CHAPTER TWO
❛depth of a forest❜

❝ HOW DARE THEY! ❞

█████        "Up! Get up! Now!"

"This is not a good way of waking someone up." Tim commented.

"How do you even know how to wake up someone, Drake? You don't even sleep." Damian scoffed, the indifference in his tone give away a tiny hint of concern that nobody noticed but Ophelia.

But the emerald eyes girl was fidging her fingers anxiously. Her rosy lips trembling as she started thinking how those nice strangers won't be so nice anymore after finding out what a freak she was.

Ophelia woke with a start. Her aunt rapped on the door again. "Up!" she screeched. Ophelia heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. She rolled onto her back and tried to remember the dream she had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. He had a funny feeling she'd had the same dream before. Her aunt was back outside the door.

Suddenly the temperature of the room dropped. Disbelief was one of the emotion they were feelings. The worst of them all was Bruce Wayne giving the screen his infamous batman glare. One that many would flinched at. If glare could kill then the woman on the screen would have die right in this scene.

"What?" Silena's eyes widened. Was not this a room under a stairs? What the hell was this? Her eyes went on the anxious kiten near to her. She felt her heart ache. This child slept in a cupboard under her family's stairs.

Jason clenched his fist. This was not even about the fact the girl was his soulmate. It was about the fact they made their own niece slept in a cupboard. His eyes on his soulmate, Jason now understood that she was probably starved with how thin she was. The way she was biting her lower lips made his heart ache. Stupid heart.
He glance at Dick who was angry as any one else in the room at the moment.

"How dare they!" Harley attempted to throw her bat at the screen but was fortunately stop by Poison Ivy who was keeping her caslm despite feeling disgust at what Ophelia's 'family' ( if they can even be called a family ) did to her. "I am going to smash my bat into their damn brain."

"If they even have one." Damian said coldly. His eyes almost like a storm on
it way to destroy everything. His hand was instantly on the hair of Ophelia as if comforting her. Something even he did not know he could even do to someone.
Ophelia feeling the strange softness of his palm relax. She felt confusely calm with Damian. His eyes almost like hers were like the depth of a forest. So green, natural, peaceful. Like the calm before the storm. It also held the same pain as hers. A glint that was turn off. Yet hers was brighter than ever, very beautiful.

"Poor thing." Lois whispered, she hugged her son Jonathan protectively. She felt bad for Ophelia. Even she would not allow her son or any child to even sleep on the floor.

"Are you up yet?" she demanded.

"Nearly," said Ophelia.

"Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday." Ophelia groaned. "What did you say?" her aunt snapped through the door.

"Nothing, nothing..."

"Vermins. They are like vermins tarnishing a beautiful flower." Poison ivy in disgust, keeping a gentle yet tight grip on Harley's shoulder.

Dudley's birthday, how could she have forgotten? Ophelia got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. She found a pair under her bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them, put them on.

Ophelia was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where she slept.

"Have you always slept in a cupboard?" Bruce asked her, his voice firm but not
unkind. His icy blue eyes almost startle Ophelia who looked up to him with her bright emerald eyes. "Y-yes. As long as I remember. That's where I slept." With a nod, she replied to his question.

Dick crossed his arm angrily.

"Tt. Are you going to tell me that killing is not an option?" Green eyes locked in blue eyes. Damian was looking at Bruce.

Alfred let out a sigh. He too was quiet angry at what he was seeing.

"How horrible." Cassandra mumbled.

When she was dressed she went down the hall into the kitchen. The table
was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike.

Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Ophelia as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise unless of course it involved punching somebody. Dudley's favorite punching bag was Ophelia, but he couldn't often catch her. Ophelia didn't look it, but she was very fast.

"He hitted you?!" Stefanie looked at Ophelia. She was very angry at that spoiled brat. Ophelia was so thin, it must have hurt her a lot.

"I am sure that her aunt did not even stop him." Barbara clenched her fist.

