Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

The next morning was okay...I guess...I don't know. It still creeps me out even when I think about it today. I only had one nightmare about it so far, but that was it. After I had gotten ready for the day, I went to the kitchen to make myself some hot coco. It was pretty early, so I guessed no one else was up yet. So, it was just me, myself, and I, alone with a little quiet time. Although, I couldn't help but think about last night. Part of it scared me, since I lost control back there, and part of it comforted me. I was thankful that Batman had offered to find out what happened to my parents, and who killed them. But, then I had my doubts. How could anyone find out a murder case in less than 24 hours? It's impossible. But then again, he has done the impossible so far. He had gotten something out of Flass, fixed my dad's camera, delivered the biggest crime lord of Gotham to the authorities, saved my life when I thought it was over, and got me to speak when I couldn't find my voice. I had much to be thankful for, thanks to him. Including Bruce. He was willing to take me in when no one else would. My first best friend. And of course, Alfred too, who has been more than a friend to me. He had been the grandfather I had never met, but had always wanted. As I sat down with my mug, though, I heard a noise coming from upstairs. I thought nothing of it, thinking it was probably just my imagination. But then I heard it again, and I had this gut feeling to go and see what it was. Like Alice in Wonderland, I was curious, and was intent in finding out the noise. It was coming from Bruce's room. As I neared it, Alfred came out of it in a fast pace.

"Alfred?" I asked in a worried voice. "What's going on?"

"Miss Sarah," Alfred came to me. "Master Wayne is very sick right now,"

"Wh--Is he all right? I don't understand. He was fine last night. What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know. But please, keep him company. I have to make a few phone calls,"

Before I could say anything more, Alfred was practically running down the hall. Cautiously, as though I was entering a dangerous territory, I opened Bruce's door and entered his room. I didn't fear getting sick from being in the same room with him, because Alfred was just in there, and he's fine. The first thing I noticed though were photographs on his desk. I took a look at them. The first picture was a man and a woman. After a bit of thinking, I realized they must've been his parents. I remembered the night before the funeral, Bruce told me what happened to his parents. I could almost picture the alley they were shot in...In a way, I think, Bruce and I are alike. I didn't know how, other than we were both orphans. But I pushed that out of my mind, and saw a different picture. This one was of Bruce when he was a little boy, with two girls at his side. One appeared older than the other...and yet, she looked like me in some way. My eyes went wide as I realized it was my mother. It was like looking at a different version of me. Smiling, happy, full of laughter. Things that I now dream of having. But who was the other little girl in the picture? I had to wonder.

"...Blood...Take--Take poison. Blood poison...poisonous," I heard a few mutters.

I whipped my head toward the bed to find Bruce. He was shaking uncontrollably, and muttering those awful things in his sleep. He must be really sick. I walked slowly toward the bed, and squatted down on the floor beside it, so I could see his face. It was so pale, and he was sweating. I didn't understand. Yesterday he was fine. He was having fun with me, he was showing me everything there was to know about Gotham City, and all the good things that I missed about it. How could he get sick? On his bedside table, I saw that case he showed me when I got in trouble at school. The sethescope that belonged to his father. The sethescope that he used on my heart and gave me a piece of his childhood. Gingerly, I opened it and took it out. Putting it to my ears, I placed it on his heart. His heart was racing, like something was scaring him. But...he was the bravest person I know. Besides Batman. And grown-ups can't get scared...can they?...Apparently, I was wrong. And yet, when I touched him, he seemed to calm down. As if he knew I was there. I felt more humble now, and a little bit more braver...Here comes the part that still creeps me out. Before I could even blink, Bruce snapped open his eyes, and grabbed my arm in a tight grip. I didn't scream, but I just jumped a little, and struggled to get out of his grip. I wasn't afraid of him, just worried that whatever he had might hurt me. He wouldn't let me go...Those eyes. It was happening again. Deja vu. Where have I seen those eyes before?

"Alfred!" I shouted.

