Blessing In Disguise

Three

It starts when Talia comes into my room in the early morning, much earlier than usual. I've been with her for nineteen days at this point. I'm used to our unofficial schedule, where lately she's allowed me to move freely about my room. Now, she is telling me, "I need you to promise me you will stay in bed as much as possible, Jason."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"I must make a trip, and though I will most likely be back this time tomorrow, I need you to rest. I do not want you to accidentally, or otherwise, for that matter, get injured."

"Sure, Tal." She rolls her eyes. I know she hates the nickname, so I keep using it. "Jason, this is a very serious matter. If anything-"

"I'll be fine. Look, if it makes you happy, I promise you I won't leave this room. I'll just go over to that bookshelf, get something to read, and stay here. Okay?"

She consents, and makes her leave. I go back to sleep. When I wake, the hour is late morning and one of the servants has left a tray of food on my bedside table. I pick up the wooden platform by its silver handles and set it on my lap, studying the room. Talia didn't change anything, save for the addition of the top shelf being full of books. I can look when I finish breakfast.

On my left, facing into the room, is a huge closet, full of outfits that somehow all fit me. Then there's the antique bookshelf, my creaky old bed, and the ancient-looking door. A simple room with smooth hardwood floors and surprisingly warm stone walls.

When I finish the food, I get up, set the tray just outside the door, and I walk to the shelf. I select one of the new books and an old one, and I sit down on my messy blankets and read.

I spend most of the day reading, and I take a small nap in the late afternoon. I go to sleep only a few hours later, having finished my third book and eaten dinner. When I wake, it is late morning. Talia is not back yet or she would have woken me.

It doesn't matter. I eat my breakfast, again left beside me, and I pick up a book. My reading list ranges from John Green's Looking for Alaska to Rick Riordan's Lightning Thief. I like young adult novels, though some of Talia's mythology stories were quite beautiful.

Talia arrives just after I've finished lunch, though long enough after that my tray has vanished from the hallway. She steps into my room looking worn and tired, so I scoot over, inviting her on the bed. She sits with the smallest of sighs escaping her lips.

"Jason, I have news, though I am not sure whether or not you would consider them good or bad."

"Alright," I respond, closing The Perks of Being a Wallflower and looking up to her. She takes a deep breath and explains that almost seven years ago, she and Bruce were deeply in love and by Ra's standards, married. They had a nice life. They had spent a night in the desert where they were happy and she'd conceived a child, though he never found out about the kid. Ra's had taken their child when it was a newborn and she'd only seen it three times in its life.

The first was the day her and Bruce's son was born. She'd named him Damian Wayne. The second was when he was four years old, where she'd spent two weeks with her baby, who Ra's had been training as a soldier. He knew little language, mostly due to Ra's not wanting him to fill his brain with words in favor of attacks and defenses. But right before he'd had to leave her, he'd told her, "Don't be scared for me, Mother. I will come back to you someday."

"Honestly," she tells me, "I just hoped it would not be his body."

The third time was yesterday, when she was able to take him from Ra's and bring him here. He is a seven-year-old descendant of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul. He is my brother.

"I was hoping you would let him stay with you," she is telling me now. "I realize how sudden this is, but I wish for him to know of the outside world."

"And you want him to be with me in case something bad happens, so he'll have someone to protect him. It's okay. I can... he's my brother, alright? I can do something."

"Thank you, Jason. I highly appreciate it," she says. "I sent him to the bathroom so he could shower. When he is dressed I will bring him here, if that is alright?"

"Yeah, sure," I tell her, smiling, though I'm not so sure how sincere it is. This is a lot to take in. "And then I'm hoping you're gonna go relax, 'cause I'm going to bet you're exhausted."

She sighs and consents to the idea of a bath and going to bed. I promise to look after... Damian. His name is Damian.

The kid comes in soon after, Talia with a gentle hand on his back. She gestures to the inside of my room and looks up while the kid walks in. I give her a genuine smile this time, because for a minute, I see a sparkle in her eyes, as if she's blinking back tears.

It must be hard to know your soulmate is out there without you, and it must be even harder to know your son is lost and guided down a bad path because of your own father. I pity her for a second, but then I get a good look at the kid. He's like a tiny Bruce with a hint of Talia here and there. Wow.

He looks up at me, obviously studying me with the eyes of Ra's people. I invite him onto the bed with an open hand and an inviting gaze, or my best try at them, anyway. Damian pulls himself up beside me, and I say, "So you're Bruce's blood son, huh?"

"Do you know Father?" I have so many questions but his innocence is so shocking, I can't help but let him ask me what he wants to know. "I used to live with him, yeah. Didn't you know? We're brothers."

"That is what Mother said, yes," he confirms, but when I look to where Talia was, she's gone. I shake my head. Damian goes on. "She also said you would tell me what it is like in America."

"Oh, did she? Well...."