the black raven | 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋 - 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐎𝐍𝐄

□ mara □

"Excuse me? B-but could you help me?"

I stare at her short and petite frame, her light hair, light eyes, and take it all in. I have no clue as to who she is. I blink, quickly realizing she asked me a question, and that she's probably lost.

"Uh, hey," I give her a small wave. "I, um -- yeah, I can help you, of course. What's your name?"

"Narcissa,"

"Narcissa? Well, uh, that's a very pretty name, sweetie. I'm- I'm Mara. I think I can help you if you tell me what's going on here. Like how did you get here? Or, or where your parents are?"

I tilt my head, eyebrows raised at the child, as not to spook or scare her. My voice is a light tone, one that I wouldn't use in front of my family. It reminds me of Maraschino Cherry's, for some reason.

But then Narcissa's eyes become glossy, and I realize she's about to cry. I swallow, my shoulders rising with tension.

"Oh no, don't cry sweetie, you're going to be fine... um- I-I'm gonna help you," I shake my head, not knowing whether to go and embrace the girl or leave her alone.

She shakes her head now too, taking a step closer to me, as I crouch down.

"M-my Daddy," she croaks out, and my face frowns slightly, trying to get more information out of her. She sniffles a couple of times, and I wait for her.

"It's- uh, it's okay, take your time."

She nods, wiping her tears away.

"My Daddy, he got -- he g-got taken! B-by a bad guy,"

My heart drops into my stomach, my body stopped in shock for a moment. I can't help but frown deeper, as I realize what her words mean.

Her father was kidnapped? Okay-- shit, maybe talking to Bruce is the answer.

I inhale shakily, "okay, er, Narcissa, sweetie? How about we go inside my house, you'll be safe there, and we can call the police, or -"

I stop myself before I say anything I'll regret, or get in trouble for, like saying that the Batman is downstairs and try to smile at her.

This day is getting worse and worse by the person.

"Okay, t'ank you Mara," Narcissa says, mispronouncing the 'thank' in 'thank you'.

It makes me chuckle a little, her small mistake, and suddenly I feel like she's the cutest little girl I've ever seen. I feel the need to just hug her, keep her safe from anyone who tries to hurt her.

She grasps my hand suddenly, as I step beside her to go inside. I gently place my fingers around hers, leading her inside to the foyer.

I look to gauge her reaction and see she's wide-eyed, roaming the large, spotless area. I look away and crane my neck to see if Dick's still around the corner. I know he's not, but it's worth a shot.

"Okay," I turn back to Narcissa, "I'm going to go get my family, and they'll help you find your father, okay? So, just stay here for a second, and I'll be right back. Is that okay?"

I wait for her, as she studies my face a little. It kinda freaks me out the way she just stares straight into my eyes with incredibly intense feeling, but I can't show it.

Thankfully she nods, and I sigh, patting her on the shoulder, quickly turning off to go get Bruce.

I make sure she doesn't follow me,  just in case, and then head back down the elevator to the Cave.

My foot taps against the metal, making a high-pitched sound. I wait for the elevator doors to open, and sprint off to find my father, alongside the rest of my family.

I run to the main wing, where only Damian stands, staring at the computer screens along the walls of the cave.

"Damian!" I call. "Damian, where's Bruce?"

He doesn't turn like I thought he would. I frown, exhaling shortly. I grab his shoulder and try to turn him around, but he doesn't budge.

"Wha- Damian! There's a problem upstairs and I need his help!"

He still doesn't move a muscle.

Fine, if he doesn't want to help then so be it-- stubborn ass shit.

"Fine," I grumble, then running off to the left-wing, trying to find anyone.

"Dick! Tim! Guys, I need help! Alfred! Bruce!?" I shout, my words echoing throughout the Cave. I get no answer as I pick up speed, running faster towards the waterfall. I don't realize I ran through it until I'm soaking wet.

Cursing out myself and my family quietly, I turn on my heels and start running back the way I came, not paying any attention to the icy water that towered above me seconds before.

