This started as an English class project to write a fairytale. I based my characters on Beast Boy and Raven. I originally used the name Aylin for Raven's name because it means "moon halo" in Turkish and I didn't want to use all references to Beast Boy and Raven or people in my class would think I'm weird because "Teen Titans" is only a kids TV show in their knowledge. I just changed it a little bit to fit the"Beast Boy and Raven" format; for example, the name "Azarath" was not included in my original story. Hope you like it because this is my first uploaded story and I worked super hard on it. .Luminescence at your service.
Disclaimer: Is this nessisary?
Once upon a time a there was a faraway land called Azarath. This land was not like other places. There was a market and a village like any ordinary small province should have. One difference was the thick mass of tangled and knotted forest of trees surrounding most of the village. The tiny community was not very far away from the bigger villages and towns, but everyone was scared of being sucked into the green darkness of a death wish. It didn't matter how far Azarath was from the other civilizations, hardly anyone ventured in or out of the mysterious village. The only reason a market found its way to the village was credited to a really lost, or occasionally a really brave, caravan of merchants stumbling in around every other half year. Villagers could scarcely find any edible fruit or nuts of any kind just outside their walls of dark forest green, so many times every harvesting month a dozen or so took courageous steps past the thick of the forest and into the adjacent field to find food.
A lonely girl as mysterious as the haunting forest around her sometimes helped with the monthly harvests to lend two nimble and strong hands. This girl was very helpful to the village but never said a word except to give a mandatory, short answer every now and then. She kept to herself and often wandered around finding nooks and crannies to sit in and daydream. Her daydreams were often about climbing the tallest tree in the forest to see what the moon's glorious effect was on other villages far away from the forest and to see if anyone else was basking in the moonlight like her. Her deepest wish was to have someone to go with her on her short-lived journeys at night to her favorite lone tree in the long grassed meadow just outside her little village. Many villagers thought of her as strange and dark. Others have never even heard of her even though it was hard not to be known in a village of that size. A certain young man was slowly taking that lonely place in her dreams.
Before her mother died of unknown causes and father became host to a fatal illness, they named her Raven. The beautiful baby girl had skin as pale and gray as the moon's surface, raven black hair like the night, and piercing dark violet eyes. She seemed to glow just as the moon's luminescence itself. Her mother, Arella, saw it as the perfect name. Terrance, her father, terrorized his family while mentally and physically ill, but could not hold onto reality; after his daughter turned five years of age, he soon faded. Arella's body was found at the trunk of a tree just inside the border of the same deadly forest that Terrance was poisoned with. Raven was six years of age without any known relatives still alive. She refused to be in the care of anyone else, not like anyone wanted her, and lived in a small shack ever since.
It was the third month and all was quiet and dark. Usually the stars would be dancing in a dazzling, cloudless sky. But this night…something about this night was different. The stars were hiding behind the clouds like scared little children cowering from a horrible monster. The moon was just as bright as the sun, but not as harsh and blinding. Lighting up the black emptiness called the night sky.
A lone figure could be seen sitting beneath a tree in the fields Azarath. Her black hair would probably blend into the night if it were not for her long locks flowing in the soft wind along with parts of a midnight blue cloak that was always outlining her body. The rest of the cloak was tucked under her. Two deep violet eyes shined brightly, staring at the line where the moon and its glow met the endless darkness. At the same time she pondered about the deaths of her unfortunate parents and how she hadn't had a full conversation with someone for about eight years…with the exception of the boy who was watching her at that moment. Raven felt so lonely when she was not daydreaming or with her closest thing to a friend, the one staring so intensely at her, besides the moon.
Raven did not seem to know about her observer or know that when he was not with her, he was always watching her, noticing how she looked so sad without the vibrant moon above her or him beside her. She also did not know that he saw how every night she came to the field to sit under her reserved tree unless there was bad weather. If it was a full moon she came even if it was raining or snowing. And every night he watched her.
The boy was about the age of fifteen and had a shaggy, dirty blonde mane of hair attached to his scalp. A lopsided grin was plastered on his face as he was thinking about asking her to join him on a journey into the forest. It would be imagined that thinking of a trek into a deadly infestation of trees, old roots, and the possible threat of being poisoned by unknown plants or being attacked by multitudes of wild beasts would not bring a smile upon a young boys face, but it did. As odd as it was, he was smiling for the adventures they were going to have together.
As he kept his grin on his face, he slowly crawled his way towards his prey, careful not to crack any sticks or stumble on any rocks. He was getting closer and closer to Raven; he was glad she was still in her hypnotized state, staring at the captivating moon. The boy was finally a few feet away when he saw her pale skin and deep hollows of her eyes. He always knew she was pretty, but now, she looked beautiful. She was glowing under the moonlight.
Raven heard quiet breathing to her right and slowly turned her head away from the moon towards the intruder. Her breath caught when she saw the brightest set of emerald green eyes she had ever seen in her life. She immediately knew who it was staring at her. "Hello Garfield", she said with her voice automatically deadpanned.
"Hello Raven", he said her name with such grace she had to ignore his infamous grin. Raven knew with almost certainty that she was not going to like what he was about to say. Even though they only speak to each other a few times a week, he was the closest thing she had to a friend. Despite how little they speak to each other, she knew that smile and those eyes.
