The Queen:
Part 1
By: senzubean
I do not own Dragon Ball Z in any way. I make no profit from this story. I just wrote it for fun.
Chapter 1: Beginnings
"Where is she?" The young saiyan female asked herself. Her little sister had wandered off again. She scanned the ground for footprints then crouched down and touched the grass. "She hasn't come this way." The girl stood up and scanned what seemed to be an endless blanket of trees. "Oh, Letta, when will you ever learn?"
The girl levitated high above the trees and scanned the valleys, mountains and fields. She didn't understand how one little girl could disappear so quickly.
"I can't find her." The female panicked. "I hope she hasn't gotten into trouble like yesterday."
She pushed her long black hair out of her face as she flew. She was so busy scanning the woods that she did not see the men approaching her.
"There she is." One bellowed to the others. The girl was startled and halted in mid-air. She regained control and tried to fly away in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, she had lost too much time though and one immediately latched on to her. He tried to pull her down but she was too strong. She flew like lightning and tried to shake him off by diving and making sharp turns, unaware that she was dealing with one of King Vegeta's Elite soldiers and not a common saiyan savage. The other seven soldiers joined their comrade and managed, with some difficulty, to drag her to the ground.
They all piled on top of her so she wouldn't escape. They had been warned that she might struggle. To their surprise, she did not. She lay beneath them limply, eyes shut. She had surrendered.
Two of them each grabbed an arm and hauled her to her feet. She stood up proudly, giving off an air of power although she was quite small. The leader of the group stood in front of her.
"So, you are wise as well as strong." He remarked. The girl stared right in his eyes challenging him to take her on and experience just how strong she was. "Pretty too." He added and smiled. He rose up in an official looking stance. "By the orders of his majesty, King Vegeta, you are being arrested." He paused for a moment, and sized her up. He wasn't very impressed by what he saw.
"What is your name girl?"
"Recely."
The two guardsmen escorted Recely into a large, dark chamber. They released her in the middle of the room, turned and left. She watched as the heavy doors shut and then heard the two men bar it from the outside. She scanned the room nervously. There was a long table in the center with over two dozen chairs. Across the room there was a set of doors just like the ones she had been escorted through.
Why has the king brought me here? Why didn't he just have those men band against me in the woods? They would have killed me had they all attacked at once.
Recely was terrified. Every tiny noise made her jump. She didn't want to die yet. She took a deep breath. But, if I am to die, then I am to die. I will not give the king the satisfaction of knowing that I am afraid of him.
Recely rose up to her full height, which was not very much and stood her ground, arms at her sides and feet apart. She was ready for when the King would enter the room. She waited for over a half an hour. Finally, she got a little too bored and stiff and decided to take a stroll around. She was about to take a step when the doors in front of her flew open.
A tall figure marched in. His feet landed heavily on the floor with each powerful step. Recely dropped to her knee in a low bow. The king had frightened her after all. His presence was so powerful; it filled the room and weighted the air. The king walked right past Recely, ignoring her, and started to rummage through a long cupboard mounted on the wall. Recely didn't know what to do next, so she remained on the floor. She heard glass clinking and liquid pouring. Then the king stepped up beside her.
"Recely?" The king asked.
"Yes your majesty, how may I be of service to you?" Her words came out broken as she forced them from her mouth.
What is the matter with me? I am not a coward, but the King is going to think I am! Recely, Be strong!
She tried to will herself to stop shaking, but her body had other ideas. His presence was overbearing. She felt him towering over her, staring down. She braced herself for his inevitable blow, but it did not come.
"We will see what service you can be." The king replied coldly. Recely slowly looked up at him. He was muscular, tall and arrogant looking, every inch a King.
"You will join me." He said looking at her without expression. He was holding two full glasses and he motioned towards the table.
"Yes your majesty." She said and rose. The king handed her a drink and took his place at the head of the table. Recely sat down at the other end and stared at the drink she clutched with both hands, afraid to make eye contact with him. The king stared at her while sipping his drink. Recely dare not sip hers.
"You are 16?" He asked after what seemed like an eternity to Recely.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"And you have a power level of 11,000?" He asked.
"That is what I was told by the soldiers who brought me here, Your Majesty." She would honestly have to take their word on that fact; she had no idea what a scouter was previous to that day and she had never known her power-level. All she knew was that she was phenomenally strong. Too strong for her own good.
