Betrothed
Part of the 'Aftershock' Series

Part I

Only Cyborg could continously change the T-Ship from an underwater vehicle to a spacecraft, and vice-versa, in less than an hour. He's the best mechanic in the world. We had all packed some extra clothes - formal and informal - and helped Starfire load her cargo to the T-Ship. Robin had been silent the entire time - hardly muttering any sort of replies.

He's in shock - no surprise here. I know he'd never admit it, but he's jealous. I hadn't been with the Titans that long, but even a monkey could see both Starfire and Robin like each other more than friends.

We got onto the T-Ship, and well, left. Starfire had already said goodbye to everything in Jump City (which had taken over an hour, even with her speed and flight abilities), so we had nothing left to do but go. The T-Ship had only five capsle-like areas (like I said, I haven't been on the team that long) so I was placed in Starfire's area, sitting in a chair behind her.

I'd never gone into space before, and it was pretty spectacular... for the first three and a half hours. Beastboy started telling jokes a good hour into our journey, and hasn't stopped yet.

"Okay, okay! I got one!" Beastboy said into his microphone. "What did the light bulb say to the lamp?"

I rolled my eyes. "Watt's going on."

"Watt's... HEY!" Beastboy cried. "How did you know?"

"That's the third time you've told that one. Give it up, BB," Cyborg said.

"So Starfire," Raven said. "What's he like?"

"I have never met him," shrugged Starfire.

"What!" Robin yelled.

"It is tradition on my planet... My betrothed was chosen for me by the Grand Ruler," Starfire said.

"You're getting married? To someone you don't know!" Robin spoke.

I saw Starfire's posture sink, and could tell she was bothered by his reaction. "Well, guess that makes it more fun!" I attempted to add a bit of cheer to the conversation.

"What are you saying, Terra!" Robin shouted.

We heard a beep, and Cyborg spoke, "I turned off his mic for a while... I think he needs a bit of time to himself."

"Good call," Raven said.

We continued in silence again (Beastboy gave up on the jokes), and I silently counted space rocks.

Eight hundred seventy-two...

Eight hundred seventy-three..

Eight hundred... seventy-four...

My counting was interrupted suddenly when a loud blast was heard, and the entire T-Ship jerked, causing us to lurch forward in our seats.

Another beep and Robin's mic was on. "What was that!" he cried.

"It isn't some weird welcoming committee, is it?" Cyborg asked.

Starfire shook her head.

"Dudes! We're surrounded!" Beastboy yelled.

I looked out the window, and gasped. Hundreds - maybe thousands - of small drone-like ships surrounded us. Then, they began to shoot at us.

"Hang on!" Cyborg shouted.

I held on for my dear life as the ship rocked, lurched, spun, dove, and turned. Blasts kept knocking into the ship, and I could hear Robin and Cyborg's aggrivated yells as they shot at the smaller ships, destroying a few at a time.

"Terra!" Robin yelled at me.

"Yeah?" I yelled back.

"Can your powers reach outside the ship?"

Duh! Why didn't I think of that. I looked out the window, seeing plenty of space rocks outside. "Oooah!" I cried, my fists flaring. A large space rock flared the same golden color, and I began to control the rock, smashing it into many of the enemy ships.

I continued to smash ships, and the others kept shooting them. Soon - we had defeated the fleet.

"Look!" Starfire gasped.

I pressed my face against the window, trying to see what she was now smiling about.

"It is Tamaran," she grinned. "Is it not the most beautiful place your eyes have ever feasted upon?"

I saw a planet getting closer with each moment. It was red and white in color - and appeared to be much smaller than Earth. About ten minutes later, we landed on the sandy surface of Tamaran.

Starfire was the first to exit the T-Ship, taking in a deep breath of Tamaranian air. "Oh! It is good to be home! I have felt the 'sick-home' feeling for quite some time now."

The rest of us gradually got out, awed by the odd beauty. It was a charming sort of place. The ground was a light tan, like beach sand. A palace, great with splendor stood tall before us. I guessed that's where the "Grand Ruler" lived.

"Aw, man!" whined Cyborg. "Look at the ship!"

I glanced at our transportation device and winced. What was once shiny and sparkly was now dented and damaged.

"Come, friends!" Starfire beckoned. We followed her toward a large staircase in front of the palace.

As we began to climb the stairs, the giant doors swung open, and the biggest person I'd ever seen stood before us. He had green eyes, just like Star, and the same colored hair on his chin. His right eye held a scar, giving him the perfect impression of a Tamaranian warlord.

"Nooba gulshtik Koriand'r sol!" the large man boomed.

"Hesbad rutha Galfore kank!" Starfire yelled back with as much intensity.

The large man then started to walk toward her. He lunged at her, and Starfire screamed.

"Star!" Robin cried, and we all jumped to battle position.

Before we could assist our friend, however, we heard her giggle.

