"Some old wounds never truly heal, and bleed again at the slightest word." - George R.R. Martin

Though Jessica slept no longer that night, she refused to exit the guest room without Leonardo by her side. She had no desire to face the Auditore's concern and her own embarrassment in solitude, for she was sure that both would be great and terrible. So she hid beneath the covers until the man yawned and stretched in his waking on the bed beside her. Leonardo sat up, looking both adorably confused and exhausted, straightening his clothes as he gazed around and finally settled on the two wide, green eyes peering out from the edge of the covers, beneath a head of unruly black curls. They stared at each other for a moment before he yawned again, which made her yawn in turn, and then giggle.

"'Morning, Leo."

"Good morning, Jessica."

He saw her eyes sparkle and she couldn't fight off her wide grin at the sound of her name on his lips. Leonardo smiled happily in return and reached out to further muss up her hair, in response to which she made a sound of protest and shied away, swiping at his hand with her own. He laughed until his eyes focussed on her palm, and he caught it at once, holding her cool hand within his warm ones and she tensed as she realised he was inspecting in great detail, the Mark. He didn't appear anything but curious, however, so she sat up and allowed him to look to his content.

"I have never noticed this before last night. Isn't that curious?" he said lightly, his blue eyes dancing with his thoughts.

"No one has," she shrugged, then frowned, a vague memory of a curious young man inquiring after it tickling at the edge of her mind before falling flat, lost to time. She decided not to mention it.

"What makes it glow?" he asked, and she deflated slightly, realising that much of the questions she suspected he would ask, she had no answer to.

"I have no idea. Magic, I guess?" she laughed, the word awkward on her tongue.

Leonardo looked at her. "There is no such thing."

"Then how would you explain it?"

Leonardo's eyes widened and he returned his gaze to the Mark, thinking hard for an answer she knew he could not supply. At last, he patted her hand and released it, rolling off the rather high bed and onto the floor, stretching his shoulders and back, making loud noises of relief.

"Come now, it is time for us to be off," he declared. "We have much to talk about!" He nodded to himself, straightening his hat and sweeping around the bed. "Do not think I will not subject you to each and every inquiry I am able," he warned playfully, shaking a finger at her. "It is not every day you discover your dearest friend is from the future!"

Scrambling out of bed, Jessica shushed him with a smile. "Keep it down. You're the only one who knows, and you're the only one who will ever know, alright?"

She winced as he practically danced over to the windows and threw back the curtains, sunlight violently accosting the previously dim and calm room. All traces of their reverent and peaceful conversation the night before had been vanquished by the new day, and any remnants of her hallucinations were taken with it. Rubbing her eyes, she slid from the comfortable bed and found her shoes on the floor and slipped them blindly on. Leonardo looked at his friend, her light blue dress rumpled, a hint of rust at the collar, and her face and shoulders mostly hidden beneath the thick mass of black curls sprouting from her head, rubbing her eyes and looking very small, and he quietly moved over to her.

Jessica was guided over to the vanity and sat before it while Leonardo returned to the bed and hunted for the ribbon she used to tie back her hair, returning to her victoriously and then surprising her by taking charge, running his artistic fingers through her tangled locks and managing to pull it back and twist it into something vaguely resembling a braid. It looked pitiful in comparison to her own efforts, which were in turn awful compared to Elmo's hairstyling abilities, but that wasn't the point.

Jessica watched her friend's face in the mirror, touched by the intensity of his focus on the task before him. He finished with a flourish and a laugh, and they grinned at each other in the reflection of the mirror, before her eyes slid to the door, and there they darkened as she remembered that they were not the only two in the world. She flinched, coming back to herself as something was wrapped around her forehead and tied at the back of her head, and she looked questioningly at Leonardo in the mirror.

"Unless you wish your secret to be known by all, it will be easier to wear the bandage, just for the moment."

She nodded in acceptance of this logic and he secured it tightly before offering his arm to her. Jessica stood and accepted it with a nervous intake of breath. She wasn't looking forward to dealing with the eldest Auditore brothers today, especially not knowing that Ezio had been forced to carry her from the marketplace. She had never felt so mortified; ashamed of what she considered the ultimate display of dependence and weakness. Jessica was a proud woman, if nothing else, and somehow, knowing that it was Ezio Auditore who had witnessed her in a state of complete helplessness made it that much worse. She just wanted to thank the family and leave as quickly as possible.

