Chapter Twenty-Nine: Tayla's Departure
That morning, on her final day living at the Palace, Tayla in the
garden, hugging and kissing Hugs goodbye, as the puppy whimpered, he knew that
his young mistress was leaving him for a long time. Tayla was still in her blue
nightgown, and she had snuck out of bed before her maid had. She had taken Hugs
out of the pet menagerie, for no pets were allowed inside the Palace.
"I'll miss you, Hugs, and I'll always love you," Tayla whispered to
him, as she crouched down beside him behind her favorite red tea roses. She
squeezed her puppy tightly, and Hugs gravely licked her face repeatedly.
"Looks like Hugs already gave you your morning bath; I guess Mykia
won't need to bathe you today, huh?" Tayla looked up at the speaker, whose long
furry tail swished gracefully behind him. The tall, muscular man ran a hand
through his black hair that was slightly spiked and ruffled.
Tayla favored the visitor with her best smile. "Hello, Bendros,"
she said softly.
Bendros smiled. "Hello, little Tayla. Looking forward to your
trip?"
Tayla frowned and looked down at her brown-booted feet. "Not
really," she admitted sadly.
Bendros knelt down besides her. "It won't be so bad, Tayla; two
years will be up before you know it."
"I'm going to miss everyone, and I don't see why I have to go to
Kami Orchida's. Nama and Dirkan can train me just as good as she can. I don't
want to leave everyone."
Bendros nodded understandingly. "Her Highness and Dirkan can train you as well
as Kami Orchida can, but there are things that she can teach you that they
can't. Kami Orchida is a great teacher, from what I have heard, although she
can be as tough as your grandmother during her teaching. I sure wish I had your
opportunity to train under her, little Tayla. You are lucky."
"Maybe," Tayla told him mournfully. Bendros patted her shoulder,
and Tayla rested her pointed chin on his cheek.
"I'm going to miss you too," Tayla told him suddenly and earnestly,
as she gazed into his coal-black eyes with her chocolate ones.
Bendros sighed sadly. He had only known little Tayla for a short
time, and yet he felt he had known her all of his life. Tayla was the little
sister that he had never had. His mother, Gran Mauria of the Clan of Sahara,
had remarried three years after his birth to a fellow Clan of Sahara Sastorian
named Rektron. Sadly Granden Rektron had died fighting the Saiyans during the
Saiyans' invasion of the ship, Korin. Gran Mauria had not remarried since then,
but she had three sons by Rektron: Herkon, fifteen, Kiran, ten, and Dakal,
seven. There were no daughters.
He placed his hand again on Tayla's thin shoulder, and Tayla took
his hand and placed it on her hair. That action indicated her complete trust in
him. Bendros sighed again and stroked the child's hair.
He smiled again. "I'll miss you too. Take care of yourself, little
Tayla."
Tayla nodded. "You too, Bendros, you too."
Shalila had thrown a going-away ball for Tayla. It was a small,
intimate ball of Tayla's closest friends and family members, but everyone had
stopped by to tell Tayla good-bye. Tayla was wearing her caftan that she had
worn to her Nama's wedding, and she kissed, hugged, and squeezed everyone until
she could not do so anymore. She had hugged Shalila, Gracina and Dirkan the
longest and made them swear Seven Moons Oath not to forget her.
"Two years will be up before you know it," Dirkan had assured her,
as he had kissed her on her forehead. Tayla had hugged him back, as if she
would never let him go.
Kekron and the girls, with the exception of Petalia, had kissed and hugged Tayla
goodbye. Petalia had merely coolly kissed her on her cheek, and Dedron and
Rojal had said nothing to her acknowledging her departure. Riccan had sparred
with Tayla one last time for old times sake, with Tayla winning as usual.
Arlina and Marya had arrived from the Temple to give Tayla special
blessings and prayers for a safe trip and stay at Kami Orchida's. Marya had
bent down before her youngest sibling and embraced her with a gentle kiss on her
forehead.
"Grow strong in body, spirit and heart, little sister," Marya
whispered, as she stroked Tayla's hair. "We will miss you greatly, but you will
learn much at Kami Orchida's. You have the potential to become stronger than
all of us, and Astoria is counting on you. This training will help you."
Tayla nodded and buried her face in Marya's neck, trying to hide the
coming tears.
Her uncles and aunts on both sides of Tayla's family had given her many gifts,
kisses and hugs when they had stopped by to tell her farewell. Tayla's deceased
father, Mantros, had had three brothers and three sisters, and her deceased
mother, Tika (who had been the youngest), had six sisters and ten brothers on
her side of the family. Tika's oldest sibling, Aunt Homina, the paternal
grandmother of Bendros, had married a Sastorian warrior, Benjal, of the Clan of
Sahara. Homina had actually been born twelve years before Shalila's return to
Astoria. She and four other siblings had been alive during the Astorians'
rebellion against the Saiyans. Another of Tika's sisters, the twelfth oldest sibling, Kildara, had married the Prince of a distant planet named Calmag. She was now Queen Kildara of Calmag. Hilaria, the thirteenth oldest sibling, was married to Aijal. Tika and her siblings were the children of Arbon (the former Superior Granden Bajal's brother) and Kazandra (Shalila's
first cousin and one of her closest friends). Homina and Kildara had been
unable to attend, and Tika's sister, Chloria, had died many years ago. Toria,
the second oldest sibling who had been born ten years before Shalila's return to
Astoria, had been the former High Priestess of the Temple of Chloe. She turned
the position over to her sister, Marya, when she had been promoted to become the
High Priestess of Astoria. The High Priestess or Priest of Astoria was in
charge of all Astorian priests and priestesses, and he or she held the position
until they died. Toria lived at Chloe Orchid, but she spent much of her time
traveling around Astoria and her moons to train and teach the other Priests and
Priestesses. She and Shalila were the only ones who could legally release
Priests and Priestesses from their vows. She would also be assisting Orchida in
Tayla's training, although her training would involve academics and meditation,
instead of fighting. She had come to the Palace straight from Chloe Orchid to
pick up Tayla and escort her to her new home.
