Palace of Tamaran | ?:??
(Blackfire POV)
I grin mischievously, eyeing my stupid little sister and her equally brainless friends with an air of superiority.
Blackfire: Surprised to see me, sister dear?
Starfire: I am surprised to see you... out of prison!
Blackfire: Hmph. You really thought I wouldn't break out? I'm almost offended... Anyway, I imagine you're probably wondering why I called you here. Come, let us discuss this together.
I slowly walk towards Starfire, who still looks pretty irritated to see me.
Starfire: I am not going anywhere without my friends!
Aw, how cute.
Blackfire: Whatever. They can stay... More importantly, I'm sure you're aware that I'd never need your help in fighting a war. However, there are times when even you can be useful.
She looks at me suspiciously, waiting for me to continue my explanation.
Blackfire: As you know, the Drenthax army is quite a formidable foe. That being said, the council and I have decided that the best course of action is to ratify a peace treaty between the two races.
Raven: And why should we believe that you'd ever consider the wellbeing of anyone but yourself?
I glare at the hooded girl, annoyed at her sudden interruption.
Blackfire: I don't recall asking for your input, weirdo.
Raven rolls her eyes as I turn back towards my sister again.
Blackfire: So, as I was saying, we've negotiated a peace treaty and now we just need to... make it official. You know what that means, right?
My face twists into a grin as I notice the anxious look on Starfire's face.
Robin: What does it mean, Star?
Starfire: ...It is the Tamranean custom to sanction a peace treaty by means of the marriage.
Blackfire: That's right, sister. You're getting married.
Robin: What?! Star, you can't do this, right?
Starfire: Unfortunately, Robin, I must. It is for the sake of my people.
Robin: But it's way too sudden... this is outrageous!
Blackfire: Oh, by all means, you can refuse if you'd like. Although Tamaran probably won't be here tomorrow if you do.
Robin: Why does it have to be Star?
Blackfire: What sort of question is that? She's the only Tamaranian royalty left.
Robin glares at me through his mask as I simply pretend to be taken aback by his hostility.
Blackfire: As Grand Ruler, I'm just trying to do what's best for my subjects. Surely you can understand that?
y/n: With all due respect, you're acting awfully confident for someone who's supposedly in such a dilemma.
Beast Boy: Yeah, what he said!
Intrigued by the unfamiliar voice, I approach the handsome boy to my left while eyeing him up and down. The others next to him back away slightly, clearly intimidated by my presence.
Blackfire: And who are you? ...I don't believe we've met before.
I lean forwards slightly and stare into his sharp eyes, to which he responds with a lovely round of indifference.
Blackfire: Are you going to answer me, or are you too scared?
y/n: Of you? Please... I'm y/n. Such an honor to meet you, your majesty.
He tilts his head sarcastically.
Blackfire: Huh. Weird name.
y/n: Yeah, ok. As opposed to 'Blackfire'. Sounds like a shitty brand of cooking utensils.
Blackfire: Oh, you're funny... Well then, y/n. Do you have the strength to back up that mouth of yours?
y/n: Don't know. Wanna find out?
I lean in a little closer to see if he'll turn away, and to my surprise, he doesn't.
Hm... I like this one.
Raven: Hey! Back off, you shameless harpy!
y/n and I both turn to look at Raven simultaneously, to which she responds by quickly retreating into her cloak.
Blackfire: Anyway sister, I guess you're dying to know who you'll be spending the rest of your life with.
I turn away from y/n and flip my hair, giggling at the horrified looks on the group's faces.
Blackfire: This is Glgrdsklechhh, exalted leader of the Swamp Moons of Drenthax Four.
There's a long silence as I introduce the floating green blob next to me.
Raven: Oh. He's... cute.
Beast Boy: You must have some really weird taste in guys, mama.
Raven: It's called sarcasm, dipshit.
Glgrdsklechhh proceeds down the stairs and whips around to face me, floating next to my sister. Starfire reluctantly stands next to the Schlurch, visibly trying her best not to seem incredibly distressed.
