Chapter Thirty-Seven: A Talk With Nama And Dirkan

Shalila and Dirkan's bedchamber, one night later

"So, may I join Ridikar for dinner, Nama, Dirkan? Please?" Tayla
asked her grandmother and her guardian eagerly, as she lay between them on their
large hunter-green and gold bed in the luxurious bedchamber decorated in green
and gold and ebony furniture.

Shalila and Dirkan were silent for a few moments. Dirkan scowled at
the ceiling and thought near-murderous thoughts of Tayla's potential suitor.

"Please?"

Shalila sighed. She did not truly want Tayla to go, but she could
not at the moment think of a good reason for saying no. "You must have a
chaperone, child."

"Yes, Nama." Tayla had expected as much. "Who's going to chaperone
me?"

"I will," Dirkan told her quietly, still scowling at the ceiling.

"Tayla, before I agree to this, there is something that we need to
talk to you about," Shalila began. "It is about handling boys like Ridikar."

"Ridikar isn't a boy," Tayla said astutely. "He's almost a man."

Dirkan continued to stare angrily at the gray ceiling. "We know,
and that's exactly what worries your grandmother and I," he told the young
princess grimly.

Tayla finally noticed Dirkan frowning so harshly upwards. "Why do
you look so angry, Dirkan? Was it something that I did?"

Dirkan sighed, and Shalila cleared her throat. "He's not angry at
you, dandelion; he's just concerned about Ridikar." She toyed with a strand of
Tayla's dark hair and closed her eyes to think for a few seconds.

"Don't you like Ridikar, Dirkan?" Tayla asked, resting her black
head on Dirkan's green chest, which she did often.

"As much as I like Frieza," Dirkan said before he could censor
himself.

"Dirkan!" Shalila exclaimed, shocked, although she secretly agreed
with him.

Tayla shot up and looked down at Dirkan, surprised. "Why don't you
like him? He seems nice and charming-and very handsome, I might add."

Dirkan was trying to save himself. "I-I suppose you're right,
Tayla, but he just seems so-so old for you, that's all." And too experienced
and slick, he added silently in his head.

"Four years is nothing," Tayla told him positively, trying to
reassure him, as she hugged him, like the little girl that she sometimes was.
"You're over thirty years older than Nama, and Lektron is twelve years older
than Gracina, and my father was ten years older than my mother. What does his
age matter?"

Shalila cleared her throat. "It's not really so much his age,
Tayla. It's well-well, Tayla, most young men you know are fairly decent
people." She tried to remember the words of the same lectures that she used to
give her daughters about handling experienced males who wanted too much from a
young girl too fast. Ah, she remembered when her daughter, Jesynthia, had a
flock of suitors when she had been around sixteen, and most of those suitors
Shalila and Bajal hadn't liked. Jesynthia's parents were tremendously relieved
when their daughter had married a warrior a few years later and settled down.

Finally she said, "Most young men in your life have been decent,
honorable lads, dandelion, but there will be men in your life who may try to
take advantage of you."

"What do you mean?" Tayla asked, puzzled.

"Well, remember when we had our talk about how babies were made?"
Shalila chewed on the corner of her right lip, something she often did when she
was trying to find the right words to say.

"Yes, Nama."

"I'm sure that you remember my telling you about saving your
virginity for marriage. Well, dandelion, there are some young men-and older
men, as well-who would try to get you to do things with them that you are not
ready for."

Tayla looked directly in her grandmother's eyes. "Nama, I am not
going to lie with a man before marriage; I intend to save myself."

"We know that you wouldn't, Tayla," Shalila replied, "but there are
some men who would try to pressure you to sleep with them before marriage, men
who do not care about your welfare or your honor. There are men of all ages,
Tayla, that mate with a woman without loving her or caring about her. Some
consider a game to bed as many young ladies as they can, without considering the
consequences or the ladies' feelings. Women normally equate sex with love, but
many men don't feel the same way. There are men and boys who try to prove their
manliness by coupling with as many women as they can. Most of those men you can
say no to without them trying to go any further without causing trouble."

"What about the others?" Tayla asked.

"Those are exactly the kind that you especially have to worry
about," Dirkan added. Shalila nodded in acknowledgment, allowing Dirkan to jump
in. Dirkan continued, "There are men, Tayla, that won't take no for an answer.
These kind of men will try to touch you without your permission-"

"Like touching my hair without asking, if I don't know them?"

