AN: Well, here we are a start of a brand new story! I honestly have no idea where this came from, so just bear with me on this one. Since BB is coming to a close, I thought I would go ahead and start with this one. Dreams will be updated soon, I'm sorry for the long wait, but I have started the next chapter, so you can all look forward to that within the next few weeks. The final chapter of BB will also be showing up soon, so make sure you keep an eye out for that.

While I'm on the subject of writing… with school starting back up and everything, I know it's been kind of slow, and it will be for a while, just getting back into the swing of things, so I apologize now for the future as things start to get going again.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this new story, and remember to review and the end and tell me what you all think.

Disclaimer: If money grew on trees, then I might own the Teen Titans, but since it doesn't… I don't. '

Dragons and Knights

Princess Raven, third daughter of King Trigon, first daughter of the king's second wife and known for her dislike of company, was currently sitting at the front of a long receiving line, chin resting in her hand and trying unsuccessfully to stifle her yawn of boredom. In front of her was a man dressed in armor, a lion on the front of his shield that he braced on one arm and blue velvet was everywhere that wasn't covered by his armor. He knelt on one knee and was currently holding her free hand; the one eye that was visible behind the brown hair that flopped in front of his pretty face as he moved was fixed on her. He was the kind of man that woman fell over when he walked down the street with his fellow knights, the kind that made women weak at the knees when he smiled, the kind that, when he courted a lady, women plotted on bringing about her downfall. Raven had hated him from the moment he had first flicked his hair and given her a grin that was full of self-love.

Shifting on the uncomfortable, hard wood, throne-like chair, Raven sighed and resisted the urge to slouch down in an un-princess like manner, she wondered idly how much longer the man was going to drone before he finished and the next idiot was introduced. She stole a glance over at her middle sister, Kori, her long red hair was platted back into a fancy braid and she giggled as a knight bowed and kissed her hand. Her green dress complimented her hair and matched her eyes, her back was straight and her legs were crossed just so. She was the exact opposite of Raven.

"So, lady Raven, I do hope we meet again." Raven jumped slightly as they knight rose, seeming to have finished his long ramble about swords and mountains and something about slaying a dragon. He gave her a small bow once more and a smile that she supposed might be considered charming if she didn't already hate him. He turned and walked away, pausing to give the king and queen a bow as he passed the main thrones. The nest suitor stepped forward and took the hand that the knight had left alone, giving her a bow.

The next man stepped forward, his black hair cut short and brushed back carefully, he was tall, like all knights, nothing new. "Lady Raven, a pleasure to finally meet you, I am Sir Crow," Perfect, a crow for a raven, did her father enjoy making fun of her.

Raven forced a small smile. "Welcome, Sir Crow, to the kingdom of Azarath. I trust you had an enjoyable and easy journey here?"

"Yes, it was a most enjoyable journey here, however, I did have a couple near misses with a giant, but I, of course came out on top with no more than a couple scratches."

"How incredible," Raven had long since given up on hiding her monotone, no one ever really seemed to notice anyway, especially if they were about to launch into a hour long tale of fighting some giant. "Tell me, was it a Saraithian Giant or a Rectomizer? If it was a Saraithain you were pretty lucky." Crow stumbled, confused by the question.

Rule one, never ask challenging questions when talking to the dim witted. Raven sighed and opted for an easy question. "Did it have a club?"

"Of course! It was covered with spikes, and was bigger than my horse!" Crow was once more on track and began to explain in great detail how he cut the giant down after a long and hard battle. Raven repressed a groan and slide down a couple inches in her chair. How much longer would this go on? The knights weren't even that interested in her, the only reason most of them were here was for the land they would inherit if they were married to one of King Trigon's three daughters, the two oldest the three were the first choices, they were pretty and had good manners, well Kori had good manners, Connie not as much her younger sister, but more than Raven had. They knew had to dance and exactly what to wear. The hair was just the right length, long enough to be platted and styled just so. Raven on the other side was nothing like her half-sisters. Her face didn't stand out in a crowd for being beautiful; she could be cutting and sarcastic to her suitors and her hair was cut short, not long enough to even pull back.

