" Rabusongu: The Sequel to 'Ningen' "
-Vega
***
Thanks: To both Icegaze and Shadow Danced. Thanks to you two for kicking my muse in the ass. And for your words, be they inspirational, analytical, critical, or creative. Oh, and to my Grade 11 Vocal teacher, Kelly Janzen for the opera-singer anecdote. It's true. Honest. Just ask her.
Rabusongu = Love Song
***
I don't know if you remember me. My name is Maria - to me.
Mayra to some.
Ningen to most.
If you do remember me, it's been seventeen years since then; since Vejiita-ouij was destroyed and young, innocent Gohan murdered. Seventeen years since anyone has last seen Kakarotto, who vanished shortly after the battle which revealed his SuperSaiya-jinn power.
If you are just meeting me for the first time, let me re-cap: Seventeen years and some odd months ago, a Saiya-jinn named Rurutip heard me singing, and because of it decided he wanted to take me away to be his concubine.
He did. I nearly died a few times.
I was bitter a lot. I've gotten over most of that, but I still am a little.
My singing caused a few tragedies, and I haven't opened my yap to let a note escape since.
As for Rurutip, I began to trust him. What other choice did I have? He's all I had.
Trust became respect, then amiability, then lust -always lust- and then a sort of watered-down version of love.
More like a brother than a lover.
Odd, since despite our heated and not-always-serious arguments always ended with his screwing me blind.
There. Now everyone's up to date.
So why am I writing now?
Well, I have another story to tell.
***
It begins ten months after the battle that left hundreds of Saiya-jinn and Frieza's men alike dead and me permanently crippled in my left leg. By this time, I had been in Rurutip's possesion for about fifteen months at that point.
Do you remember when I mentioned that Vejiita-ou was searching for a new mate?
Well, he found one, six months prior and, by her, he had another son. (The Saiya-jinn gestation period is six moths)
His name is traditionally and officially 'Vejiita', but because the former Prince was so fresh in the empire's mind, the baby was nick-named 'Vejii'.
Well, what does that have to do with me?
I'm getting to that.
Also, around that time, Rurutip was promoted again, to fill in the gaps in the hierarchy that the many deaths after the Frieza battle caused on the night that Kakarotto's SuperSaiya-jinn was revealed.
You know, it's odd. No one actually SAW him go. But when Bardocku went to collect him, he had vanished, his son's body having vanished too.
Every once in a while I used to wish that he had taken me with him, but I understand that he didn't. He had nothing left, his life might have well been over. He knew I at least had Ru, and he wouldn't take that from me too.
So, Rurutip was moved into the palace so he could take control of a battalion of squads. He co-ordinated missions that each of his twenty squads went on, and sometimes had to go on them himself. That meant I moved into the palace with him and, when he had to go on missions, I went too. I was part of his luggage.
...I'm going to tell you a secret.
Twenty years ago, when I was given a permanent limp and was the cause of homicides beyond counting, I swore I would never ever sing another note again.
But one day, when Vejii was mere months old, there was a small crisis that every Saiya-jinn on the ship Rurutip and I were travelling had to attend to, and were called away. This included the King -who was there for diplomatic reasons- and all the warriors in attendance of the tiny Prince as well.
Well, with the absence of all familiar ki and scents, the baby went into tantrum-mode, and none of the slaves left behind knew how to quiet him.
Finally, they sent for me.
My reputation had grown since my story had spread, and I was very well respected among the other slaves, which was very disconcerting sometimes. I often wondered if it spread as far as home. Did my parents know what I'd done? Who I'd killed?
Anyway, I was offered respect by the others for having survived with Rurutip as long as I did -most concubines don't live beyond four moths, I'd learned; and most often than not they died by suicide- and so in a panic they begged me to come do something.
What they didn't know is that I wasn't just Ru's pet, his fuck toy, I was his... well, I was ALMOST his friend.
...So yes, back to my secret.
I had promised never to sing again, but as you all know, I'm only human.
And, it was the only way I could think of to calm the kiddo down.
And so I sang.
Lost in the beautiful melodies I'd missed so much, I rocked little Vejii back and forth as he wrapped his tiny little tail around my arm.
I must have sang for two hours straight, ignoring the world around me.
When I finally realized that Vejii was asleep, and had been for quite some time now, I smiled and softly and stood from the chair I had settled in, placing him gently into his strangely shaped crib.
Then I turned to the door to leave, and gasped in shock when I saw that the King was standing in the doorway, a look of mesmerized shock on his face and the edge of his cape twisted between two bloody gloves.
I looked to the floor, face flushing in embarrassment, and he dropped the fabric, his customary stone expression returning and wiping out the formerly dazed one.
I gave a quick bow and made my way past him, but as I shuffled rapidly towards the door, he held out his hand and grabbed my upper arm.
I stared at his fingers curled around my flesh in shocked wonder.
This was the first time the King had ever touched me.
"Don't come in here again without my permission, bitch." he snapped, staring past my head.
"Hai." I squeaked. Was he going to beat me for being in here, with the baby?
He let go, and then, just as I reached the door he said, slowly, "You would sing again... For my son?"
"Hai, wagakimi." I answered in low tones, quiet and nervous.
He nodded briskly, and let me go on my way.
***
Apparently the King never told anyone he heard me singing, for nothing really changed for the next few days, except our return to Vejiita-sei.
Each day I woke up in the morning, got dressed, ate, drew a little, read a little, sang to myself, and basically did nothing until mid-afternoon when Rurutip would have his daily work-out. It was something to do, so I'd often go and watch. Some days I'd meet with other slaves -although I was the only human in the palace- if we were all free at the same time, to talk and whatnot, but I always made certain to be back in Ru's chambers before he was.
Then we ate together, bathed, and had sex. Pillow talk involved me tending to his various cuts and scrapes, if he'd gained any over the day, and he would grumble about things. Then he would lick away all the blood he had drawn earlier off my skin earlier, and we'd do it over again until I fell asleep.