"Exactly," Dirkan replied. "Some men may try to touch you in places
where you don't want to be touched. Those kind may try to kiss you against your
will."

"No one's touching me or kissing me unless I say it's okay," Tayla
stated firmly. But then an anxious look crossed her delicate features. "What
do I do about those that try to touch or kiss me, if I don't want them to?"

"Call me, Gracina, or one of your brothers, and one of us will break
his neck," Dirkan told her fiercely.

"Dirkan," Shalila said reproachfully, looking right into his onyx
eyes. Then, finally allowing herself a small smile, she turned to Tayla and
said, "Actually, Tayla, that is one of your options, but one that probably
should be used as a last-minute resort. First you tell him, as firmly as
possible, that his attentions are not welcome, and you are not ready for what he
is trying to do with you."

"And if he still persists?" Tayla pressed.

"Then you try to get away. If that doesn't succeed, then do as
Dirkan suggests, if you can't fight him off yourself. It is always okay to say
no, Tayla, no matter what the circumstances. Even if you are married to him,
you still have a right to say no and set limits as to what you will allow to
happen. No man, no matter how old he is, how powerful he is, or who he is, has
the right to touch you, kiss you, or force himself upon you."

"Force himself upon me?" Tayla asked. "Do you mean rape, Nama?" she
continued, a bit shakily, uncomfortable at saying an awful word.

Shalila nodded solemnly. "Yes, Tayla. Just remember though, that
not all men are like that, for many of them would be good to you and treat you
like the princess you are."

"How do I tell the difference, Nama?" Tayla was starting to worry a
little now.

Shalila meditated for a few moments before answering. "That's the
bad thing, dandelion; sometimes you can't. You just have to go with your
instincts, my dear; if he makes you uncomfortable or scared, then it's probably
a sign that he's not safe to be around. If he treats you with respect and
accepts no from you as an answer, it's a good sign. If he is not respectful or
considerate towards you, then he is not someone that you would want for a suitor
or a husband. Appearances can be deceiving, so take your time slowly to get to
know a male."

"Have you ever been in such a situation, Nama?" Tayla asked softly,
her head now resting on her grandmother's bosom.

Shalila looked over Tayla's head to Dirkan. Dirkan placed his large
green hand on Shalila's red head and stroked her hair with it. They were both
very quiet. Tayla could sense the unspoken communication between them, even if
she could not understand it. Dirkan and Shalila nodded at each other, and
Shalila quietly spoke:

"Yes, Tayla, I have."

"When did it happen? How did you handle it?" Tayla asked, her voice
barely above a whisper. "How did you escape?"

Shalila gathered her strength together to begin, for the tale that
she was about to tell was still painful to this day, even if it had been over
sixty years ago. If it had not been for Dirkan, things could have been so much
worse.

She debated on just how much to tell Tayla, and she did not answer
her granddaughter for a good twenty minutes. Tayla lay there in her
grandmother's arms, patiently waiting for her Nama to answer.

Shalila meditated for that time, thinking how if it had not been for
her current husband, things would have been worse…




Seventy-four years ago...

…Shalila had just turned twenty-years-old two days before. She had
spent her twentieth birthday in the prison of the Saiyan king of Astoria, King
Dayrus; the prison had been a dark, mold-ridden chamber that had not been
cleaned for many years. King Dayrus's strongest Saiyans had managed to seize
her by her wrists and tie her wrists together, so that she had been unable to
fight them back. A powerful Saiyan ki blast had destroyed the protective cuffs
that had covered her wrists before her capture.

Now those some horrid Saiyans were taking Shalila to the evil Saiyan
king, who was the younger brother of King Vegeta (the current Prince Vegeta's
grandfather). King Dayrus, who was considerably weaker than his brother, but
still the strongest Saiyan on Astoria, had decided to make the impetuous,
spirited young girl become his new concubine. He thought that it would be a
thrill to humble and defile the so-called true heiress to Astoria's throne.
Superior Granden Roccon and Superior Gran Tayla's only daughter would belong to
him.

