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Sara sat with closed eyes as the waves of the surrounding ocean washed back and forth over her feet dangling off the edge of the pier. It was an odd sensation, a dizzying one if the mind wasn’t focused enough to maintain balance.
Even with closed eyes, her aligned and heightened senses allowed her to visualise and appreciate the vast mass of mother nature’s water surrounding her.
Above her, birds flew in flocks as they cawed and shrieked in the strong gusts of wind. Underneath herself, she could feel each slab of wood from the pier as she maintained a balanced, upright posture.
A deep breath of the salty air and sharp sting of the icy breeze attacked her nostrils and peace overcame her. The sun had long since set and with it, removed any source of warmth. It was no bother to her. She had experienced worse.
An undetermined amount of time later, she became aware of movement to her left. The pier shifted and flexed under the weight of bare feet as they made their way towards her with an even gait.
Eyes still closed, Sara quirked her lips, “For a highly trained, international assassin, your steps are pretty loud.”
“Purely for your benefit habibti,” the assassin announced dismissively and settled next to Sara, legs crossed and arms resting comfortably over her knees.
Sara restored her sense of sight and turned to her left to look at the assassin. In the dimmed light of the beach, she made out the unmistakable figure of her saviour.
Even seated, the height difference between Nyssa and herself was apparent. Sara had to look upwards to see the side of the assassin’s face, as Nyssa gazed peacefully out into the abyss in front of her.
Where once the clear blue ocean water had spread before them, it now had turned to an inky, black mass and the mountains in the distance that had stood prominently blended into nothing.
The stars shone brightly above them. Their small, intimate cabin behind them provided the only other source of light, though its effectiveness was minimal.
Sara sighed in content and moved to lean against her hands now placed firmly behind her. She copied Nyssa and crossed her legs underneath her and ignored the slightly uncomfortable dig of the rough wood on her calves.
Minutes passed easily between them.
“You’ve done well habibti,” Nyssa acknowledged.
Sara tilted her head as she accepted the compliment and hummed gently. She was proud of herself. Years ago, Sara would have laughed if you told her she’d be willingly spending her time near such a large mass of water.
Experiencing almost dying at sea twice did something to a person. For the longest time, the thought of returning to her tormentor messed with her to the point of illness. It wasn’t until she had been grilled by Nyssa that Sara had accepted she may have been suffering from PTSD.
She didn’t remember much of the events that immediately followed the Amazo explosion. In her delirium, Sara could only recall unbearable thirst and motion sickness from the constant rocking of her body across the waves as she drifted further and further away from Lian Yu.
Luckily for her, as she came to discover, Nanda Parbat was in the middle of the Hindu Kush mountain range, a decent distance away from any large body of water.
As Nyssa had personally rescued and bought Sara back to the League, Ra's Al Ghul had assigned her training to the heir. Nyssa had been responsible for her every failure and success and as a result, was required to also discipline her.
Nyssa had confessed her belief that it was his way of punishing her for bringing an outsider into their ranks by ignoring the League’s traditional methods of recruitment.
The compassion Nyssa shown her during her recovery wasn’t enough to endear the assassin to Sara in the beginning. The League’s ways were a dam sight harsher than anything she had ever experienced and the aches, pains and scars she endured pushed her further away.
Three months into her training, Nyssa had led her further away from Nanda Parbat than they had ever travelled before.
As they travelled further away and closer to the nearest sea, she had become more and more aware of the pounding sound of rushing water. Blood pounded strongly in her ears and her throat closed when she spotted the massive waterfall they had stopped near.
It was her reaction and subsequent panic attack that clued Nyssa in on something being wrong with her. After being forced to speak about her experience pre-League, Nyssa had been quick to give Sara her ‘expert’ diagnosis and thus began her recovery.
Meditation and finding harmony with oneself were one of the basic techniques taught to League initiates. This became focused around working towards addressing her fear and learning to overcome it. Sara struggled heavily.
Three and a half years later, however, she was at peace. Sara had long since accepted that she wouldn’t ever get back to enjoying the ocean water as she had on various vacations with her family pre Lian Yu. Summer vacations were filled with hot beaches, hours of swimming and riding the waves.
Sara smiled softly, “Thanks to you. My saviour,” she ended cheekily and leant into the other woman to nudge her shoulder.
Nyssa hummed, “Saviour. I like the sound of that.”
Sara moved closer so their thighs pressed firmly together and placed gentle kisses along Nyssa’s long neck, “Oh I bet you do,” she whispered huskily.
