Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans. All citizens of Tamaran mentioned are my property. Please ask before using. Otherwise, I'll show those pictures of you at the party (Hehehe).
Our little angel of the stars is next. I feel so bad for Starfire in this season. She's going to go through a lot. I mean, episode #29 is called Betroved. If its anything like the comic, its not gonna be pretty. As a writer, I feel if I use someone else's character, I should respect their wishes on that character's destiny. However, the show is based on the new series of comic book, so the playing field is brand new, and open to possibility. Care to do your own investigation? Try , that's where I did a bit of research. Anyways, I should concentrate on what happens to our little princess in my story. Please continue to enjoy.
By the way, I notice I keep changing what pretext I use to index the chapters. Well, I think I'll do it again, with inspiration from the new CLAMP manga, Tsubasa.
Chaptire 9 – 3: Starfire – A Power That Spans Universes
Starfire was walking towards the main hall that morning, as Legasnouro called her for an audience. This confused her; the master had given her permission to do what she pleased, had he changed his mind? She came to the main hall, where the attendant immediately bowed and entered to inform Legasnouro. Within moments, the attendant returned and opened the door for the princess to enter. She walked through, to which the door was closed behind her. Legasnouro was simply sitting in the middle, with two trays of breakfast at his feet. At the sight of the girl, Legasnouro smiled warmly.
"Princess Koriandor, please," he motioned for her to sit in front of the other tray, "won't accompany me for breakfast."
"Oh, yes of course, I'd be delighted," she said with a smile, and sat down to her meal. It was a traditional meal of the monastery, using greens and grasses from the surrounding fields; it was complemented with a small sampling of fish from a nearby lake. After she had begun her feast, Legasnouro decided to initiate conversation.
"Princess," he began, "might I know what your intentions are this day? Just in case I need to contact you."
"Well," she replied, "I haven't thought about it much. Is it possible to join whatever class Robin is attending?"
"Unfortunately Princess, I have taken the boy under my personal wing. I'll be instructing him for the next week or so."
"Oh," she said, with a look of disappointment, "that is too bad."
"Well," he said, not wanting to upset her. After all, she was his best friend's daughter; "I'll see to it you may join him for a lunch break."
"Oh! That would be very nice of you. Thank you!" she said, her smile returning.
"Your welcome, but until then princess, which class would you like to join? It's perfectly up to you."
"Well, what are my choices?" she asked, she never really attended a monastery. As a member of the Royal Family, she had private tutors and trainers.
"Several, to be precise: there's Blacksmithing, Weapon Training, Hand – to – Hand, Calligraphy, Meditation, Cooking, Ranged Combat, Military Tactics, and Art."
She took a moment to sink that into her head. "Wait," she said, "did you say cooking and art?"
"Yes. Art, like Calligraphy, helps concentration and the expansion of the mind."
"And cooking?"
"Well," said Legasnouro, his hand scratching the back of his head, "I never was able to make anything edible. I have a more reasonable explanation, but that's the hidden reason why."
Starfire couldn't help herself, and started to laugh out loud.
"Oh please Princess," said Legasnouro a little nervous, "I can't be an expert at everything, now can I?"
What's your problem?
Can't you see it?
And you go and blow it
Like everyone knows you will
"Well," she began after calming down, "if you'll permit me, I would like to join that class."
"If you wish, but why would the Royal Family concern themselves with such a task?"
"Back at my home on Earth, we would switch cooking duties every day," she held her head down, "my friends could never really swallow my cooking. Every time it was my turn, I would my all into making something they would enjoy. At best, they would eat the entire thing. Robin, trying to spare my feelings, would be the only one to complement me."
Legasnouro, after hearing Starfire's entire tale, had finished his meal. "Very well, I see to it you are put in a session today." He picked himself, "I'll inform Robin that he will have a prepared meal from you at lunch."
"What?!" said Starfire. Did he just say he'd tell Robin that she would prepare lunch for him? "But, but, I don't think I can do something satisfactory by lunchtime!"
"But Princess," he said, turning to Starfire, "you just said you put your all into it. That's always enough in anything a person does."
Starfire was about to protest, but unable to say anything in retort.
"I'd better get to Robin, it's time he learned the basics of the staff," said Legasnouro, and he turned to leave.
"Master Legasnouro! I'll put my all into it, you'll see!" she yelled at him, just before he closed the door to the hall.
An attendant soon came to take Star to the class. Star was still trying to get over the fact that Legasnouro imposed on her to make lunch for someone. She would really have to let him have it when she saw him again! 'I never knew Father had such manipulative friends,' she thought. 'Then again, I don't know Master Legasnouro very well, so maybe I should reserve my judgment.'