I continued to struggle when Alfred came in. Bruce didn't know what he was doing. He was delusional. I don't even think he was awake when he grabbed me. But fear rose up inside of me as Alfred try to pry Bruce's grip from my arm. I guess he pushed me off so hard, because when Bruce finally let me go, I hit my head against the nightstand. I didn't get knocked out, just a splitting headache, and a little bit of blood trickled down my forehead from the impact. After he had settled Bruce down, Alfred looked at me...We both knew that I wouldn't be safe here at the Wayne Manor.

"Yes..." I heard Alfred talking on the phone. "Thank you Miss Dawes. I appreciate it,"

I had packed some of my stuff, and was sitting on the steps of the marble staircase in the entry hallway. Alfred had cleaned my cut on my forehead, and put a bandage on it, and while I was getting ready he called a family friend. A woman named Rachel Dawes. I was going to be staying with her for the next few nights, or at least until "Bruce gets back from his business trip". Alfred said he didn't want to worry anyone with Bruce being sick, and he told me to keep it our little secret. So I was going away for a few days. But during the day, since Rachel was working all day, I was going to be staying with the Farris's. I couldn't wait to spend the day with Ally and Nathan. But what about Batman?...Don't worry, I left a note on my window saying where I would be staying. That way, I would get the information on the death of my parents. So there I sat in the passenger seat as Alfred drove me to the Farris's.

"Is Bruce gonna be okay?" I asked him in a quiet voice.

"...I don't know Miss Sarah," Alfred said to me. "But don't you worry your pretty little head about it. I'm sure once we get someone to help him, he'll be just fine,"

"...I hope so...I don't want to go live with my Uncle if anything happens to him...Do you think Bruce would give me away?"

Alfred looked at me in a stern way as we stopped in front of the Farris's gate.

"Now why would you say something like that?" he asked me.

"I've been trouble since the day my parents died, Alfred," I said. "I don't wanna--"

"Miss Sarah, now you listen to me...When you were born, I drove Master Wayne to the hospital to see you and your parents. Your mother was sitting in her bed, your father by her side, and you in her arms. I suppose Master Wayne was almost 19 when you were born. And I remember your mother sending Miss Dawes out of the room, and your father also. And I too. But I did a little eavesdropping because I cared for your mother and Master Wayne. They were the best of friends, those two. But your mother said that your Uncle Edgar came over earlier and said that you were a disgrace. A born pauper and trouble maker. Your mother was in tears when she told all this to Master Wayne, and asked him to be your godfather. She told him that if anything ever happened to her and your father, that you should be sent straight to us, no matter what. And Master Wayne said that giving you away to someone else would be the last thing that he did...So don't get it in your head that Master Wayne doesn't want you in the house. Because he cares so much you have no idea...And your mother shouldn't have listened to your blockhead of an Uncle,"

I giggled a bit. I never expected Alfred to call my Uncle Edgar a blockhead.

"Because you are the total opposite of what he has said about you. You are a wonderful child, a ray of joy in the Wayne Manor, and a little princess,"

I smiled. Alfred had made me feel so much better, and I kept that smile on my face as we pulled up to the driveway, where the Farris family was standing outside...well Mr. and Mrs. Farris were standing. Ally and Nathan were playing with toy swords. Nathan had an eyepatch over his left eye and a bandana on his head. Ally had a pair of large gold hoop earrings, and a big belt buckle. I stepped out of the car, where Mrs. Farris greeted me with a kind and gentle smile.

"Welcome to our home Sarah Chante," she said. "It is Chante, isn't it?"

"Yes it is Mrs. Farris," I said.

"Ah," Mr. Farris said. "Chante. That means 'sing' in French. Do you sing, child?"

"Well...not exactly, sir. But I do have a little bit of French on my father's side...Thank you for letting me stay for the day,"

"Oh, it is no trouble at all, sweetheart," Mrs. Chante said to me.

"Hiya matey!" Ally waved to me

"Hi Ally!" I waved back.

"One second--"

Ally pretended to stab Nathan with her plastic sword in his side. Nathan pretended to die from the impact that Ally gave him. As he was groveling on the ground in "pain" saying "I'm dying. I'm dying" in a strained voice, Ally ran up to me with a smile on her face.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Well," I said remembering what Alfred told me. "Bruce is gone for a few days on business, so Alfred wondered it would be nice if I could spend the day with you,"

"Awesome! A sleepover!"

