[ a r i a ]

Times like this are the hardest.

Nobody knew what happened that night. All that we saw was Alina, clutching her brother's dead body. Our King.

And Talia Al-Ghul's body; lifeless, laying surrounded by a pool of blood. She was finally dead.

Liana's scream as she saw her lover; and not to mention Alina's pain. The pain of losing a member was something the Vanderbilt family knew too well.

Mothers, fathers, brothers, even children.. taken away.

Adelina Mary Vanderbilt stayed by her brother's corpse all night, clutching her stomach in fear. She hid a secret from all of us, and I didn't even have to ask to know.

She was expecting.

Damian Wayne; one of the most intimidating men I've ever seen in my life, walked through those castle door looking distressed, worried sick.

He didn't even give his mother's body a second glance; he couldn't care less for her.

The first thing he did was take his girlfriend in his arms; whispering sweet, comforting words to her ear, letting her cry on his shoulder. He planted soft kisses on her forehead, telling her that he won't leave her out of sight ever again.

Tim kept me comfort during the night, by phone call. He wouldn't stop telling me that It'll be okay. I know it won't. At least for a while.

And Liana, she had no one but Marcus, who comforted her.

As for Michael, as soon as he woke up; he found comfort in his sister's arms. His remaining sibling.

~

[ a l i n a ]

3 days later

The throne room smelled of jasmine; Nathan's favorite. A part of me wanted to disbelieve this, I still felt him here. Alive.

The funeral had been hell. I couldn't stand seeing Michael cry. My Grandmama was here too, she only shed a few tears, and disappeared in her suite once it was all over. Taliana was an empty shell. He was everything to her.

I ran out of tears. Staring at the mirror; all I see is a stranger, wearing black, who failed to protect her brother. I failed. Once again.

"You're gonna be okay." Damian comforts me, wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me closer to him. The height difference we have is practically crazy now; him being way taller than me.

Tears once again roll down my face, without me realizing. God help us all; this is the hardest time of the year.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." I sob, turning around, burying my face in his neck.

"You have nothing to apologize for." He mumbles, kissing my cheek, then my nose, and my lips.

"I'm sorry for killing your mother."

"She was already dead to me. She doesn't matter to me." He smiles, pecking my cheeks. "But you do."

"I love you."

~

"Cookies?" Ariana shows up, a tray full of cookies, and two glasses of milk. I nod, placing my book away.

I've found comfort in my old suite after the funeral. I couldn't stand watching all those ministers, royals and presidents talking about my brother.

"Where's Damian?" She asks, placing the tray on my bedside table, handing me a glass of milk.

"Gone to see his grandfather. He's bringing Talia's body back to Ra's." I tell her, taking a bite of my cookie.

"I know you don't wanna talk about that night, but.. those powers of yours; they're.. unpredictable."

"I know."

"Did Talia ever tell you what the serum was made of?" She asks.

"No," I reply dryly. I never really thought about it. The only ones who knew were Talia and my parents. And they never bothered telling me.

Looking down, I suddenly realized something.

"I still kept that letter. The one my mother wrote me." I exclaimed, straightening my posture. I opened the nightstand drawer, and under a stack of papers, there it was.

The golden envelope, with my mother's initials on it.

"You never read it." Aria breathes out, sitting close to me.

"No. But it's time." I carefully tore the envelope apart, unfolding the piece of paper.

Word by word, I unleashed no emotion as I read my mother's letter. It basically stated things parents would say to their children in hope for their forgiveness, to earn back their trust. I take none of those words in.

My mother, as far as I knew her, is quite the bipolar woman.

She wanted a boy, not a girl.

But decide to save my life anyway by disposing me of the burden of these abilities.

My father didn't know about my life threatening disease at first. He had been furious at my mother for letting me be a toy in Talia's master plan.

But then he found out. About my chance of death. And agreed to continue with the plan. It was in his best interest.

"It's bull." I rambled, massaging my forehead as the letter came to an end. "There's no valuable information here."

"There's something else, in the back of the paper." Aria points. And she's right.

A small writing, in the back of the letter.

There's something you need to know about your abilities, my dear. The serum was made of...

The moment I read the following words, I screamed.

"I have to speak to Ra's. Now!"

~

"YOU SOLD ME?!"

I slammed the doors to his study as hard as I could, the sound of metal resonating throughout the residence. I take a breath in, my fist gripping the letter in my hand.

Ra's Al Ghul proudly stands in the middle of the room, Damian being next to him.

Seems like a family reunion to me.

Damian stands up, overpowering Ra's tall, burly figure. His eyes hold concern for me, but he doesn't show it. Only I can tell how he's feeling. And his mother used to know too.

"What's the matter?" Ra's asks, taking slow steps towards me.

"Did you know about this?" I breathe out, staring straight into the old man's eyes, as I showed him my mother's letter.

"Yes. Although I made it clear to you, I didn't agree with any of it."

"Just because you didn't agree doesn't mean you weren't a part of it. You saw it happening, and yet you did nothing." My voice breaks at the end. I can't believe this is what I'm really for. What I'm destined to do.

"What's going on?" Damian asks, tilting his head.

My eyes meet his; who expects an answer from me.

"I wasn't injected with a random serum."

"I was injected with Darkseid's blood. And Talia sold me to him."

_________________________

Well, there you go. Thank you for all your comments and votes, it really warms my heart to know that you're enjoying the story so far!

-Love,
     Sophia.