Chapter 4 – Twisted Desires


*FLASHBACK*


"Old man, you're quite mad!" Courgette gasped, as she was quite shocked at Dr. Raichi's latest proposition. "You planned it this way all along!" She alleged with an accusatory finger in his direction.

"Princess, do not overreact. You and I have always wanted the same things, which is why we are at these crossroads," Dr. Raichi replied smoothly with a beguiling smile. "You truly did not want to marry the barbaric Saiyan king and I did not want to share our superb technology with their inferior race."

"Yes, that was true in the beginning but after they waged this war against our Tuffle kingdom and were effectively taking over our major cities, you knew I was willing to marry King Vegeta! To end all this heartbreak and conflict, I would have sacrificed my freedom!" Courgette cried. "It was YOU that convinced my grandfather to reject my proposal! You assured him that we could win this war and defeat this Freiza creature without the saiyans and he believed you! Now he's dead and it's on your shoulders!"

"I know it wrong to speak ill of the dead but your grandfather's death was his own fault. He was hasty in his attempt to have you marry King Vegeta without consulting with me first about our other options. If King Fungi didn't invite those heathens over, they would have never acquired their thirst for our Tuffle land and women." Dr. Raichi defended himself impetuously.

"How dare you speak of my grandfather in that manner?! He was the greatest King the Tuffle kingdom ever had!" Courgette seethed. With a slight huff, she fell back into her grandfather cushioned throne and broke into tears.

"Princess, forgive me for speaking so honestly when you are obviously still mourning his loss. And you are right of course, your grandfather was a great king. This is why I have preserved his DNA for a later time, when we can exact our revenge on the saiyans at a later date with my latest invention the Hatchiyack." Dr. Raichi revealed, hoping to soothe the sobbing princess.

She dried her eyes with her handkerchief and looked up at him with angry eyes.

"I understand all that but why must I marry you? I feel like you intentionally set this up so I would have no other choice in the matter," Courgette accused once more and Dr. Raichi knew that his intentions were exposed.

Courgette's assumption was accurate, as Dr. Raichi's past actions had been purely motivated by his own twisted desires for the Tuffle princess. He had been love with her mother Mushrumi since he laid eyes on her but she had barely spared him a glance. By the time he had made a name for himself in the Royal laboratory and was ready to propose himself as her mate, she had eloped with an unsuitable suitor that King Fungi refused to name.

Then she died in childbirth, where the Tuffle soldiers were able to recover her child, Courgette. The father of the child was banished from the Tuffle lands, so it was safe to assume that he was as dead as Mushrumi. It was very unlikely that a Tuffle lad could survive and flourish in the badlands as the saiyans did.

So, King Fungi raised his granddaughter as his own and she grew up to be just as lovely as her mother. The resemblance was so striking that Dr. Raichi couldn't help but transfer his feelings of love and desire onto Courgette, in spite of the great age difference. He longed to feel her full lips on his skin, to have fistfuls of her luxurious locks sliding through his fingers, and he longed to gaze upon the curves that she had hidden under her form-fitting black gown. But even he was astute enough to predict that a girl as lovely as her would never marry him if she had the choice…UNLESS, he could produce just the right conditions where she couldn't refuse. With a lot of cunning, back-stabbing and perseverance he finally managed to create just the right situation where Courgette would finally be his and yet she still showed some resilience.

"My sweet princess, I would be excellent husband for you. While there is breath in my body I will make certain that you are always safe," Dr. Raichi promised.

"Like you made certain that our Tuffle people were safe against the Saiyans?" Courgette sneered.

"How was I to know that the full moon would turn that band of ruffians into oversized bloodthirsty apes?" Dr. Raichi responded. Planet Plant 100 years full moon had given the Saiyans an unexpected advantage in their war against the Tuffles. Now the Saiyans were closing in on the Tuffle palace and it was only a matter of time before the planet was completely taken over.

"Aren't you the head scientist of the Royal Laboratory, isn't it your job to predict such things? You were able to warn my grandpapa about Freiza, how could you not predict that as well?" Courgette threw back.