Shaking herself, she held Leonardo's arm tightly and was led out of the room, stepping out into a short hall with two doors on the right wall, and an open archway into the main hall straight ahead. Low voices reached their ears, and they followed the sound, turning left into the hall, Jessica wincing at the brightness of the glittering chandeliers and the thick beams of sunlight streaming through the enormous windows. The house was relatively warm, the large fire in the middle of the hall burning brightly, and Jessica's eyes were drawn to the high flames, and then to the family who sat upon the lavish sofas situated before it. Federico, who stood apart from the others, noticed their approach first, though he was turned from them, an arm resting on the mantelpiece, gazing broodingly into the fire. His head snapped around and he straightened instantaneously, his eyes gluing to the bandage on Jessica's forehead before sliding down her pale face to meet her stare.

"Marietta."

She cleared her throat awkwardly as he sighed her name, his voice thick with his relief to see her awake and well. His quiet declaration drew the attention of the rest of his family, who were alternately reading quietly or failing to best Petruccio at chess, and Jessica reddened as their heads turned at once and five sets of eyes were then settled upon her. Four voices spoke her name at once, and all in the room stood and faced her. She could feel their eyes assessing her form and looking upon the bandage and noticing how she leaned against Leonardo, and was both touched and discomforted by their obvious concern. She gave a small wave.

"How are you feeling?"

"Please, you should sit."

"Shall I call the maid to fetch you something to eat?"

"Would you like some water?"

Maria Auditore flapped her hands at her children, silencing them, and glided forward to stand before Jessica, smiling gently. "Are you alright, my dear?"

"I—yes, thank you. I feel much better today."

"You looked awful yesterday."

"I thought you were dead!"

"Claudia, Petruccio," Maria hushed them with a stern look. "Go have Cook prepare a hearty breakfast for our guests. Now."

Huffing, they went, and Maria, shaking her head, gestured for Jessica and Leo to be seated on the freshly vacated sofa. Ezio and Maria returned to their places while Federico remained standing, facing them now. Jessica watched as Claudia's skirts disappeared around a corner, and marvelled at the idea of having a cook, then chuckled to herself as she looked sideways at Leo, realising that she did.

"We were all very concerned when Ezio brought you to us," Maria smiled gently, looking fatigued as ever. At his name, Jessica's eyes flickered briefly to the man, who squirmed uncomfortably and apparently couldn't decide whether he wanted to smile at her or avoid her gaze. It was strange how comfortable she felt in his presence when he wasn't wearing his white robes; when he didn't look like the White Hood. Especially when his face was flushed and he looked vaguely constipated, like he was thinking something he wasn't very happy about, as he did now. A brow raised, she averted her eyes and smiled at Maria, all the while ignoring Federico's eyes on her.

The silence was palpable, but Jessica seemed to be the only one who felt it as she waited eagerly for her friends to return. She stared at the leg of the coffee table, her eyes tracing the lines of the wood and the occasional scratch before inspecting the pieces on the chessboard, where the game between Ezio and Petruccio was ongoing. It didn't take her long to see that Petruccio was going to win, which Ezio definitely wouldn't like. The thought of Ezio's outraged and disappointed losing face made the corners of her mouth pull up into a smile that was amused but not at all friendly. Surprisingly, guilt registered within her with the action and her eyebrows pulled together as she realised that the haphazard insults and unwarranted foul looks were no longer acceptable when it came to dealing with the White Hood. No matter what he had done, or what he continued to do, he had saved her. And unfortunately, that counted for something. It certainly didn't mean her opinion of the murderer had changed, or that her attitude toward him had suddenly become amicable, but for all that he was and all that he did, she now knew that, for what it was worth and if nothing else, she could trust him with her life.

That thought put a bitter taste in her mouth and she didn't want to think about it anymore.

The atmosphere lightened following breakfast, and even more so once Leonardo had convinced Maria that she was fine to walk home and they had left the Auditore's home.

