Late that night, Claudia crept out from her room, determined to go look for Uncle Mario. Ezio had told her about how he had freed Caterina from the cells below the Castello and Claudia had an inkling that Cesare may have moved her uncle there as well.

Soft-footed, she stayed in the shadows, and was glad that not too many guards were patrolling the halls at night. She moved behind curtains and pillars, recalling every stealth skill she had been taught by her mentors.

She had been sneaking past a large room whose door was slightly ajar, when she heard Cesare's voice.

"No, the guards haven't found her." He was saying.

Claudia felt her heart leap into her throat when she heard Rodrigo's booming voice. "How could you be so incapable of finding your own sister? You disappoint me again, Cesare."

"There wasn't much we could do. The Assassin had her by the throat. I couldn't risk Lucrezia's life." Cesare said in a controlled voice.

Claudia plastered herself to the wall and peeked inside. The room was large with heavy red curtains on every window and iron candle chandeliers hanging from the ceilings. From what she could see, there were thousands of books lined on shelves that served as walls of the room. There was a small balcony above where there were two blue upholstered chairs and a small table.

Claudia bit her lip when she saw Rodrigo walk past her view and over to a heavy wooden desk. "That was our only chance to catch him and you failed miserably."

"If anything had happened to Lucrezia…"

"Lucrezia would have survived!" Rodrigo said angrily. "She would have been hurt but she would have been alive. Ezio Auditore had from day one been a thorn in my side. I want him eliminated by any means."

Claudia felt a surge of anger rise up and she reached for the small dagger on her belt. Cesare had made sure that she didn't get her hands on any weapons but he what he had never anticipated was that she had learned a few lock picking skills from La Volpe. Picking his drawers and finding a weapon had been the easy part. The difficult part had been trying to get the heavy doors open.

But she had managed to open it eventually and glad of the fact that Cesare had never imagined that she would be using her hairpins to open the door.

"My men are looking for him." Cesare said, sullenly.

"Do not make me regret making you Captain." Rodrigo said. "Finding that Assassin is your only chance at redeeming yourself in my eyes. You cannot imagine how disappointed I am to have a son like you."

"I know that!" Cesare said angrily. "You've been telling me that since I was ten."

"Bah! It has done you no good. You should have learned something from Juan. He didn't spare his enemies like you." Rodrigo said in a condescending tone. "He will be dearly missed."

"I'm sure you'll find someone else to shower your affection on, soon enough." Cesare said dryly. He walked forward and poured himself a glass of wine. "Perhaps the one who wants to take his place…"

Claudia heard Rodrigo chuckle. "Now that's what I call a keen player. Not only has he been spying on the Assassins for us, he was devious enough to not inform us that Juan was the next target."

"How could you find that amusing?" Cesare turned and asked disgustedly. "He betrayed us and had one of our own killed!"

Rodrigo came to him and took his glass. "Juan was getting sidetracked by parties and whores. We need someone who will be focused on helping us get our finances. I want to build an army, Cesare. I want weapons and I want to take over and rule all over Italia. If he can assist me in getting what I want, then I have no qualms on who he killed to get there."

"I should have known you admire ruthlessness." Cesare said, sardonically and poured himself another glass of wine.

"I admire ambitious people and you Cesare are not one of them." Rodrigo said scathingly. "I asked you to destroy the Auditore, and what have you done? Why have you not found the rest of his family? I know he has a mother and sister still alive."

Claudia put a hand over her mouth to stifle her gasp. She was just a few feet away from him. If he saw her…

"I am looking for them." Cesare said and gulped down his drink.

Claudia swallowed. Cesare was lying, obviously.

Rodrigo put down his glass and pointed a finger at his son's chest. "I want you to find those two women and bring them to me."

"Why? What do you intend to do with them?" Cesare asked and even from here she could see how tight he was grasping the glass. His knuckles had gone white and she could see him clenching his jaw.

Rodrigo gave a small laugh. "Kill them…after I've had no use for them."

Cesare put down the glass with such force on the table that Claudia jumped and pushed herself closer to the curtains hanging above the door.

"You mean rape them?" Cesare said angrily. "The way you raped Caterina Sforza?"

Rodrigo seemed unmoved by his son's temper and sipped from his glass. "Don't tell me you feel sorry for her. Or do you wish you had partaken in the fun too?"

