"Forever and Always" (Book Two Of Three In The "I Promise" Series)

Welcome to Markovia

The bright, orange, T-ship landed on the almost-too-small helicopter pad on top of the royal palace in Markovia, where King Brion Markov the Second waited to receive them.

"Terra!" He said, hugging his sister gently. His voice carried a hint of relief, as if he was scared she would try to run away again.

"They are willing to help," Terra told Brion with a smile as the Titans disembarked the ship.

Brion gave a slight bow, "It's good to see you again, Titans, and thank you for helping my sister."

The Titans bowed deeply in return, then they followed Brion and Terra into the palace to the royal council chamber.

They were greeted by an old man with graying, balding hair and a military uniform, "Your Majesties," he bowed to Terra and Brion.

"Titans, allow me to introduce my father's most trusted general, Lord Zhang," Brion said.

"A pleasure, Titans," Zhang said, giving them a small bow, "I have heard of what you do, and I must say that I quite admire your resolve."

"Thank you sir," Robin said proudly. Starfire clasped her hands in glee and Cyborg stood up a little taller. Beast Boy kept looking at Terra. He wanted to talk to her, but he didn't know the proper etiquette. What if it was like on Tamaran? And foreigners couldn't touch a member of the royal family?

"Lord Zhang's family comes from China, but they are extremely loyal to Markovia." Bruno explained.

Zhang nodded proudly, and gestured to a tall, dark-haired boy who had been talking to someone else, but now stood at his side, "Allow me to introduce my son, Joseph Franklin Zhang the Fourth."

Joey Frank 4 bowed to Brion and the Titans, and his eyes brightened as he saw Terra, "Milady," he said, taking her hand and kissing it.

Raven noticed something was up with Beast Boy, "Excuse me," she said, ushering BB out into the hall.

"Jealous?" She asked him when they were alone in the dark hall. Beast Boy nodded stiffly. Raven sighed and rubbed her temples, "She's the queen of Markovia now, Beast Boy-"

"Temporarily!" He insisted. Raven put a hand over his mouth to keep him from interrupting further.

"-So that means a lot of very powerful- and possibly good-looking -men are going to come and ask for her hand in marriage! But just because they flirt with Terra doesn't mean that she necessarily likes them back. If Terra really loves you, she'll stay loyal to you. You've got nothing to worry about."

"But Rae, they're so rich! What do I have to offer her that compares to what they have?" Beast Boy told her.

Raven held up a hand and began to list on her fingers, "She trusts you, you are willing to give up everything to help her at the drop of a hat, you can make her laugh or smile without even trying, and you love her, you truly, deeply, purely love her. In all my years of secretly reading cheesy love novels I have never seen a love as strong as yours," she put in as a last resort.

Beast Boy seemed to ponder that for a moment, and then the door to the council room opened.

"Markovia's spies have discovered where Immortus is camped. Beast Boy, you've fought him the longest, what are the best tactics to try and beat him?" Robin asked.

Raven and Beast Boy returned to the council room and stood by Robin around a long white table where plenty of Markovian generals and tactics men sat. And they were all staring at Beast Boy.

Beast Boy scratched the back of his neck, "Well, he's immortal, of course. He's been in every major battle in the history of the world, and he's always on the winning side. He knows every battle tactic ever, which practically makes him unbeatable."

"In other words, he's so clever we need a truly stupid idea," Brion said confidently, leaning back comfortably in his chair and crossing his arms.

"I agree," Cyborg said.

"Well, Beast Boy," Robin asked, "Where do we start?"

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"I do not know how you guys think any of my ideas are gonna work!" Beast Boy said as a servant escorted them to their guest suites.

"You heard Brion," Raven said with a smirk, "We need a really stupid idea." Beast Boy frowned deeply, and Starfire giggled at the look on his face.

"We should all get some sleep," Robin said as he yawned and stretched, "The honorary Titans and Titans East should be here in the morning, and we need to be at peak for training and planning."

The Titans said good night and went to their respective suites.

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Beast Boy couldn't sleep. He was still thinking about Terra, so he decided that it would be best if he went and talked to her. He put on a jacket over the uniform and went in search of the royal suites.

It took about half an hour for him to realize that he didn't know how to navigate the palace, and wound up in the rooftop gardens. They were quite beautiful, and Beast Boy found himself lost in the natural wildlife. He even turned into a bee and a butterfly a couple times to get up close.

Suddenly, he heard a noise, and shifted back into his humanoid form, "Who's there?" He demanded, trying to sound like he wasn't scared or trying to be violent.

"Ah, Beast Boy, was it?" said a voice. Beast Boy stepped out from behind the shrubbery and looked down the row of rose bushes to face Joseph Franklin the fourth.

"Yes, what do you want?" Beast Boy asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I believe that you want the same thing that I do," Joseph said, plucking a delicate yellow budding rose from the bush.

"Terra."