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Chapter 10 ~A painful truth~
The moment Ciro spoke your heartbeats stopped for what seemed hours, he looked disturbingly calm, as if the life of that man wasn’t worth nothing, maybe could be true but you weren’t the right person to judge that. You swallowed hard and felt how suddenly the hay was the most uncomfortable place of the earth.

-Did… did you… -The slightly cold and humid ambiance of the place raised up enough to make you sweat a little.

-Of course not! I’m as imprisoned in here as you (Y/N). –He said calmly while stepping outside and locked the cell. –I heard the news from the other guards; it seems the assassin is looking for you. –You could perceive a faint sincere smile forming in his face; the craving for more information made you waste an unnecessary amount of reserved energy in crawling from the pile to the bars of the cell and lean carefully on them, your body still hurt a little and the constant entries and exits from consciousness were enough to disorient you, it was hard to tell if outside was day or night.

- tell me more… -Ciro sighed and unlocked the cell again to enter, he carried you princess like to the pile of hay again and lied you in there before caressing a little your now oily (H/C) hair, he looked at the corridor and sat beside you to make things more less formal.

-He has been hunting down everyone who crosses his way. First Vieri and then Messer Francesco, now he is looking for Jacobo de’ Pazzi, we doubt he will last long with him on his tail. –Ciro’s voice sounded very relaxed, even relieved about his master’s deaths, it was clear he didn’t empathize with them in the slightest; you wondered what kind of favor could he possibly be in debt for. He said he owed them his life, but there was a possibility of that being only an exaggeration.

-I’m sure he won’t… -You smiled along with him and adjusted yourself to sit up in the hay. –But why are you imprisoned in here too? –the question seemed to caught him off guard; he stayed silent for quite a while to find and put the words in his head in the right order without sounding too extremist.

-I’m sadly just another pawn on their game… I have no use or worth out of this place so I am condemned to remain here until my very last day. –There was hopelessness and sadness in his soul, you could feel it and it was more than enough with seeing his body language; you were moved by for those sincere words that you had to hold him, now that you think about he is like the brother you always wanted but never had; after a few seconds his hesitant arms covered your back, you stayed like that for a long time before he spoke again. –Can you get up? –He asked softly against your shoulder.

-Barely, you saw me… -You answered and patted the armor in his back. –Why? –Ciro moved back and broke the contact; a determined gaze was now upon you.

-I will help you go out, but only if you keep your promise, you will make me a better man. –The affirmation took you by surprise, the more you get to know him, the more he amazed you. –Most of the guards are sleeping by now, only a few are doing their turns outside, we can elude them easily and get out of here. –He took your hands and lifted them to his lips, your beating fastened dramatically and even you were tempted to pull off but that would look really mean to do it. –I’m vowing you my loyalty now, please don’t make me regret it. –His breath slipped through your fingers sending shivers to all your body, your eyes met and you saw those fresh green eyes burning with hope. It felt difficult to breathe because of the heat of the moment but you managed to stay cool.

-I will do my best. –You smiled tenderly and held his eyes for a second before he incorporated again. –I need my weapons, my blades. –Inside of you the adrenaline was working its magic, you felt waves of energy slowly reaching all the places in your body, empowering them and making the pain numb to your senses.

-I don’t know where they have them, I’m sorry. –You felt a little pinch of frustration but smiled.

-It’s fine, I will get new ones, we have to leave. –You put yourself together and slowly lifted your weight until standing normally, giving a few steps you managed to balance yourself but the moment of control didn’t last long, Ciro had to catch you before you crashed against the ground.

-You are not strong enough, Let me carry you, It’ll be faster that way. –He kneeled facing his back towards you, his hands were moving as he looked over his shoulder. –Come on. –you moved forward and adjust yourself so both bodies fitted perfectly, your head subtly upper than his, your arms resting in his shoulders and your legs being gripped by his hands. –Hold on tight.–Your mouth opened to say something but was cut when Ciro took off.

