Enye paced by the window of the small home she shared with her mate and the two Saiyans who had escaped from the last battle. She paused and peeked through the curtains once again at the dark sky, then drew them tightly closed once more. She ignored the frustrated sigh she heard from Fasha and began to pace again. She'd felt the presence of a goddess appear on the earth and it worried her greatly. It had been centuries since one of the gods had walked among them in seemingly-human form. She didn't know which goddess it was or even which pantheon the goddess belonged to. But the presence was unmistakable.
She couldn't sense energies the way the Z-Fighters did. But the gods exuded such a powerful aura that a person would have to be blind to not notice it. Which, sadly, most humans were when it came to such things. Although the goddess had appeared somewhere on the other side of the world, Enye could still feel her. It nearly made her go weak in the knees to think that somewhere, someone had summoned one of the gods to this plane of existence. And if that was possible, then there was still hope of releasing Apollymi from her prison.
Yet that hope did little to relieve her anxiety this night. She doubted that this particular goddess was on their side. Her long, pointed ear gave a twitch as she listened to the sound of wings overhead. There was an unusually large number of birds in the sky, especially for this time of night. There were many goddesses associated with birds: Freya, Isis, Rhiannon, and Athena among them. The last one caused Enye to shudder. To say that Athena was not fond of the Atlanteans was an understatement. It was her city they attacked on that fateful day that the Greek gods sank Atlantis into the sea and imprisoned Apollymi.
Enye shook her head. It couldn't be. Still, the sound of those birds flying over their home made her nervous.
Fasha snorted at the other woman's nervous attitude. It showed weakness. She didn't like any show of weakness. "You worry over nothing. Sit and eat your dinner, before they do. Heh, or I do. I am eating for two now," she said gleefully. "So wonderful your plan was, but if you have so much power, why did you not imprison one of the stronger ones? His son perhaps? We could have just kill that miserable little wretch of a human he calls a mate."
Enye turned from the window and moved to sit at the small kitchen table. "Because if we murdered her in cold blood, it would be too obvious," she answered. "Vegeta has no way of knowing where she is or what has happened to her. For all he knows, she left him. Once she turns into a shadow, his mark will turn so miserably cold, he'll believe she DID leave him. It'll break him in a way that will leave his mind and heart wide open for you to do as you see fit."
The pregnant Saiyan snorted and tore into her leg of meat with gusto and ripped a large hunk off in one bite. She spoke with her mouth full, "I just don't understand you. You with all your power, couldn't even get the mighty prince to bow his knee to me, make him think that this child I carry is his. We would be unstoppable."
"We WILL be unstoppable," Enye insisted, "But there are things even beyond my control, I told you that. His bond to his mate was too strong to be manipulated."
Durian rolled his eyes as he devoured the food before him. "See? This is why I never took a mate. You women are nothing but trouble," he growled before he sat back and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Ah, well. I hope your little plan works. Let Vegeta raise the kid. I'd rather be out wreaking havoc than sitting around here playing house." Despite the fact that it was his child Fasha carried, he felt nothing for her or their unborn son. The relationship between them had been physical, nothing more.
Fasha snorted and spat in his direction, "Disgusting pig. You were just lucky I could distract that prince with my ruse for so long." She glared over at Enye, "When he comes crawling to us after his mate has died, let me have access to him first. He still carries royal seed within him and I wish to utilize it to its full extent."
Durian flashed Fasha a big grin with pieces of meat still stuck in his teeth. "Whatever, bitch. I didn't hear you complaining before." Her insults didn't phase him. After so many years on that planet with her, he was used to it.
Enye cocked an eyebrow at Fasha. "Oh? And just what exactly do you have in mind?" she asked, her curiosity getting the best of her. She wrinkled her nose as Durian continued to gorge himself on his meal. She frowned at her mate as he sat beside her, his eyes blank and glazed as he stared at the plate before him, his food untouched. It broke her heart to keep him in such a state. "Since you're still pregnant, I don't see how he would be of much use in that department unless you're planning on having a child with him as soon as this one is born."
Fasha grinned wickedly, "I've seen your preservation spells. I do indeed plan on having a child with him once this one is born. If I have to abort it, so be it, but I want the royal DNA within me. It will be the strongest child ever born in this world. If I have to milk the prince and preserve him, then I will. I figured the formal act would be more gratifying for him." She smiled, imagining Vegeta arching up into her touch against his will. The thought sent a thrill down her spine as she imagined it, her prince. Unable to deny his body's wish for pleasure at her hand. She would bind him with magick and energy bonds and watch him come beneath her hands. She would love every minute of it.
Enye narrowed her eyes. "You'll do no such thing," she said coolly. "Not on my watch. I cast that fertility spell for you, you'll not waste it by killing that child. It wasn't my fault you got pregnant by Durian instead of Vegeta. You are still quite young as far as Saiyans go and Vegeta is even younger than you. There is plenty of time for you to have as many children by him as you wish. Besides, wouldn't aborting this baby be rather counterproductive to your ambition of reestablishing the Saiyan race?"
