Chapter 5
The first thing Videl felt when she woke up was the chill in the air. As she shivered, she became aware of the rope's biting keeping her hands tied in her back. Her hazy mind reminded her that she had been sedated. The last thing she remembered was Gohan pressing forcefully a rag on her nose and a strong alcoholic smell before she passed out.
She was now lying on her back with her head still spinning. Underneath her body was a mattress and above her, a grimy ceiling with nothing in common with the spotless cell where Bulma Briefs had questioned her a few hours earlier.
When her senses were back, she sat up with a wince of pain. The morning light was flooding the room and she deemed that the sun was probably just up.
The place where she was looked like a dusty wooden shed, very different from the modern Palace of Saiyajinn City. They had moved her out of the town and she considered it as good news. Running away would be easier.
The hut was hardly furnished. A one-person bed, a table, two chairs on one end and at the other end, a kitchen cabinet and a stove.
In the corner, a few steps from her, Gohan was sleeping in a massive, worn-out armchair with his head resting on his fist. It seemed to be just the two of them and an alarm instantly rang in Videl's head. Something was amiss. Why did he take her away from the City? Why hadn't she been honored with a face-to-face with Vegeta yet? Why was she still alive?
Did that mean that they had caught Goten and the baby?
She had a more urgent matter to deal with though and she brushed her questions aside. She had to escape.
She stood up as silently as possible. Her hands tied behind her back made things complicated as she was on the verge of losing her balance with every move. She was also still dizzy from the drug and she had to pause to leave time for her brain to get used to the upright position.
She took a cautious step, eyes glued to her guardian. In that utmost ill-timed moment, her bladder reminding her of how neglected it had been so far. She bit her lips and squirmed while mentally trying to silence that concern.
Then, she resumed her careful tiptoeing. The floor creaked under her feet and she froze to check on Gohan. He was still peacefully asleep though. His usually stern features were incredibly soft and placid.
She walked around the chair and made her way over to the door. She had to whirl around and wriggle to operate blindly the door handle with her hands tied behind her back. However, after several failed attempts, she grew upset and restless.
"It's locked," a hoarse voice growled.
She was startled but she quickly regained her composure. "I need to pee," she hissed as if she were innocent of any twisted thoughts.
"Is that so?" Gohan asked, leaning over to see her. He was back to his hard, annoyed face.
Voicing her need had dragged her mind back to the problem and Videl's bladder tightened. She couldn't help but hop desperately. "Yeah and I guess there is no restroom in there."
"You're so smart, Videl Satan," Gohan sighed while turning away from her and sinking back into his chair.
She understood that he had no intention whatsoever to take care of her concern. She stepped angrily back to him. "You're not seriously planning to leave me like this, are you? Open that damn door," she hissed, exasperated to have to ask him something.
"Are you going to talk?" he replied calmly.
She frowned and huffed. "Okay, if you wanna play it like this, then, I suppose I just have to wet my pants. You Saiyans are so classy."
Before she knew it, he abruptly caught her collar and yanked her forwards. The move threw her off balance as her arms were still imprisoned behind her back and she collapsed on the armrest of the chair with a yelp. "Don't you dare talk about the Saiyan class. I remind you that you abducted a baby last night," he spat.
She defiantly locked eyes with him. Was he waiting for her to retort and start speaking without noticing it? The maneuver was grossly obvious.
He sighed again - this time in annoyance - and pushed her back to her feet without letting go of her. Then, he stood up and dragged her to the door. He unlocked it with a key strapped to his belt.
The damp freshness of the morning overwhelmed her as soon as she stepped outside. The cold instantly made her need for isolation even more pressing. Yet, he kept holding her, drawing her forcefully with no regard for her balance while she was stumbling at every step.
They found themselves in the middle of a grassy clearing surrounded by a thick forest. He eventually paused and whirled her around to untie her hands.
She turned back to him by rubbing her grazed wrists and gave him a deadly glare.
He ignored her though. "I'm waiting there. Do whatever you have to do but keep in mind that no matter what you try, I'll find you."
