A/N Wow. It has been a REALLY long time. All I can say is that I will never give up on this story until it is done. There shall be no abandonment! Fear not!

Chapter Fourteen: Back from the Past

The weeks seemed to pass by in a blur. Robin was... content with life, to say the least. The duo had returned to the palace some time ago physically unscathed, though the same could not be said for their mental states. Slade appeared to be stuck in deep contemplation, and the teen had to endure a levying gaze that followed him wherever he went. The blue-eyed boy wasn't fairing much better than his counterpart, however, and most of his days were spent at the top of the giant tree which was soon dubbed "petirrojo perca."* He sat there, searching the horizon for something, anything.

Training continued on as if their little "adventure" had never happened. Slowly Robin grew more comfortable with other weapons besides his staff and even began looking forward to learning what Slade had to teach; at least it took his mind off of things. Slade was thrilled to have such an interested student, but the teen's passion wasn't quite what it used to be, and the man began to devise a plan in order to gain it back. One of the things that islander truly enjoyed was riding. He had overcome his initial fear of the large beats and now had his own horse, which he had named Bruce. The king was furious when he had first caught the boy calling his mount, the mount that Slade himself had provided, by this previous guardian's name. But the man then soon decided that is wasn't too awful when Robin began turning to the animal for comfort instead of him. Often times the teenager would escape to the stables when he felt overwhelmed to hug on the horse, murmuring to it in his native tongue while "Bruce" patiently chewed on his hay. Part of the older man wanted Robin to come to him for every little thing, after all he was his master, but then again the emotional side of life was something that he had gone long without and had no intention of returning to. Slade enjoyed watching Robin ride as much as the boy enjoyed riding itself. Only then was he truly carefree, laughing into the wind as Bruce, the fastest horse in the king's stables, sailed across the pastures at breakneck speeds. The villager had no qualms about it, and had soon mastered everything there was to horsemanship.

The pair was a sight to see, Robin and his mount. Frequently the stable hands would attempt to race the team in their free time. On those occasions (Slade was usually occupied elsewhere) the palace staff would show up to watch and turn the friendly race into a large event. Robin loved the challenge, and Bruce had never lost. The solid black horse was soon nick-named "El Caballero Oscuro"*, and was said to be known throughout the land.

The lull of everyday life was not to remain forever, though. In fact one day it came to a screeching halt. The duo was in the great dining hall, eating a late lunch that had been put-off for hours due to a seemingly never-ending training session. Robin was quite literally stuffing his face, reaching across the huge table for more food despite his screaming muscles. The king had done a number on him, and the teen was sure that his whole torso and back would be black and blue with bruises tonight. Slade had talked them into an all-out-spar, where they could use any and all non-lethal weapons. It had started with a fist fight until Robin was forced to reach for his staff, and it all evolved from there. The white-haired man sat at the head of the table, quite pleased with all that had happened earlier that day. The boy was truly improving, the slight aches that he had proved that. Slade shrugged them off easily, though, they would fade soon.

Suddenly a young messenger burst through the heavy wooden doors, his breath coming out in harsh pants and his eyes wide with slight panic. The king felt as if time had slowed down as he stood up, his "pet" simply freezing mid-bite. Slade desperately wish that he could get to the boy in time before he relayed his message in front of Robin, but even as he began to think so the messenger opened his mouth.

"¡Isla de los Pájaros ha sido atacado!"*

Any hope that the older male had of Robin not being able to understand the exclamation was soon destroyed when the teen sprung to his feet, his chair flying backwards at the violent movement. Slade allowed himself an almost inaudible sigh before nodding at the pale-face messenger. The islander looked from the boy, to Slade, to the boy again, and then back to Slade, his blue eyes extremely wide. The king reached down to take one last slice of the orange he had been eating before calmly walking over to where the messenger had come crashing through. The boy, having down his duty, scampered off, and Robin watched him go with shock that soon turned to horror as he observed Slade's nonchalant behavior.

"Slade, did you hear him?!" The teen all but yelled as he raced over to the man's side. Said man just simply nodded in reply and began to take a leisurely pace down the hallway to his throne room, where he had no doubt that Wintergreen was waiting for him with more details. Frustrated by the lack of response, Robin rounded the man and stopped directly in front of him. "Well?!"

"Well what?" Slade slightly scowled, pushing past the smaller figure, nearly throwing him to the ground. Robin took a moment to steady himself, before jogging to catch back up with the man, whose pace was slightly more agitated now.

