The Place That We Call Home
by burn to ashe
"Half a week before the winter
The chill bites before it comes
I'm a child of the pleasure
That he brings before he runs
He sits behind a desk of mahogany
He whispers dreams into my ears
Though I've given him his empire
He delivers me my fear"
-"Half a Week Before the Winter" by Vanessa Carlton
Disclaimer – I do not own. Do not sue.
Author Notes – Last chapter was pretty intense, I felt. This chapter is a recovery from that, and won't be as long. For those that thing that this story is approaching an end, don't fear. It's probably only about halfway done.
Well... when I say this chapter is a "recovery" from the last... it doesn't lack it's own action, I promise!
3
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Chapter Twenty-one – Resurrected
21.1
Raven did not sleep once she had come to be in Richard's arms. They found their friends—now thankfully not frozen by whatever it was that she had done—and the five of them found solace amongst themselves, in the solar that Kori had already claimed as her own. With the sun pouring warmth into the room, the lot of them could almost forget that something had happened. Most of them did not understand what, or appreciate the significance of Slade's appearance.
Kori tended Raven's hair. Raven had wanted to cut it, but Kori had dissuaded her. With slow, methodical strokes Kori brushed her friend's hair, until even Raven's eyes were half closed with exhaustion. Eventually Kori twined the lengthened locks into a plait that fell like a dividing line down Raven's back and tied it off with a bit of leather. If Raven took note, she said nothing, simply drifting in and out of her own exhaustion.
Richard sat opposite the two women, face cradled in his hands. Kori had ordered food and wine be brought, and only now did it begin to arrive. Sleepy eyed maids brought it, among them Tara who looked from face to face among the others, and slid to sit on the floor next to Garfield.
"What happened? Are you alright? Garfield," she exploded with her questions, shattering the understood peace and silence among the five. Garfield shook his head. He looked much older than he had before last night.
"Just drop it, Tara... we will talk later." he said wearily. Her blue eyes flared up, and she pushed to her feet.
"No! I deserve to know as much as the rest of you!" she yelled. Raven closed her eyes against such noise. The lot of the five moved restlessly at the noise.
"Tara-" Kori spoke up. Tara was cowed, if only her volume and not her tenacity. "There was an attack last night by a terrible man named... Slade. We fought him, but..." she trailed off, despairing at her own failures.
Richard spoke up. "Slade..." he growled half under his breath. Kori turned to Richard, as if remembering something from their ordeal.
"Friend Richard, do you know Slade?" her puzzled eyes tried to meet Richard's, but the prince kept his gaze low. The others turned to Richard, giving him their full attention in this strange mystery.
"He was a general of my father's..." Richard spoke up. "He was to be executed when he was suspected in an attempt on my father's life. He disappeared from the cell. It was high treason, and spoke to a deep plot within the court and guard to have freed him. But I never expected to see him here, and not-" he cut himself off, stealing a glance at Raven. She did not look at Richard, but seemed to sense his gaze.
"But why would he be after friend Raven?!" Kori bubbled over, as if she could simply not understand. Richard understood, then, something about his wife. She could fathom evil in only straightforward, simple terms. She lacked guile of her own, and so could not understand it in others. It was endearing, if a trifle terrifying. In some ways his wife was very, very young.
"I don't know," Victor spoke up. His voice was cowed, as they all felt. Yesterday had felt like years or at least months, but it had only been one day. Tomorrow morning they would all waken to a royal wedding... Raven's. Richard looked to her, knowing without a doubt that she could not be prepared for that, not after last night. He rose, drawing the eyes of all gathered.
"I will speak to the delegates... surely they can be persuaded to put off the wedding, at least a few days. After your behavior last night..." he tried to smile, but failed. No one seemed to fault him for that lack. He said no more before he excused himself. Raven did not watch him go, though Kori did. She turned to face the others with puzzlement in her eyes.
"Friends, what shall we do? Will this Slade return for Raven? We cannot allow him to have her!" her impassioned speech was unable to rile them, as exhaustion claimed both too well. Tara stole a strange glance at Raven and stood abruptly. Without a word, she left. Garfield looked after her, confused and a little hurt. After a moment, he clamored to his feet and excused himself, leaving Kori, Victor, and Raven alone, but each very much alone in their own minds.
