The Queen:
Part 2
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 3: The King's Court
Recely absentmindedly ran her fingers over her crown jewels. She wasn't sure she was going to be able to handle the responsibility that they represented. As of an hour ago, she was Queen Recely Vegeta of the Saiyans. Sighing quietly she slid her dainty hand up her neck and felt the leather cord of her mother's necklace. She missed her family.
The day before, she had been informed by messenger that her Brother was happy that she was safe and told her not worry about the family. He sent the necklace back with the servant. Sage was going to give it to her when she reached adulthood. Recely understood that Sage assumed she was an adult now.
Recely was happy that her Family was safe, but she was positive that Sage would never stop worrying about her. Nor could she ever stop worrying about them. As long as she lived with the king they weren't safe.
As for her mate, she accepted him. She had no choice in the matter. It was impossible to refuse him, not without having her family suffer. She didn't care what happened to herself, he could kill her for all she cared but she would not put her family in danger.
Her reflection was broken by a question posed to her by an elite woman. The ladies she was mingling with after the ceremony were all older than she was. She had found out from them that the king himself was over twenty years her senior. Some of the ladies had children her age, which were off in little groups staring at her. Recely watched them. They did not seem to be unhappy. Something the King had said in relation to the children of the elite disturbed her.
A few days prior, when the King told her that he had scheduled their life bonding ceremony and her coronation; he also described who would be in attendance.
"The whole court will be there." He'd said
"The whole court?" Recely asked nervously.
"Oh, don't worry, there's not that many people in the court. It only consists of the elite, their mates, and their brats."
Recely cringed at the word "brats." He had said the word in a distasteful tone.
Is that his view of children? Recely wondered as she ran her fingers over the smooth blue stone in her mother's necklace. Her disappointment at that statement was extreme. She loved children, but it was obvious to her now that the king wanted a child for one reason and one reason only, to extend his power. The possibility of her ever loving the King was all but crushed now. Recely could feel her life getting more difficult every moment.
Again her train of though was broken by yet another, inane and uninteresting question. For the most part, Recely had no idea what the ladies were conversing about. She did not know anything of politics or city life, or even sociality for that matter. But what she did know was that these women obviously objected to her and she knew they were doubtful of her power. They were afraid to test it out none the less. The King had chosen her after all. Their approval did not matter. Recely was not impressed at all with them, nor with the men either. Super Elite was not a good word to describe any of them. They were all as brutal and crude as any ignorant savage from the deep woods.
The King was having a grand old time bragging about his new mate. The other men were astonished that she was so young and tiny and everyone in the room wondered where he had actually found her. The king was blatantly unconcerned with the new Queens breeding. A very odd thing for an elite, let alone a king to do. She was not an established Elite and everyone was trying to hide their curiosity as to why the king would life-bond with a woman with questionable lineage. No one dared ask him this though, he was the king and as the rumors stated, prone to fits of temper.
"Hey Veg!" A voice called from the doorway. King Vegeta smiled at the owner.
"How dare you walk in late, Argo!" the King chastised as he broke away form the group he was conversing with. He walked over to his friend and grabbed his hand in casual, playful greeting.
"Sorry, I was occupied by unfortunate circumstances." Apologized Argo and stood by the king's side. He was about the same size as King Vegeta, not counting hair. Like most saiyans he had black hair, cut short and he was clean-shaven. He was ganglier than the average saiyan and was considered to be almost skinny.
"Oh really?" The king smirked unbelievingly. "And what were those unfortunate circumstances?"
"My mate and I had a late night and slept in."
The King laughed loudly. "But you informed me last week that Kimpu was already with child."
"Oh she is, but we can still have fun. Did you know that those good for nothing Tsoofur-jin wrote whole books on pleasure techniques for the body? I swear, Veg, you'll never want to leave the bedroom again."
"I guess they were good for something then. You'll have to lend me that book."
"Sure. I should've brought it over with me. You could probably use it tonight." Argo elbowed his friend, then scanned the room. "So where is the Queen anyway? I want to see if she's prettier than Kimpu."
"Kimpu is pretty, but Recely is gorgeous." The King taunted. Then he pointed to the group of ladies Recely was with. "There she is, speaking with Kimpu."
