Chapter 10: Riot
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"No! No boy, face me!" Kumar yelled across the saiyan style training dojo. The walls were tall and far apart, leaving a huge space for the sole purpose of training the saiyans that dwelled within the Palace. Trunks shifted himself to face Kumar, who wasn't as huge as his voice, but rather a shorter saiyan of stocky build who was very much his own saiyan. Knowing all too well that Trunks was the Prince, he still addressed him as boy, and on occasion; kiddo, which reminded Trunks of Gohan. He used this pause in the training to gain some more breath, he couldn't work out how long they'd been training, a good deal over an hour to be sure, probably much longer.
"That's the way. True saiyans face their enemies head on." Kumar approached Trunks and watched him, inspecting, judging. "Point your feet outwards a little more, and your arms are like this." He demonstrated. "Ready to punch."
Trunks followed suit, and without warning Kumar kicked out in an attempt to trip him over. Trunks was far quicker than he had expected and managed a flip backwards before flying at the training master and very nearly getting in a powerful punch in the jaw.
"And what's that going to do? Stop me from talking?" He scoffed, pulling back a little way, ready for another attack. "Go for the limbs that can do you damage boy, break some bones!" Kumar corrected, landing a heavy foot in Trunks's chest and forcing him backwards. "Like that."
Trunks wasn't forced backwards for long, he darted upwards and came down behind Kumar, locking his arms behind his back.
"That's how we do it on earth." Trunks grinned, feeling triumphant for half a moment before Kumar jerked his head backwards, hitting Trunks on the forehead and nose.
Trunks staggered backwards and sat down on the floor, stunned. He rubbed his nose. "Ouch."
"Yeah, and that's what happens on Vegita, when you drop your guard." Kumar said, the back of his head throbbing. The Prince had a very hard nose. "And that would have been a lot harder if I didn't have orders not to dent you before the Games -don't sit like that, you'll cramp up." He instructed.
Trunks unfolded his legs. "What games?" He asked, curious.
Kumar looked at him, unaware that Trunks hadn't been informed. "Every year we hold the Games, it's a tournament between the very best fighters." He stretched a bicep. "I'm entering. It runs over a sennight, one round each night. Beginning soon."
Trunks's mind instantly flicked to one thought: 'Everyone will be busy in preparation, which will be a good time to suss out where they keep the space ships.' He chewed his bottom lip as he thought.
"They're saying the Games'll be a time to match you up." Kumar said, casually.
"Huh?" Trunks looked up, thoughts interrupted.
"Find you a Queen, and all." Kumar said, less interested in this talk than the talk of the Games themselves.
Trunks said nothing, eyebrows raised and mouth slightly open in an expression that clearly said, beyond any doubt 'WHAT?' He chocked on the stuffy air in the dojo. "I'm ten years old!" He exclaimed. "I can't get married, that's insane!"
"That's the law." Kumar said. "There is no King without a female counter part. We are not a completely patriarchal society. Do you want the woman rebelling too?" A grin Trunks was too young to understand took up residence on Kumar's face. "I sure don't."
"But....Married?" Trunks was still staring wide eyed at Kumar. "Na-ah!" He could not realistically imagine what life would be like should he become a married ten year old, he didn't even know anyone who was married and had both partners still living.
Kumar stood up and stretched out his legs. "Take it up with someone else." He sounded bored, as if Trunks was fighting a loosing battle and Kumar didn't even have to try to counter him. "You seem to be getting along with Maroda's girl pretty well anyway." He said it in the type of voice that usually goes with a playful nudge in the ribs, although Kumar was not the type to elbow anyone in the ribs unless there was a chance of breaking them. "When are you next coming in."
Trunks gave a small shake of his head, trying to dislodge the shock. "Um..." He said, then thought to himself : 'Brilliant answer Trunks, really impressive.'
"Tomorrow." Came the answer from the other side of the dojo. Trunks turned to see Parsnal standing there. 'How on earth does he keep popping up like that?' Trunks wondered.
"You were late from your lesson. I thought perhaps you had get yourself lost." Parsnal said, giving Kumar a nod of acknowledgment before the shorter saiyan finished gathering his things and left the dojo.
"I'm half a minute late and you come to find me?" Trunks asked. "No, don't worry about that- I have to marry?"
"But of course." Parsnal laughed. "Come now-"
"I'm not getting married." Trunks interrupted, standing up and folding his arms definitely. "And you can't make me."
Parsnal raised an eyebrow, a little in disbelief but more in amusement.
"You can't make me." Trunks repeated, in true ten year old behaviour. "I'm the Prince and you have to do as I say. I'm allowed to break the law." He had his jaw set firmly and stubbornly. No one was going to change his mind.
"And what a Prince you are, master Vegita!" Parsnal laughed. "I will discuss in with the Council." He said, as if letting a little child think he was getting something that was coming to him anyway. Trunks realised this and frowned slightly. "Yes, you will."
"It wont be for a week of two, the wedding. A suitable suitor must be found. Beside, the tournament is between now and then. One of the prizes is to fight with the Prince, you know? Train for that, and leave the marriage problem to me." Parsnal said, sounding wonderfully reasonable to Trunks. The slight tone on the word 'problem' however, suggested it was not really a problem to him at all. Parsnal knew who Trunks would wed, Maroda never failed in matchmaking.
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Sena knelt on her own bed, one of the two top bunks in the room. The floor was swept neatly and the few possessions each of her roommates owned in wooden trunks along one wall. There was enough room to live in, although the Krinchi got under one another's feet more often than not. And the room was lit by the high window pouring late evening sun into the room. The same window at which Sena was watching the riot.
