Chapter Seventy-Three: Things Go From Bad To Worse
Six hours later into the night, back at the royal castle in King Kitchator's ballroom…
"You fiends! You bastards!" King Kitchator roared at Zarbon after Dodoria had just blown away five of his best guards with his mouth blast. "How dare you invade my planet just to capture a little girl? Was all this force and violence really necessary?" Zarbon had learned the name of the Calmagian king through Alberm.
"We have been sent to clear your planet, as well, Your Majesty," Zarbon said with a sneer. "However, if you can convince the Astorians to surrender Princess Tayla Chloe to us, then we will leave your puny planet with the girl, and you will never see or hear from us again. Now, for the last time, Kitchator, where is Princess Tayla?"
Kitchator was cradling a frightened and sobbing Queen Kildara in his arms, as he stammered nervously, "I told you all that she went out fighting with the others; I have no idea where she could be now."
"Find a way to find out," Zarbon told him coldly. "I know that you Calmagians pride yourselves on your technology. Use that knowledge to contact the Astorians still fighting and order them to surrender Princess Tayla to us. We are growing impatient, Kitchator, and so is our Lord Frieza."
Zarbon, Balair, Dodoria, and Bhodie had succeeded in taking over the castle quickly, and very few people had managed to escape them. Many of the non-fighting Astorians and their friends had followed the Calmagian royal guards through the labyrinths under the cave, but Balair had discovered them escaping, and he had ordered the would-be-escapees back upstairs. To enforce his order, Balair had used his vaporizing attack to execute half of the Calmagian guards that had been helping the Astorians and their friends to flee.
All of the castle's occupants and their guests had been forced into the largest and nearest ballroom where Balair and Bhodie were now keeping them hostage. The few foolish people (all Calmagian) who had tried to escape had been shot to death with ki blasts from Bhodie for even trying. Balair had sharply warned the hostages that ten people would die for any one person who tried to flee. For now, all of the frightened captives were sitting on the shiny electric blue streaked marble of the gold and silver ballroom, all huddled together. Steak and Ham were furious that they could not fight, and they were angry that they once again couldn't help themselves or anyone else.
Balair had taken Pork as his hostage in order to force Crystalis to help him gather the other hostages together. Balair had sworn to both Lower Elite Officers that he would have them executed for their "treachery" if they did not continue to help the Top Elite Officers with their evil plans. Pork and Crystalis no longer wanted to work for Frieza, but Balair warned them that if they betrayed Frieza, then he would kill Steak and Ham on the spot. Pork and Crystalis were now patrolling the ballroom to ensure that no one escaped. Both young fighters had tears in their eyes, and Steak watched both of them with pity at their plight and anger that they were being forced back into a life that they now wanted to escape. Steak swore to himself by Astoria's seven moons that he would find a way to get his son and Crystalis out of the clutches of Balair and the others.
Balair was sitting down on the steps of the marble dais in the center of the ballroom with a terrified Caline in his lap and a shaken Natala next to him. Caline was huddled into a ball in Balair's lap, quietly weeping into her nightgown while Natala clenched her fists in fear and anger, as Balair sat besides her stroking her hair. Natala had pulled away from him earlier the last time that he had done that, but Balair had literally twisted her arm and warned her that the next time that she resisted him, he would bite her arm off, and then he would rape Caline right then and there.
Hazel was arguing with her captor, her once potential lover, Bhodie, who was holding her at gunpoint with a laser gun that Bhodie had swiped from a guard that he had killed.
"How can you do this to us? To me? Why do you want to fight on the bad guys' side?" Hazel demanded to know. "Why do you want to hurt innocent people, especially women and children who can't defend themselves? What kind of monster have you become, Bhodie?"
Bhodie grinned and said smoothly, "Hazelnut, honey, relax, I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you, I promise! You should be thankful that I still want you, baby; I've managed to keep you safe from my ol' pal, Balair. I'm afraid that Natala and Caline aren't as fortunate as you are right now. I'm afraid that ol' Bali has developed a taste in little girls; he seems awfully fond of that sweet little Caline-"
"That is sick!" Hazel hissed. "Caline is just a kid, and a sicko like Balair wants to have sex with her? He's nothing but a pervert, a child molester! What is it with you, Bhodie, are you into little girls now too?"
"Heck, no way," Bhodie laughed. "I prefer a woman closer to my own age, like you, Hazelnut! When your friends here go to sleep, you and I can sneak off somewhere and pick up where we left off! And this time I won't take no for an answer; you're mine, brown sugar buns!"
"You know that I hate it when you call me that! I told you never to call me that again!" Hazel yelled uselessly; oh, what was the point?
"You didn't object to 'Hazelnut', but you object to 'brown sugar buns'?" Bhodie was amused.
Bhodie chuckled to himself as he listened to Balair speak. He and Hazel were standing near Balair and Caline, and Balair was whispering obscenities into Caline's elflike ear, describing in horrific detail what he was going to do to her once he got her into bed with him. Caline was crying harder now and begging him to stop saying those nasty, horrible things, but Balair just laughed and continued to explain in graphic detail all of the things that he would do to her in bed. Caline sobbed louder when Balair told her that he was going to take her upstairs and mate with her soon.