Eighty-year-old Toria, had still retained her golden-brown hair and
emerald-green eyes, although she showed other signs of her age, watched Tayla
say goodbye to all of her friends and family. Once the ball was over, she was
to take Tayla away with her to Chloe Orchid. She knew that her niece was
reluctant to leave her home, but she would get past her homesickness. Toria
understood how Tayla felt, for she herself had only been six years old when Kami
Orchida had summoned her to Chloe Orchid for training as a Priestess because of
her phenomenal psychic abilities. She had first met Superior Gran Shalila when
Shalila too had been summoned to Kami Orchida's for training as a warrior.
Toria's predictions of Shalila had been accurate, from Shalila's marriage and
happiness with Superior Granden Bajal to the Battle of Chloe and the eventual
death of Tayla's parents. Toria tried to divine Tayla's future, but like Kami
Orchida had told her, Tayla's future was not yet written in stone, and anything
could happen with the girl. Toria dusted off her white caftan and gold sash (the
traditional garments of the High Priestess; Chloe Priests and Priestesses wore
white caftans with red sashes) and tried once again to get a glimpse or two of
Tayla's future, but nothing would come-not yet anyway.
Toria would have to meditate and give it time, for something would surely come
to her then.
A strange creature that was not Astorian, Namekian, Saiyan,
Sastorian, Meatian, or Human was watching and observing Tayla closely. He was
an alien from planet Arlia who had become one of Shalila's Interrogators ten
years ago. He had landed on Astoria at the time, claiming that his planet had
been destroyed by the Saiyans, and had begged for asylum, which had been granted
to him. He was one of the Head Interrogator's most trusted employees, and the
Astorians respected him. He resembled a giant brown cricket. He had to spend
his life without a mate on Astoria because he was neither mating-compatible nor
genetically compatible with the Astorians, so he could not marry into their
race. But that did not bother him, for his only joy and purpose in life was to
serve his true liege-which was not Superior Gran Shalila.
His true liege was Lord Frieza.
Reccor was his name and spying for Lord Frieza was his game, a
satisfactory game that he played with great pleasure. Frieza had first sent him
to Astoria to spy on Shalila and her husband, but then he added watching Tayla
to his orders as well. Reccor stayed by Shalila's side whenever he could and
always stayed nearby Tayla, trying to learn as much about her powers and plans
as he could. His hearing was almost as good as the Meatians, and he used his
abilities to listen in on Tayla's affairs.
Tayla never paid much attention to him, although she knew him and
had seen him around. The few times that she had bothered to notice him, she had
noticed him watching her, or thought that he was. She noticed him at the party
watching her now, and she wondered why he kept doing so. She was talking
quietly with Lelina about little girl things when she had discovered that he was
watching her again.
"Lelina, I'll be right back," she told her, and she left to confront
Reccor. She was going to find out once and for all what the "cricket-man" as
she and her friends had dubbed him was so interested in her.
Reccor, dressed in the red and gold garb of the Palace
Interrogators, bowed humbly to the little Princess when she walked up to him.
"Good afternoon, Princess Tayla," he told her cordially. "I hope that your
journey will be a good one. I'm sure that Kami Orchida will teach you many
things."
"That's what everyone says," Tayla told him politely, "I just want
to know something though, Reccor: how come you watch me so much? Every time I
see you, you seem to be watching me. Why?"
Reccor had the good grace to blush and look down. What was he
supposed to tell her? Well, Princess Tayla, Lord Frieza has sent me here to
your planet, and he wants me to spy on you so that he can learn about your
strengths. He still wants you to become one of his fighters, and he plans to
take you away from your people one day. And not only that, Princess, he also
plans to destroy your planet and everyone on it. But he will spare you, my
dear, because he thinks that you can be a great asset to him.
Reccor began to sweat; he realized then that he was not being as
discreet as he should be. Lord Frieza would be furious if he knew that Tayla
was noticing him spying on her. He had to think of something to tell the child
quickly, for it was likely that she would go to her grandmother about him
watching her so intensely. And he didn't need her overprotective grandmother
becoming suspicious of him. The Superior Gran throwing him off of Astoria would
just make Frieza's day--and guarantee Reccor's demise by Frieza's hands.
Finally he choked out, "You must pardon me, little Princess, for I
was so entranced by your beauty that I completely forgot myself and my manners.
Please forgive me, Princess. I promise it won't happen again."
Tayla blushed slightly. "No problem. And thank you. Farewell,
Reccor." Her round cheeks remained pink as she finally left him. Reccor let
out a sigh of relief. He was also thankful that females always appreciated a
good compliment, no matter what their age or species. Reccor let out another
sigh of relief-and then he patted himself on the back for being so clever. Even
the smallest and youngest females seemed to be easily pleased with a mere
compliment.