He fastened down the corridors making them look like a maze, there were torches illuminating the hallways but it was still hard to see, he must have passed a lot of time down here to not even flinch in changing directions from going straight to turn left, then right and then left again, he had kept the pace fast but regular it was then when his footsteps were joined by another heavier and hurried ones along with irritated shouting.

-We… are… close… -Ciro said in between breaths, for you the walls looked the same no matter how further you moved, you even thought that all this time you were just going in circles.

-Catch them! –Someone behind you shouted, a guard for sure but when you turned it wasn’t one but 4 the ones chasing you, you felt Ciro fastening the rhythm of his jogging and when he turned and finally a door appeared the sound of a fine piece of wood cutting through the air and hitting fresh flesh startled you and it was then when you find yourself flying through the air, closing your eyes until hitting the harsh ground; the world went silent for seconds, not even the flicking of the flames was audible.

-(Y/N)…. Are you al…right? –Ciro’s voice seemed distant, you had to open your eyes finding him twitching a few meters from you, grabbing his left leg closer to his chest, an arrow embedded to it, you managed to nod before trying to crawl in his direction. –Do…don’t… -He muttered weakly and you froze the guards that had been chasing you showed up.

-Do we kill them? –One of them looked at you and then poked Ciro with his foot expecting him to move or something.

-No. –A soar voice answered. –Let’s keep them for the boss, I’m sure he will be pleased having and assassin and a traitor.-you had to play yourself the sleeping one and waited until gross hands lifted your weight abruptly.

There you were again, hopeless, useless, and weak. Deep hatred threaten your mood, first the death of Ezio’s half family, then you being caught easily and now this? Every time you thought you were good and safe was merely an illusion, you were an assassin, you were supposed to be strong, what would your mother think from this? Those negative thought swirled in your head like a tornado, becoming too much to handle, becoming too much to bear. There you were again, letting darkness drug you into the void, letting the oblivion take your pain away.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

-My dear… -Soft warmness was spreading all along your head. –My dear wake up… -The voice sounded closer this time, it was your father, you grinned irritated and barely parted eyes, all around you was blurry, like if you were still dreaming.

-Padre… -You mumbled lazily and forced your hands to move from under the covers until reach your heavy eyes.

-I’m sorry I woke you up mio caro… but I really wanted to take a walk around the piazza… -As your vision cleared more and more you could see a very disturbed man looking down at you, eyes huge, sweat in his forehead, abnormal breathing, your guts flipped in preoccupation. –Would you come with me? –The nervous smile betrayed him, it was hesitant and flinching, something was wrong.

-Padre is everything alright? Are you feeling bad again?–You reached out his forehead and sensed cold wetness on it, not so long ago he had been having some problems with his health, your mother says is nothing to worry about but as time passed you could notice an obvious decay in his self. –You are sweating cold… should I call mother? - An unusual expression showed in your father’s face, whatever you had said it seemed to hurt him deep inside but why?

-Don’t worry Mio caro, I’m fine, is just il dottore(the doctor) prescribed me to do some exercise in the mornings, that’s all… -He took your hand and squeezed it a little harder than normal. –Besides I don’t want to bother your mother with this, so would you accompany honey?-The tone of his voice was weird, everything was weird, he never woke you up on Sundays, even less to take a walk or whatever he was planning on doing but something inside told you to say yes and nod at him, he lowered to kiss your little hand and you could feel how his mouth moved saying “Mio dio, Grazie” (My god, thank you) –I will be downstairs waiting; don’t take too long… please. –He practically plead you to hurry up, you nodded awkwardly and watched him leave just like he entered, in complete silence.

*~*~*~*~*~*

A wave of cold water crashed against your body making you snap your eyes open, you weren’t in your childhood room anymore, the temperature in the room seemed to have dropped until 0°, you tried to cover yourself but then realized that something was retaining you, cuffs in your wrists and ankles attaching you to the humid and now colder wall behind you.

