Chapter 8: Untold Secrets

Doors slowly opened and light traveled through the darken room, scaring off the shadows and letting them run to whence they came. Dark figures stood in front of the door, all in a line, blocking the light from the halls. They slowly emerged into the room as one, revealing their faces from the dark.

Robin stepped forward, carrying the young Tamaranean girl in his arms. Her hair fell in front of her face and her arm fell, hanging by her side. Her eyes were closed in sleep, her lips slightly opened as sounds escaped from her lips of moaning. Robin held her tightly against his chest as he approached her bed and gently placed her there.

He kneeled beside her bed as the others came from behind him. Crawling his trembling hands down, he twisted the tips of his black cape, his eyes trying to avoid looking at Starfire; bloodstained and cursed for some reason.

But he couldn't help it. He looked at her from the corner of his eyes. He felt pressure by the corner of his eye, wishing him to look forward again and rest his eyes from the pain. But he couldn't. His physical pain: his back aching, his knuckles cramping, his face bruised and burning, his eyes weak and tied. They were nothing compared to what he felt inside his heart.

Instead of burning with desire, his heart froze in solid ice of despair and misery.

Lyand'r came from him, brushing a gentle hand over his shoulder as she approached her youngest daughter. She sat by her daughter, her face pale with grief, hidden by the strands of her thick black hair. Her violet eyes looked upon her daughter as she reached out her hand and caressed Starfire's cheeks.

Someone tapped her on the shoulder and she turned. Raven stood by her side, carrying white bandages in her hands. Lyand'r tried to smile to show her gratitude, but it seemed that no one can smile at this hour.

She took the bandages in her hands and wrapped them around Starfire's eyes before Robin could see. But in a way, he prayed to never see why lies upon her eyes ever again.

Then the yelling came, voices mumbled in his ears of blame, fault of what had occurred. Redfire tried to explain to his raging father of what happened, but he wouldn't listen. Robin looked at Starfire quietly as they screamed. Suddenly, strong arms grabbed him and made him face the fierce, angry eyes of King Myand'r. He kept yelling at Robin with insults and blaming him for what had happened to Starfire; as if she was already dead.

He was about to hit him when Lyand'r came by his side and grabbed his wrist. She forced his arm back, cursing him in their native tongue. Everyone was amused by the spread of emotions and ring of words Lyand'r spoke, the seemingly calm person in the room. She looked like Starfire as she made a few faces and hand gestures, but she also portrayed language that strongly reminded them of Blackfire.

Lyand'r broke Robin from his grasp and settled him aside. Robin looked at her, ready to shed tears from his eyes. She smiled at him lightly, with that same face he had seen so many times before. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and spoke words of reassurance, but he didn't really hear. He kept thinking about the girl who was sleeping.

Raven approached the King and bowed her head to him in respect. Her violet eyes looked at him again, calm and cool as always. She said something to him and he looked at her with a strange, yet confused face.

To explain, Raven walked up to Starfire and kneeled beside her. She reached out her hands and her lips curled into words and noises popped and rolled from her throat and tongue. A light blue glow encircled around her hands. She pressed her hands gently against Starfire and she began to glow with that same light.

Everyone, meaning Lyand'r; Myand'r; Redfire; and even Karras stared in awe as Raven used her powers to heal Starfire's wounds. The blood marks that were dry on her skin and hard to clean suddenly vanished from her smooth, tanned body. Some color came back to her cheeks. Her body still trembled, but she seemed a lot healthier than before.

Raven opened her eyes from her trance and stood up, her arms hidden inside her long blue cloak. Lyand'r approached Raven and wrapped her arms around her in thanks and appreciation. Redfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy nodded; pleased. Karras just looked away. His eyes looked over the balcony as if deep in thought.

Robin caught a look from Raven's eyes and they were sincere, even tender. She smiled at him a little and he knew that she had saved Starfire from whatever else she was about to go through. Myand'r cleared his throat and with his voice booming around them, he demanded for everyone to leave Starfire to her rest.