"Do you like to fight?"
Recely didn't know how to respond. Honestly, she did not but what should she tell the king? If she said yes, he might feel threatened, if she said no, he might think she was a coward, or worse, a liar.
"Answer me." The king ordered impatiently.
"No, Your Majesty, I do not." She replied honestly. She decided honesty was always better than lying. Curiosity got the better of her and Recely brought her eyes up from her glass to look at him. She was met with his analyzing glare, she could plainly see that he did not believe what she'd just told him.
Her hands started to noticeably shake and her drink sloshed around in her glass.
The king stared at her. "You do not like to fight and you are afraid." he observed. "Someone is lying to me." He got up and walked over to her end of the table. He loomed over her. Recely stopped shaking. She was frozen in fear now.
"Who's lying to me girl?" He demanded in a reserved tone. She turned her head away from him. He violently grabbed her by the jaw and twisted her head to look up at him. The action made her spill her drink all over herself.
"Are you lying to me?"
"No, your majesty." She said trembling.
"Well, someone is. Those soldiers that came crawling back from your woods yesterday said that you had attacked them. They said that you were a warrior. You look like a scared little mouse to me, most disappointing."
"I am no coward!" Recely said forcefully, pulling her head from the King's grasp.
The King smiled.
"Prove it then." He said in a perfectly casual voice, then he hauled off and hit her across the face. Her head swung to the right. The king looked impressed. Most of his subjects would've been plastered all over the opposite wall after a blow like that from him. Recely, however, remained in her seat. She turned and looked up at him.
"What have I done to deserve this punishment?" Recely asked trying to contain her fear and anger. Surly he understood that she was only protecting her territory, she hadn't defied him in any way.
"This isn't punishment, girl." He stated and took a handful of her hair and lifted her out of her seat. " You've done nothing to offend me, I assure you." He threw her across the room. She gained control of herself in midair and lowered herself safely to the ground.
The king laughed then lunged at her. She blocked his kicks and punches until he had forced her back against the far wall. The King was amazed. He didn't knock her off balance and she didn't seem to be in pain. He wanted to see more.
"Defend yourself, girl!" The king shouted at her.
Recely swung at him, obeying his order. She figured she had nothing to lose. I'm dead anyway; I might as well fight him and prove to him that I am no coward.
The King caught her fist but missed the other one. She buried it into his stomach. He groaned with pain, then head butted her. She took a defensive stance, undaunted by the blow. Her landed punch did not make her confident, she knew the king was holding back the bulk of his power.
Recely kicked him in the face as he advanced on her, causing him to stagger backwards. He mimicked her attack exactly She fell back more than he had and blood dripped from her nose. The King then flung a power ball at her, which she batted away effortlessly. The power ball plowed through the wall leaving a large, smoking hole. Immediately, She returned one of her own. The king received it on the chest, then flung ten more at her. Recely deflected three, but the other seven were too fast and hit her. She was thrown across the room and slammed against the wall. Then she landed in a heap on the floor. But she wasn't through.
She went to get up, but the king was there to force her back down. He kicked her with a force that had to be close to his full power-level, and she slammed against the wall again. Slowly she pulled herself to her feet. She was getting weary.
Enough! She thought to herself then powered up, yelled and charged. She punched him over twenty times in the face. As she pulled her arm back for a final blow, he grabbed her arm and slammed her off the floor. A few bones in her right arm cracked and she felt pain shoot through it like lightning. The pain came as a surprise; no one had ever caused her to hurt like that before. She lost precious time while recovering from the shock of it. The King straddled her prone body and pinned her by her arms before she could attempt to get back up. He knelt over her, smiling ecstatically. She brought her leg up between his legs in a desperate attempt to force him off her. The king chuckled.
"You're one powerful little woman. I was hoping you weren't lying to me!"
Recely stared at him angrily; she wasn't through fighting yet. She had more to give. She glared right at him. Blood was smeared over his face and it looked like she might have loosened a few of his teeth.
He then did something completely unexpected. He kissed her right on the lips, passionately. Recely tried to tear herself away to no avail. She kicked him between the legs as hard as she could. He burst out laughing.
"Oh, I'm pleased with you!" He stated and then put his left hand around her throat keeping her pinned to the floor. She tried to lash pout with her right arm, but that was the one that had been broken and it gave her too much pain. She missed as he moved towards her lower body.
