The Tragic Tyrant
Chapter 3
Revenge, Friendship and a Kiss
Cooler rested his chin on his palm and sighed, watching all the various ambassadors as they sat around the large royal dinner table.
There was the ugly pink insect-like Arlian with the huge black eyes and that disgusting-sounding gurgle of a voice. She was that hideous princess Lemlia. She had been described as beautiful by her kind, but Cooler couldn't make out any beauty in her at all.
Even stranger was the small, pretty lady with the pale blue-green skin and gem-adorned dark green hair that nearly reached to the floor. She was dressed in an almost translucent white robe with billowing sleeves and a very high neckline. There was a newborn child in her arms, a wrinkled little shape swathed in material similar to her dress. The child's head, which had a lock of dark green hair growing from the top, was adorned by a white circlet accented with a single purple bauble. The child and the woman were known as Saikajins. The lovely Priestess Meron and her newborn baby.
Then there was that fat pink thing with ridged purple lips…ugh, he was just as hideous as the Arlian. Dorian the of the Gomujins…he reminded Cooler of a very strange fish. He kept going on and on about his baby brother Dodoria, but few people even pretended to pay attention.
At the other end of the table was a young man who looked almost as good as the Saikajin, though he had skin of a more peach tone. A tall flame of black hair rose off the top of his head, and stubble around his mouth marked where a goatee was starting to grow. Vegeta, of the Saiyajins. He was dressed in armor similar to what most of the Icejins were wearing, though it was white with a red symbol on one of the breastplates.
Cooler's eyes finally wandered to his little brother, who looked like he was about to fall asleep in his chair while he shoved food into his black-lipped mouth. Poor Frieza…if boredom could kill, he'd definitely be dead…
Frieza spied his older brother staring and opened his mouth wide to show off the disgustingly half-chewed purple meat he was nibbling on. Cooler grinned and opened his mouth to show off the nasty wad of white fruit he was chewing, which caused his younger sibling to giggle and whip his leg with his tail. They promptly started eating again when Kold shot them a warning glare.
Not even the most frightening glares in the world could stop the two siblings from trying to gross each other out by performing their food-showing display at dinner time. Even if it meant doing it behind their father's back at a major ambassadorial meeting.
Frieza was keeping his eye on the door to the kitchen where people were coming and going. Dinner was just about finished, so he dabbed his mouth with his napkin, pretended to drop his spoon and used his tail to flick it across the floor. The spoon came to a stop right in the middle of the small ramp under the kitchen door. All he had to do now was wait.
"Priestess Meron, may I ask who the baby is?" King Kold asked over his goblet of wine, which he was sipping contentedly with half-closed eyes.
The Saikajin looked up and smiled a radiant smile, "He's my son…I unexpectedly gave birth to him a day before I arrived here. His name is Zarbon."
Kold smirked and raised his glass in genuine adulation, "Many congratulations! I commend you for having a child as lovely as you."
Meron lowered her head shyly, but continued to smile as Zarbon clung to her delicate clothing with tiny wrinkled fingers. Just by looking at his features, one could tell he was going to grow up looking like his mother.
"Well, I think we should get dessert started…" Cooler muttered as he pushed his empty plate away. Frieza nodded vigorously in agreement and pushed his plate away as well, then stole a glance at the spoon on the ramp while nobody was looking.
Everyone else at the table pushed their plates away and patted their mouths or sipped their drink to indicate they were finished.
"Very well, then." King Kold turned his head and clapped his beefy hands twice. "Bring in the dessert!"
Slowly, very slowly, a huge white quadruple-teared cake seemed to emerge from the tall doorway, wobbling unsteadily as Wynter carried it. She started down the ramp with careful steps, her three-toed feet making no sound as she walked. With such tall cargo in her arms, the Icejin girl didn't see the spoon on the ramp, and her foot came down squarely upon it. As soon as her weight shifted, the spoon caused her foot to slide backwards. She toppled face-first into the cake, which splattered everywhere from the impact, and she slid the rest of the way down the ramp. The rest of the cake came down on top of her after the bottom two tears were destroyed, and the poor girl was coated from head to toe in icing, frosting and crumbs.
