Just Beyond My Reach 03

Chapter Three: Truth Be Told


"Here." Ezio handed me a dark leather belt. I wrapped it around my waist, entrapping the edges of the pants under the strap. I managed to get my shoes on, which were more like flat slippers or ballerina shoes, whatever the hell they were called. "Absolutely charming." I glared at the smiling man, and made my way back through his bedroom door.

"I'm not looking to impress, Ezio." I flipped my hair out of my eyes. "Comfort is my top priority."

Chuckling, he followed me out the door. "I already told you that I think it's a very endearing look for you."

I pointed to my face, plastered with annoyance. "Does it look like I care what you think?"

"No--but I could change that." Ezio raised an eyebrow at me, letting a sly smirk to curve his lips.

I rolled my eyes, but before I could respond to his outrageous offer, Federico appeared around the corner.

"There you two are," he said, jogging up to us. His face had signs of excitement, a small light shining in the depths of his dark eyes.

"What's going on?" Ezio asked, stopping at Federico's approach. Apparently I wasn't the only one to notice the shine.

Federico reached out and ruffled my hair, saying something about how I should consider dresses again. "Mother wants us to take Narina around town--she's really concerned about this whole memory loss business. She also wants us to shop for food too."

Ezio groaned. "We ran around town all day yesterday, not to mention I had a long night--I just want to stay home."

I grinned widely, realizing that I wanted Ezio to suffer for his wanton activities. "No, I think it's a splendid idea!" I clamped my hands together. "It's always a pleasure to wander the Firenze streets!"

"Way to be optimistic, Narina!" Federico took a hold of my elbow, telling me to hold the money as he handed me a pouch since he and Ezio were irresponsible. "Hook it on your belt," he told me. "You'll keep a better hold of it than Ezio and I would. Now, we depart for Firenze!"

While we were walking out of the house, Ezio managed to throw me a look of resentment and I noticed that his eyes seemed to have dark circles about his eyes. I simply smiled back at him, reaching out and patting his shoulder softly before racing down the street to catch up with Federico.

"You torture him too much," Federico whispered to me.

"It's still fun," I chimed back. "I like to rub his nose in his decisions. You know, all choices have a consequence."

Federico chuckled, rubbing at his nose. "Ezio still has to face all of his."

"That's going to be rough."

We stopped and waited for Ezio, who was taking his sweet time, making his point that he was tired.

"Liven up, fratello. We've got a long day ahead of us!"

Ezio glared at Federico, shoving at his shoulder. "Chiudere su," he mumbled.

I noticed that the towns' streets were more lively and loud this morning. We walked further into the town through the buildings towering alleyways. There were merchants and many musicians edging the walkways, yelling out their pitches and their songs. Under the protection of the buildings shadows, the sun would only land on our faces every so often through the crevices between the buildings.

"Hmm," I hummed, looking about myself, turning back to find Federico and Ezio shoving each other, almost like wrestling. I realized the looks that they were getting from the people around us. I reached out to them. "Venire su," I said to them. "Let's calm down you two."

Out of nowhere, a man ran into me, and I was knocked back a few feet.

"Spiacente!" I squeaked, catching myself. The man who ran into raced on by, and I didn't even get a chance to look at his face. I watched him for a moment before I realized that there was an absence of weight on my waist. I looked down, and saw that the pouch Federico had given me was gone. I started to panic, looking on the ground for it, patting down my clothes to see if I could find it.

"What's wrong, Narina?" Federico asked, holding his younger brother in a headlock.

"The money," I whispered. "I—I must've dropped it somewhere."

Ezio pulled out of Federico's hold and stared at me for a moment. "You dropped it?"

I kept my gaze away from him, feeling guilty. "I must have."

His gaze went above my head focusing on the street. "That man," he started, brushing past me. "He bumped into you, right?" I turned around and saw the man pushing through the crowds.

"Yeah, why?"

Ezio looked back at me, a weird glint in his eyes. "Stay here." He broke off in a sprint after the man.

"Hey, wait!" I yelled after him, then turned back to Federico, who looked like he was considering following him. "Wait, what's going on?"

Federico took my hand into his rough yet gentle hand. "That man stole our money. Venirie!" Federico ran down the street after Ezio, dragging me behind him. I was sure glad that I wasn't wearing a dress! I would have pitched forward on my face by then, and it was nice to have free room for my legs to fling about. I kept up with Federico with a little more effort than I was comfortable with, but I kept up nonetheless.

"Merda!" Federico grunted, stopping suddenly.

"What?" I followed his gaze that was intently on the roof-tops. I saw Ezio only a few feet behind the thief, running across the roofs.

