Carefully she crack opened the door as she cautiously stepped into the room. She did not want to wake the sleeping boy, but her worries were for nothing because he had yet to fall asleep. The little boy was at the corner of his bed while he hugged his knees close to his chest. His attention was now locked not onto the woman, but the door she stood in front of. "Hello, my prince," she said as she made her way over to him.
"Hello mom," he answered. He still focused on that door. He knew she would have to walk back out any moment now, and it always hurt him to watch her leave. The young prince figured it would hurt less if he didn't have to look at her as she did it this time. "You're leaving again, aren't you?"
"Yes, Vegeta. I'm so sorry my son." Her chest tightened up the more she looked at how upset he was. Sometimes she forgot that he really is just a boy and not a man like his father is. It's times like these where she's reminded of that. Here he is, huddled up into a ball, trying to protect himself from the world. It was her job, her duty, to shield him, and it killed her to know she couldn't. Her own son had to face the dark alone, and every day it would swallow him up just a little bit more.
He got on his knees and crawled to the edge of the bed to be closer to where she stood. "If you just took me with you I wouldn't need your apologies! Please, mom!" He pleaded as his eyes began to well up with tears. "How am I supposed to be a well-rounded king one day if all I know how to do is destroy? A good king should be strong strategically along with physically. Don't you agree? Take me with you on your Diplomatic meetings. Please just… just don't leave me."
She nudged him to move over as she sat on the bed to be next to him. He laid his head on her lap as he tucked his knees to his chest once again. Never would he allow himself to be so vulnerable, or seem so weak, but he always broke his walls down for his mother. She was the only one he trusted to see his true feelings, which was why she knew there was more to it then what he was sharing. "I know there is more to this then what you are telling me, Vegeta. What's wrong? What has been troubling you so? I know my departure is not the only thing causing all of this."
"Frieza."
"You'll have to explain a little bit more, son."
His mother could sense his hesitation to continue, so she started to rub his back to soothe him, to show him it's okay to be honest because only she would know. She could feel him slowly easing up. "I do not wish to follow his orders anymore. I am no fool, nor am I naïve. I know father and our people are not always the most good at heart. I know there are some awful things we have done, but Frieza? He makes us all look more heavenly then the Gods themselves." He took a deep breath to try and slow his breathing down. Frieza was not here right now. Frieza could not hurt him right now. It's only him and his mother, so why can't he stop shaking? "Some nights I still dream of people screaming. I still see their blood on my hands. I know Saiyans are known for being mean and sometimes even cruel, but I rather that then be known as a monster. I'm afraid he's turning me into one. Why doesn't father stop him? Does he not love me? Have I already failed him?"
She couldn't take it anymore. Vegeta is only eight year old boy, yet already broken and beaten down as if he were a man. She pulled him close to her as she hugged him as hard as she could. Oh how she wish she could take it all away for her child. Even as she held him close, he wouldn't stop shaking. What kind of mother was she that she could not even defend and save her own son? Never has she felt so weak and hopeless in her life. "Don't you dare think like that. Ever! Your father loves you more than life itself, as do I. Don't you forget that. Frieza is only a temporary problem. He shall soon leave and then you shall no longer have to fear him. Your father is doing the best he can to rid that tyrant from our planet for good."
"So it's not true then" he asked through his sniffles.
"What's not true, sweetie?"
"Zarbon said father gave me over to Frieza in order to please him and stop him from killing our people."
His mother cringed. It was not a complete lie. Her husband did let Frieza, so to speak, "borrow" their son, but only to purge a few more planets. After that he was to leave Planet Vegeta and, their people, in peace. She despised the tyrant for having so much control over not only them. He was just too strong to fight against right now. "Frieza requested to have you help him with a few more missions, Vegeta. After that you no longer have to abide by him." The little boy sighed in relief. He felt a little bit of the world lift off his shoulders, if only for a moment. "Don't worry. You can rest easy soon enough." Now for the part she dreaded the most. She had to leave him once again, and this time she wasn't sure for how long. "Little one, I must go."
