A/N: Final chapter...finally! Ah, I've enjoyed writing this story, but I'm glad to have finally finished at least one of my long stories. Oh, by the way there is a mild lime at the end of this chapter; it was lemon, but I edited it down to lime. If you're over eighteen and prefer the unedited version, you can email at mtsawnya .
Enjoy, and thanks for reading "Chestra"! Hopefully I'll be able to finish Tayla in another month and finally work on "Hope Never Dies" (exists only in my head so far) and "Be Careful For What You Wish For" and "Dragonspaceballs".
Gooden boden fro noy, and thanken!
Sawnya
Chapter Twenty-Three: Bitter And Sweet
Next morning…
"AUGGGHHH! SOMEONE HELP ME! IT'S THE WORST THING IMAGINABLE! HELP!"
And then a sickening plunk to the floor was heard afterwards.
Chestra and the other Elite minions in the section on Frieza's ship reserved exclusively for Elite officers came dashing out of their rooms. Actually, Chestra had come dashing out of Zarbon's room, where she had spent the night, and Zarbon came running after her, wearing a lacy, green robe that was the same shade as Chestra's eyes. Yes, Zarbon had grabbed Chestra's robe in his dash to see who had been screaming. The others, however, were too busy with what was going on to tease Zarbon about it.
When they came to the end of the Top Elite section of the Elite sleeping quarters, a traumatized Jaden was lying on the floor in front of her bedroom, shaking and crying, and covered in a plain, thin red robe. Her yellow eyes were bulged out much wider than usual, as tears streamed down her alligator-like face. She was mumbling incoherently and sobbing, with her huge blue body shaking violently. Her mouth was hanging agape in shock, and her claws were raking long, deep scars in the metal floor. A puddle of vomit was under her chin. She was biting the doorpost, too much in shock to respond to the rare acts of comfort and sympathy being offered to her.
Captain Ginyu had thrown a patchwork quilt over her shaking body, and Jeice was trying to get Jaden to talk to him. Guido offered her the remains of his midnight snack, but not even the smell of chili and cheese was enough to bring Jaden back to her old self. Baata was patting Jaden's back, and Reccoom was shaking her gently. Even Diamonique was there, offering Jaden water, and this unusual act of courtesy on Diamonique's part was itself a surprise. Dr. Katsen and Frieza were also nearby, kneeling next to Jaden's anguished form.
"Commander Jaden, it's alright now; everything will be alright," Dr. Katsen soothed.
"Jaden, Jaden," Frieza urged in a kindly tone that also shocked everyone. "Come out of this. You're tough; you wouldn't be in my Top Elite, if you were otherwise. It's all right now, Jaden; you're safe. He won't bother you again."
Chestra turned to Zarbon, alarmed, as they ran to Jaden's aid. "Did she have another nightmare about Sagash?" Jaden was known to have a few nightmares about Sagash a year, and these nightmares would put her in such a horrific state that it would take hours, sometimes even days to bring her out of it.
Chestra ran to her best friend's aid, and she knelt next to Jaden, stroking the rough alligator-like head. "Jaden, it's me, Chestra. Are you okay? Did you have a dream about Sagash?"
Zarbon was about to kneel down next to Chestra when he saw someone out of the corner of his eye-and he knew immediately what had upset Jaden so badly. He turned around, careful not to look directly at the cause of Jaden's agony.
A completely naked Dodoria was hiding behind a potted plant, blushing a bright shade of red, as other Elite officers were covering their eyes and throwing sheets of various colors and textures at the fat pink minion, whose huge rolls of fat hung on him like slabs of uncooked beef. Dodoria's unnaturally huge breasts, which were normally restrained by his armor, were now dangling loosely off of his flabby chest, like two partially deflated balloons. Zarbon quickly covered Chestra's eyes when she turned around to see what Zarbon was trying to avoid looking at directly.
"Trust me," he whispered to her, "you don't want to look. You will never be able to sleep at night again."
"Dodoria!" Frieza barked. "Cover yourself up immediately!"
Dodoria meekly covered his massive bulges and dollops of flesh with a blue blanket that Jeice had thrown at him.
"Dodoria!" Frieza growled at his corpulent Top Elite Officer. "What did I tell you before about this?"
Dodoria mumbled, "That I am never to be nude outside of my bedroom."
Zarbon asked Dodoria evenly, trying not to look at him, "Why did you disobey that order?"
