Teresa: Okay, now it is MY turn to be angry! I already typed part 5 out once, then what happened? Well, let's recap:
Teresa, sitting happily at the computer, typing out part 6 like a good little writer. Suddenly, Jade comes in, putting ice cream in the freezer while talking
Jade: Just so you know, Teresa, I'm getting on at 7, so you have like 2 minutes.
Teresa, looks down at computer clock: Uh uh, I have 8 minutes.
Jade, evil and impatient as usual: No. You know that clock is slow.
Teresa: I always go by this clock when I'm on the computer. That's why it's here.
Jade: I don't care. It's wrong.
Teresa: But I'm trying to finish The Best of Both Worlds. You're the one that wanted me to get it out so bad.
Jade: I don't care. You're off.
Teresa: Dammit, give me my extra 6 minutes. I'm sure no one will die if you don't get on right away.
Jade: They might.
Teresa: Okay, fine, here you go. Just save that file and close it, okay?
Jade: Fine.
5 minutes later, Jade is sitting at the kitchen table eating a sandwich
Teresa: What the what? You got all in my face about getting on at 7, and now you're eating a sandwich? What's that?
Jade: I can't eat by the computer, you know that.
Teresa: Oh yeah, you spill. Silly Jade.
5 hours later, circa midnight, Teresa returns from fun time with brother and friends. Goes to kitchen and slices some Tillamook Pepper-Jack cheese (mmm ambrosia) and then
goes to the computer, intent on finishing The Best of Both Worlds. Jade is on the couch, lounging and reading Illusion by Paula Volsky (good book, yeah!) Teresa is confused
when she goes to open the file, which should be saved as Vega6, but all she can find is Vega2 through Vega5.
Teresa: Ah, Jade, what did you save this thingie as?
Jade: Just like the other ones, I saved it as part 5, you know, Vega5.
Teresa: No you didn't! (somewhat hopeful)
Teresa opens Vega5, discovers that it is true, Jade, in her rush to get on the computer for some ICQ chat or some such, saved part 6 over the part 5 file
Teresa: Jade, didn't a prompt come up saying that the file already existed?
Jade: Yeah, but I thought I was just doing an updated version.
Teresa: Did it not strike you odd that the title bar said "Document2" instead of "Vega5?"
Jade: Well…I just wanted to get on and I only saw like 4 Vega files, so I did Vega5
Teresa: That's because some idiot erased the Vega1 file! Grrr!! I have to type part 5 all over again!!!! I didn't post it yet!!!!!! NOOOOOoooooooOOOoOOOoOOOooOooOOo!!!!!
Jade: Oops….uh, I'm really sorry, I didn't know.
Teresa: Okay, so that's what happened, basically. Look how I added in the sandwich bit just to detract from Jade's argumentative power in this situation. Pretty good, huh? Well, I would be finishing this whole fic up, but then my accident-prone co-author strikes again! I'd just make Jade type it out, as that would be suitable penance, but she types for crap and she's so slow. So I'm probably gonna be up till all hours of the night redoing part 5. Guilty yet Jade? You should be. Okay, on with the story.
*****
The Best of Both Worlds
Part 5
*****
It was the day of Vega's arranged mating. In seven hours, he would meet his mate for the first time as they stood together before his father and the rest of the High Council of Vegeta-sai to be mated in the traditional royal ceremony reserved for those Saiyans in the royal family or of great power. And after they were named for each other before the Council, they would have to…but Vega didn't want to think about that right now. He had to see Aperu one last time. He had to finish it with her. Once his mate and him…consummated their relationship, they would be bonded. And once a Saiyan bonded to someone in that way, the bond could not exist with anyone else. He had to tell Aperu. She deserved to know.
Vega considered wearing his peasant disguise, but it didn't matter anymore. Most people would know that the Royal Prince was to be mated today, and the flocks of admirers would especially make it their business to know such things. So they wouldn't be as troublesome to him. And if he was going to be honest with Aperu, this was the best way. Steeling himself for Aperu's reaction, Vega made his way through crowds of bowing and curtsying subjects in the market place until he saw Aperu haggling the price of some grain with a merchant. He strode up to her just as she was finishing and turning to leave. Upon seeing his distinctive hair, Aperu's eyes went wide and she curtsied low and elegantly while abruptly dropping her eyes to the ground. Vega pursed his lips slightly and tapped her shoulder gently.