Walking through the white door of their workshop, Jessica and Leo were witness to Elmo pounding down the stairs to meet them. Stopping in front of her, Elmo yelled something incoherently Scottish, waved his bandaged arms around for a moment and then swept her away from Leonardo and into an incredibly tight embrace, crushing her against his warm chest. She patted his back and let him hug her and waited until it was over. Now that she was home, she felt very tired and so, after swearing half a dozen times that she really was perfectly fine, she trudged up to her room, took off the bandage from around her head and collapsed onto her bed with a loud sigh. And she suddenly felt very alone.

Staring up at the roof of her bedroom, she listened to the sounds of the quiet yard outside her window and watched dust float in the beams of sunlight that shone through. Then she reached up and rubbed the spot on her forehead where a rock had struck her hard enough to knock her out cold. The skin was smooth, as it was on the rest of her body. There wasn't a bump, blemish or scar in sight and she hated it. Every scrape and scratch she had earned as a child, every stretch mark and pimple scar she had gained as a teenager; any evidence of her childhood or her past life had been erased. She was a blank slate that couldn't be marked. Any cut or bruise inflicted upon her skin was healed almost instantaneously. She remembered how years ago it had taken longer before any mark faded, but that period of time had shortened gradually; a few days, then a day, then a few hours, and now it took no more than a few minutes. It disgusted and discomforted her. It reminded her that she was somehow different, in a way less than human. She missed the feel of a scabbed wound and the ache of a bruised muscle. Now the only feeling that lingered was fatigue.

Jessica lay there, her eyes slowly sliding shut as her fingers ghosted across the Mark and her mind wandered to the marketplace and the chaos and the White Hood surrounding her with his warm strength and the smell of leather and then she was asleep.

Several weeks later

"Rise and shine, there's a man here to see ye."

Jessica heard the voice from afar, her consciousness flaring briefly before fading once more into the warmth and comfort of sleep.

"Oi, ye awake?"

A sharp rapping on the door made the woman roll over and groan into the pillow, the sound muffled. The Mark tingled lightly.

"Hello?"

The door creaked as it was pushed open. Jessica's mind grasped desperately for sweet unconsciousness as it began to ebb away from her, and she began to register sensations and light. She buried her face in the pillow and snuggled further beneath the sheets.

"Ahh, bless yer sweet heart, lass. Look at ye, all wrapped up and cozy in yer bed like a little angel. Aww, wee lamb."

Two beats of silence. Then there was a shout and a squeak as Elmo flung himself upon the covers and atop of her, on his back, arms and legs splayed wide as he crushed her beneath his weight, a large, goofy grin on his face as Jessica cursed and struggled to be free of him.

"Gah! Get off me you great lump of lard!"

"Awaken, sweet maiden!"

"Oh my god, get off!"

"Your Prince Charming awaits!"

"I swear to God—!"

"Ye of raven locks and cherry lips, and skin as white as—"

"Scottish bastard!"

He chuckled loudly and resisted her attempts to remove him, until she managed to grasp a handful of blonde hair and pulled it sharply. Elmo gave a shout and rolled onto the ground, leaving several strands of hair stuck between her fingers. Rubbing his head, he nevertheless grinned at her as he rested an arm on her bedside and gazed brightly at the woman who sat up now and glared down at him, her face shadowed by a mess of thick dark curls, her eyes cold and her upper lip curled into a snarl.

"What is wrong with you?" she hissed.

"Oh come now, Marie. Ye can't be angry with me on a fine a day as this!"

"Watch me."

His laugh was cut short by the pillow which struck his face, and he fell back and scrambled, still chortling, to sit upon the seat at her desk. "Now, now, lass. As much as I do enjoy our pillow talks, I did wake ye up fer a reason."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Jessica snapped, rubbing her eyes and trying not to be irritated further by the grinning Scotsman in her room.

"There's someone here to see ye."

"Who?"

"Ah. Whatshisname. Ezio's brother. The one who's in love with ye."

Jessica choked on air. "What?"

"He's downstairs looking very broody. Says he needs to talk." He snickered, swinging on the chair.

Jessica's irritation drained from her as she fell back onto her bed and covered her face with a moan. "Oh god."

"Want me to get rid of him?"

