Disclaimer: All I own is the story itself.
Author's Notes: This thing is LONG. About 23 pages or so in MS Word. Oi. The plot of the chapter is greatly owed to either Chibi K or ParesuCeres from the short-lived Paresu message board. Oh, we loved her, but alas we were not enough. ;; Anyway, yeah, I don't remember which one suggested the plot, so my apologies if they happen to read this and are offended. ;; For all I know it was neither of them. ;x Those message boards died a loooong time ago, back when I first started this story. So, like, three years ago. Holy crap.
Chapter 13: Trickery
The staff of Elufer had only been odd to Paresu in comparison to the physiology she was used to seeing on intelligent beings. Overall, they were the same humanoid shape as those on Earth, so she had only been nervous until Creogin attempted to create a more relaxed atmosphere. She had felt bad for judging them-- even though Ghelain and Cinkame had purposely been hostile-- and resolved to try to be more open-minded on their journey. After all, if she was going to spend the rest of her life with Goten, she would have to, wouldn't she?
That resolution was rapidly crumbling as she stared at the residents of Svaeg. When they had first landed amidst piles of scrap metal and other assorted trash, none had been around to greet them. They had exited the ship and heard clanking noises and strange gibberish, as if someone were sorting through the junk. Trunks had called out, asking if anyone could help them, and three beings had peeked out from behind the pile straight ahead of them. They couldn't see the Svaegians' faces; they were concealed beneath their brown hoods. Fanning herself with her hand, Paresu supposed that they would have to conceal themselves from this blazing sun. She would have to go back aboard the ship eventually or else she'd burn. Serive raised a hand in greeting, and the center being looked at its companions, said a few words and began to approach them from the pile, revealing itself. At first all seemed normal to Paresu; it reached out with covered arms and black gloved hands to move aside some sharp shards; it had only four fingers, which was nothing to be concerned about. But she had to suppress a scream when it crawled over the pile on six spider legs, all covered with thick, shiny black fur. Paresu found herself taking refuge behind Goten, digging her nails into his shoulders. He glanced at her over his shoulder, and Paresu could see that while he was intrigued with these new creatures, he was no where near frightened like her. In fact, she was the only one who seemed afraid; the others were completely unfazed or just merely surprised. Remembering not to judge, she loosened her grip on her fiancé and took a baby step to the side so she wasn't cowering completely behind him.
"We were told you could help us," Serive said, looking down at the Svaegian. Crouched on its insect-like legs, it was two feet or so shorter than her.
It recompensed this by straightening its lower limbs so it was face to face with the Wycanian. "Chiila guanoda yi?"
Serive blanched. "Don't you speak any standard??"
Though its eyes were cloaked beneath its hood, it seemed to stare at her. "Chiila?" it repeated with its high, scratchy voice.
The Wycanian princess only stared blankly at it and sweatdropped.
The Svaegan apparently didn't feel it necessary to keep up communication if they couldn't understand each other, and it scuttled off back to the other side of the pile it had been rummaging through with its colleagues.
"Hey!" Serive yelled indignantly at being dismissed so easily. She chased after it, shouting for it to come back.
The others idly followed, sensing that this could take a while.
-----
"We.. need.. strong.. metal!" Serive said loudly to the being. She had to bend down in order to look it in the eye, and even then its face was a few inches below hers. "Endoskeleton!" she reiterated, snatching up a bit of scrap. It was a smooth pyramid-like piece of junk, but it was missing its bottom and the frame could be seen inside. Serive tapped the frame with her nail. "Eh?"
Bra sweatdropped. "This is taking forever." They must've been standing there for at least twenty minutes.
Paresu sighed, tired of watching Serive's useless efforts. She looked back to the ship and thought that maybe she should take refuge from the sun. As she stared back at the craft, she narrowed her eyes and frowned.
Bulma sighed. "How strange that none of them can speak any Standard," she muttered.
Gohan nodded. "Yeah. It's not like their species were created yesterday or anything."
"I guess they're pretty isolated, though," Goten pointed out as he watched Serive attempt a crude sign language. Paresu was tugging on his shirt, but he was too interested in the game of charades. The Wycanian's gestures were becoming more and more elaborate. "I mean, didn't Creogin say that we're out in the boonies? We're not too far from home."