Shalila had new restraining cuffs placed on her wrists that reduced
her ki to next to nothing. Nevertheless, she still had fought against the men
and women who were dressing her to look nice for King Dayrus. Shalila was now
dressed in a sea-foam green, transparent dress, with a hole cut out for her flat
stomach and a keyhole collar for her small bosom's cleavage. She was wearing
makeup, and her hair was coiffed in the slave girl style that King Dayrus
insisted that all of his female slaves wear.

Two strong Saiyans were having difficulty carrying an angry,
frightened Shalila into King Dayrus' bedchamber. She was calling them every
vile name that a woman can call a man.

"You bastards! Whoremongers! You're as vile and disgusting as your
king! I would sooner be killed than lie with him!" Shalila had shouted to her
captors. "When Dirkan and Bajal get here, they will free me, and this whole
palace will fall apart onto your heads! Let me go!"

King Dayrus, who strongly resembled his brother, King Vegeta (almost
all Vegetas looked alike, from grandfather to father to son), grinned wickedly
when the soldiers flung Shalila onto his bed besides him. King Dayrus tried to
stroke Shalila's fiery hair, but Shalila punched him in his face, as hard as she
could.

"Feisty little woman, aren't you?" King Dayrus had laughed at her
when he caught her flying fist. He drew her to him and began to fondle the
struggling, angry woman. Shalila hissed at him and spat in his face.

"You're as disgusting as your men! Do all of you Saiyan men treat
women this way?" she screamed after King Dayrus slapped her hard in her face.
Shalila tentatively licked the corner of her lip, tasting her blue blood. King
Dayrus lapped at the spot of blue blood on the corner of her lip with his rough
tongue, after recovering from his anger.

"Mmm, delicious, just like I know that you will be," King Dayrus
cooed into her ear. "I like the ones that fight me, Princess Shalila, best of
all. I know now just how I'll bring your rebelling people to their knees." He
began kissing her throat and restraining her, as Shalila still struggled to get
away.

"Leave me alone! Don't touch me, monkey king!" Shalila cried out
angrily.

King Dayrus seized her throat with his large fist. "Do not ever call me monkey
again, woman, or I will hurt you!" His fury increased; how dare she treat him
the way she did?

He hissed in her ear, "I will humble you and your people; all I have
to do is impregnate you with my child. He or she will be another Sastorian
brat, but it will be enough to diminish you in your people's eyes. And then I
will make you my mate, bringing further defeat to those wretched Astorians who
dare to defy me! You will become mine, and I will crush your people under my
steel boots, if they even try to stop me anymore! And when I'm done with you,
sweet princess, I will destroy Prince Bajal, your supposed betrothed, and that
green thing you call Dirkan!" His scowl turned into a grin, then into a leer.
His hot breath was suffocating her. He tore the top of Shalila's thin,
see-through dress and caressed her soft, silky bosom. "Enjoying this, princess?"

He then crushed his lips to her mouth and shoved his tongue into her
mouth. Shalila struggled vainly, and she felt tears come to her eyes. The evil
king was holding her too tightly, pinning her down with his enormous weight.
Finally, King Dayrus ripped away the rest of her clothes and moved further on
top of her body, placing himself firmly between her slender legs.

He continued kissing her, his lips crushing her and his foul breath
suffocating her. Shalila nearly retched; she could not get his tongue out of
his throat, so finally she bit into it.

King Dayrus yanked his bleeding tongue from Shalila's mouth and spat
out blood. He was angrier than ever now. "So you like it rough, you royal
slut? Well, I'll give it to you that way then, some of my women seem to like it
that way!"

"Get off of me!" Shalila screamed at him before the Saiyan king
yanked her head up by her head. He then hit her hard in the back of her head,
knocking her almost unconscious. Shalila was close to passing out.

No, she thought. I cannot give in to him. NO!

King Dayrus then took a small, saturated cloth to her nose. He
pressed the chloroform-smelling cloth, causing her to slip further into a void.
"I didn't want to have to do this; I wanted you awake for our fun, but I'll have
to restrain you one way or the other."

