Ebony days

2. Ebony Monday

-If you desire to know the truth, you must also have the courage to accept it-

The night had given way to the gray before dawn, and through the heavy clouds, a few scattered colors could be seen. Although it was technically Monday, the Titans were still asleep, all except Raven, had just finished listening intently to Malchior's story.

- - - - - - - -

"It all started with a rose." Malchior's voice was soft, but strong, as if he were recalling a memory that had once been painful. His eyes were turned in the direction of Raven, but he was looking inward--into himself and his memories. "A rose given to my elder brother by a beautiful girl. She had pale skin and hair as dark as the night outside your window. Her eyes…looked exactly like yours, sweet Raven. Her name, if I recall it correctly, was Beatrice.

"She came in the fall of my eleventh year. I was a human back then. Oh, dear Raven, no, I was not always a dragon. My older brother was fifteen; young, idealistic, and stupid. An arrogant warrior who knew a little of magic, but had no taste for it. He was egotistical and selfish, but my parents loved him despite his many character flaws. One September she came to our house. She said her home back in the woods a few miles behind our abode had been attacked by marauders. My father, I think his name was William, gladly opened his home to her. She was the daughter of Cassandra, the prophetess who had the utmost respect in the kingdom of Nol. It was my mother's idea, actually. My selfish, vain mother Annabelle was more than happy to open her home to a well-known, well respected girl like Beatrice. 'It will make us famous', she would often say. 'Won't that be nice?'

"But I didn't care at all about fame, nor at all for Beatrice herself. She was the sort of girl who had everything, yet seemed to be fraught at all times with despair. She was sickly and weak as well, making my already infatuated elder brother want to protect her and care for her. He, that is, my elder brother, never meant much to me in person, except as a monument to the fact that I would never be as great as him. When he took up fencing, I tried my hardest to win against him, but never could. When he told tales about the things he had studied in our library, I tried to learn more and share them, but never could. About the only thing I was better than him at was magic, but when, only a year later, Beatrice gifted my brother with the rose of promise –the 'engagement ring' of our time- I knew I had finally lost to him forever.

The years went by and I grew older, wiser. But my brother remained the same, and as his union with Beatrice provided our family with fame and renown, I was abandoned, and then after I while I was just ignored. You see, fair maiden, my parents never cared much for me. I was always the odd one out in everything; I was a quiet child, even when I was about to enter my teens; preferring the relics and spells of years past to the present day. I never liked to play the games most children did, nor to go to the market, nor to interact with people in general. My ideas for games were strange and disturbing, and I spoke languages that had been outlawed years before.

But after a while, they seemed to forget about a wallflower like me. Not that I didn't see it coming, but eventually I was just left to my magic and my books…and that was their biggest mistake. Year by year the seasons passed, and my family accepted her and forgot about me. Without anyone to turn to, no human being to treasure me, I grew obsessed with spells, but even more so with curses. I was a sort of masochist at the time, and when the others had gone outside I would try different hexes on myself.

Perhaps because of my inner darkness, that the curses, ideas, and ways I went about my life only helped to bring out, I drove away the few –very few- friends I had had when I was younger. I turned slowly from the safe battle-spells and healing spells that were in the library, and started looking for darker, dangerous, more powerful ones. Of course my parents, being law-abiding citizens, had no such books, so I wrote them a note saying I was leaving; I took my notes on dark magic and some provisions, and left for good. I never saw my family or Beatrice again."

"Well," Raven said, smiling and almost forgetting who he was in the joy of hearing his drawling, humorously cynical English voice once more. "It sounds like you had quite some teen drama." She laughed a little and felt surprised at how relaxed she was just sitting and talking to him.

"Back then I was very emotional, my dear Raven. You know what the dangers of uncontrolled emotions are. But back to my story…

"I left a few hours before dusk, and having no idea where else to go, I headed to the burned remains of Cassandra's home. By the time I had cleared the forest it was dark. The moon had just passed new, and the stars were veiled, so there was little light. But by what light there was, I could make out a ruined house, with a number of charred and burned artifacts, no doubt for various prophetic uses. The books that I looked for had obviously burned quickly in the fires the marauders had set, and I could not find even their ashes. I was disheartened a great deal, seeing as prophets and seers often work side by side with dark magic. I decided to sleep there, lighting a fire and spreading myself out in a bed of leaves. About halfway through the night, however, I was awoken by a sound that I seemed to hear with my heart rather than my ears. I awoke and saw that a clan of Moon Sprites had made camp right beside my resting place. The occults of nature, they gather near things of ethereal power, such as the house of a prophet. They also have ties to the dark side of magic. I caught one, a small girl no older than twelve, and having caught her, I took my exit before the others found that she was gone and could take their revenge on me.