"We're not too far from the more traveled areas either," Vejita replied, amused and annoyed with the presentation at the same time.
"Oi, Goten-kun," Paresu said, trying to get her fiance's attention.
Bra shuddered. "I can't wait to leave. They look so… creepy." She scrunched her nose in distaste at the Svaegan's spider-like legs.
"Hey, maybe they think you're kinda freaky-looking," Trunks spoke up.
"Goten!" Paresu spoke more urgently now.
Goten patted her shoulder but kept watching Serive. "Hold on, Paresu. I think we're getting somewhere." Serive and the being finally began exchanging nods, but then the creature showed her a piece of scrap and the princess shook her head.
Bra folded her arms and held her chin up high rather haughtily. "Freaky?" she repeated to her brother with a laugh. "I doubt they're looking at me and thinking that. They're probably busy staring at you. You're the ugliest one here."
"Goten!!" Paresu finally snapped, shaking him. She pointed to their ship. "Those spider-people-thingies are crawling all over MARC!!"
"What?" Goten exclaimed, spinning around just as the others did. Sure enough, multiple Svaegans were creeping about the ship's exterior, and they all froze with their yellow eyes wide at the realization they'd been caught.
"Hey! Get down from there!" Trunks shouted, waving his arms as he flew up and over to their craft. The curious Svaegans quickly scuttled away, leaping off the ship and onto surrounding junk piles.
Goten had followed Trunks quickly, and they both stood on top of the craft. Neither saw any more of the creatures, and so they returned to the group.
"They didn't seem to do any harm," Trunks commented.
Serive seemed to suspect otherwise. "What were they doing on our ship?" Serive growled at the Svaegan she'd been trying to converse with.
The creature only stared at her blankly, obviously still unable to understand her.
Serive let loose a scream of frustration. "This is a waste of time!!" she snapped, earning a flinch from the alien. "We're just going to have to go somewhere else!"
"And where would that be?" Gohan asked.
"Anywhere but here!" Serive barked. She pointed to the ship. "We're leaving. NOW." A black appendage tapped her on the shoulder and she turned back to the Svaegan. He offered her one of the pieces of junk, apparently thinking it would calm her. Serive sneered at the gift and pointed her finger in the creature's face, about to let him have it, even if he couldn't understand it. Before she could scream another word, there was an echoing metallic noise from the ship.
Trunks and Goten rushed back to MARC again to see a trio of Svaegans standing on the side of the ship around the door of the supply hold. Two of them had what looked like crowbars.
"HEY!" Goten yelled.
Trunks sent mild blasts at them to scare them off, and he succeeded. The three scattered away, dropping the metal bars.
"They were trying to take our stuff!" Goten exclaimed in surprised offense.
"WHAT?!" Serive snapped. The two young men turned to see that the group had followed them, as had the Svaegan they'd chosen for an ambassador. Serive snatched the gift from the creature's hands and chucked it into one of the trash mounds. "You little bastard!" she snapped, pulled back a ki-filled hand.
Quick as lightning, the Svaegan zipped of on its multiple legs before it could be punished.
Serive threw the ki ball into the distance. "Let's GO," she ordered over the far-off explosion.
-----
The Svaegans watched as the ship took off. The leader turned to its brethren and said in perfect Standard, "That was close. So, what did you smuggle off their ship?"
-----
MARC continued on the path towards Wycan. The next hour or so was spent in silence. Each effort by Gohan or Trunks or Bulma to ask Serive where they were going to go now to repair the ship leg was quickly shushed with a glower or growl from the irritated Wycanian princess. Things were not going as smoothly as she had hoped. Even though she had not expected things to go perfect, she certainly hadn't thought that anything would go wrong with their transportation. It was impeding their progress, and they needed to get it fixed as soon as possible. Serive sat in one of the passenger seats of the ships control room. She had it swiveled facing the wall rather the window over the control panel as she pondered what planets weren't too out of the way that they could stop at.
Bulma had been deep in thought since they had left Svaeg also. Something hadn't seemed right with the ship when they took off. At first she suspected that it was just the damaged landing gear, but as time passed she knew that wasn't it. Something was different.
"Something is wrong," Bulma said, getting up from her seat at the main panel.
"What do you mean?" Bra asked, giving her a curious expression. She was sitting near Serive with a clipboard and sketching the princess on the back of some diagnostic sheets.