There it was, his world crashing right back down on him again. Seems as though he forgot the reason she entered his room in the first place. He was glad his back was to her. He didn't want her to see the few tears spilling down, although he was sure she felt it on her lap anyway. "For how long this time?"
"Two weeks" she lied.
"I'll count down the days, just like always. Have a safe trip, mom."
Once again, she hugged him as tightly as she could and kissed his forehead. All she could wish for was that in their embrace, he could feel how much she treasured him. He knew. He always knew. Little did he know though that this hug was meant to comfort her more than it was for him this time. "Good night, my prince. I love you so much. Be a good and strong warrior for me while I am away. Don't ever let Frieza break you." She tucked him into bed, and before she closed the door behind her, she took one last look at him. She wanted this peaceful moment to be the last she saw of him, not the broken boy who was there just moments ago. Hopefully when they were reunited one day he will understand. She prayed to the heavenly Gods every night that he would.
As if on cue to the door closing in his dream, Vegeta woke up. It's been a while since he's dreamt of that night. It's no surprise that it resurfaced again, giving all that has happened lately. He didn't realize how hard he had been holding on to Violet until he felt a few of her tears on his chest. Immediately he let her go. He was amazed that she did not wake up from the pain. Her Ki started to flare up, and that's when he knew it wasn't the physical pain that made her cry. She was having a nightmare.
Violet began thrashing around, and what seemed to be her fighting for her life. She raised her hand and an energy ball started to form as she cried louder in distress. "Violet? Violet, wake up!" Vegeta jumped in from of the beam while he desperately tried to bring her back to consciousness. It wasn't working and the ball continued to grow. He wasn't afraid of getting hurt. He doubted that she could do much to hurt him, but he would rather not hear Bulma scream about another hole in the wall. She's still pissed about the one he and Trunks accidentally caused last week.
And then, she fired it. Vegeta let it hit his chest, and to his surprise, it cut him up a bit. 'Damn, that actually stings. Better me then the wall though.' Violet sprang into a sitting position, panting for the air that she apparently wasn't getting in her dream. Quickly she scanned the room for any intruders as he Ki flared up again. She didn't seem to notice Vegeta was the one standing in front of her, or even realized he was there at all. Panicking, she leaped out of bed in fighting stance. "Woah woah woah! If you start fucking shit up then Bulma will blame me and that'll be my ass! You need to calm down!"
The fear only intensified. What he was saying just wasn't registering to her. It was like she was still stuck in her dream, or hell. The line between the two often blurred together. He could tell she wasn't really there. Like some wall was built preventing her from seeing what she needed to. Violet's Ki was flaring up even more, except it was pure black. Vegeta's never seen Ki look or react like that before in all his life, and the way it felt was… terrifying.
It was felt dark enough to make his own skin crawl. It reminded him of the time he was possessed by Babidi. The scariest part was it didn't feel like her at all. No trace of Violet was in whatever energy he was feeling.
If Vegeta still even remotely doubted her story, well, now he was a believer.
But he didn't have the time to figure it out right now. Every second he wasted was a second she kept powering up. Not knowing what else to do, Vegeta just took a hold of her hand and placed it right over his heart. Maybe she just needed to feel something real. "Hey, look at me. I'm real. You feel that? It's my heart. You're okay now. Whatever it was you saw in your dream, or whatever it is you're still seeing, it's over. I need you to come back to me."
'I need you to come back to me.' Those words played over and over again in her head. It was something he mother would say to her and bring her back to reality. Her hands twitched in his grasp as she tried to allow her hands feel his heartbeat. Trying to blink the haze away from her eyes, she could finally see her brother.
She was okay. She was safe. After minutes of silence she eventually came back to him like he asked. Once again, she started to scan, this time it was only Vegeta though. As if she was afraid even after all of that, that he was just a trick in a dream, too. She felt how raw his chest was and suddenly remembered how he took on her blast point blank. "Vegeta, oh God I'm so sorry. I started to lose control and I hurt you!"
Now that she was back to her sense, he shoved her hand off. He smirked as he crossed his arms over his minor wound. "As if you could actually hurt me. You're going to have to have a lot more fire power than that to kind of do any damage. After all, I am the Prince of all Saiyans."