Logically, she knew the sooner she completed her self-assigned task, the sooner she could drag Nyssa back to their cabin. But, as always, Sara fell under her spell.
If her father could see her now, he’d claim she suffered from Stockholm Syndrome, feeling this way about Nyssa.
In the beginning, the heir hadn’t been the only one unsure of their developing relationship. Throughout her training and recovery, Sara had been at her most vulnerable, to a point where she did wonder herself whether what she was feeling was healthy.
But, as time went on, Sara saw a side of Nyssa that no-one else was privy to and she fell for the woman underneath the title. Learning little nuances thrilled her and she craved for more each time something new was discovered.
Like the fact that Nyssa hated crime dramas because they were too predictable or ridden with convenient plot holes. Or that Nyssa would survive on the herbal teas she drank by the gallon if she could. The ones that due to her large intake, she always smelt strongly of.
Every little thing about the woman built up and up until it consumed her and when she finally knelt before Ra's and spoke her oath of allegiance, it felt more like a promise to Nyssa and their relationship rather than giving herself over to a life of service.
Sara was brought back to the present when Nyssa diverted Sara’s lips from her neck with a groan. The pair stared into each other’s eyes, pressed their lips together gently, once, twice, and then separated with grins.
Sara rose from her seat to follow the heir when she lowered herself down from the end of the pier and into the water.
The water wasn’t too deep in their position and they were able to keep themselves afloat comfortably and Sara took a few minutes to centre herself in the freezing cold water.
She felt Nyssa’s calming presence nearby and it gave her the courage she needed to kick onto her back and drift away deeper. Eyes closed; Sara gave herself to mother nature.
They spent an hour in the cold water and the final few playful minutes chasing and dunking each other underwater. The decision was made to leave and the two swam back towards the pier. They lifted themselves up onto the pier and shook the excess water from their hair and clothes, eager to get back to the warmth of their cabin.
“I’m proud of you Sara,” Nyssa said and lifted Sara’s hands to kiss them.
Together, they walked inside the cabin that housed them. Vacations didn’t exist in the League but the perks of being the Heir and Beloved afforded them a few days to themselves after their latest hit.
“Me too,” Sara said as she felt genuine happiness and contentment from succeeding in her task.
It was no surprise that the first thing Sara led Nyssa towards was the shower. Under the warm lights of the lodge, Sara was unable to tear her eyes away from her partner and was eager to pin her to the wall under the pounding hot water.
Warmed from head to toe, the pair passed time on the plush couch in the cabin in comfortable silence and drank from Nyssa’s vast herbal tea selection.
Sara had insisted that Nyssa sat against the right arm so she could tuck herself into the woman’s side. Once again, Sara’s lips were in one of her favourite places: pressed against the Heir’s neck.
Sara took pleasure in the sensation of Nyssa’s long fingers gripped tightly in her hair. With every kiss and bite, Nyssa released choked groans as if she was reluctant to show the full extent of her enjoyment.
A few long minutes later, Sara felt more than heard Nyssa take a deep breath and the hand in her hair tensed before letting go. It was a clear sign that Nyssa had gathered her senses and that she wouldn’t win the current battle of distraction.
She knew the conversation they needed to have and tried everything in her arsenal to delay the inevitable. With the success of her challenge, the self-proof she needed to declare her PTSD manageable, came the acknowledgement that she would need to completely give herself to the League.
Nyssa had been understanding regarding her deep-seated fear of large open water and with it had vowed to help her work through it. But, to be a member of the League, one had to denounce their past life: their name, their origins and give themselves to a new existence serving Ra's Al Ghul and carrying out his will.
Nyssa had been lenient on upholding those traditions, especially as their relationship turned romantic. Sara was still referred to by her birth name, could reminisce about her family back in Starling and be somewhat free.
That would all change, however, once they returned to Nanda Parbat. Nyssa was to leave soon on an extended mission by the personal request of Ra's. As a result, Sara, for the first time in three and half years would be left in the hands of someone else: Al-Owal.
Nyssa had confided that she thought Ra's had also been lenient with Nyssa’s mentorship of Sara, to get an accurate measure of her.
Like anyone else, she was strongly intimated by Ra's and the thought of having to deal with alone made her anxious. Especially as he seemed to be invested in her progress ever since she was first brought before him.
The days of The Amazo and Lian Yu had prepared Sara for the League in ways different to other recruits. As such, she had progressed through the League’s amateur ranks at an unnatural rate, one that caught the attention of Ra's himself.