"Actually, I'm spending the night over at Rachel Dawes. She's a friend of my parents,"

Ally pouted a bit, but she seemed ecstatc about spending the day with me. I waved goodbye to Alfred, who told me to have a good time and to call him if anything happened. Before we arrived, I told him to call me if Bruce was all right. I ran inside with Ally and Nathan and took a look around their mansion. It was sort of modernized, but it was kind of cool. Everything in the entry was either black or white marble.What was it with fancy people and marble stuff?...It must be some kind of fad that everyone's going through these days.

"Wow," I said, hearing my voice echo. "Your house is big,"

"Not as big as your house," Ally said.

"But--You've never seen the Wayne Manor,"

"Everyone knows that Bruce Wayne has the biggest house in all of Gotham. I bet you have more stuff than I do,"

"...Well...I don't really know if that's true,"

"Oh,"

Ally seemed to have forgotten that she and I were total opposites. She was a glitz and glam kind of girl. I'm a bookworm kind of girl with a thirst for education. But she and Nathan showed me all around their house. Nathan was jumping around me, asking me what my favorite kind of superhero was. I never read any comic books before so I wouldn't know. Ally gave him a disapproving look.

"Nathan," she said. "It's not polite to crowd around people,"

"It's all right," I reassured her. "I don't have a favorite superhero Nathan, because I never read comic books,"

"You haven't?" Nathan asked me. "Then I'll show you! Come on!"

Nathan took my hand and dragged me upstairs to my room. Ally didn't seem to like it that Nathan was showing me his comic books. Both wanted to show me stuff that they liked so they could see who I liked better. But I liked both of them just as equally. Then, Ally got an idea.

"Do you know how to roller blade?" she asked me.

"Yeah," I said.

"Come on," she said. "I have got a brilliant beyond brilliant idea. Nathan, you can come too,"

"Hooray!" Nathan cried with happiness.

I laughed out loud as I ran with Ally and Nathan downstairs and outside to the grounds...That was the first time I laughed like that for so long. The last huge laugh I had was when my father told me this practical joke he had planned to use on Flass for next April Fools Day. My dad was a real joker all the time, and he made me laugh everytime when I was down...Just wish he was here now. Ally and Nathan showed me their three golden retreiver dogs: Chewy, Colonel, and Genghas.

"Hey mom!" Ally called. "We're gonna take the dogs out for a walk!"

"All right," Mrs. Farris said.

Ally's idea was brilliant. Usually when you're asked to take out the dog, it's a chore for you to do. But Ally said she had ways of making things fun. After putting on our helmets and pads, we put the dogs on a leash, and rolled outside when Nathan opened the door. Ally warned me that Colonel, the dog I had with me, was fast and told me to be careful. I told her I'd be fine. It was really fun when the dogs pulled us as they ran fast. It gave me a sense of freedom, and teaching me to fly. For the first time in my life, I was laughing my head off for the longest time. Everytime I kept asking the dog to go faster, he went as fast as he could go.

"Sarah watch out!" I heard Ally shout.

I didn't have time to react. The dog's leash slipped out of my fingers when I turned to look what was coming at me. A big black car slammed on it's breaks. It hit me, and I rolled off the front of the car, and to the side of the road. I ended sitting up on the grass that brodered the road. Good thing I was wearing a helmet and pads. The door opened, and you'll never guess who came out of it. I wished it was just some other corporate business man who had accidently ran me over, but wishes were never good to me.

"I'm so sorry. Are you--" My Uncle Edgar came out of the car.

He found me on the ground, taking off my helmet, and Colonel running toward me, barking his head off. I looked at him, and he sneered at me.

"Oh," he said. "It's you,"

I bet he wouldn't even be sorry if it was another person he ran over. Ally and Nathan roller-bladed toward me, and sat with me on the grass.

"Are you okay?" Ally asked me. "You're not hurt are you?"

