Give the story a chance! Enjoy!
In the slums of a small saiyan city, Aprio, a small girl, no older than eight years, hid in an alley.
She was cold, tired, hungry, and scared. She turned when she felt a slight tugging of her tattered clothes. "It's alright Om. I'll find us food…soon." She reassured the small albino Kereiq as she petted his white fur. He looked at her; huge black eyes stared at her disbelievingly.
The girl sighed and wrapped her ragged clothes—or what was left of them—around her body in a futile attempt to retain keep warm. Om whimpered as she shivered and curled up by her side. "Ouch! Om, you're stepping on my tail." She hissed. Om cocked his head, but stepped off her tail and resumed trotting in a circle before eventually curling up to fall asleep.
The girl tucked her tail in in her skirt, hiding it. Soon after, she too gave into her fatigue and hunger and fell asleep.
.0.
"My daughter. My beautiful daughter."
It was dark. The girl could see no one but she could hear the unmistakable sound of her mother's voice.
"Mama? Mama! I'm here mama!" She searched frantically, chasing the disembodied voice in the blinding darkness.
"You must live, my beautiful daughter. I cannot stay with you." The voice said.
"Why not? Mama! Where are you? Tell me so I can find you! Don't leave me alone! Mama, I don't want to be alone!" She ran, tripping over her own feet, as the voice continued to fade away.
"You must live…"
"Mama! Mama!"
.0.
"Mama…uhn…Mama!"
The girl jerked awake, looking around frantically, only to find Om whimpering sympathetically at her feet.
"It's okay…it was only a dream." She said more to herself than Om.
She picked the small Kerieq up, placed him in her lap, and began to stroke his fur to soothe him while singing a song her mother had taught her.
Little one, little one, don't you fear.
For I will always be besides you
Little one, little one, don't you fear
For I will always guide you.
Your journey has only just begun
Dangers you will face, Love you will dread
But little one, little one don't you fear
I will help you find your way.
She repeated the song with soft hums, while Om purred in her lap.
"Hey!"
Her song was cut short by the burly voice. "You shouldn't be here little girl." She peeked at the owner of the voice. It was a man. A big, fat man.
"Hey are you listening? You are supposed to be outside. It's mandatory. Look at me while I'm talking to you!" The man's meaty hand clamped down at her shoulder and frightened, she looked up.
When the man saw her eyes, he jumped back, and he cleared his throat. "Ah…W-well, you should not be here. Go on out." The man shooed her away and she picked Om up and made her way out of the alley.
The man stared after the girl, disturbed.
And under his breath he muttered, "Freak."
.0.
The streets seemed to be bustling with excitement. People stood on the sidewalks, pressed against one another, staring down the road, as if they were anticipating something.
The girl went unnoticed as she weaved about and under people's legs to get to the front of the sidewalk. She saw nothing coming down the road but she did spot a food vender on the other side. She lifted her nose and took a deep breath. The smell of sweet food wafted into her nose and her stomach empty stomach cried in protest. She looked down at the Kerieq in her arms.
"Smell that Om? It's fried quell, your favorite." The small animal mewled excitedly and struggled against her hold. The girl's eyes widened at the sudden resistance and she tightened her grip on her pet. Om struggles intensified and began barking.
Saiyans to her right and left turned at the noise and glared at her, a silent warning in their eyes if she did not calm her pet.
"Sorry." She bowed at her left. "Sorry." She bowed at her right.
"Mommy mommy, look at her eyes! They're weeiirrdd!" The girl peeked through her overgrown bangs at a small boy who was tugging on his mother's tail and peering up at her.
"Shh! The Elites will be here soon." The mother reprimanded and tugged her tail from her son's grasp to wrap it around her waist. Her eyes remained fixed on the road, squinted and anxious.
The boy continued to stare at the girl, his childlike curiosity peeked. "Your eyes are weird!" He exclaimed. The girl flushed and her eyes darted about. This boy was drawing too much attention. "I know…" She whispered. "Why are we supposed to stand here?" She asked.
The boy's black eyes widened. "You don't know?" She shook her head. Alleys weren't exactly the best place to receive news. "The Elites are supposed to meet the King! We're supposed to greet them weird girl."
The girl nodded. The Elites: specially trained, cold blooded, saiyan warriors. They protected Planet Vegeta. They were to be celebrated, revered, and respected. But she had always thought that they were just over glorified monkeys in armor.
