Cinders for a Bird
By The Loving Death and MutilatedBliss
Chapter 1: The message
Heeelllloooooo!
Welcome to chapter 1… 'Cause the first one was a prologue… I think… I even confuse myself Oo
T'is MutilatedBliss narrating this time… WOOT!
Disclaimer: We do not own Teen Titans or Cinderella: 'cause this story is Cinderella-esque, The Loving Death forgot to mention it 'cause she's a silly butt!
All review replies will be posted on our new homepage which is on each of our profiles, so if you reviewed go there to see our extremely thoughtful response… Yep…
So without further ado… or maybe with more ado, 'cause I don't know what ado means… Chapter 1!
P.S: This chapter was written solely by moi, so I take full responsibility for any grammar/spelling errors you are bound to find :
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Richard Grayson-Wayne sighed heavily and sunk down onto his king-sized bed, lost in thought. He had just returned from Gotham city, and after talking to his father, he felt more agitated than ever.
Pressure. He hated the word and all its implications, almost as much as King Bruce's favourite saying to him every time they met: Duty.
Richard still wasn't completely accustomed to the royal life, the endless bowing and formal balls where even an accidental slip of tongue and you were scorned and shunned for the rest of your life at court.
The reason for today's discomfort – to put it mildly – however, wasn't pressure from court or king. Oh no, it was something MUCH worse… it was pressure from his father to take a wife.
Richard had lived the first eight years of his life believing he was the son of the two court acrobats: The Flying Grayson's, but after a fatal trampezing accident, the truth was let out.
He was the true heir to the Gotham throne.
That was almost ten years ago now, and although Richard didn't mind some aspects of being the crown prince, he still didn't feel as though he belonged and he definitely couldn't believe that the harsh, distant king of Gotham was his true father.
So when the time had come for Richard to begin college, he had chosen one as far away as he could, without raising suspicion: Jump city.
He had hoped that with the kingdom so many leagues away, the obligations would stop.
They didn't.
It may take longer for a messenger to reach him, but Bruce never let him forget his place, and he always got his way. Too bad that wasn't going to happen this time.
He had received a message from his father a few days ago telling him that it was time to chose a suitable wife… and for Richard it was the last straw. He quickly departed to Gotham, but when he got there the message was the same. He must get married soon.
…or else.
Richard had decided that he offered so much resistance on the marriage front because of what his 'mother' had told him about soul mates; something he had taken deeply to heart.
Now he was persistent that he would only marry for love; order or no, and he knew that he wouldn't find his soul mate within the confinements of what Bruce deemed the 'right people'. They were much too shallow and fake, and their simpering attitudes often made Richard feel sick to the very core.
He already knew what his perfect girl would be like, he had her planned down to the last hair, and his favourite pastime in court was fantasising about how they would meet and fall in love instantly. She had to be funny in a sarcastic, witty sort of way; intelligent enough to hold a decent conversation; at least a little brave and it'd be nice if she was pretty too.
Richard almost laughed out loud at his own lunacy. He would never meet a girl that perfect in a million years, especially not with the pressures of the kingdom forming closely around him until he found it hard to breathe.
He stood up and sighed, running his fingers through his ebony hair, thinking about the hopelessness of it all, when an idea came to him. One so cunning and brilliant that Bruce would agree without a moment's hesitation…
He quickly ran from the room, his spirits lifting to form something that felt almost like happiness, something he hadn't felt in a very long time.
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Rachel sat up in alarm, a cold sweat dripping slowly down her face. She had dreamt of 'her' again, and how cruel fate had been to rip them apart so young… almost ten years to the day. Rachel's nightmares were always the same, but somehow, always different. Her mother called out to her, trying to be saved, and Rachel just stood there, unable to move or even speak. They had gotten progressively worse over the years and now ended with a voice that seemed to echo through her entire body, leaving her shaken for days. Seven words were all it took to completely break Rachel's hope in herself and in other people, leaving her dark, depressed and quiet.
"It was all your fault I died…"
Those words, spoken form even a hated enemies mouth would haunt her to her core, but spoken form her mother, the women she had loved most in the world, broke her heart into thousands of rainbow-coloured shards.
She reached up and with the back of her hand, wiped the sweat from her brow before looking out of the window and sighing.
The day was beautiful, as days often were when you couldn't go outside and experience it. The sun was shining brightly, the birds were singing and Rachel just knew her life was going to be made a misery.
Slade and his daughters always acted their worst on days like this, it was if they thought that their evil behaviour would somehow make up for the fact that the weather wasn't totally miserable, like they thought it should be.
She got out of bed, careful not to wake the family, lest fear their wrath, and tip-toed downstairs, pulling her hair up into a low ponytail as she did so.
She was about to enter the kitchen, when the distinctive ring of the doorbell sounded. Raven hurried to answer it, opening it up and seeing a familiar looking, green-haired boy, she gasped.
"Message from Prince- wait, Rae?" The boy said, his voice dropping to an amazed whisper at seeing his childhood friend.
"Gar?" She asked, staring at the boy in front of her.
Garfield Logan had lived next door to Rachel when she had first moved to Earth and the two had become fast friends. However, before long Rachel had lost her mother and the family had moved to Jump City without a word of notice. That was ten years ago, and they hadn't seen each other since.
Once the shock wore off, they embraced and Raven told him what had happened in the parts of her life he wasn't present in. Gar growled in anger at the way his friend had been treated, a low, cruel sound that showed his true fury.
Once Raven had finished, Gar began.
"Well, after you left, I was so sad 'cause you were the only person who ever talked to me 'cause of my hair colour… but I suppose yours is no better! (He grinned at her cheekily and she cuffed him lightly around the back of his head… she had missed him so much!) So after a few days, mum took me to Gotham City and I started school and stuff. The rest of my life was just your average boredom, but then I graduated and became one of the kings' messengers, and here I am!"
He smiled at her and with a flourish of his arm, presented a letter embossed on thick paper.
Dear residents of Jump City, (It read)
As you know, Prince Richard of Gotham's birthday is very soon and he would like it if every person in the kingdom is to attend. The celebration is tomorrow at eight o'clock in the grand ballroom at Jump Palace. We hope we shall see you all there.
Yours in Royalty,
King Bruce of Gotham.
Raven opened her mouth to comment on the message when a tall shadow came over the two friends.
"My, my, my," Slade Wilson said in a threatening whisper "Just what have we got here?"
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A/N: So, that's it… rubbish I know, but I wrote it in a lot of a rush… I've got karate in ten minutes! OO
So, reviews would be nice –revvs chainsaw- or you could always not…
Bye!
♥
MutilatedBliss (and The Loving Death)