In truth, it was more than just the waste of a spell that drove Enye's words. Although Fasha might have been brilliant when it came to the tactics of war and revenge, in most other matters she was stupid. Perhaps Saiyan mothers were not as emotionally attached to their children, but Enye couldn't fathom them feeling NOTHING for their offspring. For Fasha to so flippantly mention aborting the child told Enye that she hadn't given the idea serious consideration.
Enye knew the pain of losing a child all too well. It was a memory she hadn't thought about in a very long time, having locked it away centuries ago. It was so painful, her heart felt like it was being torn in half every time she thought of it.
She and Hashem had been newly mated when Kamahina had found the Seal of Apollymi and called the Atlanteans together with the hopes of releasing their goddess upon the earth. While most of the Atlanteans agreed with Kamahina's plan, there were a few who were not so keen on the idea, herself and her mate included. At the time, Enye quite liked the world they lived in and did not want to see the wrath the dark goddess would unleash upon the planet. So they went into hiding to avoid becoming part of the young queen's plans.
It broke Enye's heart to be separated from her people. Even her own brother had willingly gone to the castle in the hopes of restoring the earth to the way it once was when Atlantis had been the greatest empire the world had ever known. But Hashem kept reminding her that Apollymi would only bring about war and chaos if she was released from her prison now. After so many centuries of imprisonment, the goddess would no longer want to rule the world. She would destroy it.
Enye had to look away from her mate now as she remembered the day she told him they were going to have a child. She could still vividly see the way his eyes had lit up, the huge smile that split his face as he cried for joy. But what was supposed to be a happy time in their lives ultimately brought about the end of their freedom. Enye's pregnancy was hard and life on the run proved to be increasingly more difficult as time wore on. In the end, she and Hashem willingly went to the castle, seeking help and proclaiming their allegiance to Kamahina, with secret plans to escape as soon as Enye and the baby were strong enough to travel.
They were welcomed with open arms and Enye was given a small, but comfortable bedchamber to birth their child. After nineteen long, grueling hours of hard labor attended by Branwen, she gave birth to a tiny baby girl. Exhausted and aching, Enye still couldn't stop the smile that split her face as the old nurse rubbed at the infant, attempting to draw the first cry from the child's lungs.
She could still feel the fear that gripped her heart as Branwen got increasingly aggressive in her attempts to rouse the child. Rubbing the baby's back, flicking the bottoms of her feet, sharp taps between her shoulderblades, but nothing worked. Looking horrified, Branwen had left the room with the babe in her arms as Enye prayed to the gods for the life of her child. No, she had done more than pray. She begged. Pleaded. Negotiated. Cursed. And begged some more. But her words fell on deaf ears.
It was said that such an anguished scream had never been heard before the moment Enye was told that her child was stillborn. She was inconsolable for weeks, doing nothing but screaming and crying, cursing the gods, begging for them to take her life if only they would give her child back. Some within the castle tried to comfort her by offering her words of wisdom or telling her that it was simply meant to be this way, but none of it did anything to ease the shattered pieces of her heart. Even Hashem could not soothe her pain and she lashed out at him, banishing him from their chamber.
But the worst part was never even getting to hold her child. She was told later that Kamahina herself decided that Enye was too fragile to see the infant and ordered the child to be buried quietly outside the castle. Neither Hashem nor Enye ever had the chance to lay eyes upon their baby, the little angel they both loved so dear.
Enye had hoped that with time, the pain would ease. That somehow the hole in her heart would heal, but instead the only relief to be found was an aching numbness that seemed to consume her whole being. There was a rift between her and her mate that neither of them knew how to acknowledge. When she finally did speak to Hashem again, he tried to discuss his plans for their escape from the castle and his ideas about how to stop their fellow Atlanteans from releasing Apollymi. Enye took it as a personal affront, as if his only thoughts were of saving the rest of the world when they couldn't even save the life of their child.
Whispers spread through the castle that Hashem intended to leave, that he didn't agree with the plans laid out by their queen. Seeking to stop a rebellion among her people, Kamahina went to Enye herself. She convinced Enye to join her, that by immersing herself in work that she could ignore the overwhelming grief in her heart and soothe the numbness. What did she owe this world anyway? They turned their backs on the Atlanteans, ignored the gifts given to them by the earth. The Fates were cruel for allowing her to carry her child for so many months, only to have her daughter ripped away from her before even giving the child a real chance at life. With little thought of anything but escaping her living nightmare, Enye agreed and threw herself into the pursuit of the Elemental Powers and trained herself in combat and the use of magick as a weapon.