Finally Natala had heard enough and she hissed at Balair, "Leave her alone! She is just a little girl! Stop saying those nasty, foul things to her!"
Balair snapped at her, "Didn't I tell you to behave earlier; apparently, your hubby didn't train you well in obeying your man! Maybe now that he's in the other dimension, I'll be able to teach you properly after I train this little lady."
"Don't you touch her!" Natala snapped angrily. "You are not going to force yourself on that poor girl! I'll do what I have to stop you from violating her; she's a child!"
Balair was about to strike her, but then he changed his mind. Caline continued to sob long and hard, her terror of being raped again overwhelming her. She had escaped one horrible fate just to enter another. Finally the Calmagian child princess's sobs and tears were starting to grate on Balair's nerves, and he turned to Natala and said silkily, "I'll tell you what, sweetness: I was going to screw this sweet little thing tonight, but I'd have to knock her out to get any enjoyment out of her; her tears are starting to get on my nerves. You let me screw you instead, if you so insist that I leave her alone."
"And if I don't?" Natala asked in a trembling voice.
"Then I'm taking her upstairs right now," Balair told her, as he began to rise with Caline in his arms. Caline kicked and struggled, but Balair slapped her hard across her face. "You're mine, brat, and unless she offers to take your place, I'm taking you with me to make you my new playmate!"
Natala cried out in horror, "No! Let her go, and I will take her place! I am a grown woman, and I can handle what you are about to dish out; Caline is but a child, and she's endured more than enough already."
Balair threw Caline down the flight of five steps on the dais, and Caline fell on her side. She curled into a ball again, too panicked to move. Balair laughed at both Caline and Natala, and he said to Natala, "Offer accepted, princess, but if you back out, or even try to resist me once we get to a bedroom, I come back downstairs and claim the brat instead. Either way, I'm getting some tonight from one of you two. If you don't want me to screw the girl, then you better behave and please me, got it?"
Natala nodded weakly, and she whispered, "Let me check on Caline, please, and then I will go with you."
"Five minutes," Balair told her. "That's all I'm giving you."
Raakon, please, please forgive me wherever you are at right now. Forgive me for what I am about to do, please forgive me in advance for betraying our marriage vows. I know that you are frozen forever, but I still consider myself your wife. Wherever you are now, I beg you to understand why I am doing this; I can't let him hurt that poor little girl, I can't! Caline has endured more than enough with Alberm; she doesn't deserve any more pain. Please forgive me, Raakon, please, Natala thought silently to Raakon, as she slowly stepped down the flight of stairs towards Caline.
Natala gathered Caline into her arms and hugged her close, stroking her hair. "He won't hurt you now, sweetheart; you're safe from him. I'm not going to let him or anyone else harm you. I will be going with Balair now."
Caline slowly realized that Natala had offered to take her place as Balair's newest conquest. She then shrieked, "No, Natala, I can't let you do that! I can't let him hurt you!"
"Shush, Caline," Natala told her as firmly as possible. "You have been hurt enough, and my mind is made up. I promised Gracina that I would look after you, and I will keep my word, and even if she hadn't asked me, I would have done so anyway. You are safe for now, and I will keep you out of his clutches."
"I shouldn't be letting you do this," Caline sobbed. "I've already been raped before, and you hadn't. I'm used to it. I've already been used and abused; one more time won't matter that much."
Natala was horrified at hearing this. Caline had sounded like someone three times her age, someone old and jaded, and someone who was certain that nothing good would ever happen to her again.
"No one is using or abusing you again," Natala told her, barely able to keep the tears out of her voice. "Caline, don't feel like you have to throw yourself away; you don't. It will be all right; it will be all right now. I will keep you safe; just stay here and pray."
Natala stroked Caline's hair again and whispered, "It will be okay, Caline, it will be okay, I will be fine." Actually Natala wouldn't be, but she was an Astorian, a Princess of Chloe since her marriage to Raakon; a Princess of Chloe could take anything.
"Caline, listen-" Natala began again, but Balair roughly seized her arm and pulled her away from Caline.
"Time's up," he growled. "Let's go."
"Gooden boden fro noy, Caline. Sta safen." (Good-bye for now, Caline. You stay safe.)
Balair, still squeezing Natala's arm, abruptly led her out of the ballroom. As he was taking her away, Caline began to cry again. Hazel tried to go to the girl to comfort her, but Bhodie wouldn't allow her.
"I am so sorry," Crystalis whispered to Steak, as she and Pork stood near him and Ham while Steak and Ham were sitting on the floor. None of them had yet noticed that Balair had taken Natala away out of the ballroom.
"Papa, please forgive me," Pork begged. "I don't want to hurt any more people or work for Frieza anymore, but they're making us."
