Frozen Destinies
Four
The reception in the ballroom was bursting with well-dressed people dancing and gossiping and eating, all chattering and laughing so that sounds of human interaction dominated the vast space.
The musicians finished playing the upbeat tune and everyone stopped dancing, clapping and bowing to their partners before turning towards the sound of a fanfare.
"Her Majesty, Queen Raven of Azerelle!" Kai the servant announced, and Raven walked into the ballroom looking much more pleased and calm than anyone in the room had ever seen her. She held herself regally and poised, as a queen should, and she came to a stop atop the slightly elevated platform at the end of the room, smiling out at her guests.
"Princess Starfire of Azerelle!" Kai continued, and she made her way over at a slight trot to stand at a considerable distance from her sister, waving awkwardly out at the people who were staring at her fondly.
Kai shook his head slightly and took hold of her shoulders, pushing her closer to her elder sister so that everyone could applaud them appropriately.
"Over here? Are you sure that this is the correct position?" she whispered, but nevertheless the sisters were met with clapping and murmurs of approval, and Raven nodded graciously, signaling for the band to begin playing again.
"Hi" she suddenly said, turning her head slightly to her sister, a rare attempt to reach out and communicate. She felt like this night she had accomplished something truly great, however, and she wanted to share her good mood with Starfire.
The younger of the two, however, was definitely not expecting this. "To whom are you speaking? Hi for me?" she asked, bewildered. Raven smiled a little and nodded.
"You look beautiful" she said, appraising her sister.
"Oh, many thanks! You too look much more beautifuller... I mean, not that you look fuller, simply beautiful...er?" Starfire struggled with her words, but Raven cut her off.
"Thank you" she replied with a small chuckle. Her sister had always been eccentric, which was something she admired about her since she could never be this way herself out of fear of her powers. "So, this is what a party looks like" she continued, gazing out at the full room buzzing with people.
"I suppose so, dear sister!" Starfire replied, admiring all the bustle with shining green eyes. "It is warmer than I imagined!"
"And what is that smell?" Raven asked, and the two sisters in unison inhaled deeply, trying to place the scent.
"Mmmm... Chocolate!" they both said simultaneously, before bursting into giggles that Raven covered delicately with a gloved hand and a small cough.
"Your Majesty, Highness... Duke Blood of Weasel-town" Kai suddenly walked over to them accompanied by a man who was slightly shorter than both of the girls, it seemed, and wearing a suit of red and black. He had a full head of silver hair that stuck up on both sides a little which made him resemble a sort of nutty bat in some ways, and a thin silver mustache.
"Weselton!" he corrected fiercely, turning back to the royals with a smile that seemed out of place on his features. "As your closest partner in trade, it is only fitting that I should ask for the first dance?" he said with a flourish and a bow, which was so powerful that what they had thought to be his full head of hair turned out to be in part a toupee as the top of his head was completely bald; the fake hair peeled off almost to the point of falling off all the way.
The girls let out small "Oh!"s and had to suppress another fit of giggles as they saw this. He stood again, hair flipping back on as he did to, and offered his hand to Raven, who raised an eyebrow.
"Thank you, but I don't dance. However, my sister does!" she said primly, ignoring Starfire's protests as she was dragged off onto the dance floor. Raven's eyes finally caught sight of Gar, who was flitting around the ballroom observing everything. When he noticed that she was alone, he came to rest beside her.
"Nice party, I approve of the refreshments!" he said with a wink, revealing a hidden piece of chocolate that he had clasped in his hand. He bit off half of it and placed the other to her lips before she could protest, and so she quickly opened up and allowed the creamy candy to melt on her tongue.
"Gar, that was foolish" she chastised, but her eyes sparkled a bit. He smiled back at her, leaning casually on his staff.
"You look ravishing tonight, Majesty. I'm quite glad that you refused that strange little man's hand, as I'd like the pleasure of your first dance as Queen" he said, and Raven was surprised to detect a hint of seriousness in his tone. She scoffed, however, maintaining her composure so she didn't look like she was talking to herself to any onlookers.
