Assassin's Creed Chronos_Retribution (Ezio x OC)

29 - Greatest Change I

"I feel a little guilty leaving the kids—Diana wanted to come sooo badly," Catherine chuckled as she dismounted her steed. Ezio did the same and took her reigns to bring the horses to the stable.

"She did make quite the pout, but I'd rather her not come here until she's older," Ezio grinned wryly. "Don't get me wrong—Volpe is as safe as can be, but the inn isn't exactly a place for a young girl. Or young boys."

"True. I'd rather all three of them not learn about gambling, alcohol, and, uh, not-Claudia's-girls. They at least can be tactful when the kids are around."

"Because Mother would skin them alive. Verbally. But still—skin them. They respect Mother and Claudia too much, too, and I imagine even Federico would get upset," the Lord Auditore mused, snickering even.

"Pssh. More like he'd laugh it up. Giovanni would join him as soon as his brother told him, too. Even Claudia can't whoop that out of them. They do carry some of their fathers' genes—and their Uncle's," she mused, eyes twinkling mischievously.

Ezio mock-pouted, "Hey! I was... okay, no, I was that bad, but still. Either way, Diana and Giovanni will learn to get over it and keep busy with training. And Mario is, thankfully, too young to know why he's upset about it."

"Thankfully... but God he is growing fast. I'm only so glad he is far easier going than our little girl was. I haven't had any trouble with him so far. He's so inquisitive, though. I may need to have him go visit Leonardo for full days some time just to satisfy his curiosity."

"I think that's not a bad idea... when it's safe," her husband rumbled, and she hummed in agreement. Despite all their work for their artist friend, he was still under Borgia influence, and to be seen intimately associated with her or her family was just too dangerous. They would simply have to do with the occasional visit and teaching lessons.

"Well, at the very least we can rest easy knowing he'll grow up with good company. I'm glad little Giovanni came to stay with us. Diana has been looking livelier, too. I think she's glad to have a friend a bit closer to her age—someone she can already teach how to fight."

"Aaah, she takes after her mother more than we thought," Ezio snickered.

"What can I say? She got the good genes," she winked back, earning a proper laugh. "Ah, but they're growing up so fast, I swear. I feel like it was only yesterday I had to carry Diana all the time. Even Mario was barely getting on his own when we brought him back, now look at him! He's already reading and doing all sorts of things. It won't be long before Diana is a teenager! With Giovanni we'll have two in our midst, but hopefully with him being in the fold so young it won't be too bad."

Ezio chuckled, pulling her for a quick hug, "I'm sure it will be fine. The three of them are going to make good friends, which will help. He'll fit in fine here. That, and, I admit, I'm already fond of him. He's got spirit."

"I'm glad you do. I won't lie—I was a bit worried about making the decision without you... after I did it, of course, but still. I just hope we can do right by him. He doesn't speak of it properly, but... he was definitely scarred. Agnese told me he was never hit, but... Micheletto was scruel. Cesare, too. The only one who even seemed to care some was Lucrezia, as crazy as that sounds. Seems she wasn't a total heartless cow."

Her husband grinned, "Is that you changing your mind about her?"

She snorted, "Of course not. I still have a firm hatred for her in my heart, but... She's obviously not all bad like her brother."

"No, definitely not, but we can talk about that later. La Volpe is waiting," Ezio hummed, gesturing to the door behind them, which barely muted the sounds of revelry within. She made an "ah" sound and pressed by him to open the door. Sure enough, a raucous chorus of laughter, curses, squeals, shouts, and singing blasted their ears while the smell of wine, sex, and everything in between hit their noses. It was certainly a sight to behold, the tremendous crowd of denizens around the many tables and at the single bar where the taps ran freely. Courtesans danced about or "entertained" in other ways, and on one side of the room an intense game of dice and cards was going on. Someone was no doubt losing money and another taking it for his own—all in the Assassins' favor, of course.