"Wicked Game" Ch. 10
By Shawna
The look on Katsu's face the next time she encountered Shiro told him a lot.
"You think I told Vegeta of your escape plan," he said softly.
Katsu glared at him. "How else can you explain this?" She tugged angrily at the metal collar around her neck.
"A servant must have overheard you talking about escaping and gone and told him," Shiro said, as if this was the most logical explanation and had been inevitable from the beginning. "You know that you're not exactly popular around here."
"I'm no less popular than anyone else!" She said through gritted teeth, her voice raised despite her efforts to keep it down. "None of the other servants would have had an opportunity to tell him. Only you would have Shiro."
Shiro held up his hands defensively. "Whoa, that's not true. One of the other servants could have told a guard or something and if they had information like this they might have gone out of their way to let Vegeta know. Please don't get angry at me Katsu, that's not fair of you."
"Look at this collar!" She screamed. "You see it?! It's a collar! I'm collared like an animal because that bastard knows that I was planning something and only one other person knew of my plan and that was you! This thing is annoying as hell! And not only that but there's probably a fucking bomb in it or something! He told me not to leave the castle grounds with it on because something horrible will happen if I do! I think I have every right to be angry!" She tugged at the collar again, furious.
Her voice echoed down the empty second floor hall. Shiro looked around nervously, obviously worried that someone would hear them. Being caught was the last thing on Katsu's mind. Right now all she could see was red; all she could feel was anger. She did not want to believe that Shiro had betrayed her to Vegeta, she wanted to listen to him when he denied it, but all signs pointed towards him being the one who had told and she had to know why. There was no logical reason for him to tell on her; why had he?
"Katsu, please calm down," Shiro said desperately. "You shouldn't get in such a state."
Katsu clenched her fists angrily. "You try staying calm with this thing around your neck!"
A brief flash of anger went through Shiro's violet eyes. "Maybe you were just too obvious with your plan. Maybe Vegeta figured it out just from watching you."
Katsu stared at him. Neither of them moved.
She lunged a second later, fingers outspread and arched, and slashed him across the cheek, seeing the four red lines that sprung up and immediately began to ooze blood. She bounced back on her feet and he snarled, flattening back his ears and baring his teeth, including his two sharp canine fangs. His animalistic fight reaction had kicked in now and he arched his back and came at her fast, sending them both to the ground, tumbling over each other. Shiro ended up on top of her, his hands pinning her shoulders to the ground, his legs twisted with hers. She stared up at him, her breath hard and fast. Shiro's tongue was hanging out of his mouth a bit and he was panting. His tail stood straight out behind him, bristled. Katsu dug her nails into his chest and a yelp escaped his mouth, but he did not move. They stared at each other.
The fog of anger began to clear from Katsu's mind, and Shiro's fight instinct seemed to be reining in. His tail began to relax, the fur settling. Katsu shifted under him. His eyes widened and his tail came back up, not bristled this time however, and curled over his back.
"Well," he said huskily, looking up and glancing over his shoulder. "No one's around."
Katsu was not entirely over her anger yet, but she instantly took Shiro's meaning. Before she could react he leaned down, and licked her across the lips. She squirmed under him but the heat that had begun with anger turned suddenly to passion and she gripped his shirt and pulled him down, kissing him hard. He drew away with a smirk, his ear perked and forward now. He slid one of his fingers under the lacings of her dress and pulled them loose. Katsu closed her eyes as the material parted and Shiro's fingers began tracing light patterns over her newly revealed skin. She reveled in the sensations, but her mind turned suddenly to the time Vegeta had kissed her. She remembered the way her body had felt then, aflame, eager. She arched her back as a warm mouth came down on her collarbone. The kiss between her and Vegeta played over and over in her mind, alighting her senses. She imagined the way it would look if she were in Vegeta's bed now, with his mouth on her neck. The word slipped out of her mouth just loud enough to be heard, without her even realizing it.
"Vegeta..."
Shiro froze and Katsu's eyes flew open. Shiro raised his head, taking her face in his hands, his eyes intent on her face.
"What did you say?" He demanded.
Katsu shook her head, trying to draw back from him. "I-I don't know," she stammered. "It just came out, I wasn't thinking about him but in the back of my mind... I'm just still angry at him about this whole thing. Shiro, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking about him that way, I've just been so stressed..." She blinked rapidly several times, bringing forth tears and making them spill over. Shiro's face softened and he drew her towards him and hugged her.
"It's okay, Katsu, I understand," he said, though Katsu was not sure if he believed her or not. She wrapped her arms tight around his back and faked more sobs.
Presently she drew away from him, her hands going for the laces of her dress and redoing them. Shiro raised himself to his feet and then helped Katsu to hers. Katsu bit her lip and avoided looking into his eyes. She was embarrassed about what had just happened; embarrassed that she had been thinking of Vegeta in that way as well as that she had been with Shiro on the floor of a public hallway. She hurried back into the stairwell and went down the stairs two at a time, leaving Shiro far in her wake.
