Chapter 5

"This will be your chambers."

The royal maid, Myrrha, he believed was her name, opened the door to a small room and held it open for him. He could tell she was only being courteous towards him due to the queen's orders. The scowl of her mouth and look of disgust on her face confirmed this. He could also tell that she was internally reeling in disbelief that he was even still alive.

To be honest, so was he. He was just about as confused as everyone else but he certainly wasn't about to argue over the pardon given to him.

Stepping into the room, Bruce breathed an internal sigh of relief when he saw that the room was in fact a bedroom and not a glorified version of a prison cell. The bed that lay under the large windows was covered in soft, white blankets and pillows his neck has yearned for these past few days. There was a bookshelf to his left and a rack with a toga already hanging from it and a pair of sandals below. He even had a desk with some paper, as well as some feathers and ink set on top.

Hippolyta wasn't kidding when she said he would be living as though he were one of them.

He muttered a thank you to Myrrha as he walked further into the room. He could feel her eyes staring daggers into his back but he was still far too confused to really care.

He heard her let out a huff and he turned around to face her. "Per the queen's instructions, you are free to wander the palace until supper, where you are to join her majesty in the dining hall. Enjoy your evening."

Bruce could clearly hear the venom laced in her sarcastic tone so he simply gave her a nod. She gave him a glare in response, staring at him as if to remind him of his place before slamming the door closed.

As soon as the maid left, Bruce made his way to his bed and sat down, rubbing his eyes. The past 48 hours have been a whirlwind of emotions and now he was as confused as ever. Unless the Amazon queen had suddenly grown a heart of gold towards men, there should have been no reason to keep him around. Hell, not just to keep him around but to keep him here to be raised as an Amazon.

He wasn't sure if he should be glad to be alive or worried that he'll be living on this island for the foreseeable future.

"This place is much better than that dingy cell."

And of course, he also had to deal with his self-proclaimed caretaker.

"I would have preferred the cave," he mumbled, turning to Athena who was leaning against the desk, twirling a feather around her fingers.

"For someone who was granted their life, you sure don't look too appreciative."

"I would prefer to know all the details before I start giving out thank-yous," he replied curtly.

The grey-eyed goddess raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You don't think it could have just been a gift from the goodness of one's heart?"

Bruce scoffed. "There is always a reason behind a good deed and this situation is no exception. There is a reason why I was kept alive and I want to know why."

"That is quite the pessimistic viewpoint," Athena pointed out.

"I would prefer the term vigilant," Bruce replied.

Athena let out a small laugh, putting the feather back down on the table. "Bruce, one must learn to be optimistic once in a while."

"That's easy for you to say as an immortal. When you're mortal, any day could be your last so it's better to be prepared than to be caught off guard."

"Who said I was immortal?" she asked in an amused tone.

"I can only assume it's part of the job description," Bruce answered dryly, making her burst out laughing. Her laughter was angelic and rang of a contagious melody that even made him crack a smile, although, as soon as he realized it he immediately made it disappeared.

"I wasn't sure you were capable of humour," Athena joked afterwards.

"There is a lot you don't know about me, goddess of wisdom," he poked back.

"Be careful, us Olympians don't typically like being challenged," she warned light-heartedly.

"Oh yes, I believe the name Arachne seems to come to mind."

"Hey!" Athena snapped defensively. "Hubris was Arachne's downfall, not me. If I recall, I was the one who brought her back to life."

"As a spider," Bruce pointed out.

She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "You both could learn a thing or two about appreciation of the life given to you, or in your case, the life you kept."

Bruce stood up, shaking his head. "Once I no longer have a reason to be concerned, then I will be appreciative. Until then, you will have to pardon my skepticism."

She watched as he began peeling his torn up, bloodied shirt off and placed it on the rack. He started to do the same with his pants but suddenly stopped, turning around and looking at her.

"Do you mind?"

"No need to be so modest Bruce," she teased.

Bruce scoffed. "Some virgin goddess you are."

Athena laughed but compiled to his wishes, turning around to let him change.

After a few moments, Bruce told her he was done and she turned around to see him now dressed in a long white toga, held together by a golden-brown sash tied around his waist.

"You remind me of a young Diomedes," she praised, walking over to fix his shoulder. He gave her a narrowed glare that said he didn't enjoy being pampered so she backed away.