Very simple schedule
Of course, sometimes he'd come back during the day, or he wouldn't leave at all. Those were the days that I'd try to teach him how to pronounce my name right, or to draw. He was hopeless. He couldn't draw a stick figure to save his life.
However, after about three days, I was sent for by the King.
Rurutip gave me a strange look, having thought that the guard that had arrived at his door had been sent to collect him.
"It's probably nothing, Ru-kun." I whispered to him as I rose from the table where we had been having our morning meal. He gave me another look and I smiled disarmingly.
Then I winked at Rurutip and the guard and I were off.
I'm not sure if he LIKED the name "Ru-kun", but he never complained about it. Besides, the moniker "Ningen" had stuck with me... although when he said it, it didn't hold the distanced aloofness it often did when other Saiyans said it.
My thoughts wandered back to the night before as I limped along the hall, and a bright flag of embarrassment fanned across my nose and cheeks.
Ru only called me "Mayra" when we... you know.
I was almost ready to give up trying to get him to say "Maria."
When we reached the doors to the King's palatial chambers, the guard signalled my arrival through the intercom, then left.
Without thinking, I automatically bowed as he withdrew, then again as the doors hissed open.
I did not look up until I was told to. Ru had trained me well. Feh.
"Ningen." I heard the King's mellifluous voice say. "Come."
I entered the room steadily and stopped a few metres away from where Vejiita-ou sat regally on a chair, as if it were his throne back in the carpeted, vaulted throne room.
"Hai, wagakimi?" I asked politely.
"Do you hear that?" He jerked his thumb towards the adjoining door, through which the piercing wails of the little Prince could be heard.
"Hai."
The King nodded slowly and stroked his goatee with one finger. "Vejiita's tail was trod on by some slave bitch this morning."
I gasped in horror, my eyes wide. How horrid! The poor Prince!
The King couldn't quite hide his pleased grin as he continued. "His ki manifested physically for the first time today, and he destroyed her."
My eyes widened even more. There was a moment of silence, mine horror-stuck, his proud.
"His first kill," the king then smiled, "and he's not even a year old yet." His grin then faded, as if he suddenly remembered himself. "However, the ki left his hands burned and we can't shut him up."
He glared pointedly at me.
"I'll try." I said softly.
He merely snorted and dismissed me to his son's room with a wave of his hand.
I obeyed.
***
Looking down at Vejii, my hands resting lightly on the edge of the crib, I smiled softly.
Vejii screamed even louder and I grimaced, my smile sliding downwards.
"Oi, kiddo!" I yelled, "What a set of lungs you've got."
He only screamed louder.
I leaned over the edge to try to lift him and he wrapped a chubby little fist rather painfully into my fine hair, which I hadn't had time to tie back that morning.
I froze and glowered at the little pince, leaning lower so he wasn't pulling so hard. He slitted his little triangular eyes and grabbed more hair.
I think he liked the feel of it against his burned skin, for it must have felt cool and silken. It gave me an idea. I leaned all the way down - careful to keep my face far enough away lest he decided to bite me (Saiyans are born with teeth) - and shook my hair in his face.
He paused in his sobs and blinked at me.
"Yeah, you think that's pretty cool, huh?" He didn't resist when I moved to pick him up. The only move he made was to snake his tail out and around my wrist.
I ran a finger over the visible welt on it once I had set him down on a nearby dressing table, and Vejii whimpered. Afraid of hurting him even more, I decided to sing as I inspected his injury. It might not hurt as much if he was distracted.
"Sleep my baby,
Rest, my loved one.
Softly slumber now with me.
Wrapped in mother's arms, so tender.
Warm in mother's love for thee.
Naught shall ever
Come to harm thee,
While my loving watch I keep.
Sleep, my baby,
smile and slumber.
Whilst I sing thy lullaby..."
By the time I had finished, Vejii was considerably more calm, wearing the same entranced face his father often did when I used to sing in court, staring up at me with sparkling obsidian eyes from the dressing table.
I smiled at him, and he imitated back. Then I lifted his tail gently. Blood matted some of the soft puppy-like fur in the middle. Whoever had stepped on him must have cut his tail with the edge of soles of their shoes, and no one had dared get close enough to the Prince after the first ki outburst to tend to him.
I frowned momentarily. But the King had sent for ME. Did that mean he saw me as expendable? I was almost... insulted.
At any rate, the cut on Vejii's tail and the burn splotches on his palms were cleaned, rubbed with salve, and bandaged soon enough.
Content that Vejii was content, I then moved the two of us to a nearby chair and sang to him until I saw his hands and lips begin to search for my breasts through the fabric of my dress.
"Oh, no." I laughed and lifted him away from the warmth of my body. "You don't want those. They're empty."
He blinked at me a few times, then began to wail again.
I laughed and walked out of his rooms with him in my arms, and into the main sitting room with Vejiita-ou was.
The King stood from his desk, where he had been perusing battle reports, and stalked up to me angrily.
"I thought you'd shut him up!" he snapped.
I handed the little Prince over, and the King held him out, away from his body as if he'd never held a child before.
"I've done all I can do." I beamed, "But you gotta get his Mom to do the rest."
The King looked at me blankly.
"He's hungry."
***
Some time after I was dismissed from the Royal rooms, I tracked Ru down to an empty sparring room and sat on the floor in the corner, my back against the wall.
He liked me watching him work out.
In those first few months together, Rurutip was often loathe to let me out of his sight, and so had actually dragged me along to his sparring sessions, sometimes physically carrying me there if I admitted I didn't want to watch him beat the shit out of his subordinates.
It gave him a sense of superiority when he could flaunt his physique - it stated very plainly "I'm big and strong, and you're not, so don't do anything stupid".
Now, just over a year later, it was a habit I had begun to enjoy. He was mesmerizing to watch and he possessed a grace I had never expected to find in a huge, lumbering warrior like himself.
When Ru wanted to be, he was just as silent, flexible, and quick as a cat.
And, truthfully, I kinda liked watching his smooth muscles sliding beneath his sweat-sheened olive skin. It was attractive.
