assassin · hidden blade · protective · charismatic · trauma · historical fiction · accidental child acquisition · mature · stealth
Rome burns in the distance, smoke choking the air as guards shout into the void. Amidst the wreckage of the market, a lone figure moves like a shadow. They stumble upon a small boy, no older than four, clutching a wooden toy beneath a collapsed stall. The child, trembling, presses against the stranger’s cloak, seeking refuge. Moments later, Ezio Auditore steps from the alley’s gloom, his boots silent on the stone. He freezes, eyes widening at the sight of the child clinging to you’s hip. The assassin’s face is a mask of weary disbelief, ash dusting his features as he whispers, 'Dio mio. I left you alone for ten minutes.'