The next day, Ethan and I were going to Leonardo's workshop. We needed to go there first because Ethan had more Codex pages to decode.
We let Mario know we were leaving and then we headed to the stables.
"Hey, I forgot to ask you when we got the Codex pages... What's the deal with this Apple? Altair mentioned it in them."
"It's an ancient artifact, the other Codex pages refer to it as a 'Piece of Eden'. We don't know what it does, what it is or how it even looks like but we are trying to get to it first before the Templars."
I nodded and then focused on the road. We got to Leonardo's workshop quite early in the morning. When Ethan knocked on the door and nobody answered, we got worried.
One of Leonardo's assistants showed up and told us that he's heading towards Venice, which happened to be our destination as well.
We went to the stables and got up on our horses, heading towards The Mountains.
We came across Leonardo about half-way to Forl, working on one of the wheels of the carriage.
"Leonardo!"
"Ethan? What luck! I er... have run into a bit of trouble. Who is this pretty lady, eh?"
"Helen Arden, pleasure to meet you. Ethan speaks highly of you."
"Whatever he's told you, he's just exaggerating."
"Let me see if I can't help with that carriage." Ethan said as he moved closer to it.
"I know how to fix it, but lack the means to do so. If you could just lift the wagon?"
Ethan nodded and I went over to his side to help him. We lifted the wagon up, hoping Leonardo would be done with the wheel faster.
"What is this thing?" Ethan asked and I looked inside and saw a strange invention.
"Eh?"
"It looks like a giant bat." I said while trying not to drop the wagon.
"Oh, nothing, just an idea I have been working on."
We both lowered the carriage and looked between the invention and Leonardo.
"I could not leave it behind."
"What is it for?" Ethan asked.
"Well, I shouldn't really talk about it... To hell with it, I can't hold it in any more! I think I have figured out how to make a man fly!"
Me and Ethan chuckled and Ethan put a hand on Leonardo's shoulder.
"Come on, I'll drive. Helen, can you ride next to the carriage?"
I nodded and got back up on my horse.
"But I haven't even told you where I'm going."
They both got up in the front and Ethan whipped the reins to get the horses moving.
"Your assistant told us you're going to Venice." I said while riding next to them.
"That's our destination as well." Ethan completed.
"Venice, such a beautiful city. So many sources of inspiration! Ponte de Rialto, Piazzo San Marco, L'Arsenale."
I heard galloping behind us and I turned around. Ethan shushed Leonardo.
"What's wrong?"
"We are not alone." I said.
Ethan whipped the reins again and the horses started to gallop.
"What's happening? Who are they?"
"Raymond Hanzel's men."
"What do they want with us?"
Leonardo was so clueless to everything. In a normal situation I'll say it's cute but right now we got other things to focus on.
Right then, an arrow stuck between their heads at the top of the carriage.
"I think they want us dead." I said.
"Leonardo, hide!" Ethan yelled.
Leonardo got inside the carriage, next to that giant bat. I got closer to them to protect them.
"They're trying to climb on board! Knock them off!"
The guards that came close to me ended up on the ground, in a pool of blood.
"Ethan, someone's on top! Do sharp turns to make the carriage roll!" I threw a knife at one of the guards that climbed on top and watched as he fell.
I continued to do so until I ran out of knives. When we reached a bridge, I saw guards lighting it on fire and I rode ahead to kill them, clearing the way for Ethan and Leonardo. They barely made it past the bridge before it collapsed.
The Hanzel guards started shooting fire arrows at us but Ethan managed to avoid them. One of the arrows almost got me, but I dodged in time and it missed my face.
"Hold on, Ethan! We're almost there! Be more careful, or we won't be able to fix it next time!"
When we reached a small village I saw Ethan getting ready to jump down.
"What are you doing?" I yelled.
"They're here for me, not Leonardo. Go, protect him. I'll catch up with you later."
"I refuse to leave you behind. Go Leonardo!" I said as I jumped down from my horse.
"Damn you're stubborn."
"You already knew that." I took out my dagger and held it in an icepick grip.
Me and Ethan were standing back-to-back, rotating so we could get a look at all the enemies.
