Describing her as a mere tempest would fail to do her justice.

It might not seem apparent initially but Veruna was one of the most ferocious members of the League, second only to Talia Al Ghul.

She was brutal on the battlefield and even more so when training the troops to be prepared for anything that might rise during a battle. Making her the commander of Talia's troop meant that she got to exercise that brutality much more than often.

It did not bother her that many of the assassins saw her as a favorite appointed by the Demon Head's daughter. She only focused on her duties and took the tasks to completion, no matter what obstacles she had to face.

And as she had taken the responsibility of leading Talia's troop, she had made it her priority to train the assassins under her to the best of their ability, even though it wasn't an easy task.

Talia watched down from the turrets of the base that offered a clear view of the central courtyard where Veruna was holding a training session. The woman had remarkable command over her surroundings, making it very evident that she was at the head of the troop.

Right then Veruna had made the assassins line up and told them all to go up against her one by one. The target was that they had to disarm her within a minute or else they would fail and require further training.

Talia's emerald eyes had an excited gleam as she leaned closer to the rails, observing the fight going down below.

One by one the assassins were going up against Veruna yet neither of them had been able to disarm her. She was clearly much better than them and that was a given for she had trained alongside the Al Ghul heir herself.

Even though Ra's Al Ghul had not been in favor of Veruna being taught by the same instructor as the one he had appointed for Talia, his daughter had used that silvery tongue of hers and gotten her way in the end.

As a result, only three women in the League were able to fight to that excellent capability.

Talia, Veruna and Nyssa.

Nyssa was Talia's half-sister and had just joined the League. But she had been sent to the secondary base at Cape Town to manage things there while Talia and Ra's stayed at Nanda Parbat.

By then, more than half of the troop had already gone up against Veruna yet returned defeated. But she did not show any sign of weakness as she seemed prepared to face the rest.

A slight smile played upon Talia's lips as she knew exactly why Veruna had chosen that strategy for the first training session. It was clear to her that Veruna was giving the rest of the assassins proof that if she had been selected to be their commander, it wasn't due to her being the favorite of the Demon's Head.

She had shown them clearly that the reason for her receiving that title was that she was better than all of them and deserved it. Seeing Veruna stand undefeated would make them accept that fact.

But then something happened and Veruna's calm seemed to have evaporated. Talia leaned closer to see what had just gone wrong.

It seemed as if one of the assassins had said something that had offended her but as Talia was not in the courtyard, she couldn't hear it. Veruna's sword had landed at the man's throat after disarming him and it seemed as if the blade would slice through.

Talia knew she should intervene and stop her from hurting one of the troop's men. But she also knew that there must be a reason for Veruna to lash out.

The woman was always extremely calm and composed. If she had reacted as such, it meant something had gone terribly askew.

Her thin hands closed onto the rails, emerald eyes focused on the scene playing out below. She was contemplating whether or not to call out to Veruna and stop her but before the need arose for it, she had withdrawn her sword.

Talia sighed in relief as she turned to descend the stairs from the turrets. She had memorized the features of that man, intending to get to the bottom of that matter herself. If Veruna punished the man, it would put her in trouble but if Talia did, no one would dare question it.

She was fully aware that if Veruna had gone through with what she was about to do, it would put her in Ra's Al Ghul's bad books once again and Talia didn't want that to occur.

But then a pained scream sounded nevertheless and she froze, spinning around to see what had happened.

Veruna's hazel eyes had swept up to the turrets as if she knew Talia was standing there and keeping watch. And though Talia had drawn back, feeling that Veruna couldn't possibly have seen from her such distance, the piercing gaze of hers had been unsettling.

When Talia looked down again, Veruna wasn't there in the courtyard but the man she had had an argument with was clutching his hand. And upon looking closely, she found out the reason why. 

A dagger was sticking out of his blood-stained palm.

***

Veruna had come straight to her room and locked the door, worry evident on her features. She did not feel regret in doing what she had to the assassin but she knew it would eventually put her in a perilous position.

She felt that any moment from then, her door would be knocked and she would be taken to the Demon Head and questioned for her actions. That fear of being sent to the execution block again was gnawing at her heart.

The clock was ticking by but no such knock sounded. Time was passing as usual but with each second, her anxiety was piling up.

No one came to drag her out, no one told her that the Demon Head was going to punish her. Nothing happened.

It was almost as if the scene that had been caused in the courtyard was immediately suppressed and did not come to the knowledge of the Demon Head.

She had eventually changed out of her training suit but was pacing her room, brow knitted together and hands clenched into fists. If nothing had happened, then why was her heart pounding so furiously?

Something clearly was wrong and she was both anxious and scared for her instinct to be proven right.

