Disclaimer: I don't own Assassin's Creed 2 or any of its characters. They belong to Ubisoft as far as I know...that includes Ezio, unfortunately *sigh*. I do own my obvious OC's and any other characters not familiar/seen in the original game, though. =)

Author Notes: This is only a short Introduction and reviews and feedback with constructive criticism would be very much helpful and appreciated!

Prologue

A black form shifted through the night across the tiled rooftops, blending in with the midnight sky. Distinctly male it turned out to be, as he fell effortlessly into a shadowed alley that shrouded his identity, a hood covered his face none the less. He was watching – waiting for his target...it was all a blur as he pulled a distressed noble (whom could have been heard down the street, panting as he ran from some unknown phantom) into the shadows, a gloved hand muffled his screams until the life was drawn from him by a single hidden blade thrust into his back.

"Vi prego, perdonatemi (Please, forgive me)," the attacker whispered in his ear, no emotion portrayed in his voice.

The corpse fell limp to the ground, blood stained on his assassin as he made a quick getaway to the rooftops and leaving the scene. His victim won't be found until morning he reassured himself, leaving him enough time to flee.

*

Not long after, he found himself home; the quietness of it all allowed him to sneak in unnoticed by the other residents. There was a specific door which he was after. An exquisitely hand-carved door, one which he opened with only a slight creak to let the dim light of a candle in the hall illuminate the sleeping faces of two young girls, a soft smile creeping onto his face as he made his way over to them. Removing a bloody glove he stroked the hair of both and kissed their foreheads gently in a fatherly manner. He held back a chuckle at the memory of his youngest playing with his old friend, Giovanni's youngest son earlier that day. Admittedly, they got along very well – most of the time.

He wished no harm to his lovely daughters and had recently, once or twice thought of giving up his profession, but he knew he couldn't possibly do that. It was impossible to comprehend that he would never live a normal life the way he wanted his children to. He hoped so dearly that when the time came to tell them of their heritage that they didn't have to pursue it.

The assassin tugged at a silver chain around his neck, concealed by his ebony robes: on closer inspection, a locket hanged from said chain. Upon it, intricate flowers decorated the polished surface with a calligraphic 'B'. It glinted slightly in the candlelight before he buried it under the younger of the two's pillow.

"Is that you, my love?" a weary, tired voice of a woman called softly from down the corridor. With a quick exit he closed the door and left without being spotted by his wife. How could he tell her? She needn't know, he thought solemnly to himself...she needn't know.

I'll upload Chapter 1 soon if there's any interest. Again, I'd love any feedback you could give me, thanks in advance!