"My private toilet was clogged, so I was going to go down the hall to the public restrooms, but I was half asleep when I went outside of my bedroom, and I forgot to put on my robe. And then I realized that I was locked out of my bedroom, and then Jaden just had to come out here-hey, it's not my blasted fault that Jaden picked that time to come out of her room! She could have waited until morning to eat!"
"But it is your fault that you did not cover yourself!" Frieza snapped. "I told you before, Dodoria, to never leave your room without something on! Do you realize what the sight of your naked body did to Jaden? She may never recover from that trauma! Don't you remember what happened last year when those three Low-Levels accidentally saw you nude? Two of them blasted themselves on the spot! You know that the sight of your completely naked body is dangerous to anyone who sees it? Why do you think Eclipse and the other Ginyu Girls make you cover up when they come to see you? And why do you think that the few women who sleep with you insist on doing so in the dark? Zarbon, unlock Dodoria's room immediately and let him in to put a robe on before anyone else sees his flab!"
"Y-Yes, sire!" Zarbon obeyed immediately, as he quickly opened Dodoria's door with his electronic skeleton key, which was like a credit card. Dodoria dashed into his room, and the door closed at once, much to everyone's thankfulness.
Frieza continued to speak soothingly to Jaden, "Jaden, Jaden, he's gone now. Come out of this!"
Chestra rubbed Jaden's head. "Jaden, it's okay now; Dodoria's back in his room. You won't have to see him naked again."
"Jaden, speak to us!" Diamonique commanded. "Say something, anything!"
"Jaden, it's okay. I'm here," Chestra told her friend softly.
Finally, after several tense minutes, Jaden slowly responded, mumbling, "Dodo…nude…nasty sight…so much flab…blubber…made me puke…awful, so awful…all that fat…flopping everywhere, even the thing between his legs…that part of him was…"
"Jaden, don't go on, please," Zarbon begged her. "We get the picture."
"Yes, we do," Diamonique agreed, now wanting to puke herself at the mental image of a nude Dodoria. Suddenly both Reccoom and Guido had sudden excuses to go to the men's room, and off they went. Frieza and Dr. Katsen themselves barely managed to swallow the bile rising in their throats, and Chestra felt faint.
"Dr. Katsen, have a stretcher brought here for Commander Jaden immediately," Frieza ordered. He turned to Zarbon and said, "Zarbon, reassign those two planets that Jaden was supposed to clear this week to the Ginyu Force and Balair right away; Jaden will be in no condition at this time to do her job. She'll need time to recover."
"Yes, sire," Zarbon replied, as Chestra and the others continued to talk to Jaden in soothing tones, trying to bring her out of her madness.
Two hours later, in Jaden's hospital room…
Jaden had been heavily sedated, and Chestra and Zarbon had been sitting at her bedside. Dr. Katsen was speaking with another doctor, Dr. Patina, who was from the same race as Diamonique, but of a lower Gemstarian tribe well known for their medical expertise. Dr. Patina was a lovely woman with dark purple hair and black gem eyes, and she was in her early thirties. She looked at Jaden sympathetically.
"What a horrific experience she has had…poor Commander Jaden," Dr. Patina said quietly. "I haven't seen a case this bad in years."
"Seeing any of Dodoria's race naked is a frightening experience for anyone," Dr. Katsen asserted. "But Jaden is tough, and she will eventually recover."
Jaden, a warrior with few friends, had her room filled with brightly colored flowers and plants from various planets from well-wishers, but one plant had to be destroyed immediately when it had tried to eat Dr. Patina's arm, and a huge orchid-like flower had to be disintegrated when it had started to emit a foul-smelling gas that reeked of a fart.
Frieza had just entered the doorway to Jaden's room, embarrassed (he was not about to admit that he himself had accidentally sent the smelly flower to Jaden's room), and he called to Chestra, who was quietly watching over her friend and holding her hand. Her other hand was holding tight to Zarbon's, as she turned to look at Frieza.
"Chestra, I would like to see you alone in the hallway…please," Frieza told her calmly.
Chestra released Zarbon's hand and patted it. "I will be okay," she whispered to him. "Surely what Frieza has to say to me can't be as bad as what the sight of Dodoria's body did to poor Jaden earlier."
"Be careful," Zarbon whispered back.
"I will."
Chestra nervously followed Frieza out into the corridor, as Dr. Katsen and Dr. Patina watched her with too much sympathy; they had both known that Frieza at one time had wanted Chestra for his woman.