Raven came by Robin's side and placed a friendly hand on his shoulder, guiding him to the door. But he kept looking back at the sleeping Tamaranean girl, not wanting to leave her side. But Raven whispered something in his ear of words of encouragement and also understanding. Her parents were in pain as well and Starfire needed time to be alone once she's awake.

But Robin knew deep down he wasn't going to wait that long.

The days had gone by very slowly, as if time had just stopped. The birds were still chirping and you can still hear the wind and see its work as it flows through the trees. It flickered through branches and took away leaves in its arms. The sun was blazing in a fiery glow of orange and yellow, accumulating fire in its orb.

The sky was clear with no clouds for the moment, but as the wind continued on you can see a few small forms of clouds coming from the South heading toward their direction.

Starfire's room was quiet and lilted nicely with scented candles of a sweet fruit only grown here in Tamaran. Its aura filled in puffs of smoke, filling their nostrils with its sweet stench.

She slept silently on her bed, wrapped tightly in her blankets as her body uncontrollably shivered every few minutes a day. Her face was pale green, wet with sweat and some tears she must have cried because of dreams or even nightmares. Her long beautiful hair was uncombed and unclean, and it laid flat against her face. She gripped her blanket tightly, her teeth shattering from the cold that was skin deep.

Sitting beside her on his knees was none other than Robin himself, alone with her in the room. His jet black hair reflected the light from the sun that came into the room from the opened balcony; the curtains flowed up and down with the wind as it rushed inside of the room, bringing in leaves and flower petals from the gardens.

Robin's masked eyes looked at Starfire sadly as she slept, wishing for her to be awake and smiling at him again. But lately, it seemed harder for her to ever smile, especially with the many things she is going through. Whatever had happened to Starfire outside the palace with the Gordainians was really personal to Starfire and it revealed them a side of her they had never seen before.

What could they have done to her to make Starfire so traumatize? What had Starfire ever done to dishonor her family? Why did Redfire say those words to him, 'You really don't know her?' It didn't make any sense to him. Starfire would tell him anything. And besides, she couldn't keep a secret if she wanted to. Like the fact that she was actually a princess.

But still, something more than that title was something she's hiding from him. But what? What could Starfire be hiding from him that made her so afraid not to tell him?

Robin looked up as Starfire's blankets fell down to her waist when she uncurled her body from a ball into an upright position. He reached out his hands to fix the blankets for her so she could stay warm. Raven had precisely told him to keep Starfire warm and feed her the medicine her parents had provided for her.

When they had returned Starfire to the palace, her body was shaking so quickly, like a little black cat frightened of any contact. Her skin was paler than now, her eyes bloodshot; her pupils big and deep within her unconscious mind. But what scared him the most was the red rash that formed around her beautiful eyes and her fists; the two places she'd use for battle. They had covered them with bandages and it pained him not to look into her eyes to know if she was alright.

But now, her eyes were smooth, her skin partly back to their deep orange tan. The bandages were off from her hands and eyes, revealing the girl he had always known; or at least what she allowed him to know. He remembered when he felt little upset about her true identity, Starfire came by later to apologize to him.

He remembered her words exactly as if he was replaying them on tape.

"Robin, I don't want you to think that I don't trust you with my secrets. I do. You have no idea how much your trust means to me. I mean...you tell me all sorts of secrets and things that I don't understand. But I want you to be able to understand this, because you understand more than anyone I know. I didn't tell you because I wanted to be able to experience things without any difficulty on your behavior. If the Teen Titans had known that I was a princess, you would have treated me differently, accepted me immediately.

"But I didn't want that. I wanted your full trust. And now I have received italthough I was going to tell you lateryou know and can understand why I didn't say. There are a lot of things you may not know about me, Robin, but I will tell you. Because...I trust you and I care for you so deeply that it can never be gone or taken away from me."

She trusted him and still does. Maybe what she didn't say she would explain to him later.

But as he raised the blanket up to her chest, something caught his eyes which made them grow wide in shock. Starfire was wearing a white nightgown. Her blood-filled uniform and armor was taken off after the battle, so she could breathe better and also wouldn't stink up the palace with the smell of Gordanian blood.

