Chapter 4 - Simple Warning

UNEDITED

After lunch with Barsad, I slept most of the day. I was called out of bed for a 6 PM lesson by Talia. There was no fighting or swords involved, just a good old-fashioned sit down in one of the rooms in the basement.

She just talked about the League. Even gave me a history lesson on past operations that she made clear I wouldn't be a part of anytime soon. Tokyo. Berlin. Johannesburg. She didn't talk about how she flipped me off at lunch and she also didn't mention Bane, no matter how much I pressed her.

"Why do you care so much about him?" She asked me after I had brought him up casually for the billionth time.

"I don't know. I'm just curious," I told her.

"No, that's not it." She paused. I noticed that she took her hair down at night. It made her face look softer, but not by much especially since she spent most of the night side eyeing me. "Well don't be," she continued, "and stop asking me about him. Anything you want to know you can ask him yourself - if you're brave enough." She said with a smirk.

I think those were her least favourite part. She looked like she preferred a weapon in her hand over sitting down and chatting with me. Talia walked me back to my room in silence and I went to bed feeling at a loss. How could I prove that I wasn't just some little girl when I was so horribly pathetic? I knew that the process would have to be slow and gradual. I didn't know how I would prove it to Talia and Henri and Barsad and Bane and to everyone else who doubted me, but I knew I wasn't about to give up anytime soon.

I can hear my fathers voice every time my head bobs in and out of the water. "Just like I showed you, Sienna."

My little feet begin searching for the bottom of the pool and when I can't find it, I panic. I begin to furiously kick my feet and flail my arms like a dying animal. One second my head would be beneath the water, and the next second it isn't.

I remember the expression on his face. His dark blond eyebrows furrowing out of confusion...or annoyance. I remember staring up at him with his arms crossed and wondering, why isn't he coming to get me?

It doesn't matter because I am already going under. My head doesn't bob up the next time.

Water begins filling my nostrils where it isn't supposed to be. It burns as it goes inside, causing my mouth to fly open and be filled with even more water. I try to grab on to something, anything, but I only feel water - and water cannot help you up. It just slips through your fingers.

Then, I feel my father's hands around my waist, pulling me up from underneath. Finally breathing in air, I begin coughing violently.

"It's OK Sienna, I'm right here." He is holding me in his arms above the water and I reach for his hands to make sure he is actually there.

"Do you want to try again?", he asks, while still holding on to me.

I look up at him, tears falling down my cheeks. "No," I shake my head.

"Are you sure, you almost had it this time." He pats my golden curls that are now flat and stuck to my neck.

I shake my head again.

"Use your words, Sienna."

"I'm sure." I tell him.

"Alright," he sighs, sounding almost disappointed.

"Is that OK?" I asked.

"Of course it's OK. Let's go back inside." He outstretches his hand, waiting for me to take it.

I reach for his hand and he brings me to the edge of the pool. He steps out of the water first and I trail behind him. He picks me up, and wraps a large blue towel around me. Then he puts me over his shoulder and carries me inside. "Sienna, you don't have to - "

His voice was cut off. I woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat.

This time, when Talia got to Sienna's room, the bed was empty. She frowned. She stood there a moment, before quickly turning on her heels, and swiftly heading down the hallway toward the bathroom.

She walked inside and stopped. It was empty too. She decided it was best to drop by Ra's to tell him how his new guest had disappeared.

Ra's al Ghul. Her father. She had to be careful not to call him Ra's or father around certain people, but Henri, which she hated. She didn't see the point of it really, keeping his identity a secret to people who weren't initiated. Well maybe she did. It was to keep his name a secret to the people who weren't in it for the long haul - who would leave as soon as things got too scary, but it was a lot to keep track of, who had been initiated, who hadn't been. So sometimes she just didn't call him anything in front of people. Just Sir.

On her way down the hall, Talia bumped into Bane.

Whenever they ran into each other, it was like they were two having secret meetings. Their strong, but hushed voices. Their demeanour. The professional manner in which they stood. The way they mirrored each other, both Talia and Bane strolling with their arms behind her back, but then Talia had always been very professional, ever since she was a girl. Anyone within ear distance had to take notice.