Steak stood up and patted his son's shoulder and addressed both of them, "Keep faith, both of you; I am sure that Shalila and the others will come rescue us. They won't kill anyone yet until they have Tayla. We will get you two kids away from them."
"Father, I feel so awful for the lives that I took," Pork whispered in deep shame. "I don't know if I even deserve to get away from them. Maybe it's too late for us."
"It's never too late, son," Steak assured him.
"I want to make those bastards pay, Father!" Ham declared angrily. "It's just like before, Papa. And now they forced my little brother to work for them! I wish I were an Astorian right now, Father; I wish that I could electrocute those son-of-a-whores and blast them away the way that the Astorians can! I hate being so weak, Papa; I hate it! I hate that I couldn't stop those bastards from taking us captive or forcing Pork to work for them again! And if they do anything to Veal, Father, so help me, I will-"
"Enough, son," Steak admonished him, looking around anxiously to make sure none of their captors heard. "You fought them the best that you could, son, we all did. We will just have to hope and pray, Ham. All we can do now is wait."
"While more people die, Father?" Ham wanted to know.
"Son, if we fight them now, or try to flee, more people will definitely die," Steak scolded him. "Believe me, I want to hurt them too, but we can't risk the lives of others. We will have to wait."
Ham crossed his arms and sulked angrily. Steak sighed and patted his back. He felt like Ham did, but neither one of them could afford to do anything at this moment. They both hated feeling so helpless.
"Are you scared, Crysti?" Pork asked Crystalis.
Crystalis nodded and asked back, "Yes, are you?"
"I don't want to be, but I am," Pork admitted to his best friend. "I don't want to work for Frieza and his bunch any more, do you?"
"I don't," Crystalis confessed. "I wish we were strong enough to defy them." She looked to be near tears, and Pork hugged her. They both embraced each other tightly, like brother and sister. They had grown close to each other like siblings during their time under Frieza, and it had been easier for them because of Commander Chestra, who had trained both of them.
"I hope Commander Chestra is okay," Pork told Crystalis. "I don't want her to get hurt."
"Neither do I," Crystalis admitted. They both feared the other Top Elite officers, but they both had genuinely liked Chestra, who had never abused them. She could be tough trainer, but she had always been fair and decent to them. Steak watched and listened to the two of them for a few minutes, and then he turned back to Ham.
"All this time, Ham," Steak whispered to his oldest child, "I thought that Pork was dead. The Superior Gran even had Chief Prince Gohan investigate to try to find out, but all these years, we have heard nothing of him. I always hoped and prayed that maybe he would wind up on Intergalacticpol's Most Wanted List, so that at least we would know if he was alive or not. And after several years of hearing no news about him, I finally had to give up my poor boy again. And now he's alive once more, once again. I almost feel as if I have my whole family back, once and for all."
"Not entirely, Papa," Ham whispered back, although he himself was happy that Pork was alive. He knew that Veal would be glad to see their brother again. Perhaps there were Kais after all. "We don't have Mama with us. I still miss her."
"I know, son, I know. I still miss her myself. I can still remember the day that her father arranged her marriage to me. Your mother was very shy around me at first, especially since we had only met each other twice before our marriage was arranged by both of our fathers. But we grew to love each other in a short amount of time; I never desired another woman during our marriage. She made me very happy, and I hope that I did the same for her. She was so gentle, so sweet, so open-minded, so forgiving, and so willing to give anyone a chance, just like Princess Natala is now. She is-" Steak covered his mouth and stopped himself. He blushed.
Ham said slyly, forgetting about their troubles for a few moments, "Papa! You like Princess Natala, don't you? Heh, heh, I've noticed you looking at her before; she's a beautiful woman, but it's too bad that she's married!"
"Yes, son, it is too bad, but Prince Raakon is good to her, he is her husband, and I must continue to try to put her out of my mind," Steak said too quickly. Ham grinned at his father, as Steak looked away from his son.
Steak had been in love with Natala for years; she was so much like his last wife, Poultry, that it broke his heart. He loved Natala for her own sake now, but it had been her qualities of gentleness and kindness that had been like Poultry's that had first drawn Steak to her. Steak quietly envied Raakon Chloe his wife, and he considered Raakon to be one of the luckiest men in the universe to have such a beautiful, kind, loving woman as his mate. Steak had tried a few times to court other Astorian women, mainly servant women and visitors from other clans, for there were Astorian women that would see him despite the fact that he was from another race, but those relationships had never worked out. He wanted a woman like Natala or Poultry for himself and for the children, but Steak had not yet found anyone who lived up to his standards.
He looked around the room for the object of his affection, but he could not see her. He only saw Hazel with Bhodie and a sobbing Caline. Steak pitied Caline and thought that her father was a heartless, thoughtless bastard who had carelessly arranged marriages to his daughter without even thinking whether the man involved would be good to her. A man such as Prince Amitar would have been frowned upon on planet Meat, for while Meatian fathers arranged their daughters' marriages mainly for alliances and fortune building, they would not marry their daughters off to men who would treat them badly. And if a Meatian daughter truly were against marrying the man, most good Meatian fathers even then wouldn't force the issue, but try to find someone else for her if they could. No Meatian father would ever marry his daughter to someone who would abuse, neglect or cheat on her. Steak had nothing against arranged marriages, but he thought that in Caline's case, Prince Amitar had done a pitiful job in marrying his daughter to a son-of-a-whore like Alberm Dunlop of Rendor.