"Shit, Vegeta! I thought you wanted a kid right away?"
"I do, moron!" The King responded in childish annoyance.
"Well, explain to me how you're going to accomplish that with a 12 year old girl?"
"She's not 12, she's sixteen." The King corrected defensively.
"That's not much better, cradle robber!" Chastised Argo in mock appall.
The King laughed at his friend.
"So, she's this powerful female Zorn told me about? And you found her in the woods of all places?" He examined her. "She doesn't look that powerful."
"Appearances can be deceiving."
"How powerful is she? Are we talking landing a punch on you powerful?"
"We're talking making me bleed powerful."
"Really?" Argo asked amazed. "Dammit Veg, you get it all don't you? A whole planet, a mate who is young, beautiful and extremely powerful and soon you will have a child to top it all off with. What next, dominance of the universe?
"I highly doubt that." replied The King sourly.
"Frieza been giving you grief?"
"Frieza gives grief to everyone. Especially us Saiyans." The King looked to Recely. "Hopefully, I'll be able to turn the tables."
"Certainly, especially if this Queen of ours is as powerful as you say. You'll sire a Super Saiyan with her, Vegeta."
"I hope so." The King replied solemnly and stared at his mate.
"Let's go." Argo Said and walked toward their mates. "I want to see what kind of personality this Queen has to go along with all her other endearing qualities."
"So, you're the unfortunate creature that gets stuck with King Vegeta?" Kimpu asked gravely and cocked an eyebrow at Recely. Recely stared back blankly and tried as hard as she could to mask her fear. She didn't know quite what to make of this woman who had just joined her side and began to converse with her, without paying the lengthy respects that all the other women had. The woman, tall, young and blonde laughed after a few minutes of silence. Her loud, boisterous laugh rang through the sitting room, interrupting every conversation and causing her to be stared at. "Don't look so upset. Think of it this way. You've ceased the anxiety of every other available woman on this planet, a lot of people will be grateful for that!" The woman punctuated this statement with more laughter and then lightly punched the queen in a friendly gesture and smiled. "Actually, he's not so bad as far as men go. He's the best ruler this planet could have." Recely regarded her with a confused expression, which gradually made way to a smile. Kimpu smiled warmly back. "Sorry for scaring you, your highness. I just can't control myself sometimes. I'm Kimpu"
Recely bowed respectfully and replied, "My name is Recely."
"I know, silly." Kimpu giggled. She side glanced at all the other women who were either smiling sheepishly or staring at the floor. The woman motioned with her head towards the refreshment table. "I need a drink, care to join me?" Recely nodded in affirmation and excused herself from the other ladies politely. Kimpu made no such gesture and merely turned away from them.
" Are you close friends with his majesty?" Recely asked making conversation. She was acting very familiar, not at all like the other women. Recely, knowing nothing of her mate, hoped Kimpu could tell her more.
"I think you can call him by his first name, Sweetie." Kimpu laughed.
"He told me I could." Recely replied simply. She didn't feel right about doing that yet.
"Than do it." Kimpu said sternly then giggled happily. "Yes, Vegeta and my mate are best friends, have been ever since they were children. They're like brothers. We don't see eachother much as we live fairly far away from Gardenia City in Foliage City. Vegeta built us a palace there when we life bonded."
Recely hung on to the words "Life bonded". Everything hadn't sunk in yet. Her happiness was fast fading into depression.
"So, " Recely started, trying to keep the conversation moving. "Your mate is a soldier too?" Recely wasn't sure if that was the right way to address a member of the king's army. The King vaguely explained what the elite did off world. It had seemed to Recely that they went to war on other planets.
"Oh no." Kimpu replied regretfully as she took a glass of water from a servant. Pausing only to ask if he was sure there was no alcohol in it. " Argo lost his tail in the last battle with the Tsoofur-jin . One of the dammed things severed it while he was transformed. He can't really help in occupying planets."
Recely looked towards Argo who was advancing with her mate. He had a tail.
"It's a prosthetic." Kimpu answered Recely's question before she could ask. "The Elite all know that it's fake, they don't care. But the citizens don't show the same respect towards a saiyan with no tail. Traditionally, punishment for crimes such as treason and murder and adultery were punishable by the severing of the tail. Some of the elders still consider it justifiable, although it's been decades since the King had a tail severed for a crime." Explained Kimpu.
