(no subject)
Roma, 1504.
As a rule, Ezio did not sleep with the recruits.
It seemed a little inappropriate, and little risky given the nature of the Brotherhood; a casual night of drinking and a romp in bed could make things complicated on missions, not to mention he wanted to avoid his novices trying to keep him happy by, for the lack of better terms, seducing him. He didn't want to be biased, really.
But that didn't mean there weren't slip-ups, moments where a mutual lust had outstripped his desire to keep things simple. When he was surrounded by exceptional young women, odds are at least a few of them would catch his fancy. And what was the harm of it?
One of them was Zita Zanovelli, a young woman from Constantinople. She was the daughter of a sailor and a merchant woman from Northern Africa, and she had a dark complexion and even darker eyes. He'd assisted her in bringing down a group of Borgia soldiers, who had been intent on killing her after she'd been caught snooping into their business. Their business, as it had it, was killing courtesans. He'd been on the same case for days, and she'd just happened to have beaten him to the first punch.
She was on a tour of Tiber Island and dressed as an Assassin novice within hours, and she had moved throughout the bulk of her training within months. Days after her first successful mission, she followed him upstairs when he retired for bed, and within a week they were sleeping together regularly.
And it wasn't really easy to hide, when everyone mostly lived and ate in one building, on one island. Most of the other novices politely averted their eyes and ears, but some did not.
One morning, Ezio overheard an unsavory line out of Stefano Spallonei's mouth, instants before a fight broke out over the war table.
"This is a Brotherhood, not a whorehouse!"
And then, Zita, furious: "How dare you, bastardo!"
It took a number of other novices and Ezio himself to haul them apart, his arm around Zita's waist, his hand on the hilt of her sword to keep her from drawing it. Stefano wrestled against Giordano and Anneta. Both spewed insults.
"Novices," he barked, unimpressed. It had already been a long morning. "We do not fight each other -- we fight our enemies. The Templars, the Borgia! Silencio, all of you!"
Everyone fell silent. Ezio released Zita, and Giordano and Anneta released Stefano. Both brushed themselves off.
"Now," Ezio continued, gesturing at them with a stern finger. "What is this about?"
"if I may," Stefano piped up, immediately. "I do not think it is appropriate that you are bedding Zita Zanovelli."
"It was my choice," Zita fired back. "I do not see how this is any different from you bedding with Candida!"
"Candida is my Sister, not my Maestro," Stefano argued, and while everyone else certainly found the word choice funny, only Giovanni dared laugh out loud at it. Stefano threw him a withering look, silencing him in seconds, and then continued, furious, "The novices of our Brotherhood should not be treated like courtesans, here for his pleasure!"
"Jealous, Stefano?" Zita snapped.
"No! Stop making this a joke. If he is content to use the women as whores, who is to say he will not treat us as disposable in our work?" Stefano argued. "He gets his fun, he wins his war against the Borgia, we die without cause."
It was Anneta's turn to interject in anger. "Are you a Borgia sympathizer, now? Why are you training to be an Assassin if you don't believe in the Brotherhood?"
"I--"
"SILENCE," Ezio snapped, patience wearing thin.
The silence went from tense to awkward and back again in seconds. Ezio stayed calm, scanning the faces of his twelve recruits. Most were amused, too used to drama of the political sort to care much for "office" politics, but some looked displeased, and those. This was about him, and his comportment and character, not Zita.
He looked at Stefano.
"Then leave," Ezio remarked, calmly. "If you have lost respect for me or believe me to be ill-intentioned, you are welcome to return to your normal life and leave this behind you. If you still wish to serve, then you are out of luck, Brother; those who would deny others the freedom to choose are not welcome here, and neither are those who would insult our allies."
Stefano looked surprised; perhaps he hadn't expected to be told to leave, or given an option that basically amounted to his banishment either way.
"How can I choose if my only option is to leave?" Stefano said, angrily.
"You chose to disrespect me, disrespect the Brotherhood, call your Sisters whores and insult our allies," Ezio said, bluntly. "Did you not choose to do those things?"
"But I didn't--"
"Go," Ezio ordered. "Pack your things. Leave your uniform, your blades, and your armor."
Stefano stared for a moment, flustered, before turning on his heel and marching out. The other recruits watched, quietly, and when they heard a door slam somewhere upstairs.
"He was an asshole, anyway," Anneta said, with a scoff. There were a couple laughs in return.
"There is a spare bed for a new recruit, then, is there not?" Zita asked, glancing up at Ezio.
He smiled, and waved them away.
"Si. Go find us a new Brother -- or Sister."
