Tim glanced sideways at Ember as the traffic slowed down and he steered the car onto the avenue leading to Central district. She was looking out the window but not seeing anything in particular, her eyes glazed over as she was lost in thought.

She had decided to go back to the orphanage she grew up in to gather details on the. donor who was sponsoring her education and other expenses. Tim offered to accompany her before she could ask Damian and so far their ride to the orphanage had been surprisingly silent.

It wasn't that she preferred Damian's company over Tim and wasn't saying anything as a result. She was simply too lost in thought that Tim chose not to bother her.

With Damian, silence was always a given but for Tim, it was a gaping void that he couldn't resist filling up for long.

"Ember," he spoke up and she turned to face him, slowly coming back to reality from the past she had recalled. "I couldn't help but notice that something is wrong. You look worried."

"It's not like that," she shrugged but the frown on her face lingered. "I'm fine."

Those words lacked conviction and it seemed as if she had said that more to remind herself rather than answer his speculation.

She was not fine, that much was evident.

"Are you nervous?" He kept up the conversation, making sure that he didn't probe as much as to bother her.

She took in a deep breath, olive eyes flickering in an unfathomable expression. "I guess... I vowed never to return to this place and start afresh when I left. But for some reason, my life keeps pulling me in circles."

They reached the tall dreary building which once used to be a monastery. It was later refunctioned as an orphanage when the rate of orphaned children in the city increased drastically due to gang wars and violence. Tim parked his car and a chilling breeze whipped their hair back as they got out, increasing the dreary feeling of the place.

Ember's eyes took in the all too familiar architecture, the hauntingly withered glory of the stone building that sometimes still turned up in her nightmares. It was full of memories for her, each spire, each gargoyle, and each twist and turn of the withering path ahead of them glistened with pictures of the past.

It was cold but to her, that breeze felt colder, chilling her bones with the same sense of confinement she had always felt back when she lived there.

She had worked so hard to escape that life, she certainly didn't want to recall it all over again.

She was shaken out of those thoughts when Tim placed his long overcoat over her shoulders, noticing that she was shivering. He didn't know whether it was due to the cold or the rush of memories, but that gesture thawed the chill that engulfed her.

"Let's go in," he added, "you'll freeze if we stay here any longer."

Ember followed him and was surprised to see that he knew his way around the place well enough. It was almost as if Tim had been to the orphanage multiple times before as well.

He must have noticed her questioning look as he replied, "You know, I would have ended up here too if not for Bruce."

"Yet you know your way around well enough," she remarked, seeing that he took the right turn to the gate despite the wilderness that hid it from view.

"Oh yes, I used to visit often. I found out Bruce sent donations every month so I'd accompany whoever from Wayne Enterprises was taking the donation money. I made friends here and looked forward to meeting them whenever I could."

She paused, realization flickering on her face, "You're that boy who came every month and would read storybooks to the younger orphans?"

He smiled, turning to glance at her briefly, "So you have seen me here."

"Yes, I have. You were the only difference we got in our dull routine. Most of us counted days to the fifteenth of every month."

An image of scrawny little Tim Drake with thick spectacles covering more than half his face fluttered in her mind. She recalled he would sit on the steps, and read out from a storybook, surrounded by most of the young children eager to listen to whatever story he narrated.

That memory seemed to have improved Ember's mood as her worried features relaxed into a slight smile.

When they stepped in, she could see that Tim was still a frequent visitor as the glum atmosphere of the place seemed to change with the news spreading that he was there. Soon enough, children surrounded them, eager to meet their friend.

It was quite a wholesome sight, Ember thought. Every passing day showed her a side to the Waynes that set them far apart from the rumors that circulated about them in the Gotham Press.

Tim was busy for the time being so Ember decided to meet the head matron on her own. Sister Agnes was the one in charge of running and managing the orphanage so she would be the best person to answer all of Ember's questions.

"Hey, Tim, is it okay if you wait here? I think I should meet Sister Agnes by myself as this matter directly concerns me," Ember told him beforehand as she knew the matron would make a fuss of giving confidential information in front of Tim.

He might be a favorite of the residents there but he wasn't exempt from the rules of the decades old establishment.

"Okay, sure. I'll be right here."

Ember knew the way to the matron's office so she left Tim with his little friends and walked through the gloomy corridors on her own.

When she reached the door, she knocked and waited until a voice beckoned her to come inside. The office was the same as she last remembered but the head matron had aged considerably with the years. Her shoulders were stooped and wrinkles dented her skin.

Looking at Ember, she paused and adjusted the round spectacles as of to see her better. Slowly recognition spread on her face and she rose from her seat, "Ember Sullivan?"

"Yes ma'am," she replied, stepping closer and stopping in front of the desk. "How are you?"

"It's been years," Sister Agnes remarked, gesturing her to be seated, "What brings you here, child?"

Ember got straight to the point, "I want to know who was sponsoring me when I was living here. I know you don't disclose the sponsor's identity but please, it is extremely important for me to know. Please."

The old woman looked at her closely, observing that she was quite worried already. She judged that the reason Ember had for finding out the identity of the person sponsoring her was urgent.

And then she was also aware of the dangers that had followed Ember from a young age. It was quite probable that in the quest of unveiling truths for others, she had caught up with the truth behind her existence as well.

"We only wanted to keep you safe," much to her surprise, Sister Agnes spoke in a low sorrowful voice, "but I knew sooner or later you would want answers."

Her statement clearly implied that she knew something about her that ember didn't and had perhaps known for a long time. But she didn't want to believe that the head matron would also be complicit in keeping her in the dark.

In that dark and dreary place, Sister Agnes had been the only one she trusted.

"What do you know about me?" Ember asked, her eyes focused on her in caution.

But she only sighed wistfully and bent down to search for something in her cabinet. When she straightened, she was holding a file in her thin bony hands.

"This is all I can do for you now," she handed the file to Ember, "if you have any questions, you won't find the answers here. So please don't come back."

The sudden change in her demeanor perturbed her as if the matron had suddenly gotten afraid of something and was asking her to leave.

"But Sister Agnes..."

"What you wanted is in this file but what you'll chase after is something that we can't help you with," she elaborated but then remarked in a shaky voice, "Don't play with fire like your mother did, or else you too will get burnt."

***