A/N: Well this is one story that hasn't seen the light of day in so long. Writer's block and other projects made me push this one off to the side. But something made me decide to return to it and finish it.
With that said, here's chapter two of According to My Bond!
A Noise in the Dark
The sun was just coming up as Bruce decided it was time to leave. Alfred would hopefully be arriving in Lhasa by ten in the morning. They needed to get a move on. He had no idea how much farther away they were. Lydia was still asleep underneath his coat. Bruce thought about waking her up but realized that she was still in no condition to walk with those feet. Fortunately, she wasn't too heavy.
Lydia didn't wake as Bruce picked her up. He rested her on his forearm and she snuggled into the crook of his arm. Bruce felt stronger, like he had a purpose. Not just about saving Gotham but about Lydia. When he fled Gotham seven years ago, he never thought he'd come back. Nor did he think that he'd be caretaker to a nine year old. Now he here was, finally returning home with Lydia in tow.
And that didn't bother him. Not one little bit.
The sun was high in the sky when Bruce finally came upon the airfield outside Lhasa. There weren't many aircraft on the broken tarmac, mostly cargo and private planes. One of the Cessnas was closest to the road, its door opened and a familiar face came out. Wizened and wrinkled face. Dark blue eyes. Tan suit. Wise smile.
"Master Wayne! It's been far too long." Alfred, faithful butler and father figure, stepped down the stairs.
"Hello, Alfred." Bruce smiled, shifting the still sleeping Lydia to his other arm. How he had missed him…
"You look very fashionable, apart from the mud. And this must be little Lydia." Alfred's eyes seemed to be a little brighter. That was until he saw her bandaged feet.
"Her feet got badly blistered from all the walking she did yesterday. I treated them as best I could." Bruce explained as they boarded the plane.
"I'll get the first aid kit." Alfred said as Bruce put Lydia down on a large and comfortable leather chair. She still slept as he took the coat off and unwrapped her feet. The bandages had done their job well, the bleeding had stopped and Bruce could see the blisters beginning to heal. Alfred brought over the kit and in no time, fresh bandages had been applied.
"Shall I tell the pilots that it's time to leave?" Alfred asked as Bruce buckled Lydia into her seat.
"Yes." Bruce said, putting his coat back over Lydia. "Let's go home."
Bruce and Alfred didn't speak for a long time. Not until well after they took off and were on their way home. It was just so…awkward…to talk to Alfred, especially having more or less running out on him without saying goodbye. Whether Alfred was being sympathetic to Bruce or having the same feelings was unclear.
It wasn't until Bruce was checking on Lydia that Alfred finally broke the silence. "She's special to you, isn't she?"
Bruce smiled as he smoothed out the coat. "Guess you could say that she grew on me."
"What happened during these past seven years, Master Wayne?" Alfred asked as Bruce sat back down across from him.
Then Bruce began his tale. Alfred remained silent as Bruce described his life from the time he left Gotham. About his arrest and time in prison. How Ducard offered to give him purpose and watching Lydia grow up. The training and ultimatum they gave him. Leaving Ducard and taking Lydia with him.
"Are you coming back to Gotham for long, sir?" Alfred asked once Bruce finished his story.
Bruce looked out the window at the fleecy clouds flying by. "As long as it takes. I'm gonna show the people of Gotham their city doesn't belong to the criminals and the corrupt."
"In the depression, your father nearly bankrupted Wayne Enterprises combating poverty. He believed that his example could inspire the wealthy of Gotham to save their city."
"Did it?" Bruce asked.
"In a way. Their murders shocked the wealthy and the powerful into action." Alfred said, shaking his head.
"People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy and I can't do that as Bruce Wayne. As a man I'm flesh and blood. I can be ignored. I can be destroyed. But as a symbol…as a symbol I can be incorruptible. I can be everlasting." Bruce responded bitterly.
Alfred leaned forward in his chair. "What symbol?"
Bruce shrugged his shoulders. He hadn't thought this far ahead. "Something elemental. Something terrifying."
"I assume that as you're taking on the underworld, this symbol is a persona to protect those you care about from reprisals." Alfred cleared his throat.
"You're speaking about Rachel and Harvey?" Bruce asked, cocking his head.
"Actually sir, I was thinking of myself." Bruce chuckled at Alfred's reply. "And what are you going to do now about Miss Lydia?"
Bruce looked back at the sleeping Lydia. "I'm taking her in, I'll say that her father helped me and asked me to care for her. Which he did." Bruce responded to Alfred before he could say anything back. "Besides, there was no way I was going to leave her there. If her father hadn't been so hell-bent on vengeance, he'd agree with me."