And Steak had met Caline's new fiancé, Filcor Sedemeyer, a couple of days before the war started when Filcor had joined the Meatians at their table to say hello. Steak and Filcor had talked a good bit, about Filcor's supposed upcoming marriage to Caline, and Steak's concerns about finding a suitable husband for Veal. (One reason Steak had taken his daughter to Calmag with him was to see if there were any men there good enough to be a Meatian girl's husband.) Filcor's chauvinistic, sexist remarks about what he expected from his marriage to Caline greatly bothered Steak, and Steak had to bite his tongue to keep from snapping at the Calmagian businessman and warrior. Steak decided after that meeting with Filcor (and seeing how the men in the royal family behaved towards females), he would not allow Veal to marry anyone or be courted by anyone here. He would just have to hope and pray that there were Astorian males who would want to court Veal. Veal should have been married by now, and she would have if those blasted Saiyans hadn't invaded planet Meat! Steak had thought that the boy, Tuna, had been a nice, kind, suitable husband for his daughter when Veal had begged her father to arrange her marriage to him.
He shook those thoughts out of his head for now; he didn't even know where Veal was, and he couldn't sense her ki. He prayed that Veal had somehow managed to escape. But where was Natala? He couldn't see Natala anywhere.
And then to his slow realization, he noticed that Balair was also missing. Sweet Kami! Steak had noticed that Balair had desired Natala as well as him, only Steak knew what Balair was like, and Balair would hurt Natala.
Both of them were gone!
Steak gnashed his teeth. He had to find a way to sneak out of here now! He wouldn't let that Sistrai bastard hurt Princess Natala, even if it meant that he would lose his life.
But if he died, who would care for his children and Crystalis, whom Steak had started to consider as one of his own?
Oh, sweet Kami, what was he going to do? Could he even do anything?
"Zarbon, I sent you, the other Top Elite officers, some Upper Low-Levels, and the Saiyans to Calmag to clear it; that should have been more than enough. Are you certain that you need more soldiers?"
"Yes, sire," Zarbon spoke through his scouter to Frieza. "The clearing of Calmag had been going well until the Astorians caught wind of our arrival. Then some of us started losing to them, Jaden and the Saiyans have been severely wounded to the point where they must retreat, and I cannot get a hold of Diamonique at all. I suspect that she has perished-"
"The Saiyans were unable to stop the Astorians! How come?" Frieza demanded to know through his scouter.
"From what I could get out of Vegeta, and this was after he came out of unconsciousness, he himself fought Princess Tayla Chloe. Tayla once again defeated him, and Dirkan and an Astorian boy defeated Raditz. Dirkan defeated Nappa, who is barely alive now, and some half-Saiyan, half-Astorian boy defeated Journa. I did manage to get a description of the girl before Vegeta and I cut off communication, and she is of slight build, sire, with long black hair and brown eyes, shorter than five feet. She shouldn't be too hard to spot when she and her family come to rescue their friends."
"You will see that is captured, won't you, Zarbon?" Frieza asked impatiently.
"Yes, sire. If it was she alone, even then we could handle her, but the rest of her family is as strong as she is. Shalila and Dirkan, as you well know, sire, are dangerous by themselves. I will need more soldiers, perhaps all Elite this time, Mid-Elite if possible, if you wish all of the Astorians on this planet to be destroyed."
Frieza sighed, "Very well, Zarbon, you shall have them. Some will have to be Lower Elite, however, for I only have five Mid-Elite officers at this time that I can spare for Calmag, but they are the best of the Mid-Elites and Lower Elites. Even with those, you should be able to finish off Shalila and her people. Again, see that Princess Tayla is spared; don't fail me, Zarbon."
"I won't, sire. When do you think that they will arrive?"
"They are within Calmag's vicinity; I would say in one or two days at the very latest, some even sooner than that. Now is there anything, Zarbon?"
"Not at this time, sire."
"Have Chestra gather together the wounded and load them onto the ship. I hate to drag a Top Elite officer away, but someone has to bring the wounded back here. I don't understand as to how Vegeta, Journa, Nappa and Raditz were once again defeated. Vegeta had been much stronger than before; apparently the Astorian brat, Tayla Chloe has been keeping up."
"She'll be a valuable asset, sire," Zarbon said reassuringly.
"I do hope so. She may have a companion when she comes back. Chestra's Kaydra is much stronger than I thought she was. Kaydra could become Tayla's equal someday. It's going to be a pain, having to manage Astorian brats as well as Saiyan brats, but hopefully it will be worth it. Farewell for now, Zarbon, and see that this mission is successful."
"Yes, sire. Signing off now." Zarbon cut off communication.