But land was land, and if knights wanted it they went to any length to get it, even marry a girl who didn't exactly fit princess criteria.

"And that was how I faced and heroically brought down the giant, just so I could come and see you."

"Amazing." Raven mumbled and watched as the knight smirked to himself, probably thinking he had gained her admiration. The man stood and gave her one more bow.

"Lady Raven, I do so hope that my path may cross yours again, but for now, I must return to my own country, over barren desert and harsh mountains." He glanced at her from the heroic poise he had struck. What did he expect her to do, throw herself into his arms and beg him not to leave her? Raven would sooner realize that her father had decided that she was his favorite daughter and he would buy her frilly pink dresses that she would adore and wear everyday instead of the comfortable midnight blue and dark green dresses she preferred.

"I… hope you have a safe return journey to your home country." Raven replied coolly. Crow nodded and left, bowing to the king before kneeling and saying a few words. He rose once more and Raven half expected him to draw his sword and call forth his great steed and go galloping off into a fake sunset made up of little girl dreams and untrue promises. At that moment the king stood from his throne and addressed the audience in the hall.

"Knights and Princes from near and far, I thank you for coming today and meeting my daughters." His voice was huge and enveloped the hall. "Unfortunately, the day grows late and the sun begins to slide from the sky, covering our kingdom in darkness. I'm afraid that my family and I will have to retire now. I once more thank you all for coming." Her father had always been a good public speaker. He knew exactly what to say to gain respect and trust from others, adding them to his horde of blind followers.

Raven stood from the hard chair she had been seated on for the last four hours and stretched, feeling the stiffness beginning to take effect. She glanced at Kori as she delicately stood as well and shook her head slightly, clearing the wisps of hair that fallen from her neatly done hair. Kori noticed Raven's glance and grinned at her, motioning for the younger girl to come.

The two left the large hall together as servants ushered all the guests out of the great palace. Kori turned to Raven once they were out of earshot of their parents. "Did you ever think that this day would end?" Kori laughed as Raven rolled her eyes. "I have gotten bored of the constant 'Lady Kori' and politeness. Why must father make us go through these constant suitor days?" Raven shrugged in answer to her older sisters question.

"At least he hasn't held any balls yet," Kori continued. "I don't think I could continue to smile for the entire night while knights try to impress me."

"Smile? I have to worry about staying polite and keeping my temper, I don't think I smiled for more than once today. How do you do it?" Raven mumbled as the two sisters walked.

Kori stopped, watching Raven. "What?" Raven raised her eyebrow as she turned to face Kori.

"Raven, I'm sorry."

"What?" Raven asked, confused.

Kori simply shook her head. Raven was sure she saw sadness flicker across Kori's face, but it was gone a second later. "Do you think that we could practice tomorrow?" Kori rushed in a hushed tone after she had glanced around the stone hall to make sure no one was around, well visible around at least. There was a story the two girls had heard from the servants when they were young that there were hidden passageways that ran through the castle, used long ago as shortcuts for the servants of the castle to reach rooms quickly. Yet, no one to date was exactly sure where these shortcuts were, they had all been boarded up during the war, too easy for spies to learn secrets.

Raven shrugged. "That's fine by me, I think the kitchen will be safe from about noon on, so how about we meet there at about two." Kori nodded.

"Oh it has been so long since we last had this chance!" She giggled before blowing Raven a kiss and skipping off. "I will see you at dinner then, dear sister." Raven watched her go, dancing and humming and giving a small twirl every once in awhile simply to feel the layers of her skirt as she went. Raven sighed and twisted a piece of hair around her finger, the odd violet color set against the pale, pale skin of her finger.