"The full moon is an event we seldom see on this planet, no one could have foreseen such an outcome. We had the numbers and the technology on our side, everything was in our favour." Dr. Raichi responded. He did not think it wise to confess that he was aware of this moonlight transformation and that he had hoping for this exact outcome. He wanted Courgette to accept his marriage proposal at any cost. "That Saiyan king was far more clever than we gave him credit for."

"He did have a couple of surprises up his sleeve in this 10 year war, didn't he?" Courgette mused ironically aloud to herself. It showed that there was some intelligence lurking behind those intense dark eyes that sometimes haunted her dreams.

"But he will never have the intellect or ingenuity of the Tuffle people. Please my princess, for your own safety marry me and come away with me!" Dr. Raichi pleaded with desperation, kneeling at her feet and grasping her hands.

Courgette looked down into the doctor's anxious eyes and took a moment to weigh her options. She couldn't believe it but she was actually considering Dr. Raichi as a husband. Could she really spend the rest of her life with this old man who had always given her the heebie-jeebies? What other option did she have?

"Stop referring to me as your princess. After the death of my beloved grandpapa, I am now the Queen of the Tuffles. I'm certain a man of your intelligence realizes that." Courgette stated coldly as she yanked her hands out his grasp. "And as your Queen, I will forgive you for your insolence that you just displayed before me, as long as you to help me escape before the Saiyans finally take over the palace."

Dr. Raichi's hopeful gaze hardened as he looked up at Courgette indignant face.

"If you do not marry me, I will not help you escape!" Dr. Raichi yelled as he got up from his kneeling position.

"I will never marry you!" Courgette replied with a scoff. "How could you have ever thought that someone like me would ever marry repulsive man like you?"

"Well, I hope you enjoy your future of being that Saiyan king's whore!" Dr. Raichi responded with bitter fire burning in his eyes.

"That would be much preferable to a lifetime with you!" Courgette shouted back.

"Indeed it would not. I will get my vengeance for your insulting behavior and rejection, I will now make it my life's mission to make certain that you and your descendants suffer, no matter what…" Dr. Raichi promised using a dangerous tone of voice. With a slight bow, Dr. Raichi turned on his heel.

Courgette gasped at Dr. Raichi's parting words. She watched his retreating figure from her grandfather's throne as she held onto the armrests for support. She never thought that Dr. Raichi would actually vow revenge. The hate burning in his eyes was unmistakable, she knew he would do his best to make good on his promise. What was she going to do now?

Straightening her spine she sat up in the throne and waited for the Saiyan army to finally come for her. Whatever Tuffle soldiers were left to protect the palace wouldn't last against the brutal Saiyan army and their sheer numbers, it was only a matter of time before they came marching through those doors ahead of her. Well, they would not find a pathetic and petrified Queen waiting for them. She would not give them that satisfaction.

Suddenly, the doors were thrown open as a cluster of Saiyan warriors marched down the aisle with King Vegeta at their helm. It was the first time Courgette had seen him in 10 years. Courgette didn't like to admit it but upon her first meeting, she had actually found King Vegeta physically attractive. She didn't know how it was possible but in the past 10 years, the king had grown even more handsome than she remembered. He was taller, more muscular and had grown a dark beard that gave him dark devilish appearance.

However, Courgette still remembered other things from their first dinner that made her believe that the Saiyan King was an unsuitable choice as a spouse. It had been obvious that he hadn't bathed, he lacked certain manners at the table and during the dinner conversation he didn't really have much contribute to it. When he did finally say something, it was about himself and his so-called glorious race. His behaviour absolutely reinforced her initial impression of the Saiyan culture. But she was out of options and she had made her choice.

When she was considering marriage to Dr. Raichi, she had come to the conclusion that marrying the barbarous King of the Saiyans was the lesser of the two evils. There was something very vile and duplicitous about Dr. Raichi that Courgette just couldn't shake. No matter how bad her impression of King Vegeta was, she didn't get the sense that he was an untrustworthy sort. Now that she had no one, she couldn't surround herself with people that she couldn't trust and she could never trust that Dr. Raichi. There was a degree of evil hidden beneath those steel grey eyes.

"Greetings Courgette, you are looking lovelier than I last remember," King Vegeta hailed with a sardonic smile.