Six hours later into the night, back at the royal castle in King Kitchator's ballroom…
"You fiends! You bastards!" King Kitchator roared at Zarbon after Dodoria had just blown away five of his best guards with his mouth blast. "How dare you invade my planet just to capture a little girl? Was all this force and violence really necessary?" Zarbon had learned the name of the Calmagian king through Alberm.
"We have been sent to clear your planet, as well, Your Majesty," Zarbon said with a sneer. "However, if you can convince the Astorians to surrender Princess Tayla Chloe to us, then we will leave your puny planet with the girl, and you will never see or hear from us again. Now, for the last time, Kitchator, where is Princess Tayla?"
Kitchator was cradling a frightened and sobbing Queen Kildara in his arms, as he stammered nervously, "I told you all that she went out fighting with the others; I have no idea where she could be now."
"Find a way to find out," Zarbon told him coldly. "I know that you Calmagians pride yourselves on your technology. Use that knowledge to contact the Astorians still fighting and order them to surrender Princess Tayla to us. We are growing impatient, Kitchator, and so is our Lord Frieza."
Zarbon, Balair, Dodoria, and Bhodie had succeeded in taking over the castle quickly, and very few people had managed to escape them. Many of the non-fighting Astorians and their friends had followed the Calmagian royal guards through the labyrinths under the cave, but Balair had discovered them escaping, and he had ordered the would-be-escapees back upstairs. To enforce his order, Balair had used his vaporizing attack to execute half of the Calmagian guards that had been helping the Astorians and their friends to flee.
All of the castle's occupants and their guests had been forced into the largest and nearest ballroom where Balair and Bhodie were now keeping them hostage. The few foolish people (all Calmagian) who had tried to escape had been shot to death with ki blasts from Bhodie for even trying. Balair had sharply warned the hostages that ten people would die for any one person who tried to flee. For now, all of the frightened captives were sitting on the shiny electric blue streaked marble of the gold and silver ballroom, all huddled together. Steak and Ham were furious that they could not fight, and they were angry that they once again couldn't help themselves or anyone else.
Balair had taken Pork as his hostage in order to force Crystalis to help him gather the other hostages together. Balair had sworn to both Lower Elite Officers that he would have them executed for their "treachery" if they did not continue to help the Top Elite Officers with their evil plans. Pork and Crystalis no longer wanted to work for Frieza, but Balair warned them that if they betrayed Frieza, then he would kill Steak and Ham on the spot. Pork and Crystalis were now patrolling the ballroom to ensure that no one escaped. Both young fighters had tears in their eyes, and Steak watched both of them with pity at their plight and anger that they were being forced back into a life that they now wanted to escape. Steak swore to himself by Astoria's seven moons that he would find a way to get his son and Crystalis out of the clutches of Balair and the others.
Balair was sitting down on the steps of the marble dais in the center of the ballroom with a terrified Caline in his lap and a shaken Natala next to him. Caline was huddled into a ball in Balair's lap, quietly weeping into her nightgown while Natala clenched her fists in fear and anger, as Balair sat besides her stroking her hair. Natala had pulled away from him earlier the last time that he had done that, but Balair had literally twisted her arm and warned her that the next time that she resisted him, he would bite her arm off, and then he would rape Caline right then and there.
Hazel was arguing with her captor, her once potential lover, Bhodie, who was holding her at gunpoint with a laser gun that Bhodie had swiped from a guard that he had killed.
"How can you do this to us? To me? Why do you want to fight on the bad guys' side?" Hazel demanded to know. "Why do you want to hurt innocent people, especially women and children who can't defend themselves? What kind of monster have you become, Bhodie?"
Bhodie grinned and said smoothly, "Hazelnut, honey, relax, I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you, I promise! You should be thankful that I still want you, baby; I've managed to keep you safe from my ol' pal, Balair. I'm afraid that Natala and Caline aren't as fortunate as you are right now. I'm afraid that ol' Bali has developed a taste in little girls; he seems awfully fond of that sweet little Caline-"
"That is sick!" Hazel hissed. "Caline is just a kid, and a sicko like Balair wants to have sex with her? He's nothing but a pervert, a child molester! What is it with you, Bhodie, are you into little girls now too?"
"Heck, no way," Bhodie laughed. "I prefer a woman closer to my own age, like you, Hazelnut! When your friends here go to sleep, you and I can sneak off somewhere and pick up where we left off! And this time I won't take no for an answer; you're mine, brown sugar buns!"
"You know that I hate it when you call me that! I told you never to call me that again!" Hazel yelled uselessly; oh, what was the point?
"You didn't object to 'Hazelnut', but you object to 'brown sugar buns'?" Bhodie was amused.
Bhodie chuckled to himself as he listened to Balair speak. He and Hazel were standing near Balair and Caline, and Balair was whispering obscenities into Caline's elflike ear, describing in horrific detail what he was going to do to her once he got her into bed with him. Caline was crying harder now and begging him to stop saying those nasty, horrible things, but Balair just laughed and continued to explain in graphic detail all of the things that he would do to her in bed. Caline sobbed louder when Balair told her that he was going to take her upstairs and mate with her soon.