Without consciously being aware of it, she mimicked his movements and folded her arms across her chest as well. She even did the same smirk he noticed. A bit of pride swelled up inside him as he took note of it "And I'm the Princess of all Saiyans. You might be able to pull that crap with the others, but it has no effect on me considering my title is worth just as much as yours."
Violet was right, and he knew that. That doesn't mean it made him hate it any less. "Shut up."
"Make me."
"I will kick your ass if you keep provoking me, brat."
She rolled her eyes at his clearly empty threat. Then, out of nowhere, she started laughing. It hasn't even been a full day yet that she's officially known the guy, and yet here they are arguing already like kids. Just as quickly as the laughs came, they went. She frowned as a quick pain jabbed at her heart thinking about how they were robbed of their childhood and each other. How they were never allowed to enjoy even the most trivial of things a brother and sister should, like arguing. How they had to suffer alone.
All because of, Frieza.
She really did hate him.
Thankfully, Vegeta ignored the random and strange reaction. What he couldn't ignore though, was what he just witnessed. "Can you explain what happened?" He asked bluntly. There was no need to 'beat around the bush', as his son put it. That would get them nowhere, and he didn't have the patience for those kinds of games.
She didn't want to tell him. Not that she didn't trust him, but because she didn't want him to think any less of her. It doesn't matter if they just met. If he was anything like her, which she knew he was, she knew honor and pride meant everything to him. She doesn't want to tarnish whatever little he's given her.
When she didn't answer he started tapping his foot impatiently. "Well, come on! Out with it! How am I supposed to help if you're not completely honest with me?"
He was right, but she was so afraid to say it out loud. As if just speaking the words would make it become a reality again. "It was just a bad dream, or rather a bad memory."
"What happened?"
"I don't know if I want to say V-"
He shoved past her and let out a low growl. Sometimes his animalistic side would come out the more frustrated he became. If he still had a tail it would be twitching all over the place right now. "Enough! You cannot pick and choose what you want to tell me about this problem. We cannot afford that luxury right now, especially not you. Whatever you were dreaming about was some trigger, and I need to know what it was. The more I know about this whole damn thing the closer I am to helping you! Don't you see that?"
Violet dragged her feet to the bed and slumped back down on it. Her head hung low and fixated on the floor. She didn't want to close her eyes. If she did, the more real it would feel.
A blow landed on her cheek.
The next one was to her stomach.
Then to her back.
The attacks just kept coming and eventually she lost track of where she was getting hit because the pain was everywhere, all at once. The attacks did not stop when she coughed up blood, nor did they stop when she lost feelings in her legs and couldn't stand. She couldn't even defend herself. This wasn't a fair fight, but then again, it never was.
The floor was splattered and stained with small puddles of her blood.
Red, Violet thought, had to be the ugliest color. It's so tainted, just like, Frieza,
Just like her.
She still had no feelings in her legs, so she attempted to crawl away from the attacker. Obviously, she did not get very far. Frieza yanked her by the hair, lifting her off the ground effortlessly. As her screams grew louder, so did his laughter.
"My dear, why do you think I have called you in here today?" Frieza was only inches away from her. Violet took the chance to spit in his face. She didn't have time to regret her choice before another punch landed on her face. Blood trailed down from her nose as she cried out in pain. "I'll ask you one last time. Why do you think I've called you in here today?"
"Because I disobeyed your orders."
"Precisely!" Frieza threw her onto the ground, right in front of his throne. He sat in his chair and forced her to kneel for him. "One day you'll learn your place. Sadly, it's been 12 years and you still don't know it yet, but you'll get there. Even if it means I have to break you in the process."
She laughed despite how her body ached and begged her not to.
She laughed despite knowing, if provoked again, he would continue the beating.
She laughed because he truly didn't understand how futile his attempts were. It didn't matter what he did, she would never break. Not by his hands at least. "You can't break me. I won't let you because-"
"Yes, yes, I know" he rolled his eyes, seemingly already bored with her short speech. "You won't let me because you swore to your mother you wouldn't, and because of your "Saiyan Pride". I've heard this all before. I swear it's like you and your monkey of a brother Vegeta are one in the same. I've lost count of how many times he's given me the same monologue. But you know what?"