"I traveled for many days, taking the back roads and stopping only at the smallest inns, for Moon Sprites are rare, and many would kill for one, until I found myself in the heart of the city Drand, the capital of Nol. I was able to buy information on where I could find dark magic with the youngling, and, along with the remaining silver, I left to find the Dark Isles. There I studied with the other dark wizards, and I never saw anyone else for many long years. I became powerful, sweet Raven; I had more power than you could ever dream of. I was both feared and respected by all, and none could stand in my way. How, you ask? How could I have become so powerful? Well, it was not entirely my choice. The family of Moon Sprites found me, a mere year and a half after I captured their child, and laid a curse on me. By the full moon each month I became a Dragon without control. I was no longer me; I was a monster, as you kindly pointed out. But I learned to live contentedly with my curse. I was happy as long as I had my power. And with the dragon shape, came immeasurable dark power. I was happy, sweet Raven. That is, until my brother came back. The long years since we parted had changed him, and he was now the greatest wizard in Nol. His name is known to you, alongside mine. He was Rorek of Nol, the Dragonslayer…the wizard."

Raven gasped, and her eyes grew wide. She had not expected this, that Malchior had known Rorek for the ages of his life, had once called him brother. That it was ultimately Rorek, who had always been able to come out on top when they were younger, who had caused Malchior's darkness. "I…I didn't know…" she said, a mixture of embarrassment and shock showing on her usually placid face.

"Nor would I have let you, if we had stayed as we once were. But you demanded answers, and so I give them to you, my sweet Raven. But do not be so shocked. After all, your own story is rather unusual. A superhero who's father was the demon Trigon. We are not as different as you would like to think, Raven."

Raven fervently shook her head in a no, trying to let his calm, even relaxed words pass through and leave no blemish on her supposed pristine mind. "I am not like you, Malchior. I may have a checkered past, and I may be the daughter of a demon, but I'm not evil; I'm not evil like you are. I've sworn to fight evil, and as soon as you tell me what you know I'll destroy you too."

But Malchior made no motion to stop her, he just smiled. "Well, shall we get back to my tale then?

"Rorek fought me, that battle you know well. I was defeated and trapped within the book you found me in. But I felt as if he had indeed stuck a sword through my heart. My older brother had at last bested me. I had been proven worthless in the end. And so, with even my magic inferior to his, I turned away from the spells I had coveted so fervently. I lost hope in everything. But then I heard of you Raven, and I knew you would be the one to free me…to understand. If only you had waited a day to release me, I would have been human…and I would not have been evil. We could have been happy together…my dear, sweet Raven." He reached out his hand and caressed her cheek lovingly. "If only you had waited; or if only I had remembered about the moon. For it was a full moon when you released me. If only you had waited…"

He looked wistful, as if he were thinking of what future they might have had together, if they had waited but one single day. Raven herself looked sad, thinking that she has misjudged her ill-fated love. But maybe they still had a chance…maybe they still…but then she realized that he might have just been pulling at her heart in order to make her release him. "I don't believe you." Raven said; venom in her voice.

"Why not! Raven, my tale is true!" Malchior's eyes widened, not with horror that she had unraveled the truth, but with shock and hurt that she still suspected him. "All I ever wanted was to be loved. To be loved by you, Raven. I want the same thing you do, and we have it in each other. If only you would trust me then we both could be happy!"

"But I can't trust you." Raven said, and she could feel the beginnings of tears in her eyes. "After what happened…I can't just suddenly trust you. I have to destroy you, Malchior! I'm sorry, but I have to!"

Malchior sighed, and to Raven it seemed rather anticlimactic that after her declaration of his death he could just sit there, resigned to his fate. "But, sweet Raven, will you fulfill my last wish?"

"As long as you can stay trapped, I'll do it." She answered; apprehension at his request beginning to grow in the form of a rather large lump in the throat.

"All I ask is that since I told you my tale, you tell me yours."

