A/N: I do not own DBZ, only my own characters.

Chapter Two

            Laylyn stared down at the man before her with open curiosity. He was rather odd looking, and she was certain he was from another world. His skin (or perhaps it was some kind of armor?) was white in most places, with patches of purple color on his head and various areas of his body. He appeared to be completely smooth, as if he would be silky to the touch. Not that she would touch him. She'd never touched a man before, unless it was to heal him. The Sivare were a very proper race. Still, the urge to run her hands over his unusual body was almost overwhelming. He was heavily muscled, though she could tell he was almost as short as she was. His face was handsome, aristocratic, and his crimson eyes were direct and cold. He had no hair that she could see, and on closer inspection he didn't appear to have hair anywhere on his body. His feet were three toed and clawed, and he had a thick tail, but he was somewhat similar to the males of her race.

            "My name is Laylyn Syndrylys of the Sivare," she finally answered him, her gaze becoming stern. "You should listen when others give you warning."

            Frieza's eyes widened a bit at her tone. It had been a long time since anyone had dared to speak to him that way. He had to admire her bravery. "I was unaware there was any danger."

            "Oh?" she asked, her eyebrow arching slightly. "Did you think I was just standing there yelling for my own health?"

            Frieza heard the amusement in her tone, and the mockery. Had she been any less beautiful, had her eyes shimmered with any less intelligence, had she not just saved his life, he might have killed her. Instead, all these things conspired to make him feel intrigued. Here was someone who would treat him as if he were an ordinary person, no conqueror of worlds, and the thought held a strange appeal for him. Her reactions would be honest and true, he had lived around liars and deceivers for so long that the purity of her behavior was enchanting.

            "Perhaps. For all I know, you could be consumed with madness," he answered, his tone as mocking as hers had been.

            Laylyn smiled at him with genuine humor. The man was possessed of a quick, sharp wit, and she recognized a kindred spirit when she saw one. "Perhaps. Now, I have told you my name and given you an unfair advantage over me. Who, may I ask, are you?"

            Frieza hesitated a moment, not wanting to ruin the friendly rapport that was starting to rise between them. After a moment of thought, he decided to tell her the truth. He was far from his ordinary sector of the universe, and he was most likely unknown to this world since the Sivare were known to be isolationists. "I am Frieza of the Ice-jins."

            Laylyn gracefully sank into a curtsy, revealing a conservative amount of cleavage that Frieza was surprised to find himself noticing. The female had him behaving like a lust stricken boy! "Well, Frieza, I am pleased to meet you. May I lay my hands on you?"

            Frieza stared at her, not certain he had heard her right. "The pleasure is mine. What do you mean by 'lay your hands on'?"

            "You have been injured by Taron," she replied, gesturing at the still waters of the lake. "The touch of a Singing Serpent drains its victims of strength and life so that they are easily subdued. The effects last for several hours, so unless you would like to recover the old fashioned way, I suggest you allow me to heal you. To do that, I would have to touch you."

            He eyed her for a moment. The idea of her touching him sounded incredibly erotic for some absurd reason, though he knew she meant only to heal him. His body grew tight just imagining her hands upon him, and Frieza was a bit alarmed by his reactions to her. Still, she had said she was of the Sivare, and though he sensed no energy emanating from her, he had come to learn about her people. To heal him, she would undoubtedly use Magic, and he would get a glimpse of her race's power.

            "You have my permission to do what is necessary," he replied, startling himself with the trust he gave her in that concession.

            Laylyn smiled at him and then gently sank to her knees at his side. Frieza couldn't restrain himself from glancing at the expanse of her legs bared to him for an instant as she sat down, and he felt his breathing quicken. The dress she was wearing had appeared to be white from a distance, but on closer inspection it was pale gold. The garment was simple in design. It curved around her neck and left her shoulders and back bare to the waist, then fell in a straight line to pool around her feet. It revealed very little, yet was incredibly arousing in a classical way. Frieza was surprised to see that the garment was not made out of cloth, but appeared to be fashioned out of light. Before he could ask her about it, she placed her hands upon his chest and all rational thought left him.

