My Only Love Sprung from My Only Hate
Chapter Two: Malchior's Slayer
By Twilight Shards
He could sense that she had awoken. Her aura was always calmest during the early hours of morning. For a short while, the misery and quiet anguish that would emanate from her were nowhere to be found. She was at peace for those few moments until those feelings of silent frustration would surface, and she would put up a barrier of impassiveness to hide it just like she had done so many times before.
Even though he had never talked to her, he already knew so much about her.
He could feel his strength returning to him with each moment. In a few days, he might even be able to break the girl's curse and free himself. After Malchior's betrayal, he doubted that she would be willing to free him, so he would have to take that task upon his own hands.
How he was going to go about it was an entirely different matter.
He would have the power to break the curse, he was certain of it. But he wasn't sure how the girl would react. She was deceived into believing that Malchior was actually the wizard who had slain the dragon. It was very unlikely that she would believe him, despite the fact that it was actually him who trapped the dragon into the book in the first place.
He could feel her presence leaving the room, most likely to grab some nourishment. It was quite strange; he sensed that she harbored great feelings of resentment against Malchior, but there was still the slightest trace of longing for him as well. It was like she actually regretted cursing the evil creature back into the book.
But how? How could she still have any thread of emotion left for that monster? He lied to her, used her like some sort of pawn. In the midst of his twisted plans, he didn't even consider the girl's feelings for him. So why...?
The first thing he had to do was to free himself, and then he would worry about how she would react. The power within him that had been dormant for a little over a thousand years was awakening again. It was only a matter of time until he would be able to lift the curse. Then, he would have to confront the girl, and hopefully it will not be hostile meeting.
The unwavering sadness was back, and he knew she had returned. Without even seeing her actions, he could tell that her mind was falling into a deep trance. She had begun her meditation, the struggling emotions she had tried so hard to hide beginning to subside as she chanted. He tried to picture her from the few instances he had caught glimpses of her face.
He had remembered a pair of solemn eyes that held wisdom beyond her years. Violet hair had fallen to the sides of a pale, youthful face, and there was a small red gem embedded in the middle of her forehead.
Although she was very serious looking for her age, he still found her to be...lovely. This was especially true when she had smiled.
He scolded himself. This was no time to have such thoughts. He had to concentrate on getting his strength back if he ever wanted to be a free man again.
...maybe when he leaves this prison, he could make her smile. There was something that told him that she hadn't done so for a long while.
"Dude, come on!!!"
"No, it's too risky."
"Nothing is gonna happen!"
"Beast Boy, it's Halloween Night. There's no telling what kind of psychos will be roaming the streets that night."
"If you mean the munchkins with the masks and costumes who are carrying their pillowcases around with them, they're just kids!"
"You know that's not what I meant."
"Aw, COME ON! Are we gonna celebrate Halloween by monitoring the city while everyone else is having a good time?!"
"Basically, yes."
Beast Boy pouted in response to the Boy Wonder's blunt answer. "But that's what we do everyday!"
"That's what we're supposed to do, in case you've forgotten," Robin stated. "Our job is to protect people, remember?"
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Beast Boy ranted, "but even bad guys take holidays off," the changeling took out a poster and shoved it in Robin's face, giving him barely enough room to breathe.
"That club downtown is having a Halloween bash. There's gonna be music, babes in costumes—"
"And all the free food you can eat!" Cyborg added enthusiastically.
Robin could see that they were intent on going to the party. Beast Boy was decked out in a vampire costume complete with fangs, and Cyborg was dressed in an outfit that resembled Frankenstein with two grotesque bolts sticking out of his neck.
"Guys, no," Robin answered, his tone unwavering. "We can't go out and have a good time when the city is at risk—"
The doors automatically opened and Starfire floated gracefully in. It didn't take long for the Boy Wonder to realize that she was wearing a pink, flowing dress with sparkling wings attached onto her back. To top it all off, she was carrying a wand in one of her gloved hands.
"Do you like my overpriced Halloween outfit?" she beamed, settling on the floor.
"...not you, too," Robin groaned.
"Robin, what is the matter?" Starfire asked, looking worried. "Do you not like my costume?"
"No, no it's not that, it's..." Robin stopped and looked at the grinning faces of Beast Boy and Cyborg while Starfire was looking rather puzzled.
"Look dude, we'll know trouble when we see it. If some bad guy decides to start something, we'll be there in a second to kick his butt!"
"Yeah, so stop worrying and get ready to party 'til the sun comes up!"
Seeing how Beast Boy and Cyborg weren't going to give up, the Boy Wonder caved in. "Okay, but if there's the slightest hint of danger—"
"We know the routine: you'll say 'Teen Titans, go!' and we beat up the guy and throw him in jail! Now get into your costume already."
