A Raven Colored Past

Chapter 5: Denied

July 1st 2004

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Beast Boy, even though he was clad in traditional Azarathian garments, still felt like he stuck out like a sore thumb. Perhaps it was because he was standing next to a goddess in physical form, perhaps it was because he looked so young compared to the older council leaders… or maybe it was just because he was as green as an under-ripe banana. Whatever the cause was, he felt all eyes bore into him and Raven as they walked the long, carpeted cat-walk toward the head of the council.

Beast Boy could pick the council leader out instantly. He sat, elevated, at the center of the table on an ornately carved, gold chair, and he was clothed in a cloak of blood red as opposed to the midnight-black of the other members; his face, however, was hidden by the large hood. The only thing visible was the frown on his lips.

Raven stopped in front of the council leader, then bowed deeply, eyes never leaving the leader's hidden face. Slowly the council leader stood, bowed back to Raven, then removed his hood and stared down at the future queen of Azarath.

As Raven felt her breath catch in her chest and she found it hard to breathe as she stared into those frightfully familiar eyes. The leader, a friend of her mother's and therefore Raven's only friend in the council, had been replaced! And not just by anyone. He had been replaced by the bane of her existence.

"Sephiroth!" Raven whispered, taking a step back.

Beast Boy looked from the demon, to Raven and back again, snarling at the former's cool composure. Although Beast Boy didn't know a lot about the intricacies of Azarathian politics, he did know that Sephiroth in power could only spell trouble for Raven and her desires to advocate.

"Raven." Sephiroth replied without a single tone to what he was thinking.

"What… what are you doing?" Raven asked, completely in shock of how he had risen in power in her absence.

"Sitting on the council, as I have done for five years, Raven." His voice was even-leveled and held a subliminal message that said: 'I own you.' Raven glared at him, feeling every ounce of hatred for him bubble up in her mind and fought hard for control. Although her powers didn't really work in Azarath, she still had to fight the urge to jump up and the table and kick the son of a bitch in his cocky face.

"Shall we begin?" Sephiroth questioned, returning to his seat and nodding at the twelve other council members. They each returned the gesture, then removed their hoods from their heads.

"Tegh, will you begin the meeting?" Sephiroth said in a very stately manner.

"Yes, Sephiroth." An older member of the council replied, then stood up and bowed to the dark woman in the center of the room. "Queen Raven-"

She cringed, but said nothing.

"After the untimely death of your father…" There was a moment of silence, as if in reverence. "… it is now your duty to ascend to the throne of Azarath."

"I wish to advocate." Raven spoke quickly and crisply, hoping that the torture would only last so long.

There was a heavy pause. Beast Boy thought for a moment that time had stopped. No one said anything, moved, or even breathed. It was quite frightening how silent it could actually get. Finally, Sephiroth broke the silence and spoke.

"Advocate? Why?" His voice was like that of a serpent's. It was as if he was tempting her to try and defy his power.

"I am a citizen of the Top-World and I wish to stay there." Raven said, holding her head up defiantly. There was a shocked murmur among the members of the council.

"Queen Raven," A member on the far left, asked as he stood up. "Is there any proof to this?"

Raven nodded and motioned to Beast Boy. He bowed quickly in response, feeling awkward about exposing the back of his neck to the council members. Anyone of them looked like they were going to take out a dagger and plunge it into his chest at any moment.

"This is Gar Logan, also known as Beast Boy. He is my bodyguard, teammate, and friend. He will vouch for me, that I have been in residence on the Top-World for four years as of this September."

"Is this true?" The member asked Raven's companion.

"It is." Beast Boy nodded.

"So…" The member continued, "This is where you've been hiding all these years, is it, Raven? Going to the Top-World, when you know it is strictly forbidden, even to the future queen?" His voice had turned to ice, accusing Raven of disobeying the laws.

"I was not hiding…" Raven spoke through clenched teeth. "I was in plain sight the whole time. You could have come and gotten me earlier… if you wanted." She snarled at them, feeling her control slipping into hatred. "But none of you like the idea of having to make contact with the Top-World, or half-breeds! How would you feel if a half-breed became your queen!?"