The first guard attacked and I dodged, grabbed him by the shoulder and then stabbed him in the chest two times.
When the second guard attacked, I blocked his attack, punched him in the stomach and in the neck and then sliced his throat.
The rest of the guards became more cautions now that we took out four of them, two each. Two more left.
Another guard attacked. He aimed for my head but I dodged, stabbed him in the stomach and then sliced his back as he fell to his knees.
I looked over to Ethan. He was still trying to kill the last guard.
I threw my dagger at him and it landed right in his heart. He fell to the ground and I went over to him to retrieve my weapon.
"Nice fought." Ethan said as he looted the guard's body.
"You too. Anything good on him?"
"Just some medicine and some florins. It's good enough, I guess."
I nodded and then got up on my horse again. He grabbed a horse as well and we started to ride towards Forl.
"Hey, Helen?" I looked at him waiting for the question.
"Nice Leap of Faith. I forgot to tell you that day."
"Thanks." I said chuckling.
"Can you promise me that you will never hurt yourself again? That you will come to me if you ever feel like you need to? I hate to see you suffer."
"Don't worry. I have stopped after I decided to leave the Templars. Besides, you being here for me has helped me a lot. I'm not that person anymore."
He nodded and then didn't say a word again.
"You enjoy my company. Real or not real?"
"Real. You don't even need to ask, it's obvious that I like spending time with you."
"Bet I'll reach Forl before you."
"Oh, you're on." He said but before he could finish I was already galloping way ahead of him.
"Hey, that's not fair!"
I laughed and then wiped the reins on the horse to go faster.
______________________________________
We reached the town somewhere around noon. I have never been to Romagna so seeing it full of water surprised me.
Normally, I would think a flood came recently but nothing seemed to be damaged so I assumed this is how it looks like all the time.
"Why didn't we leave for Venice earlier?"
Ethan looked at me and then back ahead.
"Your recovery was more important, I had to make sure you are in condition to travel."
"You could have left without me."
"No way, I'm not leaving my short side-kick behind."
I have him a death stare and he laughed, then apologized.
"We need to find the boat to Venice, Leonardo must be waiting for us."
"That is, if he made it here, since you refused to go with him..."
"Hey, your short side-kick couldn't leave you behind." I said chuckling.
He laughed and then got off his horse.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm letting the horse rest? We'll walk to the boat, come on."
I got off and left the horse at the stables next to the main gate.
"So, should we go and ask someone in town if they know where the boat is or just walk around randomly?"
"Let's see ask those guys over there." He said as he pointed towards three people - two men and a woman.
We walked to them and noticed they were having some kind of argument.
"Excuse me. We're trying to find the boat to Venice." Ethan said.
"You're almost there, friend. Are you in a hurry?"
"Perhaps not..."
I frowned and looked at him but he just crossed his arms and put on a smug smile.
"You can help us settle a dispute. I bet my friend here the first stranger to come along can race the course faster than him."
"I suppose that would be me." I coughed.
"I mean us." He said as he rolled his eyes.
"And, if you are right? What do we win?"
"Perhaps a private riding lesson...?" She said.
I rolled my eyes and looked at him. He pulled me aside and I punched him in
the arm.
"Stop thinking with your dick. If you win she'll tell us where the boat is. Nothing less, nothing more. Understood?"
He nodded and then went back to the girl.
"Lend us horses."
"Oh, I'm not riding."
"Why not?"
"Because you're better at riding than I am. I would just slow you down. Now go!"
I watched as he got up on the horse and galloped until he was out of sight.
"Are you a horse trainer?"
"Yes. I have been most of my life. My father - like his father before him -was one as well and he taught me the job. It runs in the family."
"That sounds nice."
"It is. What do you do for a living?"
"Well... It's complicated..." I sigh.
"I see, I won't ask again then."
"Is Romagna always this full of water?"
"Yes. I'm guessing at first you thought there was a flood?"
"Yeah, but after I saw that nothing was damaged I assumed this is just how it is."
We kept talking about small thing, like her family and where I learned to ride. I also found out about a strange symbol on one of the citadel's walls and she said she looked like the symbol on my belt.