And Barbara was right. Ophelia's aunt and uncle never once stopped Dudley from using her as a punching bag. And it hurts Ophelia. Was there something wrong with her? Yes. She was strange. In
many ways more than once. She could do things other could not. And it made her a freak. She was different but being different was not wrong or bad. It was unique but nobody ever told her that. It was simply painful for her, a child who never met her parents to be treated like dirt by her family. She is a just a child.

Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Ophelia
had always been small and skinny for her age. She looked even smaller and
skinnier than she really was because all she had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than she was. Ophelia
had a thin face, knobbly knees, messy black hair, and bright green eyes.

Cruel. Cruel was the only way to define those pests that Damian was looking at.
Was he raised to be a weapon? A killer?
Yes. But he was not starved nor did he sleep in a cupboard. How did that little girl even survive there. Was she feed in one day? Or one week? Was it twice a week or worse? He did not know but if he see those scums in front of him. He will not hesitate to kill them.

She wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of
all the times Dudley had punched her on the nose. The only thing Ophelia
liked about her own appearance was a very thin scar on her forehead that
was shaped like a bolt of lightning. She had it as long as she could remember and the first question she could ever remember asking her Aunt Petunia was how she had gotten it.

"In the car crash when your parents died," she had said. "And don't ask
questions." Don't ask questions, that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Ophelia was turning over the bacon.

"They lied to you." Jon said looking at Ophelia who shrinked into a small ball.

"We missed the MOST important part! They are making a child cook!" Selina hissed. She really want to scratch that ugly woman who dare called herself Ophelia's aunt.

"Miss Potter, can you tell us at what age you have start cooking?" Alfred, being the most calm one asked Ophelia gently.

"Since I was four year old." She replied, hesitatntly. It was difficult of course. She would get burn and sometimes Dudley would pushed or moved the chair she stood on which led to her falling and the food getting burns or ruins completely.

"What. The. Fuck." Tim looked more awake than ever. "Those people can not even call themselved your family, green!
They are despicable!" Tim was more than angry.

Fuck the no killing rules of Bruce.

Ophelia felt a warm feeling in her chest. She tilted her head. "Green?" Timothy looked at her. "Green. It's a nickname beased of your eyes." He said,
answering her.

Selina looked at Ophelia. Yesp. Fuck the no killing rules of her husband. It was a stupid rule anyway.

Duke smiled, it was funny and sweet seeing his family warming up to a new child. Look like another will be adopt.

"Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting. About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Ophelia needed a haircut. Ophelia must have had more haircuts than the rest of the girls in her class put together, but it made no difference, her hair simply grew that way all over the place.

Ophelia was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his
mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel, Ophelia often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.

Jonathan and Stefanie laughed freely. Jason was very quiet at all the discovery soon snort at the childlike insult.

"He sure does look like one." Damian replied. "Insult him some more." He said indirectly to Ophelia who beamed. She finally had someone to complain to.

Ophelia put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell."Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year."

"Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mommy and Daddy." "All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face.

"I know Damian usually act like a brat but I am happy that this is not his way of being a brat." Tim said, looking quiet pertubed by the way Dudley acted.

Damian was more than offended at Drake's words but for once, he let it go just like Elsa did in Frozen.

Ophelia, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down her bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over. Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right"

Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty ... thirty..." "Thirty- nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia.

"Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right
then." Uncle Vernon chuckled. "Little tyke wants his money's worth, just likehis father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair.

"Like father like son." Stefanie flipped her hair.

"No trace of handsomeness. Ew." At this point, everyone were using everything they can to diss the Dursley if that was even a decent last name.

At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Ophelia and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR. He was ripping the paper off a gold wrist watch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.

"They can buy all this shit for her that ugly brat but they can't even buy her proper clothes?!" Jason gritted his teeth.

"More like they did not want to." Clark glared at the family on the screen. It was geniunely disgusting.

"Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take her." She jerked her head in Ophelia's direction. Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Ophelia's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Ophelia was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away.

Ophelia hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made her look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned.

Damian, the animal lovers look at Ophelia. "I like animals." He said. How weird. Damian thought. It simply slip out of his mouth when he looked at her.

"Me too!" She beamed brightly.

Worth it.

"Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Ophelia as though she'dplanned this. Ophelia knew she ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when she reminded herself it would be a whole year before she had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again.

"We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested. "Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the girl."

"Everyone seem to hate you a lot." Damian told Ophelia. Everyone seemed to dislike him a lot. Ophelia thought to herself. Ophelia wondered if she have had a brother, maybe he would have looked like Damian. That thought made her smile.

The Dursleys often spoke about Ophelia like this, as though she wasn't there or rather, as though she was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug "What about what's-her name, your friend, Yvonne?"

"Ugh. Bruce." Silena looked at Bruce.

"Okay." Bruce let out a sighed.

"Whip."

"On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia. "You could just leave me here," Ophelia put in hopefully (she'd be able to watch what she wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a goon Dudley's computer). Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon.

"What is so wrong with leaving her alone in the house-" Dick's eyes quickly widened. "Wait, no. Don't leave a child alone!"

"And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled. "I won't blow up the house," said Ophelia, but they weren't listening. "I suppose we could take her to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, "...and leave her in the car...." "That car's new, she's not sitting in it alone...."

Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying , it had been years since he'd really cried, but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted. "Dinky Duddydums, don't cry, Mummy won't let her spoil your special day!" he cried, flinging her arms around him.

"Fucking hell, put that little shit in a center." Jason hissed.

"Language, master Jason."

Ophelia giggled.

"I... don't... want... her... t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "She always spoils everything!" He shot Ophelia a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms. Just then, the doorbell rang "Oh, good Lord, they are here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother. Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them. Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once.

"Ugly little shit." Stephanie whispered, her hand twirling her blonde hair.

"Must stink to stay next to them." Barbara shrugged. She just felt the need to say that sentence.

Half an hour later, Ophelia, who couldn't believe her luck, was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in her life. Her aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with her, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken ophelia aside.

"I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Ophelia's, "I'm warning you now, girl any funny business, anything at all and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas." "I'm not going to do anything," said Ophelia, "honestly.."

"Would they really?" Lois looked at Ophelia who lowered her eyes, nodding.

"Tt." Damian rolled his eyes. His fingers itching to grab the grab sword in his pocket.

But Uncle Vernon didn't believe her. No one ever did. The problem was, strange things often happened around Ophelia and it was just no good telling the Dursleys she didn't make them happen.

Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Ophelia coming back from the barbers looking as though she hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut her hair so short she was almost bald except for her bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." Dudley had laughed himself silly at Ophelia, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where she was already laughed at for her baggy clothes and taped glasses.

"Thats horrible."

"Like i said, lets just diss that no killing rule." Jason straighten up.

Next morning, however, she had gotten up to find her hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off she had been given a week in her cupboard for this, even though she had tried to explain that she couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly.

"Wow." Stephanie's eyes sparkles. "It just grow up over night?!" Ophelia looked really surprise by the cheerfullness in Stephanie's tone. "It's magic!" A shiver ran down Ophelia's spine. It was not a good one.

"Magic does not exist." Ophelia hissed and it came out louder than it should.
Surprised by her sudden 'snap', Selina
looked at her and smiled. "Of course, it
does. Magics can exist in many way." It was sweet but heartbroken to see the hint of surprise and vulnerabily in the girl's eyes. "Oh." She whispered. "Thats not what the Dursleys told me ..." Selina
was quick to understand the meaning.

But today, nothing was going to go wrong. It was even worth being with
Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school,

While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Ophelia, the council, Ophelia, the bank, and Ophelia were just a few of hia favorite subjects. This morning, it was motorcycles. "... roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them.

