CH 37: The feathers

CH 37

(Third person POV)

After their little "fun", they finally reached the Auditore Villa where Ezio went to change her pants after giving her lover a death glare.

Ali chuckled as he raised his hands in surrender before following after her, causing her to narrow her eyes at him as she continued on walking :"dove pensi di andare (where do you think you're going)?"

But Ali just grabbed her hand as he shrugged with a smile :"don't worry, I've already had my fun. I just wanna be with you. Sai già che non mi piace essere separato da te, anche solo per un secondo (You already know that I don't like to be separated from you, even if it's for a second)."

Hearing his words, she couldn't help but chuckle and shake her head in amusement :"bene, bambinone, andiamo (fine, you big baby, let's go)."

After walking to her room hand in hand, Ali stood outside as she went inside to get changed. After she got changed, she smiled at Ali :"let's go and give mother what we have brought."

Seeing her smile, Ali couldn't help but smile too as he nodded :"yeah, let's go. I'm sure that even if she doesn't show it, she will definitely be happy about it."

As they once again started walking side by side, they walked the short distance towards Maria's room.

Entering the room, their smiles fell a little at the sight of her kneeling in front of her bed with the eagle feathers in front of her.

Ali gently squeezed Ezio's hand reassuringly as he kissed her cheek and reached out into his waist bag :"non essere triste, Ashkim (don't be sad, my love). I'm sure that it will be fine. Here, go ahead and give them to her."

She gave a small and slightly sad smile as she gently took the eagle feathers that they both had collected in Florence and Monteriggioni with both hands.

She walked towards her bed and gently laid them all in front of her, beside the feathers that she already had :"here, mother.

Ali and I saw these while going through Florence and Monteriggioni, thought that we might as well collect them for you. I hope that you will like them."

At the end of her sentence, she put her hand on her shoulder and gently kissed her cheek :"I love you, mother."

Ali couldn't help but smile at the scene, especially when a small smile also formed on Maria's face.

Ezio gently put her forehead on her shoulder with trembling lips once Maria put the feathers along with the rest in a neat position and kissed the top of Ezio's head.

Once she got back to praying again, Ezio sighed with a small smile as she rose before giving her mother a hug :"I love you, mother. Spero che tu guarisca presto (I hope that you get well soon)."

She then walked back to Ali who immediately gave her a comforting hug :"non preoccuparti, sono sicuro che un giorno guarirà (don't worry, I'm sure that she'll get well someday). We just have to be patient."

She nodded against his chest before she broke the hug and smiled up at him :"alright, let's go and see Claudia."

Ali nodded back as he gently grabbed her hand and started to walk out of the room after giving a slow nod to Maria :"goodbye, aunt Maria. I hope that you will get well soon. We will go now."

When the two lovebirds walked down to the first floor and entered the room that Claudia was working on the paper works, Ali raised the hand that was unoccupied :"hello there, Claudia!

How have you been? We're back. And hello to you to, Mr architect. I trust that you have finished the jobs that we've given you."

Claudia raised her head from the paper works as she smiled at the two before getting up from her seat and walking towards the two excitedly :"sorella (sister)! Ali! Welcome back!"

She immediately spread her arms as she hugged the two excitedly :"I've missed you two! How have you been?"

They smiled and chuckled as they hugged her back with their unoccupied hands :"ciao, sorellina (hello, little sister).

Happy to see that you are good. We are good as well, as you can see. Been a little while since we have seen you, huh?"

The architect bowed politely as he smiled :"salute, sir Ali, signora Ezio. It's nice to see you two are well.

Yes, sir Ali, I have done everything that you have asked before you departed to the city of Florence. But I have to say, I'm still surprised from how rich you are.

I knew that you were rich from the first time that you gave me that large sum of money, but I had no idea that you were that rich."

Claudia let go of them as she also nodded with a smile and a raised eyebrow :"he's right, Ali. I had no idea that you had that much money.

Kinda confusing since you used to challenge so many people for money and bet so much all day long."

Ali shrugged with a smile :"what can I say, the money is from my family heirloom that I brought after my family died.

And besides, I just like money, that's why I like it the more, the better. Who knows when it will come in handy."

It was Ezio's turn to look at him with a raised eyebrow :"and just where do you keep this family heirloom? I never saw you carrying so much money."

Ali chuckled as he put his index finger over his lips and winked :"sorry, a magician isn't supposed to let other people know his secrets.

Ma bene, prometto di dirtelo un giorno (But well, I promise to tell you someday). You just have to be patient."

The sisters rolled their eyes as Claudia walked back to her desk :"va bene, va bene (fine, fine). You can keep your secrets. Here, take a look at the documents and the growth of the city while you were away."

