Chapter 9 - Lost & Found
Early autumn blossoms sent a pungently sweet scent through marble halls. Silently sitting, an enormous warrior stared solemnly at a small white breastplate; thumb gently circling the red crest. The only motion from the great King was the faltered rise and fall of a heavy chest. An eternity of misfortune rounded once proudly squared shoulder as his thoughts returned to the child so painfully absent.
Howling could be hear through the corridors of the palace as King Vegeta made his way to the royal family's private chambers. With each step the horrific complaint grew loader. He knew the source and changed his course to try and ease the overwhelmingly painful assault his home was under.
Large wooden doors flew open with ease and the chestnut haired ruler had to suppress his laughter at the sight that greeted him. Bolts of annoyingly bright fabric wafted through the air and bustling tailors and seamstresses bustled frantically. In the mist of the whirl wind of cloth stood the two and half year old prince, perfectly still while pins where wielded like battle weapons through the cloth draping his small form. Still, except of course for the bobbing head and horrendous yowling piercing anything with ears. That alone was enough to cut through any humor the scene held.
"Shut your mouth! Sayian warriors do not cry!" The room's occupants spun to see their King seething at the figure in the center of the commotion. The young prince inhaled sharply and bit his lower lip, head still bobbing. "Better, now it cannot be that bad; try and carry yourself with the proper decorum."
The small child continued to stay perfectly still, head bobbing. Watching his son it became clear that the toddler had taken as much as he could bare and had no doubt been suffering as a pin cushion for some time. Leaning down he turned his head to the seamstress desperately trying to hem the royal child's pants. "How long have you been fitting my son?"
"I'm not sure. We've been here since 11 or so in the morning." The woman said confused.
The King bolted upright. "Eleven, it's almost six. You've been sticking my child like that for close to seven hours. Are you all insane? Out! Now!"
The tailors scurried from the room as the small royal slid off the stool. The King looked down and the still quivering babe, and made a stern inquiry. "Where is your Sha Shara?"
"She. she had. had to go. go to. a meeting..for. for the museum. and she. she told.. told Nappa. Nappa to watch me. but he... he got called. called away. he... he thought. that Sirana. Sirana and Tansa. were coming.but... but they never came." The tiny boy sniffled out to his father. He remembered his mate asking him to remind her to tell Sirana and Tansa to come to the prince's room in the afternoon. He had, but then there were the senators, and the advisors, and the councilors, and she had said something about the girls. She had said to send word for them to meet her. "Shit" he thought as he looked at his son shuffling painfully in his pinned garments. The little one hadn't even gotten his midday meal.
He sighed and moved to the chest by his son's bed. The boy followed and he stroked the childs hair soothing him. "It's over now. I will help you get ready for dinner."
The boy started trying to remove the coverings from him and hissed as the pins dug into him. Valgard Vegeta shook his head and began helping his son. Soon the shirt was gone and the king could see tiny marks where the seam of his new clothes would be. Soon the boy wore only a pair of boxes with tiny royal crests patterns and was carried to a large bathing chamber.
Servants filled the large tub adding salts and oils, and laid out towels and sponges as the King pulled healing salves for a cabinet and moved to the counter. He stroked the prince's hair and set him beside the tub. The boy quickly threw his only garment away and sloshed into the tub giggling at the splashing water. Soon the boy was clean and scampered into his sleeping chamber where his father was waiting with jar and some loose fitting clothes. Once the child's prickled skin was tended and he was dressed the ruler gathered him to his lap. The tiny boy's mouth yawned wide. "It was a long day for you, and you did well, all things considered." He smiled approvingly at his son and pulled him up affectionately.
"My king! My King!" The rulers head snapped at the intrusion into the lost prince's quarters. Security Minister Turka shuffled distractedly toward his sovereign. Noting the obvious agitation of the minister the king bit down on his anger over the intrusion. Stumbling onward Turka stammered quickly. "We have had the most unprecedented news. Great Karatara be praised, the most wondrous of occurrences my liege. A miracle, a miracle! We've found him! We've found him!"
"Found who!?" The royal demanded; all measure of patience fading with the other man's uninformative chattering.
The king's advisor stopped dead at the load voice. Realizing he had not said much of anything he gathered himself. "The prince, my king; we've found him. He lives!"
Turka watched as the king shot up at his declaration, and then a very quizzical look passed over the monarch's visage as he concluded. It took the advisor a moment before he realized why. "Well I suppose alive might not be the best choice of words considering where we are, but he seems well and heading for here from what we've gathered."
The shock slowly faded and the king's legs began to give way under the news. He slumped down, sitting on the chest at the foot of the prince's bed. His heart wrenched as a wave of emotions flooded over him. Despair, fear, and hope mixed together. "Styrkar" he though silently finding a lightness within himself he rose and straightened himself, and began moving to the door. "What basis do you have for this? Where did this information come from?"
"One of the guards patrolling the outer sector came across some beings on a planet near the edge of our area. He wound up getting injured, but manage to make a scan of the pair before the departed the planet. The audio and damaged video from his scouter were inconclusive, but the scan leaves no doubt on the matter." The advisor spoke as they turned down the hall.
