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"But I will return," added Raven vehemently. "I will return, do you hear?"

Chapter 3

The King laughed at the comment, while responding with a, "We'll see about that."

Angry at the king for not taking her seriously, she turned and stormed off with her friends close behind. I will make him pay for all he has done she thought. Outside, her mother waited for her, and when she saw her daughter emerge from the ornate residence of the King, began gathering their small possessions and preparing to leave Azerath.

Raven quickly said goodbye to her friends (as not to prolong the sadness that accompanied leaving her home) before joining her mother as they left Azarath, heads held high.

They traveled for miles, resting sporadically and for short periods of time. They wanted to get to a civilization as soon as they could, that way they wouldn't have to worry about the danger of nature. After the fifth day, they had run out of food from Arella's garden and had little water left with no civilization in sight.

I wonder if this is what it's like burning alive thought Raven morbidly as they continued on their path, fending off large mutant insects and trying to stay out of the scorching sun, to no avail.

Eventually they had walked until they had no energy left to continue on. Arella fainted from the heat and Raven almost went unconscious when they were found by a caravan.

Roy Harper and his merchant friends Alan (A/N: Aqualad), Victor and Garfield (A/N: Cyborg and Beastboy respectively) were on a trade caravan headed for the kingdom of Jump.

They blissfully rode in the dry, arid region laughing and talking amongst themselves animatedly.

"Dude, Tofu is the best food EVER!!! It's like a slice of Heaven because it tastes AWESOME and DOESN'T HURT ANIMALS!!!" yelled Garfield (Gar), trying to convince Victor to convert from his meat-eating ways.

"Yo, man you're disgusting!! How can you suggest such a thing???!!!??? Meat is here for us to eat…and 'sides the animal was already dead!! So enjoy it!!! I think I'll have some now!!"

"NO!!!" shrieked Gar in response!! But before he could continue, he was cut off by a sharp whisper from Roy.

"Quiet, something's not right…let's go see what those two things are on the ground up there…Be Quiet and stay alert…"

As the trio advanced, they could make out that the shapes were, in fact, people who had collapsed.

"Bring the cart over here, we'll take them with us to Jump," Roy decided, "From there we can figure out who they are, why they were out here, and where to go from there."

So the two people were placed on the Caravan and taken away. Little did the trio know that had they left these people out in the harsh climate a little longer, the people would've died.

Raven felt water trickling in her mouth, like a small stream flowing into her body. Gingerly, she cracked her eyes open only to come face to face with a young man with green eyes and blonde hair, pouring water into her mouth from a canteen.

"This one's up" called Gar when he saw the violet haired lady awaken.

Raven looked around, and even though her vision was blurry, she could make out the shapes of three others.

"Who are you? Where am I?" asked Raven, very confused.

"I'm Roy and I'm a griot. The guy with blonde hair is Gar and the other guy is Victor. They're merchants. Vic is trying to revive your…"

"mother…" Raven filled in

"…Right. So how are you feeling? Are you hungry? By the way, we're headed for Jump. Do you want to travel with us there or go where you originally intended?"

"I'm fine. Jump sounds okay"

"Why were you out there?" Victor asked her.

Raven told them an abbreviated version of her story. When she finished, all of the guys had horrified looks on their faces.

"Dude…" squeaked Gar.

They sat in silence for a while, preparing dinner when Gar finally asked, "So…What's your name."

"Raven," she answered coolly.

Just then, a groan escaped from Arella's lips.

"Mother!" Raven shouted while running over to her mother's side to relay to her all that had happened in the past few hours.

As soon as Raven was done explaining everything to her mother, Roy came up to them and informed them that the caravan should arrive at jump by dawn and to sleep on the way there. They thanked him for his kindness and quickly fell asleep.

Raven and Arella awoke just as the caravan was entering the Jump Kingdom.

Amazing thought Raven as she gazed at the magnificent kingdom.

All of the buildings in the Jump province were ornately decorated and the streets were filled with vendors who sold merchandise from around the world. Nobles dressed in purple silk robes were standing and talking in the streets. Merchants sold pottery, salt, jewelry, silk, and spices in their own tents. The buildings were enormous. People bustled in and out, completing their daily humdrum routine, which amused Raven.

The entire city is so opulent and affluent, how are we ever going to fit in here? Raven thought with despair. Turning to Roy, she questioned,

"Can you teach me the rules of the Jump province since you are a traveling griot?"

To which he responded with a smile and an, "of course." And so, Roy became Raven's griot substitute.

For seven years they lived in the Jump kingdom.

On Raven's 17th birthday, she wandered the marketplace for meats and her favorite fruits for her family's "feast" of celebration. Passing by the street vendors, two men caught her eye. They were selling baobab leaves. This piqued her interest because the baobab trees only grew in Azarath. Cautiously stepping toward the men, for she did not know if they were spies, she hesitantly asked of important news from abroad.

They told her how Slade finally conquered Azarath and planned to take Bludhaven down next. They babbled on about how Slade sent King Adam and Madame Rouge into exile. She thanked them and hurried home, her thoughts racing as she formulated a plan of action. She sprinted to her small hut and shared the news with Roy and Arella. When she had finished, Arella started to speak,

"Raven, I have waited for this moment for so long. It is you time to shine and claim the throne that was stolen from you by the false King Adam. You must defeat Slade and take back what's rightfully yours."

Since that talk with her mother, Raven began to gather her own army. She was given soldiers from the Jump and its allies. She spoke to commoners about fighting the horrible conditions forcefully set upon their neighbors and acquired more people for her army from the refugees and nomads (A/N: A nomad is someone who travels from place to place and never permanently settles in an area). When all was said and done, she had an army roughly the size of 250,000 people.

With the manpower she needed, Raven began to plan her ambush on Slade and his heinous kingdom.

Sorry about the long time to update...I moved and school just started so I've been slammed with homework...Review please!! (And flames are accepted when they DONT DISCUSS THE PAIRINGS!!!)