"Ugh." Jessica thought about it but shook her head, waving an arm at him, her eyes still covered. "No. No, tell him I'll be right down."

"Yer sure?"

"No." With a deep breath she sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, dreading the conversation she would suffer today. "Get out."

"But I could help ye fix yer hair and put yer makeup on, maybe choose a nice dress fer yer walk down the aisle—"

She had picked up the pillow from the ground and thrown it at him before she even knew she had. "Get out!"

With hands raised in surrender, Elmo fled the room, cackling as he went. "Bastard," she grumbled fondly, and started getting ready.

Federico Auditore stood and spoke with Leonardo da Vinci in the workshop, both men well dressed and neatly pressed as always. Jessica gulped and then cleared her throat to gain their attention, and a cold shiver ran down her spine as Federico turned and fixed her with a set of serious brown eyes. For whatever reason he had come, she could clearly see that he was determined to fulfil his mission. Thus far she had avoided being left alone with him, though they had walked and talked together on several occasions these past weeks, but on this day, she had a feeling that her fortune would end.

"Buon giorno, Marietta. You look well."

The smile she gave him was not all forced, for she did care about him, but she also feared him, in a way that was different than how she feared his brother. At least with Ezio, the fear was primal and natural; he was a predator and she was not. But she feared Federico for how he felt about her, and for how she would inevitably cause him pain.

She kept much space between them when she approached, and briefly glanced at Elmo who was pretending to keep busy in the background, but was really just swinging a hammer around and hitting things at random intervals. She sent him a stern look but he merely wiggled his eyebrows suggestively toward Federico and winked. Jessica could barely hold back a growl. Plastering a smile upon her face and sending only a slightly pleading look to Leonardo, who seemed entirely oblivious of her current mental state, she focussed upon Federico.

"Hello, what are you doing here?"

He smiled gently. "I would ask that you take a walk with me. There are some things I would like to discuss with you."

Jessica's stomach flipped and she resisted the urge to flee to her room. Oh, this couldn't be good. "Uhhh..." Over his shoulder she could see Elmo making kissy faces and she sent him a foul look before looking to Leo. The artist just shrugged helplessly and she knew she was stuck. "Yeah. Of course." She hoped her voice didn't sound too resigned, but if it did, he didn't appear to notice. Taking the arm he offered, she sent a final nasty look to Elmo, who was now making crude motions with the hammer, and left the workshop.

The streets weren't very busy this midmorning, and the weather was kind for the moment, the sun shining in the sky even as a thin layer of snow crunched underfoot. They walked in silence and Jessica busied herself inspecting each individual they passed, gazing in particular at their faces.

She was in the middle of a passionate drawing phase, though she hid her few works from the judgemental eye of one of the greatest artists of all time because she knew she would not be able to cope with whatever feedback he gave her, good or bad, purely on the basis of he being who he was, and she had long since known that she was best at depicting people, rather than buildings or flowers or animals. Jessica liked to create characters and give them stories and emotions. But this hobby was kept her most private. Elmo would only tease her, and Leonardo was too influential a judge for her to risk being judged at all.

It was some time before she realised that either Federico's courage had failed him or he had nothing to say in the first place, but whichever it was, she saw that she would have to be the one to initiate any conversation, and as her fingers and nose grew numb, she decided it was time to hurry this along.

"How is your mother? She was quite tired yesterday."

She felt him stiffen in surprise, his arm tightening around her own for a moment before he took a deep breath of crisp air and relaxed again.

"Yes, the journey to the tip of the Campanile took a toll on her, though I do believe she enjoyed it immensely. She is resting at the palazzo today, while my sister and brother spend the day in the Piazza San Marco."

Jessica smiled. "Hopefully they stay out of trouble."

"That is... doubtful." Federico joked, but seemed awkward and couldn't meet her eyes. His smirk quickly fell and silence enveloped them once more.

Jessica resigned herself to the boring walk and returned to watching the faces of people passing by, but abruptly he spoke.

"I make you uncomfortable."

She blinked and turned to stare up at him, seeing that he continued to avoid her gaze. "What? No! I mean—" She shook her head.

