Before this chapter begins, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed. Thank you! And, to those who told me outright that I should work on spelling and grammar, thank you.
Alys has been kind enough to be my beta-reader. Most of the descriptive writing are things that she has kindly added. Thank you! Ok, you can read the story now.
Muttering about pacifists and overzealous idealists, Beast Boy found himself in the courtyard, where he assumed the ceremony was to be held. Except there was something out of place.
In the middle of the path was a crumpled body, one that he recognized all too well.
"Raven!"
He ran to where she was lying. "Rae, are you alright?"
It was a stupid question; he could see that she wasn't. But he hoped she would answer.
She didn't.
"She won't wake."
He turned towards the voice, putting himself between it and Raven. "Who are you?"
"That is not your concern. All you need to know is that you are the one who can care for her. You are her protector. You will stand by her." With that, the vision disappeared.
"I am not!" he screamed violently. "I can make my own decisions! Raven can take of herself! She doesn't need me, she told me so herself! Why are you doing this to us!" But he received no answer.
He screamed once more before turning to Raven, drawing in a deep breath. "…Okay. I feel better now."
He knelt beside her. He didn't see any outward sign of injury, but he could feel the silent heat radiating from her still form.
"She has a fever," he concluded aloud, studying her for a moment. "But…wait…Raven doesn't get sick. Her magick protects her, so that means…argh! Never mind. All this thinking's making my brain hurt."
As gently as his trembling hands would allow, he reached out and picked her up. It was much easier than he expected.
"You really have to eat more."
She didn't reply.
Even so, the words had barely tumbled from his mouth before he heard a series of footsteps behind him. Instinctually, he turned to see who it was…then gasped.
"You!" Beast Boy hissed loudly, hovering above Raven like a shield.
Jerichana made a motion to be silent. "Quiet! If someone finds you here…" She trailed off. "Listen, just follow me. You're her protector, but you need to trust me."
He just stared at her. "I am NOT her protector! And why should I trust you?"
"I have given you no reason to. But please, just follow me."
Giving in with a defiant shrug, Beast Boy reluctantly did as he was told. This could be his only hope.
Jerichana led him to a quiet room not far from the courtyard.
"Here. No one will think to look for you in here. It was Mistress Arella's, and is now off-limits. Medicine is in the cabinet to your right."
For the second time in their brief encounter, he stared at her. "Why are you doing this? I thought you hated Raven."
She looked at him sadly.
"That's what you're supposed to think. You can't tell her I was here. Pretend you found this on your own. Tell her she should get out of here as soon as possible." She took Raven from him and laid her on the bed. "Give her as much liquid as she can accept, otherwise she'll dry out. The fever shouldn't last for more then twenty-four of your hours."
"My hours? They're everybody's hours!"
She glared at him, and pointed towards the left cabinet. "Get the medicine."
Beast Boy sighed, but went to go look at the medicines. He opened the cupboard door.
"Oh man, you have to be joking!" He had been expecting normal medicines, like Tylenol or Aspirin. "Willow bark? Chamomile? Mustard? What the heck is this stuff?" The herbs held no meaning for him whatsoever, even though they were labeled in English.
Jerichana looked at him from where she was, setting a teapot over the fireplace in the next room. "It's medicine. Bring me the willow bark."
Carefully, Beast Boy pulled out the clay jar marked 'Willow Bark.' Jerichana took a small spoonful and placed it inside a metal ball, which she then placed into the kettle. "This'll help reduce her fever. Don't give her more than two cups an hour. However, with a fever this high, she'll probably get delirious. If she does, don't do anything. Just stop her if she's about to hurt herself. I have to go. They'll be missing me soon." She turned hastily to leave.
Beast Boy panicked.
"Wait! Don't just leave! I need answers! Why am I her protector? Why me? Was it…" He hesitated before the words found their way out. "…Was it because I kissed her?"
She sighed. "No. She chose you a long time ago. Haven't you noticed the way you always go to her? Even though you're not sure why?"
Thinking back, he realized that he did, but had never really thought about it. Whenever Raven found herself in trouble, he always felt pulled to her side…even when it seemed that she'd be fine on her own.
"You can understand our language because you kissed her, though," Jerichana added matter-of-factly.
At this point, Beast Boy became consciously aware of something strange—something that, up until now, only his subconscious mind had made note of. Her lips were not moving to the sound of her words. It was as if he were watching a badly dubbed movie.
