The Ugly Duckling
(Note: I've been having some trouble with the format of this story. It's not showing up on FF.net. Please bear with me. I know the story is hard to read because of this. I'll try and fix it ASAP. Thanks for your patience.)
Once upon a time, there was an ugly duckling…
Raven was different, an oddball. She just didn't fit in. She didn't share interests with others her age. Most of the time she was reading, or thinking, or both. Raven had a practical mind. She didn't care for frivolous things. How long had she had that navy cloak of hers again? Three, four years? It didn't matter.
I lingered round them, under that benign sky: watched the moths fluttering among the heath and harebells, listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass, and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth.
Raven closed WutheringHeights and set it downin her lap with a sigh of satisfaction. The introverted Titan sat cross-legged under a regal oak and began to meditate. A scream of delight pierced the air. Raven looked up. The Teen Titans were playing Frisbee by the lake's shore. Starfire had just caught the Frisbee, and was beaming with happiness. Raven closed her eyes and attempted to meditate again. But she couldn't. Her eyes were drawn to the sight of the Titans enjoying the sun. She listened to their carefree laughter. The sunlight danced on the ripples of the water. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves on the trees. Royal purple mountains loomed in the distance. A cascade of evergreen trees ran down the mountainside, what hidden secrets lay within them Raven knew not. Above, clouds floated in the endless sky. One particular cloud, Raven thought, looked like a majestic bird that ruled the realms of the sky. Raven wasn't depressed or resentful. She just watched, and listened. Apart from the others.
A faint noise caught Raven's attention. She waited. There it goes again. The bushes crackled. Cautiously, Raven walked toward them. She pulled aside the leaves, and her eyes widened. A little gray bird huddled among the leaves. It shook its light gray, downy feathers and looked up at Raven with dark, lonely eyes. It seemed afraid. Raven felt a deep understanding for the poor creature, although she couldn't explain why. She kneeled down and touched its dark beak, the color of the night. She gently stroked its feathers and—
"Your wing! It's broken!" Raven couldn't help but exclaim.
Where were its parents? Raven looked around. Nothing. She couldn't just leave the bird here, all alone. Perhaps she could bring it back to the Tower, just until its wing healed. Raven bundled up the creature in her cloak.
"Raven!" Beast Boy screamed. "What are you doing?"
The Titans came over to Raven. They surrounded her and tried to look over her shoulder.
"Curiosity killed the cat, you know."
Paying no heed to Raven's words, Beast Boy unfolded the bundle and found himself face to face with a cygnet. The cygnet jumped in surprise.
"Great. Just what I need, a little green elf scaring it," Raven thought.
"What a weird duckling! It's gray!" Beast Boy commented, recovering from his initial shock.
"Well you're green, which isn't exactly normal either," Raven replied. "Anyways, it's a cygnet not a duckling."
Beast Boy examined the cygnet with the air of a professional. "Nope. It's a duckling all right. It's strange, but still a duckling."
"Cygnet."
"Duckling."
"Cygnet."
"Look, who's the animal expert here?" Beast Boy said. Without waiting for a reply, he continued. "I'm glad that's settled. It's a duckling."
Raven let out a sigh of exasperation. "Fine, we'll call it a duckling. Whatever."
It wouldn't make any difference what it was called. It was still a cygnet no matter what Beast Boy said.
Robin stared at the television screen. Boring. Click. Rerun. Click. Nauseating. Click, click, click. He flipped through the channels aimlessly. Gradually his gaze turned to Raven, who was sitting on the other side of the sofa. She was binding the duckling's wing. The duckling squirmed in her lap. Raven gave it one of her rare, exquisite smiles. It ruffled its feathers slightly and calmed down. The duckling and Raven had developed a peculiar bond. For reasons she didn't understand, Raven was attracted to the small creature. There was something different about it, something special that Raven couldn't quite put a name on. Anyways, Raven told herself, as soon as its wing healed, the duckling would return home.
"This reminds me of a story in which a mage healed a phoenix's wing," Raven said to herself, not realizing that she was speaking aloud.
This caught Robin's attention. He turned off the television. There was nothing good on anyways.
"Why don't you tell us the story?" Robin asked.
A pink tinge rose on Raven's cheeks. "It's really not that interesting. Just an old legend. I'm sure you have better things to do."
"But Raven, I want to hear it," Robin pleaded earnestly.
"Maybe another time," Raven said quickly and began to rise, placing the duckling on an end table.
"But there's no time like the present."
Raven looked at Robin's eager eyes, twinkling with the delight of a small child. The duckling looked up at Raven with its dark eyes. It seemed curious as to what Raven had to say.
"Oh, all right. But only this once."
Robin grinned. "I'm all ears."
