One By One

"And they fell from her one by one

One for love

One for loss

Little winter roses budding wetly from the skin

Petals for hope

Petals for lies

Tiny ruby flowers mixing with the dried-up tears

One more can't hurt

One more won't kill

A dozen scarlet blossoms can't give what you took

Thorns breed secrets

Thorns breed regret

The flowers that should never be scared for the pain

Buds for silence

Buds for death

Bark blood roses die with her as she falls once more

Tears for wishes

Tears for mistakes

The invisible seeds they planted did more then they knew

And they killed her, one by one."

It was dark when Raven woke up- later than midnight, likely. Rain blurred the colored lights coming to her window from the city. Sweat drenched the sorceress' forehead and palms; she'd been dreaming. With a shaky sigh, she pulled her legs into her meditative position and levitated above her bed, "Azareth, Metrion, Zynthos..."

She took in a calming breath of cool air, then began to recall the dream, clearing her mind of emotion.

Fire consumed her world, much like it had when her father had taken over. Raven glanced around frantically from where she was perched. She was caged- literally- suspended above her tower. She blinked against the heat emitted from from the lakes and rivers of lava that had overrun her precious city. Out of the blackness, a curved claw turned her cage to face its owner.

"Well, my daughter, how does it feel?"

Raven gasped, coming face to face with her own father, "No! How... How did you-?"

Trigon laughed, cutting her off, "I found another way, Raven. One that didn't involve you. Don't you remember? You and your friends put up a wonderful fight, but became dreadfully boring after a time. Don't you remember when I placed them in a comatose state? I do. You whined, and you cried, and you begged and became a mess altogether. Would you like me to refresh your memory?" He used a massive arm to gesture at a softly glowing ward. Raven squinted to see past the spell's power. Contained in the ward were her friends. All of them were accounted for, and none of them were moving.

"Why..."

Trigon laughed evilly, "You should have known, my daughter. I am all powerful. You and your friends may have gotten lucky once, but not a second time. I am Trigon- I rule this dimension."

"No!" Raven's eyes snapped open, her hands clenching and unclenching at her sides. She shook her head, it was just a dream, if not an extraordinarily unpleasant one. Long, pale legs swung off her circular bed and into her midnight blue shoes. Raven's matching cloak swung about her shoulders as she stepped out of her room. This dream needed some more thought, and more thought required nutrients. She glided down the hallway and into the kitchen, opened the fridge and precariously removed an apple- one of the few things that wasn't gradually turning blue. She then began making tea. The action was so used that it didn't even take thought, and her mind wandered back to the dream. It had been so real... The heat of the flames, the smell, the fear... His voice... Raven shook her head just as the other early bird came down. His spiky hair was disheveled, and he was rubbing his face vigorously. It looked like Raven wasn't the only one who'd had a rough night.

"'Morning, Raven," Robin greeted blearily.

Raven murmured her reply, her mind already halfway through the dream.

"So... I'm guessing you didn't sleep all that well either?" Robin asked, putting on coffee.

Raven shook her head, "Nightmares. You?"

Robin shrugged, "Back pain. Wanna talk about it?"

Raven took her tea off the stove, stirring in a negligible amount of sugar. She sat across from her leader and took a pensive bite of her apple, "... Might as well."

Robin always made a good audience, and this morning was no different. Raven looked up from her tea once she'd finished recounting the dream to find Robin frowning.

"But... We beat him. Right?"

Raven nodded, the victory two years ago had been absolute. But her eighteenth birthday was just around the corner, and Raven had a feeling that the titan's previous victory wasn't as absolute as it had seemed.

"Relax, Raven," Robin advised, "It was just a dream."

Raven nodded mutely, stirring her tea without purpose. It had been subconscious, yes. But whether it had just been a dream remained to be seen. Had it been a dream? Or had it been a prophecy?

A/N: Okay, slow start, I know. It'll get better in chapter two. I know ther wasn't any Malchior goodness in it, but that'll change soon. Reviews make me smile- and maybe even write faster. Hope to see your smiling faces in the form of a review soon! ^^