Locked Hearts

Chapter 3

I let out a sigh and looked in the mirror. The Gotham Academy uniform wasn't entirely awful, but that didn't mean I liked it. The colors were okay, but the stockings and shoes were my least favorite things in the world.
"Miss Elena, would you like help with your hair?", Alfred knocked and stepped in.
"If you don't mind", I looked at him and walked to the chair of my vanity. I sat down and Alfred started on my hair.
"I didn't know you could do hair, Alfred", I smiled.
"I have a lot of hidden talents", Alfred answered.
"You are truly the most amazing butler ever", I closed my eyes.
"Thank you, Miss Elena. But I do not agree with you", Alfred stepped back, "All done."
"Well it's the truth", I opened my eyes and grinned. He had done a beautiful braid crown.
"I'll be waiting downstairs for you", Alfred walked out and I stood. I grabbed my backpack and walked downstairs. My backpack was heavy and hard to carry, but I wasn't about to show Damian that I was struggling. I walked out to the car and climbed in, sitting as far from Damian as I could. Alfred shut my door and walked to the drivers side.
"Since this is new to you, I've made sure you have all your classes with Master Damian", Alfred spoke, "He will show you around."
"Great", I muttered sarcastically.
"Master Damian, you are to show her around and if you kiss her again, you will be in quite a bit of trouble", Alfred's voice became hard.
"I don't know what the big deal is. It was just a kiss", Damian rolled his eyes.
"It wasn't just a kiss! I was nearly engaged before I was forced to come here!", I glared at Damian.
"Master Damian, be respectful", Alfred stopped the car and got out.
"Whatever", Damian crossed his arms and climbed out when Alfred opened the door. I climbed out after him and looked up at the large building. Alfred and Dick had explained how things worked, but I was still nervous about messing up.
"Master Damian, take her to the office please", Alfred was looking at Damian.
"Let's go", Damian glanced at me, then started walking. I followed after him into a small room that smelled of ink and paper. He walked me to a desk and a woman with brown hair pulled into a bun, looked up at us.
"Can I help you, Mr. Wayne?", she smiled at Damian.
"I need the schedule for Elena", Damian answered, "Elena Elds."
"Alright. I'll go back and get that really quickly", the woman stood and walked into a back room. She came back out with a piece of paper. She held it out to me and I took it, looking it over.
"Thank you", I gave the woman a smile and she nodded. Damian led me out and towards our first class. Damian sat beside me in every class. Everyone seemed afraid to speak to me because of it.
"I'll find you after lunch", Damian huffed and walked off after showing me to the lunchroom. I didn't bother getting food and looked around at the tables. A girl got up and ran over to me.
"Are you friends with Damian Wayne?", she asked, her eyes slightly wide.
"I mean, I guess. We live together", I shrugged.
"Oh my God! You have to sit with us and tell us all about it", the girl grabbed my arm and pulled me to a table full of girls.
"So she knows him?", one girl, seemingly the leader of the group, questioned.
"She said she lives with him!", the girl holding my arm squealed.
"Well, I'm Sandra", the leader girl stood and held a hand out to me.
"I'm Elena", I took her hand.
"Nice to meet you Elena", Sandra grinned, "So, tell us more about Damian Wayne."
"There's not much to tell. He's pretty quiet and keeps to himself. When he does talk though, he's completely rude", I answered.
"Does he sleep naked?", one of the girls asked me.
"How would I know?", I grimaced at the thought of it. Though I did think he was attractive.
"Does he work out a lot?", some girl called out another question.
"I've only seen him work out once", I shrugged, "But he could work out more."
"Have you kissed him?", another voice rang out and my mind went to the kiss from the mall.
I pushed it out of my mind, "No."
"Have you seen his bare chest?", questions just kept coming.
"No. I haven't", I sighed. This line of questioning lasted the entire lunch period. Damian came to walk me to my next class and all the girls became instantly silent when he walked up.
"Let's go", Damian looked at me, not paying the girls any attention.
"Bye", I waved at the girls and followed after Damian.
"You shouldn't hang out with Sandra and her friends", Damian didn't look at me.
"Why not?", I frowned and looked ahead of us.
"She's not a good person to keep company with. She will turn on you in moments", Damian replied, walking faster than I could.
"Slow down. What do you mean by that?", I had to jog to keep pace with him.
"She's one of those fake people", he answered.
"I think you just don't want me to have any friends", I felt relieved when he slowed down.
"I don't care if you have friends. I do, however, care if I have to clean up any messes you make", Damian stopped in front of a classroom, "So stay away from Sandra."
"Fine, you ass", I followed him into the class and sat at the very back.

