The Assassin's Mentor

πρόλογος | prologue²

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The clangs of the clashing swords reverberated through the large room as two figures darted back and forth at astonishing speed. Talia al Ghul stood in the corner, observing the exchange.

She watched as her son stabbed at the girl, failing to touch her every time. The girl shifted her form, leaving her flank unprotected. Damian noticed this and reacted almost instantaneously, trying to land a hit.

Talia's lips twitched as the girl shifted her body again, causing Damian's sword to stab through empty air. She was making the match harder for the boy as it went on. To the untrained eye, it would look like a spar to draw blood, but the Daughter of the Demon knew better.

She's gotten even better at training, the assassin mused. I suppose hours of teaching kids how to hold a sword must amount to something...

Eventually, the girl disarmed the boy in a swift motion, holding her sword up to his neck. The boy went tense, searching for hope that he could still win, but then slumped.

"You're improving, Damian," the girl commented, removing her glowing bronze sword from his neck. Her hand went to her pocket, from where she fished out a cap and placed it on the tip of the sword, watching as it instantly shrunk into a ballpoint pen.

"Yet I still cannot even nick you," the boy huffed. "Let us go again," he demanded, retrieving his sword.

"Taking breaks is important. I don't want you to overwork yourself, Dami," the girl told him, ruffling the younger boy's hair and grabbing two bottles of water from the side.

"Here," she said, tossing the boy one of the bottles. "Have some water."

"Seph is right, Damian. It is as important to rest as it is to train. You should go to your room for today, remember that you are still injured," Talia commented, finally stepping out of the shadows.

"Seph, come with me. We have some matters to discuss."

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Seph took off her mask as the daughter of Bellona bolted the door to her office shut behind her, revealing her striking sea-green eyes.

"What's this about, Tals?" she asked the older woman, her brows furrowing in concern.

"It's regarding Damian," Talia informed, going over to her desk and taking a seat, motioning for the girl to do the same.

Talia crossed her legs and tilted her head back, letting out a sigh as if preparing for the discussion that was to come.

"Let's cover some basic information, first," she says, straightening her posture and turning on her computer. "Damian's father, Bruce Wayne. You've heard of him, right?"

"I'm not that out of touch," Seph informed her, her fingers drumming on the desk.

"He's Batman," Talia announced, only to be interrupted by the girl's boisterous laughter.

"Y-you mean the guy who runs around Gotham dressed like a fucking bat?!" Seph managed to say between laughter, slapping her hand against the wooden desk. 

"Precisely. You can laugh about that as much as you want after we've had this conversation. As I was saying, Bruce Wayne, Damian's father, is Batman, and I plan to contact him soon. I will be informing him about his son's existence, and I will be leaving Damian in his care."

"Talia, this is...huge," the girl commented after a pause. "Though, I kind of get why you want to do this. Sorry, but the League of Assassins isn't the best place to raise a kid."

"I know. I love Damian, and letting go of him might be the hardest decision I will ever make. But I believe that Damian can truly be happy with his father. Here, he has a mission. A purpose. And he might think that this is happiness, but I want to show him other ways to live. Freedom might not be an option for me anymore, but I will not let Damian join me in my cage. I want him to have a choice."

"Then let's do this."

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Talia, in this story, will be sort of different from the actual Talia. 

I imagine Damian being very close to his mother. She would be a source of comfort for Damian amongst devoted killers who only saw the child as their master's heir. Talia feels caged in the League, and she does her best to ensure that Damian doesn't end up a pawn like her

Behind closed doors, Talia would be an amazing mother. She would fill Damian's head with stories—stories of her adventures, her father's achievements, epics of demigods and, of course, tales of his father, Batman.

I know the chapter was short, but they are going to get longer from now onwards.

xoxo, winter.