"What's the punishment now?" Recely asked curiously.
"Actually, it's never come up. The King is so feared that crime is rare and the citizens themselves usually settle what crimes are committed quietly among themselves. The two great cities are virtually crime free." Kimpu sighed. "Vegeta is a good man, but he has a horrible temper."
Recely glanced at her advancing mate nervously.
"Anyway, " Continued Kimpu. "Argo feels that he's not powerful enough to fight with the elite. Foolishness, I told him, but he's quite stubborn. Vegeta appointed him the Prime Minister of the City Foliage, but he seems to be getting tired of that job. It's mostly all paper work, I suppose once a warrior always a warrior."
"Oh." Recely stated. She tried to think of some way to change the conversation but she was saved the trouble.
"Hey Kimpu, you're not frightening the Queen with horror stories about Veg are you?" Argo demanded as he and the King walked over to them.
"Of course not!" Kimpu said in mock anger and winked at Recely.
"So, Queenie, how do you like court life? It must be a hundred times better than rural life, hey?"
Recely was offended by the question. She'd trade the dingiest hole on the planet for her crown in an instant. "It's different." She replied simply, not admitting that she liked it but not rejecting it either.
Kimpu elbowed her mate angrily; she had not liked the question either. Argo's face fell, realizing that he'd done wrong.
"Well, You'll get used to it, soon enough." Argo replied submissively with a touch of warm-ness on his voice. "We've all come from the woods originally, Right Veg?" Argo prodded his friend who nodded and smiled.
Recely forced a smile. She had no choice but to get used to it. The King came beside her and put his hand on her shoulder. Recely stood there as naturally as she could, not wanting the discomfort she felt around the king project to the company.
"Kimpu, you and Recely seem to have hit it off." The King observed with a smile.
"Oh, I think so, don't you Recely? I dare say that I consider myself lucky. I just know we're going to be best friends like you and Argo." Vegeta smiled glad that Kimpu approved.
"Why don't you come over for supper tomorrow evening?" Vegeta asked.
"Hey cool." Argo Agreed. "I'll bring that book with me." Then he winked at the King.
"What book?" Kimpu asked. Argo just smiled. "Oh." Kimpu laughed in realization. Recely didn't like where this was headed. She had no idea what the three were talking about and she hoped this wouldn't be the way things would always be in her new home, everyone knowing more than she did.
"You two will have a child in no time with that piece of literature in the palace." Argo Laughed. Recely liked where the conversation was headed now even less.
"Don't rush." Kimpu warned, "You two have all the time in the world to have a child." She smiled warmly right at Recely. Recely smiled back in gratitude, her new friend understood that she was not ready to have a child yet.
"Don't be silly Kimpu, Veg wants a child right away." Argo blurted out without thinking, again.
"But perhaps Recely does not." Kimpu argued sternly.
"Why wouldn't she?" Argo demanded a little offended at his mate's tone; she was questioning the King after all.
Recely could feel the tension grow and she didn't want to have to answer that question she knew would be asked.
"Do you have children?" She asked of Argo and Kimpu.
"Not for another eight months." Kimpu replied and giggled, patting her stomach as she did so. Argo smiled proudly. "That reminds me, maybe tomorrow at dinner you two could help us with baby names, Argo and I are positively stuck." Kimpu had entwined her arm through Recely's and led her away from the men and toward the huge picture window. Recely counted her lucky stars that she had found a friend in Kimpu.
Vegeta and Argo looked after their mates.
"Women." Argo Shrugged. Then he looked at his friend mischievously. "Let's go get a fight started, Veg, I'm bored and I heard that Gourd and Chock are incredibly pissed at each other." Argo hurried off to provoke an argument. Vegeta shook his head and smiled. Then turned back towards his mate and her new friend. He knew Recely was acting distant but he hoped she would become more comfortable with time.
Chapter 4: History
The King flung a casual fireball at Recely. It missed by a lot. Recely was surprised he did it so half-heartedly. He seemed incredibly distracted. He wasn't as enthused as when they'd first met four days before.