It was the next evening before Katsu saw Vegeta again. She had to take him his dinner and she chafed at the thought of seeing his smug face. She took a deep breath before entering his bedroom, hoping that this would be quick and easy and he would not say anything extra to her. When she got inside, she hurried across the floor, placing the tray on the usual table and standing with her head down, hoping to be dismissed.
"You shouldn't fight with that dog," Vegeta said to her. "You could catch a disease or something."
Katsu looked up at him, seated, shirtless, in his usual chair. "Beg your pardon?" She asked innocently.
"Those scratches on his face," Vegeta said. "I'm sure it was you who did those. I don't want you fighting with him."
Katsu looked down, angry. How dare Vegeta call Shiro a "dog." She clenched her fists. "It won't happen again, your Highness," she said through gritted teeth.
"Good," he said with a smirk. "Now come here."
Katsu took a deep breath and approached him. There went her quick exit.
He gripped her wrists and looked up into her eyes. She stared down at him, keeping her face neutral, acting as though she did not care what he did. He moved his hands to her waist, turned her around, and forced her down onto his lap. She gasped, and struggled against him briefly, but his arms were tight around her waist.
He nuzzled the back of her neck and then put his chin on her shoulder. "You haven't done anything with him since that one time I caught you both, have you? I certainly hope you've developed enough sense to not soil yourself by letting a dog touch you."
She had the urge to tell him that Shiro was more of a man that he would ever be, and that yes, she had done things with Shiro and she enjoyed being with him. She bit back this urge, figuring it would only lead to punishment for both her and Shiro. It would not be fair of her to get him in trouble.
"I haven't done anything with him," she said, making her voice said indignant, as though she were insulted by the mere thought.
"Good," Vegeta said, moving his lips to her ear and toying with her earlobe. She tensed as his tail came around in front of her and slipped under the hem of her dress. She arched her back and struggled against Vegeta's hold on her as his tail began to push her dress up.
"Stop it," she said angrily. He laughed and his tail pushed the hem of her dress up past her thighs and finally around her waist.
"If you haven't done anything with that dog, then it's been awhile for you, hasn't it?" He whispered into her ear. "You can't even remember the last time you got any." He traced one of his hands along her inner thigh, and then pressed his fingers between her legs, rubbing against her panties. Her hips bucked and she gasped, arching her back again, her hands gripping the armrests of the chair. One of his fingers moved against her most sensitive spot and she moaned.
"Stop," she said again, but the word was mostly breath and there was very little conviction behind it. Vegeta ignored her and she did not care.
Moans issued from her throat and her breath began to come short. She did not want to give Vegeta the pleasure of seeing her reach the height of her own pleasure, but she could not control the reaction of her body to his touch. She felt as though every part of her was on fire and she wanted him to continue, she wanted him to push her over the edge. Let him take his pleasure so long as she got hers.
Abruptly, though, he stopped, taking his hand away and returning it to her waist. She moaned in disappointment.
"Look at what a whore you are, going wet at my touch. Yesterday you wanted to kill me." With these words he lifted Katsu to her feet and pushed her away from him. She fell forward a few steps, fighting to regain her balance and her logical thought. She stood still for a few seconds, panting, anger bubbling up inside her. She whirled on Vegeta.
"How dare you call me a whore," she said, quivering with rage. "You force yourself on me and then you act as if its all my doing. You just don't want to own up to the fact that you crave me. You can't keep your fucking hands off me!"
Vegeta's eyes went wide and he stared at her. Neither of them spoke for several seconds. Katsu saw that her words had struck home. Anger flashed through Vegeta's eyes.
"You'd like that to be true, wouldn't you?" He said harshly. "You'd like to think you were just so irresistible. You're not. You're just entertaining to toy with. Now get out."
Now it was Vegeta's word that struck. A wave of pain came over Katsu and her face contorted as she fought back the tears that suddenly sprung to the surface. She turned on her heel and fled the room, not wanting to see his face anymore, not wanting to think of what he had said and whether or not he was speaking the truth or she had been. All she knew was that his words had hurt her. Deeply.
She burst into the servants' quarters in tears and flung herself on her cot. She did not sob hysterically or make any noise at all, but tears poured down her face nonetheless. For some time, everyone left her alone, but presently Shiro approached her and placed a hand lightly on her back. She fought a sudden unexplainable urge to shy away from his touch and instead let him rub her back gently. He did not speak and Katsu was glad for that. She did not feel like talking, but her mind was racing. She had to get out of here, tonight. Vegeta was toying with her, Shiro was content to be a slave, the other servants hated her. She had to get out of here and damn the consequences she might face trying. If the collar around her neck blew up, so be it. She would rather be dead than living this way. Shiro could stay if this was the life he wanted.
She turned over then, looking up into Shiro's eyes. She wrapped her arms around him and drew him down, hugging him with warmth but without intimacy. He seemed almost confused by her sudden attitude but hugged her regardless.
