The Medici Girl

The Fate of All Men

There was no sleep for Ezio and Contessina the night before Giovanni Auditore's trial and Contessina doubted either of them would sleep for the next night. The word had already spread through Firenze by the time they left Palazzo Medici in the morning. Neither of them had the stomach to eat anything that morning as they sat at the table barely managing to take a bite of the bread that Cammillia had made. When it was time for them to leave, Cammillia embraced both of them in a sorrowful manner. 

Once outside of the Medici home, Ezio and Contessina said nothing to each other knowing that there was a plan. She put her hood up over her head as he did the same, then they looked at each other before he grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it. Letting her hand go, he made his way to the rooftops, knowing that he could make it to the Piazza without being seen. If she were to walk the streets, no one would pay attention to her; at least she hoped no one would notice. Her heart was pounding in her chest the entire way there and as she passed a group of people talking about the Auditore trial, she could not help but to listen. 

"I do not understand, I thought the Auditore were friends to Firenze? To all of us." One man said. 

"He is accused of treason and his sons have been arrested too. Except one and they have been looking for him." A woman said.

"I heard he was with his wife, that Medici girl with the blond hair. I heard they fled Firenze in the night never to return." The rumors were circulating for sure. Contessina kept moving towards the Signoria with the knowledge that most thought she had left with Ezio. While that was obviously not true, it did provide her and Ezio some cover, but not much. The guards were still looking for him. 

She could hear the noise of the crowd gathered at the Piazza from a distance. She could not tell if the people were cheering or if they were protesting; maybe a little of both, but it was loud. The closer she walked to the Piazza, the more she could hear what they were saying and it frightened her. 

"Kill the traitors!" 

She heard that above all of it and her heart stopped. It was not uncommon for people to want vengeance or blood against whoever was being accused of such actions. There were executions in the past where the people of Firenze knew and loved the person being accused but the people turned against that person the very day of the execution. This was because the people demanded justice for the deception, or the appearance of deception. To some, execution was a form of entertainment, but to the families of the ones accused it was the worst day in their life. 

As she came to the square where the executions were held, she saw Giovanni, Federico, and Petruccio being lead up the steps of the platform. Contessina's heart stopped when she watched the guard escorting Petruccio lead him to the furthest rope hanging down from the beam above them and put it over his head before pulling it snug around the child's neck. She closed her eyes and went over to the closest wall before leaning against it with sobs. He was only a child! A sickly boy who knew nothing of what was happening! How could Uberto Alberti let this happen to a child? 

When she looked up again the guards had all three Auditore men strung up and ready for the word to hang them. Uberto Alberti stepped up on the platform with the man Ezio described to her last night. This man was familiar. She had seen him before when she went to Roma to visit her uncle. She could not recall his name, but he was indeed a Cardinal and a powerful one at that. What was a Cardinal doing there? That was a question that had Contessina thinking more on the circumstances than anything else at the moment, but she had to focus. She had to get into the crowd. 

Taking a deep breath, she made her way into the tightly packed crowd of Florentines who were shouting various sayings. The noise was deafening and she was being pushed around by anyone who she came in contact with. They were not letting her through. Some were throwing their fists in the air while chanting 'let them be hanged' or 'show them a traitors death'. The same people who looked to the Auditore and the Medici when they were in need were calling for their deaths. This sickened Contessina and she stopped in the middle of the mob to catch her breath, but she was pushed forward unexpectedly. Bracing herself she accidently fell forward into a large man's back and when he turned around to see her, his eyes were full of anger. Contessina's hood had fallen down by that point and her blond hair had been visible.