Carnival (Open to everyone)

[Maria Ainsworth]

Maria sighed as she looked out her inn window, she loved how the world around her looked, so quite and peaceful, she loved hearing the chatter of the people bellow. It reminded her of the busy streets of Roma. She then turned around to look at her dress that was laying on her bed. The dress was a dark red color, and shone beautifully if the light hit it just right, it was a 17Th birthday present she was given by her.... before she died.he dress was long, basically reaching her feet, and was tight at the bust and waist, but was loose every where else. This is one of the many things she cherished, that her parents gave her. She then took a deep breath and picked up the dress.

"Well, its time to try you on now." She said as she smiled , she couldn't help but remember her mother giving it to her.After a few minutes of struggling she finally got into the dress. She was happy with the results. The dress fit her quite nicely accenting her womanly features such as her curves, bust and hips.

"This is just beautiful." She said to herself as she twirled about in her room smiling , it wasn't that much, that she felt good about herself, but tonight was one of those days, and maybe even meet her prince in shinning armor. She then sat down at her mirror, and tied her long golden blond hair into a tight neat bun, with a dark red ribbon.That's when suddenly it hit her, she forgot to buy a mask.

"Crap!" She nearly yelled as she cursed under her breath, that was the most important part of the outfit, and she went and completely forgot about it. She then got her make up on, and grabbed her money bag, and ran out of the inn, and over to the booth, that was selling carnival masks.

After awhile of searching Maria finally found one that was unique, beautiful and caught her eye.

"Sir could i get that one there?" She asked as she pointed to the far top right where a dark red mask hung, with black around it's eyes fanning into points at the corners, and swirls and dots of black decorated it. It also only covered the top part of her face.

"Of course man." The merchant said as he got the mask down carefully, and handed to her, thus taking the money for the mask. Maria then smiled and placed the mask on her face, tightly securing it behind her head. She then looked in a store window and smiled at her refection. She couldn't believe how beautiful, yet mysterious she looked, she was also hoping to find her knight in shinning armor here, but she doubted it, it wasn't like any man would like her anyway.

She then walked over to a crowd of masked people, who were standing around a man on stage, who was saying the games were to began. and the man that wins, gets a golden mask.

"Heh, that man is one lucky son of a bitch." Maria said to herself as a small smile appeared on her face. She wouldn't admit it, but she was curious about who the man would be, and what he would look like. She then knew that tonight was going to be fun, seeing men snatch ribbons from women, racing each other, and such, just to win a mask, but hey, it was all for fun....or was it?

[Diego Liberatore]

A knight in shining armor was not what described the figure that watched from the purpling evening shadows. Even the fires that were being ignited upon the torches could not light his face, and he pulled his hood down further over his eyes, rejecting their warmth. His world had been blackened, scorched by a reality he had chosen to ignore. Flying too close to the sun, Diego had been burned.

His life among the assassins could not be a happy one. The friends he made would not last, and the friends that did had others in their circle who posed a danger to him and his purposes. Secrecy was his expertise, his prowess, his art form. He could keep secrets from his secrets, but the circles in his web had grown too far, twisted him around and made him lose his way. It was time for him to remember what he was put in his position to do.

A cold rumble stirred in his heart as the drums began their merry tunes, and the flutes created the melody. Ribbons were distributed to the women, and rules explained to the men. The courtesans stretched into the night with the shadows, melding with the crowd. Thieves and beggars mingled with nobility, masked behind mutual colors and cloth. Standing slowly, Diego threw back his hood and stretched his shoulder tenderly, testing the slow healing as his nerves tingled painful warnings down his arm. Donning a slightly expressive smirk, he made his way into the games. It was time to go to work.

Eyes that once viewed the world with warmth now coldly scanned the scene, never making contact with any one face. Slowly he zeroed in on one woman, and began to peruse his way over to where she stood, inching his way closer to his first ribbon.