Everyone stared at Wynter in shock, but Frieza had to do everything he could to prevent himself from bursting into helpless laughter.
Wynter got to her feet and stood, looking mortified as everyone began to laugh at her unfortunate mishap. The jeering laughter tore into her spirit like a million knives, and she raced from the room in tears while the laughter continued. Frieza was totally beside himself as she passed, pounding the table with his small fist during his mirth.
Wynter cried silently as she finished wiping the last of the frosting off of her body and curled up on the small leather-covered mattress she slept on. She knew who was behind this, and she knew this was the price to pay for teasing the prince, but he had asked for it before! And she was only trying to have some fun!
The girl's personal room was very small with one tiny round window, a dresser, a basin to wash off at and a bed to sleep in. It wasn't much, but she made the best of it by adhering artificial flowers to the walls. They reminded her of the garden, her favorite place.
"So, how does it feel to have people laughing at you?" A voice cut into her thoughts.
Raising her head, Wynter found herself staring into the face of Frieza as he rudely walked into her quarters. She didn't say anything to him in return, offering him a glare and nothing more.
"I know you can talk, so don't play this game with me." He crossed his arms importantly and tipped his head back, which caused light to dance across his carapace and horns. "Come on, I know you're mad at me." His little black lips pulled up into a smirk.
Wynter sneered with her back still to him and continued trying to ignore him. Why had he come in here? To make things worse? To kill her? To have her taken away? So many frightening thoughts…
"How dare you ignore me…"
Wynter winced inwardly and closed her eyes, concentrating single-mindedly on the uncooperative muscles of her lips and tongue, "G-g-g-go awuh-wuh-wuh…" she sighed and gave up, trying something else, "J-j-just l-leav-v-ve!"
"And what if I don't? I think I like listening to your stuh-stuh-stuttering." Frieza grinned, seeming to enjoy rubbing it in. "There is therapy for that sort of thing, you know. Did you get some and it wouldn't work because you're such a fool?"
The girl growled and flipped her tail indignantly, but kept her back to the jeering eyes that bore into the back of her head. Already, she was self-conscious about her stuttering, but that little brat had to come and make it worse! She stayed silent and took the teasing, as if the silence were a wall that kept his cruel words from hitting her.
"Humph." Frieza grunted.
Wynter finally exploded, whirling around to face Frieza with an accusing finger pointed right in his face. "I s-s-sav-v-ve y-your l-life and-d th-th-this is h-how y-you re-re-rep-p-pay m-me?"
The boy blinked and stared at her, having obviously not been told what really happened, "What are you talking about?"
She smirked and her violet lips parted as she started to speak again, "I w-was t-the one th-th-that h-h-healed y-you in th-th-the m-medic-c-cal b-b-b-b-bay..."
Frieza blinked, looking visibly shocked. He stared at Wynter for the longest time with confusion brewing in his red eyes. Had that angel floating above his head been her? Were those the glowing green eyes he had awakened to? Why had she suddenly bolted when the technicians came running in?
"I guess we're even." The Icejin boy said quickly. Without another word, he turned around and left with his cape billowing behind him.
Wynter stared at his retreating back with equal confusion. What is the deal with him? Why wasn't he told the truth?
The questions could wait.
Wynter pulled the soft leather blanket down and climbed into bed. It wasn't very warm, but she closed her eyes and tried to pretend she was lying under lavish sheets of velvet and satin. Her imagination was enough to warm her, and she drifted off to sleep very quickly.
Frieza looked pretty blank when he re-appeared in the main room where the party was. Priestess Meron was sitting off to the side with little Zarbon in her arms, rocking him back and forth while watching the others dance or socialize. He noticed the baby had his mouth on her chest and blinked.
"Why is he doing that?" The little Icejin asked without bowing or remembering to show any sort of respect.
Meron ignored the forgotten gesture and smiled while her child nursed, "He's eating."
"From your boobie?!" He looked shocked.
The Saikajin flashed her radiant smile and nodded, "You'll learn more about it when you get older, Prince Frieza."