"Is there something wrong, Vegeta?" Recely asked. She was scared to ask because she was admitting to him that she found his performance unchallenging and she wasn't exactly sure she wanted a challenge from him. They had guests coming in two hours and she doubted she would have time to heal in a rejuvenation tank and get ready as well. She was very excited about seeing Kimpu again.
"No." Vegeta said simply. He stared at her for a few moments. "Yes." He corrected. "Who are you?"
"Pardon?" Recely asked confused. He life bonded with me, isn't this the sort of question he should've asked before?
"Who are you? Why were you out in the woods? Who is your family?"
Recely smiled a bit. He had been so thrilled at her power that he didn't even give a damn where it came from. Well, let's see what his reaction to this will be. Recely was beyond fear now, she felt she could say anything to him.
"My family lived out there ever since we saiyans first came to this planet. He was a patriot of yours and was helping with the rebellion, in it's early stages"
"Who is your father?"
"My mother's mate was named Teeb."
"Never heard of him. Funny, I should remember that." The King racked his brain, upset that he could not remember this Teeb man.
"Well, he decided after the revolution started that he did not agree with it. So he and my mother fled to the woods."
"Hmmmm. He didn't have to do that. I gave everyone a choice. Plenty of my followers refused to fight. Some of them were elite."
Recely just shrugged, not knowing how to respond to that. She didn't know what her parents were thinking.
"So, what did they do in the woods? It must've been hard to survive there." The King stated.
"It was hard to survive there. They took care of orphans that lost their parents tot the Tsoofur-jin ."
"They were powerful?"
"No, they were second class saiyans." Recely admitted, with hesitation.
"Then how can you be so powerful?" Recely lowered herself to the ground from where she was in the air. The King followed, his curiosity overwhelming him.
"Well, the day your soldiers came to my home, I thought they were savages."
"Savages?" The King asked. "What kind of savages? And what do they have to do with your power level?" He demanded impatiently, assuming that she was trying to avoid telling him her true origins.
"Yes, saiyan savages, opposes to your rule. They have everything to do with my power level. I had to protect my family against them. They are very, very strong men and there were over a dozen of them at the start."
The King looked a bit shocked. "I hadn't known there were opposers to me." He said, quite annoyed, he was positive he had convinced everyone on the planet to pledge loyalty to him, despite the fact that many of them did not agree with his actions. The Vegeta family had been the protectors and governors of the saiyans since the beginning of time it seemed. It wasn't really a drastic change that the latest generation of the family Vegeta would officially appoint himself king. Obviously, he had missed a few saiyans in his convincing though. "But, even if you fought them since birth," the King continued "You wouldn't be this powerful now, not with middle classed parents."
"One of my biological parents was a middle classed saiyan, the other was..." Recely trailed off and looked at the floor. She now wished she hadn't been so eager to tell him about her heritage.
"A savage." Vegeta finished for her, remembering that Recely had referred to the man called Teeb as, "my mother's mate." not,"my father." He walked over to her and put his on her cheek. "I am so sorry."
"Why?" She snapped, making piercing eye contact with him. "You're not a savage. You have your own agenda for wanting a child. I have my own and that savage that was my father had his own." She turned away from him and tried to hold back her tears. "He wanted to hurt people, Vegeta. He was selfish. So, why are you sorry for what you did to me? Are your motives selfish as well?"
"No, my beloved they are not. I want a child to free this planet and I need you. I have not been completely honest or open with you. My affairs off world are..sordid ones." The King paused and swallowed. "I don't know if you were taught this but we saiyans ran a business on our mother ship as we traveled throughout the galaxy. We purged planets of civilized life for buyers, races like us, who did not have planets to call their own. We made a lot of money doing that. But my father grew impatient with this business and decided that it was about time we got a planet of our own. A home. When we landed here, what was then called the planet Plant, we met with Tsoofur-jin. We had been set on destroying them, but my father, being a businessman saw potential money in the technology the Tsoofur-jin offered. So, we allied with them and we actually led quite a peaceful existence for a few years. But the Tsoofur-jin weren't without their faults and they made the unfortunate mistake of trying to control us with their weapons and barriers. Not to mention they didn't hesitate to expel us form our newly established homes whenever they felt the urge to build a new city. By then, my father had died and I was in charge. I have a bad temper and in my youth may have acted foolishly, definitely impulsively, and what started out as a demand for equality transformed into a fight for dominance and …I won." The King swallowed again and looked at Recely. "Years passed and I tried to rebuild the damaged planet, I had plans for great cities, better than any of those we had ever lived in. I wanted to make this a home that we could all be proud of, but I needed money. We sold the technology to a lot of our previous planet customers but we soon exhausted that source of income. Then Frieza showed up. Have you ever heard of Frieza?" the King asked.