"I'm gonna be an Elite some day!" The boy informed her, chest puffed and fists secured on his waist. The girl regarded him. She looked at his oversized clothes and dirty skin. Her eyes saddened while his sparkled. Someone (most likely his mother) had forgotten to inform the boy that only children born of high status had the privileged of becoming an Elite. The girl decided she would not be the one to crush the boy's dreams.
"Look! The Elites." A voice from the crowd announced. Almost immediately an unmistakable wave of anxiousness and nervousness swept through the crowd.
A sharp bark turned her attention to the still struggling Kereiq in her arms. "Stay still Om! They'll be here soon!" She whispered hastily before she watched how everyone's posture stiffened and they struck their right fist to their hearts. She shifted Om into her left arm and did the same.
The girl could her the marching from all the way down the street and honestly she didn't understand why they were walking when they were perfectly capable of flying. Nonetheless she watched as their silhouettes became clearer as they drew near. Soon they became visible. Their exaggeratedly polished white and gold armors forced her to squint her eyes.
"Screeeek!" The ear piercing shriek of protest was the only sign of warning she got before Om leapt out of her arm and raced across the street, hunger crazed eyes set on the quell vender, or more specifically what he was selling.
"Om!" The girl called after him before she too sprinted down the street. Gasps of horror rang through the crowd but the girl kept running after her pet. Perhaps if she weren't so focused on white fur, she might have noticed the steel leg in her way before she crashed into it.
"Ouch…" She mumbled while she rubbed her noticeably swollen forehead through her bangs. Her eyes widened when she realized what she had just done. She scrambled to her feet and bowed repeatedly. "S-Sorry. Sor—" A sharp slap to her face interrupted her apology and sent her crashing face first into the granite road.
"Insolent pest." An unforgiving voice snarled. "Get up." The man commanded. Painfully she stood on quaking legs and walked—eyes downcast—to stand in front of the Elite, only to be sent sprawling to the ground by another merciless slap.
She was going to die. She knew to she was going to die. After all those were the rules: disrespect someone of higher status and they had every right to take your inferior life. There were rare occasions were the offender's life was spared but something about how the man's black, soulless eyes bore into her told her she would not receive such a pardon. She closed her eyes, preparing for the fatal blow, but if she was being honest she did not feel like forfeiting her life for scoffing the man's unnecessarily shiny boot.
She peeked through her bangs to see the ball of energy gathering in the man's hands, aimed at her.
She waited for the blow, for the feel of unbearable pain, for death. But it never came. She peeked through her bangs to see the ball of energy die down and eventually disappear. Highly relieved, but still confused, she stared at the man, or more specifically, the hand that firmly gripped his shoulder.
The girl's eyes traveled up from the hand, to an arm, and eventually a male's body.
"We don't have time for this Daiko. King Vegeta is waiting." The man said. The girl almost sighed in relief, believing the man had saved her life. That is until his uncaring, black eyes glanced at her and he smirked. "You can carry out your little…execution later."
Her soon to be executioner, Daiko, eyed that man before rolling his eyes and shrugging the other Elite's hand off. "Fine." He ground out and his eyes snapped to her. He took two steps towards where she lay and roughly grabbed her arm.
"You're coming with m— fuck!" The man howled in pain and clutched his boot. A flash of white passed through her line of sight before she could see Om standing in front of her, growling.
Daiko examined the needle like holes in his indestructible boot. The girl almost laughed, Om may have been small; barely the sized of her foot, but his teeth could cut through anything.
"You little shit." Was all Daiko said before he kicked Om to the side, sending him a good distance away. The girl screamed in horror when Om wouldn't move and rushed to his side. "Om! Om! Don't worry, you're gonna be ok. You're gonna be just fine."
Om weakly mewled as she scooped him into her arms.
"Where do you think you're going, brat?" Came a mocking voice from behind her. She turned to glare at the man hatefully, and for a moment the force of her turn blew her bangs from her face. Daiko's eyes widen before his face morphed into a vicious and condescending smirk.
"So, you're a freak are you? Well this just got a whole lot more interesting." He laughed and her tail bristled underneath her skirt.
His hands latched onto her arms and she struggled violently, kicking and screaming, while he dragged her down the road.
The parade continued as if nothing happened.
.0.
"They're late." King Vegeta said from his throne. It was but an observation as his obsidian eyes swept through his troops of elites and yet, a slight irritation lay buried in said observation, one the golden-and-white-clad warriors had no intention of digging up or into.
"It must be an urgent matter your majesty. Group Alpha 1-C should be here soon." An elder spoke as he stroked his graying beard.
King Vegeta eyed him for a moment before he nodded. "We will wait."