"You may rise." He told her. Aperu obediently stood, but her eyes remained glued to the ground respectfully. She must be terrified to meet royalty. "Look at me, Aperu." He commanded. Aperu's head snapped up in surprise.
"The Prince knows the name of this unworthy subject?" she asked.
"It's me." He grinned in a conspiratorial manner as he leaned in a bit, "Vega." Her eyes went wide.
"V—Vega?" she cocked her head to the side. He pressed his hair down momentarily with his hands and smiled as recognition flashed in her eyes. "Vega, you're the Royal Prince Vegeta?"
"Yes, unfortunately." He sighed sadly. "And I just came to say goodbye."
"What do you mean?" Aperu quirked a curious eyebrow. Vega realized that she must not have heard about his mate naming ceremony yet.
"Well, I'm…" he paused, biting his lip nervously. "I'm to be mated today."
"But why?" she asked, looking sad and confused.
"Because, in two weeks I will be twenty." Vega told her. "And my father refuses to disown me and strip me of my title. So he arranged a mating since I could not find a suitable mate on my own."
"What about me?" Aperu's sadness melted into angry indignation. "Am I not suitable? Do you not care for me at all? Was I simply a toy for you? Was everything you told me a lie?"
"No, it was never like that Aperu." Vega explained. "Father would not approve of you and he would force me to mate a stranger anyway.
"Did you ask him if I was suitable?" Aperu shot the question at him spitefully. "Or were you too ashamed of me?" There was an empty silence as Vega struggled to come up with a suitable response for Aperu.
"Y—you have to understand—" he began, but Aperu cut him off quickly.
"I understand, all right!" she snarled angrily, "You never cared for me! You just used me!" she slapped his face sharply. "What kind of person are you? I never want to see you again! You understand that Vega? Vega! Vega!" her voice heightened in pitch as Vega's surroundings faded to black.
Vega realized suddenly that he was in his own bed. "Vega! Vega wake up!" Nabana's familiar voice called to him from outside his locked doors. "Vega, wake up! It's really late! Daddy will be real mad if you miss your lessons!" Nabana cried out in panic.
"I'm up, Nabana, I'm up!" Vega sat up and climbed out of bed. Only one week had gone by since Vegeta had given him the ultimatum. And every night he had the same bad dreams about what would happen when he told Aperu about his arranged mating. He needed to break it off. But he couldn't tell her the truth. It would hurt them both too bad.
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Beruna munched thoughtfully on a piece of bread as she stood just inside the marketplace. She wondered if her father was sorry about their argument, and she immediately knew that he was. King Saiya had a stubborn streak in him, but he was never one to hold a grudge against his children, especially not Beruna. She was sorry that she had blown up at him, but he really had upset her. She didn't want to hear her dear father spouting the same ignorant nonsense as Oniro. It was more than she could stand. Plus, there was always the fact that she really cared about Vega, and she didn't want her own father to remind her of how such a union would be nearly impossible. Even if she was allowed to mate Vega, a union with a peasant would more than certainly be looked down upon by the aristocrats. Probably her own parents wouldn't ever fully approve.
But that was okay. Beruna could deal with the whispers and sidelong glances if she could only be with Vega. She would have to go home to Saiya again soon, but first she wanted to spend some more time with this man who had so easily stolen her heart even when the most charming and desirable suitors simply bored her. He was so refreshingly different from anyone she'd ever met. Sure, he was a peasant, but that wasn't it, not exactly. It was silly, but sometimes she couldn't believe he had lived his whole life as a poor commoner. It made no sense that he was so smart, so well read, and so polite. But then again, he lacked all the less wonderful "noble" characteristics. Vega was not conceited or arrogant, and he didn't seem boring or sure that the world revolved around him. He was down to earth, which Beruna loved about commoners, but he was so very intelligent. It was not as if Beruna didn't think commoners had a brain. She had met quite a few smart ones, yet usually they were mainly wise in the ways of life and street-smart. Vega seemed to have done a lot of reading, more than was common among peasants. But would he change if he knew who she was? Only time would tell.