"Long ago, in a far away land, there lived a young mage…"
The duckling had lost interest in Raven's story and wandered off the find more amusing things, specifically Cyborg's new ultra-super-mega-spectacular-all-that-and-a-bag-of-chips gauntlets that doubled as a radio. Neither Robin nor Raven noticed. Robin was captivated by the story. Raven was quite the raconteur. Her descriptions were vivid, and the story flowed smoothly. She even deviated from her monotone voice, capturing the emotions of the tale vibrantly. Robin was transported to another time and place. He drank in the story with an insatiable thirst. Raven found herself enjoying Robin as an audience. She had never had anyone listen to her before, truly interested in what she had to say. She felt something she had never experienced before. Raven almost believed she could pour her heart out and Robin would listen, maybe even understand. Perhaps this wasn't a mistake after all.
"…And the mage used her powers to seal the golden gates. Then the knight and mage left the forsaken temple, never to see its hidden powers again. And at the pond where the two first met, a single water lily floats, a symbol of two hearts united."
"What happened to the mage and the knight?"
"Why, they lived happily ever after, of course," Raven stated wryly.
Of course.
Stricken with a sudden thought, Robin asked, "Raven, do you believe in real-life fairytales?"
"I-I don't know," Raven stammered, taken aback by the question. "Why should I?" she added, regaining her composure.
Raven was puzzled. Fairytales aren't real, her pragmatic mind told her. They existed only in the imagination, for amusement and such things. But Robin's question lit a spark of hope in her heart. Maybe, just maybe, fairytales could come true.
Raven pulled a tray of scones out of the oven and set them on a cooling rack. She began wiping off the kitchen counter. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Gottcha!"
Raven jumped. The toaster exploded. She turned around.
"Have we really lowered ourselves to Beast Boy's level of maturity?"
Robin gave Raven a roguish wink. "Admit it Raven. You were scared."
"I was not. You just surprised me," Raven replied flatly.
Robin just smiled knowingly. "Did you make these?" Robin asked and reached for a scone.
"Yes," Raven snatched Robin's hand playfully, forcing him to drop the scone. "But not for you."
Robin gave her a mock look of disappointment. "I didn't know you could cook."
"Neither did I. I just wanted something besides a tofu burger or that blue, decomposing, malodorous substance in the fridge."
Robin made a face at the thought. Raven began moving bowls to fix another batch of dough.
"Need a hand?" Robin inquired.
Raven smiled inwardly at his chivalry. Robin, the Boy Wonder Chef, slicing and dicing food to smithereens. Evil-doers beware. No food will be safe from this young hero. Then something caught Raven's eye. She gasped.
"Is something wrong…" Robin's voice trailed off when he realized what was happening.
The duckling, which Raven took everywhere, was waddling dangerously close to the edge of the kitchen counter. Both Robin and Raven ran towards it at the same time. The duckling squealed in surprise and fell.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"
The duckling hovered above the counter in a black ball of energy. It flapped its wings wildly, breaking the energy barrier and falling into a bowl of batter. Robin scooped the duckling out of the bowl. The duckling shook the wet mixture off its feathers and wriggled free. It ran down the counter with Raven close behind. It slipped on the wet counter and ran into a bag of flour. Feathers flew everywhere. Raven seized her chance and grabbed the duckling.
Robin looked at Raven, covered in flour and feathers. The little duckling was sitting in her hands, innocently looking around. Robin gently picked some feathers out of Raven's cloak and hair.
"At least the duckling's safe," he laughed.
Raven couldn't help but laugh as well.
Raven ran her fingers over the white and ebony keys. She pressed down on one key. A low note reverberated throughout the room. It slowly faded away, reminding Raven of a rainbow. Its brilliancy cannot be captured and always vanishes. She sighed, almost inaudibly. The duckling, which had been watching Raven from the top of the piano, jumped down. It ran among the keys, making its own music. Raven smiled weakly at the duckling, gently placing it on her bed. It looked at Raven, puzzled, as if it were waiting for something.
As if she understood, Raven began playing the piano. Her pale fingers ran across the keys. She took care to instill emotion into each note. The music surrounded Raven, lifting her into the air and transporting her to another world. For a minute, she forgot her troubles, oblivious to everything except the music…
Faint notes of music drifted down the hall. Robin, heading towards his room, paused. He listened to the song, trying to determine the direction it was coming from. He wandered down the hall and stopped abruptly. The door to Raven's room was open. Robin had never seen the inside of her room before, as her door was always closed. His eyes widened when he saw Raven bent over at the piano. Her lilac hair swayed softly to and fro as she played an elegant, nay, beautiful piece. The melody was haunting and bittersweet. Its poignancy touched Robin's heart. It was melancholy, yet it contained a light of hope. Dynamic and passionate. Gentle and sweet. Robin found himself listening to a paradox. Raven's paradox. For a brief moment, Robin thought he saw the real Raven, her true self.
There she was, walking along the moors. Waves crashed on the rocks below. Emerald and violet slopes loomed in the distance. Sunlight and shadows danced across her face. Her cloak billowed in the wind. A pair of amethyst eyes reflected hidden depths…
These thoughts flickered through his mind for a second. Then they were gone. When he sensed the music was winding down, Robin crept away. He began thinking about what he just saw.
