CH 47: Antonio

Out of frustration for his stupidity, Ali shouted at him :"be careful, genius! I will do it, go and find this Antonio or whoever."

But it seems like Ugo's pride got in the way as he still tried to lift her up before she shouted at him :"Oh, cristo, Ugo! Do what he says!"

Ugo got up with a frustrated swing of his arm as he shouted :"Qua l'ultimo arrivato da gli ordini (I can't believe I'm taking orders from this guy)!"

However, his words resulted in Ali who was already in a bad mood to get even more pissed off as he took a step forward and grabbed Ugo's neck as he squeezed hard enough to choke :"listen here, you piece of a shit.

Not only can "this guy" order your bitch ass around, he can order your mom, your sister, and every one of your ancestors around too.

Now you better listen and do what you're told before I rip your jaw off so no more bullshit can come out of that mouth."

You would think that Ezio would help the poor guy out, but she was quite dissatisfied with how he raised his voice on her lover as well.

So she didn't step in as Ali threw him away, finally letting him breath as he coughed :"I'm not one to let others trash talk me and then walk away, you better remember that, asshole."

"Enough! Help me out! Can't you see I'm bleeding?!" Rosa shouted before Ugo got up and walked away.

Ali and Ezio walked to her side as she panted :"So tired..." seeing that her eyes were closing, Ali gently shook her :"hey! Hey! Stay awake!"

He picked her up and followed the path that Ugo had went and called out to the few thieves saw them :"We need help!"

They came into a rather big, open space as Ugo ordered a few thieves with a hoarse voice from being chocked :"Where's Antonio?! Make yourselves useful! Clear a space for her!"

He then looked at Ali with a bit of a glare and fear :"Put her down, there." Satisfied with how he found out his place, Ali walked towards the table that had a blanket on it.

As Ali put her down, Rosa asked with a weak voice :"Where are we?" Ali gently laid her down as he answered her :"your home. Help is on the way."

Rosa nodded as she thanked :"Thank you..." seeing that she wasn't a bitch anymore, Ali nodded with a small smile on the corner of his lips :"you're welcome."

But suddenly, a worried voice came from behind :"Rosa! What's happened?" Assuming that this guy was Antonio, Ali walked to the side to see what he will do.

Rosa :"Just get this thing out of me!"

Antonio :"Soon, soon. Let's have a look first. Clean entry and exit through the thigh. That's good."

Rosa :"Get. It. Out!"

Antonio :"Rosa, we must take care not--"

Rosa :"NOW!"

Antonio :"Come vuoi (As you wish). Tenetela (Hold it)!"

Ali and a another thief held her down as Antonio broke the back of the arrow, causing her to groan before grabbing the head of the arrow and pulling it out in one swift motion. But she screamed out in pain anyway.

Antonio threw away the arrow as he apologized :"I'm sorry, piccola (sweetheart)." But his apology didn't take away the pain.

So Rosa cursed :"Sorry?! Ficcatelo nel culo your sorry (You can shove your "sorry" up your ass)!"

However, as Ali suppressed his laughter, Antonio didn't mind the cursing as he ordered a thief :"Go fetch Bianca and be quick!"

He then turned his head to Ali :"help me with this!" But Ali who was too good at fighting to get injured, didn't know what to do :"and how exactly?"

"Take a clean piece of linen." He did as Antonio said before he instructed again :"When I remove my hand, press the cloth into her wound. Are you ready? Now!"

Ali followed the instructions as he covered her wound as she screamed. Antonio praised as he tied the linen around her leg as she twitched in pain :"Ben fatto (Well done). You work well under pressure."

After tying it around her leg, she gave another scream as Antonio commented :"She's spirited, this one."

Causing Rosa to curse again :"Porca puttana (son of a bitch)!" But Antonio didn't mind as he ordered the thieves :"Avanti (Come on)! Get Rosa inside so that Bianca can close the wound! You'll be alright. The worst has past."

However, Rosa slapped the hand that he put on her cheek away as the thieves picked up the table while she continued cursing :"Ti venisse il cancro, brutto bastardo (I hope you catch plague, you bastard)! ...a te e quella grandissima troia di tua madre (...you and your whore mother)!"

As they took her away, Ezio chuckled from beside Ali who was cleaning his hands :"she is almost as foul mouthed as you. Almost."

Ali chuckled with a shake of his head as Antonio watched her get taken to inside of a building :"Thank you. Rosa is most dear to me. If I had lost her..."

Ali laughed as he threw away the piece of clothing that he used to dry his hands after he washed them with water :"you're welcome. I tend to try and act like a good guy and a gentleman in front of my lover."

Antonio turned around with a crooked nod :"So I've heard. Don't look so surprised. We know all about you, Ser Ali, signora Ezio. Your work in Firenze and the rest of Tuscany. Good work too, if a little unrefined."