When they had reached the other side of the sterile gray corridor with the shiny stainless steel walls, and Frieza looked at Chestra hard and longingly. Contrary to popular belief among Frieza's soldiers, he no longer lusted after her, having finally reconciled himself to the idea of her being his daughter. Frieza felt a rare pang in his heart, a hurt that he was not familiar with-was it guilt that he had harmed her in the past, or regret that he couldn't openly acknowledge her as his own flesh and blood? Whatever it was, it hurt him more than he wanted to admit, and a tiny part of him, so deep within his dark soul that he couldn't sense it at first, longed to reach out and embrace her and call her his daughter. For the first time in his life, Frieza wanted to care for someone other than himself, and he wanted to hear someone call him, "Father."
He had decided to go against his father's advice and tell Chestra the truth about her heritage this day. Chestra had the right to know who she truly was and where she fit in the scheme of things. She was technically a princess, and he was a prince, although no one had ever called either him that. Chestra had the right to take her place in the Cold Empire as a potential heiress. Frieza now truly hoped that Coola would die without siring an heir; he would then be one step closer to taking over the entire Cold Empire for himself one day, and Chestra could follow in his footsteps. She had already made him proud, although of course he would never tell her so. She was tough and brave, brave enough to risk death in order to protect the man that she loved. Not even the mightiest kings and emperors had as much courage as she had had in defying Frieza.
Frieza remembered his cold, lonely childhood; all his life he had listened to his dead mother's tapes telling him and Coola, who had been released from the gestation tank before him, that they must grow up to be ruthless and cold, with no thought to anything except to become strong and mighty. They would avenge her, she had told them; they would avenge her death against Shalila Chloe of the Astorian race who had slain her. That cryptic message had been on the final audiotape that she had made, as she had laid in her room dying.
And King Cold had well earned his name. While he had been exceedingly kind and generous with his wives and concubines, even those whom he did not love, he had been harsh and demanding towards his own two sons until they had grown up. Although he had favored Coola more because he was the one "born" first out of the gestation tank, he had indulged Frieza more as in not scolding or punishing Frieza as much as he had Coola. Nevertheless, King Cold had never shown Frieza any real affection, although Frieza had strived most of his young life to please him.
Frieza looked at Chestra again, more intensely than ever. Chestra, from what he had been able to pry out of Zarbon, had never had much of a real childhood, except for what she had on planet Ghetti. She had been a slave almost all of her life, and his anger burned hot against those that he had heard had mistreated her. How dare those bastards enslave and mistreat someone of HIS flesh and blood? Why Chestra could wind up ruling over all of them someday!
And then his anger at her enemies and captors turned into pride for his daughter; she was a true survivor, a true Cold. And there was a softer feeling that he had held for her; if he hadn't been the heinous, heartless tyrant that he was, he would have called it love. But he would have called love a foolish emotion; both of his parents would have ridiculed him immediately for it, had they known. He wanted to draw Chestra into his arms and hold her forever, and it was a feeling that he was having a hard time squelching.
He finally began to speak, barely managing to hold his arms down, "Chestra…" he began, in an unnaturally hesitant tone for him. "Chestra…there is something important that I must tell you."
"What is that, Lord Frieza?" she asked uneasily.
"You are…" Frieza began, but before he could get another word out, his father's words came back to haunt him:
*Coola would try to kill her off, and he has no children yet that I know of. If he dies before producing an heir, the Cold Empire will go to you-provided that you were not the one to murder your brother-and then it would go to your Chestra. Second, I know that the other Top Elite officers are vying for your position, and they will believe that you intend to give it to Chestra, whether you intend to or not. For anytime that you did a favor for Chestra, the others would give her a hard time because they think that you did it out of nepotism…Some may even try to kill her, and then you do have many enemies yet, son, who would use her to get to you. It is far better for all of us concerned that Chestra does not know of her heritage until we either a) both die, or b) Coola dies without an heir, or c) Coola gains an heir. *
Frieza sighed heavily, and more of that strange emotion called regret filled his heart. Why couldn't he just blurt out the truth?
*Coola would try to kill her off… *
*Curse you, Father! She is MY daughter! I want to claim her as mine! I want to hear her calling me "Father"! * Frieza thought to himself in extreme, rare anguish.