"No," I reassured her. "I'm fine. Just a bit dazed, that's all,"

"Come on,"

Ally and Nathan helped me up to my feet as the other dogs came with us. Colonel started growling at Edgar, and when the other dogs came up, they started growling too, baring their sharp teeth...Smart dogs.

"Colonel!" Nathan said. "Chewy! Genghas! Stop that! Be polite,"

The dogs wouldn't stop growling at Uncle Edgar. Ally sighed.

"Nathan, can you take them inside and tell dad Mr. Mason is here?" she asked him

Nathan grumbled to himself, saying something about "I have to do everything around here", but obeyed his sister. He took all three leashes and roller bladed to the house with them in front of them. Ally looked at Uncle Edgar with a sour look.

"You should get your brakes checked, Mr. Mason," she said in a snotty way. "It could hurt someone,"

"Where's the fun in that?" My Cousin Josh popped out from the backseat.

Great. Another person to try and ruin my day. Maybe if I stay out of their way today, they won't bother me...yeah right. Like that ever helped in the past. I saw Ally roll her eyes when she saw Josh. I was puzzled. I knew she thought that Josh was the biggest jerk in all of Gotham, to which I'm not arguing there, but she sort of added a tip of gace to the rolling of eyes.

"What are you doing here Jerk-Wad?" she asked him.

"Just came along for the ride to see my favorite cousin...," Josh sneered at me.

I winced and sort of hid behind Ally as Uncle Edgar went into the house. I started wishing that Bruce was here.

"...And my favorite girl,"

Ally scoffed again. She took my arm gently and led me away from Josh. I never knew that Josh had a crush on Ally up until this point, and Ally didn't seem to enjoy that. We went into the backyard where we took off our helmets and pads. It was beautiful. There were rose bushes everywhere and a pool. Ally said earlier we might go swimming, to which Nathan shrunk back in fear. When I asked him what was wrong, he told me he didn't like swimming. He didn't know how, and he was always afraid of drowning. To which Ally said "More fun for us!".

"I feel sorry for you that Josh is your cousin," Ally said. "How come you don't live with them? What'd you do to get out of it?"

"Nothing," I said as I unbuckled my knee pads.

"...No, seriously. What?"

"Nothing. It was all in the will that I had to live with Bruce no matter what. My parents would never let me live with Uncle Edgar,"

"Whoa. Your parents were awesome...They understood you didn't they?"

"Yeah. Bruce understands me too. It's like he knows what I'm going through. I mean he does. And he does anything to make me happy...except..."

"...What?..."

"I might not stay with him much longer,"

My emotions were growing sad. I had forgotten that Edgar was fighting to gain custody over me. I don't want to live with him. I wont. I wont, I won't, I won't. Bruce promised me that he would find a way that I could stay with him. Ally put a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry," she said. "You can stay here until we get you back to Bruce if anything happens,"

I smiled at Ally and gave her a hug. She hugged me back. I was glad that I had a friend like her. Suddenly we saw Nathan come up running out of the house.

"I'm back!" he said with a smile on his face

We smiled back at him, laughing. He had a boom box with him so we could listen to music. It was very considerate of him to think of us. We were coming up to meet him and thank him. But we weren't prepared for this next event. Josh suddenly jumped out from the bushes, and gave Nathan quite a scare. We didn't realize Nathan was so close to the pool. He yelped, dropped the boom box, and fell into the water. Josh laughed his head off.

"What a riot!" he said

I had that thing snap inside of me again. I was angry at Josh. And I could tell Ally was furious. I rushed up to the pool.

"Are you crazy?" I asked him as I ran to the edge. "He can't swim! Move!"

I pushed Josh out of the way, and jumped into the freezing cold water. In the background, I could hear Ally calling for her parents and saying to Josh "Wait till I get my fingers wrapped around your neck, you sniveling piece of junk!". All I paid attention to was Nathan, who was struggling to get up to the surface.

"Help me!" he desperately cried.

"I'm coming," I tried to calm him down.

