Chapter 2 - chapter 1

the year was 1023 EC, on a bright sunny day in the city of nonveneto where the streets were covered by water and people traversed by boats, in the house of a prestigious but poor nobles, a new member is being born.

hip hip hoo

just a little more my lady

aahhhh

I'm seeing baby's head

aaahhhh

just a bit more push.

with a bit more push the baby was out, the Midwife took the baby and then comforted the mom.

is the baby alright

yes the little rascal.

why i don't hear any cry.

some baby's are like this give him some time

so its a boy

suddenly a man entered the room

I'm sorry my love I was at the harbor and, so the baby has already been delivered, give the baby to me

Francisco take him tell me that he is alright.

the Francisco took the baby from the midwife and hold him, he then looked at the clock and then he began whispering lines from the religious text.

by the name of our lord vintous, may you have life of the calm ocean, look at him he is trying to jump, oh you want to punch me little man, you'd have to wait for that.

the baby started to cry and the sound which is usually agonizing gave relief to those around him.

i name you Petro Costantino Firenze, third son of Antonio Paulo Parma, of the line of Medici.

over the time the baby become a boy, his father though not wealthy provided him with the best he could and after a time Petro started helping his father, along with his brothers they were part of Medici family, a noble house of city state nonveneto, they held a harbor and taxed ships and rented them a place to anchor, part of this money went to the high nobles of the city the rest were to be spent on the maintenance of the harbor and the small amount which remained was kept by the family.

over the time people around the boy noticed his exceptional intellect, the boy Petro as he was called, although a bit arrogant was exceptionally skilled in the ways of accounting, at the age of 12 he already helped his father in the ways of organizing, tax evasion, and finances. part of his success in accounting came from the way he calculated, instead of the formal number symbols which was used in his city, he used what he called Arabic numerals, he himself did not know where he learned these symbols, his father and brothers were also shocked but did not complained as long as it helped them. he was also quite handsome, his face almost had no undesirable feature except his thick eyebrows, he had green eyes and black hair, he was a bit short for kids his age but just as agile if not more.

at the age of thirteen, his eldest brother started teaching him swordplay.

Petro come at me with all you got.

Petro propelled himself at his brother and attacked his brother with his wooden sword, but his brother easily parried, each of his attacks.

you cant just throw attacks and think you can open my guard, you must have elegance and tactic.

the moment his brother finished his words, he parried one of Petro's aimless attacks and with a counterattack, he sent him flying

this is just teaching me something that I will never need, can we stop it Giuliano.

Giuliano Petro's brother was a tall man with golden hair and blue eyes which different than Petros black hair and green eyes but besides that their face was identical, his build was similar to that of a modern bodybuilder although he had used no steroids, intellect wise he was a lost cause, not to say that he was dumb but he didn't had the foresight to manage the harbour, that's why their father was relived after his second son was born.

don't insult Medici family's traditions we might be harbormasters now but we come from a line of prideful knights, in fact we are.

yee yee in line for the throne, but at this day and age who isn't, with how the debauchers king acted I have no doubt that even Ezio has a claim to the throne.

did you call for me lord Petro

a man dressed in servant's clothing appeared out of nowhere. Petro shivered in his place as the man gabbed his shoulder from behind.

don't spook me like this Ezio, you have sharp ears don't you.

please accept my deepest regrets but it job of a servant to always be on the lookout for what his master wants.

Ezio was their family's servant he was quite old around 55, but he was just as agile as a rabbit. he was a tall man with gray hair result of his age and he was a bit too thin, he was always in his servant outfit, the Rumor had it that he even went to sleep with it.

great timing Ezio.

how can I be of your help lord Giuliano

easy just watch me beat this arrogant brat, he is prideful so if he was about to be humiliated he put much more effort.

as you desire my lord

ahh using audience to energies me, hehe that might end badly for you.

Petro firmed grip on the swords handle, and with a great resolve attacked his brother

"I'm not as strong as Giuliano but I have something he doesn't have, 124/9 gil in siphoned fund and a brain, during a battle the latter is especially useful. he is trying to teach me therefore he is focused on defense, if I can focus my attacks on the handle of his sword and then after a slash drop my sword to confuse him I could then grab his neck in the confusion and then claim victory"

Petro acted upon the plan he had drawing in his mind, slash slash stab and another slash.

oh you're using a combo, try to change your combos time to time this way you can shatter your enemy's expectation.

"now it is time after the next slash I will grab his neck"

don't get full of yourself.

Petro set his plan in motion it was a simple one drop the sword and amid confusion grab Giuliano's neck, nonetheless it was a resounding defeat.

Petro, you do realize that I'm twice as tall as you

I see my plan was a narrow defeat.

I'm not even mad that you used such an idiotic plan, your conclusion is impressive.

Giuliano grabbed Petro by the stomach and then went to the dining room.