Shalila, now heavily drugged from the fumes, was barely able to
move. The tears were now cascading freely down her smooth cheeks, as King
Dayrus began once again to kiss and fondle her. He started shifting his full
weight upon her, and then she felt him move in-between her legs. He was
preparing to force himself upon her, and she was helpless to stop him.
He was going to rape her. This Saiyan beast, her father's murderer, was
actually going to rape her, and she couldn't prevent it. Shalila cursed
herself, hating herself for being so helpless. She had been able to fight
Darbura, avenging her mother's demise; she had almost single-handedly killed
Queen Frost, but she could not even fend a man off, to stop him from raping her!
What kind of a warrior was she?

She hated herself at that moment for being a woman. If she had been
born a man, she would have never been in this position now.

But then, if she had been born a man, she could not have loved
Dirkan.

Think of Dirkan. Just close your eyes and think of Dirkan, Shalila
thought to herself. She tried to remove herself from her horrible situation by
thinking of the Namek she loved. She wanted Dirkan to be with her, not this
sweating Saiyan ape king!

Shalila cried harder than ever, unable to forget about her present
dilemma. King Dayrus' wicked laughter brought her back to reality too soon.
She was going to be raped, and she knew it.

She struggled for one last time, fighting him feebly with weakly
pounding fists, but she was tiring. The fumes in that cloth were still about
her, weakening her further. Shalila let out one horrible sob, as King Dayrus
finally began to enter her.

But King Dayrus never got to finish, for at that moment Dirkan burst
into the King's bedchambers after killing twenty Saiyans to reach the
bedchambers. Dirkan yelled out an angry battle cry and swiftly yanked the
raping king off of Shalila. Dirkan and King Dayrus began to fight each other,
punching and kicking each other, breaking furniture and windows and anything
else that got in their way. Dirkan finally managed to throw the Saiyan king out
of his bedchamber window into the moat below. (Of course that didn't kill King
Dayrus that easily, for Dirkan and Shalila had to fight him again later.)

Dirkan then gently used his eye lasers to break the cuffs on
Shalila's wrists, and then he picked the crying girl up and carried her out of
the castle to a hidden cave in the Chloe wilderness.

Later, when Shalila was fully awake, Dirkan held in her in his arms
for a long time, comforting her and reassuring her that she was safe for now.
Shalila would forever remember Dirkan declaring for the first time that he loved
her, that he would always be there for her and protect her. She had felt the
strong safety of his large pink and green arms, and the comfort of his mighty
voice, telling her that he was here now…




Present Time

…Shalila finally told Tayla an edited version of that frightening
tale. She had left out the horrible details of exactly what King Dayrus did to
her, but she stressed to Tayla that even the strongest women can be made
helpless, especially in a situation like that.

"I am so sorry, Nama," Tayla whispered sympathetically.

"Thank you," Shalila told her solemnly, "but now you understand that
what happened to me can happen to anyone, including you. If Dirkan had not came
in time, oh, it could have been so much worse! I was very fortunate, for I
could have been raped, and worse, impregnated with that beast's child."

"But," Tayla's grandmother continued, "most men are not like that.
There are many kind, decent men like Dirkan and your brothers, most of your
cousins and uncles. Don't let my tale scare you away from all men, but use it
to be cautious around those that you don't know very well. And I am insisting
on a chaperone when you go to dinner with Ridikar because we don't know him too
well yet. He may be the heir to Calmag's throne, but he is still someone that
we have to determine that we can trust."

"He is so charming though, Nama," Tayla said wistfully.

"Do you care for him the same way that you do Bendros?" Shalila
asked her gently.

"I-I don't know yet, Nama," Tayla admitted, "It's too soon to tell,
but I think that I could."

Dirkan repressed the alarm surging through him, and Shalila had to
do the same. They did not, at this time, want any of the single Astorian
females to become too interested in the Calmagian men.

"Don't give away your heart too soon, dandelion," Shalila told her
quietly. "You are only twelve; you have plenty of time to get acquainted with
young men and have suitors. Dirkan and I are just trying to keep you from
having your heart broken or your trust betrayed."

Tayla closed her eyes and rested her dark head again on her Nama's
bosom. "I know, Nama," she said softly, "Thank you."

In a few minutes she was asleep. Dirkan let her rest between them
for a few more minutes, and then he picked her up off of the bed and carried her
out of his and Shalila's room. He brought her to the bedroom that she was
sharing with Lelina, Veal, and Petalia, and then he tucked her into her small
bed and kissed her on her forehead.

"Sweet dreams," he whispered to her before he left the room.