Ali nodded as the two listened to Claudia about the city and the money that she had collected for us.

The two also checked the buildings and shops that had been repaired while they were away and doing their things.

After they were done with them, they decided to finally go and meet up with Mario in his room, who immediately became excited at their sight :"Ezio, Ali! Haha, come in, come in. To what do we owe the honor?"

And Ezio immediately got into business :"we've been sent from Firenze by Il Magnifico to attend to some unfinished business. We're looking for Jacopo de' Pazzi."

Mario :"Ha... Who isn't? We've been at it for days."

Ali sighed as he folded his arms in front of his chest with a frown :"so I guess this guy is a slippery bastard, huh?"

Mario sighed as he nodded :"calling the bastardo (bastard) slippery is an understatement."

Ezio :"Then perhaps what I carry will help us all: a list of his co-conspirators. One of them WILL talk before he dies."

Mario :"Excellent! These men are sure to lack Jacopo's resources, which means they will be easier to find. I will put my scouts to it at once."

Ezio :"I appreciate the help, uncle. We've got something else for you as well: more Codex pages."

Mario :"Ah! Let's see what we can learn. What is this...? What Prophet...?"

Ali :"prophet???"

Ezio :"What did you find, uncle?"

Mario :"Just another damn mystery! The text here roughly translates to: "Only the prophet may open it..." There's reference to two "Pieces of Eden." But these pages offer no answers, nipote (nephew). At least not on their own. You must find more."

Ezio :"We'll have to save it for another day, uncle. We have a mission to attend to."

Mario :"As you wish. Now, if you hope to defeat these bastardi (bastards), I will need to teach you a few things. Meet me on the practice field."

Ali and Ezio both nodded before Mario walked out of his room. Before following him, Ali nodded towards the wall where they keep the Codex pages :"let's put the ones that we've collected here before we go."

Ezio shrugged nonchalantly before Ali reached out and took out the Codex pages that they've collected one by one.

E,Io didn't pay much attention at first, but as Ali kept on taking out more and more, she looked at him with a speechless expression :"what the hell is that waist bag??? How do you keep all of them inside it..."

Ali chuckled as he shrugged :"I've told you, I will tell you one day in the future. But not now, when it's the right time."

Ezio rolled her eyes with a sigh before they both got to putting the Codex pages on the wall one by one.

After putting all of the pages that they've collected on the wall, Ali clapped his hands to dust them off before he looked at Ezio :"how about we visit the sanctuary too before we go?"

She thought about it for a second before she nodded :"alright, let's get it over with quickly so that we won't keep uncle waiting any longer."

After they both walked down to the sanctuary, Ali looked around in satisfaction as he smirked :"I quite like this place, you know."

Ezio smirked as she raised her eyebrow at him :"oh? Really now? Do tell why you like this old place."

Ali chuckled as he smirked at her :"why else, Ashkim? Of course it's because it's the place that led to us finally sleeping with each other."

Ezio bit her lip was she narrowed her eyes slightly :"but we haven't slept with each other yet, though? Because of just how... Big you are..."

Ali smirked before he slapped her huge ass, making her yelp :"yeah, but be sure that I will definitely fit it inside of you. For now, let's put the seals in their places."

Ezio smirked seductively before she grabbed the seals that Ali took out from his waist bag and gave her.

First, she walked towards the statue of the woman who was holding a small jug in her hand. Seeing the jug, Ezio put the seal that had a jug carved on it.

And the moment she put it in its place, one of the seals, the one with the jug on it, retracted to the wall.

Ali nodded with an interested smile :"1 gone, 5 more to go. It's not that hard as long as we find the other seals. And with my map, it ain't a big deal at all."

Ezio nodded as she looked at the stone that the statue was on :"check this out. There is an introduction here that reads: atop this pedestal stands a statue of Iltani, the female Babylonian assassin. She poisoned Alexander the great. Huh, guess that explains the jug in her hand. Requiescat in pace, oh great assassin."

Ali also paid his respect before pointing at the statue of a man with the hidden blade on his wrist :"put the other seal where it belongs and then we'll go."

Ezio nodded before she placed the seal with the hidden blade carved on it where it belongs, causing the metal that sealed the gate of the armor to retract.

She then read the carvings on the pedestal out loud :"atop this pedestal stands a statue of Darius, the male Persian assassin. He used his hidden blade to kill Xerxes. This was the first recorded use of the hidden blade."

Ali whistled as he nodded with an impressed look :"well damn, the first recorded use of the hidden blade, huh? I think I may have found my favorite statue here."

Ezio rolled her eyes with a chuckle before they both paid their respects to the assassin :"Requiescat in pace."