Picking up his old clothes, Bruce all but threw them away as he headed towards his door, stopping right before it. He turned around and saw her now seated on his bed and motioned towards the door.

"Are you coming?" he asked.

"Oh, no. The Amazons don't know I'm here and I would prefer to keep it that way," she explained.

"So if someone walks by the door they'll assume I'm talking to myself?"

Athena just shrugged. "I'll think of something."

Bruce only shook his head before opening the door and walking out of the room.

Later that evening, Bruce strolled through the palace hallways, making his way to the dining room where he was to have dinner with Hippolyta. Unfortunately his exploring of the palace earlier in the day had yielded no answers to his questions. He did find many similarities between the palace and his mansion back in Gotham, but it only made him feeler more uncomfortable being somewhere that felt like home but wasn't.

As he neared the dining room entrance, he spotted two guards standing on both sides of the door. As soon as he came into view, they began glaring at him and gripped their weapons harder.

"I was invited to eat with the queen," he explained when he got within a foot away from them.

"We know," one of then snarled.

For a few minutes they seemed to be caught in a staring contest, with two grown warrior adults trying to intimidate a small 10-year-old boy who didn't seem fazed at all. Eventually the guards backed down and reluctantly turned to open the door for him as a smirk came onto his face, but only briefly.

After the doors swung open, Bruce stepped inside with the guards closely behind him. His eyes immediately began to wander in amazement at the huge dining room. The walls were covered in Greek paintings and images with other decorative objects lined along the pillars. In the middle of the room was a large chandelier, glittering brightly above the central dining table. And there, at the head of the table was Hippolyta, waiting for him patiently.

"Bruce," she said, nodding when she saw him. "Thank you for joining me this evening."

"Thank you for inviting me your majesty," he answered politely, moving to take a seat. When he did, however, the guards followed him closely behind and Hippolyta quickly raised a hand.

"Thank you sisters but you may leave us."

"But your majesty-," one started to say but was interrupted.

"I will be alright."

Hesitantly, the guards looked at each other and began heading back towards the doors but not before shooting Bruce another glare. He simply responded with a blank look and watched as they disappeared behind the closing doors.

When it was just the two of them left in the room, he turned to Hippolyta, who regarded him with a neutral look on her face. Bruce wasn't sure what the Amazonian traditions were for eating with the queen but luckily she noticed this and spoke up.

"We always begin our meals by honouring Hestia in prayer."

He simply nodded.

Bruce sat there quietly as Hippolyta talked through a prayer to the goddess of the hearth, Hestia. Once she was finished she removed the silver cloche from her plate and he did the same, revealing the evening's meal. Before him was a delicious plate of pork, along with some potatoes, vegetables, rice, and some bread on the side. Haven not had a proper meal in two days, Bruce was prepared to begin tearing into his food but luckily he remembered he was in the presence of a queen and managed to control himself.

For the next few moments, the two of them ate in complete silence, the only sound coming from their soft chewing. It wasn't until Bruce had eaten almost half his plate when Hippolyta spoke up again.

"How did you find your chambers?" she asked, although he could tell it was merely small talk to break the silence.

"Good, thank you," he answered simply.

"I also assume you took up my offer to explore the palace?"

"Yes, I did. It is quite beautiful."

"Did you find anything interesting in particular?" Hippolyta questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"The library." And the armory, but he wasn't about to mention that to the obviously skeptical queen. "I plan on exploring it more later."

"I shall have Alexa accompany you then." It was more of a demand than an offer.

Again silence fell the table and the two of them had a few bites of their meal.

"I'm sure you are wondering as to why I invited you to dinner this evening," she started, breaking the silence.

"Yes, it came to mind."

Hippolyta put her fork down and looked him in the eyes. "I wish to know more about you, as you are the first male who is to live among us in over millennia."

"Alright," Bruce replied with slight hesitation. He didn't trust her and wasn't sure how much about him he wanted to reveal.

"To begin, you're name is Bruce, correct?" He nodded. "What is your full name?"

"Bruce Wayne."

"And how old are you?"

"Ten."

Only a year older than Diana, Hippolyta thought. "That would place you six years from your coming of age but three years late to the beginning of your training. I'm sure some additional practice will catch you up within a year or two."

"Training for what?" Bruce asked, although he felt he already knew the answer to that.