[Maria Ainsworth]

Maria sighed as she looked up at the black sky, she loved nights like these when she could do whatever she wanted. She then looked around and noticed a man, handing out red ribbons to all the women at the Carnival, and smiles and laughter come from them. She didn't know why they were smiling and laughing, but she took it as something good came out of all this.

She then received her ribbon from the man and smiled. Now it was time to wait and see, what these ribbons were for. Suddenly she caught glimpse of a man walking over to her, her of all people, why was he walking over to her. Maria then began to slightly panic, what was she supposed to do, or say.

Maria then took a deep breath and smiled at the man.

"Well hello."

[Diego Liberatore]

Slowly... closer... closer...

Well hello.

Diego turned to face her, defeated in his first plan to nonchalantly steal the ribbon. His eyebrows furrowed stressfully behind his mask. He had to think of another strategy. He could of course just play the game, but Diego wasn't in a mood for playing games.

"Good evening, Donna." he finally greeted her, eyeing the ribbon as he spoke. "I don't suppose there's a way I could convince you into giving that up to me?" It had occurred to him that this woman only had one ribbon, while the others had varying bundles. But he was already speaking to her, and to walk away now would have meant his time had been wasted.

[Nicola Rangé]

How did he manage to end up in this city again? Out of all the places in the world, this would be the last city he would ever want to be in. Nicola muttered a low curse as he walked through the familiar streets of his home city, picking his way through the crowds, around the corners, and across the center marketplace. The clothes he wore were not that of the Assassin's, but of his own personal wardrobe. They were clothes designed for comfort, and they didn't draw nearly as much attention to him as his traditional robes did.

But still, tucked away in his sleeve, as always, was his hidden blade: always there for him at any moment. It was some sort of twisted truth; tucked away was a weapon that could take a man's life in a single moment--and yet know one could know it was there. It almost gave him a sense of power, but at the same time, a feeling of false innocence; an innocence only achievable through the means of stealth and subtlety in his killings.

Then, on his back, a weapon of nearly equal power, his trusted crossbow. With it, his potential of killing could be expanded to nearly anywhere--and at range. Marksmanship was a peculiar, yet familiar thing to him. He could strike from anywhere, kill any man, and then slip away before investigations began; and all he needed was the opportunity.

These were things the young Assassin always had to remind himself before beginning a mission on his lonesome. He always liked going over the advantages of his limited, yet versatile, arsenal. He played out scenarios in his head, trained mentally, and took in all his surroundings. These were skills that Nicola was slowly starting to learn, and once his grasp on them became stronger, his sharpness increased drastically.

So, what was his mission here? He was to attend a carnival, of all things. There were rumors that the Templars may have had plans to earn the golden mask and use it to their means. Nicola was being sent just to keep an eye on the situation, and identify any potential Templars.

Tying his black thief's mask around his head, Nicola scanned the event as he walked. It appeared the first game was already beginning, and from what he could comprehend, the goal was to get as many ribbons as possible by asking women. He was a little unnerved by the thought--just being surrounded by those he had never known, and then talking to... The opposite gender...

He coughed as he shook away those thoughts. He was on a mission, and he wasn't about to let his small phobias hinder his objective. But then something caught his eye... A familiar symbol--that of his creed--imprinted on the ring belonging to a young woman. He stopped in his tracks, stunned by the observation. And he didn't realize that he had been staring until the girl had spoke. Well, hello.

Oh God, she wasn't talking to him, was she?! He panicked for a moment, but it didn't take too realize that she had been speaking to someone else. Letting out a small exhale of relief, his eyes eventually fell upon that of familiar face--that of his enemy's.

[Maria Ainsworth]

She sighed, another man that didn't want tp play the game like it should be played. She snickered and crossed her arms.

"You want this ribbon so badly you have to earn it... by playing the game the right way."she looked at him, waiting for his reaction to the very words she just spoke.Suddenly she cought something from the corner of her eye. The was a young man, who looked utterly nervous and such.She began to wounder if he was going to play the game or not.