They waited for some time before the door beeped and slid open. The missing group marched in rows of five and with emotionless faces. They all looked the same to King Vegeta: lifeless, like dolls that could only take and carry out orders. And it was because they all looked the same to him that he was shocked when a top elite strode in with a small girl and what looked an animal, in tow. King Vegeta observed the scene from his throne. He watched the Elite's angry face and the way the girl glared with a defiant glint in her eye. At least he assumed that was what she was looking at the elite with. He did not know. He could not see her eyes.
King Vegeta observed for some time before his interest was spent and he spoke. "You're late."
The Elite quickly turned his attention to the man sitting on the throne and struck his gloved fist to his heart and bowed. "My apologies my king. We ran into a slight…problem." He grounded out the last word with indignation while glancing at the girl.
The girl rolled her eyes and almost followed through with the urge to spit on Daiko's shoes. The King's eyes snapped in her direction and for a moment, she feared he had caught the small act of disrespect.
"And you brought a girl…why?" King Vegeta asked, not at all curios but he felt the need to ask.
"The chit had the audacity to disrespect me at the parade your majesty."
"I only scoffed your boot you pompous ape!" The girl yelled defiantly. King Vegeta hummed before he waved a hand.
"Do what you must and get rid of that ridiculous animal." He said. Daiko smirked in triumph and tightened his grip on the fur ball in his hand; the animal released a small squeak of pain and the girl clenched her fists.
"Don't touch him." She growled and King Vegeta's brows rose.
His hand reached to activate his scouter, and he watched—becoming increasingly interested—as the girl's power level rose.
An elder to his left noticed. "Your majesty—" He was cut off by a quick raise of King Vegeta's hand.
Daiko, too wrapped up in his own ego to take notice of the girl's climbing power, continued to taunt her and waved the nearly dead animal in her face, out of her reach. "What? Do you care for this worthless animal? Hmm, I supposed it is only natural for you freaks to associate with your kind." He let out a chortle and his colleagues joined in as they jabbed their elbows into each other's sides. The girl felt as if her skin had been lit on fire with rage.
"I'll kill you." She hissed, too low for anyone to hear.
"What was that?" Daiko leaned in towards her, with a grin splitting his face as he continued to squeeze the life out of the Kereiq.
"I'll kill you!" She shrieked and before she could process what she was doing, she grabbed Daiko by his hair and flung him across the room as if he weighed nothing more than a doll.
Silence took hold of those in the room in an unrelenting grip and her deep breaths reverberated around the room.
But the girl still felt the red haze of anger cloud her mind and Ki gathered into her small hands. She screamed as she released them in blinding streams of light and the bolts hit Daiko's twitching body. The wall behind Daiko's body crumbled and his leg's hung out of the wide hole in the wall.
Her energy died down and the glowing blue light of Ki in her hands faded. She continued to breath deeply until a heavy hand clasped her shoulder firmly.
This time she didn't flinch nor did she jerk away, instead she turned to look into the glacial, black eyes of King Vegeta. Something about the way he stared at her shook her out of her blood lustful rage. It was as if she was looking into the mouth of a dark hole and having the gnawing feeling that something non too pleasant was staring back, waiting to strike.
She looked down at her hands, horrified. Charred strands of Daiko's hair had caught between her fingertips, reminding her of what she had just done.
She'd killed someone, murdered a man.
"He's not dead." A deep, guttural voice spoke from behind her. She turned to face the King once again, but his eyes were no longer on her. They were focused on the gaping hole in the wall, head tilted, as if he was contemplating something.
Before she could reply, he turned, his red cape brushed across her face.
"Come." Was all he said, but it commanded nothing short of obedience. She nodded at his back, turned to gather Om's still body in her arms, and followed him out of the room, ignoring the sudden burst of murmurs that followed with their absence.
She stumbled after the large man, struggling to keep up with his long strides, before they reached the outside of the assembly house. The girl looked around, confused, and she barely had time to speak before the King grabbed her by the scruff of her back collar and shot into the air.
She let out a squeak and squeezed Om to her body. She did not dare open her eyes. She was petrified of heights. She tried to focus on the wind blowing across her face but she couldn't. It made her nauseous, and she couldn't quite ignore the fact that she was being suspended in air by a man's fingers.
They flew for a while (he flew, she held on for dear life) until they reached the edge of a huge gorge. He descended and the girl leapt out of his grasp, never having been happier to feel the solid ground beneath her feet.
"You have great potential… such untapped power." She found the King standing by the edge of the gorge, his cape billowing in the wind. It took a moment for her to compute his words and when she did, they left her utterly confused. Potential? Power? Untapped? Great?