He had even offered to train me once, but I had just laughed and said that if he wanted me limber at night, I better not train during the day. He had chuckled and shown me right there how much he liked having me limber.
Today, Rurutip was shadow-sparring, and I looked on with a tilted head and chin on my knees.
"Ru-kun," I asked once he had paused in his movements - katas, I had learned they were called - to wipe his sweat-matted hair from his eyes.
He looked over at me, annoyed that I had broken his concentration. I grinned a little, pleased that only one word from me COULD break his concentration. However, he had once admitted that he could never resist the curiosity my words always aroused in him, and so he responded to my question with a grunted: "Hn?"
"Do you have children?"
He froze, then stalked over to tower over me. "Why?"
"You've never said." I shrugged. "I was curious."
He stared at me, hard and long. Something was going on behind his dark ashy eyes, but for the life of me I didn't know what.
Then he finally sighed and sat against the wall beside me.
"I had a mate when I was younger." he admitted, staring at nothing. I looked over to study his face. It was very carefully blank. "She perished in battle seven years ago."
I blinked, wondering how old he would have been then. Nineteen? Twenty?
He went on:
"She had been carrying our first offspring when she was killed..." he sighed again, his eyes finally finding mine. "I've never had a mate since. I don't want brats. Not anymore. And I don't want a new mate, either. Not unless the King makes me."
"Oh." I said, relief prickling my skin. Oh, I already knew that he'd never want 'weak, half-ling brats' with me... but it was nice to hear him confirm it himself. I was terrified of the idea that he might force me to bear him a child one day. What sort of life could that possibly be for ANY baby?
Ru got back up resumed his workout until he was too exhausted to get up off the floor.
I grinned evilly and crawled over to and on top of him.
"You stink," I said softly.
He only grinned back and leaned his face up to mine.
***
It wasn't long before the King or one of his servants was calling me daily to calm Vejii. And it was an even shorter period of time before I was forced to invent new songs. The old ones didn't satisfy the small prince after a week or so of hearing the same thing.
My schedule, once simple, became more complex: Ru, food, go to the library to invent songs, watch him spar, food, Ru, sleep. On top of that, I was called to the prince whenever His Highness felt I was needed, regardless of what I wanted. Reading and drawing, two of my three solaces, were overcome by my third, singing.
Ru, uneasy with the changes, demanded to know what was going on. It took some time to explain things to him -hell, he was stubbornly dense about things he didn't like - but once he understood, he simply rolled over onto his stomach (we were in bed at the time) and glowered into his pillow.
It's very amusing, I admit, to watch someone who could snap your neck with their tail sulk because you can't do just what they want all the time. He was essentially a big baby, my Rurutip. All he wanted was my undivided attention at all times for the rest of eternity. Not all that much to ask. Note the sarcasm.
But he was appeased easily enough when I stretched out on his back, lacing my delicate fingers into his, and sang softly into his ear.
If he had lost most of my formally undivided attention to the Prince, he was at least ecstatic that I sang for him again. Quite often I would test my new songs on him before trying them with Vejii, and he would always be very gentle and tender with me afterwards.
He did this very strange thing when I sang; he would sit beside me, on his knees, and make me lie on my back, my own knees over his. Then he would place one hand under me at the small of my back to feel me breathe, and the other against my throat so he could feel the vibrations of my voice.
It was really rather comfortable, and it made me more conscious of my breathing technique, which became finely honed soon enough. If you're a performer, you know what I mean. We breathe WAY down there. I heard a story once that an opera singer once contracted her diaphragm so violently during an aria, that she popped her tampon right out.
No foolin'.
Anyway, this is how my life went until Vejii was old enough to begin to walk and eat solid foods.
I suppose it was rather inevitable that I was to meet Vejii's mother. I just hadn't expected it to be as soon as it was. Or, no. I suppose I hadn't expected to meet her at all. Even the Saiyan people didn't know what she looked like.
I had supposed that it was ritual, or something. Pity I was right.
I almost wish we'd never met at all, not when I learned that she... well, I'm getting ahead of myself.
I most certainly didn't expect her to look like she did.
Perhaps I should back up a bit, though.
Being unofficially dubbed 'Royal Nurse,' the guards by Vejii's doors were quite accustomed to my comings and goings, and I occasionally visited on whim. It was a nice surprise to see that the prince had a side other than that of the shrieking, kicking, one that I had to soothe. But on one of these times, I was granted an extra surprise, and this one not so nice.
I wandered in after a visit to the royal library, actually, to see if the prince was awake. My newest song was what you might call a doozy, and . . .well . . .what writer doesn't want to see how their readers (or listeners, in this case) react?
I slipped in easily enough, and was about to enter when I was, quite suddenly, slammed against the wall. My hands crept up to yank vainly at the hand around my throat as my air was cut off, and I stared, gasping, at the petite woman who held me in place, the prince cradled against her hastily covered breast, milk soaking through the thin cloth.
And just before I fainted, I heard her angry demand of:
"Why are you in my son's room?"
***
When I came to, it was in Ru's nest.
When I had first reached Vejiita-sei, almost exactly a year earlier, I had learned that though sleeping in a nest of pillows and blankets like Ru did was considered acceptable, most of the higher classed Saiya-jinn preferred actual beds.
Ru, however, stuck stubbornly to his second-class habits, even after being promoted so many times. I suppose I would be unable to sleep in a regular bed now, myself.
Surprisingly, the King was there, seated with a dark expression on a chair next to the nest of pillows and haphazard sheets. Ru stood behind him, arms crossed over his chest, and expression of disappointment and anger on his scarred face.
I think I was more afraid of the disappointment. And did I ever mention that he scratches his scar when he gets upset?
"Vejiita-ou!" I gasped, sitting up hastily, the flopping back down as the stars behind my eyes began an Irish jig. I coughed dryly, my throat seriously hurting.
I had a small panic attack. Had my throat been damaged?! Would I be able to sing still?!
The King glared at me and rose. "Why were you in my son's room? You were NOT sent for!"
I blinked at him, almost stupidly, then shook my head slowly. "Ile. I was not." I admitted painfully, my voice a mere rasp. Oh, it would get better! It HAD to!