When had been the last time the two had met to practice their magic in secret? Their father had forbade them to, not wanting his daughters to use the amazing power they had been granted. 'It is not for a princess to control such strange and odd magic's' That was what he had said, yet that same power they had inherited from him, mostly from him, Kori got most of hers from her mother, the odd and mystical green bolts of fire that flew from her hands when ever she was angry was an old art from her mothers home land. Most of Ravens power came from Trigon, he had uncovered an old secret tome when he was young, and unlocked a spell that protected it, all of his children had inherited a bit of that power, Raven most of all since her mother had no known power of her own. The two sisters had started practicing their magic in secret when the court magician, who had suggested they practice and prefect their skills, (he had even offered to tutor the girls himself,) had been banished.

"Princess Raven." A deep voice startled Raven from her musings, and she whirled around. Her hand clenched into a fist as she faced the tall man who had snuck up on her.

"Lord Slade." She curtsied out of habit while he offered a small bow. "May I inquire upon why you are here?"

She had never liked the man, the man who had been her father's right hand man for as long as she could remember, always skulking around and doing her fathers dirty work. He was not the usual kind of lackey, he was too smart to be tricked into working in false pretense, he knew everything that was going on in the castle, from the servants gossip to the secret plans of Trigon that not even his family knew. Slade also knew about Kori and Raven practicing their magic, and even though he knew Trigon had forbidden it, he had yet to let him know of the secret lessons. Raven knew there was a reason; Slade never did anything before thinking out what he could gain. If there father didn't know yet, Slade had a very good reason to have kept quiet so long. He was a cold, heartless man, his actions were swift and harsh and he never showed the slightest remorse for the death of ones he had killed. It was true he was an amazing warrior, winning many battles for Trigon, and knew all of his enemy's weakest points.

From behind the ever constant mask Slade wore, Raven could hear him chuckle. "I simply had some… business in this wing of the castle, and I happened to see the Princess, standing all alone here. I wondered if Her Highness would like some company." His one visible eye narrowed. "And there is no need to be so polite, Princess, we both understand our feelings for one another." The two stood for a moment, watching each other carefully.

"Very well." Raven snapped, her tone turning icy as her eyes narrowed into a glare, no longer disguising her hatred. She watched as his one visible eye grew much colder as well. "What has my father sent you to do this time?"

"Nothing of your concern, Princess, just know it will be done. " He started to walk again, Raven remained her spot, staring angrily at the spot he had been. As he passed her he paused once more. "Shouldn't you be off somewhere with a prince." She heard him chuckle softly, menacingly, before he proceeded down the hall.

Raven remained where she was until she could no longer hear the clicking of his boots on the stone floor and then whirled and slammed her fist into the wall next to her. Something not considered very princess like, but then again, no one ever had called her princess like in the first place, except maybe the suitors who knew nothing about her. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and willed the anger to slip from her being. Her hand throbbed painfully and she cursed when she tried to move her fingers. Raising the hand to eye level, she inspected it carefully. Nothing broken, the castle healer who have an easy time fixing it, however unpleasant she happened to be. Sighing, Raven turned and started down the passageway to her left, heading off to the medical wing and of to see the witch in charge of the area.

OoOoOo

"Are we there yet?" A young knight moaned for the hundredth time as he slumped forward in his saddle, the hawk on his shoulder giving an annoyed chirp and took to the sky as her perch dipped unexpectedly. The knight ignored the nasty looks sent to him by the his companions and chose to slump further down, letting his head fall against the neck of his horse and mumbled something about food.

"Look Garfield, I know we've been traveling for a while, but we're not going to get there any sooner if you keep moaning. Azarath is still a good day and a half away." The prince seated between Garfield and his fellow knight growled, throwing his friend a glare as Garfield simply rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't have invited you to come if I had known you were going to complain the whole way." Prince Richard sighed and shifted in his saddle, reaching a hand up to run through his unruly hair.

Garfield just sighed. "Why are we here again, some princess or another? I thought you didn't even like princesses, say their to stuck up," he muttered and held up his hand as his falcon landed once more.