Reccor hid behind Chloe's ginkgo trees in the royal gardens, as he
pulled out his scouter, which could also be used as a communicator. He
contacted Frieza on it as he watched Tayla's servants load Tayla's luggage into
the spaceship that Kami Orchida had sent for her. Tayla was clinging to
Shalila, holding her for as long as she could. Riccan was standing next to
them, using his dagger to cut an apple the size of his head. (Astorian fruits
were usually the size of people's heads.) He sliced the apple in thick, uneven
slices and gave a large slice to Tayla, who thanked him and nibbled on it
gravely.
"Yes, Reccor?" Frieza's voice entered the communicator on the
scouter.
"She is leaving the Palace now, sire. She will be staying at Chloe
Orchid for two years to train under Kami Orchida. Do you wish to send troops to
Astoria yet, sire?"
Frieza's voice sighed, "Not yet. It is still too soon, and I don't
want to take the girl away just yet. We will have plenty of time to destroy all
of the Astorians. I want the girl to continue growing stronger; she may even
become as strong as little Prince Vegeta."
Reccor spoke up through the scouter. "Sire, may I advise you to
perhaps try to take the princess as soon as possible? The stronger and older
she becomes, the more difficult she will be to handle. I have heard Prince
Vegeta is quite a handful for you now, and two older, powerful royal brats may
be a problem for even you to handle. Better to take Princess Tayla away while
she's still young, I think."
"I don't pay you to think, Reccor! I pay you to spy and report to
me of Princess Tayla's comings and goings-and of her grandmother, as well! I
know what I am doing! I can more than handle both Prince Vegeta and Princess
Tayla, when I send for her."
"But sire, Prince Vegeta is already troublesome for you now, isn't
he? I have heard about his attitude-"
"His attitude does not disturb me, Reccor!" Frieza shouted again.
Then he lowered his voice, "His bad attitude does infuriate me at times, but
most of the time, I find it amusing. I am not worried about him at all. If he
started to become quiet and docile, then that's when I would start to worry. As
long as he remains cheeky and arrogant, but continues to grow strong, then I can
rest at ease about him. It's his sister that really bothers me. She is not
happy about being under my care permanently, and she doesn't hesitate to let
everyone know it."
"Does she and her brother suspect the truth about their people's
demise?"
"Not yet, and I will make sure that they will never know either. I
can't worry about those two and those two other Saiyans that I spared, Nappa and
Raditz, rising up against me. Raditz and Princess Journa seem to have affection
for each other, but I cannot allow them to mate and produce a child, for the
Saiyans seem to be growing stronger with each generation. I'd sooner the
monkeys die out with Prince Vegeta and his bunch!"
"But sire, you could have them breed a generation of Saiyans that
would grow up to be loyal to you and to you only."
"Maybe, but I don't trust the Saiyans entirely. Prince Vegeta is
one of my finest fighters, especially for someone who is only a child and not
Elite yet, but I know that he would overthrow me if he could. Saiyans are like
that, always seeking to become stronger and better than everyone else. I can
handle the little prince, as long as he thinks that I am stronger than him."
"Sire," Reccor began again, "aren't you worried that when Tayla is
old enough and strong enough for you to take her away, she will already have
fixed ideas against you and your reign? Superior Gran Shalila, and her new
husband, Superior Granden Dirkan are-"
"HUSBAND? Did you just say that Dirkan is now Shalila's husband?"
Reccor stammered, "Yes-yes, sire, that's correct. I attended their
wedding myself."
"Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"I didn't think it was important, sire. It is not as if the
Superior Gran and her husband can produce any children, so you needn't worry,
sire. Nameks and Astorians cannot create children together."
Frieza was about to shout at Reccor again, but then he calmed down
when he realized that Reccor was right. Dirkan and Shalila were no more a
threat to him as a married couple than they were when they weren't. He would
still destroy them one day, and he would make Shalila Chloe pay the ultimate
price for killing his mother, Queen Frost.
Frieza never knew or met his mother, Queen Frost, for he had been
conceived and raised in a gestation tank, along with his brother, Coola. Queen
Frost had also been a scientist, and after her marriage to King Cold, she had
taken some of King Cold's sperm and implanted them into her eggs inside a
gestation tank. Seven embryos were created from this nonsexual union, but only
two lived, for Frieza and Coola had killed their brothers and sisters before
they had a chance to be born. Queen Frost had her voice recorded and installed
on many tapes for the surviving embryos to listen to. She also had made tapes
for Frieza and Coola to listen to at certain ages and stages in their lives and
development. These tapes helped them to train and institute her ideals and
values inside their minds and hearts. In these tapes, she strongly urged them
to grow up to become strong, to conquer planets and the entire universe and take
it over, and in a final tape that she had made, to avenge her death against
Shalila Chloe.
As soon as Queen Frost had realized that Frieza and Coola would live
beyond their embryonic states, she began performing brain surgery on their fetal
brains to program her plans and hopes into them. She programmed their minds to
lust for conquering other peoples, fighting, and constant training and
improvement. She successfully deprogrammed any tendencies towards
sentimentality, kindness, or love, and she brainwashed their minds into
believing that the only things that mattered in life were power, riches,
bloodlust, fighting, and revenge. She programmed their minds and bodies to
attain new and higher levels of power at different stages and ages in their
lives, so they would constantly grow stronger and more powerful as they grew
older. She also programmed Frieza and Coola to make themselves reach new stages
and forms on their own. She planned for them to be able to transform into four
or five different transformations, each stage stronger than before.