            Her hands were tiny, delicate, and light as feathers. But they caused his skin to quiver where they touched him. His sexual awareness of the girl was unprecedented. He had never been this attracted to a female in his life, and he did not understand it. He had seen and even bedded many women who were far more beautiful and well endowed then this female, yet she seemed to hold him in thrall. He wasn't certain if she'd be able to heal him or not, but he knew she could definitely take his mind off his pain. Her touch alone was making him dizzy.

            Laylyn felt Frieza tense under her touch, and she thought he might be afraid of what she was about to do. Most outsiders feared Magic. She instinctively sought to soothe him. "Relax. I did not go to the trouble of saving you from Taron so that I could turn around and kill you. You have to trust me."

            Frieza started to say that he trusted no one, and that he was not afraid, when a silver light began to seep out of her hands. The light glowed like a star, but it felt almost cold against his skin. The power content of the energy was incredible, though no match for his own, it was close. Surprisingly so. If this girl contained such power, how strong were the fighters of her race? These Sivare could be more of a problem then he'd originally thought. The energy seemed to writhe against him like a living entity, and before Frieza had time to become alarmed, Laylyn swept her hands up the length of his chest and pushed the energy down into his heart.

For an instant, Frieza's vision clouded as the light consumed him. It was not cold, as he had thought, but warm. It spread through his veins and into every aching muscle he had, wiping away all traces of pain and leaving him feeling remarkably energized. The light raced through him in a matter of seconds, fully restoring him and then flowing back out of his body into Laylyn's hands before vanishing.

Laylyn smiled down at him, her hands still resting on his chest. "All better?"

Frieza's body felt completely restored. He smiled back up at her, fighting to ignore the fact that her face was so close to his he could kiss her if he wanted to. She had a completely trusting look on her face, an expression that Frieza was not used to seeing. Though he wanted to know what she tasted like, he did not wish to betray that trust. "Much. I didn't realize I was so depleted until just now."

"The Singing Serpents are quite deadly. They can subdue a creature of their own size in seconds, and most creatures smaller than them die on contact with their scales, as their energy drain attack is so devastating. I'm surprised you survived it. You must be very strong."

 Frieza's chest swelled with pride, catching Laylyn by surprise and causing her hands to slip so that she fell onto his chest, her face landing perilously close to his. She was not sure what to do, having never been so close to a male she was not engaged in combat with. Frieza's body was a bit cooler than her own, and a lot more hard, yet she seemed to fit against him perfectly. Which was quite odd, considering they were from two separate species. At the moment he was incredibly tense, he had gone completely still, his breathing so shallow that she almost couldn't feel it. Worried that she had somehow offended him, Laylyn began to slide off his body, but her movements caused him to gasp, and he grabbed her arms and held her still.

"I'm so sorry," she blurted, hoping she hadn't harmed or offended him in some way. "Are you all right, Frieza?"

Frieza had been staring at her in stunned silence, unable to react. Or perhaps unwilling to. His treacherous body had refused to obey him from the moment she slipped and fell against him. The feel of her breasts against his chest was electric, and her long legs seemed to be pressed against every inch of his body from the waist down. It took every ounce of self control he possessed to remain still when he really wanted to slip his tail up the length of her legs… He had managed to maintain his control without dishonoring himself or compromising her, and then she started moving her body against his as she tried to get off him. The sliding motions of her lithe, curvaceous body were more then he could stand, and he gasped out loud as waves of pleasure and desire seared through him from the innocent contact. On the brink of snapping under the onslaught of his own passions, he grabbed her arms and forced her to be still so that he could regain control of himself.

And then she apologized to him. As if she feared she had hurt him or offended him in some way. He would have found the idea laughable, except that she was sincere in her dismay. Her tone and expression clearly conveyed her worry, and Frieza was astonished by her concern for him. They barely knew each other, yet she had already saved his life, healed him, and now worried about his welfare above her own. It did not even occur to her to be angry with him for holding her against him in such a manner. She was too anxious about his well being. He had never met such a giving creature in his life. She humbled him.

