Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

“If you love me, you will leave this place far behind and live a life unburdened by your past.”

Finally.

The moment she'd been both waiting for and dreading for decades had come. The heir, the true Ra's Al Ghul said the words that would set the blonde assassin's journey in motion. The words that would send Sara Lance away...

Bless the Heir for her sacrifice, for her devotion to her beloved.

Curse the blonde idiot for listening, damn her soul for not fighting for the woman who'd loved her in hell, in life, in death and in life again. The woman who loved her with everything she was, and whom Sara hadn't known how to love the way she deserved.

Leaning against the wall, an older assassin hid her presence from the guards posted outside Ra's Al Ghul's cell, all the while wishing she could beat the stupidity, and the fear out of the woman who was about to walk away from the most precious thing she'd ever had. Such a foolish woman that Sara Lance... the assassin had watched her since she arrived and had to ask the former Ra's to send her away on missions as much as possible... lest she decided to kill the woman.

Ra's had not asked why, simply gave one of his longest serving assassins and right hand leave to keep her from unleashing her rage on the heir's beloved.

But that was in the past now so despite her wishes, the assassin did not move to give Ta'el al Asfar a very painful wake up call, choosing instead to remain where she was, unseen by guards, heirs and canaries...

It wouldn't be long now, anyway... and Ta'el al Asfar would learn her lesson very soon without the Right Hand's interference.

The assassin could hear their voices, their farewell, their hearts breaking with the opening and closing of the cell's door. And as soon as Sara Lance had departed from Nanda Parbat, the assassin would act.

-

The light had gone from her world again, this time by her own choice. Nyssa had released her beloved one last time from the league, from any obligation or ties to herself.
Her beloved deserved to live in the light, not being tied to Nyssa's dark world... She had released her canary from her cage and Nyssa would have to continue living with a hole in her soul...

She had survived without Sara before, she would continue to do so even if it meant never truly living, but for now she had to focus on getting out of this cell and reclaiming her birthright from the usurper.

Curse Oliver Queen's soul for leaving the league in Al Sa-her's traitorous hands. Curse her father for giving him that power in the first place...
Despite her anger and her focus on reclaiming her birthright, however, she'd just lost her beloved again and for now she would allow herself time to mourn her once more.
Her escape plan would take some ti-

The sounds of two bodies hitting the ground one after the other interrupted her thoughts, making Nyssa's body tense in preparation for a fight. Had Al Sa-Her decided to have her killed? Or had Talibah been compromised?

Outside, the heir could see a lone assassin, a woman in league garb taking weapons and the keys to her cell from the body of one of the dead guards. It was a short  figure but an aura of power seemed to radiate from her.

Cautious, Nyssa watched silently as the assassin turned to face the cell and focused her gaze on the heir, her body tensing and making Nyssa's own react at the intensity of the woman's gaze that caused a familiar electricity course through the Heir's body, sending her senses into overdrive.

The door of the cell clicked open and the assassin stepped in, slowly advancing forward until she stood closer to Nyssa than any but one would ever be allowed to, and dropped to her knees, pulling down her mask confirming what Nyssa had already known deep down the moment their gazes met.

"Sara..."

The blonde looked at her with an intensity, a longing that had not been in her eyes earlier when Nyssa asked her to leave her behind.

"I serve the true Ra's Al Ghul... my beloved." Blue eyes stared into Nyssa's soul, reaching for something, a connection once diminished, wounded and raw... but unbreakable. Silent, Nyssa raised a trembling hand, slowly and carefully cupping the blonde's face and just like that connection slammed into place, the dam on the blonde's emotions broke and she clung to Nyssa, burying her face into the taller woman's body.

"So long... too long... Nyssa. Nyssa. Nyssa..." She whispered over and over into the heir's stomach, leaving Nyssa confused and trembling with emotions she could not comprehend. Nothing made sense. Sara had left after Nyssa asked her to, but returned just moments later clad in League robes and acting as if she had not seen Nyssa for years... as if she desperately missed her. Had Nyssa not seen into her eyes, she would have thought her an imposter... but she had seen into her eyes, felt the familiar touch of her hands clinging to Nyssa's body as she had sometimes after a long night of lovemaking.

This was her beloved. There was no doubt in Nyssa's mind that this was the woman she loved, just as there was no doubt that the woman who had recently left was her as well. The heir could not understand, had no logical explanation to the last minutes of her life. Could not attempt to find an explanation when not only was her beloved so distressed, but had begun nuzzling into her abdomen, letting her hands roam Nyssa's lower back.

"Sara, Sara..." The heir attempted to get the other woman's attention as the blonde seemed lost in her need to touch her.