Silence.
His foot connected underneath her chin, forcing her to look at him. When she did, he kicked her in the neck. "When I speak to you, I demand an answer. Understand?" He asked impatiently as she gasped for air.
"I understand" she said through her teeth.
"Good. Now, as I was saying. Do you know what?"
"What?"
"Your brother was the same way up until he was around" he brought his finger to his lip while he thought. "Ahh yes, I'd say he was about your age when his threats slowly stopped. He learned to be submissive. Sure, I can still see the hatred in his eyes, but that's where they stay. Vegeta has learned to respect me, even if it's just a charade. You will do the same. I don't care about the damn prophecy whether it's true or not. You will obey by my orders because you are my slave. Nothing more, nothing less."
He crouched down to her level, and cupped her face in his right hand. The slightest touch of that lizard made her wish she was caught on fire instead. He pierced his fingernails into her skin one by one. Her muffled cries all caught in the palm of his hand. "You do see the irony in this, don't you my dear?" After one final squeeze he released her face, gingerly wiping the blood off her face.
She would rather have him pierce her skin again.
"No."
A wicked laugh came from deep inside his chest. "You, just like your brother, disobeyed my orders in the past because you did not want to turn into a monster like me. Vegeta has accepted it, hell, he welcomes it now. Probably because he imagines it were me, but that's beside the point. How much longer can you hold out, little one? Tic tok my dear, your time is running out on the clock."
"Fuck you!" Her screams echoing through the hall. He was full of shit. All of it! Everything he said wasn't true. Not about Vegeta, and not about her!
"You can run and hide from me, sure, but you can never escape what's inside you. I know a monster when I see one. If I'm one, well sweetie, you're the devil himself. Just give it time."
Frieza ordered Zarbon to return Violet to her chambers. Right next to her prison was her mother. She couldn't see her though because Frieza recently ordered the guards to build a sound proof wall between the two. The only ever saw each other on missions, which fortunately for the time being, they were still sent together to do. Right now though, all she wanted was for her mother to hold her as Frieza's laughter echoed in her head along with his words.
She tucked her feet to her chest, tightly squeezing them with what little strength she had left. She couldn't even cry, so she sat against the wall praying to whatever God was listening. Hoping one day he would save her and her mother. Once he did, she could save her brother.
Years passed and not one God answered her prayers, but finally one day someone did. It was the Devil.
The Devil, unlike what most say, was a woman. Violet listened to her words. She found hope in them. Hope that she never got from any of the Heavenly Gods, so she accepted it.
Every day since she wished she hadn't.
"I'm sorry" Vegeta said quietly.
"Don't be. No use apologizing for the past."
"No," he shook his head at her misunderstanding. "That's not what I meant. I mean I'm sorry you went through the same thing I did."
For the first time, she was speechless, so she nodded her agreement. Sometimes, if the nights were really bad, she could still feel Frieza's hands grabbing her, beating her. She shivered at the thought.
"Was this Devil," he broke the awkward silence, "real? Like, was she an actual person?"
Violet shrugged. "I don't know. She felt real, but I would only see her when I was alone. There were days when I thought I was just delirious after the beatings or after my solitary confinement and that I was just imagining her. You understand how fucked up either of the punishments would leave you sometimes."
It was true, but he would rather not think about it. Those days were behind him, and he's trying his best to erase those years from his memory. It's taking a while, but he'll get there one day. "Let's go get something to eat." He asked, trying to change the subject. "I'm starving."
"Actually, I promised Trunks and Goten I'd spar with them this morning. I'll eat lunch with you later."
"They're not up yet. Trust me; it'll be a few more hours before those lazy brats wake up. No use waiting for them outside since it'll be a while."
"Then I'll train on my own for the time being. I need some time to myself right now. I hope you can respect that, Vegeta."
If anyone could respect someone's time alone, it was him. He understood how you can't just get over some things, and how much they drain you when you try. He showed her to the Gravity Room and explained how everything worked. Once she understood the basics of what he was saying, he left her to it.