"Off to find your protege?" He asked her casually.

"My protege seems to have gone missing," she said. "If you can call her that."

"I'm sure she's around here somewhere. Where are you suppose to meet her?" He asked.

"The courtyard."

"Did you check there?"

"That girl waking early - I doubt it," she said before taking off again. "I'll see you soon", she called out before turning a corner and Bane was out of sight.

Talia walked into the courtyard to find Sienna already outside sitting on the floor waiting. She paused before Sienna looked up and noticed her.

"Let's begin," she finally said.

Sienna's POV

Talia must have been shocked that I was here before she was, or at least I hoped she was - but she didn't say anything. She didn't even look it. Her mouth was a hard line as she got right into instructing me. She just continued with the training as usual.

After a period of two hours, including zero breaks, we finally stopped.

"You have an hour left, but you can leave early if you want. Eat or go back to bed. I wouldn't mind." Talia told me.

"No, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" She asked me in a tone softer and calmer than I had ever heard her before.

Anyone else would have thought she was just being nice, but I saw right through her. I felt like she was doing this on purpose, She wanted me to give up - to prove her right. To prove to her that I was weak. I wasn't dumb. I knew I wasn't going to become some master fighter in one day or even a great one. I would start small. I would show up early, leave late and follow all of her instructions without questioning anything. Even if that meant never taking the easy route or never finishing on time.

"No, I think I'll stay." I told her. I had given up way too many times in life, and today wasn't about to be another one of those times.

"OK", she said without question. "Then I want you to run fifteen laps around the yard, then meet me back here.

"Sure, I can do that." I replied. It had me wondering if I was screwed either way. If I had decided to leave early, it would prove her right. If I decided to fight back and try to prove myself, she would make it hurt.

After the running the laps, Talia was sitting on one of the benches waiting for me.

If she expected me to have a frown on my face, then I would do the opposite. I didn't glare daggers into her head, but I also wasn't grinning at Talia either. I got the feeling Talia liked working me to the bone. Tough love or something like that. It would make me stronger.

"You OK?" She asked.

"Just fine." I lied. I was out of breath and my muscles were sore.

"Good." She stood up.

"How do you feel about guns?" She asked me. "Ever held one back in America?" She asked with a condescending smile on her face.

"No, but I've always wanted to use one."

"Well, you're in luck. Your new best friend will be showing you how to use one tomorrow."

The next morning.

I woke up at dawn feeling very tired, as usual. So far I have had two days of training with Talia and for one of them, I spent most of the day running. Now it was Barsad's turn to have a go at me. I groaned.

"Good morning sunshine." He called out, as he came into my room. "How was your night?

I didn't even care that he didn't even bother to knock - that's how tired I was.

"It was fine, thanks. My legs are a little sore, but other than that - good. So what are we doing today?" I asked.

"Have you eaten yet today?"

"Yeah, like an hour ago. Then I went back to bed."

"Well, I haven't, so come with me.

"Talia said I could either get up before six to eat or wait three hours till we're done.

"Talia and her rules...Do you really think I can wait three hours, yet alone wake up a six AM? Also, I'm not Talia, so get up."

When we got to the cafeteria, I walked beside Barsad as he picked up a tray and was served food. I picked up an apple only. I still felt odd eating so early. Outside was still dark. I could barely get my oatmeal down this morning.

"So, let's chat," he grinned at me.

"I don't wanna chat." I said grimly.

"You sure about that?"

"Well, does it have to be now?" I questioned.

"Fine. I guess you don't want to know who your next trainer will be." he replied with a coy smile. I just shrugged.

"I think I can hold off on knowing for at least another day.

"If you say so.."

"So, Talia told me I get to shoot a gun today."

"That is true." he paused. "Are you sure you don't want to know?"

"Fine. Tell me." I sighed. "I doubt I know the person, but tell me anyway. Unless it's -"

Earlier that Morning

Talia walked hastily down the corridor. She knocked on her father's door strongly. Three rapid knocks in succession. No one dared to knock with such force, except Talia, so he could always tell when it was her.