Frieza secretly replayed his mother's tapes from time to time, so
that he would remember why he and his brother were created. He often played the
final tape that his mother had made during her dying hours about him growing up
to destroy Shalila Chloe and all of the Astorian people one day. His mother had
died two weeks before he and Coola were ready to be "born", in other words,
released from the gestation tanks to be raised by their father and various
caretakers.
And now Frieza saw a real chance to finally take revenge on Shalila
and the Astorians, by taking someone that meant much to Shalila and making her
his own. Having Tayla Chloe work for him and for his evil empire, having her
grow up to be his most heinous, powerful fighter, would be his greatest revenge
of all.
He just hoped that fool, Reccor, his spy, would not foul things up.
The last thing he needed was for Shalila to suspect that he was still after
little Princess Tayla Chloe.
Tayla and her Nama, completely unaware of Frieza's continued
interest in Tayla, were embracing each other, as if they would never see each
other again. Tayla had her heart-shaped face buried in Shalila's caftan, and
Shalila had her hand in Tayla's dark hair.
Finally Toria tapped her Aunt Shalila (by her former marriage to
Bajal) on the shoulder. "It's time to say goodbye and let her go, Aunt
Shalila."
Shalila kissed Tayla for the final time on her forehead and
whispered, "I love you, little dandelion, and I'll be thinking about you every
day."
"I will too, Nama, I swear Seven Moons, that I'll be thinking about
you and everyone here," Tayla whispered back fiercely. She finally let go of
her grandmother, and Toria took her hand, as Tayla waved goodbye with the other
hand.
Everyone waved goodbye and shouted their good wishes and farewells
to Tayla, as Toria put her niece in the front seat of the sky car that was to go
to Kami Orchida. Tayla kept watching her home and her family, with slow tears
running down her rosy cheeks.
Toria pressed a few buttons in the sky car and patted Tayla's
shoulder. "You will see them again," she promised the girl. "You will see
later that this was all for the best, and you'll thank Kami Orchida for this
later."
Tayla said nothing; she just nodded slowly, not really believing
Toria's words. She still did not entirely understand why she had to leave Nama,
her family and friends, and the Palace. She didn't think that Kami Orchida
could teach her anything that Nama and Dirkan couldn't. But she could not run
away; she could not shirk her duty to help her people. She had to maintain the
family honor, the Clan of Chloe honor, and if that honor meant having to leave
her family to train at a strange place for two years, then that's what she would
have to do.
She was a Princess of Chloe, and she had to be brave and willing to
do anything for her family and people, to protect them, to care for them.
Princesses of Chloe could not run away from difficulty, hardship, or battles;
they had to hang on until the end and be strong, to not let fear get to them.
It was what a true Princess of Chloe would do, and Tayla, although she was only
a child, understood the great importance of her role and embraced it and its
ideals.
She just hoped that she would be able to live up to them.
She had to make her Nama proud, her people proud, and her ancestors
proud, especially her dead parents. She had never known her parents, but she
knew instinctively that they would want her to do all that she could to become
stronger, even it hurt her some.
She burned the faces of her family and friends into her mind forever, and then
she closed her eyes and turned away from the window, as the sky car took off into the sky and away from the Palace towards Chloe Orchid and the beginning of her destiny.
(Okay, so now we had a good look inside Tayla's family life. As
this part ends, Tayla was on her way to Chloe Orchid to train under Astoria's
goddess, Kami Orchida. We will be skipping ahead to five years later, where
Tayla had came from Chloe Orchid two years before. In Part Three, she is now
twelve years old, and she is traveling with her family and friends to planet
Calmag, where her grandmother, Shalila Chloe, is hoping to form an alliance with
the Calmagian people against Frieza and his minions.
Also, we'll be getting to know Frieza's minions a little better.
Frieza still hopes to make Tayla one of his fighters, and Prince Vegeta is
training hard every day to become the strongest warrior of any race in the
entire universe. He also hopes to get revenge on little Tayla for defeating
him.
(Note: At this time, the Ginyu Force only had four members, and
Guido had not yet joined them. Frieza at this time had only had two forms; he
had not yet advanced to developing into four forms.
The story of Dodoria's ambush on Bardock's Saiyan crew had been
modified to include the surviving Meatians'presence.)
The Calmagian race is considered to be the fourth strongest race in
the Rosetta Galaxy. The other four strong races next to Frieza and his family
are: Saiyans and Astorians tied for the first (at this time anyway), the
Sistrai, the Reznakians from Planet Reznak, and the Calmagians as the fourth.
Shalila hopes to have their help in allying against Frieza.
The Calmagians are humanoid like the Astorians and the Saiyans,
except they have pointed ears like elves and bright blue finger and toenails.
When they bleed, their blood is amber-colored and resembles honey and is just as
thick. (When Astorians bleed, their blood comes out bright blue and watery, and
like Calmagian women, Astorian women have no body hair except for eyebrows and
eyelashes. Aren't they lucky that they never have to shave or wax?) The
Calmagians are able to paralyze people just by touching them, and there only two
ways the paralysis can be undone: one way is to let the effect wear off in two
hours, and the other way is for a Calmagian to magically reverse the effect by
touching the victim again. The Calmagians are all telekinetic and extremely
powerful, although not still quite as powerful as the Astorians.
Frieza has sent his Elite forces to planet Calmag to clear it
because the Calmagians are reputed to be as tough as the Astorians. Will they
succeed? Not if Tayla and her family have anything to say about it! What new
skills and powers will Tayla have learned from Kami Orchida? Will these be
enough to save her, her family and the Calmagian people?)
