"Wicked Game" Ch. 18

By Shawna

"Katsu, are you okay?"

It was morning, a week later. Katsu was in the servants' bathroom, sick for the third morning in a row. Shiro could just barely hear her retching.

"I'm fine," she called back weakly. "Just... ate something that didn't agree with me. The food they give us is terrible, you know."

Shiro knew that it was much more than that. The servants' food was indeed bad, but it had never made Katsu sick like this before, and certainly not for three days. It troubled him that she should become ill like this; somewhere in the back of his mind he thought he knew what it meant, but he could not quite put a finger on it.

A few minutes later, Katsu emerged from the bathroom, looking haggard and pale. She wiped the corners of her mouth with the back of her hand and blinked rapidly.

"I feel better now," she said softly.

Shiro gathered her into his arms and helped her to her cot. "Well, that's good. Because you know tonight you'll have to work. You won't be able to get away from the banquet the Saiyans are holding for that person who's coming."

Katsu had been staying down in the servants' quarters all day for the past week. None of the other Saiyans had really noticed, she being Vegeta's servant and all, and Vegeta had not called her or sent anyone else to say anything to her. She had been bitterly depressed, laying around crying and not speaking to anyone. Even the other servants seemed to know that this was serious and left Katsu entirely alone. Shiro had been trying everyday to do something, anything, to bring Katsu's spirits up, but it was impossible. She remained disconsolate.

Three days before, she had vomited first thing in the morning, and she had continued in this pattern up to the current day. At first, Shiro wondered if perhaps it was just because she was so upset, but he began to doubt that when it continued. Somewhere in his mind, he recognized this, knew what was happening to his beloved Katsu. But he could not quite place it, could not bring to the front of his mind what he subconsciously knew was wrong with her. Perhaps he just did not want to accept it.

The day passed like all the others from the past week had: Katsu alternately cried and lay silent on her cot, and Shiro tried to cheer her up every opportunity he had between working. That evening, though, he dragged her gently from the bed, shaking her lightly to bring her to her senses.

"You have to work the banquet tonight, Katsu, you know that."

She nodded dully. "I know," she said, and began to wander toward the kitchen. Shiro had to pull her back and remind her that she was not at all presentable, prompting her to go to the showers and bathe. When she came out, still a bit blue from the freezing showers the servants were forced to take, Shiro brushed her hair for her, smoothed the wrinkles she had put in her dress when she had put it on without paying attention to what she was doing. All of this they did quickly, and then he led her into the kitchen.

The smell was exquisite, the food laying out delicious. Shiro nearly drooled but Katsu did not even seem to notice. Her eyes were faraway, she looked like a zombie. Nervously, Shiro placed a platter of food into Katsu's hands, making sure her grip was tight before letting it go. After fetching a platter for himself to carry, he prodded Katsu towards the doors to leave, and she went silently, obediently as she had become in the past week.

"So, this person the Saiyans are so scared of is allegedly here tonight. I guess they're trying to impress him with all this, to win his favor so he doesn't blow up the planet or something." Shiro knew he was making idle chitchat, but the silence from Katsu was heavy and suffocating; it drove him crazy. He continued to talk absently, garnering only shrugs and monosyllabic responses from her. They reached the main dining room and he of course quieted as he opened the door and led Katsu inside.

More than a hundred Saiyans were present, all dressed in their finest. The walls were decorated with plaques and banners, the tables clothed. The hall would have been beautiful but for the almost tangible air of evil that hung about the place. Shiro was instantly aware of the negative energy; his ears flattened involuntarily and even Katsu seemed to become aware of her surroundings, glancing around nervously. Vegeta was seated by the King, who was himself sitting by a positively ugly little troll-looking creature. It was pink and somewhat lizardy, and Katsu was instantly repulsed and at the same time shocked. Was this really what had caused the Saiyans so much fear?

"He's so ugly," Katsu whispered to Shiro, her voice easily drowned out by the din in the hall. "And so... pink."

Shiro snickered a bit in spite of himself and nodded, but did not dare to speak. With horror, he noticed that the pink creature was staring right at Katsu and seemed to have heard her. That was impossible, of course, it had to be. But no. The creature had definitely heard.

"Silence," the creature commanded in a loud voice, a voice that sent shivers down Katsu's spine. It was raspy and old-sounding, but so full of malice.

Silence instantly fell in the hall, all eyes turning to the pink creature. "Lord Frieza," the King said politely. "Is something wrong?"

Frieza, that was obviously the small creature's name, pointed a finger at Katsu and Shiro. "Who are those people?"

The King eyed the pair. "Oh, no one important. Servants, my lord."

"Girl," Frieza said, addressing her, and Katsu was suddenly reminded of her first night on this planet, when Vegeta had acted very similarly to this. "Come here."

Wordlessly, but suddenly snapped out of her grief and very much afraid, Katsu did as she was told. When she was standing before Frieza, he gripped her wrist and pulled her in close to him. She gritted her teeth in disgust, even as she was still thinking about her first night at how this was exactly like that. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Vegeta clenching his fists, fighting to keep control, obviously angered.