It wasn't a big riot, by the standards of riots she'd seen. Big enough to have set half a dozen homes on fire and to have half a hundred saiyans fighting in the streets. But not serious enough to call out the city guard to sort things out just yet.
An uprising of this size was referred to by the Council- who owned the city guard- as "A healthy riot." One to let the subjects work off a bit of steam in the streets.
But Sena knew the signs, could read the way in which the people fought. She could tell the Rebels from the commoners by the way they didn't punch each other in the face, and she could see them slowly being beaten backwards, their numbers were small- growing slowly smaller.
Anything that diminished Rebel numbers just had to be classed as healthy, naturally.
Sena's hands clutched the wooden frame of the bunk as she watched, knuckles white. She knew. Pasha had not been organising nothing. The riot would grow.
And grow it did. Seemingly out of nowhere more fighters were appearing, out of houses, from under sheets covering stalls, and most commonly, from the air. Trained fighters. Sena could not recognise faces; her room was too high. But she could tell from the way they moved, and especially the way they fought.
"What are you fighting for?" She whispered to the now swarming streets, and shook her head. "The Council is responsible, not the people. Why are we fighting them?" Still she watched, with a look of worried confusion on her face. She could not see the point of this riot, killing and injuring the public. The Council's city guards were out there now too, killing anyone who got in there way and therefore, was a Rebel. Their heavy fists stuck even those who were obviously just rioting fort the sake of rioting. Sena glowered at each guard. She couldn't see the Council members beginning to join in, but there were there.
She hated them.
She had hated them with a burning rage that bubbled up every time she saw one of their horrible little members. Or any time a new someone joined the group and told their tales. There was an equal balance between males and females in the group, males joined because of loosing, or the prospect of loosing, their wives or their children or their sisters. Females joined on the fear and anger of losing themselves to the alliance between the Arkosian's and the Council.
Sena chocked back an angry sob and coughed loudly because of it, as she willed herself not to cry. Instead she clenched the frame tighter between strong fingers. Before she was old enough to remember her face, her mother had been taken from her, and the anger had never died, nor the sadness. Her mother was a noble born, powerful in the fighting and political sense, beautiful as any mortal could be and engaged to wed Prince Vegita. It would have been a perfect union. But her mother was in love with someone else, and had disappeared from court for a time to have a child by him. Her closest friend, the Lady Maroda, had known and Sena's mother had sworn her to secrecy. The day she returned from her five year, child-bearing exile explained with 'visiting distant relations' excuse. Maroda had been waiting for her, welcomed her warmly back into the Palace and announced the engagement which had shocked her mother deeply.
The entire Council approved this joining and the entire Palace rejoiced in it. But for the two most important persons, Prince Vegita himself, who was not ready at all to wed; who was still clinging to the ledged of the Balls of the Dragon King; and who was organising with his closest friend Parsnal a journey to find them. And Sena's mother, who left the Palace in secret whenever she could to visit her children and her children's father in the city.
In short, Vegita left before the wedding, causing a great wave of shock to wash over the city, and a great wave of relief to wash over Sena's mother. A wave that broke on the rocks of the Council, when they rose to full power in Prince Vegita's disappearance, who allied themselves with the Arkosian people, and who gave her mother to seal the deal.
So when Sena turned six, her mother was stolen, and her father became known as the Rat..
The Council payed the Arkosian people for the technology in gold and women. Covering up the latter by silencing the families of those chosen.
An nobody knew! None of the public realised what the Council was doing until they turned up at your door to take whoever they desired, and the family either nodded and gave in, or became Rebels.
Sena paused in her thoughts as something down on the streets began to happen. Crowds parted and roared, guards paused in their beating, people turned to look. The Rebel band cheered with a cheer that bought more people into Sena's room to watch from the window.
Sena saw the figure appear in the empty space in the crowd. She recognised him with her eyes and her heart. Her mouth hung open at his recklessness, and she pressed herself closer to the window.
"What's happening?" A voice whispered from one of the other four now watching.
"Who is that?"
"It's the Rat, stupid. What's he doing here?"
"I have no idea." Sena squeaked, not daring to take her eyes from the window.
'I'm here.' He was saying. His very presence cried it out to the Council. 'I'm here. This is the start of our final uprising. I'm here and now you have to deal with that you began.'
'I'm here and you are going to pay.'
As he spoke, the other Rebels disappeared very slowly back into houses, unseen, and when he had finished speaking a small explosion that rose a huge cloud of dust between himself and the Council guards distracted the crowds, and he too, disappeared.
"What was that about?" Asked one of the others, whispering no longer. The other four shook their heads, having no answer.
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AN: Hey all! Chapter 10 finally up (as you might have guessed, duh) I have to apologise about taking so long, with a shorter-than-the-last-one chapter. And I have to say it'll probably be a while longer before chapter 11 is out, because in about half an hour I'm going to school, and then it begins again tomorrow. And next weekend there's no chance of writing because of going to a certain Lord of the Rings exhibition ^___^ so sometime after that...
And speaking of LoTR, Yes, Alexis, the quote was from FoTR, thanks for reviewing. Are you still reading with us?
Penchy-chan: Well, there's a little insight on the Rebels and the Council, sorry nothing about Earth this chapter. Yes Chichi going was unexpected ^_^ I try not to be too predictable, so who knows what I'll do? (well, I do, but that doesn't count)
Assena, please don't eat me. That's all I have to say. I'm warning you, I have...(will have) Your essence of Dom and Elijah bottle, so if you eat me....SMASH!!! MUHA!!!
Guesses? Predictions? (it's alway fun to know what people think is going to happen!) Likes? Dislikes?