-Bene, the whore is awake. –You looked around searching for the owner of such disgusting voice, but what your eyes were looking at was far worse, this wasn’t your cell, this was a torture room, plenty of devices that seemed to be taken from the worst nightmare of all mankind. –Make sure the other one is not dead. I’m sure the boss will be happy to end him. –the flicking flames countered the body of three guards approaching, from what seemed to be an entrance, they were handing some torches bringing an extra source of light in the room, it hurt though, your eyes had been so used to shadows that the yellow-white flame pierced painfully your pupils. You had to turn back your head for a second and opened your eyes little by little until being fully suited, but just when you thought the worst had passed, when your eyes reached the new visible area, you wished everything had stayed just as dark as it was.

-Ci…ro… -The subtle trembling in your body stopped when you saw him, the poor green-eyed boy attached just like you to the wall but his body was disgraced, cuts and bruises in his pale naked torso, dry blood all over his face and his lower parts, his pants were teared down, barely covering his manhood, but not only that, they were wet, something was dripping from his arse, you swallowed hard and tried to convince yourself that whatever that was, it couldn’t be what you were thinking.

-Ehi little one, ready for another round? –The way he said these words made you want to throw up right there, it was just so gross it was painful to watch, Ciro stood motionless for a few seconds before start coughing, to your pain, he was coughing blood.

-Fotti…ti…(Fuck you) -He spit on the man’s face and smiled triumphantly, the guard put the torch he was holding on a rack in the wall before laughing darkly, Ciro’s sardonic expression faded away and even he got pale from only thinking what was going next.

-You … -The guard cleaned his face furiously with his right hand. –You haven’t learnt anything from the army, have you? -His voice was calm, frightening calm; the guard took off his left glove and stretched tentatively his fingers, the creak his bones made echoed like thunder in the room. –Try to bite me and you are dead kid. –The guard tugged two fingers inside Ciro’s mouth and pushed them so far back in his throat that made tears roll down from his eyes from the constant gagging, Ciro fought back by pushed himself backwards trying to escape from the intruders in his mouth without any good result, he only hit his head over and over whenever he arched back. –Let me refresh your memory… -The guard’s hand roamed down Ciro’s abdomen teasingly leaving a shining trail of saliva all over it, his hand went more south until disappearing in the back of the green-eyed boy, he let out a cry when he felt the contact in his sensitive and damaged skin. –Just like that… -The hand of the man stabbed upwards, the screams of Ciro were high pitched, they pierced your eardrums like daggers did with flesh, with every movement of the guard’s hand the screams became louder and heartbreaking, it was too much for you.

-Get away from him you bastard! I SWEAR I WILL CUT YOU! –Your shouting was barely audible in comparison to his, the worst part of everything is that you could see the lewd expressions in those men, they were enjoying this display of cruelty and even they were touching themselves shamelessly, no matter how hard you wrestled against the cuffs, it didn’t make them take their eyes off of him, not even with insults they changed his attention to you. The impotence and desperation were dragging you slowly to madness.

-ENOUGH! –The only thing audible now were the soft whimpers and heavy breathing of Ciro, the guards had froze instantly at the call, like if a ghost had showed up or something. –Leave. –The voice spoke again, this time more threatening and cold, They didn’t dare to look up to see the owner, they just left the torches in the empty racks on the wall and left as fast as possible, they actually ran away from there.

When the presence stepped into the light you identified the tunic he was wearing, a jet black one with hood, it didn’t take you long to spot him in your memories, he was the same man that was present when Ezio’s family was executed and also back at San Gimignano days ago.

-You… You are the man who was with Uberto, back at Florence! –Everything inside your head was linking so perfectly it made you feel stupid for not realizing it before. The man stared at you concerned; trying to remember you, the subtle flinching of his eyes gave you the confirmation.

-But… not only that… -The man got closer to you, his fingers cupped your face in a firm grip. –Where… where have I seen those arrogant eyes before… -He was so close you could feel his stink breathing against your skin, you wanted to turn your head but the tightness of his grip made it impossible, it was like having an ox smelling you, well even you were convinced that an ox would be prettier than him. –Fausto… - You stopped wrestling and stared stupefied by the affirmation he just made.

