The Beginning • Nyssara

Chapter 1

She had woke up soaking, with sand sticking to her like the water was glue on her skin. Sara didn't know how she had survived yet another boat sinking - with her on it. She wasn't sure how long it had been since the Amazo had gone down, but she could see the wreckage ahead of her when she woke up on the shore of Lian Yu, half of it still sticking out of the North China Sea. Presumably, with Oliver still on it. Dead. Again. He was lucky, he would've had a quicker death then she was going to, for all she knew she was going to starve on that island. She couldn't quite believe she was back on the damned island - and this time, without Oliver and Slade, not that he would've been of much use with the Mirakuru still injected in him. She wished she had died on that ship, either of them.

Now, she was running. Waking up on the sand had been a shock, but to wake up to see that there was a group of people dressed in what she could only describe as "warrior" outfits heading her way had proved even more of a surprise. She was getting used to them by now. When she opened her eyes, they were still on the opposite side of the beach, so she took her chances and raced into the forest, she hadn't known her whole way around the island yet, but she put her bets on her having a better recognition then the figures on the shore did. Although they didn't look like them, Sara couldn't risk them being more of Ivo's men. They had already got Oliver killed, and whether a quick death was what she wanted or not, she would not let him kill her too. Though she had been working with Ivo for months on the Amazo, she didn't recall any outfits like their's hauled up anywhere, and she was definitely the only female on the boat - whereas these soldiers seemed to be lead by a woman.

It wasn't until she had paced up her running that she felt the agonising pain in her leg. As she looked down, still sprinting, Sara could see the huge gape breaching across her calf, bleeding out down her ankle. The blood started forming little patterns in the golden sand as soon as it had passed her foot. There seemed to be a certain art to it, but she had never been one to like art. Sara remembered the time her father had taken Laurel and her on a trip to a gallery in Central City - she had hated it, of course, but now there was nothing she wished for more than to be back in that gallery, with her family. They'd be ashamed of her; for going on the Queen's Gambit with Oliver, Oliver who was dating Laurel, her sister - but that wouldn't matter, as long as she was with them - as long as she was safe.

By the time she had reached the verge of the trees, the group following Sara had divided themselves into different sections of the beach, all heading for a different sector of the forest - all that Sara could seem to comprehend that they were doing was separating themselves from each other now, just to rejoin each other later by forming a circle around Sara; to surround her. To trap her. The female she had spotted previously, however, was out of sight. Nonetheless, she was still outnumbered - running through the trees, dragging one leg behind her and the other trying to force its way into safety, if that was even a possibility on this island. One wrong step and she could land face-first into one of Oliver's traps, or onto a landmine, and she honestly didn't know which would be worse.

She spun around hastily, as a voice came from behind her. "Stop running." Sara tried to catch her breathe, she was losing blood, and fast - the voice spoke again. "We are not here to harm you."

"I'll stop running when you stop lying." The female that Sara had saw earlier came out from behind one of the trees, her walk was prosperous and ample and her strides seemed like leaps compared to Sara's feeble steps. "All Ivo ever did was harm people, and I don't expect him to stop now - even if he's dead." Even as she said it, Sara didn't really believe these people were Ivo's anymore - but it didn't matter, she was only getting weaker and these people (whoever they were) were still after her. "Leave me alone!"

The female, who's outfit was different compared to the rest of the groups' she was with, furrowed her eyebrows - not at all sure of what the smaller girl was talking about. "I do not know of any Ivo." As the woman stepped one step closer, Sara stared hesitantly at the quiver that was attached to the side of her suit, clearly holding a bow and arrow set. It reminded her of Oliver. "And I cannot do that, I won't leave you here."

Her attention still focused mainly on the quiver, Sara grabbed the sharpest stick she was capable of finding momentarily on the ground. The other female had to resist a smile, which she didn't do a lot, but the naivety of this girl humoured her. The fact that she believed she even had a chance against her, with a wounded leg and what could only be described as a twig, compared to her arrows, to accompany her - but she wasn't lying. She wasn't there to harm the blonde that they had found on this island.

"Why not? Who are you?" Sara considered running again, but exhaustion had quite clearly kicked in and she wasn't sure if she'd even be able to - and it was blatantly obvious she wouldn't get far even if she had made an attempt to escape. "Who are you with?"

Now only a few steps ahead of her, Sara finally took notice of the features that this woman carried on her face. The face held a sense of broodiness and intimidation that Sara didn't recognise, and even though she was pretty sure that it was supposed to, it didn't scare her. The bottom half of her face was covered by a black shemagh that the woman wore, and Sara couldn't fathom a reason as to why this woman intrigued her so much.

"I'm Nyssa, daughter of Ra's al Ghul. Heir to the demon."

Sara wanted to laugh, that whole introduction had sounded like it was copied from some cheesy sci-fi movie she had wasted her spare cash on to watch with Laurel, but she decided laughing wasn't her best option considering her current position. On top of that, the injury on her leg was finally taking over her body, consuming her legs with numbness and giving the rest of her body a tingling sensation.

After weighing up her options, Sara replied, sensing that sarcasm was the best way to go - considering all of her other senses were dying out on her. "Right, and I'm heir to the Queen of England."

"I sense you mocking me." Nyssa creased her forehead, confused. "Am I not able to get your real identity?"

Sara sighed, she wasn't even sure if Nyssa, as she now knew, was mocking her right back, or if she was being serious. How Nyssa had interpreted her sarcasm wasn't exactly the priority in her mind right now, as her head had gone dizzy and her vision blurry. "What, you can't take a jok-?"

It was too late. Sara wasn't able to finish her sentence, as her legs fell from beneath her and it all went to darkness before she had even hit the floor. Unconscious.