But the point was that the dress was sleeveless except with straps and low cut. Over her chest, where normally would be covered with her neckshield was a long reddish scar, barely visible, but still there. The developed skin rose over her chest just little as he traced a finger over it. It was an old scar, but where did it come from?

The thought of Starfire being hurt crushed his heart and made him worry about her even more. He shifted his eyes and noticed yet another scar on her arm, where it would be covered by her armguard. He touched her arm lightly, his fingers trembling as his body felt cold. He shook his head as he quickly covered the sight with the blanket and reached to brush some strands of her hair aside.

But again, he noticed something. As he carefully lifted some of her hair, he noticed a long, more brutal scar over her right ear; as if it was still healing. He touched the scar over her skull, questions poisoning his mind. He brushed his fingers through her hair, wishing to cry for this innocent girl.

He didn't know her, just like Redfire said. But he needed to know. What had happened to Starfire before she came to Earth?

As Robin brushed his hand through her hair, Starfire slowly opened her emerald eyes. She looked up to see Robin over her and she let a terrified scream. Robin's body shot up when suddenly Starfire's eyes bubbled in green and she zapped him away from her. Robin fell back and off of her bed to the ground.

Robin groaned as he stood up. He looked at Starfire, who stared at him with a frightened face. She held her blanket around her body tightly like a little child, her body floating a few inches above her bed. She lilted her fists in green, ready to attack again.

Robin waved his hands in front of her before she was able to blast him again with her stinging starbolts. "Star, it's me!"

Starfire's eyes dimmed to their normal emerald color. She looked down at Robin and bit her lip as if she was ashamed of herself. She looked away from him as she slowly came down and landed on top of her bed. She placed the covers over her head and hid herself under it, already heating up with sweat.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Robin." She mumbled inside.

Robin climbed onto the bed again. "Why? I would have done something too if someone woke me up." He replied with a small smile as he tried to take the covers off of her, but she pushed him away, shaking her body from left to right in a whining gesture.

"No...I mean I'm sorry."
"For what?"

Starfire didn't answer. She shook her head. Robin could hear her soft sobs and her nose sniffling as she tried to wipe her tears away. He approached her again and reached out his hands carefully, hoping that she won't jerk him away again. When she didn't, Robin grabbed the blanket and slowly lifted it off of her.

Some of her hair came in front of her face, messy and unclean. She had her arms wrapped around herself, her hands rubbing against her arms to keep herself warm from whatever cold chill she was feel. Crystalline tears clouded her eyes and her lips were chapped. She licked her lips with her tongue to keep them moist.

Starfire looked up with tiresome eyes, still crisp with tears. The two thick strands of her crimson hair came in front of her eyes as she squirmed her lips together, like she was about to cry out again.

Robin was about to say something when she literally fell into his arms. She rested on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him, her trembling hands desperately climbing up his back. Robin sat frozen as he felt tears coming down on his back. He could hear her sobs and felt her body pressing even tighter against his it made him harder to pull oxygen into his lungs.

He looked at her, his eyebrow raised in confusion. But he put his arms around him in return and patted the back of her head, rubbing her against him. The wind whistled in his ear as Starfire continued crying.

"I'm so sorry, Robin..."

Robin slid his arms down, forcing her off of him. She tumbled back like an useless rag doll, but he caught her by the arms before she fell. He looked at her sternly.

"Starfire, what's wrong? Why are you acting like this?"

Starfire avoided his gaze, looking down with her eyes closed. This only frustrated Robin even more and before he knew what he was doing, he burst out. "Answer me!"

He shook her abruptly, frightening her. She looked at him, tears coming back into her eyes. He looked at her hard through his black mask. His hands almost crushed her arms like twigs. She winced with pain and whenever she tried to look away, Robin shook her again so her eyes would look into his; or at least his mask.

"Crying isn't going to get us anywhere, Star." He said forcefully. Starfire held onto her breath, looking at Robin alone. She tried to cough, but it was hard when it escaped her throat. Her heart began to race, afraid that Robin might hurt her. She didn't know why she thought of that, but her mind scanned through many memories. She had always been hurt by someone.