"I don't know why I'm doing this, but I will. Well, it all began with my mother, who was a human. Some time ago, a member of a cult trying to bring the devil to Earth was raped and made pregnant by the demon Trigon. The woman, Arella, my mother, joined a group of pacifists in the sanctuary of Azarath. Nine months later, she gave birth to me. But the women of Azarath did not expect me to carry the powers I did, the powers that came only from the union of human and demon. I had great gifts, but with them came a small seed of darkness that grew bigger as I did. As soon as this was discovered, that if that darkness overtook me I was as good as gone to that evil, they taught me how to control my emotions, and so how to stop that evil from growing. I also learned the art of healing, and the magic I now know. I read a great many of the scrolls and texts that only the wizards of old knew.

"When I turned thirteen, I left Azarath and approached the Justice League of America about the imminent threat of Trigon, but one of the members sensed my genetic connection to the demon, and urged them to ignore my warnings. Disheartened, I turned to the Teen Titans. By the time I arrived, Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy were already there. I told them the abridged version of my story and they accepted me in. The years went by, and Titans came and went. First Starfire came, and she fitted in well. Then by the time I was fifteen, Terra arrived, and the story continued from there to now. The rest of it you know…"

"I see." Malchior said those two words without any conviction, as if her story had no meaning at all to him. "So that is how you base your claim that we are different from one another? We seem very alike to me."

"It is not our past that makes us who we are now, but our choices in that past. You weren't strong enough to keep your heart and have hope. Not when your brother married Beatrice, nor when you sank into despair. You broke, and you ran away from your problems. But I, despite the hardships, and the long, tiring training day in and day out, I remained strong and I'm still strong to this day. I've kept to the right path, but you turned away from any pity a long time ago."

"If that is how you see it." Malchior said, his eyes cold. She then realized that all the words of anger, the threats and accusations, had hurt him more than any wound she could cause him. He really did love her, and she knew that she had truly misjudged his actions. She had not been too different from him after all. They both hid who they really were when the interacted with others. They were all performers: actors in the play of life.

"Okay…I'm sorry. I'll give you one day to think about this, but you must be absolutely quiet. Not a sound. I don't want the others to find you."

"I promise. Now, go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning, sweet Raven. And thank you, so much, for listening…"

- - - - - - - -

When the morning dawned completely, Raven had only had three hours of sleep, and she looked even worse than the last night. There were inquiries, and the usual ring-around-the-rosie of questions and answers. But Raven had convincingly told them that the 'crying' was helping her a great deal, and than in another day she should be fine. She went about her business as she always did, and enjoyed life better than she had the day before, despite her lack of a good night's sleep. No one asked about voices in the night, so she knew her conversation was a secret. All and all, she was as happy as a broken-hearted girl could be.

Today's today, Raven thought in a surprisingly happy tone. And tomorrow's another day. I'll just enjoy this one, and deal with Malchior later.

However, her contented mood was absolutely shattered at the crashing arrival of Beast Boy. He seemed even happier than usual, and unbelievably bouncy. Raven secretly wondered what was causing him to act so obviously excited. He walked right up to Raven with his silly grin on his face, and she wondered what he was going to make her endure this time. She also noticed that he had his hands behind his back.

"What is it, Beast Boy?" She asked in a voice that stated clear as day that she wasn't going to put up with any whimsical nonsense from him, or anyone else for that matter. It seemed that she hadn't really changed at all, at least on the outside. This was good, for she did not want the other members of her team to suspect something was up, particularly something as dangerous as Malchior.

"Well Raven…" He paused in an obviously supposed-to-be-dramatic way, and waited for her to act curious or even interested, which she didn't so he continued on as normal. "I got you a present." He said, and gave her a large rectangular box tied up with a black ribbon and lace. "Well come on, open it!" He exclaimed, seeing her expression had not changed at all.

She opened it to find a knee-length black dress with a billowy skirt and a white collar and white swallowtail sleeves. It was simple, which she liked, it was black, which she liked, and it was from Beast Boy, which she did not like at all. "Why are you giving me this?" She asked in confusion. Why would he give her a dress?

"So you can wear it out on our date." He said.

"A date?" Raven said in horror and revulsion. "A date with you?" She asked again.

He nodded, smiling as if it were a wonderful joke, which, she realized, it probably was. He just had to be joking. After all, it would be just like Beast Boy to pull her leg like this. Besides, he loved Terra, not her. Not at all her.

"Yes a date with me!" He cried, as if upset by her incredulity. "I'm asking you out, O.K.?" He was cross and upset, in other words, behaving very emotionally. Raven realized that he was serious.

To spare Raven from answering, Robin walked in with Starfire following. "Hey Beast Boy, mind if we tag along?"

To be continued…

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