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disclaimer: I don't own teen titans

Her kingdom...it was supposed to be dedicated to her bloodline, passed to Galfore by her decree, but the man that stood before her now was in no way related to her. Had Galfore really elected this vile being?
Her head felt light, and her stomach felt queasy. She needed to sit. Who was this man? What made him think he acquired the audacity to claim this kingdom as his own? Most importantly, where was Galfore?
"Who are you?" She choked
"Did you not hear me Koriand'r? I am the Grand Ruler of Tamaran."
"Yes but...why?" She questioned, suddenly her eyes filled with worry, "Has my k'norfka fallen ill? Have you been appointed for the time being until he is able to return?" He chuckled.
"No. My position is...permanent."
Starfire's mind swam for answers, confusion suddenly replaced with grief.
"Is he..." She took a deep breathe, refusing to believe Galfore was dead, and instead thinking up an alternative. "Did Emperor Galfore bid you take this post in his place?"
Sedah'rak smiled, clearly enjoying the guessing game, "Wrong again Princess."
"Who are you!" She shouted, eyes glowing a threatening green. "Clearly you are Tamaranian as you absorb languages through the same means, but-"
"Ah, the simple word, but." he interrupted, "Such a small word, yet so many rude connotations attached to it." he gave a sly grin as he gestured to himself, "I assume you doubt my heritage due to the way I look?"
Her mouth was agape, horrified by his bluntness and the avoidance of her true question.
"It is true I am a Tamaranian, however I was diagnosed with..." he paused, in contemplation, " let's call it a birth defect, for lack of better words. You see Princess, I am unable to absorb energy from our three suns."
"Then how-"
"Am I alive?" he finished, "When I was born I was unable to gain strength the the same way you do, but my body found ways to compensate."
The Titan's stared at him bewildered, he sounded insane, and quite frankly, his interruptions were very rude.
"Oh but it is a story for another time! Goutan, qortaa opak'r!" he shouted to the soldiers with an insidious smile.

The guards quickly approached the five heroes and led them into a dim lit hallway. They walked in the middle side by side.
Robin was fuming, each step he took made the guards look towards him in worry as they anticipated him to lash out.
He was furious that Starfire was allowing herself to be treated as inferior. She was supposed to be treated like the royalty she was, and she was just letting him walk all over her! Who was that guy anyway?
He turned his head to see the object of his affections walking beside him. She was staring blankly ahead of them, thinking hard about something as she bit her bottom lip. The man beside her kept sneaking glances at the princess and Robin scowled. If those guards had any decency they would stand up to their undeserving ruler and tell him it was Starfire who should be on that throne...not that he wanted her to stay on Tamaran.
The men finally ushered them into a bland room and shut the door behind them, glad to be rid of the awkward atmosphere the Boy Wonder had created.
"Why are they treating us like prisoners!" He finally shouted.
"Robin-"
"You're their princess, Starfire! They should at least show a little respect for you! Hell, they should be giving you all the respect in the world!"
"Robin, please." she walked towards him, "They are merely confused. With a new grand ruler, they do not know who to follow. I have not been to Tamaran in years, I do not blame them for their actions."
"Yeah, but-"
"Can you guys please stop talking so loud?" Raven interjected, rubbing her temples. The empath looked at the ground, feeling tired and out of place. She had felt Sedah'raks eyes on her when they first arrived, but she had refused to acknowledge him. Something inside wouldn't let her. Even though his glance hadn't lasted long it still had made her feel uncomfortable.
"You okay Raven?" Robin asked, seeming to have calmed down a little out of concern for his friend.
She moaned, "I just need to meditate."
"Hey, Rae...ven?" Beast Boy spoke, "Can I, um, join you?"
Cyborg scoffed, "You meditating? Man, I don't think you'd even be able to sit still for thirty seconds." He said shaking his head. Beast Boy shot him a dirty look,
"Well maybe it would be good for all of us to calm down a bit, I just wanted to give it a try."
"Ugh. Whatever." Raven replied, "Just try not to make any noise."
"Quiet as a mouse!" He replied, shifting into a small white rodent before plopping himself on the floor and copying Raven's position.
The rest of the Titans observed the rare moment of amity between their fellow teammates before deciding to join them in the calming exercise.

In truth, Beast Boy had only asked to meditate to see if it would help if he closed his eyes, plus he wanted to spend time with Raven. Lately, he had been feeling...off. There was an aching inside of his body. It wasn't like he was sore from training or had slept wrong or something. No, it was internal, like there were daggers being plunged into his core.
It was freaking painful.
He felt like he was falling apart.
As he sat with his eyes closed he began to dose off. Darkness danced within his mind, little shadows beckoning him to come join them. He looked at them, beaming, they were so free! They flitted around each other, playing a game of chase. Beast Boy eagerly accepted their invitation to join in on the fun.

Raven was trying with all her might to meditate. It was NEVER this hard. Meditating was supposed to be easy, it was something she had mastered, something she had done all her life.
"You're way too tired to meditate Raven." Sloth said with a loud yawn, "A little nap won't hurt."
"You need to get control of your emotions," Knowledge said, "just keep trying to meditate, it's the best thing you can do right now."
Oh, but sleep sounded so nice; and although knowledge was normally the more dependable emotion, Raven allowed herself to fall into a deep slumber.
It was peaceful, void of anything but a single shadow. She stood in an echoing silence, staring at the approaching figure.
Closer and closer and closer still, until the shadowy figure was not a shadow at all...but a red emotion which she kept under constant lock and key.

Dun Dun Dunn...

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