"Only recently, yesterday to be exact." Recely replied.
The King nodded understandingly. "Frieza is the most horrible, cruel and vicious tyrant the universe has ever known. I'll be the first to admit that I'm a brutal man, but Frieza…He's just a tyrant. He destroys planets for his entertainment and personal gain, not to survive. Anyway, I allied with Frieza five years ago in order to gain funds for the expansion for our two major cities, Gardenia and Foliage. It worked and the cities are now glorious, but recently Frieza has begun to take advantage of us and it's enraging me. My family did not work this hard for our people to be surpressed thus! I won't stand for it!" The King yelled, frightening his queen, who stumbled back from him.
The King calmed himself and looked at her pleadingly. ,"but I can't do it alone. In fact, I can't do it at all. But if a Prince or Princess was to be born with our combined power levels and trained properly he or she could do it and free us saiyans forever. I want to stop destroying lives and homes and start building them. I should have explained that to you from the beginning, but.... I had to be sure."
"Sure that I was the one." Recely turned to face him. "I am honored that you think I can help. But what you did to me was wrong, Vegeta. I'm not like the brutal saiyans you now, I love my family and all the power and possessions in the universe couldn't replace them!" Recely was breathing heavily, trying not to cry.
"I assure you my love, I will make up to you all that you've lost because of me."
"That's not possible, but if you really want to give me back some of my dignity you can promise me that you want me to help you better this planet and the universe itself. If this Frieza person is as terrible as you say, then the universe will be better off without him. It would comfort me to know that I would help better the life in general for the entire universe."
"That's exactly what I need you for. I need you Recely." He brought her close to him and embraced her gently.
"You're not upset about your mate being the daughter of a middle class saiyan and a savage?" That was reason enough for him to kill her. She was far from having the genes of an elitist, although she had the power of one.
"You are neither a weakling, nor a savage; therefore, I have nothing to be upset about."
Recely wept into his chest. She was happy that this man that she had thought was so horrible, so ruthless and selfish was not. She was happy that she was not just a possession to him, something to brag about. She was something useful to the planet. Not only would she save her family, and her race, but perhaps the universe as well.
Chapter 5: Death
Recely felt tears well up into her eyes again. She clenched her eyelids tightly together and held her breath. The exercise worked, a few remaining tears were squeezed out and ran down her cheeks. She wiped them away in her sleeve then inhaled slowly.
It had been three hours since she'd gotten the devastating news. Her best friend, the only one she'd ever had, was dead. Kimpu had died giving birth to her daughter. The King had been to see his best friend and upon his return informed Recely that the little girl her friend had birthed was absolutely beautiful and incredibly strong. An elitist at birth, as was expected. But Kimpu, despite being an elitist herself, had died bringing little Sala into the world. Recely smiled at he name, she had suggested it to Argo and Kimpu and they'd both loved it. She'd asked the King why Argo hadn't named his daughter after her mother. He replied that Kimpu had truly loved the name Recely had suggested and Argo wanted her to be named what Kimpu wanted.
Poor Argo Recely mused. He loved Kimpu so much. Their love was true, not like Vegeta's and mine. I know he tries to prove to me that it is, and maybe he does truly love me, but even after all this time; I don't love him even in the slightest.
She slid her hand down to her midriff and rubbed it over the slight bulge showing through her nightdress.
There's nothing I'd like more than to love that man.
