The palace was entirely too quiet for Radditz' liking. He hadn't even seen an attendant when he went through the halls, it looked as though the place was deserted. Another set of footfalls echoed in the hall behind him, Radditz turned and was suprised to see his uncle walking slowly toward him. Turles gave him a small smile as he approached and without a word beckoned his nephew to follow him. Radditz had only been to the palace a small handful of times, and he never got much farther than entrance hall or the throne room. After several twists and corners, stairs and doorways Radditz soon felt a little uneasy being in the depths of the royal house. Sensing his younger companions uneasyness, Turles slowed a pace to let the youth gather in his surroundings.
The walls hung with heavy tapestries, all intricately woven and with so much detail Radditz could almost feel the action buzz around him that was recorded in the ancient rugs. Most of them were in the colors of the royal house, deep crimson and charcoal shades, but some of them were more realistic in color to the scenes they depicted. As they walked toward an arch Radditz stopped to stare at a wall hanging that draped across the upper portion of the walkway. It was woven with an odd material that Radditz couldn't place, but it was beautiful none the less. A collage of patterns ran around a center portrait of the very first king of Vegetasei, it was so detailed it seemed that the king was trapped in the silken material after giving the throne to his son. Turles stepped up beside Radditz and gazed up at the portrait himself.
"This is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen." Radditz' voice was barely above a whisper in the deep queit of the hall. Turles nodded and motioned for Radditz to touch the tapestry. Tentatively Radditz reached out, barely stroking it with his fingertips. The texture was as soft as satin and slightly coarse where the direction of thread changed; he had never felt anything like it. "What is it?"
"Hair." Turles lightly ran a finger down a boarder, touching scenes of battle and other faces of great kings. Radditz looked at him oddly then smelled his fingers, the scent of ages breached his brain. One of the scents stuck in his mind slightly and he looked to his uncle in hopse of an answer. "This is taken down after a new king is inducted; his mate weaves a pattern, or sometimes a picture like that one of our King Vegeta there on the edge, with their hair. Don't look at me like that boy, it's just what is done. Not a lot of people know about this piece, they tend to just keep it here so that billions of saiyajin won't touch it. It is centuries old and it hasn't even begun to fall apart, they want to keep it that way."
"How do they have enough hair? It must take decades to finish even a square of this!" Radditz looked up at it with a new sense of awe.
"Aye. Usually another with the talent to weave helps the mate. Your own mother helped weave that portrait with the queen. Your father is still held in high regard here, and in your mother's time she was too. She helped weave half of that square and used her own hair to help the queen finish before she died in childbirth."
"Amazing..." Radditz let his eyes play over the patterns and smelled his hands again. It did smell like his mother, at least that's what his mind told him.
"Come on, I didn't take you this way so that you could gaze at the scenery." Turles began walking at a steady pace and Radditz soon followed looking over his shoulder at the tapestry before it wound out of sight.
*~*~*~*~
Now thoroughly lost, Radditz walked closely beside his uncle as the passageways narrowed and he noticed that they passed more and more people as they went. The smell of anticeptic caught up with them as they neared what Radditz assumed was the infermory, his chest constricted slightly as he realized he would soon see his broken prince. As Turles pushed open a door, Radditz caught sight of Vegeta laid out on a bed in the corner, a white sheet pulled to his waist and a blood soaked bandage wrapped around his chest. Radditz' eyes widened and he felt like bolting to Vegeta's side to make sure he was alive when the King stepped in front of them and fully obstructed his view.
"Turles, Radditz, it's good to see you both well." Turles nodded and sharply elbowed Radditz in the ribs to stop the boy from twitching. Radditz sucked in a sharp breath and grunted, he'd nearly forgotten about his rebroken ribs. As he started to sit down, Turles grabbed him and hauled him into a chair, motioning for a medic to look at him. King Vegeta looked down at Radditz with sharp eyes. "I assume the other two traitors have been dealt with?"
Radditz had to concentrate on what was said as he kept eyeing Vegeta from across the room. "Aye, sir."
King Vegeta gave a curt nod, "Good. I can only guess that they're being brought back in pieces by the way that you took after them." Both Turles and the King laughed. Radditz looked up at them, a blank expression on his face. "It was only a joke boy. Don't look so serious." Turles watched his nephew carefully. A guardsman thumped into the room, breathing a little heavy.
"King Vegeta, sir, the other two bodies have been brought back." With a shaky breath, the guard tried to compose himself.
"Good, where are they?"
"Well, sir, the guards are doing their best to bring them in without making too much of a mess. It seems they keep having a problem keeping hold of a head and an arm..." The guard's face turned a little green and he looked like he was going to be sick.
King Vegeta frowned. "Explain."
"Sir, the head keeps slipping from Guardsman Choe's grasp and no one else will touch it. And the arm...*ulp*..." The man ran from the room, cupping a hand over his mouth and clutching his stomach. King Vegeta and Turles both turned toward Radditz with a semi-shocked look.
"You, wrap this boys ribs. I'll be back to see my son shortly." A medic nodded and began to gather items to fix Radditz while the two men left the room.
Radditz sat in irritated patience, wishing the medic would finish his task so that he could see Vegeta. When the medic stood and started to speak, Radditz leapt from his chair and pushed the woman out of his way. He stood looking down at Vegeta, he was terribly pale and the deep crimson stain on his dressings made him look worse. Radditz watched his chest rise slowly and without hesitation and felt better. Wiping sweat from the Ouji's brow, Radditz looked around him and noticed the medic had left. He bent and tenderly kissed Vegeta's dry lips, brushing a stray spike out of Vegeta's face. Vegeta stirred, a soft sigh escaping his lips, he cracked open one eye slowly, squinting at the bright light. Radditz smiled down at him and saw a glint of recognition on the Ouji's face before the eye closed again. Radditz sat and smoothed the sheet across Vegeta's waist. Twisting his mass of hair around his arm, Radditz saw spatterings of blood and muck and grimaced. He needed to clean up before Vegeta saw him again.
