The Eldest Al-Ghul Wayne

Chapter 2: The Teachings of a Sister

As time continued, Damian grew. He was now five years old, although four was when he started his training to become heir of the League of Shadows. Talia took to teaching him the basics first, she taught him about different weapons, the most effective way to kill a person, how to successfully manipulate someone, and more. Now, Talia thought that she was solely responsible for teaching Damian, but what she was not aware of was Marinette sneaking into the room and hiding in the shadows, watching her mother and brother. There was a reason why Marinette's league name was Shabh (ghost/phantom), and it most certainly had to do with her quiet presence, almost similar to death. But Marinette intended to teach her brother more things. She wanted him to know what love was and how to love, but she also needed to pass along the teachings of her secret.

What no one knew was that in the quiet hours of the night, Marinette spent her time studying an old grimoire, describing the infamous miraculous. These miraculous belonged to the sister organization of the League of Shadows, the Order of Guardians. She was fascinated by the powers that were described within the pages of the grimoire. But she knew that while the kwamis, the god-like beings in the miraculous, always had good intentions, those who wielded the miraculous good easily make the kwamis do their bidding. This is why she kept the grimoire hidden from her grandfather and everyone else in the league. For she knew that if anyone found it, they would do horrible things with the power it provided. However, there was a reason why Marinette needed to pass along the teachings to her brother, and it was that she was expendable, when there came a time that she was deemed useless to the league, she would be killed on the spot. For despite being the daughter of Talia and granddaughter of the demon head, her gender would never allow her to live in peace, especially with Damian now being the heir. So, she would need to pass along each teaching to her brother, a burden it may be, but the secrets would help him and most certainly be protected by him.

Marinette was brought back to the duel between her brother and mother hearing a loud grunt, smiling when she saw the katana in her brother. Despite it being more than five years since the day that the different weapons were presented to him, Damian's favorite weapon was still the obsidian katana with emerald and sapphires embedded in the hilt. He had never liked any other weapon, and to this day it still reminded Marinette of her and her brother. She watched as her mother dismissed Damian before slipping after him herself. She trailed him for a while, his paranoia causing him to glance back every so often. Eventually, she launched at him with a hug, quickly disarming his attack, and then whispering in his ear, "Hello, Habibi. How was your training?"

Damian instantly relaxed, hugging her back and exclaiming, "Ukhti (sister)! I missed you! It was amazing! I beat mother twice!" Even though Damian had eventually stopped calling Marinette mommy, he had instead taken to calling her Ukhti and if no one else was present, Umi (mom).

She ruffled his hair and replied, "That's amazing, Habibi. Now we should return to our rooms, I need to show you something." Damian instantly perked up realizing that she meant that was going to teach him more about the grimoire now. He took her hand, pulling her to their rooms. Once they were inside and the doors were locked, she pulled out the grimoire and snuggled with him, before letting her voice enchant him, telling him about the mystical and fantastic miraculous. All the while, her heart beat its unique beat, calming Damian instantly.

It wasn't until a month later that disaster struck. After one of Damian's training sessions, Marinette didn't find him coming down the hall like normal. Instantly panic rose within her. She ran throughout the compound, trying to figure out why Damian would suddenly not do what he had been doing for more than a year now. Bile rose in her throat, wondering if he had been injured. So, she check the infirmary, but alas, Damian was not in there. There was one other place he could be, a small hall in the compound had a tiny room, big enough for only children. This would be where Damian would go, only if something truly horrific happened. The last time he went there, it was because he took the life of someone, an enemy of the league. Once reaching the room, she went in, and sure enough, there Damian was. He was rocking back and forth, tears coming down his face, and he was tapping something against his knee. She quickly realized it was her heartbeat, scaring her more because he did this whenever he needed comfort. She gently pulled him into her arms, her heart breaking when she heard his quiet sobs. Once he calmed down, she asked the dreaded question, "What happened, Habibi?"

It was then that the dam broke and he sobbed out, "Mother and Grandfather thought I was getting too weak because of you! So they made me kill a dog! She was so beautiful and completely innocent, but they made me kill her and watch as she died."

Fury rose inside her. How dare those two bastards do that to her baby brother. But one question still lingered in her. She knew Damian was an extreme animal-lover, but he had killed a human, why was this reaction worse than the rest? And so she asked just that, and Damian replied, "That man I killed I told had no family. He was also a horrible murderer and cheat like almost everyone in this wretched place. Along with that, he had a rucksack on his head and I wasn't forced to watch him die. But this dog was innocent, I could see her lovely eyes right before I killed her. I also know she had puppies, puppies that would now grow up without a mother because of me. She... she died so slowly. Maybe if I had found a way to kill her faster, she wouldn't have died in so much pain..."

Marinette snapped her head down to look at her brother. Her sweet, handsome, incredible baby brother was currently beating himself up because of something those bastards she was related to did. Right away she started shushing him and murmured to him, "Never blame yourself for something Mothe–no, something Talia or Ra's did. You didn't sadistically decide to kill that dog. They forced you. It was either you killed or be killed. And while I do sympathize for that poor dog, I will never wish for her to be alive when my precious baby is dead." She then started muttering about how much she hated the league, Talia, and Ra's, cussing every single one of them out. All the while, Damian watched wide-eyed. He had heard some crass language in the league, but his sister could win an award for how vulgar her words were.

Marinette, suddenly stood up, picking up Damian as she did. She slipped on her cloak, covering both herself and Damian, and blended in with the shadows. She also used some passageways she had discovered to discreetly get her and Damian to their rooms. Once she reached the rooms, she put Damian down on the bed and pulled out the grimoire. After sitting next to Damian, he snuggled against her, expecting her to start her lessons like normal. Marinette, on the other hand, had a different idea. "Damian, could you face me, please?" Damian instantly did so, recognizing the severity of her tone and the lack of any nicknames. Marinette then continued, "Today, I am going to explain to you, why I don't support the league. And yes before you ask, I am a defect," silencing his obvious question. "No one in the league truly cares about me. The main reason is my gender. As a female, I'm not seen as important as I could be. I am telling you this now, but as I grow older, I will continue to be deemed unuseful, and eventually, there will be those who will be aiming to kill me. The league is also not a good place for you. This is why I have tried to protect you all this time. I'm trying to stop a future in which you aren't my Damian, but instead the leagues. Today's events prove just that. My imminent death is also why I have been teaching you the grimoire, for it is you who will need to preserve these secrets. I will tell you now that you may never share these secrets with anyone in the league, no one in fact, except any family you may have. For everyone in the league will just be looking to exploit the miraculous, and we can't let that happen. I adore you, my love. And I will protect you with my dying breath, Habibi."

Once Marinette had stopped talking, Damian's brain just continued whirring in thought. Eventually, he decided that his sister was always right, and from that day accepted that the league would not be his future, for Marinette would never let it be. He nodded his head to show that he understood her words. She smiled at him, before tucking him against her body. And as Damian listened to her voice once more, all he could hope was that there would never come a time when he would lose his sister. For he could never bear it. But as he listened to her heartbeat and her angelic voice, he truly believed that everything would be okay. It was also on this day that Damian no longer swore full allegiance to the league, but rather to his sister, who would always be worth more than anything.

(1662 words)

Hi everyone!

So I definitely kind of let most of y'all down just disappearing for a year and not coming. But high school is honestly a pain. Plus life was kinda busy. But after some major writer's block, and a year and a half of waiting on your guys' part, this chapter is finally completed. Make sure to be looking out for some more updates for this fic and my other fics. Thank you all so much for all the support and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! ❤️❤️❤️

~Crystal ❄️