"I want all the details gathered and brought to my office at once." Turka bowed and went to get the information for his ruler as the great Sayian made his way toward his office. King Vegeta's and mind combated each other. His heart was full of longing for the brat, but his mind was filled with apprehension. Many strong men had been broken easily by the iceling, and his son was just a boy when Freeza had gotten his claws into him. The fact that one of his border guards had been injured only added to his concern, but the soldier had not been killed.
"It could be either of the two outcomes, and the information will tell which is the more likely." He sighed as he settled himself behind his desk. The wait was short as Turka entered the office and nearly tripped over the furnishings in his haste to present the records. The king shook his head at the unusual behavior and motioned for the minister to load the information.
"The report from Lieutenant Dashiro runs down the events. He saw an unknown dwelling on his patrol and landed to investigate. Upon landing a female exited the structure without noticing his presence and ran right into him. In her panic she caused a projectile to release from the building knocking him several hectares and rendering him unconscious." Turka paused and gauged the king's reactions before continuing. "While he was out it appears that his wounds were tended to. After regaining consciousness a male, apparently her mate, had joined the female and sat in wait of his responses. Some conversation ensued in which he manage to persuade them to allowing a scan. The persons left after the scans were complete, but not before he could run them through the system. Once he realized who the male was, namely the prince, he made his finding known as quickly as possible."
Nodding the king said nothing, but grew anxious to see the video and audio. The minister setup the scouter replay. "Before I start as should inform you that the female shouted loudly enough during the initial encounter that Dashio's ear were damaged. In light of that we have lowered the volume considerably. Also we have cleared up the images and translated everything to Sayian for clarity."
A rounded house grew lager as the tape played out the events of the morning. The large royal sat and took in the event play themselves out before him. He couldn't help the slight amusement of his son's rush from bathing to his distressed mate. Nor could he keep his pride from rising as his son convinced the woman to be scanned to protect the guard from any further trouble over the incident. His mind now eased and the hope in his heart began mounting. "Alert the patrols to this and make sure that if they come across the prince and his mate again to relay to him that I wish him to allow them to arrange for his transport to the palace and that he is to make use of it."
"Understood; is there anything else?" The advisor replied bowing.
"Yes, I would like a copy of this as quickly as possible. The Queen will want to be informed."
He smiled. "The file you currently have is a copy for your leisure my king."
King Vegeta nodded and dismissed the man removing the crystalline file from the reader and heading to his chambers, shoulders squared.
Early autumn blossoms sent a pungently sweet scent through marble halls. Silently sitting, an enormous warrior stared solemnly at a small white breastplate; thumb gently circling the red crest. The only motion from the great King was the faltered rise and fall of a heavy chest. An eternity of misfortune rounded once proudly squared shoulder as his thoughts returned to the child so painfully absent.
Howling could be hear through the corridors of the palace as King Vegeta made his way to the royal family's private chambers. With each step the horrific complaint grew loader. He knew the source and changed his course to try and ease the overwhelmingly painful assault his home was under.
Large wooden doors flew open with ease and the chestnut haired ruler had to suppress his laughter at the sight that greeted him. Bolts of annoyingly bright fabric wafted through the air and bustling tailors and seamstresses bustled frantically. In the mist of the whirl wind of cloth stood the two and half year old prince, perfectly still while pins where wielded like battle weapons through the cloth draping his small form. Still, except of course for the bobbing head and horrendous yowling piercing anything with ears. That alone was enough to cut through any humor the scene held.
"Shut your mouth! Sayian warriors do not cry!" The room's occupants spun to see their King seething at the figure in the center of the commotion. The young prince inhaled sharply and bit his lower lip, head still bobbing. "Better, now it cannot be that bad; try and carry yourself with the proper decorum."
The small child continued to stay perfectly still, head bobbing. Watching his son it became clear that the toddler had taken as much as he could bare and had no doubt been suffering as a pin cushion for some time. Leaning down he turned his head to the seamstress desperately trying to hem the royal child's pants. "How long have you been fitting my son?"
"I'm not sure. We've been here since 11 or so in the morning." The woman said confused.
The King bolted upright. "Eleven, it's almost six. You've been sticking my child like that for close to seven hours. Are you all insane? Out! Now!"
The tailors scurried from the room as the small royal slid off the stool. The King looked down and the still quivering babe, and made a stern inquiry. "Where is your Sha Shara?"
"She. she had. had to go. go to. a meeting..for. for the museum. and she. she told.. told Nappa. Nappa to watch me. but he... he got called. called away. he... he thought. that Sirana. Sirana and Tansa. were coming.but... but they never came." The tiny boy sniffled out to his father. He remembered his mate asking him to remind her to tell Sirana and Tansa to come to the prince's room in the afternoon. He had, but then there were the senators, and the advisors, and the councilors, and she had said something about the girls. She had said to send word for them to meet her. "Shit" he thought as he looked at his son shuffling painfully in his pinned garments. The little one hadn't even gotten his midday meal.
