I woke up in a foreign room.
Was I dead?
It was nothing like my room, it was larger. I was on a bed which seemed to be in the middle.
When I looked to my left I saw Laura and I felt her wiping my forehead with a wet cloth.
"What happened?"
"After you got stabbed Ethan sent your uncle to the other world to end his pain and then brought you here. However, if you ask me why, I do not know why he would do that."
"Laura..." She looked down and then at me again.
"I'm so sorry. Please know that I'm grateful for you taking care of me."
"I know you are sorry. And I know about you and Felix." She stopped for a second and chuckled before wiping a tear away.
"He always confessed to me. I know you are a good person, I know you didn't have a choice because your father and Raymond would have hunted you down. I would've left if I was in your position but if I wanted to make my father proud I guess I would've stayed as well. What I meant by what I said earlier is that by the way I know him, he would have killed you. Do you have any idea why he didn't?"
"I'm guessing because I helped him. I saw him two times watching us and listening to our plans and I didn't say anything to anyone. I even told him to hide more because he was easily seen."
"Maybe he thinks he needs to repay you for helping him?"
I nodded softly and then remembered the letter my uncle gave me. When I reached into my pocket to get it I noticed I wasn't wearing my robes.
"Where are my clothes?"
"I had to get you changed because they were covered in blood from your wound."
"Did you search the pockets? I had a letter I needed to read."
She got up and headed to a dresser with a chest on it. She opened one of the drawers and took out the letter.
"Here."
"Thank you. Where is Ethan?"
"He went to Firenze to speak with Lorenzo. He should be back any minute now."
"What time is it?"
"It's almost night time, I think."
"How long have I been asleep?"
"A week..."
I opened my mouth in shock to say something but I closed it when I saw that she was getting ready to leave.
I waited for her to leave the room and I heard her going down a set of stairs.
I got up groaning and changed into the clothes left on the table next to the bed.
They were simple clothes, just a tunic and some pants.
I left the room and headed downstairs. It looked like some sort of villa. Am I
at the Auditore Villa?
I ended up in an office where I found a man sitting at a desk, looking through
some papers.
When he saw me he got up and walked towards me.
"I see you're doing better."
"Hardly. My whole body hurts and I can't walk properly, it takes forever to get from one place to another."
"You'll get better if you rest. I have a question for you, before you go."
I looked at him confused, wondering what he could possibly want from me.
"How did you know my name? A While ago, you called out for me, the day Ethan
arrived here."
I sighed, not knowing if I should tell him or not.
"I had a dream the day before the execution. I was with my mother, we fled to Firenze but she never told me why, she said it was a trip. We got to San Mano and we knocked on a door. You opened up and talked to my mother. Then my father and uncle came in and my uncle took me back to Florence. Then I heard my mother scream. I woke up after that."
I was looking down the whole time. When I looked up and saw the shock on his face I widened my eyes.
"I- It wasn't a dream, was it?" He shook his head lightly. "I knew you looked familiar. You look just like her..."
A tear rolled down my cheek and he hurried to wipe it with his thumb.
"If my father tried to kill mother, why did you not try to stop him?"
"Oh, I did. How do you think I got this?"
He pointed to the scar on his face and then lifted up his shirt. "He thought he killed me."
"But instead of taking your life, he took away your ability to see with one eye."
He nodded. I showed him the letter and asked if there is a quiet place I could read it.
"This way." he said.
He moved in front of the library and touched a small button hidden behind a book. The bookcase started moving - firstly going back and then to the left, behind another bookshelf - revealing stairs.
He led me down them and we ended up in a well lit room. The room was built only from marble, and it was a nice contrast with the drawings on the floor.
At the back of the room I saw 7 statues, the one in the middle being protected by bars which had locks that seemed to be connected to the other 6 statues.
Behind the bars was a statue of an Assassin, which had at his feet a set of armour.
I looked at the other statues and saw that two of them had seals on their
pedestals while the others were still empty.
"What is this place?" I asked still looking around in amazement.
"This is the sanctuary. Ethan will question me bringing you down here so hurry up, but if you're anything like your mother then I know I can trust you."
"Who are they?"
"These are the Assassins who protected humanity's free will when it was most endangered. And that," He said pointing at the one in the middle, "IsAltair. He created that set of armour and locked it away with 6 seals that were hidden. As you can see, Ethan has found 2 of them. Because of Altair, we are the Brotherhood we are today. I know you probably still believe in the Templar's ideology but-"
I put a hand out to stop him.
"I do not want to be associated with the Templars. I was planning on leaving the day after the meeting, but we both know how that turned out. However, that does not mean I want to have anything to do with the Assassins either."
"Are you sure? Do you even know why your mother left the Templars and joined us?"
I shook my head and looked at him.
"What is that letter about?"
"I do not know. My uncle gave it to me before he died and said he was supposed to give it to me the next morning."
"I have a feeling I know what it is about... Read it and then come see me in the yard behind the villa."
I nodded and then sat on the ground.
I ripped the envelope open and took out the letter, fearing for the worst. I unfolded it and started reading.
Helen, my dear...
I was hoping it would not come to this but now that Hendrix is dead I know there is no other way. Perhaps by the time you read this, I will be too... He promised to tell you this when you turned 18 but he never did and he threatened me to keep silent. Now, I am finally free to tell you.
You chose wrong when you chose to stay with the Templars. Our family name was already tainted by your mother betraying us and switching sides. She wanted me to follow but I couldn't leave Hendrix alone. I regret even to this day not doing anything to stop him...
All the Templars want is to have control over humanity, rule the world, create a new order so that everyone could follow them and their rules. They do not care about a better future, like you've been taught. You need to stop them. If they manage to succeed the whole world will suffer.
