Ruby followed Talia patiently through the halls of her stronghold. She had been shown the set of rooms she would be staying in, the dining room, and the gardens right after a bowl of sea water had been brought and her injured arm healed. Now Talia was showing her the training room.

Pointing to some training dummies on one side of the room, Talia told her, "We'll start you out on those. I am aware that you have combat training and experience, but you aren't used to killing and that will have to change."

"Yes, Lady."

Talia called for one of her lackeys and he brought her throwing knives on a pillow. She scooped them up in one hand. "We'll start with survival." flicking her wrist she sent the knives sailing through the air towards the silent girl.

Ruby bent gracefully to the side and let three out of four slip past her. The last one, she caught and with a flick of her wrist sent it arrowing towards the lackey.

He wasn't fast enough, and went down with a knife through his heart and shock on his face.

Talia mentally reassessed the girl before her. Ruby hadn't even flinched at the sight of blood. She obviously had experience killing. Perhaps she would be better than Damien.

Talia reached into a pocket in her dress that Ruby hadn't noticed before and pulled out several shuriken. Tossing them to Ruby she ordered that Ruby show her how she would kill the dummies standing along the wall if those were the only weapons at her disposal.

Her creativity astounded Talia. In just seconds each of the dummies had "died" in a different way. And she still had one throwing star left. Walking over to Talia, she bowed and held it out to her.

Talia accepted it with caution. "That is enough for now. Return to your chambers. A servant will bring you to the dining room when it is time for supper. You are dismissed."

"Yes, my Lady." Ruby left the training room and retraced her steps to get back to her room. Once inside she sat at the desk that stood off to the side and began writing an letter to the family she had left behind. Mainly to Damien and Jason. Once finished, Ruby whispered a plea to her father, begging him to deliver it. Knowing that she could not. He granted her request and she thanked him fervently before cleaning up.

With that task finished she stood and went to the closet to change for supper, knowing from her years at court that it was expected.

Her first thought upon opening the closet was that even for assassins the al-Ghuls had an unhealthy obsession with black. Her second was that she hadn't known that there could be so much variety in a closet filled with nothing but black. She had to admit, she was mildly impressed.

In the end, she chose a simple black dress. Not particularly fancy, but not totally casual either. She noticed that it contained hidden pockets for weapons.

A knock sounded on her door and she admitted a servant who informed Ruby that he was there to take her to the dining room for the evening meal.

Ruby followed him and sat in the chair he pulled out for her, noting that she was early. Talia hadn't expected her to know to change clothes. Good. The more she showed that she was not to be underestimated, the better.

When Ra's al-Ghul entered behind his daughter Ruby's curiosity was piqued. She had thought that she was to be Talia's pet project. Not something that Ra's would ever be interested in.

Ruby stood and bowed. "I was not expecting you, my lord."

Ras looked at her calculatingly. "When my daughter told me she had taken a willing protégé I was intrigued. I never thought that a member of Batman's family could so easily change sides."

"In the court of Solaria an ability to make and break alliances is necessary for survival. Especially considering that a civil war only recently concluded. As heir to the throne I had to be sure to support the winning side, whichever side that was at the time. A similar principle applies here," Ruby said smoothly.

Ras looked impressed. "Then you are no stranger to intrigue."

"No, my lord."

Talia looked on with interest. It seemed her father and her new protégé would get along well. "I asked father to oversee your training tomorrow."

"I am honored, my Lady."

Ras clapped his hands and servants brought out food and pulled out his and Talia's chairs. Ruby waited until her masters were seated to sit herself.

The meal was well made, consisting of soup, salad, seafood, and cheesecake. Talia and Ras discussed contracts and strategies. Ruby remained silent unless spoken to directly. At the end of the meal Talia dismissed Ruby.
"You may return to your chambers. I will have someone fetch in the morning for training."

"Of course. If I may be so bold, my Lady? I would prefer to be called Onyx."

Talia nodded and the newly dubbed Onyx left the room.