Ezio prepare some food I'm sure Petro is hungry after all these physical activities

as you command my lord

Ezio disappeared in an instant, he was heading toward the kitchen where he would ask the maid to prepare some of the leftovers from lunch

in the dining room Giuliano put the small body of Petro on his seat he then sit on his own seat and with somber eyes looked at Petro

what is it Giuliano your look is weird

you see Petro there is a situation coming up

what situation, if it is about tax fraud I cant help you, cheating the system to pay less taxes is one thing but fraud? I still love my neck

have a bit more faith in your brother who do you think I am

a muscle head with IQ lower than the number of your fingers and toes combined, who probably his only redeeming quality is his mastery of the sword which is useless anyway in this day and age

Giuliano shouted don't call swordsmanship defunct, the way of the sword is an art beside what is IQ I don't know how it is calculated but I feel insulted

well well well you shouldn't be that inconsiderate of other peoples hobbies

big brother Cosimo I'm,,,, don't get me wrong I was just trying to smack some reality into Giuliano's head

Cosimo was the second son of the family, he was a bit shorter than Giuliano, his hair was color was pure silver and had green eyes, built wise he was on the weak side it was not an exaggeration to say that he would lose to Petro in sword fighting despite being 6 years older than him, his strength laid on his charisma his mere presence commanded respect, he could charm anyone men and women, rich or poor, nobility or commoner, he already had many suiters even from the high nobility of the city, although his answer would be the same no matter what, I'm looking for true love, ladies of the high society were not happy, but the class of nobility would release a sigh of relief every time he said no, no noble was ready for a ladies civil war over him, especially since only 26 years had passed since the last one.

would you be happy if someone insulted you collection of cheesy romantic comedy novels

here is the difference big brother Cosimo, I know my hobby is trash and I'm not trying to force it on others

not trying to force it, but until you could read high Osteria, it was me who read it for you, I still remember the time you cried over Elliot and Elyse.

Petro jumped and closed Cosimo's mouth and shouted

ok ok I get it don't bring up my embarrassing history

why are you embarrassed Petro, Cosimo is not the only one who knows.

OPEN SECRET, definition: something you know is true but don't bring it up, like the favorite pastime of boys after hitting puberty you know it but bring it up is like breaking an oath to your fellow men.

after a moment of silence each brother sat on their own seat , Petro knew something important had happened he could feel it both Giuliano and Cosimo had serious eyes.

so can anyone tell me what has happened Giuliano trying to talk serious is one thing but big brother Cosimo also wants to talk about something, I'm starting to get nervous

Cosimo let go of a sigh and said

a matter of high nobility is coming up it is usually something we grownups should handle but, this situation is a bit different.

you see we were able to arrange a marriage for you with the youngest daughter of the floare house

ha,,,,,,,,,

Petro's mind went blank in that instant, he then slowly turned his face towards the family portrait and looked at his dads face.

what did he do

he then turned his head towards Cosimo

big brother Cosimo please tell me that this is a joke that Giuliano begged or forced you to partake in

no no this is one hundred percent real.

Giuliano I'm sorry for every time I ridiculed you please tell him to stop.

sorry Petro this is something all men have to face someday.

then way are you still single

still having your sharp tongue after a shock it is kinda impressive

I have insulted you so much that it has become an automated mechanism

nothing to brag about Petro

sorry big brother Cosimo.

Giuliano pat Petro on the back and said

don't worry it is not going to be that bad, remember our grandfather was forced to marry someone 20 years older than himself in your case you're even a bit older

Cosimo continued

and he had a long and healthy life with many children

not all in the wedlock though, I mean I'm not worried about that, I'm not ready to be a family man I don't want to think about raising kids and paying taxes.

you already help with the harbour finances though

well ye because if I mess up the finances dad is going to suffer but the moment I marry someone I will be early registered and have to play the rule of a responsible adult, wait a moment

Petro changed his tone from to flattery

if big brother Cosimo marries into floares, I mean they would be happy to have the smartest the most handsome and the most popular man in the city.

sorry Cosimo your bootlicking is acknowledged but unfortunately, I cannot marry until i reach 23.

Petro looked at Giuliano and with a disgusted tone said

never thought I would require your help but if you agree to marry in place of me I would treat you with respect for a week and you will gain 3 points in my favourite sibling's list

sorry

5 points, is this enough, I won't go any higher

sorry Petro but I still like my freedom

I see you're still not ready to act like an adult I see that makes me the next likely candidate I see I can't do anything about it

hey I'm already an adult

Sorry Giuliano but Petro is not wrong here

even you Cosimo?

Cosimo giggled and then said

sorry, Giuliano, this roasting opportunity was too good to let go of.

I understand even I kinda agree with that analogy

Cosimo then walked to an already shocked Petro and gave him a head pat

don't worry she is the sweetest girl you have ever seen, I chose the cutest one

I,,,,,,,,, big brother Cosimo you just fell 45 points in my favourite sibling's list

does that mean...

no Giuliano Cosimo is still my favourite