After a few weeks, school became normal and a rather good distraction. I ignore Damian's warning and continued hanging out with Sandra. I also made another friend named Lily. She had the most vibrant red hair with deep green eyes. She was absolutely beautiful.
We were sitting in the TV room of the manor, flipping through channels. I froze when I saw a picture of my castle on a news channel. I turned it up.
"It has been confirmed that the Queen and King have been killed as well as the King's younger brother. The daughters of the king and his brother are both missing and there has been a little bit of communication from Princess Elena's fiance", the news reported spoke and it switched to a picture of Cole.
"The loss of the Queen, King, and the King's younger brother is a terrible one. We are still hoping to find the princesses soon", Cole spoke into the camera and I felt like I was going to be sick.
"Elena, are you alright? You're really pale", Lily moved closer to me and set a hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah. I just need a minute", I stood and walked around the couch. I looked up and in the doorway stood Damian. I shook my head and just pushed past him, holding back my tears. I ran to the bathroom and slammed the door before locking it. I threw up in the toilet and then wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. I stepped to the sink and splashed some water on my face.
"Miss Elena? Miss Lily said you ran out in a hurry and seemed upset", Alfred called just after knocking on the door.
"I'm okay", I called back, staring at my reflection in the mirror. A gullible girl who fell in love with a liar and a murderer.
"Would you mind coming out and telling me what happened?", Alfred called again and I sighed. I opened the door and looked up at him.
"Could we go to the kitchen or something?", I asked.
"Yes. I'll make you some hot cocoa and cookies", Alfred nodded and led me to the kitchen.
"Thank you", I moved to sit at the table while Alfred got my hot cocoa and cookies.
"Of course", Alfred nodded, "Now tell me what's wrong."
"There was a story on the news. About my family. My parents and my uncle...", I clenched my eyes shut, "They're dead. They're all dead."
I didn't have time to react before Alfred had wrapped me in a gentle hug.
"Thank you", I whispered before wrapping my own arms around him. Alfred was becoming like a grandfather and it was nice to have him.
"Of course. Nobody should lose their parents in one go. Master Bruce went through that when he was young", Alfred explained and I pulled away.
"Really? I never thought about the fact that he could have gone through something so traumatic", I shook my head. Alfred walked back to the stove and finished my hot chocolate. He set the mug in front of me along with a plate of cookies.
"Well, he hides it well", Alfred answered and moved to wash the dishes.
"Alfred, I can do the dishes", I frowned, "Since you made this for me."
"Forgive me for asking, but have you ever done dishes, Elena?", Alfred turned to look at me.
My cheeks warmed with embarrassment, "No. But I want to learn to help more around here."
"Well, then come here and I'll show you", Alfred smiled at me.
"Thank you!", I hopped up and ran over, "Where did Lily end up going?"
"I believe Master Damian sent her home", Alfred answered. He began washing the pot he had boiled my water in as well as the now empty cookie jar.
"Now that I know, I'll wash the dishes I'm using when I'm done. Thank you, Alfred", I smiled widely and Alfred nodded.
"Alright. Remember this, Elena. You can always come to me", Alfred smiled.
"Thank you", I felt my smile falter as my mind returned to my parents. Tears formed in my eyes again and I walked to the table. I sat down and sipped my hot cocoa and Alfred left me to my sorrow. Once finished with my snack and drink, I washed the dishes as Alfred has shown and walked up to my room. I changed into the shirt and sweatpants Dick brought me when I arrived. I had other pajamas but these made me feel safer for some odd reason.
They smelled a lot like Damian but that had nothing to do with why I felt comfortable. It had to be the fact that they reminded me of Cole. They were around his size and seemed like something he would wear.
A sound outside my door pulled me from my thoughts off Cole. I slowly slipped off my bed where I had been curled up. I walked to my door and silently opened it. Damian and Bruce were whispering between each other. Bruce pushed or pulled something and the clock on the wall slid to the side, revealing steps. Bruce walked down them first and then Damian followed. I slipped out of my room silently and walked towards it. The little entrance closed before I could slip down so I looked around for what Bruce had used to open it. It took me a while but I found a small hidden button on the side of the clock. I clicked it and the clock slid sideways. I stared down the steps, chewing my lip. I walked down the first few steps and the clock slid back into place. Lights switched on above me and I slowly continued walking down the stairs.
"I swear if these guys are participating in a cult or something, I'm leaving", I whispered to myself as I neared the bottom of the stairs. I turned a corner and froze, my eyes widening. In front of me was a massive cave full different types of technology. Up on a platform were the Batman and Robin suits.
"Elena", Bruce spoke and my eyes landed on him and Damian. Both were sitting in chairs in front of a massive computer.
"You're the Batman?!", I nearly screamed, causing both Bruce and Damian to sigh.