Selina: Chapter 2
"As I have said again and again, I have no idea who the man was. He attacked my friend, I came out to defend her," Selina said growing increasingly more impatient with each half-witted question. They had asked for a description of the man, who he was, where he came from, and some other foolish questions in at least four different iterations.
"That's all well and good m'lady, but that window you jumped out of was on the second floor. You also were seen in the company of a known criminal who we have already arrested," the guard replied sternly. Selina hated the guards, not only were they no fun to listen to, but they had the personalities of stone walls. May the Others take them.
Him however, he was interesting. She did not know what his name was, or even who he was, but he intrigued her. He was a right bastard for hitting her girls though, even if he was only defending himself. Her face still burned with pain, taking a hit from him in both cheeks. He held back though, I've been hit before by strong men but he pulled back at the last second thinking I'd miss it. He is a man with some slight of honor, whoever he is. Beating up whores but not letting himself use his full strength, how noble.
Selina had to admit to herself that the stranger knew how to fight though. She saw a style of combat she had only seen smugglers from the Jade Sea use before. So whoever he was he was not a common, drunken brawler. He took out each of her girls as quickly and painlessly as possible. Two of their shoulders were injured, one had a fractured ankle, another had a very ugly looking bruise on her stomach, but none had a broken arm like that low-born scum who pretended to run this street. Bastard got what was coming to him he did.
Selina smirked, "I guess I just know how to land on my feet ser, and as for him, I've never seen him before."
The man who the guard has spoken of, and believed himself to run this street, Devon, was in chains on the other side of the alley. After Selina had said her line, he shouted at her, "Don't you go lying Selina! You were my best whore! No pussy in the seven kingdoms could fetch as much gold as yours!"
That pushed Selina over the edge, but she kept her cool. She walked over to him slowly and seductively, "You know my problem with men ser?" The man gave a foul smile, showcasing his yellow teeth, and shook his head. "Haven't met any," Selina quickly kneed him in the groin making him collapse to the ground shouting in pain. She gave the guard a look, letting him know he was next should he tempt fate.
"T-that will be all m'lady, we will return should we need anything else," the boy said sounding as if he had pissed himself.
"I'm sure you will," she left them and walked into the Den to scold her girls. They were all in the small dining hall, tending to wounds or fluttering about the night's events. "How many times have I told you, we do not start fights! We're only whores, not soldiers!"
One of the older girls of the whorehouse, Tessia, spoke up, "But we had him, it wasn't our fault whoever that stranger could fight better than any man we've seen. We figured Holly gettin' him with that knife would've been enough to slow him down, would have if he was any ordinary man for sure."
Selina was losing her patience, "Well if you did not start a fight to begin with we would not have had any trouble! And Holly, don't go around stabbing any man who turns you down! It's bad for business."
Holly looked rather broken up, quietly saying, "I know I shouldn't have, but I panicked. He was only trying to save me…" It was impossible for Selina to stay angry with the girl for long, she was practically her little sister. She was just like one of Selina's many cats, a stray she found on the street, orphaned and alone.
Selina patted her head, "Ugh, it's alright my sweet, just please refrain from making it commonplace. I won't always be there to save your asses when some damn dogs come sniffing around for some free tail." They needed her, she knew it, but sometimes she wondered how much easier life would be if she did not have to worry about them.
She went up to her room, greeted by her entourage of cats, all meowing to be fed. She picked some scraps of chicken out of a metal bucket and put it in the food bowls scattered around the floor. She hand-fed the young kitten she found a few days ago with the smallest pieces. The kitten had dark-black, sleek looking fur, with bright green eyes and a little black nose. The creature was skin and bones when she found him, but he had fattened up enough these past few days so she did not need to worry herself over the small, black speck anymore. She picked up the kitten and held her up to meet noses, "Hmmmm what should I call you precious? How about…Isis. You'll grow so agile and fierce that even the lions of Casterly Rock will fear you." She heard Holly come in quietly as she put the kitten down.
"What are we going to do Selina? Stay whores for the rest of our lives? Or until some soldier beats us to a bloody grave, or some smuggler decides to slit our throats after taking us forcefully?" she asked, tears in her eyes.
"No, I'm finished being a whore for the fat, rich snobs of this city. From this point on I'm striking out on a different path." Selina smiled, big changes were in store, and it started tonight.