That morning, on her final day living at the Palace, Tayla in the
garden, hugging and kissing Hugs goodbye, as the puppy whimpered, he knew that
his young mistress was leaving him for a long time. Tayla was still in her blue
nightgown, and she had snuck out of bed before her maid had. She had taken Hugs
out of the pet menagerie, for no pets were allowed inside the Palace.
"I'll miss you, Hugs, and I'll always love you," Tayla whispered to
him, as she crouched down beside him behind her favorite red tea roses. She
squeezed her puppy tightly, and Hugs gravely licked her face repeatedly.
"Looks like Hugs already gave you your morning bath; I guess Mykia
won't need to bathe you today, huh?" Tayla looked up at the speaker, whose long
furry tail swished gracefully behind him. The tall, muscular man ran a hand
through his black hair that was slightly spiked and ruffled.
Tayla favored the visitor with her best smile. "Hello, Bendros,"
she said softly.
Bendros smiled. "Hello, little Tayla. Looking forward to your
trip?"
Tayla frowned and looked down at her brown-booted feet. "Not
really," she admitted sadly.
Bendros knelt down besides her. "It won't be so bad, Tayla; two
years will be up before you know it."
"I'm going to miss everyone, and I don't see why I have to go to
Kami Orchida's. Nama and Dirkan can train me just as good as she can. I don't
want to leave everyone."
Bendros nodded understandingly. "Her Highness and Dirkan can train you as well
as Kami Orchida can, but there are things that she can teach you that they
can't. Kami Orchida is a great teacher, from what I have heard, although she
can be as tough as your grandmother during her teaching. I sure wish I had your
opportunity to train under her, little Tayla. You are lucky."
"Maybe," Tayla told him mournfully. Bendros patted her shoulder,
and Tayla rested her pointed chin on his cheek.
"I'm going to miss you too," Tayla told him suddenly and earnestly,
as she gazed into his coal-black eyes with her chocolate ones.
Bendros sighed sadly. He had only known little Tayla for a short
time, and yet he felt he had known her all of his life. Tayla was the little
sister that he had never had. His mother, Gran Mauria of the Clan of Sahara,
had remarried three years after his birth to a fellow Clan of Sahara Sastorian
named Rektron. Sadly Granden Rektron had died fighting the Saiyans during the
Saiyans' invasion of the ship, Korin. Gran Mauria had not remarried since then,
but she had three sons by Rektron: Herkon, fifteen, Kiran, ten, and Dakal,
seven. There were no daughters.
He placed his hand again on Tayla's thin shoulder, and Tayla took
his hand and placed it on her hair. That action indicated her complete trust in
him. Bendros sighed again and stroked the child's hair.
He smiled again. "I'll miss you too. Take care of yourself, little
Tayla."
Tayla nodded. "You too, Bendros, you too."
Shalila had thrown a going-away ball for Tayla. It was a small,
intimate ball of Tayla's closest friends and family members, but everyone had
stopped by to tell Tayla good-bye. Tayla was wearing her caftan that she had
worn to her Nama's wedding, and she kissed, hugged, and squeezed everyone until
she could not do so anymore. She had hugged Shalila, Gracina and Dirkan the
longest and made them swear Seven Moons Oath not to forget her.
"Two years will be up before you know it," Dirkan had assured her,
as he had kissed her on her forehead. Tayla had hugged him back, as if she
would never let him go.
Kekron and the girls, with the exception of Petalia, had kissed and hugged Tayla
goodbye. Petalia had merely coolly kissed her on her cheek, and Dedron and
Rojal had said nothing to her acknowledging her departure. Riccan had sparred
with Tayla one last time for old times sake, with Tayla winning as usual.
Arlina and Marya had arrived from the Temple to give Tayla special
blessings and prayers for a safe trip and stay at Kami Orchida's. Marya had
bent down before her youngest sibling and embraced her with a gentle kiss on her
forehead.
"Grow strong in body, spirit and heart, little sister," Marya
whispered, as she stroked Tayla's hair. "We will miss you greatly, but you will
learn much at Kami Orchida's. You have the potential to become stronger than
all of us, and Astoria is counting on you. This training will help you."
Tayla nodded and buried her face in Marya's neck, trying to hide the
coming tears.
Her uncles and aunts on both sides of Tayla's family had given her many gifts,
kisses and hugs when they had stopped by to tell her farewell. Tayla's deceased
father, Mantros, had had three brothers and three sisters, and her deceased
mother, Tika (who had been the youngest), had six sisters and ten brothers on
her side of the family. Tika's oldest sibling, Aunt Homina, the paternal
grandmother of Bendros, had married a Sastorian warrior, Benjal, of the Clan of
Sahara. Homina had actually been born twelve years before Shalila's return to
Astoria. She and four other siblings had been alive during the Astorians'
rebellion against the Saiyans. Another of Tika's sisters, the twelfth oldest sibling, Kildara, had married the Prince of a distant planet named Calmag. She was now Queen Kildara of Calmag. Hilaria, the thirteenth oldest sibling, was married to Aijal. Tika and her siblings were the children of Arbon (the former Superior Granden Bajal's brother) and Kazandra (Shalila's
first cousin and one of her closest friends). Homina and Kildara had been
unable to attend, and Tika's sister, Chloria, had died many years ago. Toria,
the second oldest sibling who had been born ten years before Shalila's return to
Astoria, had been the former High Priestess of the Temple of Chloe. She turned
the position over to her sister, Marya, when she had been promoted to become the
High Priestess of Astoria. The High Priestess or Priest of Astoria was in
charge of all Astorian priests and priestesses, and he or she held the position
until they died. Toria lived at Chloe Orchid, but she spent much of her time
traveling around Astoria and her moons to train and teach the other Priests and
Priestesses. She and Shalila were the only ones who could legally release
Priests and Priestesses from their vows. She would also be assisting Orchida in
Tayla's training, although her training would involve academics and meditation,
instead of fighting. She had come to the Palace straight from Chloe Orchid to
pick up Tayla and escort her to her new home.