"You're definitely the closest to my equal." He stated then put his hand on her abdomen, he clenched his fingers around the fabric of her pants.
He smiled at her. "So, you wanted to know how you can be of service to me? Well, as you know, I am the most powerful man on this planet. I can't train seriously with anyone here, no one is any match for me and to be completely honest, I've become positively bored." The King chuckled pleasantly, then looked at her with adoringly. " But you my dear, are different. You're power-level is much greater than 11,000. You are not only the strongest female on the planet; you're the second strongest Saiyan! Do you understand what that means? The only person who could possibly best you on this entire planet is I. I need you as my training partner." He pulled at the fabric some more causing Recely to tense every muscle in her body.
"Consider yourself lucky, had you been a man you would've been too much of a threat to me and I would have destroyed you." He clenched his hand tighter and his expression turned to one of reserved excitement. "Also, every kingdom needs an heir. The Planet Vegeta does not have one. You will provide that heir. There is no female on this planet better than you." He smiled and kissed her again. Recely just closed her eyes. What he was telling her was not sinking in.
"You will be my mate, my queen." He stated this solemnly and kissed her again, for over two minutes. Recely lay beneath him limply; allowing this violation and praying it would go no further. As the King kissed her, he slowly released his grasp around her throat, then the grasp on her pants. Recely relaxed, exhausted from panic. She had been sure he was going try for his heir right there and then. For reasons unknown the King had spared her that trauma. He rose off the floor abruptly, freeing his victim completely. Recely lay there in shock.
The King made his way over to the cupboard and began pouring them more drinks. Recely sat up on the cold floor and put her hand to her head. She had a headache and it wasn't just from the beating she had just received. A million things were going through her mind. Horrible Scenarios of how terrible her life would be from then on.
The King returned to her side and tried to help her up. But Recely shunned the assistance and stood back up herself. She swayed a bit but managed to stand up proudly. The King handed her another drink. She accepted it and muttered a very ungrateful thank you. The King held out his arm to escort her to the table but only then realized that they had destroyed it. He hurriedly picked up an overturned chair and brought it to his queen. Recely immediately collapsed into it. The King turned to get himself one and when he turned back he saw Recely passed out over the armrest of her chair and her drink tipped over in her lap.
Chapter 2: Family
Recely was woken up for the fifth time that morning. She suspected that another servant had entered her chamber. The King was sending one after the other it seemed. All of them offering food, books, and technology that she'd never heard of. It was all very annoying, Recely wanted to be left alone in order to try and cope with this situation she'd gotten herself into.
She woke up in a rejuvenation tank the night before, frightened. She had never seen such devices and didn't feel safe in it. She was quite astonished when the King, looking very concerned as she stepped out, explained what the machine was and that she was fully healed. Recely didn't believe him at first, but the way she felt proved it to be true. She was healed. This place she was in now was completely foreign to her. Planet Vegeta had been her birthplace but this was not the world she knew.
Promptly, she was escorted to her rooms. There were four of them in total and they were all elaborately decorated with objects she did not need. Objects such as velvet drapery and silk bedcovers. There were Fireplaces in each room and a bathtub that could be mistaken for a swimming pool.
The King then showed her the room attached by two massive doors to bedchamber. Across this room, directly opposite the doors attached to Recely's, there were two more doors that the King said were attached to his own chambers. This room was almost identical to her bedroom, with an almost identical bed only it had guardrails on the sides There were a few other items placed in the room that indicated to Recely that she was standing in the chamber of the future Prince or Princess. She was more frightened than ever by this. The expression on the King's face was one of eagerness and excitement. Recely looked away for m him and re-scanned the room carefully. Her gaze fell on a rocking chair near the huge window, the same windows present in every one of her rooms. A baby blanket was neatly folded over the headrest. Everything needed to care for a baby was ready and waiting in that room. The only thing in that room that wasn't ready for a baby was Recely.
Before allowing her to retire, the King explained that she was his equal and had as much power in the kingdom as he did. Anything she wanted was hers and told her to feel free to order the servants to perform any service. He then remarked at how beautiful she was then left.
Recely was not happy. Nor was she impressed with the King. She didn't want anything except to go home and she knew that that was the one wish the king would refuse to grant.