"I never knew Raven played the piano," Robin thought. "She's always kept her room closed off."
The song echoed in Robin's ear.
Tale as old as time
Tune as old as song
Bittersweet and strange
Finding you can change
Learning you were wrong
(From Disney's Beauty and the Beast)
"Your wing is fully healed now," Raven whispered.
The Titans were at the pond again. Raven had come to return the duckling to its home. She sat at the water's edge, the duckling at her side. A butterfly danced on the breeze, circling Raven a few times before landing on her finger. Raven gazed at the butterfly, admiring its stained-glass wings.
"See? Someday your wings will grow and you'll be able to fly like this." Raven didn't feel silly talking to the duckling anymore. It came naturally.
Of course, some of us can fly without wings.
The butterfly lifted off again, vanishing into a speck in the sky. Raven quietly watched its flight, and then turned towards the duckling.
"Go," she said and pushed the duckling towards the water. A swan floated in the distance, followed by six little cygnets.
The "duckling" gazed at Raven, confused. It didn't seem to understand. Raven pointed toward the swan family and set the duckling in the water. The duckling began swimming away, then turned around and looked intently at Raven. Raven gave it a reassuring smile. It seemed to Raven that the duckling was smiling back. She watched it swim eagerly toward its family. Raven stared at the ground and bit her lip.
"It's for the best." Robin sat down beside Raven. He had been watching Raven and the duckling. Robin had never seen such a quiet, reflective nature in Raven. She hadn't even moved when the butterfly landed on her finger. Raven had changed. Or perhaps he had just never noticed this before.
"Of course it is." Raven's voice quivered as she tried to maintain her emotionless appearance.
The two sat silently, side by side. There was a tacit understanding between them. Raven was grateful that Robin wasn't forcing a conversation on her. She needed time to think.
After a while, Raven voiced her thoughts out loud. "Some things come in and out of our lives without leaving a mark. But others leave footprints--"
"—And change us forever," Robin finished.
Another silence followed. Robin picked up a twig and poked his reflection on the water's edge. He saw a glint of hazel on the water's surface. Even a mask couldn't completely hide his eyes.
"What do you see when you look at your reflection?" he mused.
It was a rhetorical question, not meant to be answered. Raven swirled the water with her finger. She watched as her image broke into little pieces. Then it arranged itself back into its original form. It was still her. Yet there was an intangible quality that made it look…different. Maybe it was just the light.
Robin picked up a flat stone. He ran his fingers over its smooth surface. "You know, there's a whole ocean of truth out there." He threw the stone and watched it skip over the water.
"Just waiting to be discovered." Raven placed a leaf in the water. She watched the little boat sail away, so tiny compared to the pond.
"Sometimes everything seems so small in the midst of the great cosmos." Robin threw another stone. He grinned as it skimmed farther than his first one had.
"But the small things can have a large impact." Raven grabbed a stone and threw it across the water. It skipped farther than Robin's stone had. It was her turn to smile.
Robin threw a stone and watched it sink. "Teen shouldn't be thinking this much."
"Admit it, tofu is king!"
"And let me guess, hummus is queen! In your dreams!"
Starfire, Robin, and Raven sat around the kitchen table listening to Beast Boy and Cyborg argue. Beast Boy, the defender of a vegetarian diet, challenged Cyborg to the duel. Cyborg, the champion of meat, accepted. Each sought to defend his honor. Their swords were words; their armor, closed minds and ears to protect them from the damage words could do. They followed the knights' code of honor strictly. Neither would ever consider hurting the other while he was down.
"Ha! So you have tried tofu once! Tofu reigns supreme!"
Well, maybe they would consider doing so once or twice. But they were noble fighters.
"Cyborg, why did you just throw the salted and smoked meat from the side of a pig at me?" Starfire asked.
"Sorry Star. That was meant for Beast Boy when he wasn't looking."
Nonplussed, Starfire decided it would be best not to ask any questions. She went back to the newspaper, where she was doing her first Earth crossword puzzle.
"Hmmm…. Fill in the blank: --- the Parents."
"Meat!" shouted Cyborg angrily and threw another slice of bacon at Beast Boy.
"Thank you, friend Cyborg," Starfire smiled and enthusiastically wrote it down.
"What is the 'light clothing worn by sailors in warm weather'?" she continued.
"Duck!"
Raven moved her head, narrowly avoiding being hit by a box of tofu. She glared at Beast Boy, who was cowering in the corner. Meanwhile, Starfire was happily filling in her crossword puzzle.
"Please Raven, I didn't mean…" Beast Boy braced himself for an explosion.
No explosion took place. Beast Boy rubbed his face, realizing that he was alive. Raven had spared him.
Starfire looked at the crossword, where she had just written 'duck.' "I wonder what has happened to our little duckling friend."
"Cygnet," Raven muttered under her breath.
"I heard that!" Beast Boy shouted.
Robin eyed Raven curiously before replying.
"It's grown into a beautiful swan."