Zarbon stopped nursing and hiccuped once. He yawned, splaying out those impossibly tiny fingers for a moment before his little hands clasped back into fists. Meron leaned down and kissed the baby's forehead with a tenderness like Frieza had never seen.
Why don't I have a mommy to kiss me like that?
"If you will excuse me. I must place him in his bed for the night." The Priestess slowly rose to her feet, and the skirts of her translucent robe flowed as if alive. She was the prettiest woman the young Icejin had ever seen, and she wasn't even from the same race!
"Of course. Good night." Frieza bowed quickly, glanced at the rest of the party, then turned and headed into his room.
Knowing he was safe there, he let his jealousy out on the unfortunate pillow that happened to be lying on top on his bed. His fists beat into the cloth object with such force that it started to rip apart and send pillow-stuffing around the room, but he didn't care, nor did he allow his sobs to make any sound.
White pillow-filling rained down around Frieza like snow, settling over him as he cried himself to sleep for reasons he wasn't sure he understood. In his dreams, he saw the woman who was standing in the light he'd seen when he nearly died. Who was she? Why had she called him her little love?
...mama?
Questions with no answers continued to plague his mind as he slept.
Five years later
"Hey, Frieza! Did you forget to take your medication again? You're brooding!" Cooler taunted, giving his younger brother a light nudge as he passed him in the corridor. He didn't like to get too serious about things, but then again, Frieza seemed to make things that way.
"I'm not in the mood." The teenager known as Frieza groaned, reaching over to tap the button on a blue access panel that opened the door to his quarters. There was a jagged scar running across the underside of his wrist, appearing fresh despite being a year old. Another scar just like it adorned the side of his neck below his jaw, not easily visible unless someone looked closely. "Just go away…" He was bruised and battered with one eye swollen completely shut, side-effects of training hard all day, and his father hadn't even mentioned anything about his improving the power of his ki blasts!
"You're so slow! Exercise more and lose some weight to make yourself more agile!" "Come on, Cooler can do this, so why can't you?" Was all that Kold had said. Insults, that's all there were.
"Manic-depressives…" The older Icejin muttered as he turned on his heels and headed into his quarters, "I've got one last thing to pack and then I'm out. Say bye to father for me!"
Frieza's armor plates scintillated when he shook his head dismissively and disappeared into his quarters. He walked to the little cooling unit and took out various foods in different colors and shapes. It was enough food to feed three adult Icejins, but he ate every bite himself. He stuffed his face as if it had been months since his last decent meal, and tears started pouring down his face when he realized he couldn't stop himself from this vicious cycle.
Blast it all…nobody seemed to understand, not even Frieza himself. As he shoved food into his mouth, he wondered if he would ever please his father, who would set an even bigger obstacle in front of the one he just overcame without even showing a smile of congratulations. The only things ever really pointed out and blown out of proportion were mistakes…so many mistakes.
Upon finishing his strange meal, Frieza calmly strolled from his quarters and locked himself into the waste-disposal room. Then he promptly stuck his finger down his throat, and his red eyes bulged out of his head for a few seconds before he doubled over to throw up into the toilet.
Wynter, who was pushing a cart full of armor that needed to be cleaned, was walking by the room where Frieza was when she heard him retching. She looked much different than she had five years before; adolescence was setting in and changing the shape of her body. Her breasts were beginning to grow and her hips were just starting to fill out.
"Prince F-Frieza?" She stammered, touching the comlink beside the door. Her stuttering had lessened greatly with age, but certain sounds were still difficult for her to pronounce. She had also started speaking more, but it still seemed that Frieza was the only person she would speak around. "Are y-y-you all r-right in there?"
More retching, then, "I'm fine! Leave me alone!"
Despite his angry reply, Wynter stayed. She watched Frieza come out of the waste-disposal room with the scent of fresh vomit floating around him. He gave her a glare that could melt bricks before heading into his quarters.
Ever since Wynter had revealed that she had been the one to heal Frieza so many years ago, he had ceased his incessant teasing. Though the teasing had stopped, the rudeness hadn't, but she didn't hold it against him; he was a prince, and princes always treated servants like lower life-forms.
Besides, she was starting to think the young prince was pretty, even though he was a boy. She wouldn't openly admit it to herself, liking to call it a deep dark secret.