She strolled over to her bedroom window and gazed out into the courtyard. The pathway to the front door was darkened as usual. No lights were placed to lighten it. The king had explained to her that this was because as the full moon approached the whole courtyard, as well as the rest of the entire planet, would be engulfed in light. She figured he would know about such things, he was old enough to remember the last full moon, she wasn't, not really. Her brother had told her once that he'd ensured that she missed it. She'd been 10, and had she transformed she'd have been too much for her brother to handle. Recely understood, as all saiyans did, that they went savage in transformed state.
Gazing at the moon, she realized that she was still undecided whether or not she would transform this time around.
Recely scoffed at the thought of it. She understood all too well why the King had wanted that heir of his so quickly. She had learned not long after her baby had been conceived, that it was widely believed that the earlier a saiyan transformed the more powerful he of she could become as he or she grew. The Prince or Princess would be but five years old upon the appearance of the first full moon.
The queen rubbed her stomach again. Hoping and praying that she would still be around. Kimpu had not been a weak woman.
Tears brimmed in her eyes again but were halted by some commotion at the front gate. She heard one of the guards talking sternly to someone then she heard the urgent voice of a child. She pushed open the glass to have a better listen.
At the front gate the guards were sneering down at a little girl.
"Go home Kid, it's bad enough we're out here all night, we don't need you annoying us."
"But I have to speak to my sister!"
"Kid, your sister aint here. The only woman who lives in here is the queen."
"I know, that's her. Recely."
The two guards laughed at the scruffy little girl. She started to cry.
The larger guard growled, annoyed at the girl's weakness.
"Little liar, the queen couldn't be any relation to a low class dog like you. Now get home to your parents before I send you there on the end of my boot!"
The girl remained motionless and stared at the ground, sobbing heavily. The guard waited a few minutes.
"That's it, you asked for it!" He yelled ad brought his arm up to strike her. He began the bone shattering swing towards her but stopped.
He yelled in pain and anger then ceased, terrified.
"Qu..Queen Recely!" He stammered in shock.
Recely glared at him as she held his distorted limb in her tiny hand. She'd shattered his massive arm by squeezing it between her delicate fingers. Her stance and glare was enough to terrify the two giant men. Recely smirked internally. She had forgotten how much fun it was to terrify ugly brutes like them. She was especially impressed with her performance that night; she was wearing her nightdress and was pregnant to boot.
She released the man then quickly scooped up the little girl, who, of course, was none other than Letta. She was sure she heard her name being spoken out
She then ran down the walkway and into the palace.
As soon as she was inside she turned Letta to face her. The little girl sobbed uncontrollably and whatever had sustained her in getting her all the way from her home in the woods to the palace was fading fast.
"Letta, what happened? Where's Sage?"
"Th..th..th they came, R..Rec.."
"Who?" Recely demanded urgently. By this time a small crowd of servants and a few elite had gathered in the foyer, including the two gate guards.
"Savages." Letta forced out quickly then fainted dead away in Recely's arms.
Recely sprang from where she had been kneeling on the floor and ran toward the palace's treatment center. Letta was covered with cuts and bruises. She was filthy and was too thin for her height. Recely knew she had ran or at least walked to the palace from the woods. Letta couldn't fly and it was a much greater distance over hills and valleys on foot than in the air.
Recely frantically ran down the zigzagging halls. She knew Letta wasn't strong, she could die so easily and she didn't want to lose another loved one that night. She knew that her brothers were gone.
She was so distraught with fear that she didn't see the king until he grabbed her by the shoulders stopping her in her tracks.
"What do you think you're doing tearing around like that?" the King demanded angry yet concerned all at the same time. Kimpu's passing had put fear into him.
He looked down at the child lying in her arms. It didn't take a genius to see that she was in serious trouble. The King took her from his mate so quickly that Recely didn't realize until he was halfway down the hall with the child. Recely stood stunned for a moment, ignorant as to how he moved so quickly. She continued her flight down the hall; frightened the King would consider the little weakling unworthy of rejuvenation.
To Recely's profound relief, Letta was quickly being put in a rejuvenation tank. She stumbled over to the chamber her little sister was in and pressed her hands and face up tot he glass. The chamber slowly filled with synthetic saiyan DNA. Recely closed her eyes and sank to the floor, relieved but still worried that something would go wrong and her only remaining family member would perish before her eyes.