"They are, I don't, and I told you already, Father wants my to get married, and I plan to find the least stuck up princesses out there. Who knows, Garfield, the princess I'm going to see has a younger sister, maybe you'll finally fall in love," he teased his friend.

"Yeah, yeah." He mumbled and stroked the falcon's chest feathers. "I'll find my princess when you find yours." The knight on Richard's right side laughed.

"You may find the princess you want, but the question is, will she want you?" He chuckled as Richard laughed and Garfield sunk a little in his saddle, sulking.

"You're just jealous because you don't have my looks." Garfield mumbled and passed a hand through his short hair, a small grin on his boyish features.

Victor simply laughed and grinned at Richard, who was smirking as well. Out of the three, Garfield was the youngest, constantly teased by the other two about his size and his voice, which still cracked upon occasion. Yet, despite his size, Garfield was quick and very strong, normally tiring out his opponents before truly ever attacking them with his sword. Though not the brightest of the three, he was loyal and true, someone who was easy to like if people could get passed his constant joking.

The three friends continued on in friendly silence, the horses taking them from daylight to the moment when shadows began to grow long and dance against the ground as bright colors light the sky. Richard pulled up his horse and rolled off carefully. Beside him, Victor thumped down next to him, followed by Garfield who tossed his falcon up before leaping lightly to the ground. The great bird circled above them for a moment before landing on a tree brand and fluffing her feathers, turning a single golden eye to the travelers as they set up their supplies. "Garfield, go catch so dinner or something." Victor called from where he was wrestling with wet sticks, trying to make a fire.

"I'm on it." Garfield stood from the log he had flopped down on and let out a low whistle. The bird of prey leapt from her branch and landed gracefully on his arm. "Layena and I well get a rabbit of something." He left the small clearing they had stopped in and headed off back the way they had came, remembering a field that they had passed through earlier. Pulling out his lure, he swung it around his head and sent Layena up to circle the field. He watched as the hawk circled above the field a few times before she pulled back her wings and plummeted toward the ground. A moment later she rose, carrying a dead rabbit in her talons. She landed with a thump before him and gave his hand an affectionate nip as he reached down to grab the rabbit, at the same time hoisting the bird onto his other arm.

Richard glanced up from where he had made a makeshift table out of a low rock and waved as Garfield returned, carrying a rabbit. "Garfield, good, you've caught us some meat. And I believe that we'll be in Azarath about noon tomorrow, and then another two hours travel till we arrive at the palace itself." Richard sighed. "I had hoped that it would take a better longer to get there, but at least I wouldn't have to put up with you whining to much longer." He winked at Garfield. Garfield laughed and tossed the rabbit across the clearing to Victor, who deftly caught it and began to skin it. Garfield shuddered and looked away, he was not really the type who enjoyed blood, and he preferred to talk out problems before jumping into anything. He had always liked animals when he was younger, and he tried not to eat to many. The three friends chatted and enjoyed, mostly enjoyed in Garfield's case, dinner. They talked for a short while about politics, a conversation Garfield had a hard time following, and then idly about what lay ahead in the future, what they would find when they reached Azarath. Richard's hope was that they were simply able to leave once they had scanned everything and decided that none of the princesses were worth the effort. As the night wore on, the three friends conversations began to wear down, each becoming tired from the long days travel and finally, all of them tugged out their blankets and tossed themselves down next to the fire.

It was early morning when Garfield was disturbed in a rustling in the bushes next to him. Sitting up with a yawn, he shot a glance toward his friends; both were still sleeping soundly, Victor muttering something about a banquet. The rustling was growing louder and coming closer, Garfield uneasily laid a hand on the pommel of his sword and rose to his knees, waiting to attack whatever was out there if it proved to be dangerous. And then, out of the bushes… stepped a man. A mask covered most of his face, only his bright, blue eyes were visible. His long, white-blonde hair was loose and fell to roughly to his waist. The man paused as he caught sight of Garfield and the two looked each other over for a long moment. Garfield's grip tightened on his sword, he had never liked men who traveled at night, they needed the night to cloak their actions, rather than be seen in the simple light of day. They could be dishonorable, banished… or even hunted. If people were searching for this man, they could trace them to prince Richard, and there would most likely be trouble.