Where am I? I thought as I woke up. I was inside a tube shaped room, full of nice and comfortable looking chairs. Bruce's coat was still over me. When I tried to get up, I couldn't. I had been buckled into the chair I was sitting in. Pushing off Bruce's coat, I tried to unbuckle the strange contraption around my waist that was keeping me in the chair.
"Lift the flap on the shiny square piece." An elderly voice said to me. I looked up and saw an older gentleman sitting in a comfortable chair across from me, reading a book. Bruce was nowhere in sight. I did as he said and the belt unbuckled with a loud click. "Master Bruce is asleep now in the back." He said when I got up and looked around. My feet felt strange on account of the bandages wrapped around them, like I was wearing really thick socks. They also stung a bit.
"Where am I?"
"Oh, somewhere over California, we'll be home in a couple more hours." He said, putting a bookmark in his book and putting his book down on the table in front of him.
How could we be over California…? Oh that's right, we must be flying home. "You're Bruce's friend." I said, walking over to introduce myself.
"Yes, you can call me Alfred. And Master Bruce has already told me a little bit about you, Miss Lydia." Alfred held out his hand. I shook it. "Now, would you like something to drink?"
"Some water would be nice, please." I sat down in the chair opposite Alfred. He got up and went to a little black square appliance sitting against a wall. After a little bit, he came back with a bottle full of water that had a screw on cap. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Alfred smiled at me as I unscrewed the cap and drank the sweet and clean water inside. "Master Bruce said you really like to read." He said with a sigh as he sat back down.
I took that as my invitation to sit back down. "Uh huh. What are you reading now?" I pointed to his book.
"It's called The Once and Future King by T.H. White. I think it's too big for a little girl to read though."
"Isn't that about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table?" I asked, having recognized the title.
"Very good." Alfred said, raising an eyebrow.
"My father had a copy of it in his library." I smiled, remembering Father reading some of it aloud to me when I was small. "He had many books there, surprising, considering we lived in the middle of nowhere."
"What other books did he have?" Alfred asked.
"Let's see…" I tried to remember. "Victor Hugo. Thomas Hardy. Charles Dickens. Chaucer. Sophocles. Edgar Allan Poe. Ayn Rand. Dante Alighieri. Marcus Aurelius….and many, many more that I can't remember off the top of my head."
Alfred's eyes widened. "My goodness. That is very impressive. I bet you've read many of them."
I smiled. "A couple of them. Father read others to me. And when you have very little to do, you keep your mind busy any way you can."
"What was your favorite?"
"He had a complete collection of Shakespeare. I loved that the best probably." The thought of those books burning up made me sad.
"I don't know if Master Bruce has told you this or not, but we have a very big collection of books in our private library."
"I could spend all day in there then." I was excited and wondering what else Bruce hadn't told me…which was quite a bit.
"Then at least we'll know where to find you. When you're not in school that is." Alfred chuckled.
"School?" I asked.
"You'll be enrolled in school when we get there. Plenty of children there to play with. Master Bruce also told me that you were a bit of a lonely child."
"There weren't any other children at the compound. I think out of all of the people there, Bruce was probably the closest in age. Probably why I grew attached to him in the first place."
There was the sound of somebody walking up to Alfred. It was Bruce, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Hey Lydia, how are you feeling?"
"Much better, thank you." I said. "And you?"
"Me too. I see you've met Alfred." Bruce said. "Everything's set to go, Alfred?"
"Yes. Oh and Ms. Rachel helped me acquire some new clothes for Miss Lydia. We had to guess on the size."
"New clothes?" I asked, looking down at my dress. "My clothes are still in good shape." The only time I got new clothes was when they were damaged beyond repair or I outgrew them.
"Yes, but nobody wears what you're wearing. It'll help you fit in better." Bruce explained.
"Oh…" I still didn't see what the issue was though.
They landed at one of Gotham's much smaller airports a few hours later. Bruce watched as Lydia looked out the window, her face wide with awe. The clothes Rachel and Alfred had picked out for her were a little big but they worked. Jeans, a Hello Kitty T-shirt and matching pink hooded jacket. The pink Sketchers sneakers covered her blistered feet just fine. After they landed and the pilots went to open the door, Bruce gently scooped her up and carried her off the plane.
"Bruce, I think I can walk. Thank you though." Lydia said, wriggling a little bit.
"Ok." Bruce carefully put Lydia down. "But if your feet hurt you, let me know, ok?"
