13th March 2009
Damian scowled as he was once again thrown into the dirt by his mother, his eyes narrowing as he quickly scrambled to his feet. "The key to winning Damian," she said, "is not strength, but speed and at the moment that is your advantage, so use it." So, he did.
"Well done, boy," said Damian's Grandfather at dinner that night when he saw the discolouring of a forming bruise on Talia's face. Damian beamed before remembering to hide his emotions, however his grandfather saw the small misstep and his eyes sharpened.
"Damian," he said, in a deadly whisper, "go and retrieve my knives." Talia glanced from her father to her son not intervening but wanting to desperately. Damian, sensing the danger, even in his childish innocence that had not yet been broken, gulped and then scurried of on short legs to follow his Grandfather's orders.
Talia and Ra's Al Ghul sat in silence until the boy came back, stumbling slightly under the weight of the knife pack he was carrying. Once he had entered the room he reluctantly moved towards the Demon's Head, dragging his feet on the polished oak floor as he came.
"Ah, your back, at least you didn't take so long to get them this time," stated the Demon passive aggressively as he ordered his Grandchild to lie down on the Dining table.
Ra's Al Ghul extracted a long hunting dagger from the poach he had been given and ran a single finger down the blade drawing a drop of blood. He then pulled up his Grandson's shirt and positioned the knife on the boy's stomach. Then he smiled.
"If you make a sound, I'll rub salt into it," the Demon threatened glancing suggestively at the salt dispenser in the middle of the table. Then in slow, sweeping motions he carved the words, لا يجوز لك ان تفخر. Damian shifted as the cold blade met his skin, not feeling pain until a few seconds after the first cut and then it hit him in a throbbing wave. Ruby red blood pooled in the cuts before sliding down his side onto the table below, leaving scarlet trails in its wake. He bit his lip in an effort to hold in his pained shout.
Half way through the ordeal Damian made a tiny squeak of pain and the corners of Ra's Al Ghul's mouth twitched upwards. Once he was finished he motioned for the salt which his daughter, who had been sitting there silently the entire time, handed it to him. As Ra's Al Ghul shook the salt onto the bloody wound he leant down and whispered in the squirming boys ear, "You shall not be proud again."