* Anytime that you did a favor for Chestra, the others would give her a hard time because they think that you did it out of nepotism…*
*No, Father! I can prevent that, I can! * Frieza protested to his father inside his head.
* Some may even try to kill her, and then you do have many enemies yet, son, who would use her to get to you… *
Frieza's inner voice raged at his father's words, *No, Father, I can protect her, I can! *
* It is far better for all of us concerned that Chestra does not know of her heritage… *
Frieza screamed inside of his head, *No, it is not, Father! I will tell her, I will! She is my daughter, and I want her to know it! *
* Until we either a) both die, or b) Coola dies without an heir, or c) Coola gains an heir… *
Frieza's fists clenched, and he gnashed his teeth, as a different voice echoed through his head…
…His own voice, the particle of a conscience that he rarely ever listened to, ever.
*Frieza, for once do the right thing! You'll only endanger her life and welfare in your army, if the others know! And how do you think she'll feel if she finds out that it was her own father who tried to rape her a year and a half ago! Do you want that guilt and shame piled on her head? You've put her through enough; the decent thing you can do is let her live in peace! There will be time enough for her to know the truth someday, but not now, not now… *
"Not now, not now," Frieza whispered hoarsely to himself, as he shook visibly.
"Are you alright, Lord Frieza?" Chestra asked out of polite concern.
"Of course I am!" Frieza snapped at her, and Chestra flinched for just a moment. Frieza modified his tone and said more kindly, "Of course, I am, my dear…I was just thinking of some things…" His voice trailed off.
"What did you wish to tell me, Lord Frieza?"
Frieza finally allowed himself to smile. He was much calmer now. He grinned, as he announced his shocking piece of news to Chestra, something else that he had meant to tell her.
"I have decided to promote you. Congratulations, Top Elite Officer Chestra."
"Th-thank you, sire!" And with that, a shocked Chestra fell into the wall and hit her head hard.
That evening in Zarbon's room…
Jaden was making a slow recovery, and she was finally speaking coherently again without mentioning the awful scene of Dodoria's nude body. Relieved that Jaden would be okay, and happy about Chestra being promoted to Top Elite, they were now happily lying in bed making love with any guilt.
"I've never made love to a Top Elite Officer before," Zarbon told her delightedly when she had announced the news to him. "Congratulations, my dear, my love…" he murmured, as he began to kiss her throat and nibble along her collarbone.
He then reached over to the green side of her head, touching it lightly. "How's your head?"
"It's healing fairly quickly," Chestra told him breathlessly, as Zarbon's lips covered hers, pressing against them with a warm pressure that was both firm and gentle at the same time.
"That…feels so good," Chestra breathed heavily. "Very, very good!" She lowered her lips to his broad shoulder and began to lightly bite at it. Zarbon then flipped her over on her back, and he laid himself upon her. Chestra wrapped her slender legs around his waist, pulling him closer to her and relishing his pleasant weight upon her petite body. Zarbon resumed kissing her lips, his lips enclosing her lips in a loving union that took the breath out of both of them. Their tongues danced together, wrapping around each other in a sweet inner embrace. And soon afterwards, they went further, exploring and caressing each other in a way, an intimate way that only a couple truly in love knows, until they reached their ultimate destination.
Thirty minutes later, they lay in each other's arms, happily contented and satisfied. A sleepy Chestra slowly kissed Zarbon, from his lips along his chest, all the way down to his stomach. She rubbed his chest lightly with her hand and her soft hair.
She looked up at him lovingly and murmured, "I love you…will you ever tire of my saying it?"
"Never. Will you ever tire of me saying it back?"
"No, no!"
He whispered soft words of love in her cat-like ears, as Chestra purred contentedly.
Zarbon asked her honestly, "Chestra, do you think that you could be for the most part happy here, even with…you know…ruling over us." He feared that saying Frieza's name would ruin the afterglow.
"As long as I have you, I can be happy anywhere," Chestra told him softly.
"Life's much better for me since you came along," Zarbon admitted. "As long as we're together, I can take anything. Do you know that you're the main reason I get up every morning?" he asked her, kissing her softly again.
"You're what makes life here so enjoyable for me," she told him softly. "I will look forward to waking up next to you tomorrow morning."
"I hope all of our mornings, we wake up in each other's arms," Zarbon told her, as they kissed again, much more deeply this time. And chuckling in her ear, he added:
"And may we never wake up to the sight of a naked Dodoria."
THE END