"How could you call that fun, father?" Cesare asked in disgust. "She's a woman and she didn't deserve to be treated that way."

"And that is why you will always disappoint me, Cesare." Rodrigo said, raising his voice. "She wasn't just a woman, she was helping the Assassins and that makes her our enemy. She had to be shown her place and know that the Templars are far superior to a whore like her."

"You disgust me." Cesare rebutted.

"And you disappoint me. You don't have what it takes to get ahead, Cesare." Rodrigo said. "Sometimes, you have to stomp over people to get what you want. I don't find anything wrong in that. I admire those who have the daring to claim what is theirs."

"And I call that being a criminal and a tyrant." Cesare said.

"Do not insult me." Rodrigo said. "Must I remind you that you have all this- the Castello, the position of a Captain General, just because of me? Without me and my despicable ways, as you call it, we would be on the streets begging for food."

"Sometimes I wish…" Cesare said, but Rodrigo grabbed the front of his robes and shook him.

"Do not go against me, Cesare." Rodrigo said. "I will not be insulted by my peers because of your failures to rise up to the occasion. You are a Borgia, never forget that. If you ever cross me, I will forget that you are my son. Do you understand me?"

"Understood." Cesare said and pushed Rodrigo's hands away from his shirt. "Father." He said the last in a biting tone. Then he pushed past him and headed towards the door.

Claudia pressed herself against the wall as Cesare walked put the door. Clutching the curtains, she was about to heave a sigh of relief at not being caught, when Cesare stopped midway and turned around.

She held her breath and hoped he wouldn't see her in the darkness. Seconds passed by and she could see Cesare trying to peer into the dark corridors. Then suddenly he was coming towards her and Claudia felt her heart stop.

He was two feet away from her when he stopped and closed the doors of the room. Claudia held her breath and prayed that he had not seen her. Then Cesare turned around and walked the other way.

Claudia waited until he turned to go to his room. Instead, he called to the guards and asked them to patrol the courtyards. She waited to see which direction the guards were going in and then when she saw them head the other way, quickly moved out from her hiding spot and walked towards the staircase that would lead her downstairs where she hoped the cells were.

Staying close to the walls, Claudia took two steps at a time and then stopped when she saw a guard walk in the small passageway. She put her hand on the dagger and readied herself to use it at any time.

When the guard had walked into a room, she moved quickly and found herself in a large hall lit by torches that hung on the walls. She could hear moaning and someone complaining about starving. Though that didn't sound like her Uncle's voice, she made her way over, hoping that the voices belonged to the prisoners.

It took her almost fifteen minutes, trying to navigate herself through the maze-like halls to finally find the prison cells. She peeked in and saw one of the guards remove his sword and scream.

"Quiet or I'll cut off your tongue!" He screamed.

"Give me some food, per favore." The man in the cage begged.

The guard rummaged for the keys in his pocket and then removed it. "This is the last time you will cry for food." He threatened.

The other guard came rushing to the first and tried to pacify him, but the guard was too enraged to hear him. He opened the cage and was about to enter, when Claudia leapt from her hiding place and stabbed him in the throat with her dagger. Then she turned to the other who fell on his knees and put down his sword.

"Don't kill me!" he cried.

Claudia turned to the prisoner who was an old man. He was skinny and wearing rage. His skin was darkened with dirt and bruises and she could see several cuts on his legs.

"Come with me." Claudia said and then went over and picked up the guard's sword. "Open the other cages." She ordered.

"Don't kill me." The guard cried again and then got on his feet and did what she asked. Claudia frowned when she didn't see her uncle, but decided that she would have to at least try to get these people out of here before they were tortured to death by the Borgia guards.

"Follow me." She said.

The other two prisoners were men too and Claudia identified one as a Tailor whom she had gone to when she had first come to Roma.

"Grazie, for saving us." The tailor said. "They arrested me just because I was helping the Assassins by selling my fabrics to them." Then he uttered a surprised gasp. "You seem familiar. Aren't you Claudia? Ezio's sister?"

Claudia didn't answer and peeked out to make sure the other guards weren't coming. She raised her sword at the other guard. "Get in." she said.

"The cage?" The guard asked. "No, don't…I c-can't…"

"Now!" Claudia commanded.

The guard got in and Claudia threw a key at the tailor. "Lock the door." She said and peeked out again. A guard was roaming the halls, but he made his way up the stairs and out of her sight.