He felt an overwhelming urge to reassure her, to protect her, and so he smiled at her as he gently released her arms and tucked a strand of dark hair back behind her ear. "You have nothing to apologize for. I am fine."

Laylyn immediately smiled in relief. "Good," she replied, jumping to her feet and staring down at him. "Are you able to rise?"

Many images came to Frieza's mind when she spoke those words, but he kept them to himself, smiling slightly as he nodded at her.

"Then what are you waiting for? Get up!"

Her voice was so full of mischief that Frieza hesitated a moment, wondering what she was up to. Laylyn took this as a sign of laziness, however, and said, "You can't stay on the beach all day. The Singing Serpents will come back, you know. But, if that's not incentive enough for you, perhaps this will do!"

That was the only warning Frieza got before she kicked a pile of sand on his head and then ran a short distance away, laughing. For a moment, he sat there gaping at her, covered in sand, his eyes wide in astonishment. This caused Laylyn to laugh harder, and she started to clutch her sides. "You should see your face! I'd almost think no one had ever played with you before."

No one had, but Frieza wasn't going to tell her that. He started to glower at her, thinking that if his men saw him now they would…laugh. The ridiculousness of the situation hit him. He, Frieza, one of the strongest beings in the universe, buried in sand by a native girl. He gave a small laugh at the mental image of himself, and then paused. He hadn't laughed with genuine joy in years. He had laughed in mockery, cruelty, and scorn, but not happiness. He looked at the girl for a moment, marveling at how carefree he felt in her presence, and then he did something he rarely did: he acted on impulse and launched himself at her without warning.

Laylyn stopped laughing and shrieked in surprise when Frieza came up off the ground and tackled her before she had time to react. They went rolling in the sand, and she noticed that he was careful not to crush her with his weight. Though he was only a few inches taller than her, he was far heavier. He pinned her down with his tail and then held up a small handful of sand, slowly placing it over her head, grinning like a boy. Just as he was about to release the sand, she leaned forward and tickled his ribs. Frieza had not been tickled since childhood, and the pleasurable, sharp sensation caught him by surprise, causing him to drop the sand on his own head as he leaned away from her questing fingers. Sensing he was off balance, Laylyn placed her hand on his chest and pushed him backwards, so that Frieza fell into the water in an undignified heap, landing on his butt.

Laylyn started laughing again as Frieza stared down at the sand on his body that was starting to turn into mud from mixing with the water. He smirked, grabbed her ankles, and dragged her into the water, splashing her face as he did so. She shrieked at him, then laughed, threw her arms around his neck, and gave him a quick hug. Before Frieza had time to react to the incredible feeling of her wet body against his, she pulled away, grabbed his hand, and led him back to shore.

She made a few short motions with her hand and sang out, "Spic and Span."

Frieza looked at her as if she had lost her mind, but then a flash of silver light engulfed them. A flurry of activity whirled around their head, and then the light was gone. Frieza was clean of any mud or sand, and Laylyn looked as if he had never dragged her into the water. Magic could be quite useful, it seemed.

"Come," Laylyn said, reaching out to take his hand again.

Frieza stared down at her small hand in his. Strange how readily she trusted him. Yet, instinctively he wanted to look after her. Perhaps it was her kindness or her playful, sweet disposition. He did not know. He was only aware that he had been happier with her in the last few minutes than he had in years. She made him feel free. They seemed to have a connection, of sorts, and though he did not understand it, he did not fight it. She did not think him a bad person, and he had no reputation to uphold with her. He was simply Frieza, no more, no less.

"Where are we going?"

"To introduce you to my father. He can tell you all about Nayr, and perhaps find you a place to live," she replied, twining her fingers through his own and leading him into the forest.

As they walked, Frieza thought how very unique she was, and how nice it felt to hold her hand.