Her eyes snapped open as she felt herself being hoisted off the floor and into someone's arms. The King had decided that she had exerted herself enough for one evening and was bringing her to her chambers.
"Who is that child?" The King asked as he walked out of the room.
"My sister." Recely replied and tried to wriggle her way out of the king's arms to no avail. She wasn't going anywhere. "Take me back, I need to be with her!"
"She's oblivious of anyone's presence right now and most likely will be for a few days." The King replied continuing on his way. "Now, tell me, how did she get herself here?"
"I don't know." Recely replied honestly. "She came on foot."
"Why didn't she fly?"
"She can't"
The king looked down at her confused. Most middle-classed saiyans could fly, Letta should've learned by then. The King was assuming she was at least a middle-classed saiyan.
"That's utterly impossible, Recely." The King stated. "There's no way she came this far on. The wildlife would've killed her before she even reached the farmlands."
"Well she's here, isn't she?" Recely asked impatiently. She already admitted that she had no idea how Letta managed by herself. Even the King thought it was unimaginable, and he didn't even know what her power level was.
"She must've had help. I'll send some men to scour the terrain from the palace gates to your family's doorstep."
Recely was touched that her mate thought her family so important. She didn't think he thought anything but power was important and her family was not powerful.
"Thank you." Recely replied gratefully. "But, I don't think the rest survived."
The King didn't answer that. They had arrived at her chambers. He kicked the doors open with one foot and carried her all the way to her bed. Then he gently set her down.
"Did your sister tell you what happened?"
"She said "Savages" before she passed out. You can guess what that means." Recely replied.
The king walked out of the room. "I'll send the full squadron of the elite to capture them and bring them here to be dealt with." The King said. "Don't worry. I will ensure that your sister is well taken care of." He turned off the lights as he exited. Recely collapsed on her pillows but she didn't cry. She decided she'd cried enough for everyone who'd died that day.
Well, Recely. This is a fine mess you're in. You stayed with that man to protect your family and now that family is gone, except for Letta and this unborn child. Letta might not make it though, then what?
Recely stared blankly at the men kneeling before her, offering her their condolences.
It wasn't that she was surprised. She knew that her brother's were dead two days prior. She just knew.
She felt the king's large, warm hand curl around her shoulder and neck in a comforting gesture. "Did you manage to capture any of these savages?" The King asked.
"Yes, Sire. We have three in custody and they have been brought to the dungeon."
"Excellent." The King said and broke away from his mate. "I shall deal with them presently."
Recely ran behind him. The King turned a little surprised and confronted her.
"I shall make them pay for their crimes, Recely, you needn't worry about that." Stated the King with an eager half smile.
"No! I want to!"
"Recely, " The King replied gently. "You've fought them all your life, let someone else rid you of them."
"No!" Recely insisted. "I must confront them! They are my enemies, my opponents!" She sighed and looked at her mate pleadingly. "I should have been there to fight them. It was my responsibility to keep them in check and I failed. My punishment for that failure is the loss of my brothers, who's only failing was to keep company with me." Her face scrunched up into a vicious scowl. "I want to make those men atone for everything they've done! I want to do it myself and I won't allow you to stop me!" She then shoved past him and ran towards the dungeon. The king sighed helplessly and followed. He had been told.
They were all pathetic. Beaten almost to death. Blood smeared all over the floors of their cells. Only one was conscious and Recely recognized him.
She stood before the bars of the cell staring at him in silence for a few moments. She didn't know what she was going to say to him. He had been the one she had the hardest time with throughout her life. She'd fought with him many times and every time he got away, by retreating like the coward he was. Recely clenched the bars; the mere sight of the despicable creature enraged her.
He was the first one to speak.
"So, the little woodland bitch ditched her burdens and took her right-full place as an elite."
Recely growled in rage at him. She clenched the bars still tighter and her jaw locked, preventing her from speaking. He had hit the nail on the head. She hadn't been there to protect her family. Not out of choice but still, she wasn't there.
"They weren't much of a challenge you know, that weakling of a man and those two little boys. It was short work. Too bad that little girl wasn't around anymore, we wanted to have a little fun with her before we off'd her. We were especially disappointed by your absence, Recely. I spent months recruiting those men and I promised them a good time. "
Recely was flabbergasted that he knew her name. She backed away from the cell and stared at him, not knowing what to do or say.