"Is there another exit?" She asked the guard who was now sobbing.

"S-si." He cried. "Are you going to kill me?"

"No, I'm just going to leave you here." Claudia said. "Now, answer me. Is there another way to get out of here?"

"T-two r-right and then straight up a-ahead." The guard cried.

He didn't look older than seventeen and Claudia almost felt sorry for him. "Andiamo!" She told the other prisoners and then led them through the curving passageways until she saw an opening at the end. "We're almost there." She could hear the soothing sound of water and narrowed her gaze. Were they coming out near the bridge? Wasn't her uncle kept nearby?

"We're free!" The tailor cried and limped faster towards the exit.

Once they were out, Claudia saw a boat in the river. A Borgia captain was getting in and taking the oars. She quickly made her way on the docks and grabbed one of the oars.

"Get out!" she called.

The guard started to remove his sword, but Claudia kicked him hard on his chest. The guard lost his balance and fell backwards.

"I can't swim!" he gasped.

Claudia clamped down on her guilt and beckoned the other prisoners. They got in the boat and waited for her.

"Aiuto!" The guard cried, splashing the water and trying to remain afloat.

"Forget about him and get in!" The tailor screamed. "Let's go before the find out we're gone."

Claudia looked at the drowning guard and then turned back to gaze up at the Castello. Somewhere among these massive walls, her uncle was being held prisoner. She had to find him, but she also wanted to leave the Castello.

"Claudia!" The tailor screamed. "Get in!"

She put out the oar for the guard to grasp it. He sputtered water and then wiped his eyes. "Hey! You're Claudia? Claudia Auditore?" He was starting to climb the docks when Claudia pulled away the oar from his reach. But the guard had already gasped the edge of the dock. "Rodrigo will pay me well when I give you to him."

Claudia swallowed away her fear. She had been recognized; there wasn't any option but to kill him. Raising her oar, she struck the guard over the head and then handed it to the tailor.

"Go!" she told them.

"Aren't you coming with us?" The other prisoner asked.

Claudia looked across to where Roma was and where the Assassins and her family were. She was giving up her chance to go to her family and try to explain her innocence. She turned back to look at the menacing passageway behind her.

She did want to find out what had become of her Uncle, but the truth was that there was something else keeping her here as well, though the admission of that was shaming her.

"Go! Now!" She said. "I have some unfinished work here."

The tailor nodded and started to row. Claudia watched them row further and further away towards Roma. She clasped her hands together and wished she had gone with them and back to her family. She missed her mother and she missed Ezio, but she couldn't go to them without finding proof of her innocence.

She would find the real traitor and take him to Ezio. Then he would have to believe her. Then he would have to stop hating her.

"You didn't leave."

His voice tore through her thoughts and made her shiver. She turned around to see Cesare leaning by the door, watching her, his eyes dark.

Claudia swallowed as he straightened and came towards her. In the moonlight, his dark hair shone and his eyes glistened.

"You didn't answer me." He said softly.

Claudia recalled the conversation she had heard between his father and him and realized she didn't hate him anymore. Maybe she pitied him, but she couldn't understand why her heart was beating so wildly in her chest. She blamed it on almost being caught by Cesare and turned to glare at him.

"I don't need to answer you." She said.

Cesare took her hand gently and Claudia felt her breath caught in her throat. "Why didn't you escape when you had the chance, Claudia?"

"Why are you hiding me from your father?" Claudia asked, knowing now that Cesare had seen her hiding behind the curtains and eavesdropping.

Cesare stepped closer and put a hand on the side of her face. "You know why."

"Where's my uncle?" She asked, shivering under his touch.

"If I tell you, you'll leave." He said, almost sadly. Claudia could see the vulnerability in his eyes and she could feel her heart wrench.

"I have to know he's alive." She said, wanting so badly to embrace him and at the same time hating herself for weakening in his presence.

"You'll have to trust me." He said almost in a whisper, his hand still caressing her cheek. "Do you trust me?"

"I…I don't know." She replied truthfully.

"That's good enough for me." Cesare said and dipped his head to capture her lips in a kiss.

Author's Note: Thank you for reading and taking the time to review.

Okay, so I'm working on the next chapter of the story and I want your advice. Which of these couples do you want a happy ending for? Ezio and Lucrezia? Claudia and Cesare? Both? None?

Let me know :)