I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Ophelia, remembering suddenly. "It was flying." Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at ophelia, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache:

"MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!" Dudley and Piers sniggered.

"Of course it does, dumbass. we just saw it!" Jason complained. "Give thay man a brain!"

"Unfortunately they are a lost cause." Jonathan pointed out.

I know they don't," said Ophelia. "It was only a dream."

Ophelia understood that it was not just a dream because she did see a motorcycle
earlier. Maybe the pretty cat-like miss is right and magic did exist in many ways that the Dursley simply can not accept.

But she wished she hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the
Dursleys hated even more than her asking questions, it was her talking
about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a
dream or even a cartoon they seemed to think she might get dangerous ideas.

"You should burn the house down." Jason told her but he did not know that she did in fact once or twice burned down the house accidentally.

After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep.

A hint of sparkle light up in Ophelia and Damian's eyes at the sight of the largest snake there. "Father─" Damian have not even finished his sentenced when he got
rejected by his father. "No." Both green eyes children leaned back against the couch, sulking. But if you would ask Damian if he was sulking then he would never admit it.

Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the
glistening brown coils. "Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge. "Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on.

"He just ordered his father." Tim deadpaned and look at Damian. "Don't ever forget that I am thankful you are not like that."

"Tt. Whatever."

"This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away. "You are boring!" Ophelia mumbled under her breath.

"Tell him!" Harley cheered brightly.

She moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. She wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was her family.

The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Ophelia's.

It winked.

"Wait what─" Tim rubbed his eyes and look back at the screen. "Guys, I just saw the fucking snake winked!" He started having a mental breakdown. "I am going crazy─"

"Calm down, coffee additc. You are not going to crazy. At least not yet since we also did saw the snake winked at the little Ophelia." Stephanie said, slightly
amused.

Ophelia smiled. Then she looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. She looked back at the snake and winked, too.

"Sneaky. Are you fairy godmother's favorite child?" Ophelia looked at Jason and shooked her head. "No but I may be mother nature's." She smiled slightly.
She hesitated and thinks to herself.

'Who is fairy godmother?'

Damian crossed his arm. He wanted a snake to wink at him too.

The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Ophelia a look that said quite plainly: "I get that all the time."

"I know," Ophelia murmured through the glass, "It must be really annoying."

Bruce almost smiled, feeling extremwly amuse by Ophelia. "You are speaking to a snake?"

With an unsure tone, Ophelia replied. "Yes, animals make good company and make loyal friends." Damian found his favorite person on earth.

Suck to be Jonothan when he find out.

The snake nodded vigorously. "Where do you come from, anyway?" Ophelia asked. The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Ophelia peered at it.

Boa Constrictor, Brazil.

"Holy. Shit."

"Language, master Jason."

Why is it always him getting scold when swearing? Favoritism is not in his favor.

"Was it nice there?"

The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Ophelia read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see so you've never been to Brazil?" As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Ophelia made both of them jump.

"You should take him there." Damian told Ophelia. Poor Ophelia sweatdropped.

How is she supose to go to Brazil?

"DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!" Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could.

"Out of the way, you," he said, punching Ophelia in the ribs. Caught by surprise, Ophelia fell hard on the concrete floor.

"Hey!" Barbara's eyes widened at other Ophelia looked in pain.

"That little─"

"Let me at him!!"

What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened, one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror.

Ophelia sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished. The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits. As the snake slid swiftly past him, Ophelia could have sworn a low, hissing voice said,

"Brazil, here I come.... Thanksss, amigo." The keeper of the reptile house was in shock.

"Did that snake just speak?" Tim almost dropped his coffee.

"Yes..?" Silena pinched herself. "Yes." She repeated.

"The glass just disappeared." Lois pointed out.

"Wow!"

Bruce looked at Ophelia. seeing by the earlier episode, they did saw magic. It seem that the little girl could be some witch.

"But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?"

Ophelia smiled at the snake who was slithering away.