"Vega!" she exclaimed as she spotted the attractive Saiyan she had come to know so well over these past few weeks.
"Aperu!" he smiled warmly as he spotted her and she felt the familiar twinge of guilt at not telling him her true name. Perhaps today she would let him know the full truth. After all, she could not really consider having him as a mate if he did not know who she really was.
"Vega," she began hesitantly, snaking her arm through his after they hugged. "I need to tell—" Aperu stopped, seeing the dejected look on Vega's face. "What's wrong, Vega?"
"I…I have to talk to you." He refused to meet her gaze, and Aperu felt a sinking feeling in her gut. Something was definitely wrong.
"What is it?" she asked, sounding carefully neutral. Vega guided her out of the crowd as he tried to recall just what it was he had planned to say to her.
"This can't work." He finally blurted out as they continued to walk. Aperu suddenly felt a bit dizzy and she tightened her grip on Vega's arm slightly for support.
Licking suddenly dry lips, she blinked her large, dark eyes at him in disbelief, "What?" it came out as a quiet sort of croak.
"The two of us. Together." He clenched his fists in an effort to not see the sadness in her eyes, to not throw his arms around her and tell her that it was a lie, and he loved her. "It was fun while it lasted, but it could never really work out."
"Are you kidding?" Aperu gaped at him in pure shock. "I know you care about me. Don't you?" her lip jutted out involuntarily, tears filled her eyes and threatened to spill over her smooth, pale cheeks. Vega turned his head away, refusing to see her pain, or to answer her question. "Don't you?"
"I'm no good for you." He told her. At least that was the truth. What kind of person was he?
"Don't say that." Aperu stopped walking, standing in front of him with a determined set to her delicate jaw. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Vega." She was gripping both his arms tightly now, desperately. Her eyes were full of pleading. "And now you're going to say that none of it meant anything to you? You said that you thought you were in love with me. Can you not feel that anymore? Don't tell me you can't feel this." She pulled in and raised herself slightly, tears of desperation spilling out of her eyes. Aperu pressed her lips to his urgently. What if he never kissed her again? She felt as though she might die.
Vega's resolve was weakening, he knew. He had to end this and leave, but all he could think of was her lips, her mouth. So soft and full, her lips always tasted sweet as they did at this moment. And so warm. This might very well be the last time he kissed a girl and felt love in it. He may be bonded to his mate, but he could never love another like he did Aperu. And then he tasted the salt of her tears and his broken heart nearly ripped in half again. She was crying, and it was because of him. He had hurt her, the only woman he'd ever love, and he had hurt her so badly that now she cried helplessly in his arms. He wanted to hold her until the crying stopped, but he knew he had to break away from this or he'd never be able to leave her behind. Maybe it was too late already. He suspected it had been all over for him that first day by Guvara's booth when she explained her earrings to him. He would always feel pain when he remembered Aperu. With supreme effort, he pushed her away, breaking the kiss.
"Please, Vega." She was sobbing now. "Don't leave me. Please."
"Aperu, I…" his face and voice softened as he hugged her tightly to him, burying his face in her soft, black hair. Vega clenched his teeth when he felt tears welling up in his own eyes. He couldn't let her see how much he hated this, how he still wanted to be with her. "Goodbye." He whispered to the still sobbing Aperu. And with that he released her, turning and leaving at a near sprint. He let the wind in her face dry his unshed tears as he tried to forget her face, her kiss, and her whole person.
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Heedless of the people walking by, Beruna sobbed silently as she wandered aimlessly, barely able to see through her bleary, tear-filled eyes. After a while, she stopped and found a bench to sit on. Beruna wiped her eyes dry with the back of her hand and looked around to see where she had ended up. Only a short walk from where she sat was Kiwan Rock. Very near here, Vega and her had shared their first kiss. That thought just brought more tears to her eyes. She had to leave. So Beruna picked herself up, smoothed down her hair, took a deep breath and walked to the nearest shuttle station with a face totally devoid of emotion. She was going to go home.
