Author's Notes:

More mention of rape in this chapter. Nothing graphic.

Chapter Seven:

Vegeta was certain Kakarrot had not been well fed at the inn. Back in the shower, he could have counted the boy's vertebra from ten feet away. He was strong, very strong. He looked even more impressive from the lack of any fat coating his muscles, but that didn't matter to the prince. He wanted Kakarrot fed. As if it was not enough that the boy had been verbally and physically abused, he was also malnourished. And the mounting toll of all three had somehow produced this... Entertaining young man.

He wasn't bitter. He didn't have an explosive temper, or an introverted personality. In fact, he was very playful, and often tested his boundaries. It was like Vegeta had given him permission to be a boy, instead of a slave. Something so basic as that never failed to make him smile. Kakarrot wasn't completely submissive, either, when you looked closely. It was more that he sought approval before doing things. That was a good attitude for a servant... But... Vegeta didn't really want the boy as a servant. He had really taken him so he would no longer be in that horrible situation. That wasn't to say Vegeta didn't like the boy- he did. Kakarrot had a way of smiling, wagging his tail, and completely disarming his counterpart. How anyone could have purposefully hurt a person like that...

It was the collar. The collar sent that message of worthlessness. It made people think the boy was not worth their time, just as Kakarrot's old master had said. Vegeta hated that collar. Hated it with a vengeance, almost as strongly as he hated the people who had hurt the boy. It was partially the collar's fault.

He mentally sighed, taking another bite of the dessert on his fork. The boy was rapidly outpacing him in food consumption. Once the prince had given him the okay, the boy had pounced, eating everything he could lay his fingers on. Vegeta grinned, watching the plates quickly empty before him. The smile gave way to a chuckle as he finally pushed his plates away, scraping his chair across the floor, continuing to watch the furry, brown tail swing lazily as the boy ate.

"You're finished, Master?" Kakarrot asked after a large gulp of water.

"Stuffed." He smirked, crossing his legs comfortably.

Realizing that the entire table was now only filled with empty dishes, the boy giggled. "I think I am too."

Kakarrot stood, scooping up the plates to stack them neatly in the center. The seemingly endless trays were now picked clean, only the barest crusts and bones remaining from the dinner. He refilled both his and Vegeta's glasses with water before turning back to his Master.

Vegeta was watching him. It was obvious the boy had done it many times before. Not unexpected, being as he worked in an inn. But something just didn't fit.

"Is that what you used to do at the inn, Kakarrot?" He asked.

The boy strode over to him, deciding to sit on the floor next to his chair. His brown tail curled lazily around the prince's leg as he considered the answer. "Well, yes, somewhat."

"Then..." Vegeta began, looking the boy up and down with confusion. "How did you manage to get so... Strong? I don't expect you would build much muscle from clearing tables."

The boy smiled, clasping his hands in his lap while looking up at Vegeta through the tufts of wild, black hair. "Well, I also chopped firewood. I would preform many different menial, manual tasks."

"I doubt you could even get so strong from chopping firewood, Kakarrot..."

He sighed. "Well, in between tasks, while master Cchini wasn't needing me, I would train." He let his eyes wander over the prince's handsome, stoic features, before returning them to his stare. "I would work out while I had the time. I knew I couldn't do anything about my ki-" He dropped his gaze. "So I used it as something to keep myself... Sane."

Vegeta jerked a little in surprise, eyebrows knitting together beneath his dark brown widow's peak.

"It was the one thing I could control, you know? I guess I worked so hard to become physically powerful to make up for the fact that I couldn't defend myself with such low power. I always kept it a secret, though. I don't think my master would have stopped me if he had found out. I suspect he knew, like you said, I wouldn't get that strong from clearing tables." He let his head drop. "But it didn't do me any good in the long run."

"Don't say that." The prince ordered, placing a hand on the boy's tousled spikes. He ran his fingers delicately through them, gently grooming them into yet more disarray. He continued, trying to take some of the sting off the harsh command. "It may not have helped you overthrow your captors, but it kept you sane. Your mind is whole because you were intelligent enough to find an escape, even if it was a temporary one." Vegeta spoke gently, running his nails through Kakarrot's scalp.