Finally Natala had heard enough and she hissed at Balair, "Leave her alone! She is just a little girl! Stop saying those nasty, foul things to her!"
Balair snapped at her, "Didn't I tell you to behave earlier; apparently, your hubby didn't train you well in obeying your man! Maybe now that he's in the other dimension, I'll be able to teach you properly after I train this little lady."
"Don't you touch her!" Natala snapped angrily. "You are not going to force yourself on that poor girl! I'll do what I have to stop you from violating her; she's a child!"
Balair was about to strike her, but then he changed his mind. Caline continued to sob long and hard, her terror of being raped again overwhelming her. She had escaped one horrible fate just to enter another. Finally the Calmagian child princess's sobs and tears were starting to grate on Balair's nerves, and he turned to Natala and said silkily, "I'll tell you what, sweetness: I was going to screw this sweet little thing tonight, but I'd have to knock her out to get any enjoyment out of her; her tears are starting to get on my nerves. You let me screw you instead, if you so insist that I leave her alone."
"And if I don't?" Natala asked in a trembling voice.
"Then I'm taking her upstairs right now," Balair told her, as he began to rise with Caline in his arms. Caline kicked and struggled, but Balair slapped her hard across her face. "You're mine, brat, and unless she offers to take your place, I'm taking you with me to make you my new playmate!"
Natala cried out in horror, "No! Let her go, and I will take her place! I am a grown woman, and I can handle what you are about to dish out; Caline is but a child, and she's endured more than enough already."
Balair threw Caline down the flight of five steps on the dais, and Caline fell on her side. She curled into a ball again, too panicked to move. Balair laughed at both Caline and Natala, and he said to Natala, "Offer accepted, princess, but if you back out, or even try to resist me once we get to a bedroom, I come back downstairs and claim the brat instead. Either way, I'm getting some tonight from one of you two. If you don't want me to screw the girl, then you better behave and please me, got it?"
Natala nodded weakly, and she whispered, "Let me check on Caline, please, and then I will go with you."
"Five minutes," Balair told her. "That's all I'm giving you."
Raakon, please, please forgive me wherever you are at right now. Forgive me for what I am about to do, please forgive me in advance for betraying our marriage vows. I know that you are frozen forever, but I still consider myself your wife. Wherever you are now, I beg you to understand why I am doing this; I can't let him hurt that poor little girl, I can't! Caline has endured more than enough with Alberm; she doesn't deserve any more pain. Please forgive me, Raakon, please, Natala thought silently to Raakon, as she slowly stepped down the flight of stairs towards Caline.
Natala gathered Caline into her arms and hugged her close, stroking her hair. "He won't hurt you now, sweetheart; you're safe from him. I'm not going to let him or anyone else harm you. I will be going with Balair now."
Caline slowly realized that Natala had offered to take her place as Balair's newest conquest. She then shrieked, "No, Natala, I can't let you do that! I can't let him hurt you!"
"Shush, Caline," Natala told her as firmly as possible. "You have been hurt enough, and my mind is made up. I promised Gracina that I would look after you, and I will keep my word, and even if she hadn't asked me, I would have done so anyway. You are safe for now, and I will keep you out of his clutches."
"I shouldn't be letting you do this," Caline sobbed. "I've already been raped before, and you hadn't. I'm used to it. I've already been used and abused; one more time won't matter that much."
Natala was horrified at hearing this. Caline had sounded like someone three times her age, someone old and jaded, and someone who was certain that nothing good would ever happen to her again.
"No one is using or abusing you again," Natala told her, barely able to keep the tears out of her voice. "Caline, don't feel like you have to throw yourself away; you don't. It will be all right; it will be all right now. I will keep you safe; just stay here and pray."
Natala stroked Caline's hair again and whispered, "It will be okay, Caline, it will be okay, I will be fine." Actually Natala wouldn't be, but she was an Astorian, a Princess of Chloe since her marriage to Raakon; a Princess of Chloe could take anything.
"Caline, listen-" Natala began again, but Balair roughly seized her arm and pulled her away from Caline.
"Time's up," he growled. "Let's go."
"Gooden boden fro noy, Caline. Sta safen." (Good-bye for now, Caline. You stay safe.)
Balair, still squeezing Natala's arm, abruptly led her out of the ballroom. As he was taking her away, Caline began to cry again. Hazel tried to go to the girl to comfort her, but Bhodie wouldn't allow her.
"I am so sorry," Crystalis whispered to Steak, as she and Pork stood near him and Ham while Steak and Ham were sitting on the floor. None of them had yet noticed that Balair had taken Natala away out of the ballroom.
"Papa, please forgive me," Pork begged. "I don't want to hurt any more people or work for Frieza anymore, but they're making us."
Steak stood up and patted his son's shoulder and addressed both of them, "Keep faith, both of you; I am sure that Shalila and the others will come rescue us. They won't kill anyone yet until they have Tayla. We will get you two kids away from them."