Bruce: Chapter 4
It was dark, cold, damp, but above all, perfect. The caves beneath Wayne Castle were perfect for his lair; there were dozens of entrances on the face of the cliff overlooking the bay but only birds and bats posed a threat of discovering him that way. There were only two entrances by land. The first was a cave entrance covered by large ferns and bushes in the woods to the east of the castle. The other was a thin path under the waterfall on the opposite side of the castle, shrouded by the white mist and fog of the falls. Neither would be discovered unless someone was looking meticulously in the areas for them.
All of the cliffs surrounding Gotham had networks of caves lying within them, so Bruce knew no one would find this wonderfully opportune place. The walls were a dark shade of stone but beautifully reflected the lamplight of the torches Bruce had set up. It gave Bruce more than enough light to look around the massive hole beneath the earth, allowing him to plan his future sanctuary. Bats fluttered above him, clinging to the roof of the cave resting, waiting for the night to come. As am I my friends. The North can keep their godswoods, the South can keep their dazzling throne-rooms and dining halls, all I need is this cave to give me peace.
The tunnels weaved in and out of each other until finally ending in one large hollow directly beneath the castle. Most of the ground was buried beneath a foot or two of water, but there were large islands of smooth stone jutting out from the shallow pool at the cave's floor. Bruce was already planning where to put Lucius' smith supplies, his armaments and armor, and where he would keep the dark black stallion he would ride to and from of the city on. Bruce had tethered a rope from above the waterfall to climb down into this dark cave as to avoid detection by going off the grounds. As much as he knew his crippled performance would help him in the future, it had made going off the grounds without guards wanting to escort him a terrible pain. He had given Lucius the gold to find fifty men that he trusted to act as guards to the castle walls. No guards were permitted to come into the castle however, only the dozen or so servants Alfred kept in his employ and a dozen or two more for the parties they would be throwing.
Bruce climbed back up the rope with great ease; it was only a hundred foot drop from the edge of the cliff where the Castle rested to the small path beside the waterfall below. His leg still ached horribly from where the young girl had stabbed him, but it was bearable enough to move around on now. The wound from where the arrowhead had pierced his back was also healing rather nicely due to Alfred's knowledgeable aid. When he reached the top and pulled himself up, Lucius was awaiting him with a wrapped bundle in his arms.
"Is that it?" Bruce asked as he picked up his cane and then proceeded to limp back into the castle.
"Yes Bruce it is, I tried to form it as best I could to your sketches, but added a little personal touch of my own to it," the aged, dark-skinned man replied with a smile. They walked into his father's private study and Lucius set the bundle upon the table in the middle of the room. Alfred had done a marvelous job removing the dried blood from the floor, and the blood stains from the chair as well. All before the other servants even stirred from their rooms, Alfred added whenever he reminded Bruce how much strife he had already put the man through.
Bruce began to undo the bundle of cloth as Lucius looked on like a father waiting to see their child's expression when they unwrapped a gift. As Bruce pulled away the last fold of cloth, he lifted the helm up to the sunlight to better inspect the smith's work. It was custom fitted to Bruce's head and face, and was made of black-tinted metal. It was still light weight though, as Lucius assured Bruce he knew ways to make the metal strong but also rather light. It was some layering and cooling technique he had learned from the smiths across the Narrow Sea apparently.
It was dark, barely reflective even, and only revealed the wearer's eyes, mouth and chin. The helm fit close to the skin, and as Bruce put it on he could feel how snug to his head it really was. It made his chin felt even more naked, as it was the only part unprotected by the helm and now was shaven smooth so Bruce would look more like a noble and less like a traveler. He looked into the glass window to see his reflection, and was pleased with what he saw. The helm was narrow and sleek, unlike the bulky, overweight ones knights wore. Its most peculiar feature were the two horn-like spikes pointing up from towards the back of the helm above Bruce's ears.
"It's perfect, is the rest of the armor ready?," asked Bruce as he turned from the window to face Lucius.
The older man's eyes widened for a second, observing his work actually being worn and not just on an anvil. "You look…" he trailed off. Lucius appeared unable to finish his sentence as he stared at Bruce, finding himself to be in both fear and awe of the man before him.
"Like a bat," Bruce finished. He was ready, he could feel it in his bones, in his soul. Tonight, the world will lay witness to the dawn of Bruce Wayne's true shadow.