The uneasy feeling Kale had been having didn't get any better when the pod landed. The minion waiting gave her directions, and mentioned the compound she'd be staying in.
"But what about the room number?"
"I'm not allowed over there so I wouldn't know. It's a high-clearance area."
Then...why am I being sent there? No update on the situation? No mention of orders?
She shook her head as she left the base. None of this made any sense...
It was a short walk away and when she finally found the place, she was certain there had to be some kind of a mistake. From the front, everything seemed to be made of white marble. Pillars, steps...
Don't go in.
But the minion guarding the door had already seen her, and after coming forward to check over her paperwork, let her head on in.
It was even more ostentatious inside than out. Everything that wasn't white marble was either rich purple or soothing blue-and the ceilings! They were insanely high, and she felt absolutely minuscule under them. When she'd passed the initial hallway, everything opened up, and she could see that the building was much larger than she thought. Was it a palace, she wondered? Archways on her left seemed to lead into a large courtyard, and on the other side of it there were more arches, and a second "hall." She glanced quietly through the arches on her right, and tensed when she heard giggling coming from the next room.
This isn't a base at all, this is more like a-No. No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
You knew better than to go in.
But she looked briefly into the next room and before she could say a word-the women inside saw her and came rushing forward, and she felt even smaller. The shortest of them still towered over her, and if she had to guess, was at least seven feet tall. All were wearing the kind of clothing she'd only ever heard described-it looked to be all of silk, and all of it seemed very carefully chosen to complement the womens' complexions and figures.
"Isn't she kind of short?" One of them asked.
"She's not one of Cold's, obviously. She's Frieza's."
"She's ADORABLE! Just look at how tiny she is!" a third said.
"Excuse me-excuse me-would someone mind telling me what this is about?!" Kale burst out.
"You mean no one's told you?" the second asked.
"You know Frieza, he likes to keep people guessing."
"Step back, everyone, step back, I'll do the explaining." Yet another woman came forward-this scarlet-skinned one was the tallest of the group, and was nearly twice Kale's height. "You really weren't given any details? I suppose that's to be expected. And look at you, he didn't even send you in anything decent..."
"I'm in the same uniform everyone else got," Kale replied.
"Oh, so you were a soldier, is that it?"
No. No, please tell me that-
"Were? I'm not still-?"
This isn't happening. I'm not really here. This cannot possibly be happening.
Did you really think he'd let his precious pet sit around where just anything or anyone could stumble along and take it away from him?
"Well, you are still technically a soldier, it's just..." she gestured awkwardly, as if she were weighing something, "...it's just that you're considered a bit too valuable to be with the rest of the rabble, as it were."
"I wouldn't call the Ginyu Force rabble."
"Oh, you've spent way too much time around them then. All that noise, all that drinking, it's just-ugh!"
"So tell me, what exactly am I here for?"
"Well, you're here because Lord Frieza wants you to be. Because you have two things that he wants. Your fighting ability, and...well..."
"I can already guess. Why keep me here? Why not let me stay on the station?"
"To be honest, and no offense to your heritage, the stations are all a monkey house of male hormones...unpleasant complications might have happened." the shortest one piped in. "And...he doesn't want that."
Okay, just stay calm. You can handle this.
"And, um...you ladies are...?"
"We're King Cold's, obviously."
"That explains why you're so damn tall. Should've known he'd keep a harem ready and waiting..."
Also explains why the ceiling is miles above your head.
"Harem is such an ugly word," the pale green one said, "We prefer to think of ourselves as a bunch of pretty soldiers that get a few extra benefits in exchange for a bit more work."
"Like being away from a bunch of drunk men?"
"Exactly! Exactly that. Not to mention Cold is such a dear."
"And there's none of that ridiculous backbiting between all of you?"
"Oh, good heavens no. That would just lead to a bunch of very unpleasant bloodstains everywhere...plus, Cold'd be unhappy about it. And we try to avoid that. Anyway! We have places to go, now you're here."
"Ah, places?" Kale asked.
"Of course!" the red one said, "You're the first to come here in, oh-I don't know how long! You're going to need a lot of new things, to be frank-if the budget we've gotten for your wardrobe is any indication."
"...wardrobe." It came out much more flat than she intended, but thankfully, none of the women took it badly.
"Oh, of course, you don't expect to wear that gaudy armor while you're HERE, do you? I mean, if we all get a planet to...take care of, then sure, but when we're off duty?"
"Can we just-can we just back up here? Could you all please introduce yourselves first?"
"Oh, we did kind of rush you, didn't we..." the red one said. "I'll start, so we can go by rank. My name is Gavi. I'm the one that's been here the longest, so I basically outrank everyone here."
"My name's Ansul," said the pale green one.
"Ilura here," said another-she was more of a pastel-yellow color.
"Ardae," piped in the sky blue one.
"Mila," said the grey-skinned one.
"And I," said the shortest one-she had skin like Kale's, "I am Julis."
"Now that you know us all, we need to get going," Gavi said, "Come on."
"I still can't believe this was all really necessary." Kale said, looking over the closet they'd put all the new clothes in.
"It's just one of the ways he expects you to return the favor of being here, as it were," Mila said, "And judging by all the choices he made for you, I'd say he's a big fan of legs."
"You're not kidding," Gavi added, "There's MAYBE a few things here that don't show them off. But those are just what he expects you pick from to wear when HE comes to this planet for a visit. You've got plenty of things here for when he's not, although if he's anything like his father, he'll be here pretty frequently."
"You...you really don't need to go into details."
You already know his appetite well enough, don't you?
"Well! I'd say it's time to eat. What do the rest of you think?"
There was a general chorus of agreement, and despite herself, Kale followed them down the hall and into the dining area.
Things...things could be a lot worse. This place...they're nice enough. I can handle this. He won't be around often.
Do you honestly believe that?
Stop it. Just stop it. I've survived him so far, this is nothing.
You should be DEAD right now, you should have chosen to stand and die. But did you? Did you? No. You chose to live-and not even on your knees! On your back.
Dying would be easy. Living is hard.