Robin shot him a confused look. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"
The changeling rolled his eyes. "Dude, it's so uncreative! There's bound to be twenty other guys dressed like Robin!"
"...I am Robin."
"Beast Boy, have you invited Raven to accompany us to the celebration?" Starfire asked.
The grin on Beast Boy's face disappeared. "Tried to, but she's been in her room forever—"
As if on cue, the doors opened once more and Raven stepped into the living room. Without taking any time to notice her teammates' costumes, she went over to the kitchen and began setting a kettle of water on the stove to boil.
While she was getting out a packet of herbal tea from the cupboard, Starfire rushed to her side.
"Raven, you are not in proper attire!"
Raven looked blankly at the Tamaran girl and noticed the sparkling dress she was wearing. "Proper attire for what?"
"Beast Boy has told us about a celebration in one of those clubs with the ear-deafening music and blinding lights!" the redhead beamed. "It will be great fun!"
"I'll pass," Raven answered, getting out a mug.
"Oh, is it because you do not have a costume?" Suddenly, Starfire pulled a wing set and a halo out of nowhere. She arranged the halo on top of the smaller girl's head and tied the wings onto her back.
"There, you now have a costume!" she cried happily.
Raven, to the others' surprise, did not lash out at the alien girl. Instead she plucked the halo off of her head and gave it back to Starfire.
"It's not really my style."
"Yeah, Star," Beast Boy chimed in. "It's Raven, you need something creepier!"
Before she knew it, Beast Boy appeared on her other side. At what seemed like the speed of light, he had set a pointed black hat onto her head and a broom in her hand.
"I think she looks better as a witch," he said, taking a step back to admire his work. "See, the hat matches the cape!"
Starfire shuddered in disapproval. "It is too dark and gloomy." She was lost in thought for a second, and then she clapped her hands together. "How about a fairy princess or perhaps an adorable rag doll?"
"No way! I think she should stick with this costume, or she could even be a vampire like me!" the changeling looked hopefully to Raven, who Cyborg and Robin both noted, was becoming increasingly agitated.
"We are going to a party, are we not? She should not be dressed in something so scary!"
"Uh, Star? It's Halloween!" Beast Boy exclaimed, waving his hands. "It's the one day of the year that people can dress up in scary costumes for fun!"
"Um, guys—"Robin tried to cut in, but Starfire and Beast Boy failed to hear him.
"Nonsense, she will go in something that is nice and pretty!"
"No, scary!"
"Pretty!"
"Scary!"
"Pretty!"
"Scary!"
"ENOUGH!"
Waves of dark energy cut through the air, and the sound of something cracking broke the suddenly quiet air. The cupboard doors swung open, releasing countless shards of ceramic and glass that once served as silverware.
In the midst of all the racket, the shrill whistle of kettle was heard, and Raven calmly turned the stove off and prepared her tea.
As cascades of the broken plates and cups poured onto the ground, Starfire and Beast Boy could do nothing but gape at the usually impassive girl.
"I'm not going," Raven firmly stated, her voice regaining her monotone pitch. "I am going to stay in the tower and meditate."
She tore the hat off of her head and shoved it along with the broomstick into Beast Boy's hands. With her tea in hand, she left her astonished teammates without looking back.
After he had felt she was out of earshot, Robin spoke. "You guys shouldn't have argued like that."
"Dude, it's not our fault that she decided to break our silverware!"
"But you did push her to the edge," Robin justified. "You know what her powers are like."
Starfire kneeled and picked up a piece of a broken dinner plate. "I do not understand. A few weeks ago, Raven was willing to engage in social activities with us without even protesting. But now, she spends her days locked inside of her room..."
Cyborg turned towards Robin. "You don't think that...?"
"No," Robin replied confidentially. "We saw her seal him up in that book. I doubt that she would be talking to him after what he did to her."
"But then what's going on? The last time she lost her temper like this was when she nuked breakfast that one time—"
"I don't know why she's acting like this," Robin said. "But if she wants to be alone, we should respect that."
Beast Boy was about to protest, but Robin stopped him. "She's probably going through a tough time right now, and even if she knows we want to help her, she won't let us. She needs to figure things out, and we need to give her space in the meantime."
The other three fell silent. It was obvious that neither of them was comfortable with what their leader said, but they all knew it was true. There was only so much they could do to help her, especially when she didn't want to talk to them about it.
"In any case, she wouldn't want us pondering about it," Robin concluded.
"That's right," Cyborg added. "Now are we gonna go to that party or not?"
Looking reluctantly at the place Raven had been when she had telepathically broken the contents of the cupboards, Starfire hovered after them. Beast Boy was the last to leave, his enthusiasm of going to the Halloween party nowhere to be found. He took a few seconds to observe the shattered pieces lying on the floor, and then he followed his teammates to the tower's exit.
