Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, but I'm not making money from this, so you can't sue me.

Chapter 3. Overwhelmed

"What is your question, then, fair maiden?" Valere asked with a small smirk.

"What kind of magic is held in that sword of yours?" Raven seemed to be in a tunnel vision state of mind.

Valere's smirk grew. "What is the name of magic that was created from the energy of the gods themselves?"

Fear actually crossed Raven's face, along with some curiosity. "You hold the power of gods in the palm of your hand." Her eyes fell upon his blade. 'Is that why… Wait! Why can I not sense its power?' She snapped out of her thoughts when she found that Valere was barely a foot away from her.

He reached for her and… picked a strand of hair off of her cloak. He held it in front of her face. It thickened and turned dark green. A bud grew on the end of what was now a stem and bloomed into a black rose.

He gave her the rose. "Magic can be used for beauty as well as destruction."

Raven eyed the rose suspiciously. "Are you trying to romance me?" Valere gave her a mischievous smile. "Stop." She ordered

She went into her room and he only smiled.

--- --- ---

Raven woke up around 3 am. She slipped on a black rode and proceeded to get some of herbal tea. When she neared the living room, she heard talking. She turned the corner to find someone sitting on the couch.

The person was looking down and talking. "You deserve what has been done to you." It was Valere. Raven knew he wasn't talking to her, so she snuck closer. He was talking to an open book with eyes. Malchior.

"Ahhh, my dear Raven. You look lovely as usual." Raven leaped over the couch and tried to tackle the book.

"As I thought." Valere said.

Raven noticed that Malchior was not there. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him close. "Where is he?" She asked in stern voice no louder than a whisper.

"Malchior was never here. I just summoned an illusionary image for the voice I've been hearing." Valere smiled. "He had some pretty interesting things to say."

"What did he tell you?" Raven demanded.

"Everything he knows about you."

She was stunned. Malchior knew everything about her and now, because of him, so did Valere. She wasn't sure what she was about to say next, but Valere cut her short.

"Are you not interested in your surroundings?" She looked around, but found nothing. "Do you not notice… or do you not dare voice your thought aloud."

She was afraid of what he knew. More then that she was afraid of him. He looked deep in her eyes and she felt like he could see into her soul, something no one had ever done to her before. "Raven, nothing has been destroyed."

She looked around the room in a new light. He was right and she knew it. Twice in his presence she had gone over the edge and nothing had been destroyed. She looked back at Valere.

"You're free." Raven couldn't hold her grip on his shirt, for these two words had hit her like lightning. She fell forward into him and began to cry, her emotions freed at last had overwhelmed her. He put his arms around her and spoke in a soft voice. "It's O.K, Raven. Take as much time as you need."

Before long, the crying made her exhausted and she actually fell asleep in his arms. He knew that he should not wake her, so he carried her to her room and tucked her in bed.