21.2
In the end, the council would not be budged. The wedding would take place as scheduled, on the morrow. Richard was enraged at the thought, but was dismissed before his temper could take hold of his tongue. That was probably for the better, for he was nearly at his last nerve, and starting massive international war was probably not a good idea, no matter how much he wanted to tell the collected exactly what he thought about them.
Richard sought a hot bath and his bed before the noon hour, and was thankful for that much. His wife, it seemed, had finally been persuaded to sleep as well, and when he climbed into bed next to her, she curled closer to his warmth. She was like a kitten, he mused. No... more like a puppy, all boundless energy and fierce protectiveness. He was unsure, in many ways, of how to feel about his wife, but he could not fault her in all regards. She was a good person, and would make a better queen.
He thought to lay awake for some time, to think, but the warmth of the bed and the easy breathing of the woman beside him soon sent him to sleep himself. Thankfully, he did not even dream.
21.3
The wedding day dawned warm and humid, with the promise of rain on the horizon. As was tradition in Gotham, the bride was cloistered with her women about her until a late breakfast was served for the bridal party. Then the bride would be prepared for the ceremony, and kept very alone once she was ready. The idea was to prepare her for the transformation from child to woman, from daughter to wife. Raven was neither a woman of Gotham nor a child, but she allowed her host's ways to dictate her day. She had no strong feelings, after all, and it was simpler to allow the women their way.
Kori attended her, the highest rank of all the women present. The Princess of Tamaran and now Princess of Gotham as well watched as the maids and noblewomen of Gotham alike spun about Raven in preparations. Cosmetics were used to create purity. Fresh flowers, fall flowers from late in the season, would be braided into the bride's hair. The gown was deep, rich blue. Kori had made it a point to find out Raven's favorite color: if her dear friend could not have anything else she wished in this wedding, her gown would at least be of a pleasing color.
If Raven even noticed the gown, Kori couldn't have been able to say. Her friend's eyes were very far away, and her face drawn. The princess wondered if her friend had slept at all last night.
"Friend Raven..." she spoke up, stepping close to appear next to her friend in the mirror. "It is nearly time for the ceremony." she said. It was not something that would please Raven, of that she knew. She wished she knew something that would. Raven turned to face Kori, and she was again struck by how stoic, how serious Raven was. Kori knew she was not much, if any, older than Kori was, but sometimes Raven seemed generations older. It was strange.
"Thank you... Koriand'r... for everything you have done for me." Raven broke her stoic facade for a moment and turned and truly hugged Kori, for the first time and perhaps the last. Kori was caught by surprise, but hugged the bride back with deceptive strength.
"I would do all this and more for you, friend Raven." she said very firmly. When Raven stepped back, she had put back into place the stoic mask. And the two went out of the preparation chamber and walked towards the wedding. It struck Kori that she had witnessed funeral processions with more joy in them.
21.4
And so came to be the wedding of the King of Atlantis and his bride, Princess of Azarath. They stood before a priest of Gotham and a priest of Atlantis, who repeated vows in both languages. Raven wished, strangely, for the old priest... Azar.. but found her wish both childish and unwelcome to her. She spoke what they wished, and performed several rituals meant for fertility, loyalty, and the like. She recognized—vaguely—a resemblance to her own people's ways. It matted not at all.
She turned to face the man who would be her husband in scant moments. She expected panic or disgust or resignation, but found nothing but a startling emptiness to her. Her empathy was too silent, as if she had none. She turned her face upward and saw something in the king's eyes that put fear into her heart. A heartbeat later, she felt the treachery strike home, and she knew. She knew she had been betrayed. She had been killed by the very people she had trusted to aid her in defeating her father.
'Fools' she thought weakly. Her legs were no longer strong enough to hold her, and her never-husband allowed her to fall. When she looked down, she saw that it was an ornate dagger that stuck out of her heart. Each beat of it betrayed her further, spilling red blood down her gown. 'Kori chose such a beautiful color, only for this...' She slumped to the ground, splayed out as if on display. Perhaps she was.