We're definitely checking it out when Ethan comes back.
"Where did the others go?"
I heard a voice behind me and when I turned around I saw Ethan.
"Home with their tails between their legs. They couldn't stand to be beat. Nicely done, Mister..."
"Call me Ethan. I still have some time for that private riding lesson."
I huffed and he looked at me.
"Actually, maybe another time. For now we would just like to know where the boat is."
I looked at him and smiled, grateful for not making me wait for him to be done with her.
"Ah, right. Well, I would say enter the city through the main gate and exit it through the gate at the other end. It's faster. From there you should see a big ship close to a tall tower.
"Thank you very much."
We headed towards the gate and then I remembered her mentioning the Assassin Symbol.
"Wait." I said, stopping in my tracks.
"What is it?" He said as he put a hand on my upper arm.
"Okay, first of all, you need to stop touching me like that. First you kissed me and now this. We're not dating, you have absolutely no right to touch me like we are."
He took his hand away and then looked down.
"Second of all, that girl mentioned something about the Assassin's symbol on the western wall. The citadel's wall to be more exact."
"I'm guessing you want to go and see what it is? We can do that another day, come on."
He turned around, ready to enter the city.
"No, we're going now!"
He turned back at me and looked at me with worry.
"Helen, what's going on with you?"
"Nothing, let's just go." I ran ahead and scouted the wall.
Nothing, it was empty. I jumped in the water and I heard him yelling at me.
"What are you doing?"
"Trying to drown myself, what does it seem like I'm doing?"
He jumped in the water right when he heard the word 'drown' and swam at
me.
"Don't."
"I was joking, but okay."
He sighed and I went around the wall again to see if I can find something.
I saw a wooden platform and when I looked above it I saw the Assassin symbol in white, with a skull in the middle.
I swam towards it and I heard Ethan follows me. I got up on the platform and just looked at it.
I took a step aside to let Ethan look at it as well.
"Is that-"
"Yes. Do you want to come with me?"
"No, I'll just wait for you here."
He nodded and then pulled the skull towards him. The door opened and he went through it.
I sat down on the platform and just waited. I started thinking about my outburst from earlier.
What was going on with me? Why was I so snappy?
I watched the citizens walk past on the road and look at me, probably wondering why I was here. I don't know how much time passed but when Ethan returned, my clothes were almost dry.
"I thought you'll come back through the same door."
"No, I ended up in the city and then came back for you."
"Did you get it?"
He took out from his pouch a seal that had a bow and arrow on it.
"Are we going back to put it in it's place?"
"No, I'll leave it at Leonardo's workshop."
he said as he put it back. I nodded and dived in the water. I started swimming towards the shore and then I heard him jump after me.
We entered the city and scouted the area. We saw some guards in front of an office.
"What are the chances there's a codex page in there?" I asked while pointing my fingers at the guards.
"I would say it's fifty-fifty."
"Let's take the rooftops. We can drop on them, two me, two you."
He nodded and then climbed on the back of the building the guards were guarding. I followed and then looked down over the edge at them.
"I'll take the ones on the right."
"Why? Let me have the big guy."
"That's out of discussion, I'm a better fighter than you."
He sighed and then jumped down on the guards to his left. I jumped and extended my hidden blades mid-air.
I fell as they went through the guard's neck and I watched as they fell to the ground with my blades stuck in their necks. I retracted my hidden blades and then headed inside.
Only one chest. Perhaps we're in luck. I opened the chest and found a scroll. I unrolled it and smiled when I saw it was encrypted.
I went back outside but I didn't saw Ethan. I walked around for a little while before I saw a shadow watching me from a narrow alley.
I headed towards it, with my right hand on my dagger and ready to extend my left hidden blade.
I entered the alleyway but nobody was there. Where did that person go?
I wanted to turn around and leave but I felt a pair of strong arms pulling me.
Before I knew it, I was pinned against the wall, with my hands on both sides of my head. The alleyway was dark so I couldn't see who it was.
"Who are you?" I asked growling, while trying to free myself.
They leaned in and I felt their breath on me. They leaned in closer until they could whisper in my ear.
"You know very well who I am."