As my eyes adjust to the darkness of the Cave, I sprint faster through the long wing, then past Damian, who still stands unmoved, and then into the right-wing, shouting for anyone else.

But to no avail --

"Master Mara?"

"Oh thank God! Alfred!" My feet squeak against the ground as I immediately stop, whipping my head around looking for Alfred.

With a hand against my shoulder, I turn and come to see Alfred's concerning look.

He takes his hand off my shoulder, frowning as he looks at it.

"Master Mara where - ?"

I don't let him finish, not with my kind running a million miles an hour with Narcissa's emergency. I speak with extreme speed, even though I'm running out of breath.

"Alfred, there's a girl upstairs, and she needs help, like right now. She said her father's been kidnapped, and she doesn't know what to do, so I brought her inside to let her relax, and said we'd help her. Now, where's Bruce? I need his help,"

Alfred's eyebrows are raised, which come down as he inhales, putting his hand back on my shoulder.

"Slow down, Miss Mara, catch your breath. I agree this situation is dire, and I will help you help her in the best ways possible -"

"Where's Bruce? And Tim and Dick?"

"Uh -- Master Bruce went back out after... earlier, and Tim followed, knowing he might need a backup of the sorts. After Dick went upstairs and followed you, he came down here and went back out to find Tim and Bruce." He speaks slowly, as if with ease, and I shake my head, sighing in frustration.

"Okay, fine, then we do this on our own. But we need to get that little girl help, fast."

As soon as Alfred nods, I sprint off, my feet carrying me back to the elevator -- or just past the nonresponsive Damian who's being an asshole.

I get it, he's pissed. But I need his help with this -- hold on. No. This little girl, Narcissa, needs help.

But he's not going to help you, so forget about it. He can shove it up his ass.

I beat Alfred to the elevator by a mile, already three-quarters of the way up the shaft before I hear Alfred's footsteps echo near it.

The door opens, leading to the wooden clock tower which opens, and I almost trip out of it going as quickly as possible.

I slow down for a moment, still moving, just to catch my breath and refocus myself as a whole.

That was a chaotic five minutes for some reason, which led to my body being thrown off completely. Sometimes it leads to my head being faster than my body, and vice versa.

But then I hear footsteps echoing, from where I have no idea, and my brain goes on autopilot again. I move my muscles again, feeling them push against my skin slightly, and then pick up speed.

I make it to the foyer again, my eyes quickly searching each room I pass for the girl, only to find that Narcissa isn't here.

Where the hell did she go?

"Narcissa?" I call out, spinning around, looking for a little girl with almost platinum-blonde hair.

I call out her name a couple more times, wandering into rooms near the foyer, then back to the front doors.

I check out the front just in case, but she didn't go out there. Even in the darkness of the middle of the night, I would still be able to see at least her figure walking around.

I mean, it's a giant field of grass in front of the house surrounded by a gate, so she wouldn't be able to get too far, not unless she had super speed.

Hell, it usually takes me ten minutes to walk down to the other side of the gate, and the girl is smaller than me - which says a lot - so she couldn't be outside.

I poke my head back inside, shut the front door, and turn around. My eyes land on Alfred, who's got a small Narcissa in his arms.

Sighing in relief I nod at him, and he puts her down on her feet. She must've been behind me when I came upstairs.

"It's a pretty big house, huh?" I ask, and she turns to me. I walk over to the staircase, then sit down on a ledge, which she follows suit.

"Mhm. Pwitty too,"

"Oh yes, very pretty," Narcissa's mistake makes me want to laugh. Not maliciously, but because I think it's cute.

I try to keep the conversation up since Alfred took up the job of calling the police. I'm glad he did since I don't think I would know what to say.

But with a little kid sitting next to you as your job, I guess she does most of the talking since I've only agreed with what she's said so far. And that's whether I understand her or not.

And I kinda like it. It's cute to watch and listen to her. To hear what she's saying, and believe that it's true. But I should've known by now that lies can come from anyone, anywhere, and anytime.