“Ahh!” Raven shouted as she sat up in a fit of panic. Once again, she was drenched in sweat and her body ached. She remembered everything! Her guards, the lies, and the pain! The unholy pain! The girl continued to scream and sob as she desperately searched the area for anything that could help her. A weapon, either gun or blade perhaps.
“Raven!?” Another voice shouted, male in sound. As she continued to panic, a pair of hands and a face came into view. Her light blue eyes snapped towards the face, but she struggled to get them to focus through her tears. “Raven! Raven its fine!” he attempted to comfort, which helped only slightly. Although she stopped screaming, she continued to breath heavily and squirm slightly as her helper pushed her back onto the bed…
… bed?
Still panting and weakly fighting her helper, she turned her head around to see that she was indeed lying on a bed. Perhaps now would be a good time to gather her thoughts. Using her right hand, she wiped her eyes. Once they were mostly clear, she could see that she was in a room. A bedroom, one of white walls and golden trim. The face came into view again. He looked… very familiar.
“Who are you!?” she demanded between pants.
The young man furrowed his brow and silently mouthed the question to himself. “Who am… Raven it’s me! Chris! We’ve been friends for years!” The young girl sat there in disbelief for a moment as she let the words sink in. As she thought about it, she took in his features. He… he was the young man from her visions!
She remembered…
“Chris?” she panted.
The young man smiled. “Yes… yes!” he breathed before releasing her and sitting back down in a conveniently placed chair. He took a deep breath and breathed a sigh of relief. “I was so worried about you.”
Confused, but significantly calmed, Raven questioned. “A… About what?”
“You hit your head. Remember?” he answered. She glanced to the side and thought about it for a moment before looking back at him and lightly shaking her head. He sighed a sad sigh and closed his eyes, tilting his head slightly to the right. “We were playing a game of Lunaro when you took a hit and hit your head.” He paused, planning his next words. “You’ve been out for three days. Your mother was worried sick! I… was worried…”
She internally winced at the word ‘mother’ but didn’t further question it.
“Where are we?” she questioned, examining the room she was in.
“Your room,” Chris replied. “The doctor said that you could be moved here for the time being.”
She glanced back at him with a curious gaze. “What do you mean ‘my room?’”
The young man furrowed his brow, his look, to Raven silently sounded like ‘what stupid question is that?’ “Your room,” he emphasized. “In your parents living quarters?” Raven just gently shook her head. The young man facepalmed and muttered something to himself, which gave him a slight smile when he lifted his head. “The Zariman! You know, lead ship headed for the Tau System!”
Something about that name gave Raven the chills…
And she really, really, did not like it.
Lifting her right hand, Raven rubbed her face and shook her head. “I…” she paused and rubbed her right eye. Her working… right eye. Was… was it all a dream!? Throwing the blankets off herself as she attempted to stand. “I… I-I need to go!”
Chris immediately stood up in a panic. “Woah woah woah!” he cautioned, grabbing her arms. “You are not going anywhere!” he ordered, easing her back onto the bed, much to her chagrin. She needed to figure something out.
She paused and let him place her back before looking up at him with a pleading eye. “Please… I… I really need to pee!” That caused him to stop his actions and look down at her. Coincidentally… she did have to pee. He snorted lightly and smiled. “And I want to see mom!”
Seemingly at an impasse, the young man considered his options. “I’ll help you to the bathroom. And your mother is still probably with mine… she will want to know you're up.” With a pause, he made his choice. Reaching down, he helped her out of bed and towards the bathroom.
***
“That's one heck of a story Raven,” Chris replied as the pair wandered the halls of the Zaramin. After the bathroom break, she pleaded her male friend to get her out of the room. Once he caved, she started to explain everything that she had remembered from her time of being out cold. A wild story of weapons, warfare, suits of flesh and metal, magic, and lies.
It felt so real…
“But then again, I have heard some very crazy dreams before,” Chris continued, cutting off her train of thought. “I mean, I've sat through some of Scarlets stupid stories! That girl can rant! Ha!”
“Yeah… funny…” Raven added, even though there was more confusion than laughter. Who’s Scarlet? As the pair continued, on more than one occasion they passed by guards and other passengers. They even passed by a large, panoramic window…
And the view was amazing!
Even though it was empty space, the endless lights and dots that scattered the black abyss created this sense of wonder and amazement. But… she had experienced this more than once though. Although her adventures had died down in recent months, it was gorgeous nonetheless. The pair shared a smile as they stared out the window before heading out yet again. As they wandered on, they passed a random hall…
That caused Raven to come to a halt as her companion continued onward.