The classroom was a little more complex than the other chambers of the monastery. On each side, all in a military line, were tables, with a small stove, hand – made utensils, spices from the far reaches of the planet, and various cooking pot of usable sizes. In the middle, was a bookshelf, and seats for lectures and demonstrations. Starfire took a seat in the middle, like the rest of the class. The instructor soon came, and began the lesson for the day.
"Class, today is free – style, feel free to use what is available. When your ready, come up and select a book for recipes," she said, and simply left until the class was over. The students came up quietly and swiftly picked up one of the several cookbooks on the shelves. Starfire waited for her turn patiently, and then browsed for one that could have something simple to make. After all, it was a lunch, not something to blow out of proportion. The books seemed to be made by students of the class, and described their own favorite dishes. Then, to her surprise picked up a book. The author name: Korisunjin. She gasped; her father had attended this class? 'The things you never know about the ones closest to you,' she thought. Starfire had made up her mind; she would use one of Father's recipes.
Don't leave this rock unturned
'Cause you could like what you find
A sure shot hit
With your name attached to it
"Will you keep me in mind?"
I won't cast the first stone
Or leave the first mark
But I will leave a lasting impression
You believe what you want
And you said what's been said
And I do hope you learn a lesson
Ohh, do hope you learn a lesson
Class was over, and by sheer luck, she found one that cooked in about three hours. It was another fish meal; inspired by the good food she had this morning. Starfire cooked a slab of seasoned whitefish with some greens. When she finished packaging the meal in a classroom basket, she left only to find Legasnouro waiting for her.
"Good afternoon Princess," he said politely.
"Oh, I was meaning to talk to you," she said, having an idea in her head.
"Oh? What did you need?" he asked.
SLAP
Legasnouro held his cheek, now imprinted with Starfire's hand.
After flinching a bit, Legasnouro responded to the Princess' action, "I might have deserved that."
"Might? Master Legasnouro, I would think would have the decency not to make promises of others."
"And yet," he said, pointing to the basket in her other hand, "you made him a meal anyways."
"Uurgh, that's not the point!" she said in frustration, "Why would you say such a thing? I think I deserve an answer."
"It's just I wanted to see if you would go through with it anyway," he said. "After all, you couldn't join me and Robin for training, so why not the next best thing? I know now you try so hard just to impress him."
Starfire sighed, "So to you, this was all a test of sorts?"
"Partly," he said, putting a hand on her head, "also I wanted to try and figure what's going on up here..." he put his hand near her heart, but as not to touch, "and down here."
Starfire blushed; what exactly was he teaching here at the monastery?
"Come," said Legasnouro, "I've got a tired and hungry pupil who needs some food."
What's your problem?
Can't you see it?
And you go and blow it
Like everyone knows you will
Legasnouro took Starfire to the top of the monastery roof, where the entire horizon could be seen. There in the middle, stood Robin, still swinging and jabbing the Royal Staff at the cool air.
"Robin, sei!" barked Legasnouro, to which Robin recognized as a signal to stop his practice. He turned to see, like Legasnouro said, Starfire with a basket of sorts.
"Good, constant fighting for two hours, take a break. I believe this young lady has something prepared for your delight. I'll be back in one hour, then we continue until nightfall," said Legasnouro, and left the two to their meal.
Don't look too hard for what you want
'Cause it could be on the tip of your tongue
You're holding back
Like there's nothing left to it
Could this be a false alarm?
I won't cast the first stone
Or leave the first mark
But I will leave a lasting impression
You believe what you want
And you said what's been said
And I do hope you learn a lesson
Ohh, do hope you learn a lesson
"Star, when he said that, I really didn't think he meant it," said Robin. "Did you really make that basket for me?"
"Um, Yes," said Starfire. After that bold display in front of Legasnouro, she was now very conserved and shy. "It's not much, but I hope you will except it just the same." With that she held out the basket.
"I'm sure it'll be fine Star, and thanks. That Legasnouro famous for his training for a reason, he's running even me ragged," he smiled and accepted the basket.
"It seems he's taken a personal interest in you. It seems he sees something special." Starfire sat on the soft bamboo rooftop, to which Robin joined her. He opened the basket, to find the fish luncheon made by Starfire.
"Wow," he said, "it almost looks like a dish made on Earth."
"I found it in a cookbook. Get this, the book was written by my father."
"Really? Wonder if he ever visited Earth before he died," Robin quickly gulped. He was afraid he spoke of Korisunjin too soon. Sure enough, a look of pain overtook Starfire's face.
"Star, I'm sorry, I should've been more sensitive," he said. Then again, that was never his strength.