Eighty-year-old Toria, had still retained her golden-brown hair and
emerald-green eyes, although she showed other signs of her age, watched Tayla
say goodbye to all of her friends and family. Once the ball was over, she was
to take Tayla away with her to Chloe Orchid. She knew that her niece was
reluctant to leave her home, but she would get past her homesickness. Toria
understood how Tayla felt, for she herself had only been six years old when Kami
Orchida had summoned her to Chloe Orchid for training as a Priestess because of
her phenomenal psychic abilities. She had first met Superior Gran Shalila when
Shalila too had been summoned to Kami Orchida's for training as a warrior.
Toria's predictions of Shalila had been accurate, from Shalila's marriage and
happiness with Superior Granden Bajal to the Battle of Chloe and the eventual
death of Tayla's parents. Toria tried to divine Tayla's future, but like Kami
Orchida had told her, Tayla's future was not yet written in stone, and anything
could happen with the girl. Toria dusted off her white caftan and gold sash (the
traditional garments of the High Priestess; Chloe Priests and Priestesses wore
white caftans with red sashes) and tried once again to get a glimpse or two of
Tayla's future, but nothing would come-not yet anyway.
Toria would have to meditate and give it time, for something would surely come
to her then.
A strange creature that was not Astorian, Namekian, Saiyan,
Sastorian, Meatian, or Human was watching and observing Tayla closely. He was
an alien from planet Arlia who had become one of Shalila's Interrogators ten
years ago. He had landed on Astoria at the time, claiming that his planet had
been destroyed by the Saiyans, and had begged for asylum, which had been granted
to him. He was one of the Head Interrogator's most trusted employees, and the
Astorians respected him. He resembled a giant brown cricket. He had to spend
his life without a mate on Astoria because he was neither mating-compatible nor
genetically compatible with the Astorians, so he could not marry into their
race. But that did not bother him, for his only joy and purpose in life was to
serve his true liege-which was not Superior Gran Shalila.
His true liege was Lord Frieza.
Reccor was his name and spying for Lord Frieza was his game, a
satisfactory game that he played with great pleasure. Frieza had first sent him
to Astoria to spy on Shalila and her husband, but then he added watching Tayla
to his orders as well. Reccor stayed by Shalila's side whenever he could and
always stayed nearby Tayla, trying to learn as much about her powers and plans
as he could. His hearing was almost as good as the Meatians, and he used his
abilities to listen in on Tayla's affairs.
Tayla never paid much attention to him, although she knew him and
had seen him around. The few times that she had bothered to notice him, she had
noticed him watching her, or thought that he was. She noticed him at the party
watching her now, and she wondered why he kept doing so. She was talking
quietly with Lelina about little girl things when she had discovered that he was
watching her again.
"Lelina, I'll be right back," she told her, and she left to confront
Reccor. She was going to find out once and for all what the "cricket-man" as
she and her friends had dubbed him was so interested in her.
Reccor, dressed in the red and gold garb of the Palace
Interrogators, bowed humbly to the little Princess when she walked up to him.
"Good afternoon, Princess Tayla," he told her cordially. "I hope that your
journey will be a good one. I'm sure that Kami Orchida will teach you many
things."
"That's what everyone says," Tayla told him politely, "I just want
to know something though, Reccor: how come you watch me so much? Every time I
see you, you seem to be watching me. Why?"
Reccor had the good grace to blush and look down. What was he
supposed to tell her? Well, Princess Tayla, Lord Frieza has sent me here to
your planet, and he wants me to spy on you so that he can learn about your
strengths. He still wants you to become one of his fighters, and he plans to
take you away from your people one day. And not only that, Princess, he also
plans to destroy your planet and everyone on it. But he will spare you, my
dear, because he thinks that you can be a great asset to him.
Reccor began to sweat; he realized then that he was not being as
discreet as he should be. Lord Frieza would be furious if he knew that Tayla
was noticing him spying on her. He had to think of something to tell the child
quickly, for it was likely that she would go to her grandmother about him
watching her so intensely. And he didn't need her overprotective grandmother
becoming suspicious of him. The Superior Gran throwing him off of Astoria would
just make Frieza's day--and guarantee Reccor's demise by Frieza's hands.
Finally he choked out, "You must pardon me, little Princess, for I
was so entranced by your beauty that I completely forgot myself and my manners.
Please forgive me, Princess. I promise it won't happen again."
Tayla blushed slightly. "No problem. And thank you. Farewell,
Reccor." Her round cheeks remained pink as she finally left him. Reccor let
out a sigh of relief. He was also thankful that females always appreciated a
good compliment, no matter what their age or species. Reccor let out another
sigh of relief-and then he patted himself on the back for being so clever. Even
the smallest and youngest females seemed to be easily pleased with a mere
compliment.