"Man, unless they tickle people to death here..." Cyborg made his sonic cannon become a hand again, "I think the girl is okay."

True. The large man was not harming Starfire, but tickling her.

After catching her breath, Starfire faced us, "Friends!" she grinned, "I wish to introduce you to my k'norfka, Galfore. He has raised me from the time I was very small. Galfore, these are my friends."

"X'hal!" Galfore pounded his large fist against his chest. That's when I realized his fist was probably bigger than Starfire's head.

"Dude!" Beastboy laughed. "That guy is your nanny!"

"You find that amusing..." Galfore bent down, his face extremely close to Beastboy's, "...little one?"

Beastboy's pointed ears bent down, and he scurried backwards, shaking his head wildly.

"Ah, I see you have met our enemy..." Galfore gestured to the broken down T-Ship."

"You know who attacked us?" Robin inquired.

"Yes." Galfore pointed a finger across the land.

My mouth fell open. Thousands of those ships were parked beside the palace.

"The Drenthax army..." Galfore muttered.

"Galfore, how long have they been here?" Starfire inquired.

"Many moons. They threaten to overthrow our planet. If I was Grand Ruler they would..." the giant trailed off, shaking his head. "But I am not Grand Ruler... Things have changed greatly since you left us, princess."

"Princess?" the five of us cried.

Starfire looked at us, blushing. "Did I forget to mention? I am second in line for the throne of Tamaran..." she giggled.

I shook my head, "That's why you have to stay, right?"

She nodded.

"Princess Koriand'r. The Grand Ruler wishes your presence in the main hall," Galfore stated. "Come."

Smiling, Starfire turned around, beckoning us to follow, and entered the palace.

"Who's Cory and Er?" Beastboy whispered.

"Her name," Raven said quietly.

"I thought Starfire was her name..." Beastboy tilted his head to one side.

I shook my head, smiling tiredly as we entered the palace, Beastboy and Raven discussing our friend's name.

"Star..." Robin reached out a hand to place on her shoulder.

"It is forbidden for outworlders to touch the princess!" a fierce guard yelled, seperating us from Starfire. A group of guards pointed large blades at us.

We jumped back, cowering in fear of being killed on a foreign planet.

"Umm..." Starfire floated up, peering over the giant guards, "Please do not harm my friends."

With his hands in the air, Beastboy said, "I'm not touching her!" quietly.

"Come!" Galfore ordered, "We shall feast in honor of the princess and her new husband!"

"Feast! All right!" Cyborg punched a fist in the air.

We were escorted into a large dining hall, and I felt my stomach grumble as we were seated at the giant table. Surprisingly, not all Tamaraneans were as large as Galfore. About ten other Tamaranians - probably some royal court of some sort - sat at the table alongside us. "So," I spoke up, "What's for dinner?"

"The cook is preparing my favorites," Starfire smiled, "fresh-squeezed glorg, sputflinks, and a variety of citrabics from the palace garden!"

"Mmm..." I felt my face twist up in fear of what 'sputflinks' could be. A memory poked in my mind of a time I ingested this 'glorg' she spoke of. 'Tastes like sushi mixed with ice cream!' and it suddenly didn't sound so good. I wasn't that hungry.

"Garden?" Beastboy's eyes widened happily, "Veggies!"

Robin, who sat beside Starfire, stared unhappily at his hands, "You know, Star... We're really going to miss you..."

Before the princess could react, large goblets were placed in front of us.

Large goblets is an understatement. These cups were bigger than me, and I was pretty sure they had mixed up the idea that you drink from cups - not pools. I watched with a weak smile as everyone tried to lift them - but not even Raven's powers could lift it - so I didn't bother.

"To our beautiful Princess and her new husband!" Galfore, who sat on the other side of our alien friend, said, his booming voice causing everyone (but the five "outworlders") to lift their cups high.

"And to my good friends!" Starfire grinned, looking at Robin at the rest of us. "I am jubilant you all could be here to celebrate my wedding." She clunked her glass against Robin's, and drank whole-heartedly.

"And we're happy to be here," Raven said gently. "Aren't we, Robin?" she gave a death-glare to the Boy Wonder.

"Yeah." He looked, almost-longingly, at Starfire, "Ecstatic."

I shook my head, feeling my heart sink for both the Titans. Both were so helplessly in love, they probably didn't even know it. Glancing quickly at Beastboy, I remembered a time I'd felt that way. That feeling is gone now - at least, I think it's gone. We aren't as close as we used to be.

Before I could continue to dwell on the thought, large plates were slammed on the table before us, causing the table to shake violently.

My stomach flipped, two or three times, as I saw the food before us. It looked... rather disgusting.

A large axe came down, cutting almost all the food at once, and Galfore leapt onto the table. The other Tamaraneans followed his actions - including Starfire.