I stopped trying to free myself and squinted my eyes. Of course...
"Son of a bitch! Let me go!"
He laughed and then took his hood off.
"What? You don't like how I'm having you pinned against the wall right now?"
"No! I just told you earlier today to stop acting like we're a couple! Let me go, you bastard!"
"Now, now, what's with the attitude? I'm sure you can be a little more nice to me."
"How do you expect me to be nice when I'm telling you to do something and you do the exact opposite? Just let me go!"
"No." He leaned in again and then grinned.
"That's it!"
I hit him with my knee in the stomach and then pulled my hands down to free myself. I ran out of the alley and didn't even bother to see if he was following me.
I ran towards the other side of the city, towards the gate, and then looked for the tower the girl mentioned, still not stopping. When I saw the boat I started running faster. I soon saw Leonardo and I sighed in relief.
"Helen! Here, over here!"
"Hello, Leonardo. I see you made it here in one piece."
"Thanks to you, yes."
Ethan quickly joined us. Apparently we need a pass to travel to Venice and we both don't have one.
We heard a woman scream for help from a rock in the middle of a pool of water and Ethan took a gondola to bring her back to the docks.
After she was back on ground she argued with the captain.
"He won't trouble you any more. I... took care of it."
Ethan smiled and then thanked her. We got on board and I just looked at the
sea.
"You know, you never told me when your birthday is either."
He chuckled and the looked at me. "24th of June."
"No running away from me?"
"No, I'm leaving that to you. This is the second time you're running away from me. Next time I swear you won't get away."
"And I swear to God that if you don't stop I'll just run away and never come back."
"What's going on with you? You never reject hugs and you never acted this mad if I touched your arm or something of the sort."
"Well get used to it. I do not feel comfortable with you doing it. Not even hugs anymore. Two days ago was the last one you'll be ever giving me."
"Ever is a longtime, I can't resist the urge to hug you, especially if I know you're in pain."
"Hang out with more whores then, seems like you need it. Please, by all means, even go to that girl from the race and get that private 'riding lesson'!"
"Seriously now, watch your words! I will not stand here and listen to the shits you have to say if you're angry. Hell, you don't even have a reason to be angry!"
"Don't I? Seriously? It's like whenever you see another girl you completely forget about me or the mission and I'm sick of it!"
"I'm acting like that because I'm trying to distract myself from you!"
I shut up and just looked at him. I was speechless. Did he just say what I think he said?
"Stop acting like we're a couple, because I can't do this again."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Nothing. It doesn't matter."
"No, you're going to tell me. This time there is nowhere to run, we're in the middle of the sea."
"And what if I refuse to talk? What are you going to do? Torture me?"
"No, but I can hold you. I'll hold you until you finally tell me what's going on."
"Do that and you'll lose your arms."
"We'll see about that."
He grabbed my wrists and pulled me towards him. I tried to get away but damn, he is strong.
"I'm listening." He said as he held me into a forced hug.
I didn't say anything, I just tried to shift my body from left to right to escape but it was pointless. I sighed and relaxed my body.
"Felix..." I said almost in a whisper.
"What about him?"
"It reminds me of him. I miss him and I can't stop thinking about what would have happened if we ran away that day. He was your brother and you comforting me feels wrong because if he was alive he would've thought something was going on between us."
"So I'm guessing you're not fully over him, then?"
"I am, but it's just-"
I wrapped my hands around him and buried my head in his chest. He stood still for a moment, not knowing what to do, and then I felt his strong arms wrap around my small body, holding me closer and closer to him.
"I hate myself for not saying anything to him that night... Maybe if I did, none of this would have happened, maybe he would still be alive and well, along with the rest of your family."
"You can not beat yourself over it. I already told you this, you had no choice. If you would have told him, you wouldn't be here with me. You would be down in a grave. So stop, please. It kills me to know there's nothing I can do to make you feel better."
"Perhaps there is something..."
"Oh? Anything for you."
"You can stop calling me your short side-kick."
He laughed and then held me tighter.
"I'm not making any promises but I'll try."
We stood there hugging, and it felt good. I left a smile paint my lips.
I feel happy.
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