Castle Of Glass | B. Wayne

[23]

Damian had read the letter in his hands twice by then. It was sent by his mother, bearing the seal of the League of Assassins, and shrouded in an emerald envelope. However, the news it contained was somewhat unexpected.

Talia wanted to come to Gotham for a visit and check up on Damian. So she had sent a letter informing of her arrival beforehand so that Bruce wouldn't have any objection to her visit.

Bruce had allowed Talia to come to Gotham and meet Damian whenever she wanted. He did not want her to feel that he was keeping their son away from her intentionally. And Talia had come to visit him a few times before as well to make sure that he was doing alright with his paternal side of the family.

But now things were slightly different. Bruce had gotten married and there was one more person added to the family whose opinion would matter too. If Calmia was uncomfortable with Talia coming to the Manor, then Damian would have to meet her elsewhere.

Besides, he was also uncertain of how his mother would react to the whole Bruce being married situation. He did not know much about his parents' relationship but he knew that his mother still had intense feelings for Bruce even though things hadn't worked out for them earlier.

So hearing that he had gotten married and Damian now had another mother figure in his life might upset her.

He knew overthinking was going to get him nowhere and he had to inform Bruce about the situation so he took the letter and left his room to go to his father's study.

The door was shut so he knocked, waiting for a response.

"Come in," Bruce's voice drifted outside so Damian turned the handle, pushing open the door to step in.

Bruce was at his desk, going through some case files when he looked up to see Damian. His eyes immediately fell on the emerald envelope in his hands and he knew that his son was there to talk to him about Talia or the League.

"Father, I got this in the mail today," he placed the envelope in front of him and Bruce picked it up, taking out the parchment from the emerald covering.

His pale blue eyes skimmed over the text written in Arabic as he read through Talia's message. "Talia is coming to visit?"

"Yes," he replied, taking the seat in front of Bruce's desk, "I haven't yet sent a reply to her as I wanted to ask you beforehand."

Damian waited for Bruce's reply but he was silent as if thinking about it. He judged his father's expression that as always didn't show much; he couldn't guess what Bruce was thinking by only looking at his face.

But he knew it would be slightly worrisome for him too because he would have to explain a lot more to Calmia if Talia came to stay at the manor. It was not that Calmia didn't know about her already but she definitely didn't know how dangerous Talia could be if she started to consider someone as a rival or an opponent.

"Father, if you allow, I can ask Mother to stay at the base and go visit her by myself," Damian spoke up when Bruce still didn't answer, "I understand that if she comes here, it might not be a favorable situation as Miss Calmia might not feel comfortable having her around."

Bruce considered and nodded, "I will ask Calmia about it. She will not have any objection to Talia coming to visit you but the real issue is that I didn't tell your mother that I was getting married... I am not sure of how she will react to Calmia's presence."

Damian nodded, "exactly. And I know Mother, she might not react well."

There was a slightly awkward silence between them but both father and son knew what kind of drama could ensue if Talia met Calmia and saw her as a competition. Perhaps they were overthinking and things might not turn out to be that extreme but they could not be sure of it just yet.

Talia Al Ghul was very unpredictable and somewhat possessive when it came to the man she loved and her son despite all their differences in ideology and mentality. She would definitely not accept it easily that there was another woman who had taken such an important place in Bruce's heart and Damian's life as well.

"Or I can meet her before she comes to the manor and tell her beforehand," Damian suggested, "that way if she is angry, I will not bring her home. If she's not, then maybe..."

"Actually that's a better idea," Bruce agreed, "you should write to Talia and tell her to meet you at the League's stronghold in Gotham first. In the meantime, I will talk to Calmia."

The boy nodded, standing up to leave but did not retrieve the letter from Bruce's desk. He turned to face as he was about to step out the door and send, "best of luck, Father."

Bruce paused but then a very small smile threatened to break out on his face as he replied, "thank you. Though I have a feeling you are going to need it more."

He shrugged nonchalantly, "I know Mother, she will get angry but eventually calm down. Eventually..."

Though when exactly was that eventually going to come was a question worth pondering over. Damian stepped out of the study and closed the door behind him, intending to go back to his room to pen down a letter to his mother.

He knew there was a big chance that Talia had found out about the wedding as well due to all the havoc the press created around his family. So it would be better if he could explain things to her in person before bringing her home where she would undoubtedly see Bruce and Calmia together.

On the other hand, Bruce was thinking that telling Calmia about Talia's visit wasn't going to be a big deal. But dealing with Talia's visit definitely would be.

He had briefly told his wife about his past relationship with Damian's mother and why they had parted ways but he wasn't sure whether Calmia would want Talia to come and stay with them for a few days considering the history between her and Bruce. 

But then she was Damian's mother, she had every right to visit her son and spend time with him. he remembered he had told her that himself when she had come a year ago to take Damian back with him but the boy had refused.

So all he could do was hope that Talia did not overreact. Perhaps he should have told her earlier that he was going to get married because his marriage did affect their son and Damian was both his and Talia's responsibility. He knew she could cause havoc based on that point alone.

He hoped things would stay under control and not turn to the point that it would end up hurting any of them. He did not want Calmia to feel like she had made the wrong decision by marrying him and he wanted to do all in his power to keep her happy.

Damian was right; he needed all the best luck to deal with the upcoming situation that could turn out to be tempestuous if not handled well.

***