She was up all night crying. She loved her family and the title of queen was not something she valued more than that. She remembered the previous day's events with sorrow. She had wished she'd listened to her older brother.
Recely! Recely!" A high pitched voice yelled from somewhere within the Forrest. Recely looked towards the origin of the voice and sighed. She re-sheathed the sword she was cutting up her kill with and walked towards the woods. She was only halfway there when a little saiyan girl plowed right into her legs. She swung around to hide behind the older girl.
"What's wrong now Letta?" Recely asked flatly. There was always something wrong with Letta.
"Ratok and Crol beat me up!"
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Then what's the problem?"
"They beat me up!"
Recely growled in frustration. She grabbed the girl's arm and flung her towards the Forrest. Letta landed on her rear and immediately started to whine.
"Enough of that! You're not a baby anymore; you need to defend yourself and stop running to me. I have work to do."
"But Recely I'm not strong."
"And you won't get strong if I keep fighting your battles for you. I refuse to do it anymore, so don't even ask me!" She then returned to butchering dinner. Letta lingered for a while; hoping Recely would have pity on her and help. Recely ignored her. Letta finally gave up went back to the woods.
Recely felt a little bit bad, but se knew it had to be done.
"There's no valid reason for a Saiyan Female to be weaker than a male." The words of her brother, Sage, echoed through her mind. He was right. She knew it would be hard on the little girl at first, but she'd be better off in the future. Recely felt bad about being so hard on her, but she desperately wanted Letta to grow stronger. She couldn't be with her every hour of every day.
She took the meat into the house and started to cook it in a stew pot over the hearth. She'd have to go out and catch some more. She had five Saiyan mouths to feed. One huge carcass wasn't nearly enough. Her chores were another reason why Recely couldn't go fight for Letta; they'd never get done. Letta was so self-conscious, she could hardly function.
Sage is worried about her. Recely thought. With good reason.
As a female she was a target for males because there were so few on the planet Vegeta. But Letta was also weak, the lowest class of saiyan you could find. She had a power level of 1. Sage had found Letta in a destroyed village. A group of savages had attacked and killed everyone. He had heard Letta crying and had found the six-month-old in the village well, traumatized. The savages had killed her parents and left Letta to drown in the well. Somehow she survived.
Recely and Sage had loved and cared for her like she was their sister. But instead of the little girl prospering and growing stronger like the other orphans they took care off, Letta remained weak and helpless. No amount of training and encouragement could raise her power level from 1. At five, Letta was no more powerful than the animals the family ate for dinner every night.
Sage always told Recely that there was no hope for her. That one day, she would be killed. Recely had more confidence in Letta than that though; she had survived the savages beating and the well that was meant to be her grave at such a helpless age.
Recely and Sage ran the only orphanage on the planet Vegeta and it was only a matter of time before Sage found another child. Recely wasn't worried about that. She liked the children, they would probably be the closest things she'd have to her own. There was no hope of her ever obtaining a mate for herself. Although she was beautiful, she was much too strong to reveal herself to anyone.
Recely ran through the Forrest with swiftness uncommon to even saiyans. Most saiyans were large. Brute force was what most saiyans goals were. That's also why most saiyans were idiots. Recely and her brother were both small though and they were smart. They depended more on their minds than on strength. Sage more so, because he wasn't very strong, a middle-class.
She found another huge beast to kill. She crouched behind some shrubbery, smiling excitedly.
This one's exceptionally large; maybe I won't have to kill another if I can get it. Recely thought to herself. She unsheathed her sword in complete silence and was about to jump.
"AHHHHHHHHH!" a familiar high-pitched scream echoed. The beast was startled took off into the woods.
"Dammit Letta!" Recely grumbled. She stood up and sheathed the sword. She looked towards the beast. I wonder if I can catch it? She shook her head. I'd better go see what that kid wants now. Those other two brats might actually be hurting her.
She started to run towards the screams. They were getting fainter. Recely was worried, it was odd of her not to stop. It was also odd for Ratok and Crol not to stop whatever they were doing to her. They know how dangerous these woods are, it's not a good place to be fooling around. Recely took off into the air. The noise was almost inaudible now and she couldn't lose the girl.
I'm starting to think it's not Ratok and Crol that are doing this to her.
Recely was right. Two very large men were bothering Letta this time. Recely growled in rage.