Federico let go of my hand. "Follow us from ground level, I'm going up." Before I could object, he was dragging himself up the side of the building, people staring at him in awe and horror.

"Wait, Federico!" It was no use. He was already up on the houses, running intently after his brother and the suspected thief. I didn't waste any more time to weave my way through the houses, trying to keep an eye on the figures on the roofs. Not too long later, I lost sight of them, and I slowed into a walk. I realized that I was lost now, none of the buildings looking at all familiar. Not many people were walking these streets—it appeared that only drunks were stumbling around. I felt the chilling fact that most of those drunk men were staring at me with glimmering eyes. I brushed the curls around my face behind my ears, taking big breaths to calm down my suddenly nervously beating heart.

I knew that I should have just stayed where I was so that they could find me easily, but I continued to wonder around aimlessly. I managed to find myself back on one of the main streets, and with this discovery, I also found the Firenze Armory and Fabric store. To my intense pleasure, the Bank was also among those, and I recalled that Giovanni was indeed the Banker of the town. Pushing my way through the crowd towards the front doors, I managed to get inside the building.

It was quiet and warm inside the bank, the smell of parchment paper thick. I stood in a small room, cut in half by a large desk at which a man sat at. He had thin light hair and dark eyes, which regarded me harshly as he looked up at me. I realized that I didn't look at all feminine like I should have.

"What can I do for you?" He asked curtly, putting down his writing utensil.

I cleared my throat. "Um, is Giovanni Auditore working now?"

"Yes." Then man leaned back in his chair. "What business do you have with him?"

"I know his sons."

"As does everyone in this town."

I grunted lightly, not liking the man's' snide tone at all. I looked around briefly, trying to find an excuse. "He wished to speak with me today."

"Oh really?" The man stood up from the desk. "What's your name?"

"Narina," I answered. "Tell him Narina is here."

The man disappeared through a door to the right of his desk, and I stood alone in the small room for a moment. The door opened again and Giovanni walked through.

"Narina!" He walked up to me and cupped my shoulders. "What are you doing here?" He looked down at my attire. "And why are you wearing my son's clothing?"

I shrugged innocently, grinning. "Boys' clothes are more comfy—and you're sons are chasing after a thief that stole our money. I got left behind, so I decided to come visit you and have that talk you wanted to have last night."

Giovanni shook his head. "My sons, so eager to run amok…." He turned me towards the door, and I gave a smug look to the man at the desk, who looked almost shocked. "Molto bene. You claim you've come to talk?"

"Yes," I replied, nodding. "A continuation from our conversation from last night."

"Ah, yes, I had almost forgotten." He reached out for the door that he had came out of. "Please, step into my office and we'll discuss our matters." I threw the man behind the desk a look that said 'I told you so' before walking into the room.

Giovanni's' office at the bank looked very similar to his study back at home. His desk was just as cluttered with papers and books, his walls were covered with bookshelves. The only difference was that everything seemed to be a little more organized here as his own study. I figured that it was work protocol, that a little organization was required.

"Please, sit down," Giovanni said, gesturing to one of the two chairs that was in front of the desk. I took the offer and planted myself in the chair, sucking in a deep breath as if to prepare myself for a long battle.

Giovanni sat at his desk, folding his hands and staring over at me.

"Well," he started after a huff. "You never gave me a reason to believe you."

I sat up straight. "Giovanni, I—"

"However," he said cutting me off. "You seem sincere and my son's are not threatened at all when you're around." I stared at him in awed silence. "They usually have the sense enough to be cautious around people who threaten them, visibly or not. Even if it might have something to do with your memory loss, Narina, I believe that you are a pure soul and that you are to be trusted."

It took me a moment to actually realize what he was saying, and when I did, I smiled widely. "Thank you sir! Thank you!"

"But this brings us back to the main concern of this situation." Giovanni waved his finger through the air to make his point clearer. "How do you know about my situation?"

I had to stop and think about it. "What, the Cree—"

Giovanni raised a finger to his lips, and it made me stop. "Shh," he whispered and then pointed to the door. He mouthed a 'he's listening'.

I closed my mouth, and nodded. "I can't tell you truthfully, Giovanni. I mean, I could lie, but I don't think that's what you want to hear."

Giovanni chuckled. "You're right—however, I want you to try and think your hardest for me."

"Alright," I agreed, closing my eyes. "I'll try"

I took a few moments, reaching into the darkness in my mind to see if a new light would brighten my thoughts and memories. But I knew that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't force the information to come back. It would all come back to me whenever it felt it needed to.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, looking up at the man. "I can't seem to recall…."