"Yes, I do," he stated, silencing her uncomfortable protestations. His jaw was tight and to speak appeared to cause him some pain, but he continued on. "May I ask... what is it about me that makes you uncomfortable?"

Flustered at his straightforward approach, she was for a moment, at a loss for words. Why did he make her uncomfortable? An easier question was why didn't he? There were simply too many reasons, most of which could really be put down to her own inability to deal with things in a calm, thoughtful and rational manner. But one thing she could say for sure that made her uneasy,

"You proposed."

He nodded at her quiet statement and they stopped walking. Federico released her arm and stepped back to face her. They stood in a small, empty street, surrounded by high buildings dripping with water and greenery, and beside them ran a thin canal, its waters a shimmering crystalline blue. It was the picture of beauty in this crowded city, but the air was dark and still around them, as if Venice itself were holding its breath.

"Yes. And you rejected me. At least, I think you did. Running away and disappearing for several years isn't exactly the traditional way of accepting a marriage proposal, so I just assumed..." he let out a short, weak chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. Jessica stared unhappily at the canal, standing as a statue before him, only rubbing her thumb in circles around the Mark as she was wont to do when she required reassurance.

"I didn't disappear," she dissented dimly.

"But you did run away."

She nodded after a beat, not moving her gaze from the gentle blue waters of the canal. Another long silence followed as he searched carefully for what he would say to her next, and what she could possibly say to him in return. In reality, she knew she deserved whatever it was he said to her, and in a way, she hoped that what he said would hurt her. At least it might then serve to alleviate just a little of her guilt. She wiggled her toes and shifted uncomfortably in the cold, and her movement spurred him on.

"I never read the letter you sent me. I was stubborn. I thought, 'if she wants to break my heart, it is better she do it face to face'. But you never came back. I don't know why I thought you would."

His voice was carefully controlled. Sardonic, but not harsh. Light, but not amused. He was stating facts. Avoiding the torrential emotions she knew dwelled within. She admired him for it, and was saddened by its necessity. "I didn't want to hurt you."

"I know you didn't. You would think that after all of this time I would have other things with which to concern myself, but my thoughts are always drawn back to you. It's rather pathetic, isn't it?"

His laugh was bitterly self deprecating and Jessica wanted to crawl into a hole and stay there. Her first instinct was to apologise, but she found the words lacking, then she wondered if she should comfort him but felt it too awkward and thus she remained standing in silence as Federico proceeded to cut open his heart and present it to her.

"After you rescued my brother and I... I could see that you were changed. You were quiet and reserved and so much stronger than I ever knew you could be. And you had pulled away from me. I thought that if I was patient with you then everything could go back to the way it was. I believed that you could possibly become the person you had been, even after all you had seen and suffered and sacrificed. I thought if I just acted like nothing had happened..." He shook his head. "I did not realise I was losing you until you were gone."

His voice broke, and she looked at him, her heart tearing to pieces for him. Federico's hands shook in fists at his sides and she thought his teeth would crack, seeing how tense his jaw was held. His brown eyes met hers and an uneven breath escaped his lips as his face contorted in pain and he whispered to the wind, trying with all his might to reach her but knowing deep down he never could.

"I love you so much it pains me. And to know that you don't love me is the worst kind of torture. Perhaps you did, once. But no longer. And how could you love me? Because of my family you have lost everything. You chose to throw it all away to save us. I should have known it then, that you had changed. But I believed that you wouldn't have done such a thing if you did not love me. I suppose I was wrong in thinking that I knew you. You are so much more than I ever believed. Everything you do surprises me. You deserve so much more than a crippled assassin. You must hate me."

He was crying, and he was broken but he was smiling, as if pretending to be okay was the only thing stopping him from falling dead on the spot. His brown eyes glimmered through the tears and his hair was loose around his face and his fine clothes shimmering slightly in the sunlight, and he looked every bit the tortured prince charming, or at the very least; a good man who loved a woman who did not love him in return.

"I don't... I don't hate you. But I don't love you."

She might as well have stabbed him through the chest for what those words did to him. Though he had only finished declaring it himself, it was one thing to know it and another to hear it said. He hid it well, the agony of a freshly broken heart, but Jessica could see in radiating from his eyes; could see it in the slope of his brow and the set of his mouth.