"Not those bastards again! Why won't they leave us alone!" She exclaimed to herself and began her descent.
"I want her!"
"No, I caught her!"
"But I saw her, besides, you've eaten today, I couldn't catch anything."
The two brutes argued. Each had one of Letta's arms and was playing tug of war with her. Letta screamed. Both men yelled in frustration at the noise and threw her onto the ground rendering her unconscious. At that precise moment, Recely dropped down between the two men, with rage in her eyes. They were still fighting over Letta and didn't seem to notice her.
"Hey!" She interrupted them. "Haven't you guys figured it out yet? I'll destroy you both like I did your friends! Why do you insist on tormenting my family?" Recely shouted at the top of her lungs.
Recely waited for her answer, expecting it to be in the form of some pathetic attack. The savages weren't very strong, although they believed themselves to be invincible. They were vagabonds who ravaged the country villages for fun. They were dangerous men, all they wanted was to fight, and eat, and they very rarely passed up an opportunity with a woman since they saw so very few.
When she was about ten there were over a dozen of them. She was sixteen now and she had single-handedly knocked the number down to three.
Recely realized too late that these men were not savages. They were wearing armor and they were clean, as far as cleanliness goes with saiyan males. Recely knew she shouldn't fight them because they were soldiers If she started fighting she would have to kill them because no one else could find out how powerful she was. That would be sure suicide. She considered scooping up Letta and running, but she knew the soldiers' curiosity would be sparked and they would follow her to her home and endanger her family. She cursed internally, wanting to know why they were even this far outside any city. Sighing, she prepared her attack, she knew that she had to destroy them now. She just hoped there weren't more of them close by.
"We don't know you, girl. But we can remedy that." The larger soldier laughed with a sinister expression and advanced towards her. Recely understood what they would do to her if they caught her, but they wouldn't catch her. He lunged out to grab her but was thrown backwards by the blow she dealt his chest. He plowed through two trees breaking them off at the trunks, then landed unconscious and bleeding on the ground.
She turned to the other soldier. He took one look at her, then at his comrade.
"Unbelievable!" The man exclaimed. He then looked at the unconscious Letta, grabbed her up by her shirt and held her out in Recely's view. Recely scowled, powered up and began to advance on the man.
"Don't come any closer, or I'll kill this little weakling.
Recely stopped but remained engulfed in energy.
He smiled wickedly at her, engulfed himself in a blue aura then shot off into the air with Letta. Recely shot up after him then to Recely's horror he threw Letta towards the ground full force. Recely barely had time to catch her. She scraped her arm off the ground as the force of her sister's plummet knocked her off balance as she caught her in her arms. The two tumbled across the clearing and almost slammed into a tree before they finally stopped.
Letta moaned softly and started to stir in Recely's arms. She examined the child, afraid she'd been seriously injured. Letta's eyes fluttered open and she immediately began to wail, Recely took this as a good sign that her sister was fine.
She then turned her attention to the soldier. He was long gone, not even a vapor trail remained. Recely heaved a sigh. If Sage finds out I'll be in for an earful. Best he not.
She hugged Letta close for a few minutes then set her on her feet.
"Go and wait for me in the woods" She said gently. She still had a job to finish.
"But Recely.." Letta began to whine but stopped when she saw her sister's warning expression. She timidly walked into the woods, sobbing all the way.
Recely waited a few minutes to be sure that Letta was far enough away that she wouldn't hear. Then, she walked over to the unconscious soldier. She examined him curiously.
So this is what saiyan men from the cities look like. I'm disappointed; he looks like a savage.
During her examination she noticed his chest was still.
She bent down in order to check for a pulse. She had just pressed her fingers into the man's neck when he grabbed her hand. Recely cried out in surprise. He snarled at her and struggled to get up. Recely hardly noticed that he was hurting her wrist, she was stuck in his gaze. His expression was terrifying. No savage had ever looked at her like that before. The savages looked at her as if they would kill her, so did this man, but the difference was that the savages were confident that they would be able to destroy her, this man's expression told her that he knew that he couldn't and he hated her for that. Recely broke away from his hypnotic stare and finished him off with a surge of power forced through her arm into his body. He fell back down to the ground limply and lay still. Recely checked for a pulse just in case and was thankful when it was absent.
She wrenched her hand from his grasp in disgust.