"Come in Talia," he said.

When Talia entered, Ra's was fumbling with a stack of papers, but he didn't look up as he addressed her. "How is Sienna's training coming along?" he asked while looking through some papers.

"It's going," she said. "But it's still too soon to see any improvement."

"And do you think there will be?" He looked up at her this time.

"Of course. You chose her so there has to be."

"Ah, so you trust my judgment then?" He asked, more like he was talking to an associate than his young daughter. Ra's watched Talia to see her reaction.

"I-" she began.

Ra's grinned at his daughter squirming, trying her best not to offend him. He chuckled. "It's alright, I know you're bit confused. She's still young an inexperienced, but you must trust me."

"I do." It was silent for a moment, then Talia spoke again. "I have an idea. I think you should let Bane train her - see how she manages."

"And why is that?" He questioned angrily.

"I know you don't care for him, but he is one of our most valued members. Maybe he can teach her a thing or two."

"I agree he is." Ra's paused. "Alright I will, but only because you asked me."
Talia smiled triumphantly.

"Thank you," she said. Ra's nodded and went back to his work.

Talia was hoping Bane would scare Sienna and put her in her place. She wanted Sienna to know what a real fighter looked like. She wanted Sienna to realize that being a member of the league wasn't a game.

"Yes, Talia." He asked her, seemingly without glancing up. I know that look on your face. There is something on your mind, what is it?"

"I guess I'm just still waiting to see just how useful she could possibly be."

Ra's al Ghul smiled. "Trust me. She will be useful."

Sienna's POV

"Bane?! - but, why?" I asked in disbelief.

"What do you mean why?" He asked, laughing. "You knew you'd be switching trainers every few days."

I shook my head. "Yeah, but I didn't think he would - " I didn't know whether to be frightened or flattered. "And how do you know that?" I asked him.

"He told me right before I saw you this morning." He paused. "It's basically whoever signs up." Barsad told me. "I guess he signed up." Barsad, with slight doubt in his voice.

"Oh." I paused. I was surprised that he would want to volunteer his spare time to be around me. "Well who else signed up?" I asked, curiously.

"Uh - no one." Barsad began. "They're probably just too scared to try - Or don't want to bother training some kid." He quickly changed the subject. "Yeah - so after Bane, I'll guess you'll be thrown back to Talia again."

"That makes me feel so much better. To know I'm being passed around like the last stale piece of bread no one wants."

"Hey, it's not like that."

"Yes, it is. Talia was probably forced to train me and I have no idea why Bane would decide to." I paused. "But what about you? Why did you volunteer, huh?"

"No one else wanted to and I thought it would be fun."

"Wow, you didn't even try to sugarcoat that one. So pity, then?"

"A bit," he admitted.

"But I guess I should be saying thanks then." I said, solemnly. "It's better than having Talia everyday."

"Don't mention it, OK. Let's get to training so I can see what you can do."

"Do you like our little make-shift shooting range? Me and some of the guys set it up."

We were by the edge of the forest, quite away from the base. It was quiet and no one was out here except for us. The sun had risen so I was a little warm from the walk over here. In a few hours it would be hotter than this.

There was a row of cans and bottles lined on top of some tree stumps. I don't know why they decided to make one out here when there was probably some high-tech shooting range inside

"Your target is the can in the middle."

He took out a gun from the messenger bag he was carrying, looked at it once then threw it into the grass.

I flinched.

"Pick it up and make sure not to shoot me or anything while you do it. I don't believe in safety."

"I don't see why you couldn't just hand it to me," I mumbled under my breath, but he heard me anyway. I walked over to the gun he threw in front of me and picked it up like it was infected. Then I placed my hand on the grip.

"That's not the way I learned. Trial and error is the best way to go around here. Less talking for me. Don't put your finger near the trigger, Not yet. Just hold like you are about to. On the trigger guard, please."

"How did you learn?" I asked him raising my hand toward my target.

"By stealing a pistol from my dad when I was eleven and putting five bullets in his head , now come on, pay attention."