"I shouldn't have run away from you," she told him. "I should have explained how I felt but I was a coward and I let it play out until everything blew up and everyone got hurt. I'll admit the 'assassin' thing doesn't sit well with me, but I do care about you and I am sorry that I hurt you. You deserve so much better."

"And yet I want you," he whispered brokenly.

They were silent. He turned away from her, moving to lean against the wall nearby, his head limp on his trembling shoulders. Ignoring the urge to throw her arms around him and apologise until her voice was hoarse and her lips cracked and dry, she wrapped her arms around herself and stood facing the canal, feeling her stomach rend and her heart ache for him. Jessica stared down at the deceptively deep canal and listened to the movement of the water and the air rustling the leaves of the plants hanging from gutters and sitting on window sills above. Taking slow, deep breaths, she absentmindedly kicked snow from the flagstones into the water and watched it melt instantaneously, wishing she could do the same. Even as she tried to force it from her mind, she knew the sight of Federico Auditore declaring his love through tears and an already broken heart would stay with her until the day she died. But the punishment of eternal remorse and shame was the least she deserved.

"Well. Where does this leave us?"

She started as Federico suddenly appeared beside her, his eyes red and his nose wet but otherwise looking well put together. They watched the gentle ripples of the water flowing lazily by as he awaited her reply.

"I don't know. I'd like to be your friend."

His brow furrowed, "I'm...not sure that I could do that."

Jessica nodded quickly, "That's okay. I don't want you to do anything that might upset you. Just do whatever you think is best for you."

"...Thank you."

Taking a deep breath, she quietly declared. "I'm going to head back now."

Federico turned his head to look at her with tired, solemn eyes, but she couldn't help but think that he looked relieved, in a sad kind of way. "I think I will stay here for a while, if you don't mind."

"Sure." She tried to smile, but it didn't last long. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine." His attempt at a smirk was likewise unsuccessful. "...Goodbye, Marietta."

"...Bye."

With a deep breath, she turned and headed in the direction she hoped would lead her to a main road. She stopped when he called her name.

"Oh, and Marietta?"

She turned and looked at him, standing tall and handsome in the snowy streets of Venice, alone.

"Yeah?"

He smiled, "Happy Birthday."

"So. How did it go?"

Shaking out the skirt of her dress and stomping the dirty snow from her boots, Jessica let the door slam shut behind her, not finding it in her to even glare at Elmo as he bounded up to her the moment she stepped inside.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"That bad, eh?"

Stepping around him, she moved to collapsed into her armchair, eyes closed, legs straight out before her, reaching toward the warm fire, and there she let out a long, exhausted sigh.

"Ooh. I see." She heard him hum, clearly deciding that now was not the time. "Well," he said, suddenly appearing above her, his hair a halo of loosely curled gold. "Leo made a list of the things we're needing to get in the markets, as well as a few other things we need; eggs, honey, resin, safflower oil and the like. Then he made another list of everything he wants done in the workshop by the end of today, and in all it is quite a lot of work that he's demanding of us. But he has gone out for the day and now I'm thinking that it is really too much to work to ask of two weak and sickly invalids such as ourselves." He smirked, wiggling his still bandaged fingers. "There is, I have heard, a private party being held today, where there will be boat races and floating theatres and dancing and drinks."

Jessica cracked one eye open, peering up at her friend with a weary brow raised. "Are you asking me to abandon my duties to attend a party with you?"

"I am askin' that ye abandon yer duties t' attend a party and there get very, very drunk with me." At her continued look of unconvinced reluctance, Elmo scruffed up her hair, moved to the front of the armchair and offered his hand. "Come on, Marie! Consider it a Birthday surprise from Leo, because Lord knows ye'll not be gettin' one otherwise. That man can't remember a date t' save his life."

She had to chuckle at that. And after a moment of hesitance, she reached out and carefully took his bandage bound hands and let him haul her to her feet and out the door. Jessica laughed as the sun shone above and the streets twinkled with snow.

Happy Birthday, indeed.

/

And with that, we have the end of My Final Mistake. Thank you to all those who read, supported, criticised and enjoyed this fanfiction over the years.