What you need to know is that your father and Raymond have been using you. We have two codex pages - something that was written by an Assassin almost 300 years ago - in our possession. The Assassin encrypted them but we managed to decode one with your mother's help. I will not tell you what it contains, only where it is.
In our palazzo, there is a painting hanging on the wall. Your gift will help you see it. Behind it you will find a little 'door' that opens with a key we have hid inside the painting. Both codex pages are there. Get them both, decode the second one, and then give them to Mario Auditore, he will know what to do with them.
Please know that I have and always will love you, even if what I wrote earlier may have proved the opposite.
I am sorry you have found out this way. May the father of understanding guide you, and always remember, nothing is true, everything is permitted.
Goodbye...
I sat there looking at the letter, not knowing what to do. My whole life, it was a lie...
I was brought back to reality by Ethan walking in the sanctuary. When he saw me he reached for his sword and ran towards me.
I got up and backed away scared. I almost died, I don't need that experience again...
"What are you doing here?" He asked with anger in his eyes.
"M- Mario let me in. I wanted to be somewhere quiet to read this." I handed him the letter and he started reading it.
He looked at me with pity in his eyes and then shook his head. "How do I know this isn't written by you?"
"I can show you I have a different handwriting. Besides, why would I write that stuff?"
He seemed to think about it for a second. He handed me back the letter and went to one of the statues. He put the seal on it and one of the locks opened.
"3 more to go" I said.
"What do you mean?"
"If I'm going to be an Assassin I'll need your help. In exchange I'll help you find the rest of the seals."
"Uncle said you didn't want anything to do with this."
"After reading this piece of shit, I changed my mind. If what my uncle said is true then I need to stop the Templars."
He looked at me again, thinking about my proposal and then finally accepted.
"Uncle Mario will train you. But let's make something clear. I do not like you. You are still one of the reasons half my family is dead."
"Do you think I had a choice? You saw what happened to me and my uncle because we failed. Refusing to do something would have had the same outcome."
"You knew it was wrong and yet you said nothing. You said nothing to my brother! You had the chance and yet you did nothing and you expect me to believe you didn't have a choice? Be honest, did you even care about him?" We were both angry.
"I was in love with him!" I yelled.
That shut him up immediately. He stood there looking at me not knowing what to do.
I grunted in pain, now regretting getting out of bed. Yelling made my wound hurt? I should've listened to Laura.
I felt my knees getting weak and I fell to the ground. Ethan rushed over to my side to help me.
"I owe you my life now. Happy?"
"You don't owe me anything. You helped me two times by not saying anything to your uncle when you saw me."
"I still owe you my life for saving me. But why did you kill my uncle?"
"He was already on his death bed, there was no way of him making it."
"Okay, then why did you save me?" He hesitated for a moment.
"Because I was hoping you would join our cause. You would be a valuable member because you know everything about the Templars."
"Do I? I was told my family were the only Templars left in Italy. I'm guessing the man that was with Raymond was a Templar as well."
"Emilia Arthur, yes."
"I really thought I was doing the right thing, Ethan. Did you know Felix even asked me to run away from all of this? I said no, because I wanted to change the world for the better, I thought the Templars can do that."
"If you help us, you will change the world for the better."
"As if I have a choice..."
"You always have a choice, that's what being an Assassin is all about - having free will."
"It would be nice to finally do what I please."
"But, that does not mean you can do as you please."
I sighed and then tried to get up. I fell back down, groaning in pain again. I covered my stomach with my hand in order to try and stop the pain.
He put one hand under my knees and the other on my back and lifted me up.
"What are you doing?" I said as I wrapped my hands around his neck trying not to fall.
"Taking you to your room to rest."
"So much for not liking me." I said chuckling.
"I don't. But you're not such bad company to be around." He said, smiling.
"Wait... Mario wants to see me."
"No he doesn't. You need to rest. He'll understand."
I sighed and then gave up on trying to convince him to let me talk with Mario.
We reached the top of the stairs and found ourselves back in Mario's office.
I spoke up. "I'll need your help tomorrow with something."
"With what?"
"The codex pages. I need to go back to my old palazzo and get them but I am in no condition to travel on my own."
"I'll ride you there."
"Thank you."
He put me down on the bed I was on when I woke up.
"Get some rest. We'll leave when you feel ready."
"Thank you. And, thank you again for saving my life."
"No problem, really. Come on, sleep."
"Where is you room?" I asked as he was leaving.
"In case I need something, I need to know where to look for you, don't I?"
He turned to look at me. "You're in it right now."
"Where will you sleep then?"
"On the floor."
"No fucking way. Take me to another room, you're sleeping on the bed."
"You need to rest. Do not worry about me."
He left and closed the door on his way out. I gave up.
If he didn't want it then I guess I shouldn't force him. I closed my eyes and let myself fall asleep.
______________________________________
I woke up with Ethan by my side, sitting in the chair that Laura was sitting in yesterday. He was watching me, half asleep.
"Good morning." I said as I was trying to sit up.
"Hey..." He said softly as he helped me up.
"What time is it?"
"I don't know, it's almost noon I think."
"Come, you should sleep for a bit. You look like shit."
"Like you're the one to talk." He said chuckling.
"Yeah, well, I feel like shit too." That only made him laugh harder.
"Seriously now, sleep for a bit before we leave, please."
"Fine... But only because you asked so nicely. Where is Mario?"
"I last saw him in his office."
He helped me get off the bed.
"Wake me up after an hour!" He yelled as I left the room and headed downstairs to where I remembered Mario's office was.
Well, I guess I kind of enjoyed his company...
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