What happened next was truly an interesting sight for all, and Gar even turned to watch as the self-proclaimed 'Little Dipper' began to jump around Starfire in all sorts of odd ways, claiming he was 'dancing' of course.
"Like an agile peacock!" Duke Blood said, making movements to imitate a peacock's pecking as he circled Starfire who kept glancing at her sister in desperation and amusement.
"Splendid to see that you've finally opened these gates, why on Earth were they closed for so long?" Duke Blood continued as he rounded around Starfire again, who honestly had no idea to begin with and thus gave him a confused look as he asked. "Do you know the reason?" he inquired, getting rather close to her face as he did.
"I do not!" she replied, a little wary, but his face simply fell a bit before he sighed and grabbed her into his arms again.
"Ah, well, prepare for the fall!" he said, as he dipped her down causing her to let out a little squeal. "They don't call me the Little Dipper for nothing!" he assured her, before twirling her around again and resuming his odd dancing.
"Like a chicken with the face of a monkey! I fly!" he imitated each animal as he did so, causing Raven and Gar to snicker as they watched from afar; the song ended, then, and Starfire returned through the throngs of people panting a little bit.
"Let me know when you're ready for another round, little lady!" Duke Blood could be heard calling.
"Really spry for a man of his age, hm?" Raven joked as Starfire stood up once more on the platform, adjusting her shoes.
"Indeed, especially for a man wearing high heels!" she replied with a small huff.
"You're all in one piece, right?" Raven asked, smiling at her sister's flushed skin and dancing eyes.
"Yes, I have never been better, this is truly wonderful!" Starfire exclaimed, hands clasped together out of excitement. "I wish it could remain so forever more!" she finished, hope in her eyes.
"I wish that it could too..." Raven said, but fear clouded her heart soon after, and she turned her face away from her hopeful sister. "But it can't" she said softly.
Starfire was instantly crushed, and she reached out to try and touch Raven. "But why mustn't we..."
"It just can't!" Raven snapped, turning away from Starfire fully now. Starfire suppressed a small sob, before clutching her arms to herself in dejection.
"Will you please excuse me for a moment..." she said softly, eyes shiny as she left the pedestal in order to lose herself in the crowd of people.
As she did so, however, a man with a rather large behind backed into her and sent her tripping over her dress; she let out a small screech as she flailed to regain her balance, but braced for impact anyway... And it never came, as a gloved hand grabbed her arm instead. She opened her eyes to meet the familiar blue ones of Princess Terra.
"Glad I caught you!" she said with a smile, and Starfire righted herself before giving the blonde a hug in gratitude.
"Oh thank you! That was most kind, you have spared me quite the embarrassing moment!" she said with a sheepish shrug. Terra smiled and they moved off of the dance floor to a less crowded area to talk.
"That was a little harsh, Rae" Gar said in the meantime to the distressed Queen.
"Not helping" Raven said under her breath, trying to regain her composure as some of the guests closest to her had seen the altercation and had cast questioning looks in the royals' direction.
"Fine, fine. But I was serious about that dance, yeah?" he said.
"Now is hardly the time for me to go around dancing by myself" Raven said sarcastically.
"Of course not right now... But some other time, okay? Save that first dance for me" he said, reaching out to leave a trail of cold on her cheek. She barely flinched as the temperature didn't bother her of course, but their eyes remained connected for a moment and her pale face pinked a bit.
Meanwhile, Terra and Starfire were connecting on everything they said to one another, taking time to go off to other parts of the castle in order to speak more privately to one another.
"Wait one moment, you have how many older siblings?" Starfire asked as they sat together on one of the balconies where they were gossiping and shoving chocolate into their mouths gleefully.
"Twelve! All boys, three of which ignored me and pretended I didn't exist for two whole years!" Terra said with a huff.
"That is horrible!" Starfire replied.
"It's just what brothers do! Brion is the only one who I could sort of stand, he's the eldest" she continued with a shrug.
"True, for sister Raven and I were quite close as children, but one day she simply shut me out..." she trailed off.
"I feel like you simply understand my innermost feelings!" Starfire exclaimed suddenly.