-How… how do you… -The old man let go of you and took a step back. –How do you know my father’s name? –The man stood motionless in front of you, maybe judging or examining your half-broken body, studying your robes and injuries, it felt like he was undressing you with those sharp eyes, it felt awful.

-That coward, I should have known... –An evil smirk on his face. –Cowards always survive…-He turned his head slowly at the dying body of Ciro, the echoes of his steps travelling across the thick air as he walked closer to your friend, a sensation of panic was sinking in your guts, right now you just wished for everyone to leave him alone. –if you want something to be done right, do it yourself. –You could see his hand wrapping around Ciro’s neck tightening with every second that passed, it looked like he was sucking directly his pain and enjoying himself on causing him even more, the constant wrestling of your wrists had made deep bleeding cut in the area, but it didn’t matter how hard you pulled or contorted the metal didn’t give away, not even a little.

-STOP! Don’t kill him! –You begged in desperation of seeing Ciro’s face turn red and thinly blue, the man let him go abruptly, if it hadn’t been because of the chains, he would have collapsed on the ground, his coughing was dry and hoarse, it was torture. –Who the hell are you? What do you want? –little snorts escaped from the man as he pulled down the black hood that covered his head, he was old, older than your father for sure, gray was the prevalent color in his hair.

-From you child, nothing. However from your father and that assassin you could be a very good trade. –The more he mentioned your father, the more irritated you were, what did he have to do in all of this?

-What is it that you have with my father? Who are you? –You looked at him puzzled trying to read what he might say from the expression he had, but it was hard to tell.

-I am Rodrigo Borgia; soon enough everyone in the whole world will know my name. –A narcissistic smile drew on his face. –And I will make sure your father remembers it for a long time. –You frowned concerned by those powerful but senseless words, it looked like this man might be mad and maybe knowing your father was only one of his many deliriums. He noticed your lack of understanding in the situation and he laughed at you while drawing out a small dagger from his sleeve. –I will tell you a story child. Once upon a time there were two men willing to do anything for the world to recognize them, they were cruel and heartless, murdering and committing atrocities were like a mere kids play for them… -He swung the metal and admired the shimmering reflection of the light as he walked from one side to another, like he the floor beneath him wasn’t there. –They came to be like brothers, standing by each other’s side ready to eliminate any stubborn… -He stopped for a second and looked at you. –Or at least that is what one of them thought… he never knew that behind his back there was a snake getting his fangs out ready to attack and escape once he was dead… -Rodrigo resumed his march, this time eyes fixed on the ceiling. –Tell me child… do you know why Adam and eve were casted out from Eden? –The sudden change of subject confused you but after going back to your childhood memories to find the answer you spoke.

-Because… they were tricked by the snake… by the devil… -Your mouth went dry after saying this, Rodrigo stood motionless, almost in a state of trance, it made you jump when he turned and got dangerously closer to you in just the blink of an eye, the cold metal pressing against your filthy skin.

-No, because Eve tricked him! It was because of her they were banished, there never was a snake! – You flinched backwards to escape from the lunatic man only encountering with the harsh wall that even seemed to push you forward to meet him. –He betrayed his family for one single woman just like Adam did with god; he had everything and yet decided to give it up and ran away like the traitor and coward he was!

-You are lying… that cannot be he was… -You hardly looked at him in the eye, though everyone says the eyes are the windows to someone’s soul, you only perceived darkness behind them, no spark of life or love, only nothingness, you could dare to say there was no soul inside him.

