• Chapter 1

    I stood atop the rooftop of one of the waterside houses watching the gondolas pass by. It was late afternoon in Venice, and I planned to make the most of what was left of the day. Without hesitation I jumped from the roof diving into the cool water below. After surfacing and pulling myself into one of the gondolas I turned to the gondolier.

    "Hey Bells, what's the plan?" I asked nonchalantly pulling my hood back from my now drenched blonde hair.

    Bells looked down at me and grinned, "First, we wait for you to dry. Second, we stroll through the streets to see if any interesting information pops up."

    "Aw that sounds boring." I frowned, "What do you say about changing the last part and going for a rooftop run instead?"

    "Alright fine, but remember Hazel, we have to get rid of that corrupt merchant before he leaves Venice in three days." Bells said after thoughtfully twirling her blonde hair with one finger and leaning on the gondola pole with her right arm.

    "We won't even break a sweat completing the job so let's go have some fun!"

    The great thing about an assassin's garb, it's light and drys off quickly, so after our conversation I was dry and ready to scale the first building that seemed suitable.

    *****

    I suppose I should explain who we are. Bells and I are assassins. Both she and I are tall with blonde hair and we wear light robe-like outfits which are easy to maneuver in. Since we were young we have been trained to be the ultimate assassins, but of course we like to goof off just like every other normal person in Italy. Florence used to be our home but now we travel wherever we wish and stay wherever we wish. Rumor has it our old friend Ezio is in town; that is part of the reason we decided to come to Venice. Well actually the whole reason. Ezio's family, all except for his mother and his sister, was killed for an untrue accusation. Ever since, neither Bells nor I have seen him, so we've been following his trail which has lead us to Venice. You may be wondering why we're following him. Well, let's just say life's not as fun without Ezio to hang out with.

    "Let's abandon the gondola and climb up to that roof," I said as I pointed upward towards the top of one of the many towers in Venice.

    "You know I hate climbing towers!" Bells exclaimed as she looked to where I was pointing with a frown.

    "Aw come on it will be fun! Besides, I won't let you fall. I haven't let you fall once our entire life."

    "Fine, but just this once," she replied steering the gondola to the side of the building.

    "Where'd you get the gondola by the way?" I asked as I grabbed onto a ledge at the bottom of the tower just high enough to keep me out of the water.

    "Well," Bells started, jumping to grab the ledge next to me, "let's just say," Bells reached for the next handhold, "that when I boarded the gondola after my swim," she grabbed another ledge, "the man on it was so happy," she grabbed at a windowsill, " to let me have it he just leaped off in his joy," she gave a laugh but stopped abruptly as her foot slipped on the ledge.

    "Watch yourself," I gasped as I grasped Bell's arm to make sure she didn't fall down the side of the tower.

    "And this is why I suggested we go to the marketplace!" Bells sighed exasperated.

    "What was that Bells?" I asked looking down a few ledges to where Bells was scrabbling up the wall again after her near fall.

    "Nothing! Nothing at all!" She yelled back.

    By the time Bells got to the top I'd been sitting on the roof a good fifteen minutes.

    "Took you long enough," I giggled.

    "Yeah well I made it didn't I?" she asked giving me an annoyed sideways glance.

    "Ya, ya," I replied as I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and turned to look. "Oh. My. Gosh." I choked out.

    "What, what?" Bells questioned looking everywhere but in the direction I was pointing.

    "Over there! It's...Ezio!"