Life's Canvas
Chapter 9: Colors of the Past
Richard looked at the man holding Kori stiffly. "Hi…" he mumbled. Roy nodded.
"Hi. Thanks for taking care of Kori last night," Roy responded, equally wary. Kori laughed.
"Oh come on boys, be nice! Roy, thank goodness you came. I swear the only reason I got any sleep last night is because I knew you were coming…" she snuggled into Roy's chest and Richard lifted a brow. Was that really the only reason she fell asleep? Roy kissed her lightly on the head.
Richard came and sat in one of the empty seats at the table and Roy sat across from him. Kori smiled and sat between them. She winked at Richard and he offered a thankful grin in return. At least she didn't expect him to like Roy. "So you two are…?" Richard asked. Roy smirked.
"Kori's my little star. Aren't you, sweetheart?" he said. Kori flushed.
"Roy and I are dating." She clarified. Richard nodded, skillfully ignoring the gnawing sensation that festered in his gut. A waitress came up and took their orders, Richard and Roy both asking for straight black coffee; much to the annoyance of each other. Kori ordered a cup of water and a muffin.
Richard found, to his distress, that he could hardly function at the moment. His eyes were painfully latched onto Roy's hand, which was resting on Kori's leg. Roy seemed to notice, and he tilted his head to the side and watched Richard through narrowed gaze; his mop of red-orange hair falling over the top of his sunglasses.
"Kori, what happened to your shoulder?" Roy asked. Kori tensed, and Richard watched as her slim fingers came to rest on the bandages.
"Nothing, really." She muttered. Roy frowned.
"Kori, don't keep stuff from me. If she hurt you I'm gonna…"
"No! I mean, I'm fine. We don't even know if she was responsible," she cut in. Richard frowned. Who was 'she' and what did 'she' want with Kori?
"Don't be dumb. You know it was her!" Roy growled. Kori pulled back as if bitten.
"Hey! Don't call her dumb. She's not," Richard snapped, agitated. Roy scowled.
"This isn't your problem, Rich Boy," Roy retorted. Richard clenched his fists, but Kori touched his arm lightly. He looked up at her, remotely surprised.
"It's fine. Roy, please try to be cordial…"
"But for all I know, he's working with her!" Roy spat. Kori shook her head furiously.
"Don't even consider such a thing! Richard would never hurt me. I know it," she said. Roy threw back his head.
"God, Kori, you don't even know this guy. You met him… what… 24 hours ago?" he rubbed his temples. Richard rolled his eyes. He was sitting at the same table, you know… "Look, even if he's fine that's not the point. Your sister tried to…"
"Don't talk about her, Roy. I don't want to hate her. I really don't." Kori murmured. "Besides! Madame Logan sent me here hoping I could get my mind off of things. I'll just be careful and I'm sure everything will be fine. I have the gallery to attend to," she said. Roy shook his head.
"No. You know that's not why she sent you here. Rae thought it'd be safer. And I think she figured it best you didn't see her loose her composure and beat the crap out of the little weasel…"
"Terra was my best friend. Just because she went with my sister doesn't mean she's a weasel." Kori sighed.
"She betrayed you, Kori. She betrayed all of us. We thought you were safe in Jump City, but obviously not. So now Rae's got you in Gotham. Either way, Carmen's going to hunt you down and Terra's going to help her." Roy replied. Kori bit her lip.
"But Carmen's my sister and I can't just…"
"Turn her in, Kori. You could get her this time. I can get some of my buddies out here and we can find a way to prove it was Carmen that broke in to your room. Then all we have to do is find her and lock her up!" Roy pleaded. Kori stood abruptly.
"I can't do that Roy. I'm sorry. Perhaps it wasn't the best thing to meet with you today because off hand, I feel worse than when I got here. Richard, can we go back to the manor now?" she asked imperiously. Richard had been silent the entire time, but he now jumped to his feet.
"Uh, sure." He said. Kori nodded and grabbed his arm; dragging him away before anything more could be said.
Richard and Kori didn't talk on the ride home, it seemed like conversation should wait until they got back. As he walked her upstairs, Richard finally broke the silence. "I'll take you to a new room. I'm guessing… you don't wanna tell me what's going on, huh?" he said quietly. Kori sighed wearily.
"No… I should tell you. I guess the Gallery Building can wait until this afternoon. But I've got to go today; I had some of my paintings and a few of the pieces I bought sent up from Jump City and they should be here today… I overnighted them." She mumbled. Richard nodded and opened the door to the room for her. The two trudged over to the bed and flopped down.
"So. What's going on, then?" Richard prompted. Kori sucked in a deep breath.
"I grew up on Tamaran. It's a little island in the South Pacific. I was eight when we moved here… well, to California. It was just my sister and I then. I had a brother, Ry, but he died with my parents in the fire that wiped out over half of Tamaran's population. So it was just Carmen and me. It was ok at first, we lived in an orphanage and Carmen always stood up for me in front of the other kids and even the workers. No one was really nice there.
Carmen bossed me around a lot, but she was still my big sister and she took care of me. She's three years older than I am. As soon as Carmen was eighteen, she took me away from the orphanage with her and we got an apartment. The orphanage was closed soon after for abusing the kids. It was about that time when this old friend of the family got in contact with us. He was also our parents' lawyer. He came to read us the will… and that's when things went down hill.
You see, my parents had something of a fortune saved up for us kids. Ry would've gotten the house and my sister and I would've gotten the money. The problem was, the will hadn't been completed before they died so it read that all of their remaining funds went to me… not my sister. So I guess she got jealous because legally, she couldn't get any of the inheritance.