"My home has been attacked!" The islander yelled out, causing an already skittish member of the servants that was cleaning nearby to jump. "What are you going to do about it!?" The king rolled his eyes at the dramatics displayed before him and ignored the question in favor of addressing Wintergreen as they entered the large room. There was a tense feeling in the air, and the elderly man's lined face was pulled tight in masked distress.

"Report." Slade barked in a clipped tone, Robin's anxiety wearing thin on his nerves. The king all but stalked over to his throne before sitting down heavily in it, riffling through the new papers Wintergreen had provided him with. They were all accounts of the attack, and Slade felt his whole body clench as one name kept showing up in paper after paper. The gray eye became slitted as a wave of new emotions set in over the man. He took a second to stash them all away before he could talk to his confidant. "So, The Joker is back."

Wintergreen gave an affirmative hum, seeing right through Slade's shield to the turmoil he was experiencing. The military man was puzzled for a second; why would Slade care who was the one attacking his newly acquired base? Of course the man was bound to get mad, after all he was fiercely protective of what was his, but the hint of fear that he couldn't hide in that steely eye of his made Wintergreen gulp. Something was wrong.

"Who's the Joker?" Robin asked in a demanding tone. He had watched the exchange between Slade and his friend silently, hoping to extract as much information as he could. And all that he had gathered was that this "joker" character was the one who had attacked his island, and that was really bad.

Slade shot the teen a worried glance and his old friend was suddenly stuck with realization. The king was fearful because he didn't want anything to happen to Robin, which therefore included his family. Despite all that was happening, Wintergreen couldn't help but admire the change that the villager had caused in the calloused king. Though Slade would wholeheartedly deny it, Robin was affecting him.

"The Joker is a sort of nick-name for one of the high-ranking generals in the Spanish Armada. No doubt he's behind the attack, seeing as these reports are quite gruesome." Slade flinched as he continued to scan the parchment. Robin felt the color drain from his face and his stomach churn. The attack was gruesome. The attack on his friends and family was gruesome. So gruesome that it caused the stoic king to flinch and shudder slightly.

"You know the Joker, then?" The islander asked, his voice higher and more pinched than usual. Slade hardly took notice however, and replied in a distracted manner: "yes, we fought together a long time ago. The man is insane, there is nothing rational about him. He gets his orders and then he goes and destroys, for seemingly no gain at all."

Robin felt the world began to spin and he saw red. Wintergreen noted the boy visibly quivering and wisely took a step back, leaving the otherwise occupied king to take the wrath that was sure to be soon given freely. "Then let's go." The teen bit out, beginning to pace in front of the large wooden table. Slade finally looked up from his papers, only to stare incredulously at his "pet".

"Go? Go!? We need a plan before we do anything. The Joker is unpredictable and unstable, therefore we have to be the opposite. First we'll need a small militia, then a ship, then..." The gray-eyed man trailed off until he was mumbling to himself, getting up to fetch some parchment and quills. At least that is what he intended to do, before Robin, for the second time that day, cut him off.

"My family is in danger, Slade!" The islander raged, his blue eyes sharp and his cheeks flushed. If the king hadn't been quite so busy than he would have loved to throw the teen over his work-table and fucked him into submission. Or maybe even on the throne. Receiving a bowjob while sitting in his throne would be a very kingly thing... The white-haired man was drawn out of his dirty thoughts when the snarling brat took a step closer.

"You have no family." Slade scoffed, brushing past the smaller figure just as he had before. "And I am sure the Chief Bruce is keeping the village, which has nothing to do with you, safe and protected. So why don't you return to your chambers and occupy yourself with more pet-like activities." A shallow pang of guilt had raced through him when Robin flinched at his harsh words, but the man continued on with his tirade, knowing it had to be said to discourage the boy. The last thing Slade needed right now was an emotional teenager getting in the way of a very serious operation.

There was a silence stretched on for minuets as Slade began to write letters to the general in charge of the quick-militia. He tried to keep it short, yet his script legible, and was fully involved with his task 'til he heard Wintergreen snort. The king glance up to meet an over-the-top, sweet, smirk. "He left, you know." The man's old friend commented conversationally with a slight shrug, and Slade glance over to the window with horror only to see his pet flying off towards the harbor on his jet-black horse.

"Shit."

*"robin perch"

*"The Dark Knight"

*"Island of the Birds has been attacked!"

A/N There was the chapter, hope you enjoyed, Read and Review please!