Again please, suspension of disbelief. This is clearly not supposed to be canonically the teen titans. Also, it'll be a few chapters until it's addressed and I just wanted to say that Victor did not kill the officer.
Chapter 20- Richard
How does one get to Tamaran? Well, if one can afford it, one charters a boat. If one is trying to cut cost, then they hang on to the back of a beautiful girl as she flies to a remote yet beautiful island. Or at least, the way she looks around, it used to be beautiful. There's an emptiness to it now. A deadness. Like it used to be full of life but an unholy revolution left the air polluted with fear. I glance at Star to see if she's tired from flight, and see tears stream down her face. After all, this is her home. If I returned home to such a tense and fearful environment I might cry as well. Without thinking, I pull her into a hug.
"We have to continue on. I have a duty to my people." She finally says. She speaks with determination, eyes wiped dry.
"I have to tell you now, I am the princess of Tamaran. Heir to the throne after my sister." Stunned silence.
I think I manage to say whoa. I bow.
"Do not kneel."
"Sorry."
"I am Star still. Not different just because I am princess." She grabs my hand and pulls me into the kingdom.
Really, it was just destitute. Few roamed the streets. Those who saw her met her with expressions of a mix of fear and hope, glad to see her but scared of the consequences. She hugged many, talked to all… I say talked. But it wasn't really talking. I watched them exchange no words or gestures, just concentrated gazes, and then she'd turn to me and tell me something she had learned. I feel beyond stupid as I struggled to keep up- like subtitles should be floating in the air making everything clear but I just couldn't see them. When we have a moment free, away from the others, I ask her about it.
"Hey," I have to get her attention, the city distracts her.
"Yes?"
"Are you talking with them?" I feel dumb, useless, out of my element. Her eyes widen.
"Ah, yes, you are common." I blink in surprise.
"Excuse me?"
"In Tamaran we have a spoken language, of course, it is the common language, you learn it as a young child. Just as when you were a child you learned certain things first and complex later. Mind speaking, as it would be called in your language, is taught later. We still teach the first for if the second fails or one is incapable of it, but for privacy, ease, and intimacy we choose mind speak."
"B-but how?"
"If you are able, I will teach you. But my Tamaran is unique. I can never begin to explain." I nod, baffled still.
"If you would prefer, I will ask my people to speak aloud." I nod again.
It didn't help. The words are foreign to me. Hearing them is just as bad as not hearing them. As a royal she is taught other languages but many know only Tamaranean and so ultimately I am isolated on this island. She speaks to others and I, like a bumbling idiot, talk to myself. I wanted so badly to impress her and make her happy. To be a hero as my father was first. I hate not knowing what's going on or what to do. I feel purposeless. I guess in the long run I always have been. I am connected to this explosion by force. I forced my way into this group on my own, made myself leader on my own while everyone else was too in shock to argue. I'm not the hero, the knight in shining armor. I'm a loser in tinfoil. If I was at home this is when I would stomp into the workout room and beat up the punching bag. In my pockets I clench and unclench my fists, trying to get over myself. I just want to hear a voice again, one talking to me, in my language.
"Robin, we've reached the palace." I had been holding onto her hand, letting her lead in the kingdom she knew so well. My head was down, and I was quiet. Now I looked up. The palace took my breath away. Even amidst all the ruin it remained stunning and regal, like Star. I have to stand and stare for a few moments just to be able to comprehend the whole thing. I glance over at Star, who is smiling sadly and continuing forward. I'm still locked in place. She ends up dragging me.
"Yes. It's beautiful. That's why it was stolen from us."
"I'm sorry your kingdom was captured," I say in earnest, glancing around.
"Yes. I will take it back." We move into the building, just as lovely on the inside yet still full of thick, hateful tension. We shudder simultaneously. Suddenly I hear a shrill cry.
Star drops my hand and runs towards a taller, older woman, no doubt her sister who is likely only in her early to mid-20s. She looks like Star except her hair is pitch black and I feel a little uneasy looking at her. They exchange a short conversation in Tamaranean that I, of course, am ignorant to. Star cries and hugs her older sister until Kay pulls back. Then the Queen turns to me, a chill running down my spine.
"I have much to speak to you of, Star. Your escort may remain in the hall. Come, sister." She speaks in English for my benefit. Before I can protest they vanish from view into another room. The hall feels unfriendly, as if one wrong move will get me beheaded or otherwise dismembered. It's swamped by guards and I cannot tell from their glowering which side of the revolution they support. As an outsider of either side, it does not bode well for me.
As if sent from the heavens, a distraction from the isolation comes. My phone rings. It isn't a number I recognize, but I'm willing to take the risk. It could be any member of the team I declared myself the leader of, or it could be my father. If it is the latter I will simply hang up, no harm, no foul. I might say hi. I do miss him. But I'm in too deep, I pretended to be some kind of hero and now I have to follow through. I can't go home. I answer the phone.