and her hands against his chest. Amadeo was surprised to say the least, but he wasn't going to tell her to move. This...didn't bother him. He slightly shifted to make her comfortable and laid back down, putting the blanket over her as well and rubbing his hand on her back to comfort her. He heard her say something, but didn't really catch it. "What?" He strained his ears to listen to her as she softly repeated herself in a shaky whisper. "He's alive...he has to be." He paused for a moment, wondering who she could possibly be talking about, before rubbing her back once again. "Shh, get some rest." After a few minutes, Amadeo was able to tell by her breathing pattern that she'd fallen asleep. He let out a sigh and decided that he should too. There was a few more hours left in the night to sleep. The assassin  closed his eyes and used his free hand to play with strands of his novice's hair. A few minutes passed and he too fell into a deep and rather...comfortable sleep.

The rain was falling harder and harder with every passing moment. Amadeo's robes were watered down as it was and it made for difficult running, but he's fled in worse conditions, how bad could it be now?

He could hear the horses and guards behind him, all yelling at the Assassin to give up and surrender if he wanted to live. These kinds of things only gave Amadeo more confidence and only made him smirk all the more. He looked back at the guards chasing him and he noticed that the distance between them was shrinking as he ran in the direction of Forli. The marsh around the city was a horrible place for a man clad in only boots and robes to run. It seemed like all sense of friction was gone, the muddy ground making his run harder than necessary. He almost slipped and fell several times and he had to make sure he didn't run too fast, or else he would be a goner for sure.

Squinting through the rain, the man could make out the outline of Forli, and it was about time. By now, he was sure Alverita was back in city walls, safe. They were on a mission together, but before anything got too dangerous, he sent her home, not wanting to risk her loss. For a fact, he knew all of the guards they had encountered at the base were all on him and his wife was in no real trouble. This, he was grateful for.

"Assassino! Fermare se si sa che cosa è bene per voi!" A guard called to him, and Amadeo smirked, looking back at the horse-riding guards. "E che cosa, essere catturato? Non una possibilità!" As he looked forward again, his eyes widened in fear and he slowed to a walk, and then stopped altogether. In front of the entrance into Forli was a line of guards, all with their weapons drawn. Behind him, he heard the guards that were chasing him stop, their horses whinnying from the sudden stop.

"Fine della linea." A guard stepped forward, staring down the Assassin, to which the Assassin just snorted. "Forse non il mio... ma se insistete." He moved the wet hair that clung to his face out of the way and unsheathed his sword, shifting to an offensive position. "Venite a me, poi." The first guard ran forward and Amadeo spun his sword around his hand, wielding it backhandedly, as per usual. He turned and stabbed the guard through the stomach, ripping the sword out.

The next moment happened too fast for Amadeo to react properly. Before he could turn around, two more guards ran at him, weapons raised. As he did turn, he was able to block the two guards with his sword, but he failed to notice the third one that came around to stab him through the back. The Assassin lurched forward from the force of the stab, coughing up a small amount of blood. As he looked down, he saw the sword that went through his body, the tip barely sticking out of his stomach. He felt the sword twist inside of him and more blood was coughed out as the sword was torn roughly out of the Assassin's body.

Amadeo dropped his sword and collapsed onto his knees, holding his wound with both of his hands. The guards only stared at him, some of them smiling at a job well done. "Andiamo. Abbiamo bisogno di trovare l'assassina." He heard them run off before more coughs wracked his body, the blood coming out in splatters on the stone bridge, only to be washed away by the rain a moment later. A moment later, he noticed more red mixed with the rain and closed his eyes. He was losing his blood fast and he didn't know how much longer he could go on with such a wound.

He heard distant splashes, but didn't look up until it ceased. His eyes met hazel ones and Amadeo couldn't help but smile, even though the one in front of him was near-panicking. "Amadeo, mi amor... what happened!?" Not even allowing him an answer, she moved his hands to see the severity of the wound and gasped, looking back at Amadeo. "We need to get you to a doct-" She was silenced when Amadeo held a hand covered in blood up, shaking his head. "Alverita... mi amore, cara mia... no amount of help from a doctor can save this. Even you know that."

The female Assassin shook her head, tears already rolling down her cheeks. "No, there is still hope! Were you here to give me hope and then just take it away with you?" She cupped Amadeo's face with her hands, pulling him into a gentle hug a moment later. She felt Amadeo's arm wrap around her, and she shook her head, trying not to sob. "Essere forte. For the kids, si?" A weak smile spread across Amadeo's face. "Ti amo, cara mia." The Assassin kissed his wife on the cheek for the last time, his body becoming limp in Alverita's arms.

Alverita didn't react for a few minutes, sitting there holding his body close. She kissed the top of his head, readjusting herself to have his head laying in her lap. Slowly, she closed his eyes and choked out a sob. "Requiescat en pace, mi amor..."