"Are you okay?" He asked at length. Katsu nodded.
"I'm alright now," she said softly, having come to peace with her decision to put her escape plan into action tonight. She hugged Shiro one last time and then pushed him gently away. "But I'm tired now. I think I'm going to go to sleep early tonight. Wake me up if my wrist cuff goes off."
Shiro nodded, looking concerned but not saying anything. He moved off when she shut her eyes and turned over.
Katsu slept lightly, tossing and turning. She roused herself in the middle of the night, determined to not back down from her decision. She lay listening to the other servants for a few minutes, making sure they were all asleep, and then she rose quietly. She reached under her bed, gripping the laser knife she had stolen off of the guard she had fought, as well as a small vial of a substance used to melt impurities off of the Saiyans' armor. She had acquired it from the cleaning room, after finding out that the stuff was so corrosive it could weaken metal. She then moved across the room, painstakingly slow, being careful to make no noise. She opened the door to the laundry room slowly, gritting her teeth when it creaked loudly. She stood still for a few seconds, but none of the other servants moved so she continued into the room, closing the door gently behind her.
She stared at the ventilation shaft, covered by a heavy metal grate, above one of the washing machines for a long time. She had formulated this plan carefully, worked it all out in her mind beforehand, but she was suddenly having doubts as to whether or not it would work. She knew that the Saiyans had kept her escape pod; it was locked away in the transport holding complex that was less than a quarter mile from the castle. She had just figured it would still be in working order, but now a prick of fear came into her at the thought that it might be broken. She shook away this apprehension. It was not the time to doubt herself now. She should just go through with her plan.
She climbed atop the washing machine and stood before the grate. She could just barely reach it. She popped the top off of the vial, being careful not to let the substance touch her skin, and splashed it along the edges of the metal grate. It sizzled and hissed, steaming as the substance ate at the metal. When the reaction had stopped, she fired up the small laser knife and applied it to the metal. For a few seconds nothing happened, and then the metal began to melt away. Katsu grinned in spite of herself. Her plan was working just fine so far.
It took a good half hour to get the metal grate totally off, and Katsu was sweating from the heat of the laser. She took the metal grate and placed it carefully by her feet. The ventilation shaft would be a tight squeeze, a very tight squeeze, but she thought she could just barely manage it. She gripped the edges of the shaft and hoisted herself into it.
A wave of claustrophobia hit her as she shimmied her way entirely into the shaft. She stopped moving, breathing hard, concentrating. She had the urge to back out of the shaft, but fought it. She had not come this far to turn back now. She calmed herself and then continued wriggling through the shaft, keeping her hands, still clutching her tools, stretched out in front of her. It took quite a while, but she eventually reached the other end of the shaft and carefully did the same to this metal grate as she had to the other one. It took almost twice as long this time, as her mobility was limited, but she was eventually able to push the grate out and slide free of the shaft.
She stood up and for a moment could only stare. The stars and nearly full moon shone bright above her, not through a window this time, but actually above her. A soft wind whistled through her hair and she stretched her arms out to feel it. It was the first time in the months that she had been here that she had been outside; the first time she could remember being outside besides the time when she had first arrived here. It was beautiful. The air smelled so fresh, the sky was so beautiful. She could not wait to be able to enjoy the sensations of the outside from a planet where she could be free.
She ducked low on the ground, figuring she would have plenty of time to revel in the great outdoors later. She crawled across the ground quietly, slightly scared that she would be seen under the brightness of the moon. Apparently, no one was looking out their windows at this hour, because no alarm went up, no shouts of "Escapee!" were heard. She began to grow bolder, crawling faster. The castle got farther and farther behind her. She had allowed herself to forget about the collar around her neck and what might be about to happen.
She continued to crawl and then, suddenly, the collar beeped. She froze. Her body tensed all over as she was suddenly convinced that it was going to explode. She squeezed her eyes shut, wondering if she would be able to feel any pain at all or if it would be totally instantaneous.
Nothing happened. It suddenly occurred to her that the collar could have sent some kind of signal, alerted the guards or Vegeta himself. No guards came running out of the castle, so that was not the case, but it did not rule out Vegeta. She hefted to her feet and began to run. A second later, though, she fell heavily to the ground, gasping and choking. The collar was getting tighter. She sucked in ragged breath, continuing to crawl forward, but the collar continued to tighten. Yellow flashed before her eyes; her vision dimmed. She turned and, against all her instincts, began to crawl back towards the castle. The collar began to loosen, but not fast enough. She was not going to be conscious long enough to get back inside the range where it would loosen all the way.
She rolled over on her back, unable to move at all. Her vision pulsed black and the last thing she saw was the moon shining above her. I'll never see the sky again, she thought with anguish, wanting to cry but not having the energy to. She was able to breath a little bit now, but not enough. Her eyes rolled up into her head and she lost consciousness.
**To Be Continued...**