The boy leaned back against his leg, purring gently at his Master's soothing touch. He seemed to be considering something. The boy took a deep breath and began.

"There's something I didn't tell you at the medical wing." He whispered, head resting on Vegeta's knee.

"Is it something you wish me to know?" The prince asked, not ceasing his calming strokes.

"Not at first..." Kakarrot said, barely audible. "But now I do... And I want to apologize."

Vegeta looked down at him, but the boy refused to meet his gaze. "For what?"

"For thinking so badly of you." He said in a pained whisper, twisting the hem of his shirt in his fingers. "I-I was afraid you would be just like," He swallowed hard. "the others."

Vegeta remained silent, watching the boy twist his shirt into knots before smoothing them again.

"It was unfair of me to judge you upon your station. You didn't judge me because of my collar." He took a deep, drawing breath. It seemed he felt better to have said something.

"I know my reputation proceeds me, Kakarrot. I don't think any less of you for it." Vegeta smiled, patting the top of the boy's shaggy head.

"Th-there's more." He said softly, pulling his knees up to his chest and placing his chin on them, now fiddling the cuff of his pants instead of his shirt. "I didn't only work manual labor at The Carved Crown." He said, finally looking up into the prince's unflinching, dark eyes. "I... I think you know that."

Vegeta nodded. "I suspect so, from what you said earlier, but I still don't know to what extent."

Kakarrot nodded back, finally stopping the unrelenting twisting of his right pant cuff. "The first year I had worked for master Cchini," He breathed. "I was twelve years old. He had bought me from the farm I had worked at before. I was excited, an inn- a nice inn, would be far better than a farm." Kakarrot seemed to be fighting back tears. "It happened in the first month. Master Cchini was holding a stack of silver... He ordered me to go to room thirty-three." A tear fell. "I asked why and he backhanded me. I got up, and ran to the room... There... There were two men inside." More tears fell. The boy's throat stopped him from speaking any more, too constricted by emotion. "I-"

"Hush, Kakarrot," Vegeta cut in, gently cupping the boy's sharp chin. He wiped a tear away from his face as others plummeted to join it. It was all Vegeta could do to keep himself from crying with him. "You have said enough. I'm sorry..." He whispered. "So sorry, that you had to go through that for four long years."

Kakarrot rose to his knees, turning to face his prince. He laid a hand gently over the one cupping his chin. "It wasn't your fault, Master."

Vegeta smiled sadly. "Neither was it yours." He brushed a tear from the side of that honey-tanned face, watching it melt into he weave of his glove. "You are so strong. You've been through so much." He sighed, cautiously pulling his hand away. "Never blame yourself for what others have done to you."

~•~ POV Change ~•~

What had he done right? Why, after all life had dealt him, was he now saved? Why now? Why at all? This man, this glorious, handsome, royal, man had saved him from the worst cruelty he had ever faced. He had sat there, petting him, listening to him tell his short tale- and then stopped him from voicing what was too painful to be said aloud. It didn't matter, he understood. These were not just tears of sadness drying on his young, tanned face. They were hope, understanding, and joy. He had been with this man- his Master, for a few short hours, but he felt more connected to him than anyone else he had ever met.

He felt the capital letter in Master every time he spoke it. With Cchini, it was a term of enslavement. With Vegeta, it was a term of reverence. It was like saying savior, protector, ally, friend, Master. Kakarrot couldn't help but smile at him. Vegeta was what he had always wished for, but thought he could never have. The prince was a rare person, the kind you did not find often. He put on this stern facade to protect himself and his image... But he seemed to just let it drop when he and Kakarrot spoke. It made him feel special to know that he was permitted to see something so personal of his prince.

The boy smiled again, lapsing back into a purr as he sat back on his heels and turned to press his back against Vegeta's chair leg. He returned to his previous, more comfortable position, pressing the side of his face to his Master's knee. Vegeta resumed the gentle stroking of his scalp, running his fingers through his black tufts.

He felt himself slipping, lapsing into sleep, pulled down by the deep rumbling purr now radiating from Vegeta. His tail, still in place around the prince's leg, tightened slightly, and then relaxed as the boy drifted into a sound, warm, nap. He was more at peace than he could ever remember being in his life.