I woke up late, it was already noon by the time I was out of bed.
It was a dreamless night, which was strange, since all my dreams in the past have been visited by those I lost.
Mother, Felix, what have I done...
I went downstairs to get something to eat and I saw father in the training area. I'm glad he decided to finally finish training me.
Uncle Alex was nowhere to be seen so I assumed he went to see the other four conspirators.
My theory was right, because when he walked through the door he said,
"All four of the men have agreed to do the job. They will be at the meeting tonight."
"Good." I said.
Father walked inside and told us to get ready because we're leaving.
"This soon?" Uncle Alex asked surprised.
"We're not riding there, we're walking."
We both nodded and went to get ready. We were back on the road once again, wondering what the hell did we do to get here.
My suspicions about the Templars started to grow. All my life I thought the Assassins were the bad guys but when I met Felix, I was proven wrong.
None of us were the bad guys, neither the good guys. Felix changed my view on the world, on our ideologies and the creed.
I want nothing to do with either groups but I still have to keep our name clean.
We didn't talk at all during the walk to Santa Maria del Fiore but I liked it. The silence is calming.
We reached the front of the cathedral, Grand Master was already waiting for us.
"Good, you made it. Where are the other four?"
"They should be here any minute."
After they arrived and introduced themselves, Grand Master lead us inside, from where he activated a secret passage. We went down a set of stairs and reached a cave with a table in the middle.
I could feel eyes on us so I started to look around.
Stephen started to say a prayer.
"And may the blessing of Almighty God, the Father and of the Son and Holy Spirit descend upon you, and remain with you always."
"Thank you father. Bernard?" Father asked.
Ah, so Stephen is a priest.
"It's all here, swords, staves, axes, armor, bows. Our men will want for nothing."
I looked around again. Something feels off.
"I take this gift to mean the Pope consents?" Stephen asked.
"He gave his blessing to the operation... as long as nobody is killed." Grand Master said.
"We are all set for the Duomo in the morning, sir. The bait's been laid but it wasn't easy. Anthony made sure of it."
"His fool brother keeps changing his plans..." I said.
"Yes! We'll need to be on hand to make sure Gibson even gets out of bed for church tomorrow!" Bernard said before laughing.
"What is it, Alex? Do you think they suspect something?"
I looked at uncle Alex and his face was covered in doubt.
"Impossible!" Father interrupted. "The Medici are too arrogant or too stupid to even notice. Likely a bit of both."
"Do not underestimate our enemies, Hendrix! Or have you already forgotten how your son was murdered?"
Memories started to flood my mind and tears started to fill my eyes. I shook my head trying to get rid of the image of his dead body and then I looked up.
I saw a hole in the wall, where a figure was standing, watching us. I squinted my eyes trying to see who it was and I froze.
He's here... His eyes met mine and he put his finger over his lips to signal me to be quiet.
I nodded, to which he seemed surprised.
I'm helping the enemy.
Shit, what am I doing?! I remained silent and listened to the rest of the plan.
"We'll suffer no such surprises this time, master. You have my word."
"Very well. I should be off. I've some other business to attend to before I return to Rome. Gentleman, tomorrow a new sun rises over Firenze. May the father of understanding guide us."
"May the father of understanding guide us." We all repeated after him.
I took a last glance at the hole in the wall but Ethan was already gone.
We all left the cave and headed back to the Palazzo. It was dark, probably already past midnight.
I went to bed thinking about Felix . If only he knew how much I loved him...
For the first time in many years I cried myself to sleep.
______________________________________
The next morning, I was woken up by a knock on my door.
"Come in." I said, thinking it was Lucas but then I soon remembered he was dead.
"Come, my girl, we need to get ready for today." Uncle Alex said.
I nodded and got out of bed. Downstairs, a plate of salame and bread was waiting for me, along with an apple.
I ate fast and then went to go change.
I knew Ethan will try and stop what was about to happen today, but that meant one of us getting killed.
Did I do the wrong thing by not telling anyone he was there?
I shrugged it off and changed into my robes.
I was supposed to help uncle Alex with calming down the citizens but if Ethan knew, then I had to be there to help my father.
"Where is father?" I asked while coming down the stairs.
"He already left. He is with the other four conspirators. We're supposed to go to the Piazza della Signoria a little after noon."
I nodded, knowing he wouldn't allow me to leave, so I gave up.
It was late in the morning, so I had some time to waste before leaving. I decided to go to the training grounds.
I hit the dummy several times, both with my sword and dagger, managing to somehow break it.
For some reason I felt better, but I didn't feel sad or angry before so what was going on?
I looked inside the house before picking up the dummy to replace it and saw that uncle Alex was writing something.
I went inside and when I asked what it was he simply replied with "Do not worry about it."
After I trained again for a little while it was time to go.
From what I've heard, Gibson is dead and Lorenzo is wounded, but alive. They failed. And that's my fault.
The city was a mess. Lorenzo's guards were fighting our own.
We walked in the piazza on horses, where a massive group of citizens was yelling and screaming.
Uncle Alex demanded silence and they all listened.
"People of Florence... tonight, a new order begins. The Medici are no longer our leaders. We are free."
I walked next to him and looked at the citizens who seemed confused.
"Do not be afraid," He continued. "Because now that we are free, we can do as we please."
The crowd started to yell "Liberty!" and uncle Alex joined them.
He started going through the group, shouting and punching the air with his fist.
"Liberty! Liberty! Liberty! People and liberty!"