"Father, I feel so awful for the lives that I took," Pork whispered in deep shame. "I don't know if I even deserve to get away from them. Maybe it's too late for us."
"It's never too late, son," Steak assured him.
"I want to make those bastards pay, Father!" Ham declared angrily. "It's just like before, Papa. And now they forced my little brother to work for them! I wish I were an Astorian right now, Father; I wish that I could electrocute those son-of-a-whores and blast them away the way that the Astorians can! I hate being so weak, Papa; I hate it! I hate that I couldn't stop those bastards from taking us captive or forcing Pork to work for them again! And if they do anything to Veal, Father, so help me, I will-"
"Enough, son," Steak admonished him, looking around anxiously to make sure none of their captors heard. "You fought them the best that you could, son, we all did. We will just have to hope and pray, Ham. All we can do now is wait."
"While more people die, Father?" Ham wanted to know.
"Son, if we fight them now, or try to flee, more people will definitely die," Steak scolded him. "Believe me, I want to hurt them too, but we can't risk the lives of others. We will have to wait."
Ham crossed his arms and sulked angrily. Steak sighed and patted his back. He felt like Ham did, but neither one of them could afford to do anything at this moment. They both hated feeling so helpless.
"Are you scared, Crysti?" Pork asked Crystalis.
Crystalis nodded and asked back, "Yes, are you?"
"I don't want to be, but I am," Pork admitted to his best friend. "I don't want to work for Frieza and his bunch any more, do you?"
"I don't," Crystalis confessed. "I wish we were strong enough to defy them." She looked to be near tears, and Pork hugged her. They both embraced each other tightly, like brother and sister. They had grown close to each other like siblings during their time under Frieza, and it had been easier for them because of Commander Chestra, who had trained both of them.
"I hope Commander Chestra is okay," Pork told Crystalis. "I don't want her to get hurt."
"Neither do I," Crystalis admitted. They both feared the other Top Elite officers, but they both had genuinely liked Chestra, who had never abused them. She could be tough trainer, but she had always been fair and decent to them. Steak watched and listened to the two of them for a few minutes, and then he turned back to Ham.
"All this time, Ham," Steak whispered to his oldest child, "I thought that Pork was dead. The Superior Gran even had Chief Prince Gohan investigate to try to find out, but all these years, we have heard nothing of him. I always hoped and prayed that maybe he would wind up on Intergalacticpol's Most Wanted List, so that at least we would know if he was alive or not. And after several years of hearing no news about him, I finally had to give up my poor boy again. And now he's alive once more, once again. I almost feel as if I have my whole family back, once and for all."
"Not entirely, Papa," Ham whispered back, although he himself was happy that Pork was alive. He knew that Veal would be glad to see their brother again. Perhaps there were Kais after all. "We don't have Mama with us. I still miss her."
"I know, son, I know. I still miss her myself. I can still remember the day that her father arranged her marriage to me. Your mother was very shy around me at first, especially since we had only met each other twice before our marriage was arranged by both of our fathers. But we grew to love each other in a short amount of time; I never desired another woman during our marriage. She made me very happy, and I hope that I did the same for her. She was so gentle, so sweet, so open-minded, so forgiving, and so willing to give anyone a chance, just like Princess Natala is now. She is-" Steak covered his mouth and stopped himself. He blushed.
Ham said slyly, forgetting about their troubles for a few moments, "Papa! You like Princess Natala, don't you? Heh, heh, I've noticed you looking at her before; she's a beautiful woman, but it's too bad that she's married!"
"Yes, son, it is too bad, but Prince Raakon is good to her, he is her husband, and I must continue to try to put her out of my mind," Steak said too quickly. Ham grinned at his father, as Steak looked away from his son.
Steak had been in love with Natala for years; she was so much like his last wife, Poultry, that it broke his heart. He loved Natala for her own sake now, but it had been her qualities of gentleness and kindness that had been like Poultry's that had first drawn Steak to her. Steak quietly envied Raakon Chloe his wife, and he considered Raakon to be one of the luckiest men in the universe to have such a beautiful, kind, loving woman as his mate. Steak had tried a few times to court other Astorian women, mainly servant women and visitors from other clans, for there were Astorian women that would see him despite the fact that he was from another race, but those relationships had never worked out. He wanted a woman like Natala or Poultry for himself and for the children, but Steak had not yet found anyone who lived up to his standards.
He looked around the room for the object of his affection, but he could not see her. He only saw Hazel with Bhodie and a sobbing Caline. Steak pitied Caline and thought that her father was a heartless, thoughtless bastard who had carelessly arranged marriages to his daughter without even thinking whether the man involved would be good to her. A man such as Prince Amitar would have been frowned upon on planet Meat, for while Meatian fathers arranged their daughters' marriages mainly for alliances and fortune building, they would not marry their daughters off to men who would treat them badly. And if a Meatian daughter truly were against marrying the man, most good Meatian fathers even then wouldn't force the issue, but try to find someone else for her if they could. No Meatian father would ever marry his daughter to someone who would abuse, neglect or cheat on her. Steak had nothing against arranged marriages, but he thought that in Caline's case, Prince Amitar had done a pitiful job in marrying his daughter to a son-of-a-whore like Alberm Dunlop of Rendor.