I swam toward him, and went under the water. My dad taught me never to go over the drowning victim, because it might make him go under more. This was one of the benefits of having parents who were detectives: You always knew what to do in an emergency situation. I just wished they taught me what to do if you were handcuffed to a pipe. I grabbed Nathan by the waist, and swam backward with him on top of me as Mr. and Mrs. Farris came out with my Uncle Edgar.

"My baby!" Mrs. Farris cried as Mr. Farris went on his knees.

"Come on Sarah," he urged me to go on. "You've got him,"

I continued to swim backward with Nathan in my arms. Ally was trying to get at Josh, but Mrs. Farris had her arms wrapped around her. Uncle Edgar just stood there with hands on his sons shoulders. I pushed Nathan up into the arms of Mr. Farris. Nathan was in tears, and clung to his father. Mr. Farris sighed with relief.

"Thank you," he said.

I nodded to him in acknowledgement as I caught my breath at the edge. I laid my head on the surface and closed my eyes, resting. That was the scariest moment of my life. I thought Nathan was going to drown. After giving his son to Mrs. Farris who wrapped him in a towel, Mr. Farris helped me out of the pool, and covered me with a towel.

"Mr. Mason," Mr. Farris said in a rage. "What is wrong with your son?"

"Come now Jonathon," Edgar laughed it off. "He was just playing. You know what they say: Boys will be boys,"

"Yeah," Ally put her comment in. "And jerks will be jerks,"

And with that, Ally punched Josh on the nose. I just sat there, dripping wet, and gaping at Ally.

"That was for my boombox, my brother, my best friend..." she went on with her list. "...And...What else?...Oh yeah! Because you're the biggest jerk in all of Gotham, and because I wanted to have the pleasure of being the first of knocking down your sorry butt,"

I laughed a bit, but Uncle Edgar jeered at me.

"I don't like your behavior child," he said to me. "This never would've happened if you were placed in my care,"

"My parents wanted Bruce to take care of me," I said to him in defense of my parents.

"Your parents didn't know what was good for you! And now look at you! Changing the way things should've have been, saving lives, and having the nerve to talk to me,"

"Like you have the nerve to talk to me like that?"

I covered my mouth. What did I just say to him? I had never seen Edgar so angry, he grabbed me by the collar the next thing I knew.

"I oughta ring your neck, girl!" he said.

"If you do so!" I found myself saying. "You'll lose the trial of where I should live!"

"I'll tell you where you should live!"

With that, he threw me back into the pool. Mrs. Farris gasped and Mr. Farris had called security to have Uncle Edgar and his "inhumane son" taken off the premisis.

"In the slums!" he shouted at me as he was dragged away by security. "In a dumpster! Rotting in an alley! That's where you belong! You don't belong here, you pauper! You Spawn of Traitors! You Poor Little Rich Girl! You Scum of the Narrows!"

I didn't move or anything when I was taken once again out of the pool. He didn't scare me, he didn't even hurt me that much, but Uncle Edgar was the meanest and coldest person you could find on the planet. I was silent for the rest of the night. Ally and Nathan tried to cheer me up. Ally told me that they probably won't have the trial now, but Mrs. Farris said that Edgar had a way of getting what he wanted when she brought us our hot chocolate. Nathan said if Edgar won the trial, he'd take me to a far off place like Neverland or Wonderland or something like that. After that I felt so much better. When night started to fall, we were playing Peter Pan. Ally was Wendy, because she already had her pajamas on. Nathan was Jack, because he had a top hat that he had "borrowed" from his dad, who used it at dinner parties. I was given the role of Peter Pan. To make my hair look shorter, Ally braided my long brownish-blondish hair, and pinned it to the top of my head, so that it wouldn't fall out of my hat. The TV was on in Ally's room when we were getting ready for this.

"You have pretty hair," Ally said as she pinned my hair.

"Thanks," I said. "But it's not as pretty as yours,"

"Oh come on. At least you didn't dye your hair. Mine looks horrible,"

"No, I like it. It really shows your eyes,"

"Well...Eyes are the best features on a face...OK, I'll take your word for it"

"...And in other news today," We heard the newslady on the TV. "It's almost that time of year again. The biggest party of the year. Prince of Gotham, billionaire Bruce Wayne will be having his 30th birthday party in the biggest mansion of Gotham. Along with this celebration, Sarah Chante, his goddaughter who recently lost her parents before his return to Gotham, will make her debut as our very own Princess of Gotham..."

