Raven woke up the next morning feeling like she had hardly slept at all. Yawning, she looked down at herself and saw Slade's arm slung over her waist once again. Sighing, she looked over her shoulder at him. He lay sprawled out on his stomach, his arm carelessly draped over her. Turning her body slowly so not to wake him, she moved onto her back so that she could look at him.
It must be awfully uncomfortable to sleep with that mask on, she thought. Not for the first time, she felt a strong pull of curiosity for what was under it. She would love to see his face – she wanted to know if it spoke of the person he was. Would it be a harsh, mean face? Or a kind, caring face? If only he would take it off; just once before she had to leave. Maybe she would ask him... it was unlikely that he would oblige, but it was worth a try.
Carefully, she started to slide out from under his arm. When she was free, she pulled on the soft, dark purple dressing gown he had provided for her and walked softly over to the window. Leaning her back against the wall of the window seat, she curled her legs under her and looked out over the trees. Beyond them, she could she the sun rising out from behind the hills in the distance. It was a beautiful scene; the landscape was bathed in soft golden light and the sky was a beautiful array of colours – pale blue, purple, pink, orange and golden yellow.
Raven sighed a sigh of mixed emotions. She felt calm and peaceful at that moment, but also a bit sad; today she would have to shatter this peace they were both feeling. She wished she didn't have to make the decision. If only Slade would just volunteer to take her back home and decide for her. But there really was no decision – she had to get back to the titans. She couldn't stay here any longer.
"Good morning." Slade said from the bed. Raven turned to look at him; he was sitting up, head cocked to one side, watching her. "Morning." She said and hitched a smile onto her face.
He swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Why so sad?" he asked.
Raven shrugged. "I was just thinking." She answered vaguely. "So, what are we doing today?" she said brightly. She had decided that today was going to be their best day. She would turn to more serious matters that evening; for now, they were going to enjoy themselves.
Slade shrugged. "What do you want to do?"
"I don't know, something fun." Raven said, smiling. "You know this place better than I do; what is there to do?"
Slade thought for a moment. "You've only seen a fraction of the grounds. I could give you a tour?"
"Good idea! I would love to see the gardens."
"Can you ride a horse?" he asked.
"Um... I've never tried, but I'm a fast learner." She said tentatively.
"Great. I'll go and get you some riding clothes and we'll go."
An hour or so later, after a quick breakfast, Raven stood in the stables - dressed in tan jodhpurs, kidskin riding boots and a white shirt. She felt strange; it had been a long time since she'd worn clothes other than her teen titans gear. Slade appeared, dressed similarly to her, leading a medium sized chestnut horse. "She's for you." He said, handing her the reins. "Just wait a moment while I get mine." He disappeared again and Raven was left standing beside the mare. "Hello." She said softly and hesitantly stroked her nose. It was silky soft beneath her hand. The mare seemed to enjoy it, closing her eyes and snorting softly. Raven was taken aback at how beautiful the horse was. All her hesitation melted away and she now felt excited to ride her. She seemed to be of gentle nature, and Raven was no longer afraid of being bucked off.
Slade returned, leading a large, black stallion. Funnily enough, it suited him. But as they came closer, Raven was shocked at how big the horse was. Suddenly, she felt very small standing next to the huge, beautiful beast. She looked at Slade, who was watching her, and said "Holy crap." Slade chuckled.