"You have to be brave." His grip of her arms loosened as his face changed into a calmer one. Instead of feeling nails piercing into her skin, Robin's fingers rubbed her arms gently, trying to keep her warm as goosebumps rose on her skin. She looked at him and noticed the change in his mysterious face. Robin gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Tell me...what's wrong?"

Starfire gulped, her nerves aching to attack Robin and run away from this place. She felt disgusted, upset, depressed, angry with herself. She couldn't help but remember the shocked look on their faces that day, staring at her as if they were afraid of her. Of her. Starfire, the one person they would least expect to do such a thing as to kill someone.

"Kill..."
"What did you say?"

Starfire gasped. She had thought about it aloud. Now Robin would believe that she had the urge to kill someone. But he just looked at her with real care and with real concern for her. She blinked the upcoming tears away, trying to be brave just like Robin had told her.

"I-I'm..."
"Yes?"
"I-I-I'm a murderer...a monster..."

"What?" Robin arched an eyebrow. He slid his hands down and grabbed both of her hands into his, rubbing her palm. "That's not true, Starfire. You're not a murderer. Nor are you a monster. That's the last thing you are."

"B-But Robin. I am. I killed someone, Robin. And I enjoyed it."
"I'm sure there's an explanation as to why, Star. You don't do things for no reason."

"Perhaps, but..." Starfire sobbed again and shut her eyes tight, trying to fight her emotional side out and try to speak to Robin clearly, but air bubbles clogged her throat and she felt sick to her stomach. She coughed, something rolled uncomfortably from her throat.

"I killed them, Robin." She jerked her hands away from him and looked at them, imagining blood in her hands or guts from the fowl stench of their bodies, steaming on her skin. "I can still feel them, remember everything..." Her chest moved in and out deeply within each breath she took. Robin stared at her as she observed herself.

She curled her fingers to her palm. "Something inside of me awakened at that moment, something that I've tried so hard to hide. But it came anyway. And I felt..."

"What?"
"That I had accomplished something that I've been dreaming about since I was a little girl. Something that I have always been afraid of doing whether because I wasn't strong enough or if I won't succeed. Accomplishing this task though, I felt like...her."
"Who?"

Starfire looked at Robin. "I haven't been telling you the truth, Robin." She said, aiming the conversation into a different subject. "What do you mean? You haven't lied to me, Starfire. You never lie." She nodded at first, but then she moved her head and shook her head in disagreement. "No, I haven't. Not saying anything to you, Robin, about who I am is just as much as a lie."

"No, that's not true."
"But it is!" Starfire shouted, her eyes gleaming with a lime green glow.

Robin moved back, surprised. When she saw his look, she turned her eyes back to normal and twirled her body around. She wrapped her arms around her legs and hid her face in between her legs. She tried hard not to sob, but when their horrid, ugly faces came into mind, she couldn't help but cry.

Tears formed in her eyes when she felt arms sliding over her shoulders. She flushed a little and heat rose above her neck as Robin came by her side, wrapping his arms around her. He pulled her against him like she was his teddy bear and held her in his arms for as long as he could.

Starfire looked over her balcony, her eyes seemed far away as she glanced over the sky. The sun glowed in orange and yellow, round with fire and with light that bubbled her skin with its heat. The sky was clear, milky soft colors of orange and red crossed the skies as the birds chirped; screeching in song as they flew higher and higher into the sky.

The sky fogged up as images of her past flashed from her mind's eyes.

"Oh Starry...Starry, come out and play little Starry." Snickers from the Gordainians came from the digs.

Little seven year old Starfire was hiding from one of the digs, shovels scraping down to the earth, picking up chunks of rock and dirt off and flipping them over the workers' backs. Like all slaves, they had a tatoo of the Gordainian Empire on their necks, bold in black and for some, it still steamed from the iron plate they used to make them.

Starfire wrapped her arms around her legs, forcing her teeth to stop clanking and forcing herself to stop shaking, fearing that they might hear her pounding heart. Strands of her short red hair fell to her eyes.

