My last Victim

Coupe Gorge by ~Itseni on deviantART

I stalked through the darkened hallways of the Castello Estense. My eyes were used the dark, and there was a part of me
that could appreciate the beauty of my surroundings, even as my heart closed itself in preparation for the coming, bloody business.

It'd been a cold night when my client approached me. I was sitting in my house, having a drink of wine when the knock came on my doors.
I wondered who would go out into the cold Florentine rain at that time of the night. It was my master, the Duke.
"Cesare," he said. "I need you to kill someone."

And so I made my way to Castello Estense. It was some trouble sneaking past the guards, but The Duke had ordered me to make it a clean, simple murder.
"They will know," he said, "that I am not a brute. They will fear me the more for that."

It was not hard getting past the brutes at the entrance; a bit of rub, a few gold coins exchanged, I was in. Such is the way of Italy in these days, my friend.
From what I had heard, the duchess was a pretty young thing. Blonde. Slender. It was a shame she had to be killed. Apparently, she had angered her Duke in some way or another.
Not my problem.

Castello Estense lies in the middle of of Ferrara. It is a place of shadows, of lies, and of great beauty. Here, the high and mighty men of Ferrara meet and discuss the latest way to fill their pockets.
I made my way down a corridor of statues, each one appearing monstrous in the darkness, each one appearing to my eye as if they knew of horrors too horrible to be spoken of.
Perhaps that is why they are mute.

My victim was asleep in the Master Bedroom. I brought out my .45 flintlock and cleared my throat. Ferrara stirred from his sleep.
"Who - who are you?" he stammered.
"Just a man," I said. "A man with a gun. Cosimo de Medici sends his regards."
He smiled, contemptible. Still sure that his rank would protect him. He was a fool. "Medici? The banker? Tell that fool that I will-"
I fired my flintlock. The Duke's smile stopped.