"Welcome back to my kingdom, King Vegeta." Courgette greeted stiffly.

"Ah, but I do believe it is now my kingdom." King Vegeta corrected.

The men of King Vegeta's battalion all cheered at King Vegeta's statement as Courgette gritted her teeth. She really didn't want to acquiesce to his declaration so easily, although he was technically correct in his notion. After a few moments had past and she could no longer stare down his self-assured gaze, she finally bowed her head low in acknowledgement that her kingdom was his.

With a sneer, King Vegeta approached her throne and then seized her wrist, pulling her up and out of her seat.

"Aren't you going to bow down on your knees to your new King?" King Vegeta asked with a smirk, holding her glittering angry gaze.

"Let me down you brute!" Courgette cried out as she attempted to kick his shin but squarely missed as he moved out of the way, predicting her movements.

King Vegeta chuckled as he flung her back into her throne.

"After these 10 years of war and strife, I'm glad to see that you've maintained that spirit that I so admired upon our last meeting," King Vegeta growled. "You are my prize."

Grasping the back of her head, he captured her mouth. Her mouth opened to his masterful assault, his tongue taking control. The touch of his lips and the tip of his tongue against her made her head grow dizzy and her knees weak, as she allowed herself a moment of weakness. She could almost forget the horrid things that he did to her people in the last ten years, but of course she couldn't really ever forget it and her spine stiffened. Taking a hold of the tip of his tongue, she bit down hard. Her bite only accomplished King Vegeta's throaty laughter.

"A prize you will regret winning! I will hate you all the days of my life!" Courgette spat out, brushing her mouth with the back her hand with disgust. "That's a promise!" King Vegeta gave her a quizzical look that seemed to bore through to her soul with his intense gaze. He then threw his head back and laughed once more.

"Your lips may be insisting that you hate me, but your eyes betray you," King Vegeta responded with an amused grin. "You will eventually yield to this attraction that we have."

"Never!" Courgette shouted back causing King Vegeta to smirk. Turning his head towards his men he beckoned his General and advisor, Brusselz.

"Take her back to the castle and get her ready. We shall marry this eve!" He commanded. "Planet Plant will finally be united," he insisted as he rubbed his palms together.

"Sire, it shall be done." Brusselz said with a deep bow. "Also, the men and I were talking, we propose that tonight that we crown you and Courgette the new King and Queen of not Planet Plant but Planet Vegetasei, renamed after its fearless and ruthless King."

"You and my warriors give me great honour, I would be a fool to turn down such a sentiment." King Vegeta replied as he turned to face his warriors. "Rest now because later tonight you will feast and celebrate your new King and Queen of Planet Vegetasei!"


*END OF FLASHBACK*


Courgette peered into her looking glass one last time before she made her way down to court. She wanted to make sure that her makeup was still perfect and that not a strand of her up-do was out of place. It was their seven year wedding anniversary, as well as the anniversary of Vegetasei and the destruction of the Tuffle Kingdom.

On this particular day, she always thought back to the time when she married King Vegeta. She remembered how miserable she had felt that day when she walked down the aisle to her King. She was mourning not only the loss of the Tuffle Kingdom, her people, her grandfather but her freedom as well. She had been holding all her bitter emotions inside as his royal minister crowned them King and Queen and then had the two of them seal it with a kiss. Even the small brush of his lips against hers made her tremble with unbidden desire, which had made her angrier at him for having such an effect on her sensibilities. After all, he was still the architect of the Tuffle Kingdom's demise.

Yet, seven years later…here she was primping in front of the mirror to make certain that she looked as beautiful as possible for the man she had once vowed to hate for the rest of her life. She smiled at her reflection as she mused about the difference in her feelings from seven years ago. She didn't know how it happened but time was certainly healer of many of her emotional scars. As well, that animal attraction that sizzled between them, when she had finally given into it, a genuine love and respect grew out of it. Surprisingly, she could honestly say that she was actually happy with her life and how it had turned out.

Finally satisfied with what she saw in the mirror, she made her way to the throne room. When she entered, she didn't the palace bustling with slaves with arrangements for the anniversary feast like she expected. Instead she saw King Vegeta lounging pensively in his throne as Brusselz spoke to him in hushed tones on a grave matter by the looks of it.