Once a week for the past year, he's been throwing up…Wynter thought to herself, her nose wrinkling at the awful smell of the place. He looks so skinny now, too…
Finishing up in the waste-disposal unit, the small Icejin girl stepped back out into the corridor and continued pushing the cart towards the cleaning area. The technician in charge of cleaning it took over from there, so she turned gracefully on her heels and headed right back towards Frieza's quarters.
Frieza was cleaning his flawless teeth of the stomach acid and bad-smelling bacteria when the chimes to his quarters sounded in that little do-re-me tone. His fist closed when he turned his head to the door and barked, "What!?" When there was no reply on the com, he rose to his feet and punched in the access code that unlocked the door, "What do you-"
Wynter's presence promptly stopped the teenage boy before he could finish his sentence. She was standing with her arms crossed and one ankle crossed over the other, offering only a quick bow before concentrating on speaking, "W-why do y-you keep throwing up-p-p?" Then she tapped three of her toes like fingers and waited for his reply.
Gasping a little, Frieza crossed his arms, turned his back to her and growled, denying it openly, "I haven't been throwing up!"
"I could smell the v-vomit w-when you left." She retorted with a flick of her tail, "It w-was on you as w-well as in the r-room."
Frieza didn't say anything. Someone had finally discovered his secret, and nothing he did would cover up the obvious. Besides, what could a lowly servant do about it? He smirked at the notion and turned to face the girl, whipping his cape over his shoulder importantly. "So what if I am? Why do you care?"
"B-because you're killing yourself in doing w-what you're doing." Her blue-green scalp armor glittered a little when she tilted her head to peer right into his face, "As a servant, it is my duty to ensure you are w-well. N-need I mention the times I've seen you dump whole p-p-plates f-full of f-food out the w-window?"
The prince narrowed his eyes at the servant, looking at her like she was a piece of manure he'd scrape off the bottom of his middle toe. His eyes widened when Wynter reached over, grasped his hand and held it up in his face so he could see the abrasion on the knuckle of his index finger where his teeth would scrape his skin whenever he made himself throw up.
"Do you even car-r-re that you're hurting yourself?"
Frieza tore his hand from her grasp and cradled it as if she had slashed it open. "My father is never satisfied with me. I give him my best and he still wants more! I can't give any more!" He surprised her by suddenly bursting into tears, turning his back to her as he moved to curl up on his bed.
Wynter blinked a few times, unsure if she should walk closer and comfort him or leave and let him be alone. She decided to tempt fate and walked forward, extending a small white hand until her palm was resting flat on his back between his shoulderblades. He recoiled a little from her touch and didn't move again when she replaced her hand.
The cold metal armor under the lavish velvet cloak had little give to it, but Wynter could feel Frieza's back heave each time he sobbed. He was keeping his face well-hidden from her as his embarrassment for breaking down caused him to cry even more.
"My mother suffered f-from b-b-bulemia, and sh-sh-sh-" She struggled with the word for several seconds, "-she ruptured her stomach and b-bled to death internally. It took-k her three days t-to die, and it w-was a p-p-painf-ful, b-bloody death..." The girl closed her eyes and turned her head without taking her hand away from Frieza's back. She could still see images of her mother, whom she resembled very much, curled up in bed with blood staining the sheets.
"You mean I'm not the only one?" Frieza asked stupidly without turning to face her. He bit his ebony lip as more tears escaped his eyes to roll down his pale face, tears of jealousy. Everyone seemed to have or have had a mother except for him.
"Of c-course not. A lot of p-p-people have their own p-problems." Said Wynter as she absently started smoothing the wrinkles out of his cloak and pushing it across the curve of his back. Her hand moved towards his shoulder and gave it a squeeze, though the armor got in the way again.
Frieza closed his eyes as his sobs began to weaken, and the presence of Wynter's delicate hand on his shoulder made him wonder if this was what it was like to have a mother.
Seeing his pain reminded Wynter of her own, the way her mother would get drunk and say hurtful things about her stuttering. That was the reason she chose not to speak to anyone but a select few(or one).