-An assassin? Oh no, he walked away from us, he turned against us, against his brothers and for what, a peasant woman. He could be with her and he could have fought us all this time but that won’t change his roots, no matter how deep he buries it. –he stepped back and stared at your shivering body, his face was serious but you could hear his humiliating laughter, it made you angry but right now you weren’t sure if it was for him or your father. –But in the end… no matter how much he loved her… he still preferred to save his own life than others, I’m very surprised he took you with him, you should have died along with your mother. –that was the last drop, you were at your edge, no matter how much you shouted at him, how much you cried, how much you squirmed and kicked, it wasn’t enough, you wanted to only rip his heart out and crush it against the floor over and over again… this could not be true, all you had passed, all you have lived with them could not be resumed to these simple arguments, you could not have been only a puppet from all of this, just another poor victim, it could not be, you felt your heart broke into a million pieces and from the simple fact of thinking you could feel you would go totally insane and lost yourself, too much feelings and thoughts were just tiring, sometimes you wished you could just not feel nothing anymore and this was one of them.

-Was it all a lie then? –After draining all your energy and left your body ringing off the cuffs you spoke, there was no sentiment anymore, only thirst, thirst for answers. –How… how do I know if I can trust you? Rodrigo Borgia –The name left you a bitter sensation in your mouth, only saying the name felt wrong, like casting the devil, but in this very moment you didn’t care of what was right or wrong, not anymore.

–You can find the answers you are looking for with us, forget all those ideals of freedom and will, open your eyes to the unspoken truth of life child, become one with us… -Your eyes slowly rolled up to see the man looking pleased at you, as if he just created a living being, something anyone had not created before, a monster.-Once you have accepted the truth of the human nature, once you have accepted the truth of this world, you will be capable of understanding why people need to be guided, to have order… to be controlled. –You saw him moving to your sides, breaking the cuffs with the dagger letting you fall on your knees but you didn’t have enough will to stand up, you felt just blank, your body didn’t answer any command of movement from your brain, it was blocked. –We have to end those who shall raise against us, those who are not devote to the cause of peace through order… -Rodrigo’s words seemed to wash your brain whenever he spoke, the more you think of them the more meaning they had to you, it felt wrong, of course it did, you were betraying everything you believed in, everything you knew but to be fair the world and life itself had betrayed you already, this could be only considered as a minimum payback.

-(Y/N)… -Ciro’s broken voice called you; it sounded miles away, only a whisper. –Don’t… trust him… he will let you rotten… in a place if you are of no use… just like me… -Those words shaken your mind enough to pull out from the numbness. –Don’t… make me regret… my decision… -You looked at him moved by his words, Rodrigo noticed the link between you two and decided to end it by digging his dagger into the poor boy’s chest, he refused to look away from you no matter how much the old man twisted his dagger into him, you watched horrified but you could see peace in Ciro’s eyes as the last sparkle of life vanished from his eyes, there was an imperceptible smile drawn in his face that slowly faded as his heart stopped pumping blood, he was now hanging there, no sight of weak breathing anymore, just blood dripping around the knife in his chest.

-It’s time for you to leave what attaches you to your past life. –He looked at you for a while waiting for some interest to show, but you were too concentrated on the words Ciro said that it was impossible to simply look away from his body. –You have to kill the assassin. –He said the last words with so much hatred that you just couldn’t take it anymore and laughed so hard that your stomach hurt and tears emerged, Rodrigo was astonished and stared at you blankly until your snorts and gasps for air stopped.

-Did you really think I was going to join you? –You looked mockingly at him and saw a frightening grin in his face. –I will find the answers and the truth on my own way, I don’t need a group of old men to tell me what to do, I am free to do as I please and that will never change. –The challenging gaze you have the man made him see red, you just laughed in his face and yet you were surprised that he hadn’t ended your life in the instant you started talking.

-You… -You could see his jaw tightening and even his teeth clenching one to another, venom trying to go out in shape of words but being retained by his own tongue. He took a deep breath and let out a very slow and loud sigh to put himself together, the look in his eyes was one of pure hate, the kind of hate to kill and still you doubted why hadn’t he done it already? –GUARDS! –He shouted and went to the door of the dungeon, the steps of men incoming echoed in the walls. –Take her out; we have a long ride to make. –The guards were about to enter the room when he stopped the, a malicious glint in his eyes. –And don’t be careful. –The guards looked at each other and shared wicked smiles, you closed your eyes and sighed, this definitely was going to be a long ride.