Blackfire: Go on, say something.
Starfire: I'm sure we will be very... happy together...
Blackfire: Yes, you will.
I look around the large room at the crowd of Tamaranians gathered around to watch the spectacle unfold.
Blackfire: We celebrate my sister's wedding at moonrise. Tonight!
The crowd erupts into cheers as I raise my hands into the air proudly. I glance back down at my sister, who has blobs of green slime stuck to her hands and is frantically trying to get them off. I smile to myself, satisfied with how well everything seems to be going so far.
•
Palace of Tamaran | ?:??
(y/n POV)
Robin: Damn it! We can't let Star go through with this!
Robin is pacing around, clearly pissed off at the whole arranged marriage thing while Raven and I watch him walk from one side of the room to the other.
Raven: It's normal around here. You heard her, it's for the sake of her people.
Robin: Still... she obviously wasn't happy with it.
Beast Boy: Well, I wouldn't be happy either if I was getting married to frickin... Slimer from Ghostbusters.
Robin now looks even more pissed off.
Robin: Agh! What are we supposed to do?
y/n: There's not much we can do, man. It's either Starfire has to get married to the guy... or, alternatively, we get nuked by his invasion fleet.
I look at Robin as he recalls the image of the Schlurch and grimaces.
Robin: But there has to be some other solution... Plus, I don't trust Blackfire at all. If she's involved that means bad news.
y/n: Listen, I agree, but we can't justify putting a whole planet at risk without any details.
Cyborg: Man, how do we always get caught up in these things?
Beast Boy: We're probably cursed or something.
I sigh thoughtfully and gaze out at the Tamaranian landscape. Both of the two suns are barely visible over the distant horizon, which is casting some pretty interesting shadows across the floor of our room.
Robin: That's it, I'm going to talk with Star.
He straightens his clothes determinately.
Raven: Are you sure that's a good idea?
Robin: She's the one getting married, so we should ask her.
Raven: If you say so.
He leaves the room and the automatic doors slide closed behind him with a hiss. After Robin's exit, a few minutes go by as we sit quietly in thought until Cyborg finally breaks the silence.
Cyborg: I don't know, guys... something about this whole marriage thing feels off. I can see where Robin's coming from.
Beast Boy: Like, what about it?
Beast Boy flops down onto the chair next to me, only to find out the hard way that it's actually some sort of weird carnivorous plant. He stands back up and takes another look at the plant before deciding it'd be better to just sit on the floor instead.
y/n: I agree with Cy. From what I can tell, Blackfire doesn't really seem like the type to organize a truce in the first place.
Raven: Well, you're definitely right about that.
Cyborg: Then there has to be another reason.
y/n: For what?
Cyborg: For this marriage.
y/n: You mean like, insurance benefits?
Cyborg: No... well maybe, but... What does Blackfire stand to gain if Star actually marries this thing?
Raven: Money?
Beast Boy: You don't need money if you're a criminal. They just steal things.
y/n: Nah, it's likely that she's after some kind of power. Maybe an alliance with these guys?
Raven: I find Blackfire having allies as hard to believe.
y/n: You're probably right.
I feel a vibration in my pocket as I receive a notification from Robin.
y/n: And it looks like Robin agrees as well.
Cyborg: What'd he say?
y/n: Says he couldn't talk Starfire out of it, so he wants us to investigate further. Cy, Gar, go check out the fleet. And try to stay undetected... Robin said he'd meet you down there.
Gar hops to his feet and starts stretching.
Beast Boy: What are we looking for?
y/n: Whatever you can find. We know close to nothing, so really any information is useful. Raven and I'll try and learn more about... whatever the guy's name is.
I stand up and roll up my sleeves as the group nods at me in response.
Cyborg: Sounds good.
Cyborg and Beast Boy leave quickly for the fleet of spaceships far down below as Raven and I exit the room behind them. She swiftly puts on her hood as I open a door to reveal a dark stairwell at the end of the hallway.
Raven: So, where do we start?
y/n: We find Blackfire.
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