"Vegeta, where are the servants preparing for tonight's feast?" Courgette asked as she approached them. King Vegeta's gaze turned in her direction. At first his eyes lit up with pleasure but when he noticed that she was wearing one of her more regal gowns, realization set in their dark depths followed by remorse.

"Courgette, I regret to tell you that we won't be celebrating our anniversary this night," King Vegeta informed her with a small frown.

"What's wrong? Has something happened?" Courgette asked.

"Well, Freiza has sent word that he shall be sending out emissary this night to inspect the comings and goings of Vegetasei. Brusselz and I are determining what we need to show him," King Vegeta explained.

"No need to plan, I've already arrived." A dulcet voice said from the grand doors at the entrance. An elegant gentleman with pale blue skin, dark emerald hair tied in long braid and gold eyes advanced towards them. He was garbed in Tuffle battle armour and the Tuffle scouter, which indicated that he was one of Freiza's men. Courgette always felt a small sense of pride when she saw her people's armoury and technology in use by other cultures, it was as if the Tuffle legacy lived on in them. When King Vegeta had taken over her kingdom, the scouter and battle armour was the only Tuffle technology that he introduced to his saiyan military. When Vegetasei entered into a treaty with Freiza's Planet Trade Organization, Freiza had been so impressed with the armour and scouter that he set up a lab on their planet and implemented them into his own military as well.

However, Courgette noted that he appeared very different from the other henchman that she had seen in the past. He was much more handsome than the others and wore pearl drop diadem across his forehead which signified that he was royalty of some sort. The blue man with the green hair flicked his golden eyes over Courgette and provided her with a lascivious grin. "And I do sorely hope that you planned to have your delectable Queen show me around the planet."

"Greetings, Zarbon. I hope your journey here was not too long." King Vegeta answered rigidly, ignoring his comment altogether. "Frieza does Planet Vegetasei a great honour by sending his main General to visit our planet."

"The journey was not long at all. It was made much more enjoyable when I learned that I would be meeting your lovely mate. I've heard tales of your Queen's beauty and have looked forward to this encounter so very much. I was not joking when I stated earlier that I do hope that she will show me around." Zarbon replied with laughter. King Vegeta forced a smile and politely laughed along with him when Brusselz prompted him with an elbow to his side.

"Under usual circumstances, we would be happy to oblige you but she is feeling unwell and cannot accommodate your request. She is with child and needs to rest." King Vegeta retorted.

"A pity, well perhaps you would permit to explore the grounds on my own?" Zarbon replied.

"You have our permission," King Vegeta granted, anxious to be rid of him and relieved that he no longer had the responsibility to entertain Frieza's henchmen. With a mock bow, Zarbon turned away.

"Sire, was that wise to allow him to explore Vegetasei on his own?" Brusselz interposed when Zarbon had left the throne room.

"Brusselz, I wasn't thinking clearly. I just wanted him gone, but you are right of course. Follow him and report back to me later in the evening." King Vegeta commanded.

"Yes, sire!" Brusselz responded and promptly left.

"Vegeta, I had no idea that you would get so jealous that you would lie about a pregnancy!" Courgette giggled with a raised eyebrow. King Vegeta easily smiled at her, now that they were alone.

"I'm do not need to lie, you are pregnant my naughty Queen. When were you planning on telling me?" King Vegeta asked as he pulled her into his lap.

"I've never ever gotten the pleasure of telling you that I'm pregnant!" Courgette complained. "You found out that I was pregnant before I did again! I don't have the ability to sense ki like you saiyans do!"

"No matter, you are with my child once more. You and I shall have our own private celebration of this and our anniversary this eve in our rooms. We cannot let that exquisite dress go to waste." King Vegeta stated as he nuzzled her ear.

"That sounds even better than a grand feast that I thought we'd be throwing this night," Courgette accepted with contented sigh as she melted into his warm embrace.


"It worked like charm, Freiza. All I had to do is flirt shamelessly with his wife and the King practically pushed me out of the palace, without even providing me an escort!" Zarbon reported into his scouter.