Reccor hid behind Chloe's ginkgo trees in the royal gardens, as he
pulled out his scouter, which could also be used as a communicator. He
contacted Frieza on it as he watched Tayla's servants load Tayla's luggage into
the spaceship that Kami Orchida had sent for her. Tayla was clinging to
Shalila, holding her for as long as she could. Riccan was standing next to
them, using his dagger to cut an apple the size of his head. (Astorian fruits
were usually the size of people's heads.) He sliced the apple in thick, uneven
slices and gave a large slice to Tayla, who thanked him and nibbled on it
gravely.
"Yes, Reccor?" Frieza's voice entered the communicator on the
scouter.
"She is leaving the Palace now, sire. She will be staying at Chloe
Orchid for two years to train under Kami Orchida. Do you wish to send troops to
Astoria yet, sire?"
Frieza's voice sighed, "Not yet. It is still too soon, and I don't
want to take the girl away just yet. We will have plenty of time to destroy all
of the Astorians. I want the girl to continue growing stronger; she may even
become as strong as little Prince Vegeta."
Reccor spoke up through the scouter. "Sire, may I advise you to
perhaps try to take the princess as soon as possible? The stronger and older
she becomes, the more difficult she will be to handle. I have heard Prince
Vegeta is quite a handful for you now, and two older, powerful royal brats may
be a problem for even you to handle. Better to take Princess Tayla away while
she's still young, I think."
"I don't pay you to think, Reccor! I pay you to spy and report to
me of Princess Tayla's comings and goings-and of her grandmother, as well! I
know what I am doing! I can more than handle both Prince Vegeta and Princess
Tayla, when I send for her."
"But sire, Prince Vegeta is already troublesome for you now, isn't
he? I have heard about his attitude-"
"His attitude does not disturb me, Reccor!" Frieza shouted again.
Then he lowered his voice, "His bad attitude does infuriate me at times, but
most of the time, I find it amusing. I am not worried about him at all. If he
started to become quiet and docile, then that's when I would start to worry. As
long as he remains cheeky and arrogant, but continues to grow strong, then I can
rest at ease about him. It's his sister that really bothers me. She is not
happy about being under my care permanently, and she doesn't hesitate to let
everyone know it."
"Does she and her brother suspect the truth about their people's
demise?"
"Not yet, and I will make sure that they will never know either. I
can't worry about those two and those two other Saiyans that I spared, Nappa and
Raditz, rising up against me. Raditz and Princess Journa seem to have affection
for each other, but I cannot allow them to mate and produce a child, for the
Saiyans seem to be growing stronger with each generation. I'd sooner the
monkeys die out with Prince Vegeta and his bunch!"
"But sire, you could have them breed a generation of Saiyans that
would grow up to be loyal to you and to you only."
"Maybe, but I don't trust the Saiyans entirely. Prince Vegeta is
one of my finest fighters, especially for someone who is only a child and not
Elite yet, but I know that he would overthrow me if he could. Saiyans are like
that, always seeking to become stronger and better than everyone else. I can
handle the little prince, as long as he thinks that I am stronger than him."
"Sire," Reccor began again, "aren't you worried that when Tayla is
old enough and strong enough for you to take her away, she will already have
fixed ideas against you and your reign? Superior Gran Shalila, and her new
husband, Superior Granden Dirkan are-"
"HUSBAND? Did you just say that Dirkan is now Shalila's husband?"
Reccor stammered, "Yes-yes, sire, that's correct. I attended their
wedding myself."
"Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"I didn't think it was important, sire. It is not as if the
Superior Gran and her husband can produce any children, so you needn't worry,
sire. Nameks and Astorians cannot create children together."
Frieza was about to shout at Reccor again, but then he calmed down
when he realized that Reccor was right. Dirkan and Shalila were no more a
threat to him as a married couple than they were when they weren't. He would
still destroy them one day, and he would make Shalila Chloe pay the ultimate
price for killing his mother, Queen Frost.
Frieza never knew or met his mother, Queen Frost, for he had been
conceived and raised in a gestation tank, along with his brother, Coola. Queen
Frost had also been a scientist, and after her marriage to King Cold, she had
taken some of King Cold's sperm and implanted them into her eggs inside a
gestation tank. Seven embryos were created from this nonsexual union, but only
two lived, for Frieza and Coola had killed their brothers and sisters before
they had a chance to be born. Queen Frost had her voice recorded and installed
on many tapes for the surviving embryos to listen to. She also had made tapes
for Frieza and Coola to listen to at certain ages and stages in their lives and
development. These tapes helped them to train and institute her ideals and
values inside their minds and hearts. In these tapes, she strongly urged them
to grow up to become strong, to conquer planets and the entire universe and take
it over, and in a final tape that she had made, to avenge her death against
Shalila Chloe.
As soon as Queen Frost had realized that Frieza and Coola would live
beyond their embryonic states, she began performing brain surgery on their fetal
brains to program her plans and hopes into them. She programmed their minds to
lust for conquering other peoples, fighting, and constant training and
improvement. She successfully deprogrammed any tendencies towards
sentimentality, kindness, or love, and she brainwashed their minds into
believing that the only things that mattered in life were power, riches,
bloodlust, fighting, and revenge. She programmed their minds and bodies to
attain new and higher levels of power at different stages and ages in their
lives, so they would constantly grow stronger and more powerful as they grew
older. She also programmed Frieza and Coola to make themselves reach new stages
and forms on their own. She planned for them to be able to transform into four
or five different transformations, each stage stronger than before.