Frieza took a deep breath of her smell and then released her, turning to Vegeta. "Is she your servant, Vegeta?"

Vegeta's fists relaxed. "She is, my lord."

Frieza leaned in very close to Vegeta, his voice dropped but Katsu could still hear him perfectly, and got the distinct impression that she and Vegeta were the only ones who would hear the creature's next words.

"Tell me, Vegeta, is it common for you Saiyans to impregnate your servants?"

Vegeta's eyes went impossibly wide; his mouth dropped open. His gaze went to Katsu, but she was equally shocked by this question. Pregnant? Her mind roared. With child? How could I have not known that? How could he have known that when I didn't? With child? Vegeta's child? Of course Vegeta's child. It could be no one else's.

Vegeta turned back to Frieza. "My lord," he said very quietly. "I had no idea that this servant was pregnant, and if she is, it certainly isn't mine. I've never touched her."

Frieza snorted. "Of course you haven't, Vegeta."

The pink creature leaned back in his seat, and resumed a normal speaking voice, addressing the Saiyans who were all turned, regarding him quizzically, obviously wondering what it was he had said to Vegeta. They would never know.

"Well," Frieza said. "Let's get on with this, then."

Shiro took Katsu's elbow and led her away quickly. Her eyes went to Vegeta, he was staring at her, watching her go, his face full of questions and something like anger. After this dinner was over, she knew that she would not be able to avoid him any longer.

"What was that all about?" Shiro asked anxiously when the two were safely in the hallway and well out of earshot. "What did he say to you and the Prince?"

"He just wanted to know if I was Vegeta's servant," she said absently, still in a state of shock over the news she had just gotten. She pressed her hands to her stomach, suddenly heavily aware of the presence of another life inside her.

"That's it?" Shiro asked skeptically. "Why did he care about that?"

"How should I know?" Katsu said, still in that dreamy tone, her mind preoccupied with thinking about what the baby would look like, what she would name it, if it would be a boy or a girl, but also, in a deeper part of her mind, more cryptic things, such as what might happen to her if it was found out that Vegeta was the father of the child, if she or the child would live through such a discovery. It would have to be passed off as Shiro's child, that was her only option that would ensure the survival of both her and her offspring. Unless there was something that Vegeta could do.

What could he do? He'll probably go straight and tell his daddy and have me put to death. That's what he'll do.

She thought this, but had trouble believing it. Vegeta loved himself immensely, and somehow she figured that this love for himself was inclusive enough to include the product of his genes, and there might be some desire in him to see to it that his child was not killed.

Shiro was prattling on, drilling her, but she had gone back into her own little world, for a different reason this time than last. She figured that within the next few hours, here wrist cuff would sound.

She was absolutely right. The other servants were settling on to their cots when the beeping began, and, not surprised in the least, she covered the cuff with her hand to stifle the noise and made quickly and quietly for the stairs that would take her to Vegeta's room. She was not sure what to expect from him, she never was, but she felt oddly calm, not really nervous. She pressed her hands to her stomach again, feeling comforted by the fact that she would never again be totally alone.

Vegeta was waiting for her in his doorway, and he pulled her into his chamber rapidly, looking apprehensive, as if he might be caught. She noticed that he was more gentle with her now than he ever had been before, he did not throw her into the room or jerk her around. He led her to the chair that, in the past, he had always occupied and sat her down in it.

"Well," he said unceremoniously. "Is it true?"

"I think so," Katsu said softly. "I've been sick for the past three days. I've felt odd, but I thought it was because I was depressed."

Vegeta passed a hand over his face, looking much more stressed than Katsu. "What are we going to do?"

"I'm going to pass it off as Shiro's baby," she said easily. "This doesn't change anything between us. I can't forgive you for what you did just because I'm pregnant with your child."

Vegeta looked shocked. "What the fuck are you saying, 'this doesn't change anything between us?' This changes everything between us!"

"I don't see how it does," Katsu said easily, surprised by her own sense of calm in this sordid situation. In her head, she was still thinking about the baby in every aspect of her life. She had a reason to live now, something to go on for. She also had that much more need to escape this planet. She did not want to see her child grow up a slave.

Vegeta echoed her thoughts. "I won't see my child grow up a slave. We have to do something about this."

"I won't come back to you, Vegeta," Katsu said. "Nothing you say, nothing you promise for myself or my child will change my mind about you."

"Katsu," Vegeta came up beside the chair, gripping the armrests and bearing down on her threateningly, like he had done so many times in the past, times that had scared her so much. That old familiar fear pricked into her heart, but she swallowed it and glared back up at Vegeta defiantly.

"Katsu," he said again. "I was not on your planet. I didn't kill your family. I'm going to have you back, or you're going to be killed. You come back to me, you submit to me fully the way I always wanted you to, and we can see what can be done to keep you and our child alive."

Katsu eyed Vegeta steadily. "Is that really what you want? Me to submit to you? That's never what you wanted before. And I don't think you really care about my child."