Beast Boy quickly grabbed Raven's arm, in hope that she would calm down… or at least that Beast Boy would be able to hold her back, in case she went berserk; which had never seemed like a possibility before, but certainly seemed like one now.

"We don't decide who is our queen and who is not, Raven."

Beast Boy vaguely noticed that they had stopped calling Raven 'queen'.

"We only follow the orders that are given to us. If we had the choice, you would have been killed the moment your mother gave birth to you! Being human is disgusting, but being a half-breed is even worse!"

Raven ripped her arm from Beast Boy's grasp, then went up to the man and slugged him good and hard across the face. "Take that you son of a bitch! I'm scum!? Well, apparently your mother died in child-birth… otherwise you wouldn't be alive either!" With those last words, she turned and stormed out of the room.

Beast Boy chased after her, hoping he could at least calm her down enough for her to explain what had just happened. Some how he had a feeling that Raven wouldn't be calm for a very long time.

"Raven!" He ran after her, barely able to keep ten feet behind her at all times. Raven never stopped, flinched, or even gave any sign that she knew Beast Boy was following her. She just stormed through the labyrinth of corridors and rooms, her red dress billowing behind her like a fabric fire of fury (nice alliteration).

"Raven!" Beast Boy called again. "I know you wanna be alone, but I don't know how to get back! Raven!" He continued running after her, feeling his heart sink deeper and deeper into his chest. This place never ended! He was going to get lost in hell!

Finally, Raven burst through a set of double doors, and proceeded slowly into a large cavern, filled mostly by dark and ominous lake. A large and elaborate fountain took up most of the small portion that wasn't covered by the black water. It was here that Raven suspended her furious running, and stared at the fountain in revered silence.

Beast Boy stood close to the doors, in fear of disturbing Raven's solitude. However, he too was in awe at the sight of the fountain. It was indescribable and poured blackened water from every part possible.

Raven sat on the ground, then rested her head along the rim of the bath. After a few minutes she picked her head up and turned back to Beast Boy. "You can come in closer, Beast Boy… I won't bite you."

The green male took careful steps toward the fountain, then sat down next to Raven, looking at her questioningly.

"It's the Fountain of Forget." She dipped her hand into the black water. "Drinking a single drop can make you forget the past year… and drinking a whole cup full can make you forget everything you've ever known…"

There was a small silence before she continued. "I. came here after… after I saw my mother murdered… and I was about to drink a whole goblet full… when I realized, although I was in pain… I didn't want to forget, I wanted to grow stronger."

Beast Boy looked at her carefully, shocked to learn that Raven had witnessed her own mother's death. The only woman that had truly loved Raven had been murdered in front of her very eyes.

"I never wanted to come back here, and look at this… mess I've made. Some strength I turned out to have…" Raven splashed the water with her fingertips.

"Raven," Beast Boy said carefully, placing a hand on her arm. "Facing up to those council members took a lot of strength. They don't have any right to push you around, be you queen or not. You're Raven… and you're better than that."

Raven's cheeks turned the color of her dress and she looked away for a moment before turning back to smile at him. "Thanks, Beast Boy… but this is going to take a miracle to clean up…" She sighed deeply and placed her chin back on the rim of the bath. "Sephiroth can't rule with out marrying me first… and with him as the head of council… there's no way I can advocate now."

Beast Boy placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Everything is gonna be alright, Raven. I know it doesn't look like it right now, but it will be. I promise."

"You know… sometimes it really sickens me how optimistic you can be."

Beast Boy ginned. "Thank you. I take pride in knowing that I annoy you with my cheerfulness."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "I'm so glad you have something to amuse yourself with," She commented sarcastically.

"Oh? You're not amused?"

"No."

Beast Boy shrugged in response. "I tried."

"And failed gallantly…" Raven smirked slightly at him, then turned back to the black water and sighed deeply. "I'm going to have to face them again sometime…"

"Why do they hate you so much?" her companion questioned, turning to study her profile. Raven looked sad, confused, frustrated… all in all, she looked like she needed a hug. Although, that was completely out of the question for Beast Boy.

