The Bane of Our Existence [The Dark Knight Rises]

19: Wake Up, Bría

Bría clutched the shirt in her hand, staring up at Bane and wondering what was going to happen next. Her breathing was wavering, giving her away. Bane, however, was as steady as he ever was. It was Bría who stepped back from the warmth of his body, and quickly threw her shirt back on. She pulled her hair out from the neck of the shirt and let it dangle loosely around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry," she spoke softly. "I shouldn't have done that."

"You have done nothing wrong," he reminded her.

She glanced over at him again. "I should get some rest."

As she walked towards entrance, towards the general sleeping area, Bane caught her wrist gently in his large grip. She slowed and then came to a halt, feeling his warm skin touching hers. Glancing up at him, she wondered what he was doing; what did he feel, what would he act upon?

"Rest here," he told her.

"Why? This is where you-"

"You brought to my attention that others may see you as my weakness; should anyone turn on me, they'll come for you," he explained. "My promise to protect you has not changed."

"Are you saying I'm your weakness?" she asked weakly, almost desperately.

"Perhaps." He released her wrist and left the room, leaving her alone.

Her aching feet wobbled, as if reminding her that she was exhausted and did need rest. To be able to sleep in a separate room from the others was indeed a comfort, and so the moment she tucked herself onto the cot, she felt safe and secure. Just went she thought her mind would race through the entirety of the events of the day, she fell sound asleep instead.

"Bría, wake up, Bría."

"Ma?"

"Quickly, Bría, we must go, now."

Young Bría stirred in her small, single bed. Rubbing her eyes, she swung her legs around the side of it, and they dangled for she was still too small to touch the floor. Dangling there, she felt so exposed to the monsters that were lurking under her bed in her imagination. So she hopped down, blanket in her grasp. She looked up through sleep-filled eyes at her mother, frantic looking, with her hair wild and unkempt.

"Be very quiet, okay, esklan," her mother's native tongue slipped into her words.

"Where are we going?" Bría asked in a mumble, her childish voice high pitched.

"We're leaving, we're going somewhere new."

"What about daddy?"

"Shh, esklan, it's okay. Come here." Her mother picked her up easily in her strong arms, carrying her child down the hallway to the glass patio doors. The front door creaked upon opening, but the back door was silent. Bría's mother opened the door with her hand, clutching her child in the other.

"Clara, stop," a deep man's voice came from the dark corner of the hallway where the bedrooms were.

"David, don't do this," Clara, Bría's mother begged. "Just let us leave in peace. Let me raise my child to be good."

"I am raising our child to be good, to do good, don't you understand that?" David began to walk closer, but the light never breached for his face to be shown.

"I will not have her become like you!" Clara shouted, "I'm taking her far away from you!"

"No!" David shouted, startling Clara and Bría.

Bría began to cry, Clara clutched her child a little tighter. David rushed towards the two, and Clara turned to protect Bría. David slammed his body against Clara's, shoving her down, only she stumbled too far. She could not stop herself, the force of David slamming into her had been too much, and she fell through the glass door. Only Bría made the first impact, it was Bría's tiny body that shattered the glass.

Both of them shrieked as they fell through the glass, slicing through them, and landed hard on the concrete of the patio outside. Clara continued to cry and shout in pain, but Bría was silent. Clara pulled herself off of her young five year old, and saw the blood spilling out from underneath her tiny frame.

"No, my baby!" She screamed. "My Baby! What have you done?!"

But David was already gone.

"Esklan" is Icelandic for "Sweetheart" if anyone was wondering. So, this is the story of Bría's past and more will be revealed in the next chapter!

I also discovered that my plotting only brought me to 35 chapters, so that's how long this story will be.