"I totally understand! I've never met someone who just gets me like you do..." Terra replied, reaching for another chocolate.
"Can I say something, crazy?" Starfire began, searching for the right words.
"I love crazy!" Terra replied, eager.
"All my life there have been the doors in my face, until suddenly I have bumped into you!" she started.
"I was thinking the same thing! Because, I've been searching my whole life to find my own place, and maybe it's the party talking, or the chocolate fondue" she said with a small laugh that Starfire joined in with.
"But with you, I see your face, and it's nothing like I've ever known before... Friends mean an open door!" Starfire said, standing up and grabbing Terra's hands in order to twirl her around as they danced gleefully.
"I've found my place, friends mean an open door with you!" Terra continued.
"With you!" Starfire added with a grin.
They continued through the hallways of the castle, taking off their shoes and skating around the smooth floors with their socks and giggling madly. A guard poked his head around the door just as they managed to get out of the room, and they had to suppress their laughter as he looked around, wondering if his mind was playing tricks on him.
"I mean it's crazy!" Terra exclaimed as they sat up on the roof of the castle, staring out at the kingdom.
"What?" Starfire asked.
"We finish each other's..."
"Sandwiches!" Starfire finished, jumping down off the roof. Terra's eyes lit up.
"That's what I was gonna say!" she gushed, running after the redhead.
"I've never met someone who thinks so much like me... Jinx! Jinx again!" they both said, grabbing each other's pinkies in awe as they seemed to be in sync.
"Our mental synchronization can have but one explanation!" they said, moving their bodies as if they were mechanical.
"You and I were just meant to be best friends!" Starfire said, tackling Terra into a hug, and Terra let out a cry of excitement as she flung her arms around her new friend.
"Can I say something crazy?" she asked, echoing Starfire's words from before, eyes bright with her newfound thought.
"Yes?" Starfire seemed to bounce in anticipation.
"Can I live here, with you? Like... you know, a sister?" she said slowly.
"May I say something even the 'crazier'?" Starfire replied. "YES!" she squealed.
Back in the ballroom, Raven was still engaged in playful banter with Gar when suddenly he jerked his head towards the approach of her sister, linked arm in arm with a slender blonde girl that seemed to be a Princess by her decoration, yet oddly she wasn't wearing a gown but the royal attire that Princes normally bore.
"Your Majesty, my beloved sister Raven!" Starfire began. Raven arched her eyebrow, her smile fixed and small as she surveyed the blonde who looked a little too smiley for her taste.
"This is Princess Terra of the Southern Isles of Markovia!" Starfire introduced, and Raven graced the Princess with a small nod.
"Your Majesty" Terra said in an overly sweet voice that Raven instantly didn't like, but she said nothing of course.
"We would like..." they both began at the same time before giggling a bit at their simultaneous speech; Raven suppressed the urge to roll her eyes.
"We would like your blessing, for... Terra's becoming my bestest and closest of friends!" Starfire began. Both of Raven's eyebrows went up then, as Starfire's request didn't seem that odd at first, but the idea of 'friends' was not something either of the Princesses were familiar with.
"Friends?" Raven rolled the word slowly off her tongue, staring at the two.
"Indeed! She would move here to the castle at once, and I would also request that she become like a sister to us! Perhaps we can perform the ritual of adoption? We'd need a few days to plan the paperworks, of course... She wishes to have complete access and codes into our home, as it is what best friends do! Oooh, perhaps your brothers may come stay as well! We have plenty of room! They may visit every other weekend, all twelve!" Starfire rambled off effortlessly.
"Here? Adoption? Twelve...?" Raven's panic level rose upon each new word that left her energetic sister's mouth, and she suddenly raised her hands in warning.
"Slow down, no one's brothers are staying here, no one's getting adopted!" Raven continued, effectively stopping the two from their gushing.
"What?" Starfire looked at her sister in shock.
"May I talk to you please? Alone?" Raven pleaded, her heart beginning to clench as more fear gripped it.
"No! Whatever you must say you shall say in the presence of best friend Terra!" Starfire replied resolutely.