(sorry been gone awhile so im a bit blahh)

[Diego Liberatore]

His mask was itching him, the chin of it messing with the edges of his beard. Diego lifted it half way to scratch his jaw, somewhat thoughtfully as he contemplated what the woman had said. "The way the game is to be played is that I steal that ribbon from you, Donna." he said, but lowered his hands in defeat. "But since you have caught me, I will do as you say and earn the ribbon. It is your only ribbon after all, and would be a shame for you to lose it without proper entertainment," he rested a hand on the pouch of coins that was tied tightly to his waist, "Or compensation." wondering if he could buy it off of her, as well as valuable time.

That mask would allow any man to access the grand party of the Doge, who happened to be a valuable asset to the Templars. It was Diego's duty to make sure that not just any man received that mask. That was to say, he was the silent bouncer to the reveling, and was meant to keep the Assassin's away from the Doge. Avoiding conflict was his personal favorite tactic, considering how wrongly close he had allowed himself to become to them. Better to save a friend, of sorts, than to kill one. And that meant winning the mask.

His eyes shifted as the woman's did to the nervous looking boy. He seemed familiar, but in the lighting and the masked event, he couldn't be sure. He saw the handle of the crossbow on the man's shoulder, and his own shoulder twinged rememberingly. Curious as he was, he seemed harmless. Diego said nothing as he waited for the two to interact, but watched on with eyes trained to do so behind his mask, every now and then glancing at his prize, the shimmering silken ribbon the lady held in her hand.

[Nicola Rangé]

While their truce had only been a temporary one, there was no mistaking that Antonnio was in direct competition with him in this situation. It seemed the Templar would easily be willing to take any means necessary to walk away the victor during this game. But Nicola knew he had a distinct advantage in this particular instance, but only if his observation of the woman had proven correct.

Taking a few cautious steps forward, Nico put on the friendliest smile he could manage--while still a nervous one--and made a small nod of acknowledgement to the girl. "I like your ring, donna," he said, eyeing it for only a moment before returning his gaze to her. "Can I ask where you got it from?"

[Maria Ainsworth]

Maria saw the young man walk over to her , she could see he noticed her ring.

Shit.. she thought to herself as she smiled to the man.

"Where did you get it "

She blinked and looked down at thering and smiled
"My Pardre gave it to me when I just turned 16." She said her eyes becoming slightly glossy. It was in a sense her family pride, and her fathers pride of eing a assassin , no it was also her's too.

She didn't know why but she seemed to like the new man other then the one trying to bribe her to give him the ribbion. She turned her coplet attention to the man withthe arrow and smiled.

"My name is Maria , Mariia Ann Ainsworth." She curtsied in respect. She stummbled a bit, not used to being in a dress, she got so used to her robes, that now she was tripping over her dress and such. She smiled nervously at the boys.

She had made up in her mind she would give the ribbion to the boy with the bow on his back.

[Diego Liberatore]

Scowling slightly behind the protection of his mask, Diego could sense the tide of things swaying out of his favor, and into the favor of this new kid who made his "in" by complementing the girl's accessories. Clearly, she was more fond of complements than gold, as she turned away from him to speak to this new comer. Why hadn't he thought of that? It was genius. He had two younger sisters, after all. It should have been him who thought of it.

But even if he didn't think of the idea, it wasn't below him to steal the bone like a dog. He was in work-mode, after all. For the first time in a while, he felt his true position on his shoulders. And it filled him with a pride that brought out a new attitude. No longer was he simply spying. Not today. Today he had to protect the Dodge. Smiling uselessly behind his mask, he reached out unwarrantedly and took her hand, so as to better look at the ring. "It is beautiful." he commented, and lifted his mask slightly so he could gently kiss it, glaring at the boy as he did so. He wasn't about to let him move in on his ribbon. Then he looked back at the woman. " I'm sorry for being so bold, but 'everything is permitted', no?" he said, excusing his tactical kiss with what he hoped would be an impressive allusion to the Creed that she would pick up on.

