Marry Who?

I do not own the Teen Titans.

Chapter 6: Soul Mate?!

Warning: This might be too long for your liking. You can skip or read it. Thanks.

Robin's masked eyes opened and met his quarter's ceiling. He slowly got up and lazily yawned. He had awakened earlier than the usual. Or did he? That time, the sun in Azarath, still hasn't shown itself up. He rubbed his eyes with his ungloved hands.

He slid off the bed and stretched out his hands. He fixed his bed and soon his gaze fell down at the mirror at one corner of the room. His hair was distorted and uncombed, telling everyone who would see it that he just woke up.

He let off a small smile as he turned to the window. It provided him a nice view of the town below, the calming grasslands and forests combined at one side of the place, and the majestic beauty of the palace where he had been yesterday. Oh how did this planet reminded him of Earth itself.

Speaking of yesterday… He sighed. Yesterday was a very stressing day for him. He had learned that he wasn't in Earth anymore but was in Azarath, his best friend's home land. He found out that the reason why he was there was because he had to compete with other contestants from other planets, to win. After all, Azarath was willing to give the winner one of its most prized possessions.

But what he couldn't really understand was the reason why the monks chose him to enter such of a tournament if he wasn't a bachelor to begin with! Yes, that was the requirement in order to be a bachelor who could meet their standards.

But he wasn't one. He has a girlfriend for crying out loud!

Yet, he tried. He tried asking those two men he had met after he had finished the first test, one which they called the 'Stratagem Test' from what he heard, but they just smiled at him and what they told him were still ringing through his head.

"It's for us to know and for you to find out, young lad." Simple yet profound words. How was he going to find out if he lacks clues?

He knew in that moment, he wasn't getting any answers from them. He tried asking the other contestants, thank God they could speak English through the use of magic as what he assumed, he met but none could really give him an answer since all of them were really bachelors themselves.

He shook his head. That's it. He had decided. His gaze fell upon outside of the window once more.

Maybe a little walk down town wouldn't hurt him.

-/-

After brushing his teeth and taking a morning shower, Robin headed towards the walk-in closet at his room. He opened it and saw various clothing materials, starting from the shirts, long-sleeves, jeans, shorts and down to shoes, may it be rubber shoes or formal ones.

"Sweet." He commented as he pulled out a shirt with a hood, jeans and a pair of mixed red and black rubber shoes. He got dressed and faced the mirror to fix his hair. He pulled a drawer open and there lay neatly a comb, gels, wax, you name it. Anything for grooming a teenage guy's hair.

He took out the comb and decided not to put gel for now. He had his hair fixed not in his usual spiky style but a simple but neat fix. He tore off his mask out of his face, revealing a pair of light blue eyes. (Yeah, its light blue, I was pertaining to his eye color. I'm not sure though. That's what my research said so I went on with it.)

He missed this, not having his mask always there; that is.

For this walk, he wasn't going out as Robin, the Boy Wonder, but as Richard Grayson, Bruce Wayne's adoptive son. Besides, no one would recognize him there. When he was done checking what he had missed, he grabbed his dirty uniform and went out of the room.

After dropping off his dirty uniform at the laundry services, he never thought that the place he was staying at was like a high class hotel back on Earth, he exited the place.

With his hood up, he walked down the street, walking over to some people who were minding their own businesses. Azarathians were walking usually in groups or by pair. He rarely saw one walking alone. They would chat but their chats almost seemed like a whisper to him.

All were either wearing a robe, a cloak or a hooded shirt like the one he had. No wonder Raven also wore hers for almost every day. Everyone seemed busy but still, the calming air of peace was there. It seemed like no one there had the guts to create havoc among another.

He went down to a street market. He approached a merchant who was selling lucky charms. There were bracelets, necklaces, pendant gems, and who would have thought? He also had dream catchers for sale. (Well, some Filipinos, namely my classmates do so, here consider those dream catchers as lucky charms. I really don't get it why though.)

"Excuse me, sorry to disturb you, but do you know the fastest way going to the forests?" He politely asked. The merchant smiled at him and nodded in response.

"Yes, I do. I'm guessing you're one of those contestants?" Shocked, Robin simply nodded.

"You don't have to be shocked. Everyone here knows about the competition. So, mister, would you care to come and take a look with my items? Who knows, you might find something interesting." His offer was enticing and Robin didn't want to reject it but he remembered that he didn't have any money with him.

"I'm sorry but I have to turn the offer down. You see, I don't have anything to pay you. I don't have any money with me." He replied but the merchant just smiled at him once more.

"No worries, lad. I will be giving you the items you pick for free. After all, you're Azarath's guest and more importantly, a competitor from another planet. We don't want to give off a bad impression now, don't we?" Robin considered saying no but when he saw persuasion in the man's eyes, he finally said yes.

His eyes scanned the items and soon, some of them caught his attention. The first one was a necklace with a silver chain and a pendant, made of solid silver, of what represents a star. He had thought of Starfire when he saw it.

"Great choice, Sir. That's what we call 'The Morning Star'. It was believed that if you possess as such, hidden forces will be at your side, helping you, guiding you, working in your behalf. It was said that it shines upon the path leading to ultimate happiness, brings lovers together, accentuate friendship and comradeship, and brightens your future."

Robin was convinced with the merchant's long explanation and decided to take it for Star. He looked again and soon he had two lucky charms on his hand. One for Cyborg and the other for Beast Boy.