"All Amazons are required to go through military training and are expected to spend a majority of their lives in the army. You will be expected of the same, unless you have other ideas," she challenged, daring him to argue against her.

"No."

"Good. Now I would also like to know from where you came from."

Bruce hesitated, He wasn't sure if he wanted to disclose information about his home. "Why would that matter? I'm here now anyways."

"Like I said, I would like to know more about you, including where you were born and raised," she replied firmly, watching him attentively. "And remember, I have alternative ways of getting the truth from you if you choose to hide it."

He wasn't sure if that was a bluff or not but he didn't really want to find out. With a huff he crossed his arms.

"I come from a city called Gotham."

"And where is this Gotham located?"

"In America."

"And where is that?"

Bruce let out another huff of annoyance, sitting back in his chair. "Unless you wish to journey out into Man's World, which seems to be a forbidden place to the lot of you, then there is no reason for me to explain exactly where I come from."

The Queen eyed him distrustfully but also with a slight bit of admiration for standing up to someone like herself. At least the boy has guts.

"Very well, I'll let the matter pass. But be careful as to how you talk back to me boy," Hippolyta threatened.

Suddenly the door burst open and both their heads turned to see Diana walk into the dining room, breaking the tension. Bruce saw that she hadn't seemed to notice him yet as she was walking towards Hippolyta.

"Mother, when's dinner? I'm getting kind of hungry," she started to say until she saw the plate of food on the table. "What? You started eating without me?"

"Did Myrrha not tell you to eat in the kitchen today?" Hippolyta asked, clearly not expecting to see her.

Diana shook her head. "No, I've been out all day training with Mala and Artemis."

Hippolyta let out a sigh. "Diana, I am having dinner with a guest at the moment."

"A guest?" she asked, turning to the other side of the table. As soon as she made eye contact with him, her jaw fell open and her eyes widened in shock. "BRUCE?"

As soon as the initial shock passed over, a smile slowly appeared on her face and a flash of relief passed through her eyes. Bruce couldn't help but slowly smile back but unfortunately, not everyone in the room was so pleased.

"Diana! Do you know this boy?" Hippolyta demanded in a forceful voice. Hearing this, Diana's shoulders tensed up and she faced her mother nervously.

"Uh… yes… Philippus and I were the, uh, ones who found him, right?" she stammered.

Hippolyta's eyes only narrowed. "Diana…"

"Ok fine," she sighed, murmuring quietly, "I went to see him at the prison yesterday."

"You did what?!" she yelled, standing up. "Diana, what did I tell you?"

Diana put her head down. "I'm sorry mother."

"You!" Hippolyta seethed as she pointed at Bruce. "You dare try to corrupt my daughter? I should have you hung!"

Bruce was about to defend himself by mentioning that he was the one who had been locked in the prison but Diana came to his defence first.

"Mother, please! Don't blame Bruce," she pleaded, hoping to calm her mother's rage. "It was my choice to see him. He did nothing wrong. I was only curious and wanted to ask him some questions."

Hippolyta's eyes darted from him to Diana then back to him. She seemed to consider whether or not she should have him killed right there and then, but ultimately the queen settled back into her seat.

"Diana, we will talk later," she said as she stared at Bruce angrily from across the table.

"Yes mother," she replied dejectedly and turned to start heading out. She gave Bruce a little wave when she passed by him and he smiled back.

When Diana left, Hippolyta took a sip of her wine and set it back down, giving him a cold glare. "I want to make this very clear. I may have let you live but I do not trust you, nor do I like your kind. While you are here, for however long that is, you will abide to my rules."

He just nodded his head, although underneath his blood was boiling. He didn't like being talked down to, queen or not.

Her eyes narrowed. "You will also stay away from Diana. Aside from training, eating, and during special celebrations, I do not want you anywhere near my daughter. Am I clear?"

Bruce had to grit his teeth as he reluctantly nodded his head, complying with her order. He desperately wanted to talk back and comment on the injustice being placed, but he was smart enough to pick his fights and now was not the time to do so.

Seeing that he agreed, Hippolyta's anger went away but she still maintained a firm demeanor. "Good. I will briefly explain what you will be doing from now on. Each member of the high council will be mentoring you through our culture and traditions."

"Philippus will be training you and you are to learn our fighting techniques directly from her or from whoever she assigns to you. You will learn how to fight like an Amazon and how to use our weaponry."