The only way for her to get over her own pain, it seemed, was to help him ease his own. But how? What could she do to keep him from hurting himself further? How could she ensure he ate every meal without fasting, binging and purging?
"Shit." Frieza's voice, as well as the nasty word he chose to use, cut into Wynter's thoughts and jolted her to awareness. She rose above her mind to find Frieza sitting on the edge of his bed with an annoyed expression. "My papa's coming, and he's angry! I didn't go to my training…oh shit!"
"What are y-y-you going to do?"
He grabbed her arm and hauled her to the window. "We are going to get out of here." With those words, he dove out the window with her in tow and hoped she could fly. She could, fortunately, and they both glided up to the roof of the palace just in time to escape Kold's notice.
Immediately upon landing, Frieza released his tight grip on Wynter's arm and stood on the edge of the roof with his arms crossed; he looked so gaunt, and the Icejin girl thought it was a wonder that nobody seemed to pay much attention to it.
King Kold's angry yells could be heard for miles around, but the young prince just snickered to himself about it. Some of the things he was saying began to make Wynter giggle, and Frieza found himself joining in.
When they had calmed down, Frieza lowered his head and stared at the ground, not knowing what else to say. Wynter respected his silence by walking to the edge of the roof so she could stare out into the distance. The horizon was a barren black and gray color with occasional stars or silver clouds here and there.
Frieza stared at nothing in particular as he started to brood again about his morning training, which also caused him to remember the pain from his bruises and swollen eye. One of these days, papa…I swear I'll kill you! Maybe then you'll be satisfied with me! Then I'll -
The young prince was shaken from his thoughts by Wynter's delicate hand taking hold of his. He turned his head to find her still staring ahead at the horizon, and he found himself looking her up and down while she wasn't looking. She was kind of pretty with those large green eyes…and her body was starting to take on a shape like Priestess Meron's had been…
Wait a minute! What the heck am I thinking!? Frieza shook his head as if to shake the very thoughts out of his head, She's just a servant! Nothing more than a lowly female with a low fighting power!
"P-Prince Frieza? Are y-you all r-right?" Wynter giggled, pointing to his face, "Y-you're b-blushing!"
Frieza felt the hotness in his cheeks and promptly sweatdropped, pulling his hand out of her grasp, "I am NOT!" He proclaimed as the redness spread across the bridge of his nose and cheekbones.
She just grinned, flipped her tail once and perched on the side of the roof with her long legs dangling down. Patting the spot beside her, she said, "C-come j-join me."
It can't hurt anything. Frieza thought to himself, Wait a minute here! I'm the Icejin Prince, why am I afraid of a girl!? He flipped his cape proudly over his shoulder, pranced to the edge of the rooftop and seated himself with his arms crossed. It's a good thing I'm over my fear of cooties…
"S-so…" Wynter began slowly in attempt to get a conversation started, "W-what's it l-like to sleep under a v-velv-vet b-blanket?"
Frieza blinked at the odd question, "It's…eh…warm, I guess." He winced when Wynter reached over and touched his swollen black eye, hissing his protest between clenched teeth. "That hurts!"
"B-be still-l and it w-will-l hurt l-l-less!" She snapped, then bit her lower lip when she remembered this was a prince she was referring to, and not another servant. "Sorry…j-j-just b-be still-l."
Annoyed, Frieza rolled his eyes and sat as still as he could while Wynter's eyes became far-away in concentration. He watched her go into something resembling a hypnotic trance, swirls of pale blue seeming to move through her emerald eyes. This strange blue swirl grew to become a pale blue outline around her body. It collected in her fingertips and began to flow across the area where she was touching his bruised eye. Frieza felt her hand become scalding hot against his skin, the heat drowning out the pain of his injury, and the swelling began to go down rapidly. As the swelling went down, he felt a relaxing warmth spread through his body.
Wynter took her hand away from his face and continued to stare as the trance lasted a few seconds longer. She finally shook it off and heaved in a deep breath; healing often took a lot out of her because she utilized her own life-force to do it. Using this same technique to heal Frieza's illness five years ago had nearly killed her.
Frieza reached up and touched his eye where the bruise had been, then blinked and turned his head to stare at Wynter in shock. He remembered feeling that same relaxing sensation when he was waking up in the medical bay so long ago. It is true…!!!