She didn't mean to do what she did. Something inside of her just slipped out of her control, and it resulted in her breaking all the dishes and glasses.
She looked at her hands as if she were seeing them for the first time. Faint traces of energy were coursing through her fingers from the unintended spell.
The last time she lost control of her temper was when her hatred had threatened to consume her. She knew that she had not completely defeated it, but she wasn't planning on it to resurface so soon.
"Admit it..."
A menacing voice leered at her from her dresser. Taking cautious steps, she gingerly picked up the ancient mirror that two of her teammates had the misfortune of being drawn into.
"You know very well why you cannot control your own emotions anymore."
She shut her eyes tightly in meditation as she tried to drown out the voice.
"It is because you can't stop thinking of him"
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos..." she adamantly chanted, determined to drown out the voice.
"Deep down, you know that you miss him. You want him to come back. You just simply will not admit it."
"I don't miss him," she heard herself say.
The voice chuckled. "Oh, yes you do. He was the only one who truly did understand you."
"He did not understand me," she replied, her voice almost trembling. "He lied to me."
Black energy began to circle around her, her cape swaying in the unnatural wind. Demonic red eyes glared at her from the surface of the mirror, burning into her with an accusation that she was not willing to believe.
"Silly little girl," it taunted. "He understood you well. He knew that you were just as heartless as him in the inside."
"Shut up...!"
"He knew what you truly are: the spawn of an evil demon whose cruelty has no bounds. He knew and that was why he used you!"
"He used me because I was the only one who could free him!" she shouted over the swirling torrent of dark magic.
"And you let yourself be used, because your soul is tainted and he knew that and accepted you! You are the same as him! You are both corrupt!"
"I am NOT like him!" Her eyes were glowing crimson now, mirroring the monstrous ones in her mirror.
"If it weren't for your friends, you would've let him destroy the city that you are bound to protect!" the voice screeched manically. "He would have burned it until not even the ashes remained, and you would still follow in his steps like the lovesick girl you are!"
She had fallen to her knees, her violet hair whipping around her face. Her slender hands were clutching tightly at her cape as she tried to keep the rage from engulfing her very being...
"You cannot even have a peaceful night's sleep without having his name cross your mind. Admit it you foolish child...you love him..."
A tormented scream ripped through her throat and into the night as Raven was once again thrown into an internal conflict with the hatred she had tried so hard to suppress.
He focused his energy, thinking of nothing else as he concentrated. His voice was steady and confident as he chanted, and the only thing he could feel was the magic streaming through his fingertips.
Slowly, he could feel the dark energy encased in the pages of the book begin to disintegrate. His spell was working, and knowing this encouraged him to continue.
This was the day. He was going to be free again. He knew it.
All of a sudden, something had disrupted his concentration. He could feel a tempest of emotion entering the room, and he knew that the girl was back sooner than he had expected.
But what he sensed next had shocked him. There was a second presence in the room, but it was something he had never felt before. This presence was pure darkness, an unfathomable rage that was nothing short of demonic. It was merciless and unrelenting like a violent storm, and the girl was using all her strength to fight it.
To make matters worse, he knew she was losing.
He concentrated what was left of his powers into the spell. The chains of the curse were breaking now, and he was feeling unusually lightheaded. It was like a weight had been lifted off of him, and he was finally free to move about for the first time in countless ages.
There was a flash of blinding white light. When he felt that first breath of air fill his lungs, he knew that the spell had worked.
However, the sight that welcomed him when he had opened his eyes gave him reason to postpone his victory. A maelstrom of jet black energy had formed in the center of the room.
And in the middle of it was the girl, helpless to stop it.
Wasting no time, he rushed towards the maelstrom. The black energy that encircled her prevented him from getting to her. Determined to help the girl, he cast a spell to form a shield of glowing white light to protect him. He was able to pass through the wall of dark magic, and he landed next to the girl.
He found her on kneeling on the ground, gripping tightly onto the cape she wore. Her eyes were shut, her teeth gritted in frustration.
"It is useless to resist, you foolish girl. Give in to your hatred."
He heard the demonic voice over the whirling currents of dark energy, each one of its words dripping with venom.
Before he could locate the source of the disembodied voice, he heard the girl cry out.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" she screamed, her hands now pressing against the sides of her face. Her eyes suddenly opened, and he could see that they were flashing white. But in a second, the color had altered to blood red, and then white once more.
She was trying to resist the demonic aura. Her powers were at their limits as she was attempting to keep her sanity.
She was in pain, and he could not stand idly by. He had to do something.
He lowered himself to her height and took her by her shoulders, forcing her to face him. She did not react; her eyes were shut tightly once more, and her hands were gripping at the strands of her hair.
"...Raven," the name rolled off his tongue, softly and evenly. This was the first time he had uttered the name that Malchior had called this girl when he would talk to her.