The walls hung with heavy tapestries, all intricately woven and with so much detail Radditz could almost feel the action buzz around him that was recorded in the ancient rugs. Most of them were in the colors of the royal house, deep crimson and charcoal shades, but some of them were more realistic in color to the scenes they depicted. As they walked toward an arch Radditz stopped to stare at a wall hanging that draped across the upper portion of the walkway. It was woven with an odd material that Radditz couldn't place, but it was beautiful none the less. A collage of patterns ran around a center portrait of the very first king of Vegetasei, it was so detailed it seemed that the king was trapped in the silken material after giving the throne to his son. Turles stepped up beside Radditz and gazed up at the portrait himself.
"This is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen." Radditz' voice was barely above a whisper in the deep queit of the hall. Turles nodded and motioned for Radditz to touch the tapestry. Tentatively Radditz reached out, barely stroking it with his fingertips. The texture was as soft as satin and slightly coarse where the direction of thread changed; he had never felt anything like it. "What is it?"
"Hair." Turles lightly ran a finger down a boarder, touching scenes of battle and other faces of great kings. Radditz looked at him oddly then smelled his fingers, the scent of ages breached his brain. One of the scents stuck in his mind slightly and he looked to his uncle in hopse of an answer. "This is taken down after a new king is inducted; his mate weaves a pattern, or sometimes a picture like that one of our King Vegeta there on the edge, with their hair. Don't look at me like that boy, it's just what is done. Not a lot of people know about this piece, they tend to just keep it here so that billions of saiyajin won't touch it. It is centuries old and it hasn't even begun to fall apart, they want to keep it that way."
"How do they have enough hair? It must take decades to finish even a square of this!" Radditz looked up at it with a new sense of awe.
"Aye. Usually another with the talent to weave helps the mate. Your own mother helped weave that portrait with the queen. Your father is still held in high regard here, and in your mother's time she was too. She helped weave half of that square and used her own hair to help the queen finish before she died in childbirth."
"Amazing..." Radditz let his eyes play over the patterns and smelled his hands again. It did smell like his mother, at least that's what his mind told him.
"Come on, I didn't take you this way so that you could gaze at the scenery." Turles began walking at a steady pace and Radditz soon followed looking over his shoulder at the tapestry before it wound out of sight.
*~*~*~*~
Now thoroughly lost, Radditz walked closely beside his uncle as the passageways narrowed and he noticed that they passed more and more people as they went. The smell of anticeptic caught up with them as they neared what Radditz assumed was the infermory, his chest constricted slightly as he realized he would soon see his broken prince. As Turles pushed open a door, Radditz caught sight of Vegeta laid out on a bed in the corner, a white sheet pulled to his waist and a blood soaked bandage wrapped around his chest. Radditz' eyes widened and he felt like bolting to Vegeta's side to make sure he was alive when the King stepped in front of them and fully obstructed his view.
"Turles, Radditz, it's good to see you both well." Turles nodded and sharply elbowed Radditz in the ribs to stop the boy from twitching. Radditz sucked in a sharp breath and grunted, he'd nearly forgotten about his rebroken ribs. As he started to sit down, Turles grabbed him and hauled him into a chair, motioning for a medic to look at him. King Vegeta looked down at Radditz with sharp eyes. "I assume the other two traitors have been dealt with?"
Radditz had to concentrate on what was said as he kept eyeing Vegeta from across the room. "Aye, sir."
King Vegeta gave a curt nod, "Good. I can only guess that they're being brought back in pieces by the way that you took after them." Both Turles and the King laughed. Radditz looked up at them, a blank expression on his face. "It was only a joke boy. Don't look so serious." Turles watched his nephew carefully. A guardsman thumped into the room, breathing a little heavy.
"King Vegeta, sir, the other two bodies have been brought back." With a shaky breath, the guard tried to compose himself.
"Good, where are they?"
"Well, sir, the guards are doing their best to bring them in without making too much of a mess. It seems they keep having a problem keeping hold of a head and an arm..." The guard's face turned a little green and he looked like he was going to be sick.
King Vegeta frowned. "Explain."
"Sir, the head keeps slipping from Guardsman Choe's grasp and no one else will touch it. And the arm...*ulp*..." The man ran from the room, cupping a hand over his mouth and clutching his stomach. King Vegeta and Turles both turned toward Radditz with a semi-shocked look.
"You, wrap this boys ribs. I'll be back to see my son shortly." A medic nodded and began to gather items to fix Radditz while the two men left the room.
Radditz sat in irritated patience, wishing the medic would finish his task so that he could see Vegeta. When the medic stood and started to speak, Radditz leapt from his chair and pushed the woman out of his way. He stood looking down at Vegeta, he was terribly pale and the deep crimson stain on his dressings made him look worse. Radditz watched his chest rise slowly and without hesitation and felt better. Wiping sweat from the Ouji's brow, Radditz looked around him and noticed the medic had left. He bent and tenderly kissed Vegeta's dry lips, brushing a stray spike out of Vegeta's face. Vegeta stirred, a soft sigh escaping his lips, he cracked open one eye slowly, squinting at the bright light. Radditz smiled down at him and saw a glint of recognition on the Ouji's face before the eye closed again. Radditz sat and smoothed the sheet across Vegeta's waist. Twisting his mass of hair around his arm, Radditz saw spatterings of blood and muck and grimaced. He needed to clean up before Vegeta saw him again.