The man finally gave a small bow, though his eyes never left Garfield's face. "Sorry to intrude." He had a distinct accent, though Garfield couldn't quite lay his finger on the country it came from. "I was merely looking for a place to rest, and when I saw your firelight, I thought I might find a friendly fellow traveler who would be kind enough to offer me a place to rest for the night."

"…" Garfield's eyes narrowed. His voice, there was something in his voice he didn't like.

The man seemed surprised that Garfield didn't respond and then he gave a small chuckle. "Silly me, I haven't introduced myself. I am Malchior of Null," he gave another small bow, "I mean no harm to you, or your companions…" he waved in the direction of the sleeping Richard and Victor. "All I need is a place to rest for the night, and I shall be off before morning." He carefully fingered the cloak he wore, and Garfield caught a glance of a flash of gold reflecting the firelight. Looking closer, he saw the trademark Dragon of Null, funny how he hadn't noticed it before. Slowly, Garfield gave a small nod.

"Fine, you can rest here, there's a bit of rabbit left if you want it." He picked up the oiled skin and deftly cut off a piece of the remaining meat with his dagger before tossing it toward the… "What are you, exactly?" he questioned as he positioned himself facing the man, careful to stay between him and Richard.

Malchior looked up from the meat he was tearing into. "I'm a wizard. I travel and offer my services to different kingdoms."

"Not loyal to your own country?" Garfield couldn't help snapping at his visitor.

"I am loyal, but I prefer to see the world. If there happened to be a war I would return at once to my own country, but for now I'd much rather… explore." Malchior replied coolly, his blue eyes hard.

Garfield fell into silence, watching as Malchior ripped the meat and devoured it hungrily. "Been a while since you've eaten?"

"Not really, I just have a appetite of a… dragon."

"Not a lion?"

"Dragons eat more."

The two once more fell into silence, Garfield keeping his sword close to his side, running his hand up and down the pommel, as if he were cleaning it. The rough texture soothed him and he tried to relax.

"Why do you want to see the world?"

"You talk a lot don't you?"

"I like to know about the people I let sleep nearby, yes."

"I've answered your questions, how about you answer some of mine." Malchior's voice was calm, but Garfield could hear the small quaver in it. It was anger.

"Fair enough."

"What are you?"

"A knight."

"Rather small to be a knight, aren't you?"

"Rather unusual for a wizard to travel at night."

By this time, Malchior had finished his dinner and casually tossed the bone over his shoulder, nearly missing Layena where she sat hooded and tethered. Garfield's grip tightened once more. "It's getting late, and I must be off early tomorrow. Good night, Sir Garfield." The wizard turned on his side, wrapping his cloak closer around his shoulders.

His breathing steadied, and soon he was fast asleep, yet Garfield refused to give himself the same privilege. He didn't trust Malchior in the least, and he refused to let him out of his site until he left the next morning. The night wore on, and Garfield fought a constant battle with the lids of his eyes, which seemed to not want to stay open, and finally, near dawn, Garfield fell asleep.

OoOoO

Garfield awoke to a hand shaking him. "Garfield, its breakfast. Come on, get up!" Garfield startled to his feet, staggered for a moment, not understanding why his back was so stiff and why he had been sleeping sitting up. The memories of the night before flooded his mind and he hurriedly searched for the wizard.

"Where is he?"

"Your wizard friend? He left just a little while ago. Very friendly guy." Victor mumbled as he stretched from his position over the fire where the final bits of the rabbit were being cooked. "He said you let him stay here and gave him some food."

"I watched him the whole night!" Garfield snapped.

"I wasn't jumping on you for letting him stay, I was merely commenting on your generosity. He asked where we were going, and told us were he was headed. Very nice guy." Victor repeated.

"Yeah, whatever." Garfield mumbled.

TBC…

Alright everybody, you know the drill… Review!