The first one, for Cyborg, was an amulet. Actually, it was only a pendant. He just chose a gold chain to match it. The pendant was gold with a design that had a little Earth on the middle, a bird at one side, a lightning bolt, a moon-like carving and something that looked like an arrow or something.

The man said that it was called the 'Strength Amulet'. It enhances a person's emotional and physical strength. Plus a bonus of enhancing its owner's sex appeal. He smirked at the thought. Cyborg would love this.

The second one, for Beast Boy, was a gold coated ring, adorned with a hand-made bead and a black cord that turned it from a ring to a necklace. He knew too well that Beast Boy would lose it if it were a ring.

It was called the Yarobi Luck Ring. From the name itself, it engulfs the wearer a protective aura while bestowing luck, prestige, and prosperity. After all, Beast Boy really needed luck in his life. When he thought he was done shopping for his friends, he realized he forgot to get something for Raven.

His eyes landed on a mannequin wearing a necklace around its neck. That was the only necklace he didn't see at the table laid along with the others. That only meant one thing. It was more precious than the others. He went near it and held it with his fingertips.

"That one's a simple yet powerful one. We call that the 'Fleur de-lis' or in English, Flower of the Lily. It's a legendary emblem representing power, beauty and most especially love. No one knew where it really originated but those who possess it were able to experience love, may it be romantic, passionate or an enduring one. With it around you, you'll experience warmth radiating from it; faithfulness, joy, and commitment await you. Actually that's the last one."

Robin stared at the item made of silver with a unique design. Some may say that its design depicts the tear shed by Eve as she left the Garden of Eden. Others may claim it as the shape of a dove descending from the heavens. It was perfect for Raven's unique taste and current situation. She really needed to learn and experience love.

"I'll get it." He announced and the man had a large smile plastered on his face. All in all, he got a total of 4 items purchased oh scratch that; he got the items for free. Then as the man was placing the items at a small box, Robin noticed that he was adding two necklaces with it.

"Wait, I didn't get those." He said pertaining to the pair of similar necklaces with gold and green colored pendants.

"Consider it as a gift from me."

"But…" He tried to decline but he was cut off.

"No buts." The man paused. "Besides, I would want you to give the other one to your future wife, lad. They're the Celtic knots. They would forge an unbreakable bond between the two of you. They would lead you to your soul mate." Robin cracked a smile for as soon as the man mentioned the words wife and soul mate, Starfire crept in his mind.

"I will and I already know who my soul mate is." Leaving with a goodbye and a small box, he ventured his way to the forests, just like what he planned earlier. Maybe that little side track wasn't so bad after all.

Walking around, adoring the trees and other plants along his way, he soon reached the real deal, the forest. He continued to walk and he found a lake, crystal clear that you could even see what lies under it. He sat down the pebble filled ground and adored the lake.

He took out the small box from his hooded shirt's pocket that lies over his stomach. He opened it and grabbed one of the Celtic Knots, one of the pair the merchant gave him. He grinned as an idiotic idea came to his mind.

"Let's see if this works." He said to himself. He was thinking that once he wore it, Starfire would be appearing in front of him. He knew it was stupid but what could he do? His playful side got him again.

He brought it up to his neck and locked it. He felt something in him at first but seconds later, the feeling dissipated. He looked around and didn't see Starfire or anyone.

"I guess the charms are nothing but a fake. Maybe that's the reason why the man gave them to me for free." He paused. "Oh Soul Mate! Come out, come out wherever you are!"

Actually, he meant it as a joke but it turns out, Mr. Destiny took it seriously. As soon as those words left his mouth, a girl, probably the same age as his, came running out of the forest and headed straight towards him.

The girl wasn't looking to where she was running and collided with Robin, who wasn't able to react fast due to shock, and both fell over the lake. One thing was sure. The water from the lake is cold. Very cold! Thank goodness they landed at the shallow part of the lake.

Both were about to speak but no one did. Robin soon found his eyes looking directly at those of the girl's. Her eyes were amber in color but for some reason, it seemed like Robin always knew it wasn't the girl's natural eye color. Like the girl was just wearing contacts and he knew. Like he had met the girl already.

He couldn't get a full view of the girl's face for not only was she wearing a hood, she also had a somewhat a scarf covering her face, only allowing him to get a good view of her eyes. Those eyes that captured his gaze, those eyes that seemed to be looking directly to his soul, deeming him either worthy or not.

But their staring moment was abruptly cut short when voices of men calling out a certain name. The girl violently turned her head and got up immediately off of him. He did the same, not minding if he was soaking wet.

The girl was ready to run away once more but he held her hand. She looked at him.

"Who are you?" He asked but the girl got her hand back and ran. He stared at his hand, feeling like her hand never left his. Men who seemed to be wearing guard attires followed her trail.

"Princess Rachel, wait!" One of the guards shouted as they slowly vanished from his sight.

"What was that?" He asked himself, not having the slightest idea what the answer to his own question was.

A/N: Ooohhh… Did Robin just get to see who his soul mate was? Who the heck's Princess Rachel?

Anyway, here's the great question for all of you, guys. The one who can give the closest or possibly the correct answer to the mystery; I would dedicate the next chapter to you and follow you.

Question: If Robin wasn't a bachelor, then why was he in Azarath and part of the tournament itself? (Hint: Read between the lines… The answer would be there. :))