Frieza secretly replayed his mother's tapes from time to time, so
that he would remember why he and his brother were created. He often played the
final tape that his mother had made during her dying hours about him growing up
to destroy Shalila Chloe and all of the Astorian people one day. His mother had
died two weeks before he and Coola were ready to be "born", in other words,
released from the gestation tanks to be raised by their father and various
caretakers.
And now Frieza saw a real chance to finally take revenge on Shalila
and the Astorians, by taking someone that meant much to Shalila and making her
his own. Having Tayla Chloe work for him and for his evil empire, having her
grow up to be his most heinous, powerful fighter, would be his greatest revenge
of all.
He just hoped that fool, Reccor, his spy, would not foul things up.
The last thing he needed was for Shalila to suspect that he was still after
little Princess Tayla Chloe.
Tayla and her Nama, completely unaware of Frieza's continued
interest in Tayla, were embracing each other, as if they would never see each
other again. Tayla had her heart-shaped face buried in Shalila's caftan, and
Shalila had her hand in Tayla's dark hair.
Finally Toria tapped her Aunt Shalila (by her former marriage to
Bajal) on the shoulder. "It's time to say goodbye and let her go, Aunt
Shalila."
Shalila kissed Tayla for the final time on her forehead and
whispered, "I love you, little dandelion, and I'll be thinking about you every
day."
"I will too, Nama, I swear Seven Moons, that I'll be thinking about
you and everyone here," Tayla whispered back fiercely. She finally let go of
her grandmother, and Toria took her hand, as Tayla waved goodbye with the other
hand.
Everyone waved goodbye and shouted their good wishes and farewells
to Tayla, as Toria put her niece in the front seat of the sky car that was to go
to Kami Orchida. Tayla kept watching her home and her family, with slow tears
running down her rosy cheeks.
Toria pressed a few buttons in the sky car and patted Tayla's
shoulder. "You will see them again," she promised the girl. "You will see
later that this was all for the best, and you'll thank Kami Orchida for this
later."
Tayla said nothing; she just nodded slowly, not really believing
Toria's words. She still did not entirely understand why she had to leave Nama,
her family and friends, and the Palace. She didn't think that Kami Orchida
could teach her anything that Nama and Dirkan couldn't. But she could not run
away; she could not shirk her duty to help her people. She had to maintain the
family honor, the Clan of Chloe honor, and if that honor meant having to leave
her family to train at a strange place for two years, then that's what she would
have to do.
She was a Princess of Chloe, and she had to be brave and willing to
do anything for her family and people, to protect them, to care for them.
Princesses of Chloe could not run away from difficulty, hardship, or battles;
they had to hang on until the end and be strong, to not let fear get to them.
It was what a true Princess of Chloe would do, and Tayla, although she was only
a child, understood the great importance of her role and embraced it and its
ideals.
She just hoped that she would be able to live up to them.
She had to make her Nama proud, her people proud, and her ancestors
proud, especially her dead parents. She had never known her parents, but she
knew instinctively that they would want her to do all that she could to become
stronger, even it hurt her some.
She burned the faces of her family and friends into her mind forever, and then
she closed her eyes and turned away from the window, as the sky car took off into the sky and away from the Palace towards Chloe Orchid and the beginning of her destiny.
(Okay, so now we had a good look inside Tayla's family life. As
this part ends, Tayla was on her way to Chloe Orchid to train under Astoria's
goddess, Kami Orchida. We will be skipping ahead to five years later, where
Tayla had came from Chloe Orchid two years before. In Part Three, she is now
twelve years old, and she is traveling with her family and friends to planet
Calmag, where her grandmother, Shalila Chloe, is hoping to form an alliance with
the Calmagian people against Frieza and his minions.
Also, we'll be getting to know Frieza's minions a little better.
Frieza still hopes to make Tayla one of his fighters, and Prince Vegeta is
training hard every day to become the strongest warrior of any race in the
entire universe. He also hopes to get revenge on little Tayla for defeating
him.
(Note: At this time, the Ginyu Force only had four members, and
Guido had not yet joined them. Frieza at this time had only had two forms; he
had not yet advanced to developing into four forms.
The story of Dodoria's ambush on Bardock's Saiyan crew had been
modified to include the surviving Meatians'presence.)
The Calmagian race is considered to be the fourth strongest race in
the Rosetta Galaxy. The other four strong races next to Frieza and his family
are: Saiyans and Astorians tied for the first (at this time anyway), the
Sistrai, the Reznakians from Planet Reznak, and the Calmagians as the fourth.
Shalila hopes to have their help in allying against Frieza.
The Calmagians are humanoid like the Astorians and the Saiyans,
except they have pointed ears like elves and bright blue finger and toenails.
When they bleed, their blood is amber-colored and resembles honey and is just as
thick. (When Astorians bleed, their blood comes out bright blue and watery, and
like Calmagian women, Astorian women have no body hair except for eyebrows and
eyelashes. Aren't they lucky that they never have to shave or wax?) The
Calmagians are able to paralyze people just by touching them, and there only two
ways the paralysis can be undone: one way is to let the effect wear off in two
hours, and the other way is for a Calmagian to magically reverse the effect by
touching the victim again. The Calmagians are all telekinetic and extremely
powerful, although not still quite as powerful as the Astorians.
Frieza has sent his Elite forces to planet Calmag to clear it
because the Calmagians are reputed to be as tough as the Astorians. Will they
succeed? Not if Tayla and her family have anything to say about it! What new
skills and powers will Tayla have learned from Kami Orchida? Will these be
enough to save her, her family and the Calmagian people?)