"Aww look at my big, strong man!" Bulma gave him a few kisses on his cheek. Trunks and Goten both mocked him by making kissy faces. He hated public display of affection. It was humiliating and degrading. Bulma, of course, knew this and continued anyway.
Each kiss turning his cheek redder then the last. He tried shoving her away, but it just glued her on to him more. The boys continued their mocking and snickering. "Would you get off me, Woman?! All I did was give her a place to train!" She had been in the Gravity room for hours now, not coming out for a break once.
"Puh-lease, Vegeta! You damn well know I'm talking about how you've been treating her." She placed her hands on her hips, finally letting him go. "You're acting like an actual big brother and I swear it's the cutest thing in the galaxy."
"Yeah the cutest!" The boys shouted in unison.
"Enough you two, or I swear I'll kick both your asses!"
Trunks and Goten said their apologies while they ran out the room. Making fun of him was only funny to an extent. The second he was mad it was all over, and they both knew that. Vegeta returned his attention to his loud mouth of a wife. "As I was saying, you're turning this into a bigger deal then what it should be."
"Deny it all you want, but I know you at least like her a little bit."
"She reminds me of myself."
"Oh Kami, that means another arrogant, hot-headed royalty in the house. I can only handle so much you know."
He smirked "shut up. You love it."
Her smirked matched his own. "I never said I didn't."
The two inched closer to each other when Vegeta was sure his son and his son's friend weren't spying on them anywhere nearby. Before their lips could touch there was an explosion. Vegeta knew exactly where it came from. The Gravity Room.
Vegeta was outside in an instant, and so were Trunks and Goten. The Gravity room was still intact, so that was a good sign. However, inside he could see Ki blasts shooting out everywhere. He told the boys to stay put while he went inside to see what the hell was happening.
He opened the door and the second it's opened, the gravity stimulator powered down. Lucky for him, he has fast reflexes. One blast sped right in his direction. Vegeta knocked it into the sky to avoid damaging anything or hurting anyone. Then he looked at the half torn up, Violet. She was clutching herself tight. He could sense that she, at the very least, fractured her ribs along with a few other bones.
"What the hell, Vegeta! I was training! Get out!"
Vegeta shut the door behind him. He didn't want to make a scene in front of the boys and Bulma, whenever she decided to show. "Training? Look at you! I'm surprise you're still breathing right now!"
"I'm a Saiyan, these are just scratches and nothing more! You of all people should understand that we can take more pain than this! We're warriors!"
And then, all at once, Vegeta finally understood. He now could see what Bulma saw in him for all those years when he trained. He could now understand why she would fear for him. At the time it never made sense. He was only trying to better himself and become stronger. Why did it matter how much pain he had to endure before he got there?
Seeing that look of determination, pain, and fear in Violet's eyes made him finally see why it mattered.
What awful things to see in another person all at once, especially when you love them.
"I thought you would understand." She said no louder than a whisper. "All I wanted was for you to understand."
Anger flashed deep inside Vegeta again. How could she possibly say that to him? "How dare you. How dare you think I don't understand. Of course I fucking do! You aren't the only one who has felt trapped, weak, and alone! I spent years trying to change that! But you know what? I did more damage to myself, physically and mentally, then Frieza could ever do to me! Don't make my same mistake. You won't like where it leads you."
"How do I stop?" Her tears spilled down her face as it blended in with the blood dropping down too.
"Let it go."
What a simple thing to say for such an overwhelming feeling that she couldn't stop. How did he expect her to just let go? If she did, wouldn't that just make her more vulnerable? Being vulnerable meant being exposed, being exposed meant being weak, and once you're weak it consumes you. Why would he want that for her?
It worked for him, though.
After much inner debate, she decided to listen to him. If he said it works then she would have to at least try. She didn't have enough time to thank him because before she could, everything around them went black.
A/N: Thank you so much for your patience! I'm trying not to take too long with posting each chapter, but school and life gets in my way sometimes. I would really appreciate it if you guys could post a review or two, just so I know how you all are feeling about it so far!
Also, I do have a Deviantart account, and soon I will upload a picture of, Violet! If you're interested, keep an eye out my page and see! My username is "NatalisDomain".
Until next time, my friends!