Things would have been fine if I'd just given her the money, but I was a thoughtless fifteen-year-old and I got it in my head to donate it all to an art school… because art was my passion and what not. That's how I met Madame Logan. She was eighteen when I met her… I think she hadn't met you yet," Kori paused, glancing at Richard. He nodded, his eyes glued to her. How could all of this be real? Kori went on. "Anyways, Raven had just started to help her mom with some management of Azerath School of Fine Arts and I met with her and gave them… well… all but five thousand dollars of the money. The five thousand gave to charity.
I didn't need the money, neither did my sister, so I didn't really think she'd be upset. But when Carmen found out… To put things simply, I had to leave. Raven wanted to help me after all of the money I gave to her school, so she set me up with a place two hours away from the school in Jump City. Roy moved in because he was eighteen and could sign off the rent. He was one of Raven's friends. We thought things were going to be alright, but then things kept on happening… like my car was stolen, my apartment was broken into, and some other things too. Roy had a suspicion it was Carmen, but we weren't sure.
And then, when I turned eighteen and Roy moved out so I could have my own place, Carmen actually came and threatened me. It was scary, to have my own sister after me. So from then on I was constantly hopping around Jump City, living in new places and trying to keep away from Carmen. Roy and my other friend Terra came with me everywhere, and I was actually alright… but then Terra left and the next time I saw her she was with Carmen when they shot up my apartment complex. They got away because I was the only witness in speaking condition and I wasn't about to turn in my sister and best friend. So when you called and asked for help, I guess Madame Logan just thought it'd be good to get me out of Jump City for good.
After the gallery is finished, I'll probably move into a town house somewhere out in the Gotham suburbs…" she sighed and shrugged. "So that's what's going on. And Roy thinks it was probably Carmen and Terra that broke the window last night." Richard stared at her in stunned silence. It sounded like a soap opera to him. A really bad soap opera. Kori smiled bleakly. "I just hope she doesn't try to hurt you too… if it was her here last night," she murmured.
Richard shook his head. "Damn…" he finally managed. Kori frowned.
"Don't look at me like you're sorry for what's happening to me. It's not your fault, and I'm perfectly fine for the moment!" she grinned suddenly, and popped off of the bed. She pulled Richard up to stand next to her. "Besides, you've got a hard past too… I can see it in your eyes. I've just got to wait until you're ready tell me about it. Either way, we can help each other keep a positive look out on things, right?" she said. Richard shook his head.
"I dunno if I can help you much on that. I'm not very good on keeping positive myself…" he apologized. Kori slapped his arm lightly.
"Nonsense! Just being my friend is fine enough," she giggled and wrapped him in a tight hug. "Thank you Richard," she sighed and let him go. "Now, I think I can be ready to go to the gallery in about an hour… will that be alright?" she asked. Richard nodded mutely and headed for the door. He heard her shift behind him. "I haven't depressed you, have I?" she asked, a very small hint of amusement lacing her voice. She seemed to find his distress at her situation almost entertaining.
"No, I'll be fine… I'm just surprised that you're fine," he turned to face her. "Really, if there's anything I can do to help keep you safe I- just ask," he faltered. Kori smiled softly. He looked adorable right now, she decided. He seemed just as confused about what he could do to help as he was about the fact he could genuinely care about her situation at all. The man was obviously very bad when it came to emotions. She came up to him and brushed some of his unruly black hair from his face.
"Now seriously, Richard, don't make me regret I told you all of this. You getting upset about it won't make it any better, alright?" she asked chidingly, scolding him like a child. He nodded, but rolled his eyes at her perpetual optimism. She laughed and, on impulse, kissed him on the cheek. He met her eyes, startled and perplexed. She couldn't help herself and began to laugh again, clutching her sides. "Oh gracious… don't act like it's such a crime! It's not like a girl hasn't kissed you before! Now give me an hour, Richard and I'll meet you down stairs. Just be sure not to tell Roy!" she peeped, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes as she continued to laugh. Richard's shocked expression disfigured into a scowl.
" Oh shut up, Kori," he snapped, good-naturedly.
"Mhm, whatever you say, Richard." She yelped, gasping for breath. She watched him leave the room, still suppressing giggles, before flopping back onto the bed.
Author's Note: AHHHH! Random chapter ensues! Ok, first of all... be happy! I updated in one day! mwa! This chapter had a lot of random emotions in it... I don't know, it felt a bit sticky to me. I needed to clue you all in on what's going on, though. And yay! Richard got a kiss from Kori! Not quite what you're all waiting for, I know, but it'll come someday... Yes, Kori is being entertainingly forward even though I think she's a little oblivious to the emotions both she AND Richard are really feeling... and yes, she is frighteningly optimistic. "Oh, lovely day m'dears, the brids are singing, the sun is shining, and my sister wants to kill me!" says our beloved little Kori... haha. Well, Richard's jealousy will deffinately flare in upcoming chapters, please don't think I'm done withHarper vs. Grayson!I'm hyper at the moment, quite proud that I found a way to incorperate Speedy, Tamaran, Blackfire, and Terra... Oh, and Blackfire is Carmen because her Tamaranian name in the comics was Comand'r and I didn't wanna name her Com... so she's Carmen. Don't kill me aight? Well, much love!
Love, Princess Starfire of Tamaran
P.S.- Puilzberry, I will read your fic soon... don't despair, I'm just terribly busy at the moment. My novel is becomingimmensly time-consuming. Oh, and I CAN NOT WAIT until Stranded premeires in the US! Now... is it coming on June 4, or June 11? I've heard both but haven't been able to verify either myself. If you know, please tell me. I'm doing my best not watch it online and be good and wait for the premeire, but I fear I shall burstsoon!