He shook off the strange feeling in his chest and repeated the girl's name. "Raven."
She opened her eyes, the clashing of white and red still apparent. Her hands slowly left the sides of her head, but her arms were still shaking uncontrollably.
His hold on her small shoulders was firm, and his eyes never left hers. "You have to fight this."
Her eyes shut again, as if she were trying to regain control. Her hands clenched into fists, and he had realized that the storm of dark energy was beginning to die down around them.
He continued to hold her by the shoulders and continued, "You cannot allow this evil to take over you. Raven, you must concentrate and defeat it."
As if he had uttered another spell, the already subsiding storm had disappeared, leaving a bunch of trinkets and books lying around and a nearly unconscious girl behind. She fell forward, but he was there to catch her in his arms. Her head rested against the cool metal of his silver armor while she caught her breath.
Rather than being relieved that she had overpowered the demonic force for now, he was concerned about her well-being. It must have taken a great deal of magic to do what she had done just now.
"Are you all right?" he asked. When she lifted her face upwards to look at him, his breath was caught.
Violet hair draped against the cheeks of a delicate face. Pools of amethyst stared at him in wonder, and the strange feeling he was experiencing earlier had returned twofold in an instant.
"...you..." she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper. Her eyes widened in recognition, and then they blazed white once again.
A chain of dark energy encircled around him, and he was lifted into the air before he knew it. The girl's weary expression was contorted into rage.
"How did you escape?!" she questioned him.
"Please, listen to me," he answered, doing his best to remain calm. "I am not who you think I am."
"Lies!" she shouted, forcing the chain around him to tighten.
"I am not lying to you—"He winced as the chain had constricted around him even tighter.
"You expect me to believe a traitor like you?" she retorted. "After what you said, after everything that you did?!"
Her voice was trembling with emotion, and his disgust for Malchior had reached its peak. The damage he had inflicted upon this girl was far worse than any bodily injury.
"You lied to me," she continued, "I trusted you...and you betrayed me..."
Much to his surprise, the spell was weakening considerably. Even though she was doing her best to stay on her feet, her concentration was faltering.
"I will never believe anything you say. You won't use me again."
The spell was broken, and he was released. The girl was swaying violently, and he feared that she was going to collapse.
"...I'll never forgive you...Malchior..."
With those last words, she began to fall forward but he caught her once again before she hit the ground. He realized that she was unconscious, but he wasn't surprised. The spell she had cast on him took what little strength she had left, which left her physically and emotionally drained.
He soundlessly set her on her bed, and took a moment to analyze the situation he was in. Obviously, the girl had mistaken him to be the dragon that had deceived her. But that wasn't what bothered him the most.
The demonic presence that had endangered the girl was very troubling. He knew that her aura had been very unsettling as of late, despite her efforts to keep it under control. What she was fighting was something that could have overwhelmed her completely if he had not arrived.
Not only was she still scarred from Malchior's betrayal, but she was engaged in an internal conflict that could very well destroy her.
He took another look at the girl. She seemed so peaceful resting; sleep must have been her escape from the world she felt so withdrawn from.
He looked away and examined the chamber, which was in a terrible state. With one simple wave of his hand, he arranged the displaced books back onto the shelves and the numerous trinkets and decorations onto their rightful places. Afterwards, he pondered a question that seemed to have no easy solution: What was he to do now?
One thing was for certain: he could not stay here. Her allies were gone for the moment, but if they found him sitting at her bedside, hostile confrontations were a possibility. He would have to leave this place and find somewhere that he would be safe.
Fortunately for him, he took the time to master the skill of casting teleport spells. He knew of a place that he could seek refuge in. It should be desolate and well hidden, and he was more than certain that it was a considerable amount of distance from this place.
But what to do with her? He glanced back at her as she slept tranquilly, and he found that simply leaving her was somehow out of the question.
If he had been Malchior perhaps, then he would be able to abandon the girl without a second thought. But there was something in him that refused to leave her here.
As he had seen earlier, the girl was in danger of a malevolent force that could one day claim her. Her predicament took a turn for the worse after she had sealed Malchior back into the spell book.
He could not help but feel overwhelmed with guilt; if he had simply slain the dragon in the first place, she would have never been deceived into freeing him. She would have been saved from a lot of grief and frustration, and knowing that just increased his guilt. He felt that the least he could do was help the girl. If her emotions continue to keep building up, they would eventually spiral out of her control.
It was then that the wizard decided to bring the girl with him. There had to be a way that he could help her, and he was determined to find it.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Phew, longer chapter then I expected, but it's finished. I know, it's been boring for the first couple of chapters, but I promise it'll get better! Thank you for those who have reviewed. They mean a lot to me, and they encourage me to keep writing. So thanks again!