Ali rolled his eyes with a smirk :"I don't consider killing as an art for me to be careful and "refined" in it. You know why we're here?"

Antonio nodded :" I can guess. When you have a minute, come see me in my office. There's something we should discuss."

Ali and Ezio nodded as he walked into his office or room or whatever. Ezio sighed as she looked around :"wild ride, huh? So much for a relaxing first day..."

Ali chuckled as he nodded :"tell me about it. But well, I guess this made it easier for us to befriend the thieves here."

Ezio raised an eyebrow with an amused smile :"befriend them? Did you forget that you just threatened a few thieves and did that to Rosa's leg?"

Ali rolled his eyes with a snort as he folded his arms in front of his chest :"they had it coming. No one raises their voice on me, and nobody will talk to you like that on my watch."

Ezio chuckled before she gently grabbed Ali's collar and brought him down to a kiss :"beh, felice di sapere che ho un amante così premuroso e protettivo (well, happy to know that I have such a caring and protective lover)."

They took a moment to gently kiss each other in the jealous eyes of the thieves before Ezio pulled away :"alright, we should go and see what Antonio has to say.

It's probably about their failed attack on Emilio's palace. We should go and see what he has planned."

Ali nodded before they walked towards Antonio's room. But just before Ezio could knock, Antonio's voice came from inside :"Avanti (Come in), Ezio, Ali."

Ezio opened the door and walked in as Ali followed after her. And when they walked in, Antonio greeted them :"Prego (Welcome). Can I offer you something? Biscotti? Un caffè (A coffee)?"

Hearing the new word while Antonio poured a glass for each of them, Ezio asked with a raised eyebrow :"What's caffè (coffee)?"

Antonio turned towards them with two wooden cups in his hands :"An interesting concoction, brought to me by a Turk merchant. Here, have a taste."

Ezio took one of the cups, but Ali shook his head and refused his with a chuckle :"sorry, I may like bitter things, but just empty coffee is too bitter for my taste."

Antonio nodded as he placed the cup away while Ezio took a sip :"A little bitter if you ask me. It just seems lacking somehow....I don't know. Have you considered adding sugar, maybe? Or latte (milk)?"

She gave her cup to Antonio as well to put it away as he got down to business :"I suppose it is something of an acquired taste. Enough about that. Now where were we?"

After putting the cup away, he walked towards a wooden version of Emilio's palace and the buildings around it on his table :"Our failure at the palazzo cost us dearly.

It will take time to recover. No doubt Emilio will use this pause to strengthen his defenses and continue his oppression of the district. You may not share our motive, but I know you share our goal."

Ezio :"Why not gather your forces and try again?"

Antonio :"To act in haste would only bring more losses. No. We must resupply and draw new plans."

Ezio :"We can not afford to sit around and wait."

Antonio :"Nor would I want you to. Work with us instead. Already my men begin to mend today's wounds. Seek them out; they'll put you to work. The sooner you aid them, the sooner we can strike."

Ezio :"Molto bene, Messere. (Very well, sir). We accept."

Antonio :"It is the right decision."

Ezio and Ali walked out as they began to walk out of the thieve's guild. Ezio turned to Ali as she asked :"so? Cosa dovremmo fare adesso (What should we do now)?"

Ali looked at the sky with his hands in his handmade pockets :"prima di ogni altra cosa, dovremmo cercare un posto dove stare (before anything else, we should look for a place to stay in).

After all, we're going to stay in this city for quite a long time, maybe even years. So we should have a house to stay in."

Ezio thought about it before she nodded as well :"va bene, allora è quello che faremo (alright, then that's what we'll do). Let's go then, we should look for a good one."

And so, a few days went with them looking for a new house to stay in. While looking for a house, they stayed in an inn.

The reason for taking so long was because there weren't that many good houses to buy, most of them were either in a bad neighborhood or were just bad houses.

In the end, they found a house that was pretty decent and was in a very good neighborhood. It belonged to a guy who was planning on going to another city or county, so he decided to sell his house.

And well, Ali decided to buy it after taking a look at the house with Ezio. It wasn't a palace, but it had a few rooms and was quite comfortable to live in.

So they happily chose it and moved in after buying a few things. Ali also took the chance to show off his wealth in front of his lover.

Even though Ezio had seen countless times just how deep Ali's pockets are, he still felt good when showing off in front of her.

And well, Ezio would amuse Ali and his childish antiques any day of the year. But she really was curious about how Ali always had so much money with him.

She had honestly believed that he knew magic or some kind of witchcraft to have so much money.

After all, who the hell just pulls out tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands from a small waist bag???

So, considering that was the most believable explanation, she just decided to go with that. But well, even if it was true, she would still love him.

After all, he was with her at her hardest times and supported her without any hesitation. How could she not love him with all that he has done for her?

This was the man who decided to throw away an easy life to be a killer, just so he could be with her. He was hers, and she was his. They would be together, never to be separated.