Diego shifted his eyes to look back at the other masked man. It was strange, how familiar he was. And yet, he couldn't place him. His black thief's mask made him stand out slightly from the other merrily outfitted attendees. It was his turn now, his move, to try to impress this woman and win the ribbon she stingily hoarded. If still she didn't choose one of them, Diego hoped she would declare a competition between them, a game or some contest. If not, then he would do so, determined now as he was after the hint of rejection.

[Nicola Rangé]

In one move, it seemed Antonnio had shifted the game back into his favor. Nicola frowned slightly, and almost considered moving on to another woman who might be kind enough to give him a ribbon. But he just couldn't let the Templar win like that... "I'm Nicola," he responded to her introduction. He preceded to move to her side, facing the same direction as her, and slipped his arm around her shoulders. "Aye, everything is permitted," he paused, giving a small smirk, "but then again, nothing is true." He shifted her away from Antonnio so they were facing a new direction, but not before giving a quick, cold glare at the spy. He hoped he had picked up on what he had said; trying to influence a woman based on a group that he was actually against made his stomach churn in anger.

Nothing is true, you traitor, he thought bitterly.

[Maria Ainsworth]

She blinked her eyes going wide. "H-how do you know that saying?" she asked she wanted to ask the man if he was a fellow assassin but she didn't want to, sound like some weird woman in case he wasn't one.She had a good feeling about Nicola but with the other man, something didn't feel right, as if he was secretly her enemy or something. She then smiled at Nicola and didn't look at Diego, the other man was already starting to win in her favor of the ribbon.

[Diego Liberatore]

Nicola. The hairs on Diego's neck bristled, though whether it was done in anger or fear, he wasn't sure. Of course it would be him. Why was he here, in Venice of all places? He had hoped the young assassin would have stayed in Rome with poor Rahmil, where Diego intended to return after his mission here was won. But, he supposed, they all had a mission of their own, didn't they? So what was Nicola's? If Diego was there to protect the Doge, then his natural conclusion was that Nicola must have come to assassinate him. The Templar's eyes narrowed, and a silent snarl curled invisibly behind his mask. It would be just like them to do it, too; to prey on the weak, the old, as the Doge... and the young.

And yet, there was no desire in his frustration to kill Nicola. It might have surprised some to know, Diego wasn't a man who loved murder. Sure, he was a killer, and a very capable one. But it was always his objective to save more lives than he took, and to avoid taking them at all where he could. Nicola was Rahmil's friend, besides. And she being his only true friend, the boy was untouchable by association as far as Diego was concerned. Still, though, he was making his job very difficult.

Observing the situation in a moment, Diego had to make his next move. It would have been impossible for him to put his arm around the girl's other shoulder, given it was on the same side of her as his own wound. So instead he cut his way in front of the pair, leaning against a vendor's stall with his good arm and blocking their path. "It's a motto I follow." he said, trying with little success at being charming. "Like you." This was such crap. On any other day, Diego would have rejoiced to mingle with the women. But he had a job to do, and this lady was slowing him down. Standing straight again, Diego took a step towards her, reaching for her hand and stroking both the ribbon and her fingers. "Let's cut to the chase, Donna." he proposed, not unkindly. "You have two suitors. You should choose one of us, or name our game."

[Maria Ainsworth]

She blinked looking shocked at him suddenly blocking her path. Oh god did he just call her Donna. She had a very bad vibe about this man, she looked up at Nicola with a slightly scared look, oh god, this was hard. She then took a deep breath and held nicolas had tightly, slightly shaking.

"I- i chose him, to give the ribbion to." she said as she gulped , she was now expecting him to possibly lash out or do something, horrible and harmful , because she didnt give it to him.She then noticed her mask was slipping a bit and quickly fixed it before it fell. She didnt need everyone seeing her face, or else she would be in trouble, well with the kind of luck she had anyway.