"Antiope will be teaching you our traditions and basic Amazonian etiquette. She will show you around the island as well as teach you how to pray to each of our gods in their respective temples."

"Io is our island's top blacksmith, getting her skills from the great Hephaestus himself, and from her you will learn how to craft tools and weapons in the workshop. She will also teach you of our architectural designs in our buildings and defensive structures."

"Lastly Alexa will be in charge of giving you an education. She will guide you through subjects of mathematics, science and literature, among others, as well as teach you some of our healing techniques. When you are not training, I expect you to be greatly immersed in your studies."

"And what will you be doing?" Bruce asked, already not liking the program he was being put into.

Hippolyta narrowed her eyes. "I will be monitoring your progress as well as your daily activity. Rest assured, everything you do will be reported back to me. If there is a problem then I will personally deal with you myself."

The queen finished off her meal and gently cleaned her mouth with a napkin. "Do you have any questions for me before I allow you to retire to your room?"

Bruce looked at her with a million questions swirling in his mind, half of which he knew wouldn't be answered directly and the other half would probably get him killed. But the question that bugged him since this morning came up and he knew he had to ask it.

"Tell me," he began, crossing his arms. "Why did you spare my life?"

The question caught her off guard and Hippolyta was at a loss for words for the first time that evening.

He pushed on. "It's obvious that you don't like me much, or anyone else on the island for that matter, so what made you decide to not only to keep me alive but to integrate me into your society?"

Still flustered, Hippolyta cleared her throat and sat up to her regal stature. She thought about what to tell him and in that moment, the word Μυστικó whispered in her mind and she remembered the first thing Athena told her to do was keep it a secret. Though she's already told the rest of the high council, she could assume that she was not to tell anyone else.

"I have my reasons," she snapped, hoping to squash his curiosity of the subject. "If you are unhappy with my decision, I will gladly reverse it if you'd like."

The two of them stared heatedly at each other with fire and stubbornness in their eyes, refusing to budge from their positions. It was Bruce who finally gave up, wiping his mouth and standing up.

"Thank you for the dinner," he forced himself to say, doing his best to disguise his anger at being kept from the truth.

"You are welcome," Hippolyta replied, keeping her eyes on him as she stood up as well. "For tomorrow, ensure you are awake by dawn. Your training with Philippus will start then."

He nodded. "Have a good night," he said through gritted teeth.

Hippolyta nodded in return.

With a swift turn of his back, Bruce marched out of the dining hall, feeling her eyes on the back of his head the whole way out. Passing by the same guards from earlier, he didn't give them a second glance either as he stormed his way back to his room.

When he got back and opened the door, he found Athena relaxing on his bed reading a book from his bookshelf. When he slammed the door shut, she turned her head to him and smiled.

"The story of Odysseus," she said, gesturing the book in her hands. "One of my favorites."

"Yeah, I've read the Odyssey before," he huffed as he grabbed the chair from his desk and spinning it around, plopping down on the seat.

"I take it dinner didn't go so well?" Athena asked, closing her book and sitting up, her brown hair falling over her shoulder.

"Nope."

She leaned her elbows on her knees and placed her chin over her hands. "Well did you find out why they kept you alive?"

"Nope."

She rolled her eyes. "Was the food good at least?"

The look he gave in response said "really?" and Athena just laughed, leaning back on her elbows.

"You're clearly not interested in talking," she noted. She waved her hand and the next moment, a large chess board appeared between them. "Chess?"

Bruce looked at her, looked at the chess board, then blinked a few times to confirm that it was really there. When he turned his attention back to her, he raised an eyebrow as if to question how she did that and she just smirked in response.

"Sure," he finally relented, turning the chair around as Athena gleefully took her spot opposite to him.

And so, that's what they did for the rest of the night.

Author's Note:

Not a big fan of this chapter but it'll have to do. If it ends on a strange note, it's because I didn't really know what else to write so I just ended it.

Also if Athena's speech and attitude seems kind of weird in the sense that she will talk really proper in one moment, then talk "normally" and act playfully in the next, you'll have to excuse me for that. I'm still working on her character so there'll be some bumps along the way. I'll probably end up writing her as more of a playfully, joyful personality because I like it more and it kind of contrasts Bruce's dark personality, making them a good pair. Keep this in mind if she ever seems un-goddess like.

Next chapter we'll check in on how Alfred's doing as well as Bruce's first day of training.Hip