"No," she said, "I will need to talk about it sooner or later. I am actually happy that all the way out here in the monastery, I found a piece of my father I never knew."
"That's a nice thought," he replied, "It's been so long, I don't have any memorabilia of my family anymore."
"I'm sure they were fine people, after all," she said, "look at how you turned out. You're a hero of Earth, what could better news for parents to hear than that?"
"Thanks Star," he said, "well, enough talk, time to eat!"
What's your problem?
Can't you see it?
And you go and blow it
Like everyone knows you will
He took a piece of fish, and began to eat it. Robin chewed the fish for a minute, all the while Starfire's eyes on him waiting for a reaction. Robin's eyes, when wide, and began to choke out some words.
"Star, Star," he choked out, "hot, hot, it's way too hot!!"
"Oh!" she shouted, afraid she hurt him, and frantically looked for water. "I can't seem to locate any water."
"Star, canteen, over, there," Robin choked out, pointing to a canteen by the staff.
Starfire sped over to the container, and quickly returned it to Robin, who proceeded to guzzle a large amount of water down.
Robin gasped, having quenched the fire in his mouth. He turned to Starfire, who had her head held down in shame.
"Well," said Robin at a loss, "your father sure liked his spice."
"I'm sorry," she said, "I really thought I made something good this time."
"It's not that Starfire, just cut it down next time," he said, and quickly finished the fish and slugged the rest of the water.
Why don't you get it together now?
Failure's not flattering
When will you show yourself?
When will you show yourself?
Ohh, do hope you learn a lesson
Ohhhh, you'll never learn your lesson
The next few days consisted of the same routine: Starfire would use a recipe from her father, Robin would eat it during a training break, and every day, the meal was a little bit better. Robin was quite surprised to be honest, and when he told her of her improvement, Starfire's eyes lit up.
Four days later, Starfire exited the room; only Legasnouro was there to tell her some news.
"Princess," he said, "I'm afraid Robin will be away from the monastery. He will return this evening."
"Oh," she said, disappointed, "I guess I will give this to him then."
That night, Starfire found Robin back on the roof.
"Robin," she said, getting his attention, "I have something for you."
"Oh hey Star," he replied, "Sorry I was gone today, training outside the monastery. Anyways, what do I have today?"
"Here you are, I think this is my best yet," she handed him the dish. It was a pasta dish, with steak, oregano, shrimp, and marinara.
"Wow," he exclaimed, "It looks great."
Robin took the meal and dug in, Starfire once again locked onto him. Robin's eyes lit up, and immediately engulfed the dish. Starfire was utterly shock, one at his enjoyment, two at his terrible manners.
"Wow," he said, "you were right Star, that was your best attempt yet!"
"Oh," she was so happy, "that's wonderful, thank you so much. I probably couldn't have gotten so good so fast is you hadn't sampled my cooking." Starfire yawned, "well, its getting late. Good night Robin, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Good night Star," said Robin, and she left.
What's your problem?
Can't you see it?
And you go and blow it
Like everyone knows you will
As she walked down the hall to her room, she heard the following, "Well, what did he think of it?"
Starfire turned to the voice she immediately recognized as Legasnouro's.
"He liked it, more than I could of imagined," she said.
"I would of figured, after all, I thought that was your father's best recipe."
Star quirked an eyebrow, "how would you know of it?"
"Because Princess, I was your father's guinea pig for his first try at that dish. After I tasted it, he cooked it for your mother."
"Hmm, maybe your not as manipulative as I thought," she said, "by the way, I'm sorry for slapping you."
"No need Koriandor," he said, "I crossed my boundaries, which I had no right. Well, you better get some sleep."
"Yes," she said, and turned around and started to walk. Starfire stopped, turned around and gave the master monk a hug, "thank you," she whispered. With that, she left for her room for the night.
What's your problem?
Can't you see it?
And you go and blow it
Like everyone knows you will
I've been going a little crazy with background music as of late. It's just I find some good music that set the chapter's mood every time I write one. Should I cut it out? Let me know.
"Thank You!" To The Following:
Black Dawn
Wow, I'm so glad you're still reading. Thanks for your support!
Katera
My newest reader, welcome to the circle! I''m glad you are liking the story, keep reading!
Aeris-Raven
Well, I did Starfire next, did you like? Thanks for your continued support!
Marchwardens Blue Eyed S
Hi Ruby! Thanks to you as well. I waa glad I was able to return some of the happiness you show me. I hope you continue to enjoy!
ssjEasterBunny
Welcome back ssj. You asked me a question when you got back, I'm glad you liked my case, feel free to use the letter, I'd actually like to see it posted to show your support. Keep up your own good work.
KPAAF
