34} Tired of Fighting

This one is on time, only just though, so yay me! Here ya go! --------(Y/n)'s pov

Strong arms wrap around me and I know who it is even before he speaks.

"(Y/n)... Hey, are you alright?" He runs his hands through my (h/l)(h/c) hair and I feel as if I'm going to fall asleep at any moment. "Hey! Say something. Please talk to me."

"I guess I wasn't ready for that running...and I'm so tired of all this...fighting. I just want to get away from everything." I bury my face into his chest and nearly fall asleep right there, even through the aching pain in my muscles and my head. I feel my body being lifted off the ground by Ezio, his forearms under my neck and the backs of my knees, so I wrap my arms around his neck and nuzzle my head into his chest.

"You're going to be fine, I'm right here." The darkness is dragging me in and I'm not going to fight it. It's so exhausting to keep running and hiding and lying.

"Ezio...?" I mumble, yawning quietly.

"Yes?"

"I never meant anything I said. I didn't want to leave you..." Before I finally slip away I fight out one last sentence:

"I think I might love you."

~~~~~Ezio's POV

Did she just...did I hear that right? I search her barely visible face and smile, my heart beating so loud she would definitely hear it, if she is awake that is. But I couldn't care less. She said it.

(Y/n) loves me.

"I've always loved you (y/n)." I whisper in her ear, knowing she's asleep by know.

If she wants to get away then I know just where to take her, since she hasn't seen my mother for years it could be nice for them to catch up. Maybe even Claudia won't be too rude to her as she is to most people these days.

"Ezio, I can't allow you to leave Venice." Antonio interrupts my thoughts with the exact words I don't want to hear. "We have work to do and she's a traitor. Would you really choose her over our plans?"

"We'll be gone a few days- a week a max." I'm not backing down, he can't physically stop me from leaving Venice. "So we will be back for Carnevale. Make sure everything is ready when we return."

"You're making the wrong choice Ezio. I thought you wanted revenge for the murder of the brothers and father? Are you really giving that up for some girl?" He pleas with me despite my hardened resolve.

"I was recently told that revenge would be the reason for her death," I think back to my strange dream "I can't allow that to happen. She will live a long and happy life... And I'll fight till my last breath to make sure it's with me."

~~~~~time skip~~~~~

(Y/n)'s pov

I wake up being bounced up and down slightly, the familiar sounds and motions of riding a horse. I open my eyes and look up to see Ezio, his face being brushed lightly by the morning sun.

"Morning." I yawn and stretch, feeling and hearing the satisfactory popping of my joints.

"Good morning, sleep well?" Ezio asks, chuckling as he pauses to glance down at me.i lightly punch his chest and giggle, sitting up from my previously laid down position across his lap with his arms under my neck and my knees.

"Shut up, where are we?" I can't see any familiar landmarks, I've never been here before. Up ahead are high walls, a small shed for some horses and a travel merchant with a few carriages.

"You'll see soon enough, but for now you'll have to wear this," he slips a piece of fabric over my eyes which makes me flinch and squeal slightly. "So you don't ruin the surprise."

I sit in silence for another minute or two until the horse stops and I'm being lifted down by strong hands around my waist.

"Here, take my hand and I'll lead you." He holds one of my hands and reaches to other around me to gently hold my wrist.

I cautiously walk alongside him, not at all liking being blind. 

"Watch out, there are some steps up ahead." He warns, eager yet panicked about whatever he's trying to show me. He leads me to the left and up a flight of slightly curved stairs.

"Are we there yet Ezio?" I whine impatiently, almost falling over as we reach the top of the stairs. It's not like I don't trust him but being blindfolded is quite out of my comfort zone.

"Almost..." He leads me on a few more steps and then stops, turning me around to undo the knot on the piece of cloth around my eyes. "....and...there. We're here."

He removes the fabric and it falls to the floor, the sun temporarily blinding me. Once the glare goes away I'm looking up at a...dilapidated villa. No. Dilapidated isn't the right word- it looks rundown, with its windows boarded up and ivy crawling up its walls.

"Um...is this it?" I ask, looking back at his amused face. "It's a...nice house, really, but you brought me brought me here because...?"

"I get it, the house could use some work but it's not the house I wanted to show you." He grabs my hand again and leads me onwards, into a big entrance hall with a grand staircase and many rooms branching off. He pulls me through to the first one on the right- what looks like a plan of the town on one table and a bored girl pouring over a book at the other.

"Claudia! Good to see you again." Ezio greets her, walking to the desk with me in tow.

"Claudia, I haven't seen you in a long time." I step forwards and her face twist in sadness and tears well up in her eyes. She stands up from her desk and hugs me tightly, crying into my shoulder.

"They're gone! (Y/n) they're really gone!" I rub small, calming circles on the back of her neck with one hand and with the other I gently play with her curly hair.

"I'm sorry, Claudia. I wasn't quick enough to save them but I promise they won't get you or your mother," I glance up and look at Ezio's saddened features "and I'll certainly protect your brother."

She laughs a little at that and I can't help but frown.

"So he finally confessed to you?" She chuckles at both of our blushing faces.

"Uh...no! It's not..!"

"Shut up you idiot!"

Ezio and I fumble out in unison ,both mildly blushing and evading each other's eyes completely.

"And you call me an idiot." She sighs and sits down, now completely composed after her minor breakdown.

"Where is mother?" Ezio asks to change the subject quickly.

"Where do you think she is? She hasn't moved much since your last visit!" Claudia sighs and puts her head in her hands, looking pretty exhausted. "I don't know what to do, she hasn't said a word and she often refuses her meals. She's so weak and frail now."

"Can I see her?" I ask tentatively, fond memories of her flooding into my head. She was so kind to me when she had no idea who I was. I wasn't hers but she treated me like a daughter, something I had missed dearly since I left my 'home' and my mother.

"She's upstairs, I've got someone else I want you to meet though so when you are finished find me out front." He kisses my hand before releasing it and sauntering out the door.

I head to the upstairs room where Maria Auditore is sitting on the bed and staring at a box on the mantelpiece. That's when I suddenly remember them, the feathers. I still have a few from the day me and Ezio collected them. I walk slowly to the familiar box we also brought him and place the feathers inside, a tear managing to spill down my cheek.

He was so young. Too young.

I sit next to her on the bed and she reaches her hand to grasp mine, noticing the tears freely flowing down my face.

"I'm s-sorry I couldn't do it. I couldn't do anything!" I remember their faces as they died, twisted In pain and pleading for help. "They were counting on me and I failed them. Not only that, I gave my father the information that helped him frame them! I'm so...useless!"

She silences me with a hug and we sit there for a good five minutes before I stop crying and pull away. She uses her thumb to wipe away the tears on my puffy red cheeks and she smiles warmly at me, just as a mother would to a disheartened child.

I smile one last time before excusing myself to go find Ezio and meet this mystery person.

But for some reason, I feel a growing sense of dread. Why do I feel like I'm walking into a trap? It's Ezio. He wouldn't put me in any danger and yet I can't shake the feeling that I shouldn't go downstairs.

Do I listen to myself? Of course not, that would make life safer and easier- two things I'm pretty sure my life will never be.

--------

So I've finished this at exactly midnight so technically it's not late but it isn't on time either so I apologise for that.

Can't believe the amount of views, votes and let's not forget those motivational comments I've gotten so thank you for all your support, you guys are the reason I write and I can't thank you enough!

On a more productive note, I'm interested in knowing what you think of the story and where you see it going? I have a few ideas but it never hurts to get a second opinion.

Thanks for reading xx

EzioCharisma