"Then tell me this," Giovanni offered, spreading his hands among the top of his desk. "Why did you suggest Ezio instead of Federico?"

"I told you," I said. "A mere feeling."

"But you see," Giovanni explained. "I've already been training Federico, as he is my eldest."

I looked down at my hands folded in my lap, thinking about his words. "But, isn't Ezio more suited to be a…um…carrier of the legacy?"

Giovanni gave me a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Doesn't Ezio have eagle vision?" I blurted out, losing the hold of where exactly the information came from.

Giovanni leaned back in his chair, rubbing at his face. "You're right—he does have that ability oddly enough since most of our kind doesn't."

"Then he is special," I whispered, leaning across the desk. "Perhaps more special than any of us can even consider."

Giovanni slowly started to nod. "There was always something about that boy," he whispered, his eyes dazing off. "Ever since the day he was born, there was…something….."

A small silence over came the two of us and it lasted for a long while.

I cleared my throat. "However, if you're already training Federico, then…." I was cut off by a knock on the door, and Giovanni granted the knocker access into the room. It was the man from the desk, and just the sight of him made me upset again.

"Signore Auditore, there is a customer who requires your help."

I stood from the seat. "Sorry to keep you from work, Giovanni. I'll go see if Ezio and Federico found that thief. Can we talk later tonight, maybe?"

Giovanni smiled at me. "Of course Narina. See you at home."

I nodded to the man at the door, who nodded back more respectfully this time, and I made my way out of the bank.

About two seconds of walking out on the street, I heard my name being yelled.

"Narina?! Narina! There you are!" I turned at the voice and saw Ezio running up to me, a look of pure relief on his face. "Ringraziare Dio you're okay!" Before I could make some snark remark about how they just left me high and dry, I was forced to keep my words to myself. Ezio had pulled me up into his arms, holding me to his chest. "God, we thought for sure you had been kidnapped!" His thick arms entrapped me so tightly that I couldn't wriggle free. But as I was enveloped in his heat, I realized that I didn't want to remove myself from his embrace. I let my arms wrap about him, my hands resting on his back.

"I'm sorry," I whispered into his shirt.

His heart beat was so mesmerizing, that I soon found that I was breathing according to the metronome beat of his pulse. His body heat made me calm and forget the reasons why I should have been mad at him.

All too soon, he held me out at his arms length. "Where the hell were you?" He asked, taking a hold of my gaze.

I broke out of my daze, and looked away from him, feeling my face flush. "I—I went to see your father at work."

Ezio sighed, letting me go and rubbing his head. "You scared the shit out of us, Narina!"

I still kept my gaze from him. "Well, you guys just left me, and I was lost, and I found the bank, and…." I realized that I was rambling. God! What the hell was happening to me?

Ezio held out his hand to me. "Well, we caught the thief—let's go find Federico now."

I considered whether I should brush his hand aside and keep my dignity of an independent woman, or if I should give in to the desire that burned inside of me to take a firm hold of his hand. I decided that maybe my distressing moment a second ago would be an excuse for a searching comfort, so I took a hold of his hand.

Smiling at me comfortingly, he led me down the street, calling out his brother's name. I joined in as if to let the man know, if he could hear us, that I was okay. Federico found us not too long after words, jumping from a low rooftop, and he gave me a rough hug as well, saying that he was sorry for leaving me. I found it odd that Federico's hug didn't have the same effect on me as Ezio's did. It was warm and comforting, but it didn't make my heart stutter in my chest.

"Let's buy us some food so we can get back home," Federico said, keeping an arm wrapped around me. He held up the pouch of money. "I'll keep a hold of this."

We made our way through the markets and back to the Auditore house without going through another problem. When we got back to the house, Maria was waiting outside, and when she spotted us, she asked Federico to escort her to a friends house. With nods to each other, Federico and Maria left, and Ezio told me he was going for a nap.

"Maybe you should spend your nights more effectively, Ezio," I suggested with a smirk. "In anyway, have a nice nap."

I waved at him in a mocking way, ignoring his glares, as he walked up the stairs. When he was gone from my eye-sight, I let my hand drop back down to my side slowly, and a grim feeling swept over me.

Of course my conversation with Giovanni is what had me worried. The more I thought about my answers and my reactions to this Creed of his, the more I felt like I didn't belong here in Florence with the Auditore's. Moreover, I felt as though I should just butt out and let things fall as they may, because for an unknown reason, I felt as though I was messing with fate, twisting the strings around in a way so retched that they could never be fixed.

For the first time that I could even remember, I was scared to be in contact with the Auditore's and I wasn't even sure of how to protect myself from. Not only was I ignorant, but I was also useless and all I could do is wait silently.