"Then why?!" he demanded, one eyebrow arched in fury.
"I ..." I licked my lips nervously and looked to Ru, who turned his face away, indicating that this was my mess to get out of alone. "I wanted to make sure he was okay, is all." I said quietly. "I... sometimes worry."
The King frowned, as if he didn't understand WHY I should care. "Who let you in?! The guards?"
"Hai."
He grumbled under his breath. Then he turned on his heel and stalked over to glower at Ru. The effect might have been comical - tiny 5'3" king, huge 6'11" warrior- but I was too terrified of both of them to laugh.
They spoke in harsh tones in native Saiya-go, and I watched in confusion. Then the King turned back to me. "Don't you EVER come into his rooms without MY permission, bitch!" And left.
Vejii rescinded that order when he got old enough, claiming hotly that I could go wherever, whenever I liked, but once again I get ahead of myself.
I blinked at the King's retreating cape as Ru walked Vejiita-ou out.
By the time Ru had returned, I had managed to prop my self up, head in my hands as the swirls of black and sparkling dots threatened to overwhelm me.
He knelt in front of me and titled my chin back to inspect the harsh bruises on my neck. "You want to go to the Regen Room?" He asked in a low, comforting whisper.
I shook my head 'no', fearing the raspy quality of my voice. If I couldn't sing, I'd been seen as useless and destroyed - or so I feared. I hoped faintly that Ru's bizarre feelings about me might prevent that but.... I couldn't be sure.
I might have been killed earlier, during my self-imposed mute period had the King not realized that even though I WOULDN'T sing, I still COULD. But this time...
Rurutip sighed, and pushed me back onto my back, inspecting all of my skin after stripping away my dress. This was not lust he looked at me with now, but cool, clear analysation.
Satisfied that nothing else was wrong, he laid on his back beside me, one arm digging under my back to hold me close.
"You SHOULD go to a tank." he said to no one in particular, tapping one gloved finger against the amber inlay in the abdomen of his sleeveless armour in a restless mannor.
"No." I whispered softly. "Not unless Falfa's there."
He snorted. "Falfa's been off world for months. You know that. He has his own squad to tend to, now."
I nodded. Yes, I had forgotten.
I almost missed Falfa and Celik.
'Almost' being the key word. Celik had been such an annoying little pervert!
After a long silence I curled my body in to press against Ru and he snorted. "Not tonight. You're hurt."
I nodded thankfully and put my head down on his shoulder.
I suppose I fell asleep, because the next thing I remember was Rurutip sliding out of the sheets, and walking out of the room, head in his hands and a look of pain on his face.
I could almost pretend that the look of pain came from his pondering my demise.
***
The next morning I was sent for, and I entered the Prince's rooms a bit nervously.
I ought to have. These were new rooms.
He was no longer in a chamber adjoined to his father's, but in one of his own, alone. However, despite the fact that it was a dressed-up version of Ru's quarters, one other thing had not changed. Vejiita-ou stood waiting for me.
I bowed slowly, and waited for him to tell me to look up.
He finally motioned with his hand for me to rise and follow him into the bedroom. I did so, and the doors hissed back to reveal the small Prince - now almost a year old and for the first time wearing not a form of diaper but the customary blue unitard of Royalty (warriors wore black) - sitting on the huge bed, blinking around at his new environment.
He smiled in our direction when we entered, and I couldn't tell who he was happier to see, me, or the King. I had a sneaking suspicion it was me.
He held out his hands - the ki burns long healed - wiggling his fingers and I obliged by kneeling at the edge of the bed so he could dig into my hair, giggling.
After a protracted moment of this, I saw the King come to stand beside us, and I looked up, sitting on the edge of the large bed and taking the Prince onto my lap with a small grunt. Saiya-jinn children grow up fast, and Vejii was no exception.
He had already begun to eat solid food and was on the verge of learning to walk without my support to keep him upright. I also had the feeling that his first battle cry was going to come issuing from his throat any day now.
The King looked at us for a long time, then said, voice grave. "How much did you see?"
I pursed my lips, deciding what to say. Finally, I settled with. "If you mean what I saw yesterday, I can assure you it wasn't much, my Lord." I cleared my throat self-consciously. My voice was harsh, but the med technicians said it would heal soon enough.
He frowned. "I need details, bitch." His hands fisted on his hips.
I paused again, after foolishly covering Vejii's ears with my hands. The boy really didn't need to learn such words so early!
"I... walked in. There was a small woman breast-feeding his little majesty. She slammed me against the wall, and before I could answer her demands, I passed out."
The King rubbed his goatee thoughtfully, as he usually did when in deep thought. "And what did she demand?"
"She just wanted to know why I was... in her son's room."
The King stared at me. Then he snapped, "Forget you ever saw her. She doesn't exist anymore."
My eyes grew wide as he turned on his heel and stalked towards the door, and -forgetting my place, or perhaps purposefully ignoring it - I called "What do you mean?" He whipped around to snarl at me, and I hastily added, "My Lord."
He straightened and looked pointedly at the boy in my arms. "None of your damned business."
"With all due respect, Majesty, " I stood slowly, anticipating getting knocked flat on my ass by a fist, "I believe I have a right to know. She did almost kill me, after all."
The King stared at me in cold amusement, arms crossing over his chest and sneer playing upon his lips. "Very well then, " he spat. "It is customary that the mother of the Royal Heir be destroyed after she has finished her services in rearing the brat. That way the child never has the weakness that comes from such a bond. Vejiita's mother was the woman you saw yesterday. She was feeding him for the last time."
I wailed in horror as his words struck home, and fell back onto the Prince's enormous bed.
Then the King spun back around and in a blink of an eye, was gone.
Vejii merely reached up from my lap and ran the tips of his chubby fingers through the glistening salt-water on my cheeks, almost as if he were trying to comfort me.
***
I cried myself to sleep in Ru's arms that night.
He couldn't quite understand what was wrong with me, but comforted me anyway, and let me have my rest.