Videl gritted her teeth wordlessly. Nature urged her to put an end to any discussion.
She walked away as far as she could without raising her guard's suspicion. Her first intention, for now, was to get an idea of the layout of the place. The forest seemed rather big and she couldn't pinpoint her geographical location either.
As she was putting her pants back on, she figured that she had a ki-jammer bracelet on her wrist. She frowned at the strange sight. What the hell did the Saiyans have in mind? If anything, this bracelet was an unexpected bonus to help her escape, since Gohan couldn't spot her easily once out of sight.
Yet, focusing on him, she found out that he might wear a ki-jammer too as she couldn't sense him. Realization hit her. Gohan was hiding her.
"I'm coming, now!" Gohan's voice echoed.
Videl hesitated. She had two options. She could either try to run away right now with a reduced chance of success considering the little lead she had. Or, she could nicely go back to him, meekly play her prisoner's role to gain some trust from her guard, and thus hope for a better opportunity to escape.
He didn't seem willing to hurt her for the moment anyway, and she was even pretty confident that she could learn some interesting things by chatting with him face to face.
She came back just as he was on the verge of entering the wood. "No stress. Here I am," she claimed innocently.
He glared at her and swiftly grabbed her arm.
"Why did we leave Saïyajinn City?" she asked as he escorted her back inside the hut.
"Why did you take the baby away?" he replied angrily.
Videl didn't answer. She just sat back on the bed with her back pressed against the wall and her knees tucked into her chest. Staring at him silently, she became aware that he was about her age. Did he go to Saiyajinn High School? Surely. Videl hadn't stepped into a classroom for more than six years and she was tediously studying with a tutor her father had insisted to hire for her. She didn't have time anyway.
"Do you know Goten well?" Gohan asked, interrupting her train of thought.
She jumped at the mention of Goten and her reaction didn't go unnoticed by him. "The security system provided us videos of your little trip through the palace," he clarified.
Videl bit her lip. No one was supposed to know about Goten. Eighteen and her father would be mad to hear she had uncovered their secret. She brought her forearms on top of her knees and buried her face into them to hide her confusion. Gohan could only see her wary eyes gazing at him.
"So? Do you know him well?" Gohan repeated.
"I don't know who you're talking about," she grumbled grumpily.
"He's my little brother, you know. At some point, we all thought he was dead."
"I don't know your little brother. Don't get ideas," she said. She carefully watched his reaction but he didn't move. He had taken his place back in the armchair in front of her. She glimpsed a hint of sadness in his eyes. Faking. Faking. She looked away to stop facing his sorry face.
"Just know that if you ever feel like talking to me about him, every word you say will stay between us," he eventually concluded. "Are you hungry?"
She didn't answer but the glow flaring in her eyes spoke for her. Gohan's exhaustion had helped his anger against her fade away. She was stubborn but ultimately predictable. He found her even a bit dense in her way of thinking and he had concluded that she was certainly unaware of many things, things that might have led her down a quite different path if she had bothered questioning herself. He was impressed by her nerves though.
She ate the food he placed in front of her, without a thank you. She was still on her guard and he gave up to any semblance of a conversation with her. He pulled out his schoolbooks from his bag instead. He had taken them in anticipation of long and boring days guarding her.
She silently observed him as he started working on the table. After a long while, his loss of interest in her became obvious.
"Can you at least give me a book or do you plan to have me die out of boredom?" she eventually sighed.
"Do you want one in Saiyajinn?" he asked smugly with a smirk.
"Why not?" she huffed proudly with a shrug.
He arched an eyebrow. "Oh. So, you do read Saïyajinn?"
"Of course, it's very useful to know the language of your enemy. Never thought about that?" she retorted mockingly.
His smile widened as he handed her one of the books and the moment she took it, she realized that she giving herself away a bit too much. She scowled at the thought. Gohan was way too kind to her. He hadn't insulted her once, he hadn't given her a single blow and he had preferred to sedate her to take her away from Saiyanjinn City. He had also fed her properly.
These were not Saiyan methods.
He was trying to dull her suspicion.