"They always have…" Raven never took her eyes away from the fountain as she spoke softly, trying to explain to Beast Boy what she had known her whole life. "A union between a human and a demon is forbidden… but since it was my father who broke the rule… everyone just turned their heads…"

"Wow…" The wheels in Beast Boy's head were churning… unfortunately the wrong way. "Your father must have really loved your mother to break the rule…" He said in a surprised tone.

"Hmph." Raven made a sound of discontent in response. "He loved the fact that she had a vagina, a uterus, and she was a virgin… that was pretty much all he loved." She rolled her eyes. "Virgins are hard to come by in the world of sin."

Beast Boy's face had turned a deep shade of red. If there was one thing that shocked him, it was the fact the Raven was so racy when she spoke. It was strange that she was becoming more comfortable with him. And even stranger that she was especially comfortable enough to speak so openly and freely. He had never been so close to Raven that she would spill such dark secrets of her past to him. It actually felt good to have her talk to him, like a friend and not just a teammate.

"You really dislike your father… don't you?" Beast Boy's eyebrow rose in question. When questions of her father rose in conversation, Raven would spit an answer then sneer angrily at the thought of her father. It was very strange to see her tremble with such a dark rage, she was usually so calm and let few things bother her.

"That's putting it very lightly…" Raven's hatred turned to sadness, and she looked over at him. "How much would you love some one… if they killed your mother?"

Beast Boy's face paled as he looked at Raven in surprise. "What?"

"My father killed my mother… because she didn't want me betrothed." Raven felt tears well up in her eyes and she tried to blink them away, but with little avail. "She wanted me to grow up free of Azarath… and she gave her life for it…" She sniffed a little, turning her face away from Beast Boy's shocked gaze. "So, you can guess why I don't want to be here."

Beast Boy scooted closer to Raven and put his hands on her shoulders. "Raven… I… I never knew."

"I didn't want you to…" She turned farther away from Beast Boy, but he didn't give up. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close, not feeling any reaction, but also feeling no resistance.

"Raven… you're so strong. To have to go through all of this and still come out swinging…" He whispered calmly.

Raven pushed him off, and turned to glare at him. "Don't feel sorry for me."

"I'm not," Beast Boy replied calmly. "I'm admiring you. After my parents died…" He swallowed hard and looked away, trying to find strength. "I could never return to country that they died in… I don't even want to consider it." He glanced back up at the dark girl. "But you returned to Azarath ready for a fight."

Raven's face had now turned bright red in response to his words, then looked away. His words calmed her spirit, gave her strength, and made her actually want to hug him. What in the Gods' names had happened to goofy Beast Boy?

"You know," Raven began, looking over at her companion, "You've been very insightful this whole trip. What's gotten into you?"

He shrugged. "Hell, if I know."

There's the Beast Boy we all know and love!

"That was a really bad pun." Raven raised an eyebrow. Beast Boy grinned in response.

"Oh, I know."

There was a period of comfortable silence, before Beast Boy popped a very daring question.

"So… what should we do now?"

Raven looked up at him and shrugged. "Wait until that damned council calls me back for another meeting and some reprimanding I guess…" She stood up and rolled her shoulders, easing the tension from the tired muscles. All that crying and past spilling was murder on her stress levels. After a moment, she looked back down at Beast Boy. "Are you hungry?"

He nodded, standing up. "Starving."

"Let's go get some food." She started for the door, Beast Boy close behind.

"I wont have to stay here a month for every piece of food I eat… will I?" He asked tentatively.

Raven laughed. "No…" She turned to her green companion slyly. "Although maybe we should reinstate that rule…"

"Not funny!"

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SORRY! I had to re-post the story due to the fact that my years were kind of goofy. Meaning if Raven was fourteen when she came to the top world, and she was on the top world for six years, that would make her like twenty. And that's just too darn old. Anyway… just thought I'd fix that for you and everything.

PS: NEW STORY!!

Dirty Beast Boy finds some trashy romance novels in Raven's possession… need I say more?

PSS: I don't own Teen Titans, dur. If I did, Beast Boy would SO be mine!