Words can't describe how grateful I was to him for it.
-Vega
***
Thanks: To both Icegaze and Shadow Danced. Thanks to you two for kicking my muse in the ass. And for your words, be they inspirational, analytical, critical, or creative. Oh, and to my Grade 11 Vocal teacher, Kelly Janzen for the opera-singer anecdote. It's true. Honest. Just ask her.
Rabusongu = Love Song
***
I don't know if you remember me. My name is Maria - to me.
Mayra to some.
Ningen to most.
If you do remember me, it's been seventeen years since then; since Vejiita-ouij was destroyed and young, innocent Gohan murdered. Seventeen years since anyone has last seen Kakarotto, who vanished shortly after the battle which revealed his SuperSaiya-jinn power.
If you are just meeting me for the first time, let me re-cap: Seventeen years and some odd months ago, a Saiya-jinn named Rurutip heard me singing, and because of it decided he wanted to take me away to be his concubine.
He did. I nearly died a few times.
I was bitter a lot. I've gotten over most of that, but I still am a little.
My singing caused a few tragedies, and I haven't opened my yap to let a note escape since.
As for Rurutip, I began to trust him. What other choice did I have? He's all I had.
Trust became respect, then amiability, then lust -always lust- and then a sort of watered-down version of love.
More like a brother than a lover.
Odd, since despite our heated and not-always-serious arguments always ended with his screwing me blind.
There. Now everyone's up to date.
So why am I writing now?
Well, I have another story to tell.
***
It begins ten months after the battle that left hundreds of Saiya-jinn and Frieza's men alike dead and me permanently crippled in my left leg. By this time, I had been in Rurutip's possesion for about fifteen months at that point.
Do you remember when I mentioned that Vejiita-ou was searching for a new mate?
Well, he found one, six months prior and, by her, he had another son. (The Saiya-jinn gestation period is six moths)
His name is traditionally and officially 'Vejiita', but because the former Prince was so fresh in the empire's mind, the baby was nick-named 'Vejii'.
Well, what does that have to do with me?
I'm getting to that.
Also, around that time, Rurutip was promoted again, to fill in the gaps in the hierarchy that the many deaths after the Frieza battle caused on the night that Kakarotto's SuperSaiya-jinn was revealed.
You know, it's odd. No one actually SAW him go. But when Bardocku went to collect him, he had vanished, his son's body having vanished too.
Every once in a while I used to wish that he had taken me with him, but I understand that he didn't. He had nothing left, his life might have well been over. He knew I at least had Ru, and he wouldn't take that from me too.
So, Rurutip was moved into the palace so he could take control of a battalion of squads. He co-ordinated missions that each of his twenty squads went on, and sometimes had to go on them himself. That meant I moved into the palace with him and, when he had to go on missions, I went too. I was part of his luggage.
...I'm going to tell you a secret.
Twenty years ago, when I was given a permanent limp and was the cause of homicides beyond counting, I swore I would never ever sing another note again.
But one day, when Vejii was mere months old, there was a small crisis that every Saiya-jinn on the ship Rurutip and I were travelling had to attend to, and were called away. This included the King -who was there for diplomatic reasons- and all the warriors in attendance of the tiny Prince as well.
Well, with the absence of all familiar ki and scents, the baby went into tantrum-mode, and none of the slaves left behind knew how to quiet him.
Finally, they sent for me.
My reputation had grown since my story had spread, and I was very well respected among the other slaves, which was very disconcerting sometimes. I often wondered if it spread as far as home. Did my parents know what I'd done? Who I'd killed?
Anyway, I was offered respect by the others for having survived with Rurutip as long as I did -most concubines don't live beyond four moths, I'd learned; and most often than not they died by suicide- and so in a panic they begged me to come do something.
What they didn't know is that I wasn't just Ru's pet, his fuck toy, I was his... well, I was ALMOST his friend.
...So yes, back to my secret.
I had promised never to sing again, but as you all know, I'm only human.
And, it was the only way I could think of to calm the kiddo down.
And so I sang.
Lost in the beautiful melodies I'd missed so much, I rocked little Vejii back and forth as he wrapped his tiny little tail around my arm.
I must have sang for two hours straight, ignoring the world around me.
When I finally realized that Vejii was asleep, and had been for quite some time now, I smiled and softly and stood from the chair I had settled in, placing him gently into his strangely shaped crib.
Then I turned to the door to leave, and gasped in shock when I saw that the King was standing in the doorway, a look of mesmerized shock on his face and the edge of his cape twisted between two bloody gloves.
I looked to the floor, face flushing in embarrassment, and he dropped the fabric, his customary stone expression returning and wiping out the formerly dazed one.
I gave a quick bow and made my way past him, but as I shuffled rapidly towards the door, he held out his hand and grabbed my upper arm.
I stared at his fingers curled around my flesh in shocked wonder.
This was the first time the King had ever touched me.
"Don't come in here again without my permission, bitch." he snapped, staring past my head.
"Hai." I squeaked. Was he going to beat me for being in here, with the baby?
He let go, and then, just as I reached the door he said, slowly, "You would sing again... For my son?"
"Hai, wagakimi." I answered in low tones, quiet and nervous.
He nodded briskly, and let me go on my way.
***
Apparently the King never told anyone he heard me singing, for nothing really changed for the next few days, except our return to Vejiita-sei.
Each day I woke up in the morning, got dressed, ate, drew a little, read a little, sang to myself, and basically did nothing until mid-afternoon when Rurutip would have his daily work-out. It was something to do, so I'd often go and watch. Some days I'd meet with other slaves -although I was the only human in the palace- if we were all free at the same time, to talk and whatnot, but I always made certain to be back in Ru's chambers before he was.
Then we ate together, bathed, and had sex. Pillow talk involved me tending to his various cuts and scrapes, if he'd gained any over the day, and he would grumble about things. Then he would lick away all the blood he had drawn earlier off my skin earlier, and we'd do it over again until I fell asleep.
