Carefully, Star and Robin trekked across the forest. While they did not actually go on the path for fear that someone would see them since they were still too close to the palace grounds, the grounds were quite extensive, they were never more than 20 ft. away from the path, stealthily hiding in the shadows. After a while, they came to a fork in the road.
Star turned to Robin. "I have never seen this on any map. I am sorry but I do not know where to go."
Robin looked at the paths curiously for a moment. Suddenly, he smiled brightly and grabbed Star. Pulling her behind him, he went right through the middle of the fork. Star grimaced as the branches whipped at her face. She did not understand what Robin was doing, but he seemed so confident. Suddenly, they emerged in a clearing. It was like no camp area Star had ever seen. It was perfectly circular with the trees all equally spaced. Robin carefully turned to one tree in particular. He pushed it aside to reveal a small...
"Tunnel!" Star squealed. Robin had known what he was doing.
"This is very narrow, so we have to go single file. Stay right behind me. I don't want you getting lost."
Robin led her into the tunnel and carefully made his way through it. He looked back at Star. For all of her height, Star seemed to have no trouble in the small, confined area moving confidently and gracefully.
'What am I thinking?' Robin thought shaking his head. 'I need to concentrate.'
He continued through the tunnel until they finally emerged in a large, brightly lit cavern. Three other people were already there.
"Cyborg, BB, Raven," Robin called to them.
"You're back," the girl, Raven said. "Welcome." The words were kind by her voice seemed to lack any emotion at all.
"And I brought someone," Robin continued, not unnerved at all. He gave Star a slight push forward and she stepped into the light.
"I am pleased to met you, new friends." Star said. Even in breeches she was able to execute a curtsy.
"Nice to met you too!" the smaller boy, BB exclaimed. "Finally, someone else I can play video games with!"
"Someone else you can lose to, you mean," the larger boy, Cyborg laughed.
"Robin, what are these video games, they speak of?" Star whispered. Unfortunately for her the cavern amplified everything that was said, and everyone heard her question.
"Dude! You don't know what video games are? They're like the best thing ever! How could you go through life without playing them? How did you survive?"
Star was pretty confused. Suddenly, she felt drowsy again. "Robin, I think I want to sleep..." her voice trailed off as she sagged to the ground. Robin quickly caught her. He stared at her face. While Tameranians did need to sleep, it usually wasn't this often. He looked at her and was startled to notice the great fatigue that lined her face.
'She did just run away from home two days ago. How could he be so inconsiderate? I should have noticed her weariness.' Robin remembered how she had just barely kept up with him. 'And Tameranians are practically 5x as strong as humans. She must have been deathly tired.' He continued to silently scold himself.
Suddenly Star floated out of his arms. She was encased in a soft black cloud. Robin stiffened and was about to go after her when Raven spoke again.
"Relax, we have a room where she can stay. I'm taking her there now. She also has some small cuts I can heal."
Raven walked with the floating Star trailing after her. Reaching a small opening off of the great chamber she walked through it into a hallway. Turning at the second door, she opened the door and after depositing Star on the bed, shut the door after them.
Robin spent the rest of the evening talking and playing games with Cyborg, BB, and Raven once she returned. They caught up on what had happened since they had last met.
-------flashback--------
Robin was spending time in the cavern. He had found it like it was structurally. He had added various piece of furniture in the two months he had spent there. He was waiting until he had stockpiled and researched enough to go through with his assassination job. He was relaxing, playing against himself in the video games when he saw three wet and soggy figures emerge from the tunnel. He grabbed his weapon and prepared to face off. The three figures walked over to the fire, then collapsed in front of it. Robin had stayed up the entire night watching them.
In the morning they rose. They would come to be known as Cyborg, BB, and Raven, but hadn't been formally introduced yet.
"Dude! Where did the monster go?" BB asked drowsily.
After Robin perceived them to be no threat to him, he carefully worked out their story. It seemed that they had simply run into each other after having the bad luck to meet no the path and run into a monster. They had found the clearing, and tried to back away as far from the monster as they could. They just kept backing up until they found the tunnel. They hadn't heard the monster coming after them, but they continued anyway, running for their lives. Robin had first seen them as they had come into the cavern, worn out from their exhausting run.
Seeing that they were no older than himself, Robin had offered to let them stay in the cavern with him. They quickly agreed. While each person's history was kept secret, they bonded with the time spent together. After several more months in the cave, Robin had learned enough about the palace and had gotten enough food and resources to go there. He had left them, only telling the others that he had a job to do.
--------end flashback-------
When Robin finished telling the others about his failed job and his new job, as Star's traveling companion. They stood back in awe.
"Dude! A princess! Maybe she can help me meet like, alien celebrities!" BB was so excited at the thought of being one step away from becoming famous.
"Not anymore she isn't" Raven said. "And it's probably a good thing that she decided to run away when she did considering Robin was on his way to her. Any ideas who hired you?"
"None, Slade didn't say a word. He only gave me my instructions."
"Well she's safe now. No one can get to her here." Cyborg said confidently. "Another game of racing?"
"You're on," Robin laughed. It was nice to be relaxing without anything on his mind. --------slade's place------
"He failed me. This will not be tolerated." Slade muttered threateningly. He was reviewing the tapes. He had a attached a camera to Robin's clothes but it seemed to have fallen off after Robin's escapade in the market place. That didn't matter. Slade had learned enough to know that Robin had left him, and left his control.
"You mean Starfire isn't dead?" A cold voice asked Slade over a transmitter.
"No." He replied angrily.
"That's a shame. I had just assumed that she wouldn't even last one night. If she is still alive I can never have full control over the royal throne. She doesn't realize it but control isn't just passed by naming someone. She had the sacred mark imprinted on her at birth. Until she dies, no one else can rule unless they too have the mark. Unfortunately, I seem to have been born without it. The youngest daughter thing was only because before me, all royal girls had the mark. I was the mutant; the freak." Blackfire spat put the words with disgust. Turning back to Slade on the video transmitter, she continued. "The boy is weak. Find his breaking point and you will have control over him once more. Then you will have power over him again and I can kill the only thing that is in my way to my ascent of the royal throne."
"Your parents?" Slade asked quietly.
"Already taken care of. I have hired another assassin for them but I have decided to keep them alive until I can safely kill Star. I can't have civil war going on because the royal heir is missing and I cannot claim the throne. I need her dead. Find out the boy's weakness."
"I think I might already have," Slade said, laughing softly as he reviewed the tapes. He pressed play: "You wouldn't kill me," Star said calmly.
Blackfire realized the full extent of the words. Smiling, she turned back to Slade.
"Well done," She said. "Now get me my throne."
The transmitter went dead, leaving only Slade surrounded by his video screens.