It seemed like an hour had passed and though she had sat down on her bed, she couldn't get rid of the unnerving feeling. Her head was crammed with all those dreadful thoughts that she couldn't get rid of.

And then much to her concern, a knock sounded on her door.

She stood up immediately, bracing herself for all the dreadful punishments that had been running through her mind. She willed her hand to be steady as she opened the door because even if she was scared deep down, she didn't want anyone to see her as weak.

But as the door opened, revealing the person who had knocked, her heart went into a lurch.

Talia Al Ghul was standing outside and there was no soldier and no other person accompanying her. Even the corridor behind her was empty as if she had ordered everyone in the vicinity to get out.

"M-my Lady?" Her voice shook and her face was paler than usual.

Talia did not reply at first and that silence made her even more nervous. The woman just stepped in and shut the door without a single word. She turned the key in the lock, jarring it so that no one else would be able to enter.

Veruna gulped, her hands turning even colder upon seeing Talia standing there with an unreadable expression on her face. 

She had spent so many years with her that by then she was quite good at reading her expressions. But at that moment, her face was blank and Veruna couldn't guess whether she was angry at her or not.

Whatever the case may be, she knew it was her duty to apologize for causing any inconvenience to her. And so her lips parted, the apology right on the tip of her tongue. "I... I'm sor..."

But her voice trailed off as those thin hands cupped her face lightly and Talia stepped closer.

There was an unfathomable sheen in her emerald eyes but her tone was soft as she asked, "Vera, what happened?"

The question as well as the gentle gesture from her was highly unexpected such that Veruna couldn't reply at first.

Talia seemed to have understood that she was shocked so she retrieved her hands and sat down on the bed instead, giving her time to answer.

"Nothing happened," she replied at last, "you should have called me, my Lady. I would have come to you myself."

"Why? Can I not come into your room?"

Veruna was still recovering from the anxiety that had gripped her and looked slightly shaken, "it's... It's not like that. This room and this castle belong to you."

Her eyebrow raised skeptically, "and you?"

"I... I am your humble servant. Any wish of yours is my command," she replied and those words had rolled off her tongue effortlessly because she was so accustomed to saying that.

It had been ingrained into her that she was a servant to Talia Al Ghul who had pardoned her life and therefore she must devote all of herself to the Demon Head's daughter.

"What did Muawin say to you?" She asked, gesturing Veruna to sit down as well.

"Nothing, my Lady."

Veruna's room was very bare and the only place to take a seat on was her bed. But she dared not sit beside Talia and chose to sit cross-legged on the floor.

"I demand the truth," she remarked but her voice remained gentle, coaxing her to tell her everything.

"He slandered you, my Lady."

Her head was low as she did not want to meet Talia's inquisitive gaze. She felt that merely saying that was going to put her in trouble as well.

But Talia was thinking the opposite and her eyes were narrowed in a thoughtful expression, "what exactly did he say? Tell me word for word."

"He... He said that you... That you made me Commander and gave me this title because I was..." Her voice got stuck in her throat, hesitant to continue. 

"Vera, just say it. I will not punish you," she added in an even softer tone, "after all, you are telling me Muawin's words, not yours." 

She looked away, her cheeks burning red as if humiliated to repeat the man's words. "He said that you favor me because I am your woman. Not like your servant but like... Like..."

Her voice was unsteady and her hands were clasped tightly in her lap. Talia understood instantly what she was going to say but couldn't find the will to.

"Like a lover? I see..."

Veruna wasn't expecting her to be so calm after hearing that. It was almost as if that was no big deal to her and Veruna had been worrying for no reason.

"And you took offense to that?" Her hand reached out to cup her cheek again, tilting her head up so that she was looking down into her hazel irises, "why?"

She seemed conflicted, "should I not? He would have spread rumors and with the entire troop around, I couldn't let him..."

But seeing the smile tug up on Talia's features made her stop mid-sentence. She had no idea what was going through the woman's head but she felt it was definitely something dangerous.

"You don't have to worry about any rumors, Vera," her smile widened as she spoke, "he has been silenced."

"What?"

She patted her cheek affectionately then stood up, ready to leave, "next time if there's any such issue, you come straight to me, alright? I will look after it."

Her eyes widened, realizing exactly what Talia had meant by Muawin being silenced. "My Lady..."

"And pray don't get so flustered over such trivial matters, Vera," she unlocked the door and turned to look at her before leaving, the smile from her lips hadn't faded yet, "you'll resume the training sessions from tomorrow. Forget about today's incident. It never happened."

She was taken aback at the deadly intent in those eyes but nodded her head, "yes, my Lady."

***