Chapter Text
Sandra sat alone on her bed in a barely furnished room. Her hands were on her pregnant stomach as she stared into nothing. Her mind had drifted to her past, back to the snowy mountains and stories of blue moons and secret worlds. Even if they were always running and moving from something. She was still with her family, and back then, that was all that she needed. She still remembers what her mother had told her the day her and her father died. “Do not stop until you are free”. Though she couldn't remember it as vividly as she would have hoped, those memories still brought a warm feeling to her.
Her gaze wandered to her stomach, and suddenly, the memories of her past were gone and replaced with a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts. Sandra didn't know why she agreed to Cain. Maybe because her mind was clouded, maybe because she wanted to become someone new — to be something greater — and he had given her that opportunity. Whatever it was, it's too late, and there's no turning back now.
She knew in her heart that she was meant for this. She knew that it was her destiny, her fate. And she knew that her fate was to become something greater, something beautifully terrifying. She would become an unstoppable force of nature. She would become destruction itself. But in the back of her mind, a voice whispered that this and all the events that led up to this were a mistake or some nightmare. It whispered how she shouldn't have sought revenge for her sister. It whispered how she should've refused him. It was a mistake to think that she could become something greater than she was now. She pushed these thoughts down and silenced that voice.
Cain had given her a new purpose. A new life free from her sister. The sister held her back. Made her weak. Made her soft.
She remembered her time with her sister. Her bright smile, how the stars seemed to twinkle in her eyes. She was the better half of her. She was the light to her darkness as she was the shadows to her light. She would be lying to herself if she said she didn't miss her. And a liar Sandra was. She convinced herself that everything was better this way. Everything that was happening was for something good. She didn't miss how they would walk around their village and chat. She didn't miss having her by her side as they paid respect to their late parents. She didn't miss how her sister would convince her to get out of training.
No. No, she didn't miss her sister. She… god, what was she thinking?!
She lay down on her bed and covered her face with her hands. “Pull yourself together, Sandra!” she yelled into her hands. She was getting frustrated at herself for even thinking those thoughts. She let her hands fall to her side as she stared up at the ceiling. She needed to blow off some steam. And so she stood up and walked out of the room, searching for Cain.
It didn't take long to find him, He was cleaning some weapons, presumably after a kill. Her eyes narrowed upon seeing him and her hands balled into fists. Cain looked up at her standing in the doorway, his eyes lingering on her fists. After a moment, he spoke, “Need anything..?”. She didn't answer him right away.
“I need you to fight me.” She didn't hesitate as the words came out of her mouth. Even through her pregnancy, she still chose to train and occasionally fight Cain. In her mind, she couldn't let pregnancy get in the way of her training.
“Again?” He replied in a monotone voice, his eyes back on the gun and the cloth in his hand.
Her fists tightened, her fingernails digging into the palm of her hand as her brows furrowed. Then she lunges at him. Her fist colliding with his cheek, the impact sent him off the chair he was sitting on and onto the ground. The gun that was in his hand was now discarded to the side along with the cloth. He looked at the ground, then back up at her. He spat out blood.
“Fine, if that's what you want.” He replied before sweeping her feet, causing her to lose her balance and fall on her side.
“Watch where you hit.” She said with a scowl as one of her hands moved to her stomach.
“I know, wouldn’t want to waste 8 months.” He said with a scoff.
She quickly got back on her feet, and he swung at her again, this time aiming for her face. She swiftly dodged the punch and hit him with an uppercut. This caught him by surprise, and he lost his balance. Sandra took this chance to grab him by his shirt and throw him against a wall. His back hit the concrete wall with a loud thud. By now, there was blood coming out of his nose and the back of his head. Before he could even stand up, Sandra walked to him and put her foot in his face and put her weight on it. He didn't even fight back. He sighed and surrendered.
“Are you satisfied now?” He asked.
Sandra, who had now managed to release all her frustrations on him, just let out a hum in acknowledgment. She took her foot off him and walked away. David just huffed and stood up as he brushed himself off. “These kids better be worth it…” He mumbled as he grabbed the gun he was previously cleaning. He glanced at the doorway, checking to see if she was still there. She wasn't. He sighed, and he looked at the gun. If only they hadn't agreed to keep their fights hand-to-hand only, they had also agreed that he would deal no blows to her that would risk the lives of the children. Well, it was for the best anyway.
-A month later-
4:27 am
Sandra had just given birth to twins, a boy and a girl. A few members of the League of Assassins had helped her give birth. Cries of the newborns echoed through the room as they were being cleaned and swaddled. She was lying on a bed as she held her children for the first and possibly last time. The newborns’ faces were scrunched up with a slight tint of red as they cried for the comfort of their mother. The two newborns soon settled down as they felt their mother embrace them. She cradled them both, giving them the comfort they desperately cried for. And in that moment — even for just a second — she smiled at the two children as they snuggled against her. For the first time since the death of her sister, she felt calm, at peace. Sandra had started to think that maybe she would regret this decision and maybe she still had time to run and give her children a normal life. But deep in her heart she knew she couldn't. She can't.
The boy had managed to embrace his sister—or at least done his best to. She looked at them and couldn't help but be reminded of her sister. She remembered how she would embrace her sister to comfort her. She smoothed down the small amount of hair the girl had, and she looked around the room. Her eyes landed on David nearby. She opened her mouth to speak, but it was like she couldn't find the words. She knew what she wanted to say, but just couldn't seem to.
4:31 am
A member took the sleeping newborns off her and placed them in separate cribs. “Will..will I be able to name them..?” She finally managed to say. David looked at her, then at the cribs.
“Only if you want.” He said.
She stayed silent for a moment. If she did name them, would she get attached? She couldn't take that gamble. “I..I won't name them.” she said. There was a moment of silence between them. “Do what you need to do with them.” she continued.
“Very well then. Our agreement is done.” He said.
5:29 am
Sandra grabbed her coat and left. It had only been a little more than an hour after she gave birth, but that was enough for her to recover enough strength to leave. David was now responsible for the infants, not her. She looked back one more time at the safe house before she left to be reborn as The Lady Shiva. She hoped that maybe one day, one of her children would be the cause of her death and not a lowly amateur or any accident or natural causes. She knew that when that day finally came, she would smile with pride at her children.
She walked and tried her best not to look back, to take back her children and run. She stayed strong and kept walking, determined to keep going until she became what she was destined to be. Destruction.