"Ok." She smiled and took his hand.
It was a surprisingly bright and clear day, the first nip of autumn was in the air. He remembered Gotham as overcast and cloudy. Off in the distance, he could see the Gotham skyline.
To Bruce's surprise, Harvey and Rachel were waiting for them off the tarmac with a second hand van and another car. They were holding hands and dressed conservatively. Must've been a court date, Bruce mused, remembering that they had been training to be lawyers when he ran off some seven years previously. Also with them was an adolescent aged boy, surely no older than twelve. He looked a little sullen with wide brown eyes and very short black hair.
Then it finally hit Bruce. Harvey and Rachel were married now. They just had to be. Looking at their hands, Bruce made out the telltale golden bands on their fingers. He didn't know what to think. It wasn't disappointment…they were beginning to date when he left Gotham…but it was difficult seeing them together. Why, he didn't know.
"Bruce, it's been too long." Harvey said, shaking Bruce's hand before hugging him. All his conflicted feelings disappeared. It felt good to be with his best friends again.
"It's good to see you again, Harvey." Bruce said before turning to Rachel. "Rachel." She still smelled of her favorite lilac perfume. It was nice to know some things hadn't changed.
"Welcome home, Bruce." Rachel said before noticing Lydia. She squatted to get down to her level. She hadn't lost her love of children then. "You must be Lydia, it's really nice to meet you."
Lydia hid behind Bruce. "She's a little shy." Bruce explained to Harvey and Rachel before gently squeezing Lydia's hand. She came out slowly. "These are my friends, Harvey and Rachel."
"It's nice to meet you, ma'am." Lydia bobbed a little curtsey, getting the adults to laugh a little bit.
"You don't need to call me that. I hear that enough every day from the courthouse where I work. Just call me Rachel." Rachel said, offering her hand.
"And you can call me Harvey." Harvey shook Lydia's hand before waving the boy over. "This is my nephew, John Blake. John, come over here and say hi to Bruce and Lydia."
"It's nice to meet you, John." Bruce said, holding out his hand. The boy shook his hand. Bruce recognized the look on the young man's face. He had his parents ripped from him too.
"Likewise." John said curtly before nodded at Lydia. "Nice to meet you, Lydia."
"You too." She said.
"Why don't we grab your bags and go back to Wayne Manor, huh?" Harvey asked. "We've got a lot of catching up to do." He said. "So much has happened in Gotham since then."
"I'd like to join you guys, but I need to get home and go over some case files for tomorrow. Do you want to go with them John?" Rachel asked. "Bruce's house is a pretty neat place."
"No thanks, Aunt Rachel, I've got some homework." John said, brusque. Bruce immediately felt some sympathy for the boy. He remembered being in his shoes and feeling the same anger consume him whole.
"Oh ok, then we'll be getting home. It's good seeing you again, Bruce." Rachel said before giving Harvey a peck on the cheek.
Bruce's home was so big…it reminded me of a castle. I gaped at it as Harvey drove us through the big gates and up the driveway. Alfred chuckled when he saw me. "That's Wayne Manor. Your new home. It's where Master Bruce grew up."
The inside proved to be just as impressive as the outside. "Hey Alfred, why don't you show Lydia her room and get her something to eat? I'd like to catch up with Harvey, if that's ok?"
"Yes, it's perfectly fine." Alfred said before offering me his hand. "I think you'll like your new room, Miss Lydia. How are your feet feeling though?"
"They're good." I immediately lied. Of course they hurt. As soon as I had somewhere comfortable to sit down, then I'd be sitting down for sure. Alfred led me upstairs and down one of the long hallway. "This place looks more like a museum."
"Of course, this house is well over two hundred years old. Master Bruce's grandparents were world travelers in their own right and quite the collectors." We stopped in front of one of the doors. "And this is your room." He opened the door.
My room was a pretty nice size. Back at the compound in Tibet, I had shared my quarters with Father. It wasn't much, two beds in a small room along with two trunks of clothing. Nothing much, just a place to sleep. This room was at least twice that, a large bay window overlooking the green lawns. The furniture was formal, a huge four poster canopy bed in the corner, dresser and desk, all made of dark oak. But there was a huge bookshelf next to the attached bathroom. And two very comfortable looking chairs.
"I didn't know what your tastes were, but when Mrs. Dent…sorry, that's Ms. Rachel…" Alfred said to my confused look. "Has a free day, then we'll go out and get things for your room."
"Thank you, Alfred." I said.
"How about I leave you to get settled in? I'll get dinner ready. Is there anything in particular you like?"
