Last time: At those words the boy opened his eyes and Ra's knew that Oliver Queen recognized him, knew that he had looked into the eyes of The Demon!
xoxoxo
Nanda Parbat - The Hidden City it was called – for a reason. Deep in the Tibetan mountains this fortress lay, its entrance nestled at the base of a smaller mountain-flank, thus hidden by its larger brethren. Few knew where it lay and even fewer had ever laid eyes upon it.
Walls and pillars of stone, carved in ages past, stood like silent sentinels next to a dark entrance that led deep into mountain. It seemed like a portal into another world. And maybe it was, to those who entered there, because once somebody set foot into Nanda Parbat, this person's life would be forever changed.
The neighing of horses announced the approach of a group of riders to the four hidden guards keeping watch over the entrance to their realm. Nobody would have known them to be there, so well they blended into the lengthening shadows cast by the tall stone pillars, as the sun slowly descended behind the mountain.
One of them stepped forward, his black scarf and cowl instantly gripped by the icy gusts of wind which came down from the snow covered mountains and blew across the valley. He walked forward, down the steps, until he reached the lead rider. Gripping the reins of the black horse in one hand, he placed the other across his heart and bowed his head in obeisance to the man sitting upon it.
"Master. Welcome home."
The Demon did not acknowledge the guard's words. Instead he gave his men and his surroundings one last glance, as if to make sure they hadn't been followed. Then he lifted his dark, woolen mantle with his right hand and dismounted gracefully.
Other guards came forward to take the horses and lead them away to another entrance at the side of the mountain, one that led to the stables. It seemed archaic to uses horses as means of transportation in this day and age, but animals were easier to maintain in this far away region than vehicles and their trails more easily hidden.
Silently Ra's al Ghul watched as his soldiers unstrapped a litter that hung between two horses, carrying a precious burden to the Hidden City. On it, swathed in a bundle of fur and blankets, lay the silent form of Oliver Queen.
When they were done, Ra's stepped forward to check upon the young man, who by some miracle yet lived and had survived the journey to Nanda Parbat, which had lasted two days. To The Demon this was further proof that Oliver Queen was meant for a greater purpose. A purpose, which of course would be chosen by him, Ra's al Ghul, and thus the task to ensure the boy's survival fell upon his shoulders.
They had taken every possible step to stabilize Oliver's condition, treading him with modern medicine and ancient herbs alike, bandaging his wounds and making him comfortable for the journey. During all this time Oliver had slumbered on, living in a world created by his fevered dreams. Not once had he regained full consciousness. Sometimes he would shake, or grimace. Other times he murmured breathless words or names, some more often than others. One stood out particularly – Felicity.
Ra's wondered, who this Felicity was that captured so many of the boy's thoughts, as he removed his gloves and touched the back of his hand to the hot brow, checking the boy's condition and finding it unchanged. No herbs, no pills had been able to quench the fire that was burning in Oliver's veins, caused by the injury Ra's himself had inflicted. It was good that they had finally reached their destination, because the fire would surely continue to consume this frail body until it had nothing left to give. There was only one way to make sure the boy survived…
"Bring him", he said to the four litter bearers, turning and striding to the entrance of the his stronghold - and they followed.
As they passed beneath the portal of the stone pillars, entering the torch-lit tunnel that would lead them under the mountain and into Hidden City, the air seemed to change around them. It became heavier, felt thicker with every breath, letting those that followed the path know, that they had entered another realm. After walking for what surely seemed like half an hour, following the tunnel's twists and turns, they finally emerged from its smothering constriction, stepping onto a man built ledge of stone. And there, beneath them, in a sheer endless cavern, lay Nanda Parbat, the Hidden City.
Houses and other buildings carved from stone stood beneath the cavern's large ceiling – there must have been hundreds. Their red shingled roofs glowed in the light of small fires and torches that lit the vast darkness, the only source of light when night descended in The Demon's Realm. When the sun rose again in the morning, its rays would light the city through narrow shafts cut into the cavern's large ceiling.
Ra's al Ghul looked down upon the city, a sense of pride and accomplishment blossoming in his chest, as it did every time he returned. Through the ages he had seen cities rise and fall, realms crumble or go down in flames and ashes. But Nanda Parbat had survived. And he would make sure it stayed that way. This was HIS city - he would protect it at any cost - maybe, in time, it would become Oliver Queen's city too. Not maybe… he would make sure of it.
Looking at the litter bearers he nodded in the direction of a building in the center of the city, easily identified, because it stood taller than all other buildings in Nanda Parbat. A courtyard and wall of stone surrounded it – his palace.
"Bring him to my chambers and send for Halari", he instructed, before descending the steps that led down into the city, his men following.
As the group reached the ground level and their feet touched the hard-packed earth, time seemed to freeze. People stopped whatever they were doing; children halted their play, women, men and merchants alike ceased their chatter with one another to bow in obeisance to their returned master, but also to curiously gaze upon the litter, carried by the soldiers, wondering who the pale young man was, their master had brought home with him.
"Master, Master!" A small boy, probably now more than three of four years old, ran up to Ra's al Ghul, clutching at The Demon's robe and nuzzling a cheek against his legs. The small procession halted abruptly.
A woman, obviously the young boy's mother, gasped loudly, and send an anxious glance in Ra's direction. "Master! I … I'm so sorry. He does not know better. He's too young to understand…", she stuttered, not knowing what else to say.
Ra's laid a hand upon the toddler's head, stroking the dark curls softly, and then looked straight at the mother, a benign smile on his face. "Don't fret my daughter. Everything is fine." Next he bowed down to the young boy, lifting the toddler's face with a finger under his chin. "Go back to your mother, child", he instructed with a kind smile- And the boy did, the woman looked relieved.
Without further interruption the procession reached The Demon's palace. Upon entering the courtyard, one soldier broke away from the group – Maseo, or as he was now known, Sarab - to fetch the woman called Halari; she was Ra's al Ghul's body servant and saw to all his needs.
Guards at the entrance to the building opened a huge, doubled-winged door to let them enter. Inside more torches revealed a long corridor in their flickering light. Ra's strode along this corridor, bypassing his throne room, to enter another set of rooms - his personal chambers. There Halari stood smiling. "Welcome home, Master!"