Hi, guys. This one is a bit short but it's all about our Delphinium! You can understand teh girl better after reading this, I promise. :)
Chapter 9:
Delphinium stayed inside her study and opened all of the surveillance cameras she had her two maids to put around the city. She was planning to spy on Batman, Nightwing, Robin, Phoenix and Samantha Vanaver who had caught her eyes recently. She had Tiara researching on the white owl mask she had seen Samantha wore.
"Miss, is there anything you need me to do?" Mana asked the girl.
"Yes. I need you to cut my hair. I need it to be short so that these people will not recognize me so easily," Delphinium said.
"How about some highlights too?" the maid suggested.
"That'll be good. Make it silver. It's my favorite color," the girl replied.
She stared at the picture on her desk. It was a picture of a nine-year-old Delphinium and her seven-year-old sister, Daphne. They were happy, celebrating Delphinium's award as being one of the smartest in her grade. In the picture, Daphne didn't look that happy.
"Do you miss her, Miss?" Mana asked, combing her young mistress' hair.
"A little bit. She's happy tagging along with Robin, I mean, Damian all the time. I don't want to take that away from her," Delphinium replied.
"She needs to come back sooner or later for the family's business sake…" Mana remarked.
The girl nodded once and replied, "Yeah…"
Delphinium watched Robin, from one of the screens. She couldn't see Phoenix in the shadows. She knew that Daphne was held from being Phoenix due to her injuries, injuries that her older sister had caused.
"Sister! Come back!" a six-year-old Daphne called out to her older sister.
Delphinium was up on a tree, with a book in her hand. It was Daphne's favorite storybook.
"You're gonna have to climb up here and get me!" the sister called back.
Daphne puffed her cheeks, angry. She marched towards the tree. Delphinium was smiling happily as she watched her little sister trying her best to climb up the tree. An old man got out through the back door and into their little garden. He approached both of them with a broad smile.
"My, my, you two never change," he said, picking Daphne up.
"Delphinium is being mean again, Grandpa Slade!" the little girl complained.
"I wasn't! I was teaching you how to climb the tree!" Delphinium insisted.
"Ah, Delphy! You always have your own way of teaching your sister," Slade remarked.
Delphinium frowned at the nickname Slade had given her. She jumped down onto the soft grass and started to walk towards the house. Daphne jumped off from Slade and followed her sister. Slade shook his head at their behavior. Delphinium dodged her sister every time the girl tried to snatch away the book from her. Then, she would laugh when Daphne made her sulking face.
"Those girls are something, aren't they?" their father approached Slade.
"They sure are. I would be honored if you'd let me teach them a thing or two about combats," Slade offered.
Daphne fell down again, trying to dodge Delphinium's punch. She was hating the training. She got up without her sister's help and brushed off the dirt on her clothes. That day, Slade introduced five men for them to train with. The men will act as their opponents. Delphinium was first to have a go.
"Bring it on!" the nine-year-old said.
The men charged at her. Having a small body, she swiftly slipped herself in between their hits, causing them to hit each other. She was great at dodging most of the attacks. She even knocked out three out of five of them, in less than ten minutes. Slade and Mr. Aldrin were impressed. Delphinium jumped away from a kick and landed behind the man. She jumped again and gave a blow on the neck to knock him out too. There was only one left. He admitted defeat before she could charge in.
"Bravo, my dear," Slade clapped his hand.
Delphinium walked back to where her sister was standing. Daphne looked amazed.
"You were great, sis!" she exclaimed, hugging Delphinium.
"You have to do better than me," she whispered, rubbing Daphne's head.
After the training, Slade had given Delphinium a necklace as a reward for her accomplishment. She was proud but she didn't like that Daphne didn't earn any. Daphne, on the other hand, was happy for her sister. Delphinium wondered what the girl was thinking.
Twelve-year-old Delphinium sat by the stairs, listening to Slade and her parents. They were discussing her and Daphne.
"I want the girl. She is better off with me," Slade insisted.
"But she is our daughter," Mrs. Aldrin refused to let her go.
"You have problems with your business, right? I can help. Just give me the girl. I will train her to be the ultimate warrior and protector. In return, I'll give you money," Slade negotiated.
Mr. Aldrin pondered for a while. "I don't know, Slade. She is just a girl. We want the best for her."
"The best for her is to be with me!" Slade shouted angrily.
Delphinium backed away, her back meeting the wall behind her. She was surprised by Slade's voice. She knew that something was up. She heard her mother crying after that. She peeped again and saw that Slade had left. Delphinium fidgeted her locket. She knew what she had to do in order to save her family.
"I have to go with Slade. Something is really amidst," she muttered.
She rushed to her room and started creating a mess. She wanted it to be seen like she was kidnapped. After that, she placed her locket on her study desk. She exited through the window and disappeared without a trace.
"Grandpa Slade!" she called out when she caught sight of him in a car.
Slade asked the driver to stop the car. He let the girl in. She faked a happy smile, but no one could tell that. She was good at faking.
"So you decided to come with me?" he asked her.
Nodding, she replied, "Yes. I hated how my parents kept me inside the mansion. It's annoying."
"I see…" the old man said.
"I want to go on adventures with you!" Delphinium faked a spoilt voice.
"I know you're more intelligent than that," Slade said, getting a sense that she was lying.
Delphinium's smile turned into a frown. "Well, you said you would help with my family's business. I'd take the offer, but my parents are still alive. They are the ones that can decide for the good of the company," she explained calmly.
Slade was stunned by how intelligent she was. He smirked. "We can arrange that."
Delphinium glanced up at Slade, before smirking herself. "I like the way you think, Grandpa Slade."
"And I like your brains, Delphy…"
Delphinium woke up from her dreams. She looked at her digital clock and sighed. It was already 10 in the morning. She fixed her new hair, made her bed and took a bath. Tiara came in after that with her breakfast.
"Anything to report?" she asked.
"Well, I researched about the owl mask. I think it links to the Court of Owls. It seems like it's not just a legend," Tiara explained.
"Hmm…? That's interesting… Fill me in," Delphinium said, munching on her cereal.
Tiara nodded. She showed Delphinium some pictures of owl masked people around the city. They kept themselves hidden very well because Delphinium hardly saw them from her surveillance cameras.
"Beware of the Court of Owls, that watches all the time,
Ruling Gotham from shadowed perch, behind granite and lime.
They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed,
Speak not a whispered word about them, or they'll send a Talon for your head…" Tiara chanted.
"Talon? That's worth researching. I'll get Mana to do that. I have a new job for you…" Delphinium replied.
Tiara interrupted. "I'm not done yet. This Court may be aiming to put a stop to Batman. They may target Miss Daphne too."
"Hmm. I see. I need to know more… I think I need to meet up with Samantha…" the girl muttered.
"Are you sure, Miss? You don't have the details yet…" Tiara remarked.
Delphinium nodded. "I'll be fine. I need to protect my sister," she muttered, getting out of bed.
"Have ever wondered what she's doing right now?" Tiara asked.
The twelve-year-old girl chuckled. "I do…all the time. I seriously can't live without her…but, it's been more than a month since I escaped from the oil rig…"
"But, you tried to kill her, didn't you?" the young maid asked.
Smiling, the young mistress replied, "Nope. I wasn't planning on killing anyone. I had to be the mean one and let Deathstroke have his way. I knew my sister well. She's really good at hiding her presence. Which is why I know she'd hide very well that night, and be the only one to survive."
"And Batman?" Tiara asked, curious.
"I told him about the murder through one of my messengers," Delphinium said, turning to look out through the window, "I know he'd take her in…and now, she's happy enough. I'm really glad."