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Paradisa, unknown.
"Ezio Auditore, correct?"
Ezio turned to the unfamiliar voice, only to find himself a few yards away from a dark-haired young man dressed in the garb of Roman nobility.
"You must be Lucrezia's brother," Ezio replied, smoothly. To be abrasive, he added, "Juan, was it?"
"Cesare," the young man replied, clearly nettled.
Ezio smiled, waving a hand dismissively. Given that they'd spoken over the journals a number of times, both of them were acutely aware that Ezio was feigning ignorance –– or worse, indifference.
"Did you want something?" Ezio asked.
Cesare's eyes darkened, eyebrows furrowing.
"I would know your intentions with my sister."
Ezio turned away and gestured for Cesare to follow, continuing to stroll through the garden. There was a hesitation, likely more out of frustration than anything, but then Cesare fell into step beside him. Ezio kept up the image of cavalier indifference. He couldn't have Cesare believing Ezio had any interest in him on a personal level -- not yet, anyhow.
"I imagined it would be unwise to leave a young Italian woman unattended in Paradisa," Ezio said. "It's dangerous and confusing here, especially so for people of our time. A girl as innocent and naïve as Lucrezia could get into trouble, left alone. Would you have preferred that I left her by her lonesome?"
Cesare was watching him like a hawk, but Ezio kept his gaze ahead for a moment, before turning to smile.
"She likes my company, anyhow."
Cesare lunged to grab Ezio's collar, and Ezio stopped and let it happen, barely jostling even as the younger man tried to heft him closer to adequately threaten him. Cesare was a couple inches taller but no bulkier, and despite his superior height, he lacked Ezio's training. Ezio knew how to get himself out of that hold in a second, never once doubting that he was always in control of the situation.
"Depending on your intentions, perhaps I have reason to believe she'd face danger in your hands, Florentine," Cesare growled.
Ezio just smiled, cocky, even as Cesare snarled in his face.
"Trust me, Cesare," Ezio replied. "If there is any member of your family I would protect -- even risk my life for -- it is Lucrezia."
A look of surprise passed over Cesare's face, fleeting as ever, and it brought a smirk to Ezio's face. Cesare tried to shake him, immediately.
"I am her brother," Cesare hissed, under his breath. "If anyone is going to protect her, it will be me."
"From what I've heard, you've done a terrible job at it," Ezio informed him.
Cesare swung to punch, and Ezio used the short moment between the draw-back and the swing to wrest himself to the side. He was tempted to shove the heel of his hand upward into Cesare's jaw and give the teenager a knocking, but he resisted the urge in favour of pacifism, breaking from Cesare's grip and letting that fist make contact with thin air.
There would be time for violence later.
"Manners," Ezio chided, putting a few steps between them. "Why did you let your father marry her off to Sforza? Surely you knew what would happen."
Cesare's eyes darkened.
"I didn't want things to happen as they did, but I won't expect you to understand the politics of our families. I've never even heard of the Auditore family, so they can't be that reputable."
That touched a nerve in Ezio. Of course Cesare didn't know –– the Auditore hadn't been prominent since before Cesare's birth, because Giovanni Auditore and two of his sons had been executed at Rodrigo Borgia's hands. Ezio shouldn't have expected him to know.
Even so, it infuriated him, and suddenly anger was flaring up in his own eyes.
He didn't give Cesare even a moment to resist. Ezio knocked him to the ground with a swift shove and a hook of a foot, sending Cesare crashing down onto his backside. Ezio pulled a knife from his belt and pointed it.
"Or perhaps the Borgia are so self-absorbed they do not look far beyond their own noses," Ezio replied, waspishly, before Cesare could even open his mouth.
"Or the noses of our kin. Stay away from my sister!" Cesare commanded, defiant still, but eyes trained on the hand bearing the knife. From this angle, Cesare looked very much his age, and not a day over.
Ezio shook his head, sheathing the knife again. "I'll leave Lucrezia alone when she herself bids me to."
He dusted off his hands and walked off.