"Get her to teleport you both home as soon as possible. She shouldn't attend the ceremony, even if she is better in time." She walked to the door. "Good luck," was her last utterance before she stepped carefully through it, and vanished.
Watching her until she disappeared from his line of vision, Beast Boy heaved a rather heavy sigh. "Now what am I gonna do?" He sat down beside Raven, trying not to literally twiddle his thumbs.
Unpleasantly aware of the immense boredom that was closing in on him from all sides, the idea struck him: why didn't he just tell the others about the situation?
"Yeah! Maybe they can even bring us home!" Excited with the brilliance of this new plan, he flicked on his communicator. "Hey guys, are ya there?"
There were the distant sounds of battling before a high-pitched voice—definitely Starfire's—came through.
"I apologize, but we are unavailable for service at the moment. Please tell me your name and position and we shall return as soon as…"
"Star! This is kind of an emergency!"
"Oh, friend Beast Boy!" gasped the Tameranean. She was breathless. "Please, do not move for one moment."
Beast Boy obediently waited as the fighting sounds in the background grew louder. He wondered briefly if maybe they had been called out, and if so, who they were up against. At last, he heard the details.
"You stupid robot, give me the remote!"
"No way, Bird Boy! BB ain't here, so I get priority!"
"Well, I'm the leader, so…"
"Please, we must stop this badness; our friends are in need of…"
"Get your hand offa me!"
"Same to you, buddy!"
"Please, if I could just…"
"That's it! You're in for…"
"STOP!"
There was the sound of a starbolt, and then silence.
"Well…there goes the sixth remote."
If he hadn't been so impatient with them, Beast Boy would have laughed. At least it sounded like they weren't suffering from being down two members.
"Friend Beast Boy is in need of assistance immediately," Starfire dutifully announced.
The communicator was apparently picked up by Robin.
"Alright, Beast Boy, what's the problem?"
"Well, Raven's sick and I need to get home."
There was a pause on the other line. "But…Raven doesn't get sick…"
"I know! Tell that to the fever." Beast Boy sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Look, can you just send the T-Ship? I don't think she can teleport us, and I don't know if they have the technology here. Even if they do, I doubt they'll loan it to me. Plus, they don't even have real medicine!"
"Uh…B…we can't."
"Well, why not? I don't need all of you; you guys can hold down the fort with two! It won't take long…will it? I mean, how far is Azarath from Earth?"
He suddenly realized that he had no clue where Azarath was.
"Well, technically it's on Earth. It's an alternate dimension. We have no way of getting there except for Raven."
"Oh, you've got to be kidding. Please tell me you're joking…."
"Sorry, but you're on your own for a while. I'll see what I can scrounge up, but I wouldn't count on us being able to access the right frequency to transport across dimensions."
"Dude, this so totally sucks! What am I supposed to do?"
An alarm went off in the background. He could hear groans.
"Not again! Look, Beast Boy, we have to go, but we'll check in when we get back. Good luck." With that, the communications were abruptly cut off.
Beast Boy gave a resignated sigh. He looked at Raven, then at the kettle that was still heating up, and then back to Raven.
"Well, that was helpful." He dipped a spare cloth into the water to place over Raven's forehead, and waited for the water to boil. Maybe it would actually do him good to settle down for some quiet time.
After only a few seconds, though, he began to grow restless. "There's nothing to do!" he cried, and pouted in the general direction of the kettle. "Argh! Just boil already!"
But, as the old saying goes, a watched pot never boils. Instead, he heard moans coming from the bed.
His eyes widened. "Raven!"
He raced towards her. She was frantically thrashing about, covers winding around her form, the cloth thrown off and discarded forlornly on the floor beside her. Her lips moved as she feverishly muttered words beyond his comprehension. Suddenly, she screamed and sat up straight, breathing heavily. He rushed to support her.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm here, you're alright…"
Her fever-bright eyes simply stared into nothingness.
"…Raven?"
Suddenly, she flinched, curling up under the blankets. "No! Make him go away! Please, Father! Leave me alone!"
Getting scared, he tentatively placed a hand on her blanketed shoulder.
"Rae?" he breathed. "…He's not here. Whoever you're talking about, he's gone. I'm not gonna hurt you."
He realized that she must be delirious, as Jerichana had warned him. Slowly, her sobs quieted, and she seemed to be sleeping again.
With nothing else to do but wait again, he leaned back onto a nearby chair and prepared for a short nap, all the while wishing that there was something more he could do.