"Fine. You can't invite someone into this home, to become a part of the family, that you've only just met" Raven said with finality.
"You can if you are the best of friends!" Starfire countered.
"What do you know about friendship?" Raven replied, a bit coldly. Her eyes flickered briefly towards Gar as she considered him her only true friend in the world, but even then she would push him away more than open herself up to him out of an irrational fear of doing something to hurt him too.
"More than you! All you are capable of doing is shutting people out!" Starfire snapped back, becoming more incensed by the second. Raven's face betrayed shock and hurt.
"You asked for my blessing, but my answer is no" she replied.
"Your Majesty, if I may ease your mind..." Terra tried, reaching out to plead with Raven, but she was already walking away from the both of them.
"No, you may not, and I think you should leave. The party is over, close the gates!" she ordered the last part a little more loudly to the guards, who began to follow her commands at once. Starfire's heart leapt into her throat, and she desperately raced after her sister.
"What? No, no, sister Raven, please! Wait!" she exclaimed, grabbing at the elder's arm and pulling off her glove in the process.
"G-give me my glove!" Raven gasped, trying to pull it back out of her sister's grasp, to no avail.
"Raven, please! I cannot live this way any longer!" the redhead pleaded, eyes shining with sadness.
"Then leave!" Raven hissed after a moment, effectively silencing her sister momentarily. People had begun to stare at them, and Raven looked around the room for Gar to find him hurrying towards her.
"Raven, remain calm. Don't let fear take over" he whispered in her ear as she clutched her ungloved hand to her side, hiding it. She sighed at her sister's downcast face, before turning away to make her exit before something bad happened.
"What have I ever done to you?" Starfire called after her, anger boiling up in her veins.
"Enough, Starfire!" Raven desperately called back, eyes shifting around the room as her internal emotions had begun to take control and cause her insides to twist unpleasantly. Gar was floating beside her, eyes frantic as he could tell she was trying to keep it in but wasn't handling it well.
"No, please tell me, why do you shut me out? Why do you shut the world out? What are you so AFRAID of?" Starfire continued to screech after the retreating form of Raven, whose eyes suddenly scrunched up as she reached the door and she whirled around.
"I said ENOUGH!" she bellowed, her hand flinging out and a blast of icy magic ripping through it, causing a slew of sharp ice spikes to crystallize on the floor of the ballroom extending towards the guests.
Gasps and screams were heard throughout, and Raven's eyes went wide as her sister finally realized what she was hiding. She pulled her hand back to her chest, lip trembling in fear. It was then that she noticed that her skin seemed to be changing right before her very eyes, eyes that were now glowing white.
"What..." she heard Gar hiss as he floated over to her.
Her skin was slowly turning paler than normal, until it turned fully gray. She let out a small whimper. Terra was staring at her with a furrow in her blonde brow, while Starfire's eyes shone with horror.
"Raven..." she murmured.
"Sorcery!" Duke Blood exclaimed as he stared in shock at the ice spikes. "I knew there was something dubious going on here!" he said, pulling one of his large bodyguards to stand behind. Raven then turned and bolted out of the room.
"Raven! Wait!" Gar and Starfire both called simultaneously; it was easier for the winter spirit to follow after her, of course, but she continued running until she had made it out of the castle and into the courtyard.
She was met with cries of approval and cheers from her subjects. "Queen Raven!" "There she is!" "Our beautiful Queen!"
She let out a small tortured cry as she moved past people who were slowly beginning to notice her gray skin.
"Your Majesty, is something wrong?" a woman holding a small baby asked. Raven backed up, fear wholly consuming her, and ran into a fountain spurting water. As her hand made contact with the stone, ice shot out from it and covered the entire thing, freezing it solid to the horrified screams of some of the people. The woman with the child gasped and pulled her baby close, away from Raven.
With that, Raven turned and fled, a searing pain in her forehead and her eyes glowing an eerie white as her magic spread out through the environment and Gar struggled to keep after her, Starfire not too far behind.
Here we go! Hope you all enjoyed, it was fun to write Terra being a sneaky little creep and poor Raven going through all that... Let me know what you think!