I glanced at him to see if he was joking, but I couldn't tell. I turned back towards the forest with gun raised.

"Steady it with the other hand." He called out.

I put both hands on the grip of the gun which felt a lot better. My hands felt stronger.

"Like this?"

Barsad walked over to me and stood in front of me. I maneuvered the gun out of his way as he did, and rested both arms over his shoulder, the gun just inches behind his head, trying to focus on the target

I didn't look at his face, but I wondered if he was trying to distract me.

"Feet apart, "was all he said.

He put one hand on my waist to steady me and kicked his right foot between my feet to separate them, almost knocking me over.

He finally stepped back and moved out of the way toward my left. He sat down in a patch of grass to watch me.

"If you manage to shoot it at least once, you pass." He told me.

"The one in the middle, right?" I asked, without turning my head.

"Uh huh."

I remembered that in movies you can fly back or drop your gun if your arms and feet aren't steady enough. I held onto the grip as tight as I could, then fired. BAM!

I stumbled a bit backward as I did.

"You hit nothing, good job."

I ignored him and tried it again. Bam!

"I believe that was the stump."

I was probably around a good 10 metres away from the can. There was no way I would hit it. Not yet. I took a step closer. Then another.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" He asked me, leaning forward on the balls of his feet.

"You never said anything about where I had to stand, did you?" I turned to him.

I kept moving until I was only a metre and a half away and fired.

"There, I shot it."

"That doesn't count. How are you going to learn by taking the easy route?"

"Like this? I start close , figure out where to aim, then take a step back and fire. Each time I hit it, I take another step back. I keep doing that until I get perfect aim from all the way back there."

I pointed to a random spot a few good metres away.

"Hopefully by then I'll get a bigger gun." I told him.

When we had finished practising, Barsad decided to walk me back to my room.

"I have a question to ask about Talia. I've been thinking about Bane being your new trainer which honestly doesn't make any sense - and then I recently came to the conclusion that maybe you did something to piss Talia off."

"What? I pissed her off? Did she say something?"

"No - but who else would volunteer Bane? No offence, but I don't think he volunteered himself. Bane doesn't volunteer for anything. He keeps to himself, I should know - which means Talia must have asked him - must be for some kind of punishment. She wants to teach you lesson."

"Well I did question her about Bane a lot, but I didn't do anything to her specifically. I showed up today, on time. Extra early even. I was there before she was."

Barsad rolled his eyes and groaned. "Great - you made it too obvious."

"Made what too obvious?"

"She knows you're trying to prove yourself.

"Isn't that a good thing? I'm doing what you said."

"No - not to Talia." He sighed. "She'll think you're trying to show her up. She won't like it if you get too cocky. Especially if you don't have the balls to back it up. She already looks down on you because you're are not like her."

"Not like her? What does that mean? Is she special or something?" I scoffed.

"Listen," Barsad slammed his palm on the wall beside me blocking my path. Almost knocking the wind out of me. Unconsciously, I continued to take a few steps forward which only landed my face pressed up against his bare arm.

"There are things you don't know about her," he paused. "but obviously I won't be the one to tell you because it isn't my place. Just promise me you'll watch what you say around her. She had a rough life when she was a kid.

"Um," was all I could say considering his arm was practically covering my face.

"Sorry," he removed his hand so we could continue on our journey.

"That's all I'll say," he continued. "So heed my warning."

"Heed your warning? I smiled.

"Yes," he chuckled. "and I'm only going to tell you this once."

"Alright - consider your warning heeded then. Beware of Talia."

We had finally reached the outside my door when he stopped me.

"Before you go, there's something I want to tell you."

"Yea?"

"Keep a low-profile tomorrow. Don't stare at anyone and watch where you walk as well. We don't need a repeat of yesterday."

"Why? Because of Talia?" I asked, annoyed.

"No ." He laughed. "Not because of Talia. I wish, but not this time."

A/N:

Hope you like it.

I will be jumping ahead soon btw just to move the story along. (around a few months) Sienna will be more advanced and all that. She will be closer to Bane, Talia, and Barsad.