"Hmph!" Recely scoffed. "Wherever you are, I hope that you can hear me. I'm sure that a soldier like you wanted a more honorable death. A big tough man like you being killed by a girl is a great humiliation isn't it? Well, you deserved it you scum, how dare you attack a defenseless child! I hope you rot in hell with all the other savages I've killed. You all deserved the end you received."
That said, she went to retrieve her sister.
"Why are you late?" Sage demanded. He was overprotective of the children, and being five minutes late for dinner was an almost unforgivable mistake in his eyes.
"We had some problems in the woods." Recely replied. She set Letta down at her place at the table.
"Gee Letta can't you stay out of trouble for two seconds?" Crol demanded.
"This is none of your business." Sage chastised. "If you're finished eating then go out and train." The two boys obeyed and left the house. Recely set to work dishing up her and Letta's supper.
"Sorry if there wasn't enough." Recely said remembering that she hadn't finished her hunting.
"I don't care about the food, all that matters is that you two got home safely." Sage smiled. "So, did you finish off the last of the savages?"
"They weren't savages." Recely replied.
"Then who were they?" Sage asked a little panicked.
"I don't know." Recely lied.
"Were they wearing armor?" Sage demanded urgently.
"No." Recely lied again, then started eating her dinner. She didn't like lying, but she didn't want Sage to worry needlessly, what was done couldn't be undone after all.
Sage was somewhat relieved with her answers.
"Did you protect Letta again?" He asked accusingly.
"Yes." Recely replied exasperated. She loved her brother dearly, he was more like her father but sometimes his questions and lectures got on her nerves. She couldn't stop being strong, so why should he worry about it. She figured she was in for another lecture. "I killed one." Recely stated. "But the other got away."
Sage stared at her in silence for a moment.
"I thought I told you that Letta was not to go 50 feet from the house." Sage said angrily. Recely sighed. Her brother had actually marked off the end of that 50 feet with a small rope that he embedded in the ground. Recely thought that that was a little much. Letta looked at the floor ashamed. She always whined until Recely let her go with the other kids. Recely noticed that Letta wasn't eating her food.
"Can we discuss this later, Sage?" Recely looked at Letta. Sage understood and silently agreed.
"What's wrong, Letta? You're not hungry?" Sage asked in a concerned voice.
"No." Letta replied meekly. "I'm too scared."
"Of what? Your big sister is always there to protect you, right?"
"Uh-huh." Letta replied even meeker than before. She started to cry. "I'm always getting her into trouble."
Recely looked at her and her heart broke. She wished her brother could hold his tongue in front of her.
Sage started to dry her tears with his sleeve. "No, you're no trouble. I just worry about you all. I'm sorry I said those things." He smiled at her. Letta smiled back. "Now, eat your dinner so you'll grow up big and strong."
Letta started to eat appeased. Recely smiled. Sage always encouraged Letta to increase her power level, even though he told Recely it was hopeless.
After Recely put the children to bed and was sure they were asleep, she and sage went to talk out in their yard.
"You have to stop fighting for her Recely. Either she stays in the yard or fends for herself."
"That's not fair sage, she likes playing with the other kids." Recely replied frustrated and threw herself down on a stone bench.
"The other kids can take care of themselves." Sage replied and began to pace in front of her. Arms crossed. Recely looked at the ground and leaned back on her arms. She knew how long the lectures could be, she decided she might as well be comfortable.
"You're so stubborn sage! We have this conversation at least once a week!"
"We wouldn't if you would just listen! You always let her wander off into the woods unsupervised and you both get in trouble!"
"So what Sage, its no trouble fighting those jerks, they're the worst kind of scum and they all deserve to die!"
"Maybe so. But that doesn't mean you should risk your life unnecessarily."
"What are you talking about?" Recely demanded. Letta was not an unnecessary risk in her eyes.
Sage stopped his pacing and stated gently. "Recely, Letta is not a normal Saiyan."
"Yes she is, she just has problems!"
"No, Recely. She is not normal. A normal child would've bounced back by now." Sage argued getting increasingly frustrated.
"Her parents were slaughtered and she was left to die!"
"She was too young to remember any of that." Sage practically yelled. Recely eyed the house, afraid he'd woken up the kids. He sighed, shook his head, and continued in a calm tone. "She's not going to survive for very long Recely. One of these days you'll be too late to help her."