My stomach growled. I hadn't eaten since the bread and kumquat juice I had yesterday. "Whatever you have is fine and thank you, Alfred."
"You're welcome." Alfred smiled and left. Immediately, I went over to the bookshelf and looked over the titles. I had never heard of some of the titles or authors. But I was a hungry reader and vowed to make time for them. Soon, I had found a collection of short stories and poems by Edgar Allan Poe. Father had read some of them aloud to me so at least they were familiar.
I curled up in one of the comfortable chairs and began to read. Strangely enough, if I concentrated hard enough, I could almost hear Father's soft voice reading them aloud just as he did when I was little.
Back when he had more time for me.
A sadness pricked my heart. I closed the book and put it down, thinking of my once happy family. My hand moved to touch the locket, before I remembered that I had given it to Bruce to buy food.
It had to be done, I reminded myself. Otherwise we would've starved.
But I still felt guilty.
That locket was the only thing I had left of my mother. I tried to remember her. She had light blue eyes and she loved to laugh. But she had died when I was very small…Father didn't like talking about her. I think it hurt him too much.
I was still lost in thought when Alfred came back. "I've got some supper ready in the kitchen." He smiled nicely. It made me hurt all the more.
"Thank you, Alfred." I put a smile on my face and followed him.
Bruce sat up in the library, his head resting on his touching fingertips. It was dark outside now. The sun had set earlier in the day, a sure sign that autumn was upon them.
He had been pondering what Harvey had told him before leaving several hours before. He had been elected D.A. of Gotham some four months before, taking over after the previous D.A. Carl Finch was brutally murdered. He and Rachel had done as much as they could. But it was hopeless. The law could only do so much.
The people of Gotham needed a symbol.
Bruce sighed as she looked over the newspapers sprawled over the library floor. He had leads to investigate. But no way to do that. He needed to show the scumbags of Gotham that they didn't have control over the city anymore. Fight fire with fire. He would use fear to attack Gothamites who used fear to get their way. But what could he become?
Someone was watching him from the library doorway. Bruce turned to see Lydia standing in the doorway. She was dressed in a pink pair of pajamas, her feet rewrapped in fresh bandages. Something about her face worried him. "You ok, Lydia?"
"No, I was just wondering where you were. That's all." Lydia shrugged.
She was hiding something. Bruce felt sorry for her. "You want to come here and talk about it?" He sat up and held his arms open as his father used to. Lydia walked over and sat down on his lap, resting the crown of her head beneath her chin. Bruce hugged her, letting her snuggle into his sweater. Her hand balled into a fist next to her face.
They sat there quietly, the only sound was the ticking of the clock. Bruce knew better than to interrogate her. She was probably homesick and wanting some comfort. Just as he used to after his parents were gunned down.
Lydia's eyelids began to droop and she eventually fell asleep. Time for bed. Bruce decided with a smile as he carefully stood up and carried Lydia down to her room. The lamp beside the bed was on, painting the room in a soft glow. Of course Alfred had made sure to turn the sheets down and the pillows were fluffed. A book sat on the nightstand.
Lydia didn't move as Bruce put her down and tucked the sheets around her. Bruce watched her sleep for a few moments, lost in old memories of once being part of a loving family.
A rustling noise interrupted his thoughts. Bruce looked up. A bat was fluttering in a corner of the ceiling. Part of him flinched. A bat…he had forgotten how frightened he was of them…it was his phobia that had gotten his parents killed all those years ago.
It was something he had never really forgiven himself for. It was something he could never forget…
At once he had his answer. He knew what he'd become. He'd become the thing that frightened him the most; a bat. Bruce opened the window so the poor creature would have a chance to escape. It seemed to notice the window and sailed out, disappearing into the blackness. Apt creature, Bruce reflected. Swift. Silent. Fond of darkness. Associated with evil but in reality did many good things.
"Blessed bats sir." Alfred said from the doorway of Lydia's room. "They have a nest somewhere on the grounds."
Of course…Bruce remembered the well he had fallen into so long ago. How the bats seemed to swarm out of the black hole. It must've led to a cave.
Bruce resolved to go down into the old well as he shut the window. He finally understood what Ducard said all those years ago; he must become more than a man.
A/N: My biggest concern here is that Lydia sounds/acts too much like an adult and not like a child. I'm trying to show that Ducard made her grow up too fast during their time in the League of Shadows.
On a final note: I wish to extend my prayers and sympathies to those who were affected, injured or killed in the explosions of Boston and West Texas. May they find comfort, healing and peace in this time.