Frightened, the five of us backed away slightly. "I'm guessing you got your table manners from Earth?" Robin suggested weakly.

"HURRY!" Starfire yelled viciously. "Or you will not get any!"

Cyborg, the daring one, began to pick at some jello-like meat, and grinned as he tasted it. He then joined the gorge-fest with the Tamaraneans.

"I see no vegetables!" Beastboy whined.

Timidly, I reached out for a plate of something that resembled the glorg I had eaten when I first met the Titans. Nearly gagging, I put some of it in my mouth, but immediately spat it out. "Ugh..." I groaned. Either it was glorg, or the stuff Star had made at the Tower was made with something less... Tamaranean. It tasted like a mix of salt, chocolate, ketchup, cheese, and olives. Or maybe pickles. All I knew is that it was horrible and I could possibly die of some sickness from eating it.

"You're a brave person, Terra," Raven admitted quietly, disgust on her face.

I shuddered, the taste of the 'glorg' in my mouth.

A fanfare played by the oddest orchestra I had ever heard blasted through the hall, and I realized the table was empty.

Cyborg picked at his teeth. "Mmm...mmm! We should come to Tamaran more often!"

I felt my breakfast in my throat.

"Come, friends of our Princess," Galfore ordered. He led us to a giant room - the throne room I supposed.

"The Grand Ruler of Tamaran!" a Tamaranian guard boomed, startling us.

Starfire immediately fell to her knees, bowing her head. We followed her moves, not wanting to upset the Grand Ruler. After all - if Galfore was Star's nanny, what would Star's ruler be like? I shivered at the thought.

"...The Empress, Blackfire!" the same guard called.

A strange instrument played a fanfare, and my eyes wandered up to see the Grand Ruler. I noticed Robin, who had been kneeling next to me, was now standing, his fists clenched. Starfire was in a similar position, and the other three Titans stood as well. I stood up, watching as a figure emerged from the door behind the throne.

"Surprised to see me?" the Grand Ruler spoke. She stood tall, but had a much different appearance than Starfire. Her hair was jet black, and her eyes were not green, but dark blue. A strange headpiece was placed on her head, and I thought she seemed like a very important person. A powerful aura surrounded her, and I figured she was strong. Why the other Titans had stood in a disrespectful way was beyond my thinking. Maybe they knew some of Tamaran's odd customs, and this was one.

"I am surprised," Starfire began, flying up, "to see you out of jail, sister!"

"Sister...?" I repeated.

"Oh that," Blackfire shrugged, rolling her eyes. "I got bored, and broke out of jail. Then I decided to take over Tamaran for kicks."

"Then it was you who called for my presence on Tamaran?" Starfire asked, her voice thick with venom. I was startled to hear such a tone from our friendly Starfire. Her sister must really be a bad person or something...

"Of course," Blackfire smiled. "Your betrothed will bring peace to Tamaran if you agree to marry him."

Starfire's feet touched the ground once again and her vivid eyes held a different flavor. "What sort of peace?"

"Your betrothed is the one who brought the army from the Swamp Moons of Drenthax IV," Blackfire said. A sly grin was apparant on her face, and I immediately knew not to trust her. "In exchange of handing you over to him for marriage, he will take you and and his army back home.

"I see," Starfire said, obviously contemplating the ideas in her mind.

"I bet you're eager to see who you'll be spending the rest of your life with," Blackfire said, smirking. She moved to the side, extending an arm.

Standing on my tip-toes, I felt my jaw fall as one of the most gorgeous men I ever saw entered. He was Tamaranean with his long red hair and almost orange skin. He was bare-chested, revealing a well built body. A towel was draped over his arm as he looked at Starfire with handsome emerald eyes.

Then he stepped to the side, as if letting someone else walk in.

Not someone - something. A large green... goopy... thing entered the room. It had quite a few slimey limbs that hung out of his gooey body. The limbs reminded me of elephant trunks, and it sneezed (or something... I can't really say) and let out large matching green boogers, which the gorgoeus man wiped up with the towel. (What a horrible job for such a hunk!)

"Starfire," the Grand Ruler said wickedly, "Meet your groom Glrdlesklechhh!" she said, augmentating the 'h' at the end of the creatures name.

I felt my breakfast - and maybe everything else I'd ever eaten - coming up my throat. That was more disgusting than the food they served.

And it was her groom.

A large thump let us know Robin had passed out, or just fallen to the ground in shock.

"Oh. He's cute," Raven said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

A/N: As you noticed, I changed some things, but most of the dialouge is the same. I really wanted to make the food and Glrdlesklechhh seem revolting to the Titans (except Cy) and I hope I succeeded in making you feel slightly sick. Just to let you know, a mix of salt, chocolate, ketchup, cheese, and pickles is very disgusting. I had to eat a bowlful of it for a dare over the summer, and I got very very sick. So, don't try it! Review on your way out! - Letselina