"No!" Recely exclaimed in assurance.
"Yes!" Sage replied forcefully. "Accept it, she's going to die." Sage got up and walked towards the woods. "And as horrible as this sounds, I think it's for the best." Recely's mouth dropped open.
He quickly disappeared into the woods. He took walks when he was frustrated. Sometimes he didn't return until the next afternoon.
Recely pulled her legs up to her chin and sobbed. I don't care what sage thinks! Letta deserves to live as much as I do.
"Recely? Can I go to the pond?"
"No, Letta." Recely responded for the fifth time. She hung some laundry on the clothesline to dry. Letta was lying on the stone bench. Her head was tipped backwards and she was looking at everything upside down.
"Will you take me?"
"When I'm finished with the housework." Recely replied as she started folding dry clothes.
"Where's Sage?" Letta asked.
"He's hunting?"
"Since breakfast?" Letta wondered. It was almost evening. Recely sighed. She's small in power but she's not small in mind.
"I guess so." Recely replied. Letta let herself tumble off the bench.
"I am trouble aren't I?" Letta asked out of the blue in a casual manner.
"We told you that you weren't."
"But I don't think you really meant it."
"We don't lie Letta!" Recely snapped. As much as I love her she can really grate on my nerves!
Letta looked at the ground. " Ratok said he heard you talking last night and he told me that he heard Sage say he thought that everyone would be better off if I died."
Recely dropped her basket in shock. She quickly regained her composure.
"Sage and I don't lie, but it's obvious that Ratok does!" Recely responded. She knelt beside Letta, who had started to cry. "He was only teasing you, we would never say such a thing. You are our sister and we love you!" Recely pulled her close to her and hugged her warmly.
"I love you too." Letta replied and hugged tightly back. The two stayed like that for a few moments, until they heard someone enter the yard. It was Sage. Letta jumped up and ran to him, attaching herself to his leg affectionately. Sage tussled her hair half-heartedly.
"Letta, go inside the house and stay there until we return." Sage said in a flat tone. Letta obeyed immediately, hiding her emotions from him, she was crushed that he didn't seem to care about her, he did not return her gesture of love. She peered through the window when she got inside.
Recely grumbled in severe annoyance, she saw right through Letta's mask and was angered that her brother had not.
"I finally got her feeling better and you came home and ruined it." Recely accused. " Ratok heard you talking last night and he told Letta that horrible thing you said."
Sage's face was unmoved. Recely expected him to at least be remorseful.
"Why did you lie to me?" Sage demanded. The vein in his forehead was throbbing. Recely knew that she was in trouble.
"So, you found the body." Recely asked. I guess I should have removed the armor and destroyed it. I won't repeat that mistake.
" You looked me in the face and told me that they weren't wearing armor" Sage said, his expression of fury morphed into one of devastation. "Why Recely? What else have you lied to me about?"
"Nothing!" Recely replied defensively. She heaved a sigh of frustration. "I lied so you wouldn't worry about me, Sage. I had to fight them, there was no backing out and unfortunately, one got away. So what?"
"SO WHAT?!" Sage erupted. "Have you any idea what you've done."
"Oh, perhaps I've provoked the wrath of King Vegeta, our lord and sovereign!" Recely said sarcastically.
Sage glared at her furiously. "Fine Recely, be sarcastic. Dammit, how could you let one escape? Now he'll tell heaven knows how many people about you and that massive power level of yours. You are in big trouble!"
Recely rolled her eyes, she'd heard that speech a hundred times. If she hadn't let an enemy go she would've been too noisy and attracted nearby farmers, or destroyed too much of a noticeable amount of forest. Almost overtime she did battle for her family she did something, in Sage's eyes, to bring unwanted attention to herself.
"It's late, Sage. If King Vegeta had heard about this and was that interested do you really think I'd be here with you now? Humph! As if he could let his Kingly self be bothered by a stupid little hick in the woods!"
"We have to be cautious Recely. I agree that time has probably worked in our favor, but there's a chance that it hasn't." Sage said, ignoring her insult to herself. He walked up to her and took her face gently in his hands. "The king is very unpredictable. He could just be waiting."
"Why?"
"I don't know why."