Vegeta snarled. "Stop talking about it as if I had nothing to do with it! That baby is as much mine as it is yours, don't you get that? I have a say in this!"

"No," Katsu said. "You don't, Vegeta."

"Stop acting like that! So calm, as if you're in a position to give orders! I am your master, Katsu, I own you, and this is one time when you need to accept that, act like a slave should, and do what I'm telling you to."

Katsu had nothing to say to this. It was true, she was a slave. Somehow, she had let herself forget the reality of her position here. But with Vegeta's child inside her, did she not possess a newfound power? She had something against Vegeta now, a power over him that he was trying to make her forget.

"I don't have to listen to you now," she said. "You won't kill me now."

He glared daggers at her. "Remember when you told me I had no regard for life? Well, you were right. I don't have any regard for life, not even the life of my child. I will have you killed if you don't obey me."

Katsu's eyes went wide. Surely, he must be lying, to try and frighten her into doing what he was asking. Staring into his eyes, though, she became unsure. He had the familiar ice cold look, as if nothing at all could reach him, nothing scared him or hurt him. But she knew that was not true; he was afraid and in pain all the time, was that not the reason he was the way he was? The fear and anger had shaped him into the hard, unfeeling man that stood before her now. There were feelings inside him, though, she had uncovered them. They could have been buried, again, though, by what had transpired. The most frightening part was not knowing. She could not be sure if he was lying or not, and it would be selfish of her to assume that she suddenly could tell Vegeta what to do; she should not risk the life of her child like that.

"I don't think you would kill your own child," she said quietly. "But I will not risk my baby's life on just my own ideas about you."

Vegeta dropped to his knees before her, and it seemed like he would cry and she was shocked, looking at the hurt on his face, as he took her hands in his own and gripped them tightly.

"Katsu," he pleaded. "I'm sorry, I am. But I can't change what happened to you. We can only look to the future, and... and maybe we can do something about it."

This might be a new train of lies, but she wanted, desperately wanted, to believe that Vegeta had just opened his heart and was pouring its contents into her hands.

"You told me you loved me once," he said. "I know things are different now, but can't you... don't you still love me?"

Her response came very quickly, the word was out before she even realized that she was going to say it. "No."

There was a brief but heartbreaking silence, and tears spilled over from Katsu's eyes before she even realized they were building. Vegeta's eyes became distant for several seconds, and when his thoughts returned to where he was, his gaze was hard and cold again. He released Katsu's hands and rose, putting his back to her.

"I see," he said quietly. "Then you leave me no choice, Katsu. I will have you put to death for this."

"For not loving you?!" She cried indignantly. "That's not fair! How can you expect me to love you after finding out what I did?!"

He whirled on her. "Not for that!" He said in disgust. "For disobeying me! For embarrassing both me and my father in front of Lord Frieza; tramping into the banquet just reeking of my smell, practically begging for Frieza to find out about what I've been doing. You almost got yourself killed right there. In fact, Lord Frieza is probably telling my father what he knows right now. I'm just beating him to it. I'll have you killed this very evening."

Horror welled up in Katsu; he was serious. He would have her killed just to do it before Frieza got the chance to. She rose from the chair, took a step backwards, not wanting to take her eyes off Vegeta for fear he would kill her right then and there. Dimly, in the back of her mind, she thought she could transform right then, kill Vegeta and then as many Saiyans as she could before they took her down. She could go down fighting. But the thought of trying to transform right now made her head reel with pain, and she did not think she had the strength for it. Her week of depression and recent bouts of vomiting had taken their toll on her strength.

And you don't want to kill Vegeta. In spite of everything, deep in your heart, you don't want to kill him at all. The thought rose unbidden in her mind, and though she told herself that was not it, it was true. She did not want to kill him, did not think she had it in her to do so. So instead, she took another faltering step backwards, staring warily at Vegeta's back, afraid he would turn around. She could not handle this right now. The urge to vomit rose up in her throat, and so she turned and ran, tearing out of the room.

She was halfway down the hall when she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. The door to the servants' quarters was still a good twenty feet away; there was no time for her to duck into it without being seen. The figure on the stairs came into view; short, pink, scaly. Frieza. Katsu froze in terror, unsure of what to do. The two stared each other down for several seconds and then the creature approached her. She could not get away, was riveted by that ugly but powerful gaze.

An irrational thought rose in her mind, Frieza was going to kill her, and so she shut her eyes tightly and waited for it, mentally opening her eyes, inviting oblivion. But it never came. She heard the door to Vegeta's chamber open, he stepped out.

"Kat-" he began to call her name, and then froze, seeing Frieza. The pink creature eyed the two of them, seeming maliciously amused by their obvious discomfiture.

"Vegeta," Frieza said in an easy, conversational tone. "I think we need to talk, because it looks like I just caught you in the act."

And it was then that fear gripped Katsu, along with exhaustion and stress. Her legs went weak, stars lit up in her vision. All of this was too much for her, especially with her failing health. Despite her attempts to fight it, her legs gave out, she collapsed to the floor, and then fainted dead away.

*To Be Continued...*