"Excellent, a man of your ki level would certainly be noticed snooping about on a small planet of their size. Now, things can go according to our plans to wipe out their dirty monkey race," Freiza responded with self-satisfaction evident in his voice. "I shall allow the good doctor to speak to you now, so he can guide you to the correct water source."

"Dr. Raichi, I await your instructions." Zarbon replied.

"There is a well nearby a copse of red pines near the old Tuffle kingdom lands. This well is directly connected to a ground water source that is responsible for providing water for the entire planet. Let me know when you have found it," Dr. Raichi's stern voice directed over the scouter.

Zarbon looked to the ruined stonewalls that had once separated the Tuffles and Saiyans. It didn't take Zarbon very long to find the red pines that Dr. Raichi spoke of. The fallen pine needles crackled under his feet as he searched for the well. As he got deeper into the red pine woods, he finally came across the derelict well.

"Dr. Raichi, I believe I've found it," Zarbon informed.

"Wonderful! Remember that vial of blue liquid that gave you before you left for Vegetasei? Well, now I need you to spill its entire contents into the well." Dr. Raichi ordered.

"What? Is that all? We're just merely poisoning them?" Zarbon inquired with disdain. "I can't see how this will aid Freiza in world domination."

"We are doing more than poisoning them, we are killing the future of their entire race! The formula of that liquid has been designed to only attack the X chromosome, which will kill all the female saiyans over a period of time. Without the female saiyans to bear their dirty monkey children, their breed will cease to exist!" Dr. Raichi explained. "The beautiful thing about this whole plan, is that the saiyans cannot trace this back to Freiza and it will further extinguish the zeal for their 'secret' rebellion with the remaining males!" Dr. Raichi declared with a malicious laugh.

"Oh my, you have thought of it all!" Zarbon replied, joining in his laughter. "Perhaps Frieza will finally stop fretting about this legendary super saiyan myth once and for all!"

"Of course it is a myth! These Saiyans are not deserving of such great power without a great intellect to guide it, like Freiza and yourself," Dr. Raich agreed. "Return back to base when you have finished."

"Indeed." Zarbon said more to himself than to Dr. Raichi as he released the contents of the vial into the well. Zarbon wasn't sure but he thought he heard the familiar crackle of the pine needles. It was odd since Zarbon hadn't taken one step. Turning around he found that King Vegeta's General stood infront of him, anger etched onto his well-weathered features.

"So, this was the reason behind your impromptu visit this day," Brusselz stated.

"And what pray tell are you going to do about it?" Zarbon answered with a derisive grin.

"I'm going to inform the King at once! And I warn you, he is not merciful ruler." Brusselz retorted.

"What a pity you cannot go ahead with your proposition," Zarbon replied.

"And why the hell not?" Brusselz asked, incredulous.

"Since the dead do not speak," Zarbon said with mock sadness. "And I had truly wanted to spare you from seeing the beast but alas, spies like you do not deserve the beauty."

Without any notice, the elegant warrior's body expanded with more muscle, his pale skin rippled into a scaly texture and his face widened to expose the reptilian face hidden underneath. Brusselz scouter spiked as it read the unchartered ki level emanating from the reptile man before him.

"My King! Do not drink the water!" Brusselz yelled into his scouter before he met his fate. Before he knew it, he was face to face with the reptile creature, eye to eye with his smouldering golden gaze. Brusselz met his glare with his own that reflected his hatred and contempt, not allowing this peculiar-looking warrior to have any satisfaction of finding fear and regret in his eyes. He was born a saiyan warrior and now he would die a saiyan warrior.

Zarbon shoved his fist into Brusselz chest so hard that his hand puncture through the battle armour and his well-muscled flesh. Wiggling his fingers around the warm tissue he felt a distinct and quick beating radiating from his left. Clasping his fingers around the beating heart, Zarbon squeezed tightly until he saw the light fading from General's eyes. Brusselz died with spiteful laughter ringing in his ears.


King Vegeta's scouter lit up at his small table but he did not notice it as he was preoccupied with tearing off his Queen's exquisite gown, as he felt it deserved his entire attention.