Assassin's Creed: Chronos (Ezio x OC)

13 - Blinding

Seems that I have been held, in some dreaming state

A tourist in the waking world, never quite awake

No kiss, no gentle word could wake me from this slumber

Until I realize that it was you who held me under

Felt it in my fist, in my feet, in the hollows of my eyelids

Shaking through my skull, through my spine and down through my ribs

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August 5, 1476

Monteriggioni, Italy

It was well into the evening by the time they reached Monteriggioni, and Catherine guessed it took them almost twelve hours or more to reach the city by the dirt road. It was to be expected, she supposed. The horses had been kept at a steady pace, probably no more than four miles per hour, and they'd stopped to water and rest the beasts at about noon. They'd taken their breaks, too-nature called more than once for the men, and Catherine had to scuttle in the woods to relieve herself once or twice, too. Otherwise they had gone unmolested during the trip and there had been few, if any other people on the road. She vaguely recalled two men on horses and then an old man driving a cart full of supplies with his donkey. Otherwise, the only other people were those who were out and about on their land the road carved through. Some waved, but most just went about their business-even when they trod through what looked like a small town along the way. The Captain probably told her the name, but she had forgotten it and whatever it was known for not long after.

Mario's men themselves were enjoyable company. It had been mostly silence at first, but soon enough the Captain had inquired about her; asking where she was from and how she'd come to meet Giovanni. He asked if she was an Assassin, too, and at first she was taken aback by his bluntness, but then recalled how Mario was also an Assassin, so it would have been reasonable for his men to at least know about it, too. His Captain would, anyways. She told him as much as she had allowed the Auditore family, and he was kind and courteous about it; he expressed his interest and intrigue-she could tell it was more-so the complimentary form of it-and even talked about himself. He had met Mario some time ago, although he'd forgotten how long exactly. The man had saved his life, and so Ottavio owed Mario a great debt. For it, he joined his band of "merry men", as he put it, and he had never regretted it for the ten years he'd fought for Mario.

Catherine learned not long after the other man went by Michelangelo and had only been with the "merry band" maybe seven years, but he was just as loyal. Mario did that apparently-invoked a sense of loyalty that just happened. You would start off hating the man, but if you gave it a little more time, suddenly you were putting your life on the line for him and five years had passed. Michelangelo contested personally to that, and mentioned he had wanted to punch Mario in the face at first, but now he would take his own life before he harmed or betrayed their leader.

It granted the redhead some relief, and she certainly felt more comfortable going to the city, although it could not completely cure her apprehension. It was a new place, after all, and though Ottavio and Michelangelo were vouching for her new guardian, she didn't know him. She could only hope he was as good as they said and could help her.

'I guess I'm going to find out,' Catherine sighed mentally when the Captain called to her and pointed. She followed his gaze as they rounded a bend between two houses on farmland-the fields stretched all the way to the tree line far off in the distance-and revealed a tall, stalwart stone wall. It went for a long ways around before curving, so she assumed the city was circular. There was a good chunk of open space between it and the surrounding trees and hills, which she figured worked all the way around. The walls were extremely tall and four towers ran along the front, two at the edge, one in the middle, and two at the midpoint between the center and edges. The one in the middle of the entrance was larger and made up the part of the wall that jut out. Flags adorned the stones, and the archway into the city went maybe a third of the way up. Iron spiked dangled down from the top, the gate was lifted up at the moment, and behind it she could just barely make out an Assassin symbol. Outside the walls were a few stalls and items, and then a stable where she saw men and a few boys working. As they got closer, she could hear the horses inside.