Very simple schedule
Of course, sometimes he'd come back during the day, or he wouldn't leave at all. Those were the days that I'd try to teach him how to pronounce my name right, or to draw. He was hopeless. He couldn't draw a stick figure to save his life.
However, after about three days, I was sent for by the King.
Rurutip gave me a strange look, having thought that the guard that had arrived at his door had been sent to collect him.
"It's probably nothing, Ru-kun." I whispered to him as I rose from the table where we had been having our morning meal. He gave me another look and I smiled disarmingly.
Then I winked at Rurutip and the guard and I were off.
I'm not sure if he LIKED the name "Ru-kun", but he never complained about it. Besides, the moniker "Ningen" had stuck with me... although when he said it, it didn't hold the distanced aloofness it often did when other Saiyans said it.
My thoughts wandered back to the night before as I limped along the hall, and a bright flag of embarrassment fanned across my nose and cheeks.
Ru only called me "Mayra" when we... you know.
I was almost ready to give up trying to get him to say "Maria."
When we reached the doors to the King's palatial chambers, the guard signalled my arrival through the intercom, then left.
Without thinking, I automatically bowed as he withdrew, then again as the doors hissed open.
I did not look up until I was told to. Ru had trained me well. Feh.
"Ningen." I heard the King's mellifluous voice say. "Come."
I entered the room steadily and stopped a few metres away from where Vejiita-ou sat regally on a chair, as if it were his throne back in the carpeted, vaulted throne room.
"Hai, wagakimi?" I asked politely.
"Do you hear that?" He jerked his thumb towards the adjoining door, through which the piercing wails of the little Prince could be heard.
"Hai."
The King nodded slowly and stroked his goatee with one finger. "Vejiita's tail was trod on by some slave bitch this morning."
I gasped in horror, my eyes wide. How horrid! The poor Prince!
The King couldn't quite hide his pleased grin as he continued. "His ki manifested physically for the first time today, and he destroyed her."
My eyes widened even more. There was a moment of silence, mine horror-stuck, his proud.
"His first kill," the king then smiled, "and he's not even a year old yet." His grin then faded, as if he suddenly remembered himself. "However, the ki left his hands burned and we can't shut him up."
He glared pointedly at me.
"I'll try." I said softly.
He merely snorted and dismissed me to his son's room with a wave of his hand.
I obeyed.
***
Looking down at Vejii, my hands resting lightly on the edge of the crib, I smiled softly.
Vejii screamed even louder and I grimaced, my smile sliding downwards.
"Oi, kiddo!" I yelled, "What a set of lungs you've got."
He only screamed louder.
I leaned over the edge to try to lift him and he wrapped a chubby little fist rather painfully into my fine hair, which I hadn't had time to tie back that morning.
I froze and glowered at the little pince, leaning lower so he wasn't pulling so hard. He slitted his little triangular eyes and grabbed more hair.
I think he liked the feel of it against his burned skin, for it must have felt cool and silken. It gave me an idea. I leaned all the way down - careful to keep my face far enough away lest he decided to bite me (Saiyans are born with teeth) - and shook my hair in his face.
He paused in his sobs and blinked at me.
"Yeah, you think that's pretty cool, huh?" He didn't resist when I moved to pick him up. The only move he made was to snake his tail out and around my wrist.
I ran a finger over the visible welt on it once I had set him down on a nearby dressing table, and Vejii whimpered. Afraid of hurting him even more, I decided to sing as I inspected his injury. It might not hurt as much if he was distracted.
"Sleep my baby,
Rest, my loved one.
Softly slumber now with me.
Wrapped in mother's arms, so tender.
Warm in mother's love for thee.
Naught shall ever
Come to harm thee,
While my loving watch I keep.
Sleep, my baby,
smile and slumber.
Whilst I sing thy lullaby..."
By the time I had finished, Vejii was considerably more calm, wearing the same entranced face his father often did when I used to sing in court, staring up at me with sparkling obsidian eyes from the dressing table.
I smiled at him, and he imitated back. Then I lifted his tail gently. Blood matted some of the soft puppy-like fur in the middle. Whoever had stepped on him must have cut his tail with the edge of soles of their shoes, and no one had dared get close enough to the Prince after the first ki outburst to tend to him.
I frowned momentarily. But the King had sent for ME. Did that mean he saw me as expendable? I was almost... insulted.
At any rate, the cut on Vejii's tail and the burn splotches on his palms were cleaned, rubbed with salve, and bandaged soon enough.
Content that Vejii was content, I then moved the two of us to a nearby chair and sang to him until I saw his hands and lips begin to search for my breasts through the fabric of my dress.
"Oh, no." I laughed and lifted him away from the warmth of my body. "You don't want those. They're empty."
He blinked at me a few times, then began to wail again.
I laughed and walked out of his rooms with him in my arms, and into the main sitting room with Vejiita-ou was.
The King stood from his desk, where he had been perusing battle reports, and stalked up to me angrily.
"I thought you'd shut him up!" he snapped.
I handed the little Prince over, and the King held him out, away from his body as if he'd never held a child before.
"I've done all I can do." I beamed, "But you gotta get his Mom to do the rest."
The King looked at me blankly.
"He's hungry."
***
Some time after I was dismissed from the Royal rooms, I tracked Ru down to an empty sparring room and sat on the floor in the corner, my back against the wall.
He liked me watching him work out.
In those first few months together, Rurutip was often loathe to let me out of his sight, and so had actually dragged me along to his sparring sessions, sometimes physically carrying me there if I admitted I didn't want to watch him beat the shit out of his subordinates.
It gave him a sense of superiority when he could flaunt his physique - it stated very plainly "I'm big and strong, and you're not, so don't do anything stupid".
Now, just over a year later, it was a habit I had begun to enjoy. He was mesmerizing to watch and he possessed a grace I had never expected to find in a huge, lumbering warrior like himself.
When Ru wanted to be, he was just as silent, flexible, and quick as a cat.
And, truthfully, I kinda liked watching his smooth muscles sliding beneath his sweat-sheened olive skin. It was attractive.
He had even offered to train me once, but I had just laughed and said that if he wanted me limber at night, I better not train during the day. He had chuckled and shown me right there how much he liked having me limber.