"Do you want to go on an adventure Rae?" was all he said. That was all he needed to say. Raven didn't care if he asked if she wanted to go to the Royal Palace, several days of travel away, and went through the forest to get there, with him. After eight long years of sadness, she needed something to do. All she needed was a distant place to go, a sufficient amount of supplies to get to the destination, and someone to go with. Besides, Raven would go anywhere with Gar. Over the past year the two found each others company enjoyable. Gar would have probably spent more time with her if it weren't for all of the jobs and chores he had to take care of. Unlike Raven, he had many responsibilities whereas she had none. The villagers couldn't make her work anyway, and it's not like they took much notice of her.
All of a sudden the sky seemed to be disposing of any and all water in the atmosphere. Their hair and clothes were plastered to their bodies instantly and the two quickly huddled up under Raven's tree. Hugging each other for warmth, Raven asked between shivers as the ice cold rain pounded on their skin, "Wh-wh-where do y-you want to g-go?"
"I've always wanted to go to the Royal Palace. I know it's a long ways away but I've heard about shortcuts from merchants." He didn't even stutter! Raven was slightly confused by this but answered all the same.
"I'll g-go anyw-where."
Over the next the few weeks Raven and Garfield gathered extra food and necessary items like blankets, warm additional clothing, and things of that sort. After enough supplies were packed for the three days of travel, they set off for the Royal Palace of Sakutia. The only way to make in the desired three days of travel they had to walk through most of the night.
Raven noticed that Gar was drifting to the left side of the field they were currently traveling through…towards the forest. She quietly asked, "Gar, why are we walking towards the forest?" After awhile her oddly silent companion spoke up.
"This part of the forest is really thin and is necessary to go through in order to make it to our destination in three days." Raven had never heard him speak this serous before. He was usually her comical relief, but now something was on his mind that needed to be discussed. Raven asked in a soft voice what was wrong but Gar just said family troubles. She persisted for an answer and finally while reaching the outskirts of the forest before the sun began to set, he answered while scanning the area.
"My family isn't getting along very well; my friends aren't speaking to me right now; I've always wanted to see what was so frightening about the forest; I've always wanted to see the Royal Palace, and you were the only one I could think of who would want to do this with me." He took a deep breath and reopened his eyes after realizing they were closed through half of the explanation. Raven was bubbling with rage, trying to suppress it. Raven always did have a bit of an anger problem despite her lack of communication.
"Do you even know what I've been through? My father died of a sickness caused by a kind of tree sap from the forest. My mother died in the forest from 'unknown causes'. There was no sign of anything physically wrong with her. She was just looked at by two doctors from a distance, outside the forest, and left her body to rot and be eaten by the wild beasts roaming about. Her corpse could have been dragged off anywhere in this forest." Raven was on the verge of tears but she refused to let them out. After a short stop, she continued, "I've been so lonely these past eight years. I haven't let anyone into my life except for you. Only you Gar, and you said you're taking me on this trip for the reason that you merely had no one else to take? How is that fair? For eight years my only companion had been the moon…my dead mother's rotting skeleton could be right inside this wall of trees," she whispered the last part. For a few minutes they just stood there in silence. The short silence was ruptured by Gar.
"I'm sorry. I know I can't possibly feel your pain, but…I'm sorry. Let's conquer this forest and finish our quest. We can make it. I'm sure of it."
The odd pair had a stare down with the front line of trees as a full moon rose. Raven felt a pulse of energy flow through her body and took Gar's hand in an iron grip. They stepped into the forest. As soon as their feet hit the moist ground, the entire atmosphere changed. Instead of a cool breeze on a moonlit night, it was an eerie, still, and completely silent environment. The power surge Raven had felt was completely gone. They walked about twenty steps before the hallucinations hit them. Raven thought she saw her mother behind her but when she turned, she only saw a faint shimmer of moonlight. Her heart was thumping wildly, an out-of-control drum rhythm. She suddenly wanted to get out of the forest as quickly as possible. Gar felt like his body was drowning and was becoming suffocated and claustrophobic. The forest was dim and trying to move was even harder with their distractions. Their bodies felt heavy, useless, like in a nightmare when you try to scream and run but you can't. The darkness seemed to swirl with shapes and shadows, and terror rose in both throats. Raven was sure that if she turned around she would see her parents, all in white, stumbling with their hands outstretched, reaching for her. Gar thought he would see the results of the indoor flood he had started. That's why everyone was so mad at him. He had been so careless.
Somehow, they managed to stumble upon an opening in the forest, the moon shining brighter than ever on them. Another surge of power seemed to have taken over Raven, all hallucinations gone. Her balance and normal eyesight had come back. Her body had begun to glow once more, this time a slightly blue body next to hers, cooling off at the touch of Raven's hand. After a moment spent recuperating, the pair looked at each other in the eyes. Before, all that could be seen was shadows and holes of darkness for faces. Now, dark violet eyes were staring into sparkling emerald ones. Without saying a word, they both knew that they did not need to continue their journey. They both could have died from becoming insane from the hallucinations before any poison or beasts could get to them. Raven's mother most likely died of the same cause as Raven and Gar had almost suffered from.
Raven squeezed Gar's hand and all of a sudden they were standing under Raven's favorite moon viewing tree. They both looked at each other with wide eyes. Realization hit them both at the same time.
Neither of them had business outside their village but it was like the moon itself was telling Raven and Gar something. Raven thought she was alone…but she wasn't. Garfield was waiting right there for her. The forest almost killed them both, but saved them in the end.