"What?" I asked in disbelief.

"Whoa," Ally said, who sounded impressed. "One week into the Fancy World of Gotham and already you're being called the Princess of Gotham,"

"But--I didn't know that I was going to appear that way at his birthday party. Bruce didn't even tell me--"

"I wonder what dress you're gonna wear. Do you have a dress?"

"A dress--No! No, I don't have one. Ally, aren't you even listening to me?"

"Sorry. I'm just so excited for you. Your debut as the Princess of Gotham. It's like a coronation or something like that,"

I groaned and put my head in my hands. I wasn't upset about the debut thing, but I was kind of upset about Bruce not telling me about this. Why didn't he tell me?...Was he going to tell me today if he wasn't sick? I didn't know. The only thing I was looking forward to right now, was information on my parents deaths.

"Ally!" Mrs. Farris called us. "Sarah! Miss Dawes is here!"

Ally groaned, but I grabbed my coat off of her bed, and said goodbye to Nathan, who was sleeping on the floor, clutching his plastic sword. Ally and I raced downstairs to find Mrs. Farris talking to a young woman. She had brown hair that went past her shoulders, and a sweet looking face. I put on my coat as we came down the stairs.

"Oh my goodness," Rachel put a hand to her mouth "That can't be Sarah Chante,"

"You know who I am?" I asked.

"Of course. I knew your mother when I was very little. Not to mention I fed you your bottles until you were walking and talking. I'm Rachel,"

"Oh,"

I had forgotten that Alfred told me that Rachel knew me since I was born. I figured she didn't visit us that much since she was busy at work.

"You look so much like your mother," Rachel said to me. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes," I said with a smile. "Bye Mr. and Mrs. Farris! Bye Ally! See you tomorrow!"

The Farris's and their daughter waved goodbye to me as we walked outside. Rachel was telling me that when we got to her apartment to brush my teeth and go onto the roll away bed she had already laid out. When I was just getting to her car, I stepped on something metallic. Looking down at my feet, I saw something shaped like a bat. As Rachel got out her keys, I picked it up. It was one of the batarangs Batman used. I looked around. Was he here? Was he coming?

"Sarah," Rachel said my name. "You ready to go?"

"...Yeah," I said getting into the car.

Matthew MacCallister, the man who read the will of Luke and Jennifer Chante, had a very rough day. He had a lot of calls made from a lot of people, half of which came from Edgar Mason telling him to release Sarah Chante into his care.

"It wasn't my decision," MacCallister had told him. "It was Luke and Jennifer's,"

The next morning, he was going to call the judge and tell him to have a restraining order, and not have Mr. Mason call him again about the custody of the child in question. Taking out his keys and walking through the half empty car garage, he was getting ready to drive home, when he heard a noise, and air rush out.

"Aw great," he said bending down next to the back tires of his car.

Air was coming out of his tire through a big hole. But what was that noise? It sounded again, this time hitting him in the shoulder. He yelled out in pain. Someone was shooting at him. He realized this as he collapsed to the concrete floor, blood flowing from his shoulder. When he went for his cell phone, a voice sounded.

"Don't you dare call the police!" he said.

MacCallister gasped when out of the shadows came the shooter. It was dark, so all MacCallister could hear was his voice, and see the outline of the man.

"What do you want?" MacCallister gasped in pain.

"Oh, you know full well what I want MacCallister," the shooter said. "...Sarah Chante,"

"The goddaughter of Bruce Wayne?...What would you want her for?"

"All I want is to see her bruised, bleeding, lying on the ground, in pain, writhing..."

And with that, the shooter shot MacCallister in the head, and he fully collapsed to the ground, life passing away from his body.

"In a few short words," the shooter said. "...I want her dead,"

(A/N: Uh Oh. Review please if you want to find out what's going to happen next)