Something… felt off… cold even...
And the fact that the lights were flickering didn’t help any. Confused, Raven blinked a couple of times before rubbing them with her hand. As she opened her eyes, she jumped slightly at the sight of someone standing in the darkness. Concerned and slightly panicked, she searched up and down the original hall she stood in. With no one in sight, she took a step back and glanced back down the adjacent hall. “AH!” she screamed as the large figure stood mere feet from her. Far from his original position. A chill ran up her spin as the urge to run came to mind. He didn’t move, he didn’t speak, and his blank helmet made her slightly ill.
“Remember!”
Her breathing started reach borderline panic. It became ragged as she started to sweat and shake. Just as she was about to scream for help, she blinked for just a moment… and he was gone…
And all was normal.
The lights didn’t flicker and the sounds of people talking filled the air. But it did little ease the rising panic. Raven stood there, paralyzed. She didn’t move, speak, or… do anything. She didn’t even notice her friend approaching and calling her name. Just as he reached out for her…
She screamed.
She screamed at the top of her lungs, causing Chris to wince back and other passengers to come running. Just as her blood curdling scream came to an end, Raven doubled over and vomited on the floor. She felt a hand and her back and heard reassuring words, but they didn’t register. She just continued to empty her stomach until there was nothing left, dry-heaving not long after.
“That's it, I’m taking you back to your room,” Chris stated, removing his hand from her back and standing up and turning around, looking for some help from the gathered group of people. “Someone get a janitor to clean this please!?” he requested towards the now gathered crowd before turning back to Raven. “Come here,” he said to her softly before bending to pick her up. Lifting her bridal style, he held her close before heading back the way they came.
Raven panted as they walked, clutching her partners shirt to steady herself. She took a few deep breaths before she finally decided to speak. “W... Wait… wait,” she requested, causing the young man to come to a halt.
“Yes?”
“I-” she hiccupped and burped slightly before moaning sickly. “Ugh… I… I’m fine… I promise.”
Chris started at her like she was nuts. “No, you’re not,” he stated authoritatively. “We’re headed back to your room, and I’ll get your mom later!” With that, he started walking.
She panted once again before speaking,” Please?” she begged, turning her head to face him. He came to a stop and looked down at her with a deadpan expression. “Please?” she begged again, added on a little bit of cute. “I… I’m fine, I swear! Please… put me down?”
He continued to stare at her for several seconds before sighed and threw his head back. Once his head came full circle, he looked down at her with a wry smile. “You’re lucky your cute!” Gently, he started to ease her down onto her feet. Once she was set, she could feel her knees shaking. Trying to be a big girl, she attempted to take a step…
And nearly fell… if it weren’t for the hand the grabbed her arm.
Glancing over her shoulder, she gave Chris a grateful smile, one he returned with a smile himself. Stepping forward, he helped her stabilize her footing before he… grabbed her hand and held it in his. She stared down at their intertwined fingers before she slowly lifted her head to look at the young man that was… holding her hand!
“You’re blushing!”
“...gah!”
***
“Raven!” a young woman squealed when she saw the girl. Running up, the young redhead practically tackled the girl, wrapping her arms around her, hugging her. The teen, similar in age to her male friend Chris, Raven could only assume that she was supposed to know the girl. Releasing Raven, the girl leaned back and grabbed her cheeks. “You look horrible… sit! I need to fix your hair!” she stated, leading Raven over towards an open seat, before starting to braid Ravens hair.
“Don’t push your luck, Scarlet,” Chris said as he approached. “You know how she gets.”
“It's fine!” Scarlet dismissed. The teen redhead, was a fair girl, with rather striking blue eyes, similar the set Raven saw when she looked in the mirror last. That was quite the shock when the girl staring back had light blue eyes, not the snow white one she was accustomed too. Scarlet wasted little time in grabbing two handfuls of hair and braiding what little there was.
“Your mother is on the way,” Chris spoke up. “She should be here shortly.” The trio sat in relative content silence. Raven started out a nearby window while Scarlet continued to braid her hair while Chris stared down at a data pad, seemingly lost in a little game. All three were so preoccupied they failed to notice as two older women approached.
“Oh, my precious baby!”
All three lifted their heads from their respective positions to watch as the women approached. When Raven lifted her head and saw the women, all she saw was a faceless being. “Ah!” she winced, closing her eyes and grabbing them. Everyone seemed to ignore her plight. Blinking away the headache that formed, Raven lifted her head in time to be smothered by a body. For the second time that day, her face was grabbed by a pair of hands, coming face to face with an unfamiliar face. The woman seemed to search Raven’s face for something, even going as far as to search her hair for possible injuries.