"Ezio Auditore, correct?"
Ezio turned to the unfamiliar voice, only to find himself a few yards away from a dark-haired young man dressed in the garb of Roman nobility.
"You must be Lucrezia's brother," Ezio replied, smoothly. To be abrasive, he added, "Juan, was it?"
"Cesare," the young man replied, clearly nettled.
Ezio smiled, waving a hand dismissively. Given that they'd spoken over the journals a number of times, both of them were acutely aware that Ezio was feigning ignorance –– or worse, indifference.
"Did you want something?" Ezio asked.
Cesare's eyes darkened, eyebrows furrowing.
"I would know your intentions with my sister."
Ezio turned away and gestured for Cesare to follow, continuing to stroll through the garden. There was a hesitation, likely more out of frustration than anything, but then Cesare fell into step beside him. Ezio kept up the image of cavalier indifference. He couldn't have Cesare believing Ezio had any interest in him on a personal level -- not yet, anyhow.
"I imagined it would be unwise to leave a young Italian woman unattended in Paradisa," Ezio said. "It's dangerous and confusing here, especially so for people of our time. A girl as innocent and naïve as Lucrezia could get into trouble, left alone. Would you have preferred that I left her by her lonesome?"
Cesare was watching him like a hawk, but Ezio kept his gaze ahead for a moment, before turning to smile.
"She likes my company, anyhow."
Cesare lunged to grab Ezio's collar, and Ezio stopped and let it happen, barely jostling even as the younger man tried to heft him closer to adequately threaten him. Cesare was a couple inches taller but no bulkier, and despite his superior height, he lacked Ezio's training. Ezio knew how to get himself out of that hold in a second, never once doubting that he was always in control of the situation.
"Depending on your intentions, perhaps I have reason to believe she'd face danger in your hands, Florentine," Cesare growled.
Ezio just smiled, cocky, even as Cesare snarled in his face.
"Trust me, Cesare," Ezio replied. "If there is any member of your family I would protect -- even risk my life for -- it is Lucrezia."
A look of surprise passed over Cesare's face, fleeting as ever, and it brought a smirk to Ezio's face. Cesare tried to shake him, immediately.
"I am her brother," Cesare hissed, under his breath. "If anyone is going to protect her, it will be me."
"From what I've heard, you've done a terrible job at it," Ezio informed him.
Cesare swung to punch, and Ezio used the short moment between the draw-back and the swing to wrest himself to the side. He was tempted to shove the heel of his hand upward into Cesare's jaw and give the teenager a knocking, but he resisted the urge in favour of pacifism, breaking from Cesare's grip and letting that fist make contact with thin air.
There would be time for violence later.
"Manners," Ezio chided, putting a few steps between them. "Why did you let your father marry her off to Sforza? Surely you knew what would happen."
Cesare's eyes darkened.
"I didn't want things to happen as they did, but I won't expect you to understand the politics of our families. I've never even heard of the Auditore family, so they can't be that reputable."
That touched a nerve in Ezio. Of course Cesare didn't know –– the Auditore hadn't been prominent since before Cesare's birth, because Giovanni Auditore and two of his sons had been executed at Rodrigo Borgia's hands. Ezio shouldn't have expected him to know.
Even so, it infuriated him, and suddenly anger was flaring up in his own eyes.
He didn't give Cesare even a moment to resist. Ezio knocked him to the ground with a swift shove and a hook of a foot, sending Cesare crashing down onto his backside. Ezio pulled a knife from his belt and pointed it.
"Or perhaps the Borgia are so self-absorbed they do not look far beyond their own noses," Ezio replied, waspishly, before Cesare could even open his mouth.
"Or the noses of our kin. Stay away from my sister!" Cesare commanded, defiant still, but eyes trained on the hand bearing the knife. From this angle, Cesare looked very much his age, and not a day over.
Ezio shook his head, sheathing the knife again. "I'll leave Lucrezia alone when she herself bids me to."
He dusted off his hands and walked off.