Recely heaved a frustrated sigh. She was so sick of having this conversation. She wanted her brother to relax. He'd spent years worrying about her. She felt she was an adult now, it was time for her to worry about herself and let her older brother get on with a well-deserved peaceful existence. "What's the difference if they do come. There's nothing we can do about it now."
Sage embraced his sister protectively. "I just don't want to see you hurt, or worse."
"You really believe that the king is the only person who can do that?" Recely asked and then rested her head on his shoulder.
"Yes, I really do."
"I don't think so." Recely replied.
Sage kissed her on the forehead, ignoring her optimism. "Lets just hope this all blows over."
He had been right, but this is much worse than death!
Recely heard the door shut and sat up on the bed. She was ready to dismiss the servant, but it was not a servant it was the King.
"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" The King asked cheerfully. His tone annoyed Recely; she was far from cheerful and didn't plan on feigning cheerfulness.
She went to stand, but the king motioned her to remain where she was.
"Yes." Recely lied.
He stood next to her bed, a little too close for Recely's comfort. She didn't want to be anywhere near that man. She hid her agitation well. The king had no idea she was so angry with him.
"Good, how was your breakfast?" He asked. "I wasn't sure what you liked so I just had the servants prepare several things."
"I wasn't very hungry, but thank you."
"That's fine." The King replied. "You can inform my cooks at lunch what you like and they'll prepare it for you tomorrow morning. I'll send a servant after I leave so you can inform her what you'd like for lunch."
"Thank you." Recely said respectfully, she was having trouble being civil. The king was not there to discuss her favorite dishes or how she slept.
"How can I be of service to you, Your Majesty?" Recely asked as politely as she could. She knew the question was a rude one, considering he came to her room and not the other way around, but she could not help it. She was angry with him and she wanted to be left alone.
"I don't want anything from you now." The King replied. Recely noticed a touch of annoyance in his tone. "I came to ensure you were getting what you wanted." He added in a gentler voice.
How nice of you. Well, I'd like to go home, you bastard!
"I'm in want of nothing."
"Are you sure? The servants informed me that you dismissed them all." The King replied provokingly. He wanted to make amends for his ill treatment of her the night before and was becoming frustrated that she was refusing his apology.
"I really just want to sleep." Recely replied almost in exasperation.
"Of course." The king replied. "I'll leave you alone then. Did you want lunch? You can tell me what you'd like instead of me sending a servant."
"No, thank you. Perhaps I will eat supper."
"All right. Will you join me in the dining hall for supper?"
"As Your Majesty wishes."
"You may call me, Vegeta." The king stated. He looked at the floor for a few moments in silence. "Also," He paused for a moment as if searching for the right words. His gestures hadn't had any effect upon her, so he decided to try a more upfront apology.
"I apologize for last night, I think I scared you a little too much. I need someone...someone exactly like you. You can't imagine how long I've searched for the perfect mate, I had to be sure that I'd found her. I have, and I love you. You must understand why I could love you so quickly after just meeting you. You're the most powerful female of all Saiyans, Recely and I am the most powerful male. We belong together."
Belong together? Recely did not understand why he would say that, or even why he would apologize for his actions. He was the King. Whatever he ordered she was obliged to do if she wanted to hold on to her life. Belong Together. It was true, she'd never have found a mate that would accept her with such a high power level. Recely wished she could've had any man except the King though. But as much as she disliked the idea of being his mate, she knew deep down inside her that this was the way it was meant to be.
All this still didn't make what he did right, it didn't give her dignity back but it did give her a little hope. The hope that perhaps her life wouldn't be completely miserable for the rest of her days.
" Perhaps time will change my feelings towards you." Recely stated, again, thinking herself to be too bold. She had always been one to say exactly what she thought, no one had dared to try and complain to her about that, she had been too powerful.
She wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to love King Vegeta. She had to admit, he was one of the more refined saiyan men she had met, but she still thought he was deplorable. She wondered what he'd done with all those potential mates that didn't measure up to his expectations. More importantly, she wondered what he would do to her if for some reason he decided later that she didn't measure up either.
The king smiled a little then turned to leave.
"Oh, I almost forgot." He turned back to her. "I sent a messenger to tell your family where you are and of your new status."
Recely was shocked. She didn't want them to know. She hoped they would just assume she was killed.
Then finally, he left. Recely collapsed on the down filled pillows and groaned. She pulled the covers over her head just in case he sent the servant anyway.