When she came here, they immediately cut most of her hair and tried to tatoo her cheek instead of her neck, symbolizing special slaves they would use as war slaves; forced to attack others to the death. But Starfire had fought against them before the plate was able to press against her cheek.

Starfire panted heavily, trying to calm her raging nerves. Her heart pounded hard against her small chest, her blood rushing through her veins with anticipation. Of what, because she was afraid of dying.

Suddenly, a sharp sting crossed her back and she fell on her knees. She looked up and her eyes became white as the Gordainian leaders had found her at last.

"There you are, Starry." One of them said in a very deep, scratchy voice.
"Yes, we were worried that you would run away."
"And that wouldn't be very fun."

Starfire gasped out air as she tried to get on her feet and run. But then, one of the Gordainians used their whip and it caught her around the waist.

"NO!" Starfire cried out as they pulled her in. She was forced against someone's chest and hands grabbed her by the arms tightly. She groaned, struggling to break free, but he held her tightly. He laughed in her ear as if he found her struggle and screams amuzing. His breath steamed in her ear.

"You're not going anywhere." He whispered in her ear, his words scarring her future.

Starfire looked ahead as her eyes turned hard and started glowing in lime green. She grinded her teeth against each other as she raised her arms and wrapped them around the Gordainian's neck. She gripped him tightly and screamed out as she used her birth-giving strength to flip him over.

The other Gordainians tried to stop her, but she turned her head sharply, her eyes in deep red. She attacked them hard, punching them and kicking them to the ground. When she had the chance, she zoomed into the sky.

The rays of the sun beamed on her, warming her up with its light and strengthening her flying abilities. But as she started up into the clouds, an electrical shock ran through her, thrilling her body with pain. The collar of slavery began to tighen around her neck. And the more she tried to take it off, the tighter it got. It squeezed her air pathway, suffocating her. She wheezed to breathe, but she couldn't.

Her mind felt lightheaded, her body weakened as she crashed down to the ground. Dirt clouds formed around her body and made her eyes water with tears. She looked up weakly as the three Gordainians came in front of her in their foggy black form.

"You're actually useful." One of them said, although his voice was weak in her ears.
"Yes, Starry. You're going to be here for a long time." The leader said with an evil smile. He took out his whip and smacked it against her back. She screamed loudly, trying to get up, but then the same suffocating feeling came back.

They laughed at her. "Don't even think about it, Tamaranean girl. If you use your Tamaranean powers, you will die." Starfire gasped as she traced a hand over her neck. She looked up, but still tried to fight. She got up and tried to punch him, but another Gordainian grabbed her wrist and pushed her back.

Starfire coughed off the dirt from her mouth. She looked up weakly as they came back, with the whip in their hand. The leader glared at her hard and used to the whip. She screamed as the tail of the whip crossed over her ear hard.

She screamed in pain and held her ear tenderly, blood dripping in between her fingers. She felt dizzy again, dots of color blocked her vision as the Gordainians approached her. She rolled her eyes back and fainted.

Starfire shifted her body away from Robin and climbed off of the bed. He followed her every move as she walked to her dresser. She glanced up and saw her reflection, tired and weak with tears.

Starfire brushed some of her hair over her ear, looking closely at the scar that was still over her ear. She touched it lightly and in her mind, she can still feel its stung and the gushing of blood coming out. She shuttered at the memory and turned back to Robin as he got off of the bed, just staring at her as if waiting.

Starfire looked at Robin, trying his words to be brave.

"Robin...?"
"Yes, Star?"
"You're my best friend."
"And you're mine, too."
"And that is why...you must know."

Starfire looked down as her hands clasped together and she played with her fingers, swirling around one another. "You had once told me about your past. During the days when you worked alongside of the 'Black Knight.'" "Yeah, I remember." "And yet, you don't know who I am or why I had came to Earth."

Starfire kept playing with her hands for a while, but then her fingers froze and she forced her arms to fall on her sides. She took a deep breath, praying for the right words to come out.