Nyssa had told her she found Ra's behaviour particularly odd as he had only ever taken such an interest in one other recruit before. A man Sara only knew by the moniker of Al Sah-her.
It was a cause of anxiety for both, especially after the incident where Ra's had Sara brought before him just weeks before her official induction to the League.
---
Sara returned from the outdoor training arena after a particularly gruelling session when her presence in front of Ra's was demanded. She hastily made her way to the ceremony room to find Ra's standing in front of the mystic Lazarus Pit.
In full Demon regalia bar his robe, he wordlessly led her behind the pit and into a smaller, much more intimate room. It was a simple room all in all. It was shaped like a pentagon, bare of furnishings and illuminated by the same candlelight present throughout the entire base.
The only decoration was the seemingly endless selection of weapons hung on every wall: Swords, staffs, bows, shurikens and more were on display.
Ra’s stood ten yards away from her, “Tell me. Have you decided yet on your formal address and weapon?”
It was tradition, that during the induction ceremony, the inductee was to declare their new name and specialist weapon of choice.
Sara stared into the expectant eyes of the Demon, “Yes, Ra's Al Ghul. I have chosen Ta-er Al-Sahfer. But I am undecided between the Bo and scimitar.”
Ra's assessed her in silence before moving to unhook both weapon types from their spots on the walls. He returned to stand in front of her and held the sword up to her.
“Wield the scimitar,” Ra's ordered.
She removed it from his possession and under his dark, intelligent gaze, went through the progressions she had been taught. After thirty seconds, with her back turned to Ra's, her trained heightened senses allowed her to turn swiftly and block the Bo that had moved to strike her.
Shocked, and unsure of what she had done to prompt an attack from the Demon, she had called on everything she now knew to hold off the onslaught of strikes from him.
The experience was both terrifying and thrilling. Each blow against the sword vibrated through her entire arm and she relied on her footwork to build space between them so she could have a brief reprieve.
Throughout their impromptu spar, which seemed to last an unbearable amount of time, Sara noticed an odd gleam in Ra's eyes, as if he was amused. It alarmed her. He was toying with her.
Though she was known to have an unnatural affinity with fighting, she was still a child compared to the mighty Demon. Soon, he seemed to have had enough and a swift blow to her knuckles disarmed her and she was flipped onto her back from a hit to her legs.
She panted as she stared up into the candle-lit ceiling of the room and tried to focus on calming her adrenaline levels down and gathering her thoughts.
The light was blocked by Ra's face as he moved and stood over her, “Rise.”
She ignored the aches already formed in her body and stood before him.
Ra's stalked in a slow circle around her in silence, eyes glinting with something unknown. He finally stopped behind her, near the entrance to the ceremony room and she turned to face him.
“Curious,” he stated casually, as if only to himself and clasped his hands together.
He addressed her directly, “I’m sure in time, you’ll make the correct decision Ta-er Al-Sahfer. You may return to your room.”
Still out of breath, she bowed deeply and exited through the room swiftly and dazed.
---
“Beloved,” Nyssa called.
Sara blinked slowly, acknowledging her love’s worried gaze.
“Sorry. I’m fine. Just thinking about going back.”
Nyssa’s eyes softened, “I’ll only be gone for four weeks at maximum.”
Sara sighed and moved their mugs to the side table next to the couch, “I know. I just can’t help but feel nervous. We’ve never been apart for that long.”
Nyssa grinned, “I believe this is what you call being clingy?”
Sara gasped in mock offence and dove away from Nyssa to the other side of the couch. Nyssa rolled her eyes in amusement immediately.
“Beloved. We’re lucky my father has granted us to remain this close at all,” Nyssa stated, wrapping her arms tightly around Sara’s torso and pulled her back upright.
“I know, I know. You’re the big, bad heir,” Sara exclaimed dramatically, snuggling in deeper.
“You’ll be too busy to miss me too much. Al-Owal is known for his…intensive methods,” Nyssa shared.
“Fantastic! That’s exactly what I need.”
“Sara, you’ll be fine. I swear it.”
Sara held Nyssa’s left hand to her lips and kissed each knuckle, “Yeah, I know. I’m just going to miss you.”
“As will I habibti. This will be good for us. I believe that with all that I am.” Nyssa said, shifting their bodies so they were lying across the couch with Sara pressed warmly on top.
Silence took hold of them once more as their legs tangled together. The soothing warmth from the roaring fireplace and their herbal tea soon sent them into that restful state just before sleep.
Both were still worried despite their reassurances to each other, but like everything else, they’d get through it. Together. Beloved and Heir.