𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍, DICK GRAYSON

─ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐗

"Is this how you repay us, devil-child? We graciously took you in when your whore of a mother couldn't," Sister Olga said to me, drawing back her foot as she slammed it into my stomach.

Blood came spewing out of my mouth as I coughed out the excess, heavily wheezing for air. "I-I never asked you to take me in. Should've left me for dead, you fucking hag," I hissed out, squinting my eyes from the small light in the room.

The moment we arrived back to the orphanage, Sister Olga dragged my butt down to the basement for the special punishment—the one where she returns back upstairs with a trash bag in her hands.

"You dare to speak at me with such vulgar!" she exclaimed, grabbing a fistful of my hair to force my weak body to stand up. "This is why you're going to hell where your kind belongs."

Spitting out the blood onto her face, I was thrown to the floor. "M-my kind? That's rich... coming from you," I let out a laugh. "Do you honestly think God will forgive you and the other hags for the sins committed under this house?"

Sister Olga wiped the blood off her face with eyes burning in anger. "Of course. We are doing this under his order—eliminating those who don't belong on Earth nor in heaven," she defended the so-called ideology provided by God himself. "Why should we, the innocent, should allow those who have sinned or born from sin live?"

I watched as she walked over to the table, taking out a revolver gun—the perfect tool to leave no trace except for a bullet with probably no fingerprint.

"Their sole purpose is to damn everything from right to left, leaving our beautiful savior along in his world," she continued on, pointing the silver weapon at me. "Please say hello to the Devil for me and the Lord." Her thumb pulled down the safety as the forefinger hovered the trigger. "He'll be pleased to gain yet, another tainted soul for his kingdom."

"Go to hell," were my last words before the gun went off and I felt nothing.

"What's with the frown?" Dick curiously looked at me, walking out of the chapel.

"Nothing," I muttered, pressing my lips together. As much as I want to forget about that night, I simply can't overlook the torments I had to endure under those old hags' and the organization's hands. It was because of them, I no longer feel weak and worthless.

"Look, I know you hate receiving help from professional, but just know I'm here for you, Ashe," he reassured, placing his hand on my shoulder with a soft smile as my heart skipped a beat—a reaction that has never happened before. "You can talk to me."

'Don't you dare think about it, Ashe. You cannot act on this again. As long as his blood is in your veins, it will not end well,' my inner voice strongly warned.

The last thing I want to happen on this trip is to become comfortable with Dick and the others.

Placing my hands on top of his, I ignored the warmth and removed it from my shoulder. "Thank you, but no thank you. Not a big fan of sharing or talking," I explained, seeing the hurt in his eyes.

We stood in silence for a brief second when Sister Catherine approached us. "Oh, she needs a minute by herself," Dick stopped her from entering the chapel.

"God is with her," she smiled.

"Right," he mumbled, nodding. "When she was a girl, did she ever show signs of any, um..." he trailed off, trying to come up with a word that doesn't reveal Rachel's abilities to her.