"Those creatures...the monsters I've killed...were called the Gordainians."
"You have mentioned them a couple of times before."
Starfire nodded. "Yes, they were a great enemy to Tamaran. Not just my planet, but the entire Vegan Star System. They were brutally strong, unkind, and well advance in technology.

"They've...threatened to destroy my planet, unless...we were to offer a human sacrifice."

Robin widened his eyes in shock, in disbelief. Someone had to die for peace? Starfire noticed his look and understood it. She shook her head in reply to his silence. "They wanted the first heir to the throne to be their slave."

"But isn't Blackfire"
"She wasn't worth of such a dreadful honor."
"Why?"
"She didn't have anything when she was younger. She couldn't feel the joy of flight like any Tamaraneans. She couldn't convert the solar energies of the sun to her body that would enable her to fly or use Tamaranean strength. So she was rejected as heir. And instead...they took me."

"Star"
"I was seven years old when they took me," She interrupted, her voice shaking. She felt the tears coming back into her eyes. But she gulped again and continued on, "For five years I was tortured, whiped, treated like nothing for entertainment and battle. I couldn't escape because they had restrained me from doing so. And if I try, I would die a horrible death."

Starfire looked down at her body, her hands searching through her arms of the familiar bruises and scars from those battles. "These scars, the marks on my body represent the many years I was forced to fight. But in one, I escaped and my enslavement was broken. I was free.

"I could finally return home and be with my family again. But again...I was taken."

Starfire looked at her fists, avoiding Robin's pity eyes and she made her fists glow in green. She looked at Robin again, but her eyes seemed far away, concentrated on her memories.

She held up her fists, showing Robin her fiery hands. His features sharpened under the light of Starfire's glow. "These are powers that no Tamaraneans can hardly hope to have. Not ever. For it to become a part of you, you would have to absorb a great amount of solar energy and adapt to it. With this energy, we can control our thoughts and create starbolts from our hands as weapons. But..."

Starfire let her hands rest from their light and let them fall to her sides. "Most have failed. I've found Blackfire on my way back to Tamaran, but at that moment, we were taken away by scientists who wanted to experiment on us, testing how much we could endure before dying. But in the process, both Blackfire and I developed these powers. Blackfire was able to use all that she wasn't able to before and we escaped.

"I can...still remember..."

Starfire cried out for help when suddenly a bright violet light flashed in front of her eyes, shaking the creatures with fright. Blackfire appeared at the door, which was teared down by herself. Smoke sizzled in the air and revealed herself with sharp and bright purple eyes that glowed with some new magic Starfire had never seen before.

And for the first time in Starfire's life, she saw Blackfire levitate off the ground and charge at the men in front of Starfire. She punched them hard and when the guards were coming from the door, her hawk eyes caught them and her eyes bubbled when lazers shot out from her eyes and killed them all. Her fists glowed with the same light and she blasted everyone and everything with her power.

She laughed loudly and hysterically like a madwoman, her evil eyes enjoying this new feel of power that she had been rejected when she was young. Starfire's eyes were horrified by the look in her eyes as she turned around to face her, fearing the worst.

But then Blackfire's voice screamed out to her. "Break out!" She shouted and blasted the chains off of Starfire.

She flew off the platform and watched as her sister escaped through the entrance in which she had came from. Starfire glanced down at her hands, her deep eyes curious. She glanced up as the guards came with their weapons to take Starfire down.

Her eyes narrowed with anger and suddenly they started to glow intensively lime green. "I will no longer be a slave to you!" She shouted and her fists were on fire in green as she blasted all of them at the door, their bodies flying across the room.

She flew over them and found her sister as she blasted the wall and escaped through it. Starfire looked over her shoulder as the ship started to explode in loud and large clouds of red fire. Before the ship was gone, Blackfire blasted the ship with her eye lasers and the ship was destroyed completely.

Starfire's eyes widened in horror when for that second before Blackfire used her new powers, Starfire could have sworn she had heard screams coming from inside. She glanced at her glowing hands softly as they slowly began to lose their light.

