Intoxicating Desires | T. Al Ghul ✔

[34]

Damian Al Ghul was born to rule.

From a young age, he was bred with one basic rule that there were two types of people; those who conquered and those who were conquered. To survive, he had been taught to be a conqueror instead of being vanquished, rooting that mindset of kill or being killed deeply in his young mind.

From the day he started to walk, he had been handed a sword and his training sessions began. it could be considered harsh for just a toddler but Damian was an Al Ghul and not the first one of them to be undergoing such extensive training.

Dusan, Talia, and Nyssa had all been trained in a similar way. Ra's Al Ghul believed in training his children to be their very best and in return, he expected them to serve as invincible soldiers to his mission.

So Damian was no exception to that rule either.

He was four years old when he was first sent to the Himalayan peaks on a survival quest. Talia had been worried at first but Ra's reminded her that it was necessary for a boy training to be the next heir to the Demon Head and that thought made her give in.

At the age of seven, he would be sent to the fort where the rest of the Al Ghuls had been specially trained; the same place that Talia had taken Veruna to. Damian had a lot to brave in front of him; obstacle after obstacle, test after test to prove that he was a worthy heir.

And so the boy fell into the footsteps of his ancestors, striving to prove his worth by succeeding in each task just like it was expected of him. Instead of being raised as a normal young boy with dreams and ambitions, he was being trained to be a bloodthirsty warrior with no conscience for the lives he would take in the future.

Talia had come to her son's room to check up on him but found him asleep already. He had been exhausted from the hectic training sessions and after having dinner, he had gone to bed.

Sometimes, she thought she was being too harsh on the child. She remembered her childhood very well and seeing him go through similar stages made her worry that perhaps she was turning into her father, raising him as a soldier instead of a son.

Her hand gently rested on his forehead as she sat down beside him, her thoughts wandering off to how lonely she had felt as a child when all that mattered to gain her father's approval and trust was to be the best fighter and succeed in each test. Damian was going through a similar situation and she didn't want things to end up that way.

The boy stirred, eyes fluttering open as if sensing her presence. Seeing her there beside him, he was about to sit up but she kept her hand on his gently stroking his hair and telling him to rest.

"Ummi, is everything alright?" He asked, identical emerald eyes looking up at her.

"Yes, Damian. Go back to sleep."

He wasn't accustomed to affection so the fact that she was still there and her fingers gently ran through his short messy hair made a very strange feeling settle in his heart. Perhaps his mother wasn't as stonehearted as he had sometimes thought she was.

"You will be leaving for the fort soon," she spoke up at last, her voice softer than usual and her emerald eyes flickering with a haunting sadness, "and I will not get to see you until you come back after your training."

"Can you not come to visit? Grandfather said he would be there," he remarked.

"I have some other things to tend to," she replied, "I'll not be here."

"Oh." 

The boy didn't speak further but he was no longer sleepy as his eyes were still looking up at his mother with a very calculative gave. It seemed as if he was trying to figure out what Talia was thinking and if she was worried about something or not.

"Damian, you understand why we have been training you to be the best?"

He nodded, the words he had heard so many times before resonating in his head. He was supposed to be the best because he was an Al Ghul and an heir to the future Demon Head. He must be invincible and unbreakable with no weakness that could make his enemies overpower him.

He knew it very well but what Talia said next made him halt in surprise.

"I want you to be the best not for the sake of the Al Ghul name nor for the fact that you will be my heir. I want you to be invincible for your own sake," she replied, retrieving her hand from his head but looking down into his eyes still, "it may seem that I am raising you as a soldier to be sent to war but that's not true. I am raising you to be strong and resilient so that you can survive in this cruel world on your own. My child, your life and happiness has immense value to me, I will never sacrifice you for such trifling things as war and peace. If the whole world stands on one side and you on the other, I will choose you. Mark my words, I will always stand with you no matter what the future brings."

His lips parted as if to speak but the words stuck in his throat. It was the first time Talia had said something to him that really felt like what a mother would say. Her words were sincere and gentle, making him shocked that she was capable of saying that too.

But then he probably didn't know her that well. He might be a warrior but he was just a child, learning new things in life by every passing day. That day, he learned that his mother cared for him and loved him even though she didn't show it or express it often.

"You are my greatest asset," she remarked, her hand patting his head again, "never forget that."

She had stood up to leave because she knew if she stayed there, Damian would not go to sleep and he needed to rest for the training session in the morning. But just as she was about to leave, his hand tugged at her sleeve, making him turn to face him.

"I will never let you down, Ummi," he spoke, his eyes shining with that determination and zeal of a young child.

"I know, my dear," she smiled softly, feeling a burden lift from her heart as she retrieved her hand from his grip, "you will make me very proud of you."

***