And Steak had met Caline's new fiancé, Filcor Sedemeyer, a couple of days before the war started when Filcor had joined the Meatians at their table to say hello. Steak and Filcor had talked a good bit, about Filcor's supposed upcoming marriage to Caline, and Steak's concerns about finding a suitable husband for Veal. (One reason Steak had taken his daughter to Calmag with him was to see if there were any men there good enough to be a Meatian girl's husband.) Filcor's chauvinistic, sexist remarks about what he expected from his marriage to Caline greatly bothered Steak, and Steak had to bite his tongue to keep from snapping at the Calmagian businessman and warrior. Steak decided after that meeting with Filcor (and seeing how the men in the royal family behaved towards females), he would not allow Veal to marry anyone or be courted by anyone here. He would just have to hope and pray that there were Astorian males who would want to court Veal. Veal should have been married by now, and she would have if those blasted Saiyans hadn't invaded planet Meat! Steak had thought that the boy, Tuna, had been a nice, kind, suitable husband for his daughter when Veal had begged her father to arrange her marriage to him.
He shook those thoughts out of his head for now; he didn't even know where Veal was, and he couldn't sense her ki. He prayed that Veal had somehow managed to escape. But where was Natala? He couldn't see Natala anywhere.
And then to his slow realization, he noticed that Balair was also missing. Sweet Kami! Steak had noticed that Balair had desired Natala as well as him, only Steak knew what Balair was like, and Balair would hurt Natala.
Both of them were gone!
Steak gnashed his teeth. He had to find a way to sneak out of here now! He wouldn't let that Sistrai bastard hurt Princess Natala, even if it meant that he would lose his life.
But if he died, who would care for his children and Crystalis, whom Steak had started to consider as one of his own?
Oh, sweet Kami, what was he going to do? Could he even do anything?
"Zarbon, I sent you, the other Top Elite officers, some Upper Low-Levels, and the Saiyans to Calmag to clear it; that should have been more than enough. Are you certain that you need more soldiers?"
"Yes, sire," Zarbon spoke through his scouter to Frieza. "The clearing of Calmag had been going well until the Astorians caught wind of our arrival. Then some of us started losing to them, Jaden and the Saiyans have been severely wounded to the point where they must retreat, and I cannot get a hold of Diamonique at all. I suspect that she has perished-"
"The Saiyans were unable to stop the Astorians! How come?" Frieza demanded to know through his scouter.
"From what I could get out of Vegeta, and this was after he came out of unconsciousness, he himself fought Princess Tayla Chloe. Tayla once again defeated him, and Dirkan and an Astorian boy defeated Raditz. Dirkan defeated Nappa, who is barely alive now, and some half-Saiyan, half-Astorian boy defeated Journa. I did manage to get a description of the girl before Vegeta and I cut off communication, and she is of slight build, sire, with long black hair and brown eyes, shorter than five feet. She shouldn't be too hard to spot when she and her family come to rescue their friends."
"You will see that is captured, won't you, Zarbon?" Frieza asked impatiently.
"Yes, sire. If it was she alone, even then we could handle her, but the rest of her family is as strong as she is. Shalila and Dirkan, as you well know, sire, are dangerous by themselves. I will need more soldiers, perhaps all Elite this time, Mid-Elite if possible, if you wish all of the Astorians on this planet to be destroyed."
Frieza sighed, "Very well, Zarbon, you shall have them. Some will have to be Lower Elite, however, for I only have five Mid-Elite officers at this time that I can spare for Calmag, but they are the best of the Mid-Elites and Lower Elites. Even with those, you should be able to finish off Shalila and her people. Again, see that Princess Tayla is spared; don't fail me, Zarbon."
"I won't, sire. When do you think that they will arrive?"
"They are within Calmag's vicinity; I would say in one or two days at the very latest, some even sooner than that. Now is there anything, Zarbon?"
"Not at this time, sire."
"Have Chestra gather together the wounded and load them onto the ship. I hate to drag a Top Elite officer away, but someone has to bring the wounded back here. I don't understand as to how Vegeta, Journa, Nappa and Raditz were once again defeated. Vegeta had been much stronger than before; apparently the Astorian brat, Tayla Chloe has been keeping up."
"She'll be a valuable asset, sire," Zarbon said reassuringly.
"I do hope so. She may have a companion when she comes back. Chestra's Kaydra is much stronger than I thought she was. Kaydra could become Tayla's equal someday. It's going to be a pain, having to manage Astorian brats as well as Saiyan brats, but hopefully it will be worth it. Farewell for now, Zarbon, and see that this mission is successful."
"Yes, sire. Signing off now." Zarbon cut off communication.