He sighed and moved to the chest by his son's bed. The boy followed and he stroked the childs hair soothing him. "It's over now. I will help you get ready for dinner."
The boy started trying to remove the coverings from him and hissed as the pins dug into him. Valgard Vegeta shook his head and began helping his son. Soon the shirt was gone and the king could see tiny marks where the seam of his new clothes would be. Soon the boy wore only a pair of boxes with tiny royal crests patterns and was carried to a large bathing chamber.
Servants filled the large tub adding salts and oils, and laid out towels and sponges as the King pulled healing salves for a cabinet and moved to the counter. He stroked the prince's hair and set him beside the tub. The boy quickly threw his only garment away and sloshed into the tub giggling at the splashing water. Soon the boy was clean and scampered into his sleeping chamber where his father was waiting with jar and some loose fitting clothes. Once the child's prickled skin was tended and he was dressed the ruler gathered him to his lap. The tiny boy's mouth yawned wide. "It was a long day for you, and you did well, all things considered." He smiled approvingly at his son and pulled him up affectionately.
"My king! My King!" The rulers head snapped at the intrusion into the lost prince's quarters. Security Minister Turka shuffled distractedly toward his sovereign. Noting the obvious agitation of the minister the king bit down on his anger over the intrusion. Stumbling onward Turka stammered quickly. "We have had the most unprecedented news. Great Karatara be praised, the most wondrous of occurrences my liege. A miracle, a miracle! We've found him! We've found him!"
"Found who!?" The royal demanded; all measure of patience fading with the other man's uninformative chattering.
The king's advisor stopped dead at the load voice. Realizing he had not said much of anything he gathered himself. "The prince, my king; we've found him. He lives!"
Turka watched as the king shot up at his declaration, and then a very quizzical look passed over the monarch's visage as he concluded. It took the advisor a moment before he realized why. "Well I suppose alive might not be the best choice of words considering where we are, but he seems well and heading for here from what we've gathered."
The shock slowly faded and the king's legs began to give way under the news. He slumped down, sitting on the chest at the foot of the prince's bed. His heart wrenched as a wave of emotions flooded over him. Despair, fear, and hope mixed together. "Styrkar" he though silently finding a lightness within himself he rose and straightened himself, and began moving to the door. "What basis do you have for this? Where did this information come from?"
"One of the guards patrolling the outer sector came across some beings on a planet near the edge of our area. He wound up getting injured, but manage to make a scan of the pair before the departed the planet. The audio and damaged video from his scouter were inconclusive, but the scan leaves no doubt on the matter." The advisor spoke as they turned down the hall.
"I want all the details gathered and brought to my office at once." Turka bowed and went to get the information for his ruler as the great Sayian made his way toward his office. King Vegeta's and mind combated each other. His heart was full of longing for the brat, but his mind was filled with apprehension. Many strong men had been broken easily by the iceling, and his son was just a boy when Freeza had gotten his claws into him. The fact that one of his border guards had been injured only added to his concern, but the soldier had not been killed.
"It could be either of the two outcomes, and the information will tell which is the more likely." He sighed as he settled himself behind his desk. The wait was short as Turka entered the office and nearly tripped over the furnishings in his haste to present the records. The king shook his head at the unusual behavior and motioned for the minister to load the information.
"The report from Lieutenant Dashiro runs down the events. He saw an unknown dwelling on his patrol and landed to investigate. Upon landing a female exited the structure without noticing his presence and ran right into him. In her panic she caused a projectile to release from the building knocking him several hectares and rendering him unconscious." Turka paused and gauged the king's reactions before continuing. "While he was out it appears that his wounds were tended to. After regaining consciousness a male, apparently her mate, had joined the female and sat in wait of his responses. Some conversation ensued in which he manage to persuade them to allowing a scan. The persons left after the scans were complete, but not before he could run them through the system. Once he realized who the male was, namely the prince, he made his finding known as quickly as possible."
Nodding the king said nothing, but grew anxious to see the video and audio. The minister setup the scouter replay. "Before I start as should inform you that the female shouted loudly enough during the initial encounter that Dashio's ear were damaged. In light of that we have lowered the volume considerably. Also we have cleared up the images and translated everything to Sayian for clarity."
A rounded house grew lager as the tape played out the events of the morning. The large royal sat and took in the event play themselves out before him. He couldn't help the slight amusement of his son's rush from bathing to his distressed mate. Nor could he keep his pride from rising as his son convinced the woman to be scanned to protect the guard from any further trouble over the incident. His mind now eased and the hope in his heart began mounting. "Alert the patrols to this and make sure that if they come across the prince and his mate again to relay to him that I wish him to allow them to arrange for his transport to the palace and that he is to make use of it."
"Understood; is there anything else?" The advisor replied bowing.
"Yes, I would like a copy of this as quickly as possible. The Queen will want to be informed."
He smiled. "The file you currently have is a copy for your leisure my king."
King Vegeta nodded and dismissed the man removing the crystalline file from the reader and heading to his chambers, shoulders squared.