Insert witty quote here.

Insert disclaimer here. Titans not mine.

Chapter Seven-- Be Careful What You Wish For

"Um..."

"Shut it!"

"Prin--"

"I don't want to hear it!"

"But--"

"I'm not talking to you, remember?"

In anger and frustration, I grab her arm as we are heading back.

"Princess...!"

"What!" she snaps. Looking at her face now, I see...

"Are you... crying?"

"No," she sniffs. "I have something in my eye."

"Both of them?"

"Yes."

I start laughing uncontrollably, and fall on the ground continuing.

"What?" She says angrily, wiping her face.

"Princess, I had thought that perhaps you might have used a better excuse than that!" I stop laughing however, noticing her quivering lip and slowly saddening-more-than-getting-angry expression, and I stand and place my hands upon her arms. "Terra, why are you angry when you hear me mention another woman? Or rather, why are you angry," I raise my eyebrow, "when you claim to hate me so?"

She looks away from my eyes, hiding her own behind her loose hair. "It's... hard to explain. You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"Let's go home first... you can fly me if you want to."

I smile affectionately at her. "I would love to, but..." I flex my torn wing into view. "This will take some time to heal. But it is a long walk, so... " I lift her by the chin to face me, "we have all the time to talk."

"Well... it's just... " She scratches herself behind the ear, and I can see that the poison plants she fell in earlier are taking affect, "I don't know if... when I get back... that I will have many friends... and..."

"You don't want to have me taken over by a previous obsession so that I can not pay attention to you?"

She looks down and tries, uselessly, I might add, to disguise her pout. "A little."

I laugh. "Princess, I can read you like a book." I close my eyes in my moment of humor and that is of course a mistake, as within the next instant I am hit on the head with a shoe. "What, now, Terra?"

"Don't act like you know me because you don't."

"All right," I sigh in exasperation. "So what I understand is that you are mad because I mentioned someone else, even though you claim to despise me, because when you return to your dimension, you doubt you will have many friends, and so are therefore upset because my attention seems divided from you, again, even though you despise me and still claim that my attention is not important?"

"I thought you could figure at least that out."

"Terra. No one could figure that out. You are bloody mental."

Ouch. Well, at least she is out of shoes now.

I sigh again. "So... does this mean you would like to know exactly who Avani was...despite your completely absurd logic?" I ask, taking up her shoes and keeping them... eh-hem... safe. She nods, scratching at her petite nose.

"A long time ago... centuries, actually, before I ever met Raven or you, and even before I was trapped in this insidious realm, I was just a simple dragon attempting to survive in an era when Dragons were considered naught but danger and mischief. Honestly, I couldn't help but eat a sheep here and there, a dragon needs nourishment, but I was never one to overindulge. Nevertheless, for some reason I was thought of as the incarnate of all that was evil."

"...But... you are pretty evil... aren't you? You wanted to take over the world and stuff..."

"Of course I want quite a few things. That, however, does not necessarily qualify me as evil. A bit...twisted, perhaps, but not evil." I grin at her, jumping a rock with this comment. "As I was saying, I was not the worst of the dragons. Most dragons tended to have this nasty habit of finding and devouring princesses... and while their flesh is rather tender--" I rose my hands in a defensive position, hiding the throwing-shoes with my tail. "--NOT that I would know from experience, just rumor, I assure you-- I have more of a taste for a different type of flesh."

"Sex."

"More or less, but in a much more deeply riveting sense. I must admit, I do know quite a few--"

"Maaal-chiii-ooor..." Terra groaned. I cleared my throat.

"Again, back to subject. I tended to have a few... liaisons, you might say, as I was rather popular among the peasant girls. Well, at least the form I used was." I rolled my eyes at the memories resurfacing and pushed any threads of attached emotions aside. "You see, the form I use is not really I, but a human form forged through magic. Most closely, I resemble a sorcerer known as Rorek-- the head magician of the castle in the territory in which I dwelled. I took his form because, while he was a hit with the ladies, for some reason he never used that to his advantage. From what I understood he was in love with the Princess of the very castle in which he lived."

"...Avani," I heard whispered behind me.

"Very observant," I respond, masking my voice as I rub my temples. I sit down upon another large rock, thankful this area had so many. "I grow weary of the story. Perhaps, I should just play the memory." Before I hear a response, the images form in a small pool of water between the two of us.

"This way... I saw the dragon head towards the kitchen area, I believe!" the guard yells, leading the others away from my clever hiding space. Laughing to myself at my quickness, I move into the courtyard.