Blackfire grabbed her wrist. "Let's outta of this dump." She said and dragged Starfire along towards Tamaran. Starfire was thirteen years old when she discovered her new gift and she was thirteen when she returned to Tamaran only to leave it all behind when they forced her to leave and never return again; breaking her heart even more. But she had never forgotten that day when she became a weapon.

"Everything..."

Robin slowly walked to her, the wind blowing around him, carrying his cape to the side. He stood tall in front of her, her head bent down and her hair in front of her face.

"Again for the moment, I felt like a monster. I killed people before, Robin. This hate I feel because of all the torture, the pain. I wanted it to end. But it didn't. When I went back to Tamaran, instead of welcoming me with open arms, my family forced me to leave."

"Why?" Robin finally asked.

"Koriand'r! You must leave these parts at once!" Her father shouted, his eyes tired and widened with fear as Starfire came to him.

"Leave? But why?" She asked. She had just come home from a long journey and now she must leave?"

Myand'r grabbed the young girl by her arms and pulled her close to him, his eyes streaming with tears and with fear for his youngest daughter. "They want to kill you." He whispered to her. "Kill me? Who?" "You must go!" He shouted and pushed her away, overwhelmed with emotion and couldn't take it anymore.

"GO!" Myand'r shouted.

"Goodbye, my family." Starfire whispered and she vanished in a stream of green light.

"They didn't say, but I knew that they believed it was for my own good. I had traveled through the depths of space for so many months, I couldn't believe I survived. I had hunted my way here, killing anything to survive. Before I came to Earth, I felt like a monster, destined to be alone. And when the Gordainians came back and tried to take Ryand'r away...I felt that my true self was returning."

Robin shook his head. He tapped her chin and raised her head. Her hair slid to her ears as her tears came crawling down her tanned cheeks. Starfire looked at Robin as he looked at her in a different way she didn't notice before.

"But you see, that's when you're wrong."
"W-What do you mean?"

Robin touched her cheek tenderly, wiping the tears off her face with his fingers. His eyes drifted back to hers sharply and he smiled for some reason. "Your past isn't what determines who you are. It's who you are now that counts. Star, You're a Titan. A hero known throughout Earth, and on Redfire's computer."

Starfire giggled a little and crept out a smile, but her eyes still looked doubtful. Robin noticed her look and tried again. "Star, from this year that I've known you, you are the most amazing, honest, kind, most wonderful person I've ever met. I mean, I don't normally show any part of myself to anyone. I try to keep it hidden. But you..."

Robin stepped closer to her, cupping her face in his hands. "You brought it out of me and for that, I trust you. I can trust you with my life, Star." He said and pressed his forehead against hers. "You're different, naive yes, but you are so different Starfire. And that's what makes you special.

"Although you've gone through all of that, you made yourself to be the girl that I've fallen for. Starfire. Not Koriand'r of Tamaran. But Starfire of Earth."

"But Robin, I"

He didn't let her speak, for he had already pressed his lips against hers. His lips were warmth and soft against hers, although it had been weeks since they've last kissed, it was strongly familiar to her. The tension in her body relaxed, her muscles contrast as she wrapped her arms around his neck, parting her lips in her turn of the kiss.

Robin held her close, his hands dropped off of her face and he wrapped his arms around her, his hands climbing up from her sides. She shivered with pleasure and he flushed with an inner, childish feeling of embarrassment. But he didn't care. Their lips brushed against each other, their figures softened by the warm glow of the setting sun.

Robin jerked his head back and looked into Starfire's glowing face as she opened her gews, shining in green, brighter and brighter as she blinked her eyes; flashing her eyelashes. He smiled as he rubbed his hands against her arms.

"I don't care about your past, Star. Right now, I care about you. Never let anything of your past cloud how you see yourself now. Everything in the future though, it's all up to youyou now in the present."

"Robin..." Starfire flashed a smile as she jumped onto Robin and squeezed him tightly in a hug. He held her too, savoring their warmth running through each other. Starfire rested her head agaisnt his chest, closing her eyes as a final tear slid down her cheek, the last one that redemmed her from her past.

geez, that was long. I finally updated so I hope that you liked it