This day had certainly proved to be the strangest of any. She had angered an elite, almost killed said elite, met King Vegeta, and had been dragged through the air by King Vegeta; all to end up standing behind him, over a gorge. She silently praised herself for managing to stay alive.
"Come." King Vegeta called. She frowned, looking at Om's battered body and feeling his labored breaths. She did not have time for this; she had to take care of Om, granted she had no money to take him to a health facilitation, nor did she have any healing experience. What was she to do? Her best friend—the closest thing she had to family—was dying in her arms and she could do nothing to relieve his pain.
"It will die." The King said. The girl's eyes snapped to his unmoving back. She already knew that; she did not need anyone to relay that to her, to confirm her fears. She glared as the King turned, his huge arms crossed and his steely gaze focused on her. "Pass the challenge, and I will save its life. Fail, and you will both die. " He spoke. She did not have time to comprehend what he said, nor could she reply. All she could do was watch in stunned horror as King Vegeta appeared by her side, plucked Om from her arms and flung him over the edge.
Something akin to adrenaline pumped through her veins, laced with fear and shock as she watched Om's body disappear from her sight and into the gorge. The girl found her feet running, her muscles clenching, and an unknown power bursting within her, before she threw herself over the edge.
In that split moment, her fear of heights left her; it became a distant memory. She had to save Om. How she would do it, she had no idea, but it was far too late to realize the irrationally of her decision as she dove nose first after Om. The wind blew harshly at her; she could barely see Om's white fur as the wind deprived her eyes of moisture and whistled promises of death in her ears.
As her lithe body drew towards the small Kerieq, she extended her arm, grasped his body by the tip of his furs, and pulled him toward her body. Worst come to worst, they would both die together and she shut her eyes because for a moment, that didn't sound too horrible a death.
But then the girl no longer felt the wind slicing against her skin; she didn't feel her cheeks meeting her eyes, in fact she felt as if she were…floating?
She braved opening one eye and to not see the bushes and harsh ridges of the gorge rushing up to meet her forced her to open the other in astonishment.
She should have been terrified. She should have questioned her sanity. Hell, she should have dropped Om in her moment of shock, but she didn't. Somehow, this felt…natural.
Flying felt natural.
.0.
King Vegeta watched as the girl appeared from the side of the gorge with her animal clutched to her chest. Granted, she flailed in the air with inexperience, but nonetheless, to be able to possess such power at her age…
She landed cautiously and fell to her knees when her feet touched the ground. He allowed her to catch her breathe before her approached her.
"You've done well." He praised, although the compliment went unappreciated when she snapped her head up to him. She stood on shaking knees and shoved the dying creature into his chest gently.
"You promised you would heal him and I intend to hold you to your promise." She spoke; her stern demand masked the indignation in her voice and the tip of the mighty King Vegeta's lips twitched upward, and he gathered the animal in his arms.
Slowly, he knelt beside her and she took a tentative step backwards. The girl flinched when as the gloved hand reached for her face and brushed her heavy bangs aside, and for the first time in a long time someone stared into her eyes, the same one she shied away from.
"…Silver. So strong and brazen." The King whispered. The girl ripped her face from his touch and her bangs fell back into place. The King's hand dropped.
"Do not hide them. Your eyes, or your tail." The long appendage twitched under her skirt.
"Your animal is dying. Come." The King turned swiftly and began to walk. The girl stiffly nodded and followed after him, until he stopped and turned once again.
"What is your name?"
Her head cocked to the side as she fidgeted under his obsidian gaze. "Niona." She said.
The King nodded, satisfied. "…Niona…'of the Noble'. It suits you." Was all he said before he caught the scruff of her shirt and took off into the air.
Perhaps it was because of the near-death experience, or the fact that she knew she could fly on her own, but this time, as she felt the wind in her face, she did not cower from it, but embraced it.
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It's been a while since I've wrote anything and I'm trying a new story while I work on my pre-existing ones. I got the idea for this story because to be honest, I loathe the females characters in the 'Dragon Ball' series, so I decided to make one of my own. In case you didn't notice, I plan for Niona (it is supposed to mean 'of the noble' but honestly the name was inspired by 'Onion') to take Goku's place in the original show but Goku himself will still be in the story, just not as important. This is NOT an OC/King Vegeta fanfic its an OC/Vegeta fanfic, I just wanted to give the story a sort of strong prologue.
Tell me what you think in your reviews and recommend this story to your friends if you like it.
Peace!
-Crims.
PS: This is a link to a picture of Om if you are curios to what he looks like.
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