Today, Rurutip was shadow-sparring, and I looked on with a tilted head and chin on my knees.
"Ru-kun," I asked once he had paused in his movements - katas, I had learned they were called - to wipe his sweat-matted hair from his eyes.
He looked over at me, annoyed that I had broken his concentration. I grinned a little, pleased that only one word from me COULD break his concentration. However, he had once admitted that he could never resist the curiosity my words always aroused in him, and so he responded to my question with a grunted: "Hn?"
"Do you have children?"
He froze, then stalked over to tower over me. "Why?"
"You've never said." I shrugged. "I was curious."
He stared at me, hard and long. Something was going on behind his dark ashy eyes, but for the life of me I didn't know what.
Then he finally sighed and sat against the wall beside me.
"I had a mate when I was younger." he admitted, staring at nothing. I looked over to study his face. It was very carefully blank. "She perished in battle seven years ago."
I blinked, wondering how old he would have been then. Nineteen? Twenty?
He went on:
"She had been carrying our first offspring when she was killed..." he sighed again, his eyes finally finding mine. "I've never had a mate since. I don't want brats. Not anymore. And I don't want a new mate, either. Not unless the King makes me."
"Oh." I said, relief prickling my skin. Oh, I already knew that he'd never want 'weak, half-ling brats' with me... but it was nice to hear him confirm it himself. I was terrified of the idea that he might force me to bear him a child one day. What sort of life could that possibly be for ANY baby?
Ru got back up resumed his workout until he was too exhausted to get up off the floor.
I grinned evilly and crawled over to and on top of him.
"You stink," I said softly.
He only grinned back and leaned his face up to mine.
***
It wasn't long before the King or one of his servants was calling me daily to calm Vejii. And it was an even shorter period of time before I was forced to invent new songs. The old ones didn't satisfy the small prince after a week or so of hearing the same thing.
My schedule, once simple, became more complex: Ru, food, go to the library to invent songs, watch him spar, food, Ru, sleep. On top of that, I was called to the prince whenever His Highness felt I was needed, regardless of what I wanted. Reading and drawing, two of my three solaces, were overcome by my third, singing.
Ru, uneasy with the changes, demanded to know what was going on. It took some time to explain things to him -hell, he was stubbornly dense about things he didn't like - but once he understood, he simply rolled over onto his stomach (we were in bed at the time) and glowered into his pillow.
It's very amusing, I admit, to watch someone who could snap your neck with their tail sulk because you can't do just what they want all the time. He was essentially a big baby, my Rurutip. All he wanted was my undivided attention at all times for the rest of eternity. Not all that much to ask. Note the sarcasm.
But he was appeased easily enough when I stretched out on his back, lacing my delicate fingers into his, and sang softly into his ear.
If he had lost most of my formally undivided attention to the Prince, he was at least ecstatic that I sang for him again. Quite often I would test my new songs on him before trying them with Vejii, and he would always be very gentle and tender with me afterwards.
He did this very strange thing when I sang; he would sit beside me, on his knees, and make me lie on my back, my own knees over his. Then he would place one hand under me at the small of my back to feel me breathe, and the other against my throat so he could feel the vibrations of my voice.
It was really rather comfortable, and it made me more conscious of my breathing technique, which became finely honed soon enough. If you're a performer, you know what I mean. We breathe WAY down there. I heard a story once that an opera singer once contracted her diaphragm so violently during an aria, that she popped her tampon right out.
No foolin'.
Anyway, this is how my life went until Vejii was old enough to begin to walk and eat solid foods.
I suppose it was rather inevitable that I was to meet Vejii's mother. I just hadn't expected it to be as soon as it was. Or, no. I suppose I hadn't expected to meet her at all. Even the Saiyan people didn't know what she looked like.
I had supposed that it was ritual, or something. Pity I was right.
I almost wish we'd never met at all, not when I learned that she... well, I'm getting ahead of myself.
I most certainly didn't expect her to look like she did.
Perhaps I should back up a bit, though.
Being unofficially dubbed 'Royal Nurse,' the guards by Vejii's doors were quite accustomed to my comings and goings, and I occasionally visited on whim. It was a nice surprise to see that the prince had a side other than that of the shrieking, kicking, one that I had to soothe. But on one of these times, I was granted an extra surprise, and this one not so nice.
I wandered in after a visit to the royal library, actually, to see if the prince was awake. My newest song was what you might call a doozy, and . . .well . . .what writer doesn't want to see how their readers (or listeners, in this case) react?
I slipped in easily enough, and was about to enter when I was, quite suddenly, slammed against the wall. My hands crept up to yank vainly at the hand around my throat as my air was cut off, and I stared, gasping, at the petite woman who held me in place, the prince cradled against her hastily covered breast, milk soaking through the thin cloth.
And just before I fainted, I heard her angry demand of:
"Why are you in my son's room?"
***
When I came to, it was in Ru's nest.
When I had first reached Vejiita-sei, almost exactly a year earlier, I had learned that though sleeping in a nest of pillows and blankets like Ru did was considered acceptable, most of the higher classed Saiya-jinn preferred actual beds.
Ru, however, stuck stubbornly to his second-class habits, even after being promoted so many times. I suppose I would be unable to sleep in a regular bed now, myself.
Surprisingly, the King was there, seated with a dark expression on a chair next to the nest of pillows and haphazard sheets. Ru stood behind him, arms crossed over his chest, and expression of disappointment and anger on his scarred face.
I think I was more afraid of the disappointment. And did I ever mention that he scratches his scar when he gets upset?
"Vejiita-ou!" I gasped, sitting up hastily, the flopping back down as the stars behind my eyes began an Irish jig. I coughed dryly, my throat seriously hurting.
I had a small panic attack. Had my throat been damaged?! Would I be able to sing still?!
The King glared at me and rose. "Why were you in my son's room? You were NOT sent for!"
I blinked at him, almost stupidly, then shook my head slowly. "Ile. I was not." I admitted painfully, my voice a mere rasp. Oh, it would get better! It HAD to!