"Do you f-feel b-b-better-r?" She asked, her blue-green carapace scintillating a little when she tilted her head.
"I…yeah." He replied blankly before remembering to act like a prince. Hardening his expression, the young Icejin crossed his arms and sat up straight with his chest puffed out slightly. "Tell me something, Wynter. Why do you bother being kind to me when I treat you like dirt?"
Smiling with her tail swishing gently from side to side, the girl parted her violet lips and replied, "I w-w-was taught to treat others the w-w-way I w-want to be treated, regardless of how they treat me."
"Does that include shoving a bucket over my head?"
Wynter promptly blushed, but Frieza started to laugh. She laughed with him this time, then turned around and asked, "Have you ever b-been k-kissed b-before?"
"Of course! My father used to kiss my cheek when I was a baby!"
Wynter covered her mouth and giggled, "That d-doesn't c-count."
He promptly felt his cheeks grow hot and turned his head, causing light to play off his black horns and purple armor, "No."
"Me either. Why don't we try, j-just to see wuh-wuh-what the b-big deal is?" She felt herself blush, "W-want to?"
Frieza growled under his breath, then sighed. What did he have to lose? It couldn't hurt to try it out just once. Then, at least, he could brag to Cooler about it later. "OK, fine."
"OK, then on three." Wynter faced him fully and took a deep breath. "One…" she leaned a little closer.
Frieza tensed, knowing everything was going to change in just a few seconds. He was about to show he trusted this girl, and he had never trusted another person in his life. It made him a little nervous at first, but another realization began to over-ride the nervousness: he had finally found a person he could tell all his secrets to, talk to and just sit with whenever he was lonely.
For the first time in his life, he had a true friend.
"T-two…" She was face to face with him, so much that he could feel her breath.
He blinked, heart pounding and muscles tensing. A bead of glittering sweat trickled off the side of his face and pooled under his chin.
"Th-three!" She closed her eyes, puckered her lips and leaned her face into his.
Frieza puckered his lips at the last second and squeezed his eyes shut. Wynter's violet lips came into contact with his black ones for about half a second, just enough to make a loud lip-smacking noise. Then they both jumped apart as if something had burned them. Both eyed each other warily as they wiped the backs of their hands across their mouths to clean away the forbidden act.
Neither of them knew exactly what to feel, but both could feel their own hearts pounding a little quicker than usual.
Finally, still tasting her sweetness on his lips, Frieza piped up, "Say something, it's too quiet!"
"Um-m-m…uh…" Wynter twirled the end of her tail around her pale fingers, which had a few calluses from so much use. She was blushing madly from the bottom of her armor plate to the tip of her chin. There was no way her brain could make sense of this situation in enough time to come up with something intelligent to say!
"Just…grrr…hurry…" He growled, growing uncomfortable by the strange silence.
Wynter finally came up with something and placed her fist on her chest as she began to speak, "I p-pledge my loyalt-ty t-to the R-r-ruler of the Icej-j-jins…"
Frieza grinned, placed his fist against his chest and joined in, saying along with her, "…and to the laws by which he rules. Our people, our world, indivisible with the power to conquer all."
They stayed as they were for several seconds, looking at each other in the silly pose of allegiance before allowing the laughter to finally take over.
Maybe Wynter isn't so bad after all… Frieza thought during his mirth.
He's a brat, but he's not all that terrible… Wynter told herself as she laughed. I wish he would be like this more often…
"Better not tell anyone," Frieza grinned.
Wynter smiled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, "You b-better not either."
"You swear?" He held his tail out to her and curled the tip into the shape of a hook. "Swear on my tail that you will never tell."
She giggled, looped her tail around the curve in his and shook it once, "I swear on the t-tail of Prince F-Frieza that I will never t-tell a soul that I k-k-kissed him."
"I swear on the tail of Wynter that I will never tell a soul that I kissed her." He repeated, switching the names.
For a moment or two, they looked at each other while the tips of their tails were twined together. Their eyes glittered, twin smiles bloomed, and their friendship was sealed from that moment on.
To be continued...