Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or the original storyline of "Beauty and the Beast". I do own the changes to the original plotline, which I hope you will all enjoy
Opening Note: Many of you have expressed confusion as to the last chapter. Arella or Raven? I'm going to clear that up in this chapter some, though further guesses on your part are encouraged.
Dedicated to sekai no yakusoku and castle in the air.
Also, I would like to give a special dedication to one Prince V. This person has visited my stories and proceeded to "flame" me. I laugh at your foolish attempts to anger me, mortal! Of course I know that in the original comics Starfire and Robin had a relationship. I acknowledge this. I also acknowledge that Richard Grayson is more likely to have a relationship with Barbra Gordon than Raven or Starfire. However, this is a FANFICTION, my dear Prince V. Meaning, a fiction work written by a fan. Meaning me. I am at perfect liberty to write about whatever pairing I choose. And you, my dear, are at perfect liberty to read whatever stories you like. And "flame" ones you don't. Even mine. However, please try to be a bit more creative than "ROBXRAE SUKS ROBXRAE STUPID YOU STUPID 4 WRITE ROBXRAE SHORTNESS SUKS WRITEING STYLE SUKS STORY SUKS YOU SUKS...ALOT YOU STUPID...ALOT" You sent me the same stupid review for every story of mine you read. And I'm sure you know that most of these phrases are spelled wrong. That is the only thing I find offensive about your "review". In closing, I'd like to inform you that I've had too many people tell me that my writing is good to care about what you say."Enchanted? He-he ha-ha! Who said anything about the castle being enchanted? Ha-ha-ha... Aside to Lumiere It was you, wasn't it?"
- Cogsworth
Beast: to Belle You'll come out or I'll... I'll... I'll break down the door!
Lumiere: Master, I may be wrong, but that may not be the best way to win the girl's affections.
-Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" (1991)
Part Three: Birds
Robin hadn't expected there to be anyone besides himself and the strange – yet darkly beautiful – Arella. But as he entered the small room, he saw someone duck behind the counter. A small pot simmered on the stove. A pair of violet eyes peered over the edge of the counter.
"You're Robin," said a faint, sweet voice.
He offered a smile, and she came out of hiding. She was a small girl, perhaps only twelve years old. Her black hair was very short, exposing a pale, swan-like neck. She wore a simple dress that fell to her ankles.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Arella calls me Raven," she said by way of an answer. Then, "I made you some soup!" She hastily ducked behind the counter again to produce a bowl and went to the stove to pour some of the soup into it. "I'm not much of a cook..." she apologized. "And Arella doesn't need to eat, so I never know if I get it right or not." She watched him for some time before Robin realized that she was waiting for him to try it.
Cautiously raising the bowl to his lips, he took a sip. It wasn't Alfred's cooking, but it was good. He complimented her, then sat down at the small table to finish it. She poured herself a small bowl and drained it.
"I have to go help Arella now, she said.
"Did she trap you here, too?" he asked.
She looked down at the floor. "No. Of course not. She's - "
But before Robin could find out what Arella was, a bird darted into the room. Raven squeaked and ducked as it flew over her head. It was a large, black bird with glassy red eyes. "Nevermore!" it squawked.
"I'm coming, Poe!" Raven insisted, then ran out of the room without saying another word to Robin.
The bird perched itself on the table. "Always in the shadows," it said suddenly, then began pecking at Robin's bowl.
"You're a weird bird," Robin observed.
It made a sound as though it were choking, then forced out another, longer sentence.
"I'm not the only bird here."
Robin opened his mouth to answer, but the bird swooped out of the kitchen again. Slightly offended, the Boy Wonder found his way to the room he'd chosen to sleep in and climbed into bed. At some point in the night, he thought he heard Arella and Raven talking, but wasn't sure if he was asleep or dreaming.
He was awakened by something pecking steadily harder and harder at his head. He opened his eyes and saw the bird Poe sitting on his thin pillow, regarding him like a rather stubborn worm. Robin groaned and rolled over. He'd hoped all of this was a dream, but apparently it wasn't. He looked out the window. It was barely dawn.
He scooped up a cushion from the floor and tossed it with great accuracy at the bird. It squawked and flew down to the floor, offended. With a last garnet stare it wobbled out of the room through the open door. Robin fixed his mask and pulled the thin blanket over him, letting sleep claim him.
At some point, he began to wonder what the bird would taste like, roasted. He wasn't used to animals, really. And Poe didn't make the transition very easy. He was very fond of perching on Robin's shoulder and pecking at his ear.
"I'm sorry Poe's being so naughty," Raven apologized, coaxing the bird away with some bread so that Robin could finish his porridge in peace. "I think, in his own weird way, he likes you."
Robin nearly choked on the porridge. "Well," he said at last, "I'm glad he doesn't hate me, then."
Raven laughed and went off in search of Arella. She returned some time later, when Robin was practicing with his bo staff on the factory floor.
"Arella is in the study," she said, pointing to a door to the right at the top of the steps. "She says you will go to her now."
Robin's bo sliced through the air. "I'm not her dog," he said bitterly. "And I won't have her send for me."
Raven shifted nervously from one foot to the other. "Please don't make her mad, Robin..." She looked down at the floor. "She scares me when she's angry..."
Robin put his staff away and approached her, lifting her chin so she would look at him.
"Does she hurt you, Raven?"
Her eyes went wide and she shook her head. "Oh, no! She would never hurt me!" She said it with such confidence that Robin believed her at once.
"What does she want me for?" he asked.
Raven fidgeted. "I'm not sure... just talk to you, I guess." She wandered back to the kitchen.
Something landed on his head and pecked violently at his earlobe. "Nevermore!"
"That's right," Robin muttered. "You tell Arella that if she wants to see me, she'll have to ask nicely. I don't follow her orders."
"Nevermore!" Poe replied, clicking his beak.
"I know you can talk," Robin said. "I know you have more brains than you let on."
Another sharp peck.
"And you..." the words were like rusty metal chains dragged over broken glass, "You have no brains at all, ignoring her wishes."
"She could at least say 'please'," Robin insisted, satisfied that he got the thing to talk.
"She does as she pleases," the bird corrected. "And right now, it pleases her to see you."
Robin didn't budge. Poe made a sound that was something like a sigh and something like a bitter bark of laughter before flying off toward the study door. A moment later, Robin sensed movement in the shadows behind him.
"You will come when I send for you, boy," her voice, shadowy as ever, held a note of impatience.
"I'm not your dog to be ordered about," he replied, imitating her eloquent way of speech. "If you want me to do something, you'll ask." A pause. "And you'll say 'please'," he added.
The shadows parted to reveal her, eyes glowing red as ever, narrowed to what Robin recognized as sheer annoyance. He grinned in spire of himself.
"Very well," she said, seething. "It would please me to see you in the study now... Robin." She added flatly, "Please."
Noting that he didn't have to ask her to use his name, he smiled and followed her up the stairs.
Ending Note: I'm a bit disturbed over a complaint I had. Someone said that this story is "uninspired" and lacks the "flair" of my other stories. This makes me sad because I work really hard to make my stories good. Would that person (or anyone else, for that matter)please suggest what I can do to make it better?
Signed,
The Writer, you fools