Suddenly the loud crowd went silent.
The crowd gasped and looked at the tower. I sighed already knowing what was happening.
I turned around slowly in fear, prepared for the worst. This was not what I expected however.
"Hendrix?" Uncle Alex whispered.
I looked up and saw my father's naked dead body hanging from a rope tied to one of the spikes at the top of the Signoria, with Ethan looking at the crowd.
He turned around and then disappeared.
My father is dead.
Uncle Alex and I decided it would be best to leave.
We rode back to our palazzo, only to pack some things and leave for San Mano.
I keep thinking about father's death, his body, how Ethan killed him. But I quickly shrug my mind out of it.
In these last few days I have been on the road a lot, and I don't like it. I want to settle down for once instead of switching cities every few hours.
We galloped all the way to the house that once belonged to Gabriel and waited for the sun to rise.
Uncle Alez was going to send a letter to Grand Master to let him know of our situation.
A week later, Anthony , Bernard and Stephen came to our door, seeking help.
Lorenzo told Ethan to take them out and Mario has put his mercenaries to search for them.
They all went into hiding, thinking it would be better to stay away from us in order to not endanger what was left of the Jaspers.
Apparently, Anthony has taken refuge at the top of a tower, Stephen locked himself inside a villa he bought and Bernard has hired a large group of guards to protect him and his house after escaping from prison after Lorenzo arrested him.
It won't be long before Ethan gets to them.
Living with uncle Alex is a little boring, we barely talk and he doesn't allow me to leave the house fearing I might be next on Ethan's list.
"There you are! I have been looking for you all morning!" He said walking through the front door.
"Why? What has happened?"
"The four conspirators are dead. That Assassins killed them."
I sighed and poured myself a glass of wine. He took the glass from my hands and sat down at the table.
"That was for me, not for you."
"Leave me alone, Grand Master is coming here again. He didn't seem pleased in the letter he sent me."
"We're in trouble. We should leave this place, go start a new life."
He shook his head. "He would hunt us down, we will never have peace."
I sighed again. "When is the next meeting?"
"Tonight."
"I'm going to go take a nap, I can't deal with this shit now."
He nodded and drank the rest of his wine. I went to my room and didn't even change.
I have to leave this place... The Templars aren't any good. Why did I even stay in the first place?
I don't care that much if my family's name is tainted.
Tomorrow, I'll leave this place, for good.
______________________________________
It's dark outside. A guard escorted me and uncle Alex to the meeting spot.
I saw Ethan follows us on the rooftops but I stayed quiet.
I signaled him to remain behind because he was way too easy to spot. When I turned around to see where he was, I couldn't see him so I blinked a few times in order to activate my special sense.
I saw him hiding in the shadows. His eyes met mine and he nodded in gratitude, even though I knew he was very confused about me helping him.
We arrived at the old Roman theatre and I saw Grand Master, with another man whom I didn't recognize, standing in the middle, waiting for us.
Around the theatre were guards, waiting to attack if something went wrong.
We headed in and I heard Ethan leap into the hay cart below him, next to the wall.
"Grand Master." We both nodded our heads in respect.
"Do you know how much we've lost?"
"I am sorry, Master. I did all I could, but the Assassin proved too strong."
I didn't say anything, but uncle Alex seemed scared.
"Clearly, or else the others would be here with you. To say nothing of the fact that Firenze remains in Medici hands..."
"It's Hendrix fault! His impatience made him reckless! I tried to be the voice of reason..."
"More like the voice of cowardice." The stranger said.
"You're the one to talk, sir Arthur. If you had sent quality weapons instead of this garbage, your venetians call are-"
"Enough!" Grand Master yelled. "We put our faith in your family and you repay us with inaction and incompetence?! Then when asked to account for your failures, you make excuses and insult us?! How do you expect me to respond?"
"I don't know..." My uncle said, almost in a whisper.
"It's alright, I do..."
Raymond took out a blade and stabbed my uncle in the stomach.
"No... please... don't..."
The stranger chuckled and then pushed him to the ground.
"Please don't what?"
"I can... fix this. Only... spare me..."
"No." Grand Master said as he stabbed my uncle in the neck.
I knew I was next.
I drew out my sword but before I could do anything, I felt a sword in my stomach.
When I looked to see who it was, I saw the stranger grinning.
"What a mess!"
I fell to the ground, unable to stand anymore.
Raymond looked up and started speaking.
"So sorry to have claimed your prize, Assassin!"
Two guards grabbed Ethan and brought him closer to us.
"Did you honestly think I wouldn't expect you to follow? That I didn't plan for it? We've been at this a lot longer than you."
I could barely feel my body anymore.
"Kill him." He said to the guards as he left.
"Helen..." I heard uncle Alex speak and I gasped. He was still alive!
"Uncle, I'm so sorry I didn't step in earlier, this is all my fault..." I crawled over to him and put my hand on top of his.
"No, child, it is not your fault. Listen to me..." He reached in his back pocket and took out a piece of paper.
"I was supposed to give you this after the meeting... But it seems things didn't go as planned..."
"We both know I won't get to read this..."
I saw Ethan fight off the guards that were around the theatre. I could barely keep my eyes open now...
"Goodbye, uncle..." I said as I saw a figure run towards me. But it was too late to see who it was.
I felt a pair of strong hands picking me up and I knew we were moving.
I felt death's embrace and I didn't do anything to stop it.
______________________________________
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