Overwhelmed with grief of the loss of his child and disappointed in Enye's decision to join Kamahina, Hashem fled the castle to search for others who had refused to obey the orders to rejoin the Atlanteans. It proved to be a miserable existence without his mate by his side. So, just as Enye had done, he lost himself in his endeavors to prevent the unleashing of Apollymi.
Nearly three centuries past before Enye and Hashem were reunited. After seeing the anguish she and her fellow Atlanteans caused to the Z-Fighters, she couldn't stomach the cruelty she had become a part of and had used her powers to fake her death and escape from the castle. She couldn't stand what they had done to Gohan in those dungeons and she thought that the look in Goku's eyes when he saw his son would haunt her until the end of her days. She managed to find Hashem and begged his forgiveness, which he eagerly gave, happy that she was safe and in his arms once again.
But all of that had changed now. Her daughter was dead. Her brother was killed by the very people she'd tried to help. The world continued to be unforgiving, its people self-absorbed and mindless. The whole damn planet needed a reset button as far as she was concerned now, but with so few of their people left, there was little hope for that. So until such time that she could come up with a better plan, she decided to assist Fasha with her plans for repopulating the Saiyan race.
She shook her head. She didn't know why Fasha's simple comment had brought up so many memories. She frowned at her food and pushed her plate away, her appetite gone.
"You're not going to eat that?" Durian asked. No sooner than she shook her head, he grabbed it up and added it to his own plate. His dark eyes locked onto Hashem's glassy, nearly-white eyes that stared right back but didn't seem to see him. Gods, that was unnerving. "Make him eat. He's losing weight and looks like shit."
Enye laid her hand on Hashem's forearm. "Eat," she commanded softly and he mechanically began to eat the food before him, just as he always did. Her eyes fell on Fasha's slightly rounded belly and she found that there was no jealousy or bitterness in her heart. Perhaps it was better that her daughter was dead and wasn't there to see what her parents had become.
She looked up at Fasha's eyes, pushing away thoughts of her own child. "Besides, if you truly wish to expand your race, wouldn't it be better to have a more diverse gene pool? There are still four living pure-blooded Saiyan males here on earth. And you have several years of childbearing left in you, if that is what you wish. To be blunt, you could be far more ambitious about this whole matter."
Fasha tilted her head, a sick grin on her face, "You are saying I should take Kakarot's seed as well?" She smirked, "The idea has merit. Let's get the dear prince first, then we will see about the rabble."
"I'm saying it's an option, but of course, first things first," she agreed. "We will deal with Vegeta before we consider your next move." She paused and watched as the tiny, pale little girl wandered through the kitchen, paying no mind to any of them, humming an eerie little tune as she grabbed a drink from the refrigerator and wandered back to the living room. It felt so strange to be in a house with modern conveniences like this and it made Enye shiver. She shook her head and looked at Fasha again, "Anyway… I think we should stay hidden until the spell is complete. No more of you two Saiyans out running around and tearing up things," she said, wagging a finger at them.
She snorted and ate another hunk of meat, "You're no fun at all." Fasha rubbed at her belly. "I just wish this thing would hurry up and pop out already." She glared over at Durian, "I have far better seed to be carrying than your vile offspring. Gods, I can barely stomach the sight of you after so many years. My only thought to have the prince's child within me keeps me going."
Durian sat back, still chewing, as he fixed her with a hard stare. He finally swallowed the last of his food before he spoke. "That's funny. You knew the risk when you offered yourself to me and the rest of our crew. All because you didn't want us 'mixing with the locals' or whatever other excuse you used," he spat at her. "I was the only one stupid enough to take you up on it."
Fasha snorted, "I knew the risks. When I thought that we were the only Saiyans around, it seemed like a good deal at the time. I like to think of it as an all you can eat buffet. I was content with the dried out roast beef, but now I've seen the juicy prime rib and I want nothing more." She licked her lips at her own descriptive words and resumed eating with earnest.
"You're fucking weird, Fasha," Durian grumbled and got to his feet. "Whatever. I'm gonna go stare at that box in the living room with the creepy kid that refuses to talk." And with that he left the room.
Enye shook her head as she watched him go. "Don't go pissing him off," she warned. "If he leaves the house, I'm afraid he will give us away. I know I felt the presence of a goddess here on earth and if she is helping Vegeta, we're all in a lot of trouble. It's best if we can lay low until the spell is complete."
She laughed, "A Saiyan asking for help? As if. The prince would not sully himself. He is going to continue to be stubborn and wither away as his mate becomes trapped in that world. We should have just trapped him in there. He would succum to the cold faster than she would. He would be begging us by now to get out."
Enye clenched her jaw in frustration. "I know what I felt," she answered forcefully. "And cold or not, he would not betray his mate while she still lived. We found that out firsthand when the spell I cast on him that night did not work. We did this the right way, trust me. You just have to have a little patience. Now listen to me, don't go out causing chaos until after the new moon, or you risk all our lives. Vegeta may be too proud to ask the gods for help, but his friends are not."