"Then why?!" he demanded, one eyebrow arched in fury.
"I ..." I licked my lips nervously and looked to Ru, who turned his face away, indicating that this was my mess to get out of alone. "I wanted to make sure he was okay, is all." I said quietly. "I... sometimes worry."
The King frowned, as if he didn't understand WHY I should care. "Who let you in?! The guards?"
"Hai."
He grumbled under his breath. Then he turned on his heel and stalked over to glower at Ru. The effect might have been comical - tiny 5'3" king, huge 6'11" warrior- but I was too terrified of both of them to laugh.
They spoke in harsh tones in native Saiya-go, and I watched in confusion. Then the King turned back to me. "Don't you EVER come into his rooms without MY permission, bitch!" And left.
Vejii rescinded that order when he got old enough, claiming hotly that I could go wherever, whenever I liked, but once again I get ahead of myself.
I blinked at the King's retreating cape as Ru walked Vejiita-ou out.
By the time Ru had returned, I had managed to prop my self up, head in my hands as the swirls of black and sparkling dots threatened to overwhelm me.
He knelt in front of me and titled my chin back to inspect the harsh bruises on my neck. "You want to go to the Regen Room?" He asked in a low, comforting whisper.
I shook my head 'no', fearing the raspy quality of my voice. If I couldn't sing, I'd been seen as useless and destroyed - or so I feared. I hoped faintly that Ru's bizarre feelings about me might prevent that but.... I couldn't be sure.
I might have been killed earlier, during my self-imposed mute period had the King not realized that even though I WOULDN'T sing, I still COULD. But this time...
Rurutip sighed, and pushed me back onto my back, inspecting all of my skin after stripping away my dress. This was not lust he looked at me with now, but cool, clear analysation.
Satisfied that nothing else was wrong, he laid on his back beside me, one arm digging under my back to hold me close.
"You SHOULD go to a tank." he said to no one in particular, tapping one gloved finger against the amber inlay in the abdomen of his sleeveless armour in a restless mannor.
"No." I whispered softly. "Not unless Falfa's there."
He snorted. "Falfa's been off world for months. You know that. He has his own squad to tend to, now."
I nodded. Yes, I had forgotten.
I almost missed Falfa and Celik.
'Almost' being the key word. Celik had been such an annoying little pervert!
After a long silence I curled my body in to press against Ru and he snorted. "Not tonight. You're hurt."
I nodded thankfully and put my head down on his shoulder.
I suppose I fell asleep, because the next thing I remember was Rurutip sliding out of the sheets, and walking out of the room, head in his hands and a look of pain on his face.
I could almost pretend that the look of pain came from his pondering my demise.
***
The next morning I was sent for, and I entered the Prince's rooms a bit nervously.
I ought to have. These were new rooms.
He was no longer in a chamber adjoined to his father's, but in one of his own, alone. However, despite the fact that it was a dressed-up version of Ru's quarters, one other thing had not changed. Vejiita-ou stood waiting for me.
I bowed slowly, and waited for him to tell me to look up.
He finally motioned with his hand for me to rise and follow him into the bedroom. I did so, and the doors hissed back to reveal the small Prince - now almost a year old and for the first time wearing not a form of diaper but the customary blue unitard of Royalty (warriors wore black) - sitting on the huge bed, blinking around at his new environment.
He smiled in our direction when we entered, and I couldn't tell who he was happier to see, me, or the King. I had a sneaking suspicion it was me.
He held out his hands - the ki burns long healed - wiggling his fingers and I obliged by kneeling at the edge of the bed so he could dig into my hair, giggling.
After a protracted moment of this, I saw the King come to stand beside us, and I looked up, sitting on the edge of the large bed and taking the Prince onto my lap with a small grunt. Saiya-jinn children grow up fast, and Vejii was no exception.
He had already begun to eat solid food and was on the verge of learning to walk without my support to keep him upright. I also had the feeling that his first battle cry was going to come issuing from his throat any day now.
The King looked at us for a long time, then said, voice grave. "How much did you see?"
I pursed my lips, deciding what to say. Finally, I settled with. "If you mean what I saw yesterday, I can assure you it wasn't much, my Lord." I cleared my throat self-consciously. My voice was harsh, but the med technicians said it would heal soon enough.
He frowned. "I need details, bitch." His hands fisted on his hips.
I paused again, after foolishly covering Vejii's ears with my hands. The boy really didn't need to learn such words so early!
"I... walked in. There was a small woman breast-feeding his little majesty. She slammed me against the wall, and before I could answer her demands, I passed out."
The King rubbed his goatee thoughtfully, as he usually did when in deep thought. "And what did she demand?"
"She just wanted to know why I was... in her son's room."
The King stared at me. Then he snapped, "Forget you ever saw her. She doesn't exist anymore."
My eyes grew wide as he turned on his heel and stalked towards the door, and -forgetting my place, or perhaps purposefully ignoring it - I called "What do you mean?" He whipped around to snarl at me, and I hastily added, "My Lord."
He straightened and looked pointedly at the boy in my arms. "None of your damned business."
"With all due respect, Majesty, " I stood slowly, anticipating getting knocked flat on my ass by a fist, "I believe I have a right to know. She did almost kill me, after all."
The King stared at me in cold amusement, arms crossing over his chest and sneer playing upon his lips. "Very well then, " he spat. "It is customary that the mother of the Royal Heir be destroyed after she has finished her services in rearing the brat. That way the child never has the weakness that comes from such a bond. Vejiita's mother was the woman you saw yesterday. She was feeding him for the last time."
I wailed in horror as his words struck home, and fell back onto the Prince's enormous bed.
Then the King spun back around and in a blink of an eye, was gone.
Vejii merely reached up from my lap and ran the tips of his chubby fingers through the glistening salt-water on my cheeks, almost as if he were trying to comfort me.
***
I cried myself to sleep in Ru's arms that night.
He couldn't quite understand what was wrong with me, but comforted me anyway, and let me have my rest.
Words can't describe how grateful I was to him for it.