Disclaimer: Do you honestly think that I would waste my time writing these if I owned the Teen Titans. I love writing these fan fictions but I probably wouldn't if I had that much money.
A/N: What will happen? Will Raven finally find out just who her secret admirer is? Will she survive? Read to find out!
Chapter Four: Bedridden Discoveries
When Raven awoke she felt sore and tired. She opened her eyes to see that she was blindfolded. She began to panic. What had happened? She could remember Slade saying that she was going to die. Had she? Was she? She wriggled and found that she was under a set of sheets. She was lying in a comfortable bed. She was about to reach up and take the blindfold off when she heard a voice.
"Please don't move."
"Who are you?" she croaked, "Where am I?"
"You are safe. I brought you here to heal. Whatever Slade injected you with has eaten away at some of your muscles. They need time to heal."
"Where am I?"
"You are in my apartment. I have sent a letter to your friends letting them know that you are safe and recuperating."
"Who are you?" She heard her savior sigh. She pushed her mind out toward his voice. She tried to probe his mind. She felt his consciousness jump aside as hers slid past.
"Please don't do that. I don't feel like dodging you for the entire time that you are here."
"Who are you?
"I am your secret admirer."
"Why am I blindfolded?" She heard him sigh again.
"It took all of my courage to save you from Slade. I am too afraid to let you know who I am. Please don't ask me my name or where I live. I don't think I am ready." Raven listened quietly.
"How did you save me?" she asked after several moments of silence.
"I have a few powers of my own. I can create images. I can also perform a small bit of healing."
"Why are you so afraid of me?"
"It's complicated. Please get some rest." She heard him get up and leave the room. Now that she knew where she was she felt more at ease. She eased into the comfort of the bed and soft pillows and fell asleep.
((()))
Raven awoke again when she felt another presence in the room with her and her admirer. She could sense it was an older woman but it was if she wasn't really there at all. She reasoned that it was a mental projection. She heard the young man hiss and then growl in anger. "Why have you come here mother?"
"I have come to beseech you to return to our world." The woman's voice was hollow and vengeful.
"No!" He whispered. "I will not return to your world. You can have your empty and emotionless world."
"I know how you live son," the woman said, "Your neighbors treat you like a hoodlum. Your job is dead end. You are poor and lonely. Come back to our world and you will be treated like you should be. You are the prince of Erathor. You would be rich and lusted after by all of the most prestigious women."
"I live the way I do because it is better than our world." He spoke as though he grieved for his people. "I could have all of the riches and women that I wanted. I could be the most sought after man in the realm. And at what price does all of this come? At the cost of my free will." He snarled in contempt at the aberration. Even though Raven could not see she could sense the tension and malice passing between the two. "For over three centuries all men have been raised and brainwashed. We are mind-servants and sex slaves."
"The coming of the first female prophet was a sign from our god that women were to take up rule of our world." The woman spoke these words with reverence.
"Don't you understand yet?" His voice was filled with despair and he spoke with even an even more solemn voice. "There was no need for your ancestors to kill the ruling men. They held the love of the men of old. No power is so great that it can justify the betrayal of love." Raven heard a few soft sobs escape from the young man who had saved her life. "Go from here knowing that as your son I love you mother, even if you cannot comprehend the emotion. Know that as the first male prophet in three hundred years I will never return to your world to seek revenge or power. I seek only the love of another and a peaceful life. And as for a successor to the throne have your daughter take the seed of a vessel and produce an heir."
Raven felt the presence leave the room as a small tear rolled down the side of her face and absorbed into the blindfold. Her admirer must have seen this as he asked how much she had heard.
"All of it," she replied.
"I suppose you wish for an explanation?"
"No need," Raven said, "I just wish that you would let me know you. I need to sleep."
"I shall help you to regain your strength. When you are no longer in danger of a relapse I will contact your friends and set up a way to return you to your home."
"Thank you for everything."
"There is no need for thanks. As long as you are safe I am happy." These words echoed through Raven's mind as she drifted into a dreamless slumber.
((()))
Raven didn't know how long she stayed at the young man's home but she was beginning to regain her movement. She could now hold a spoon and feed herself. Her admirer took good care of her. He was always gentle and helped her with whatever she needed. Her mobility was slowly returning. She was still to weak to stand or walk and out of respect she kept the blindfold on.
She was sitting in the bed listening to the soft music that the young man had put on for her. She heard him enter the room and sit in a chair next to the bed. He placed his hand on hers and spoke.
"I have arranged for your friend Starfire to pick you up tonight on the beach. As soon as it gets dark I will carry you down to the edge of the city and place you on the beach. I will stay near to make sure you are unharmed until your friend finds you." She nodded her head in understanding.
They didn't have to wait very long before sundown. What little light filtered through her blindfold was disappearing and she felt the sheets pulled off of her. He then picked her up and began to carry her. She listened as they left the apartment and descended several flights of steps. She heard another door open and felt the cool air of the early night wash over her. It didn't take long for the sound of steps on pavement to be replaced with steps on sand.
As they neared their destination Raven decided something.
"Mr. Admirer?"
"Yes?"
"Before you leave me on the beach can I ask you a favor?"
"Anything."
"Anything?"
"Anything except tell or show you who I am."
"Kiss me."
"Uhm…"
"Please? I need something to remember you by until we meet face to face."
"It will be my pleasure." They stopped walking and Raven felt him lean closer to her face. When their lips met she could feel his love and compassion overwhelming her. She felt in that kiss just how much he really cared for her. It was soft and gentle. It was though he was afraid he might break her. When the kiss finally ended she was left gasping for air. He set her down on the soft sand of the beach and she heard his footsteps retreating.
While she waited she heard someone whistling a comforting and gentle tune. The soothing melody carried on the wind and Raven heard it clearly. After a while she heard someone cry her name.
"Friend Raven," it was Starfire, "I am so glad you are alright."
"Starfire help me take this blindfold off." Raven felt her friend's fingers undoing the knot and when the cloth was lifted away she could see Starfire's green eyes clearly in the night. "Can you not walk Raven?"
"No I cant," Raven replied, "Could you perhaps carry me home." Starfire nodded and scooped Raven up and began the flight over the short stretch of water towards home. All during the journey Raven told her friend all about her experiences.
A/N: Hope you liked that. I greatly enjoy writing these. I enjoy it even more when all of you enjoy reading it. Please tell me if you like it or not! I hope that you enjoyed reading this and my others. Ciao!