"We wouldn't have killed you Recely, we wanted you to join us. You're one of us, you know? You can't imagine how disappointing it is for a parent to discover that his child is a traitor to everything he believes in."
Recely stared at him unbelievingly.
The Man started to chuckle and dragged himself to stand before the bars.
"That's the same expression your mother had on her face before I finished her the last time I took her. So what do you have to say to that, little elite?"
Recely grabbed him by the throat and yanked his whole body towards her. His head was forced through the narrow bars, cutting up his face and causing blood to drip to her feet. He groaned with intense pain as she positioned his head two inched away from her nose. She squeezed his throat closed then pronounced her response to his question in a confidant and proud voice.
"I am Recely, Queen of all Saiyans, and you are nothing but a disgusting piece of shit that is not worthy of the Saiyan race."
She punched him in the face with her free arm and he flew back and slammed against the back wall. She then fired an energy blast at him, disintegrating his body before he hit the floor. Immediately, she finished off his comrades in the same manner.
She turned as soon as she'd finished and made her way out of the dungeon. She tried to walk past her mate, who'd been here the whole time and heard everything.
"Recely.." He said gently and took her arm.
Recely didn't look at him and simply replied. "I need to be alone for a while, Vegeta."
She pulled herself from his grasp and hurried out of the dungeon.
She couldn't believe that her father had known who she was all along. She knew that she would never get the memory of him out of her head. Every time she would look in the mirror, she would see him, his eyes, her eyes, staring back.
So, a week later, she sat in her armchair, stroking the skin that separated her child from the world.
Letta lay sleeping on a sofa in front of the fireplace. She told Recely and the king everything that had happened. She ran all the way to the palace, not stopping for anything out of the fear of animals and savages roaming the woods. She explained that she was inside the house when the savages came and saw them start to beat Sage and the two boys. She successfully snuck out the back door and fled into the woods. Not knowing who else to turn to for help, she made her was all the way to the palace. She was heartbroken hat she'd been too late.
Everyone was amazed at her journey, especially when they learned of her power level. Recely had been afraid that the King would turn her out. But for some strange reason the King almost instantly developed affection towards her. He said,"A person could learn something about determination and perseverance form Letta".
Then he continued to say that giving the circumstances of past and present survival against fatal odds, she must have some extremely important purpose waiting for her. The King said that she was to stay at the Palace, which delighted Recely so much she threw her arms around her mate and gave him a thank you kiss. Vegeta seemed very pleased with her gratitude.
Letta's tutoring began immediately e next day and it was almost immediately discovered that Letta extremely bright. Besides teaching her how to read and write Recely was unable to teach her much else from the lack of books in their home. Her light was being hidden under a bushel and now it had the opportunity to emerge in full glory. This made Recely very, very happy.
Recely walked over to her sleeping form and smoothed out her hair affectionately. "I knew that I would never regret protecting you so much. You're going to be a very important person someday, Letta. I know that Sage would be proud."
The next day she was being sent off to study with some of the alien scientists at the hospital. Recely knew she would miss her, but Letta wanted it so badly. She said she wanted to help people. So, Recely would give her up, but her mate assured her that the little girl was free to enter and exit the palace at will and could consider it her home.
She sighed happily. A week earlier she wasn't sure she'd ever be happy again.
A soft tapping against her stomach interrupted her train of pleasant thoughts. Her baby was kicking for the first time. Recely squealed in delight and placed both hands on her stomach to feel. She smiled, thrilled at the first indication that her child was alive inside of her and would soon be in her arms.
But then her smile faded to a sad frown. She wondered what her child's life would be like. Like herself, this child was not a product of true love. It was a product of selfish desire, all on the father's part.
How can I bring this child into the world knowing what his life will be like? I know Vegeta will want to train him as soon as possible. I know he has good reason, but this child will not understand it. He'll see the world around him and want to be apart of it, but he won't be. That's not fair.
Her whole life had gone form bad to worst within a few short months. But she wasn't going to give up.
Letta did not give up on our family, and I will not give up on mine.
"I'll never give up on you." She said to her child. "I promise I'll always be there for you."