And once she let the station officials know who she was, they gladly gave Beruna a shuttle, claiming that it was free of charge. But she paid the anyway, climbing into her space pod, setting the proper coordinates, and getting home in just over a couple of days. If only her heart had healed itself in that time. As it was, she maintained her emotionless façade when she arrived at the palace, greeted by smiling servants, friends, and family members. Her parents soon heard she was back, found her, and hugged her warmly. Her father apologized, as she knew he would, and she smiled and hugged them back. Even though she had missed him, Beruna wasn't all that happy to see them right then. After much talking, her father drew Beruna aside.
"Beruna, my princess, I need to ask you something. But first, promise that you won't be angry." King Saiya's eyes were full of pleading and his hands gripped her firmly, as though he believed she'd turn around and storm right back out of the palace at any moment. Beruna couldn't help but give him a momentary smile.
"I promise, father." She nodded, her face expressionless once more.
"Good. Now, as you might recall from your studies, the Royal Prince of Vegeta-sai will be denounced if he has not named a mate by his twentieth birthday, two and one half weeks from today." Beruna blinked as the King paused. She didn't really know what he was getting at, but she could care less. "Well, the King Vegeta does not want his second son, Prince Celeru, to take the Royal Prince's position. So he wants to arrange a mating between the Royal Prince and one of my daughters, since the Prince Vegeta has been unable to find a suitable female that he wishes to mate. So I was wondering how it would suit you being mated to the Royal Prince of Vegeta-sai?" King Saiya asked her gingerly, watching for some change on her expressionless face. Beruna shrugged. What did it matter anymore anyway?
"It would suit me fine, father." Beruna answered. "I will mate the Royal Prince Vegeta if it pleases you." King Saiya looked at Beruna in shocked confusion. This was not what he had expected at all.
"It pleases me only if it pleases you." Saiya replied sincerely. "In all truth, I did not believe you would want to take part in an arranged mating. I was only asking you because it seemed the proper thing to do."
"It does not matter to me." Beruna sighed. It didn't matter. Not now.
"Are you sure?" Saiya shifted nervously from one foot to the other. "I thought…your mother was under the impression that perhaps you had an, um, an interest."
"I do not have a romantic interest, father. You needn't speak so delicately about such things." Beruna replied in a regal, unconcerned tone, though it was tearing at her wounded heart to say it. The pain was so much that she was becoming numb to it, and to everything else. Just as well. Instead of mating to someone she loved—Vega, you love Vega—she would be mating to some aristocratic, arrogant, and doubtlessly conceited Royal Prince. At least she would have a secure future. No matter what he said, Beruna knew her father wanted her to mate Prince Vegeta. He worried about her, so why not—it's wrong, you know it's wrong, you love Vega—indulge her father? It wouldn't harm her. There wasn't a lot that could hurt her anymore. Vega had seen to that quite effectively.
"Oh, all right." Saiya gave a relieved sigh. "The mating will take place in only four days. Are you sure you agree to this?"
"I'm quite sure, father." Beruna continued in her nonchalant voice. "I will be prepared for the ceremony by then. Will mother and you be attending the mate naming ceremony?"
"Of course we will, my princess." Saiya hugged Beruna firmly. "Is there something wrong? You seem a bit detached about this whole thing."
"I'm quite all right, father." Beruna forced out a smile—you aren't fine, you liar, you miss Vega, you need Vega, you love—"I'm just a little tired from my trip. I think I shall retire early."
"Very well." Saiya looked a little doubtful, but he nodded acceptance of her excuse. "I'll tell your mother the good news. You go rest." He hugged Beruna once more before she left for her private chambers. Something was wrong with Beruna, of that Saiya was certain. He wasn't as perceptive as his dear Efuda, but some things, he could see. And he was sure that everything was not all right with his precious Beruna.
*****
***The End (Of Part 5, that is)***