Harper Isabel Todd

Chapter 20

"The boy, the one you keep hidden in your quarters, the one who trains but does not speak, the one who reacts but does not initiate movement, the one who only stares into the void with dead eyes," Damian noticed the pain and something else in his mother's eyes, "has he become your favorite? Is he an obstacle I must eliminate to ensure my place-"

"His name is Jason, he is your brother," Talia cut him off.

"My brother? You had another child before me?" Damian looked so shocked.

"He's your brother from your father's side," Talia reassured him, "you remain my one and only blood son."

"Oh," Damian's little face turned into a cute scowl, "why has he come here then?"

"He has been through a great deal of trauma, and he was brought here to recover. You will treat him with the respect you would treat me, do I make myself clear?"

"Of course mother," Damian bowed his head just a little.

This was not enough to keep Damian away from Jason. Damian soon discovered that the lifeless boy was a great fighter and was as interested in Damian as Damian was in him. Damian had started following the boy when the boy started walking on his own and noticed how the boy would follow him when Damian had training.

One time, during a training session with Al-Jallad, Damian kept messing up the move he was being taught. His swordsmanship teacher is not known for his patience. The lifeless boy Jason was attending the training session. The teacher was getting closer to losing his temper on Damian who was just too distracted with the way Jason was watching him.

"You might be the heir to demon's head, boy, but if you do not focus on the task at hand, I have been granted permission to discipline you anyway I see fit," the teacher said in a poisonous voice before shoot an equally venomous look at Jason, "I see you've brought your dog with you."

"Apologies," Damian forced himself to his feet with difficulty, "I will do better."

"You don't have much of a choice," he charged at Damian again without waiting for him to be fully prepared for his attack.

Damian was not able to block his teacher's sword and fell back with a yelp of pain escaping his lips. The teacher was relentless, never giving Damian the chance to even stand up to properly react to the attacks, it was supposed to be training, Damian was supposed to be learning, not getting beaten by his teacher. It went on for an hour.

"Tsk, weak," the teacher mocked him; "I suppose it's time for your punishment."

The teacher turned to the weapons' table and picked up a whip. He returned and Damian was still clutching his bleeding arm as he tried to conceal his tears.

"The tears will not delay the inevitable, they only show how weak you truly are, you will never be worthy of the Al Ghul name," he took a few steps back to allow his whip to move freely, "show me your back, little prince," the teacher mocked again.

Damian knew he had to endure; he had to be the perfect heir to Ra's Al Ghul. Damian knew he deserved this punishment because he was distracted; he will have to endure without shedding anymore tears. He took a deep breath and shed his tunic; he knelt and faced the wall. He waited for the sound of the backlash of the whip before it cracked forward. The whip didn't crack on his back, he didn't feel the leather lashes he was so used to by now, he wanted to turn and see what had happened.

"What do you think you're doing dog?"

The boy Jason, was on the ground between Damian and the teacher, he had the whip wrapped around his arm constricting its movements. The teacher looked ready to behead Jason but for some reason was still frozen in surprise. Damian dared to look back. The boy Jason, his brother, had put himself between Damian and the torturer that was his name, Al-Jallad, they called him.