“Good to see you awake Raven,” the second woman said. “We were quite worried about you.” She glanced down at Chris, a worried look in her eye. “We all were…”
“I hope there aren’t any scars!” the first woman, who she assumed to be her ‘mother’ said rather worriedly. “I don’t want any showing before the wedding!” Raven’s eyes widened at the blatant announcement.
WHAT!?
Scarlet, saw it fit that she stand and make her leave. She knew where this conversation usually went. “Don’t scare her!” the second woman chastised. “She won't be ready for another year or two.”
With a worried look, Raven turned towards her friend for help, who only answered with a worried look of his own and a deep sigh. “Mom, Mrs. Donavan? Could you please leave me and my… bride… alone? I need to finalize some things with her.
Donavan?
Was that her last name? All Raven had ever gone on was exactly her name, Raven. That's all she was ever addressed as, that's all she went by… it was all she ever knew. It was her call sign, her war name. It was respected. It was honorable. It was… the only thing she had…
Both women were facing the teen by this point. They both shared a glance before coming to a common, yet silent, agreement. “Of course. Come Laura, she is in good hands with her fiancé,” Chris’ mother said, before the pair made their leave. Laura, Raven’s now named mother, spared one last worrisome glance over her shoulder before leaving the room.
Raven let the words sink in as she sat back, staring at the floor. Next to her, her supposed fiancé took a seat. “What did she mean by ‘wedding’?”
He sighed, leaning forward and interlacing his fingers, he said. “Do you not remember?”
“No Chris, I don't remember anything!” she shouted at him. “Not like I've been in a comma for three days!”
Chris, who sat quietly, didn't say anything for several seconds. “You still believe in that tale you told me?”
By now the area they were in was vacant, leaving the pair in silence. “Yes-maybe-look I don't know!” Raven shouted again, extremely unsure of herself. “It's all I know!” She turned to face him, looking frustratingly into his eyes. “I barely remember you, I don't remember Scarlet, my own mother, this ship, or that damned wedding!” She finished listing, throwing her arms over her head and slamming them down on her seat. Tears started to well up in her eyes.
Chris, who listened intently, only nodded his head. By now, Raven was sobbing silently. Even if it was a dream, she wanted to be back in it. At least there she was loved and appreciated. The young man next to her, who was lost in thought, stared down at the floor, then up to the wall, and finally, Raven.
“In about two years, when I turn 18… we are to be wed.,” Chris started gently. “As is Orokin tradition. It is predestined at birth that the first-born son and first-born daughter of preselected families are to be wed. when the boy becomes a man, no matter his wife's age… well at least you’ll be 16 by the time we marry…”
So I’m what? 13, 14?
“I don't like it as much as you,” he continued. “Simply for the fact it's a forced marriage and I would prefer to take this at a different pace, but… well it's what it is…” standing up, he stepped over and offered Raven a hand, to which she only glanced at out of the corner of her eye. “Let me take you back to your room and I’ll leave you. Okay?”
She stared at his hand for a few seconds before nodding. Taking his hand, Raven rose to her feet. The pair headed down one of the many hallways of the ship. With so much to process, and after waking up from severe head trauma, she was rather exhausted. If this was actually true… she might as well, make the best of it…
Right?
Leaning over, Raven wrapped herself around her man’s torso, grabbing the front of his shirt with her left hand and wrapping her right around his waist. At least he was cute, at the very least. Surprised, he stared down at her before accepting his fate and wrapping an arm around her smaller frame.
When the pair entered her subsequent living quarters, they wandered over to the bed before releasing each other. “I'll be going now. See you later.” Chris said as he turned to leave, only to be stopped by Raven, as she grabbed his wrist. What came next was a huge gamble. If this was how it was going to be… how it truly was.
She might as well live life to the fullest!
As much as a teen can at least.
“Stay with me?” she requested meekly, she could feel her face flushing. By the Void, of all he thinys she had done, yhis one was the most nerve wracking. Smiling, he nodded before stepping back and wrapping her in a loving hug.
“It'll get better. I promise.”
A few minutes later, the duo had stripped to reasonable sleep attire. Raven favored a shirt and panties while Chris sported a pair of pajama pants. She had climbed in first before he was finished in the bathroom. Following her lead, he climbed in with her.
And for some reason, Raven hadn't felt that relaxed in a long time.
Wrapping an arm around her waist and spooning her from behind, Raven drifted off into what would be, the greatest night sleep of her life...