I do not understand what is so horrible about using his form, I think to myself, He wasn't. Taking care to avoid the sight of others, I walk calmly through the shaded courtyard. Perhaps I shouldn't have trespassed, in addition to my other crimes... but that little maiden that fetched the castle's water was rather... appealing. I grin to myself, picturing the curved beauty and giving into the fact that I would likely never see her again. Oh, well. Now, to find a safe route from the metaphorical "belly of the beast." Sneaking through the shadows, I neglect my superior sense of smell and crash into an unexpected obstacle.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Brushing off from my minor accident, I observe the obstacle. Thin but delicately formed frame, long blond hair crowned with a wreath of flowers, sea-blue eyes. In short-- the definition of temptation looking back at me. She gets a quizzical look on her face. "Rorek...? What is with your ears and is that... a tail?" she asks, attempting to peer closer at my flicking black tail. "What's going on?"

Taking a step back, I take a polite bow. "Excuse me, fair maiden. I believe you have me mistaken for Rorek. I am not he."

"Then..." she stares intently at me, "you're that dragon! The one who has been impersonating Rorek!"

I bow with a grin. "At your service, milady." I take her hand and deliver a kiss to it. "And you are--?"

"Avani Karmov."

My bow deepens most hurriedly as my eyes widen. "Your highness. Well, this is a surprise. How nice to meet you." I rise, but quickly snap to press the princess against a wall, my claws holding her throat and my tail pinning her wrists. My forked tongue flicks her ear as I press her body into the shadows with my own and whisper lowly.

"Princess, it would be in your best interest not to scream. Surely you are not upset. Rorek does not involve you. I am merely borrowing his form. I will be on my way and never bother you again, as long as I can safely escape this castle."

"I--I don't mind. I don't think it's bad for you to take Rorek's form... you're not hurting anyone," she says softly.

I grin and release her from the wall as she breathes a sigh of relief. "Clever maiden. I just want to live out my life in luxury. Is there anything so wrong with that?" She shakes her head cautiously. "Wonderful. Our country's future is in good hands with you, Princess." I bow and turn to leave.

"Dragon...?"

"Yes...?" I ask, turning back to her.

"What is your name?"

I grin. "Princess, involving yourself with dragons? What a little minx you are." I lean close to her and whisper into her ear closely again, almost tasting her skin through her scent. "Malchior."

"Avani... why do you constantly invite me back to you? Even though I am a criminal, imposter, monster, fiend..." I continue flicking through my reputable names in this slightly later memory until Avani stops me.

"Well, first of all, I used to be good friends with Rorek. He used to see me everyday, but since his magic training started... well, anyway, seeing his face leads me to trust you, deep down. And you are... oddly enough and whether you choose to admit it or not... rather fun to be around."

I smile. "Well, I do believe her highness has just blessed me with a compliment." Avani giggles, and I place a kiss gently upon her, much to her surprise. "You know, I could be much more enjoyable..." I remark, wrapping my arms around her in a deeper kiss.

"It is... an easy memory to forget after hundreds of years," I remark as the puddle-images fade. "We became involved. I had never had a mate like that... I even held her exclusively. Then... she became pregnant..." The images from my dream... the lake, the pregnancy, Rorek, the book... the whole story unfolds for Terra in the water. By the end of it all, she stares unreadable into the water as I hide my face beneath Rorek-like locks.

For the longest time it is quiet.

"Well, now you know who Avani was. Clearly she would have passed away by now, so-"

"She looks like me," Terra finally responds, looking up at me.

"Um... yes. I suppose that is true."

"'Suppose?' She could be my twin!" she protests, standing up and walking away.

"Terra!" I call out, grabbing her wrist. "You're not jealous AGAIN! Avani is part of my past I never would have remembered had I not hit my head. You are my wish--"

"--You forgot her so easily..." Terra snaps, pulling away.

I stare at her as she walks away. I throw my hands into the air. "UGH!" I stomp to follow her.

WOMEN!

Me: Some minor notes on this chapter for those of you paying attention:

1. Avani Karmov. Let's break that apart. Avani is a name meaning "earth," just like Terra. In the Teen Titans comics, the first Terra's last name was Markov. Terra Markov. Avani Karmov. Haha. Jokes for those as easily amused as me.

2. We found out in this chapter that Terra is digging our fave dragon.

Malchior: "Digging?" Is that slang for "seductively intrigued by"? I hope?

Me: Sweatdrop. Um… not exactly.

Malchior: Grins But it's not a no!

Me: facepalm Silly dragon.