If there was an outcry, she did not hear one. She was already gone.
21.5
There was, of course, an outcry. Most had known this was to happen. It had been decided by the council of the known kingdoms, after all. Those that did not know were those that had been closest to the demon: Gotham's heir, his bride, and most of the servants. Also, Tamaran's youngest prince, for he would have cut out his own heart rather than see this happen to Raven, of all.
Those that knew her, and loved her, best came to their feet and ran to her side. Richard had a sword in his hand, and tried to attack the Altantean king. Kori went to her knees at Raven's side. Victor and Garfield kept a crowd at bay with words and force when necessary.
The Tamaranian princess was in tears. Her friend was too gone to reach, even by her, even if she had been a healer. Her brother went to his knees beside her, equally touched, equally torn. But he had an idea, a mad-cap idea, and one that would only work if he threw all of his will, all of his soul into it. He looked at his beloved sister with his heart in his eyes, and she realized with startling clarity that he planned something terrible.
"Ryand'r..." she breathed. He shook his head.
"I love you, sister. I always have." he hugged her, fiercely, and she was reluctant to let him go. But she did, and he turned to Raven. She had not realized how much he felt for the half-demon, until this very moment. She wished she could have met such a realization with joy instead of pain.
Ryand'r turned to Raven and cradled her, gentle—so gentle—and Kori realized with some measure of trepidation that while her brother's body was here, his soul had gone elsewhere.
21.6
Elsewhere proved to be Raven's own mind. She was alive, barely and fleetingly. She would not be for scant heartbeats more. Ryand'r knew this. He had to move fast. He dove into her mind headlong and without caution. The ability to enter minds was rare for a Tamaranian, and Ryand'r had not practiced it much. That she was an empath, and reaching out as much for someone as he was desperate to reach her made this possible.
He found her, torn and broken, cradled by a tiny thread of life. He reached for her, held her close, and wished he'd had the courage to make this real before now. He should have been the one to marry her. He should have protected her. But it didn't matter now.
"Ryand'r, what—" she breathed into his mind. He cut her off, kissing her cheek sweetly.
"You know why I'm here. You have to live." he replied, sad smile the only expression he could produce for her. She understood his meaning, and he was glad he wouldn't have to explain. She pushed against him, trying to resist, but she was already too weak.
"It doesn't work that way."
"It can. I know you can. You just have to try." She looked up at him with hell in her eyes, but he wasn't afraid. "Do I have to tell you why? You have to be the one to defeat your father. We both know it. If you die now, he has won!" She looked away, but nodded. She wasn't stupid. He wasn't going to back down.
"I'm not sure I can make it work this way...." she breathed, but already his perceptions were getting hazy. Slowly, she faded away, and he realized that he had succeeded. He closed his eyes and smiled.
21.7
Someone screamed. Raven only realized it was her when she felt Kori's arms close around her and a muffled sob sounded by her ear. Raven inhaled sharply, one hand raising to cling to Kori, and her head turning to seek Ryand'r. She found him sprawled out on the ground, the wound she had possessed only moments ago marring his chest, which did not move to seek breath. He was dead.
Tears sprang to her eyes.
But there was chaos all around her. Kori pulled back, and even though the princess was crying she had a strength to her that Raven suddenly envied. The women parted, and pushed to stand. There was a great outcry, and Raven realized that they were all in mortal danger. She couldn't look at Ryand'r, but she did seek the man who was supposed to be her husband. He had fled, and Richard moved to her side, pale with concern.
He came within touching distance of her, but seemed to recover himself. He dared not. Kori reached for him, and Richard closed arms around her. He seemed to realize Ryand'r was dead abruptly, and grief filled him as well.
Ryand'r would be sorely missed. He had been a noble young man.
Raven surveyed the crowd and shook her head. "We can't stay here."
Richard nodded, but he was hesitant. "But where will we go? No one is going to accept us with open arms, not after this."
Raven hesitated. "I have an idea. Get Victor and Garfield... we'll go the last place anyone will look for us." she had a hollow sound to her voice, which made Richard nervous. He reached for her.
"Raven?"
"We're going to go to Azarath." she said very quietly.