As a rule, Ezio did not sleep with the recruits.
It seemed a little inappropriate, and little risky given the nature of the Brotherhood; a casual night of drinking and a romp in bed could make things complicated on missions, not to mention he wanted to avoid his novices trying to keep him happy by, for the lack of better terms, seducing him. He didn't want to be biased, really.
But that didn't mean there weren't slip-ups, moments where a mutual lust had outstripped his desire to keep things simple. When he was surrounded by exceptional young women, odds are at least a few of them would catch his fancy. And what was the harm of it?
One of them was Zita Zanovelli, a young woman from Constantinople. She was the daughter of a sailor and a merchant woman from Northern Africa, and she had a dark complexion and even darker eyes. He'd assisted her in bringing down a group of Borgia soldiers, who had been intent on killing her after she'd been caught snooping into their business. Their business, as it had it, was killing courtesans. He'd been on the same case for days, and she'd just happened to have beaten him to the first punch.
She was on a tour of Tiber Island and dressed as an Assassin novice within hours, and she had moved throughout the bulk of her training within months. Days after her first successful mission, she followed him upstairs when he retired for bed, and within a week they were sleeping together regularly.
And it wasn't really easy to hide, when everyone mostly lived and ate in one building, on one island. Most of the other novices politely averted their eyes and ears, but some did not.
One morning, Ezio overheard an unsavory line out of Stefano Spallonei's mouth, instants before a fight broke out over the war table.
"This is a Brotherhood, not a whorehouse!"
And then, Zita, furious: "How dare you, bastardo!"
It took a number of other novices and Ezio himself to haul them apart, his arm around Zita's waist, his hand on the hilt of her sword to keep her from drawing it. Stefano wrestled against Giordano and Anneta. Both spewed insults.
"Novices," he barked, unimpressed. It had already been a long morning. "We do not fight each other -- we fight our enemies. The Templars, the Borgia! Silencio, all of you!"
Everyone fell silent. Ezio released Zita, and Giordano and Anneta released Stefano. Both brushed themselves off.
"Now," Ezio continued, gesturing at them with a stern finger. "What is this about?"
"if I may," Stefano piped up, immediately. "I do not think it is appropriate that you are bedding Zita Zanovelli."
"It was my choice," Zita fired back. "I do not see how this is any different from you bedding with Candida!"
"Candida is my Sister, not my Maestro," Stefano argued, and while everyone else certainly found the word choice funny, only Giovanni dared laugh out loud at it. Stefano threw him a withering look, silencing him in seconds, and then continued, furious, "The novices of our Brotherhood should not be treated like courtesans, here for his pleasure!"
"Jealous, Stefano?" Zita snapped.
"No! Stop making this a joke. If he is content to use the women as whores, who is to say he will not treat us as disposable in our work?" Stefano argued. "He gets his fun, he wins his war against the Borgia, we die without cause."
It was Anneta's turn to interject in anger. "Are you a Borgia sympathizer, now? Why are you training to be an Assassin if you don't believe in the Brotherhood?"
"I--"
"SILENCE," Ezio snapped, patience wearing thin.
The silence went from tense to awkward and back again in seconds. Ezio stayed calm, scanning the faces of his twelve recruits. Most were amused, too used to drama of the political sort to care much for "office" politics, but some looked displeased, and those. This was about him, and his comportment and character, not Zita.
He looked at Stefano.
"Then leave," Ezio remarked, calmly. "If you have lost respect for me or believe me to be ill-intentioned, you are welcome to return to your normal life and leave this behind you. If you still wish to serve, then you are out of luck, Brother; those who would deny others the freedom to choose are not welcome here, and neither are those who would insult our allies."
Stefano looked surprised; perhaps he hadn't expected to be told to leave, or given an option that basically amounted to his banishment either way.
"How can I choose if my only option is to leave?" Stefano said, angrily.
"You chose to disrespect me, disrespect the Brotherhood, call your Sisters whores and insult our allies," Ezio said, bluntly. "Did you not choose to do those things?"
"But I didn't--"
"Go," Ezio ordered. "Pack your things. Leave your uniform, your blades, and your armor."
Stefano stared for a moment, flustered, before turning on his heel and marching out. The other recruits watched, quietly, and when they heard a door slam somewhere upstairs.
"He was an asshole, anyway," Anneta said, with a scoff. There were a couple laughs in return.
"There is a spare bed for a new recruit, then, is there not?" Zita asked, glancing up at Ezio.
He smiled, and waved them away.
"Si. Go find us a new Brother -- or Sister."