Disclaimer: I do not own teen titans or the words to Bare Grace Misery by Nightwish
Summary: What if Malchior really had been the wizard? But what if the dragon Rorek had possessed him before he could make final contact with Raven? What would Raven say if she knew this? A Raven/Malchior Fic.
+Bare Grace Misery+
+Prologue+
Sweet boy come in,
I am the dark side of you.
The shadow world was dark, as usual and the silence was oppressive. All the banished beings and those that had been sent or imprisoned there against their will were all hiding, cowering behind the rock formations away from the empty expanses of blackness that threatened to consume them. It was how they lived, in squalor; in destitution they had come to expect nothing more. It was their punishment for being cruel to others, for betraying the ones they swore allegiance to, and in some cases for trying to bring down someone more powerful.
A hot wind blasted through the rock crevices spraying dark grey dust in all directions, rocks clattered against the hard ground of their own free will, rotting structures creaked and groaned, and still nobody said a word.
It was a humid day, at least it could be day, it could be night, nobody really knew as it was dark all the time. Eventually those living there got used to the darkness, their eyes adapted so they could discern the lighter shades from the emptiness that filled the place where the sky should have been. To begin with they had all been stumbling around blindly, wounding themselves on the unforgiving terrain and falling prey to the ferocious beats that stalked the darkest quadrants of the land.
Something shifted in the shadow world causing some of the smaller newer residents scuttling backwards into the small holes that they could find, some just hiding their heads and praying that whatever was coming would soon be gone.
The sound of light footsteps echoed across the land, growing louder and louder as someone strode purposefully closer.
Those who dared to look up would have seen the gleam in a pair of cool blue eyes and the flash of white hair as a human like shape walked past, a small darker shape shuffling along behind him, head bowed almost as if in reverence.
The shadow world beings did not stop to think about what was going on, why should they care? As soon as the person and the follower had passed they leapt to their clawed feet and fled further into the darkness.
Blue eyes stared down at the old woman warily, he would have preferred a fail-safe method, but time was of the essence and he did not have the time to go rooting around in the endless libraries and openings in this infernal world, he would have to take the chance he was presented with.
His long eyelashes brushed against the pale skin of his cheeks and he blinked, when he reopened his eyes his gaze was met by the narrow green eyes of the hag in front of him.
The hag was small, even for her species and her back was hunched. Her skin was dark green and mottled with patches of sickly yellow, her crooked nose oddly out of proportion with the rest of her face. Her eyes were huge and round like those of a frog and they shined the brightest green, though at times when the light or lack thereof caught them just right they would turn to a horrid dirty colour that mirrored the worst sewers of the human world. The hag's lips pulled back to reveal broken and yellow teeth as she smiled, though it was more of a grimace, up at him.
"Are you sure that this will work?" he asked slowly his voice muffled by the grey scarf he had pulled up to cover his mouth and nose.
The hag nodded her head slowly, strands of greasy brown hair falling out of her hood as she teetered forward slightly. "Yesss." She hissed, her thick tongue licking her cracked lips in anticipation, "I've ne'er 'ad a complaint yet." She declared.
He sighed, but refrained from rolling his eyes, somehow her words were not reassuring. He didn't trust her as it was, but he had no other option open to him, he put a fist on his hip and held out his hand, "Give it here then."
The hag cackled and shook her head, "You must pay me first."
He bit back a sigh of frustration, "What are you going to do with money anyway in a place like this anyway? Some how I don't think the ShadowedRealm holds a Sunday Market."
The hag laughed, "I 'ave many uses for money, 'tis none of your concern."
He raised his eyes to the sky, "Fine." Retracting his hand he dug into the pocket above his left thigh and pulled out three small round silver coins. He held them in his palm and extended his hand once again.
The hag snatched the shiny disks viciously and shoved them back into her own cloak, chuckling with glee at she did so. Satisfied that they were in safe place she looked up, a dangerous glint in her eyes. She held out her own hand and with a small puff of dark green smoke, a small crystal vial appeared in her palm, the bottle was shaped like a snake, and the amber coloured liquid lapped gently at the sides silently as she held it out for him to take.
He reached forward with his long fingers and plucked the container from her grasp. He held it up to eye level and then slanted a glance in her direction. "So I only have to drink it?"
She nodded, "That is correct; drink it and 'ave done."
He nodded slowly and flicked a strand of white hair from his eyes; he unscrewed the lid, shaped as the snake's head, and tossed it to one side. "I have waited months for this. Nothing is going to stand in my way now."
The hag made a snorting sound, "There is one catch."
His eyes narrowed and his gaze darted to her, he looked her up and down warily, he was so close, and now she had sprung this on him. He had come too far to even think about turning back now, "What?"
"There is one catch." She repeated grinning darkly at him, the stench of her breath almost enough to make him wrinkle his nose in distaste, he wondered if he'd even be able to stand near her when he took his scarf down.
He scowled, "No, I mean, what is the catch?"
The little hag rubbed her hands together, "That potion will only work for one week. Seven days, if the person you are going to find has not confessed her love by then, you will be dragged back here. After that, you'll never be able to leave again, even if someone from outside summons you."
His fist clenched around the vial, "Seven days is not enough for what I have to do." He hissed the words out between his teeth, willing the hag before him to see sense, if only for a moment.
She cackled again, "Tis the way of the potion. I can't change it."
He glared, wishing greatly that looks could kill. "Seven days?"
Her grin widened, "Seven days. There is one other matter, but I didn't think to mention it before. You must not mention this deadline to the girl, if you do the potion will be void; you will be dragged back here. If you are not near a portal, or an enchanted object, your soul will be ripped from your body and you will die instantly."
"How in seven hells could you forget that?" he demanded.
"I didn't forget, I just didn't see the need to mention it."
"Didn't see the need to…" he trailed off in disbelief and shook his head, "It doesn't mater, I'll go through with it, I have to fix the mess that that idiot Rorek caused. I'm willing to risk my life and my freedom."
"You must love this girl very much." The hag sighed, a look of almost longing crossing her face, of course, the disfiguring nose made it hard to watch most of her facial features, so she may just have been stifling a sneeze…
"Is there anything else that you should tell be? Before I ingest….this?"
The hag shook her head to signal 'no', "Only that you much drink it all in one go, regardless of the taste."
He nodded, not bothered about such trivial technicalities. He raised his free hand and pulled down his grey scarf exposing his thin mouth. He raised the bottle, parted his lips and poured the liquid in.
His face contorted as the mixture touched his tongue and he was tempted to spit it out, but remembering the hag's words he forced himself to swallow. His body shuddered slightly and his stomach muscles clenched. His body seemed to be rejecting the liquid but he kept it down for the sake of the girl he loved.
He raised his eyes to the hag, "What now?"
Even as his mouth formed the words a spasm of pain rippled through his insides, he dropped to his knees in surprise his arms reflexively wrapping around himself. There was a pounding noise in his head…
The shadow world was immediately lit up by a blinding white light, sending the ungodly creatures that lived there screaming and fleeing in terror, their skin burning from the sudden light.
The light faded.
The hag looked at the spot where the young man had just knelt. She hummed to herself, "Take heed, young Malchior." She nodded at the empty space before her, before turning and shuffling back the way she had come.
Die for my sins,
Like the one once did.