Boy Wonder and the Demoness

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: Hopefully in this chapter all of your questions on the Raven/ Arella front will be answered.

Dedicated to sekai no yakusoku, ravenslair, and castle in the air.

Beast: I want to do something for her... but what?
Cogsworth: Oh, there's the usual things; flowers, chocolates, promises you don't intend to keep...

-Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" 1991

Chapter Seven: Two Divided by Two Equals One

Gradually he fell asleep, still confused and convinced he was dreaming already. But as he slowly woke, he realized that Raven's head was tucked under his chin, her legs tangled with his. And from what he could see, she wasn't his little Raven anymore. Her sleeping features were sharper now, more delicate. Not soft and childish. And she had developed some very appealing curves, somehow.

"She's getting stronger," came a voice from the doorway. Arella stood there, Poe perched on her shoulder.

"Is she going to be okay?" Robin asked hesitantly.

She laughed her dark laugh and Poe squawked. "Do you care for her, boy?" Her tone was serious.

Robin looked down at the young woman with her head in his lap, sleeping soundly. "Of course I do."

Arella nodded. "What about me, then?"

He looked at her for a long moment, expecting her to laugh again. Surely she was joking. But she kept her red eyes trained on his and waited, her hand trembling on the doorknob.

"I…" It was quite difficult to explain if he cared for her or not. "Can a robin care for someone who trapped it in a cage?" he asked.

"I see." And she slipped away before he could try to explain that he did feel something for her. He cared for her, yes. But not the same way he cared for Raven. He wondered, for a moment, if he had hurt her.

But then, did she have any feelings to hurt?

The memory of her kiss, surely, was enough to prove that maybe she did. But had she been toying with him? There was no way to know.

Raven stirred in his lap and slowly sat up, leaning against him. "Good morning, Robin," she said, wrapping her slender arms about his shoulders and brushing her lips against his cheek. It was something she had often done before, as a child. But this morning it was different because it excited him and made him smile a little wider than he usually did as he returned the greeting, inhaling the scent of lavender as he kissed her forehead.

"I'll make you breakfast," she said, climbing down from the bed.

As soon as she was gone, Robin went in search of Arella, hoping to apologize or perhaps explain himself better.

She was sitting by the fireplace in the study, apparently talking to Poe, who was perched on her knee. I guess I should have been relived that she wasn't in the darkest room, throwing one of those temper tantrums of hers. She didn't even look up when I said her name, just kept mumbling into the fireplace.

"I understand if you're angry with me, but - "

"What is it, boy?" she asked, turning away from the grate a bit to train one of her flaming eyes on me.

"What I said earlier… I didn't mean it."

She smirked. "Why not? It has some truth to it after all." She turned back to the grate. "I trapped you here, and as such I shouldn't expect you to grow fond of me, should I?"

"You order me around and don't even use my real name. And then you kiss me. How am I supposed to know if what I'm feeling for you is okay?"

"And you know it's okay to care for Raven?" She still didn't look at me fully.

"Because I know that she cares for me." I hesitated. "What happened to her?"

Now she did look at me. "As I said, she is getting stronger." Poe flew up to my shoulder and pecked my ear, whispering in his gravely voice, "The spell is breaking, boy bird."

"Spell?"

"Raven and I are under a spell… a curse," Arella explained. "Only the love of a human boy could break it."

"So that's why it's so important to you that I care?" I wasn't quite sure if I should feel betrayed.

"Don't be stupid." She rose from her seat and reached up to gather a handful of my hair in each of her ebony hands, pulling me down and pressing her lips firmly to mine. The action was so sudden that it took me a moment to react. She pulled away a little, enough to say, "I couldn't control what I feel for you if I wanted to, Robin." Our mouths centimeters apart and her scent filling me, I was willing to believe anything she said.

"You love me, then?" she asked, running her fingers through my hair, tracing the line of my jaw.

"I do." I pulled away from her, blinking. But don't I love Raven? Poe landed on my head and pecked hard, shrieking, "Confused, boy bird thing? Confused? Two divided by two equals one! One, one, one!"

I reached up and threw him into the chessboard, the pieces flying. The door opened a crack and Raven emerged. "What happened?"

I looked from her to Arella. Two divided by two equals one… Two divided by two… Two divided by… Two… One!

"You're…" I could barely get the words out. "Both of you are…"

"The same," Raven finished for me. "Yes."

"Two halves of a whole," Arella said quietly.

A sound erupted from the mantle that seemed to shake the whole room. Poe flew out of the room, squawking.

"What is that?" I asked, not sure if I wanted the answer, or even if I would understand it.

"My father," they said at the same time.

Ending note: I am desperately trying to hold onto both of my stories at the moment. Even though I have more time to write, I also have more time to be stuck. I picked up a couple of challenges on the side to keep the creative flow going. Good news is, the next chapter of this story should be the last.

Drop me a review already.

Signed,

The Writer, you fools