"It's been bothering me since we took off." Bulma frowned and headed for the door. "We feel… lighter."
"This is a huge ship," Gohan said. "How can you tell?"
"I've been testing all kinds of transportation for years, including spaceships," Bulma retorted. "I know what I'm talking about. Somehow, it was a bit easier for MARC to get through the atmosphere." She left the room, not caring if anyone followed her. She walked through the hall until she got to the elevator doors. She entered the elevator, and when she turned she saw Vejita, Serive, and Trunks get in with her. Satisfied that Gohan would be able to handle things for a moment, she closed the door and sent the lift down to the bottom floor. When the doors opened all four gasped.
There couldn't be more than a quarter of their supplies left in the cargo hold. The majority of their supplies was simply gone.
"What the HELL?" Serive snapped, stalking out of the elevator and into the middle of the large room. She gestured helplessly to the low stacks of crates that had previously reached the ceiling when they had stocked it.
"The Svaegans," Vejita growled.
Trunks smacked himself in the head. "They weren't trying to open the hatch!" he cried in revelation. "They were closing it!"
Vejita smirked and cupped his fist with the opposite hand. "Well, then. Let's turn around and get it all back."
Serive shook her head. "We've already lost enough time having to stop there in the first place."
"What?" Vejita snarled. "What do you expect us to do?! Do you have any idea how much we need to eat? It won't do you any good to have warriors dying from starvation!"
"I'll think of something!" Serive snapped. "We have to keep moving towards Wycan."
"This is ridiculous!" Vejita growled.
"Don't push me, Vejita!"
"For the love of…" Trunks got between the two and held up his hands as a cue for them to be quiet. "Let's not make things worse by arguing." He lowered his hands and glared at Serive. "Alright, we didn't accomplish our goal of repairing the landing gear, and now we only have enough food for maybe five more meals, maybe a few more if we stretch it." Trunks folded his arms and looked at her expectantly. "Since you've forcefully appointed yourself as our leader, what do you propose we do?"
Serive sneered back at his sarcasm, but resigned herself to a moment of thought. "How much longer do you think the leg will hold up, Bulma?"
Bulma looked away from the diminished supplies and answered, "I looked at the leg when we landed. It might be able to stand one more descent."
"Do we really need it?"
"The craft was designed so that its weight was evenly disbursed on the five legs. If we lose one, the weight will be unevenly distributed and put more pressure on the remaining legs. We might be able to pull such a landing off once, but I wouldn't risk it. The ship could be irreparably damaged if it collapses, and we'd be stranded."
Serive pondered to herself some more, then announced her decision. "We'll have to keep traveling until we find an inhabited planet that can help us out. We'll get some money to pay for the repairs and buy more food."
"And how will we get that money?" Trunks asked.
Serive laughed. "How do you think? We don't have time to work off a massive debt. We'll have to steal it or steal valuable things to sell in some kind of pawn shop."
Trunks gritted his teeth. "I am not lowering myself to crimes."
"Why not?" Serive retorted. "It's in your blood." She continued before any of them could speak. "Like you said, boy, I am in charge here. What I say goes if you want your mother to remain in good health."
And that was the end of the conversation.
-----
Serive pointed to a spot on the ship's celestial map. "This is Rattep," she said. The computer logged the name into its database, and displayed the name next to the planet's mark. "It's not far off of our current path, and they're advanced enough to be able to repair the ship." She turned back to the rest of MARC's passengers. "We land, we pick some affluent subjects, we rob them and knock them out, we pawn anything valuable, then take all the money and get the leg repaired before they wake up and point fingers at the visitors."
Paresu openly gaped. "You're going to steal?!"
"Yes, sweetheart," Serive said with mock placation. "I'm afraid hands are going to be dirtied."
Paresu wasn't oblivious to the sarcasm and frowned. "Can't we sell things we already have?"
"We can't afford to lose anything more. After repairing the leg I don't know how much will be left for more supplies."
"This all sounds like quite the temporary solution then," Trunks remarked pointedly.
Serive smiled sweetly at him and then looked to Paresu. "Well," she said, "we could probably fetch a fair price for this pretty girl, if you'd like."
"Hey!" Goten snapped, leaping to his feet in front of Paresu, who looked shocked at the implication.
Serive just kept speaking. "Hey, if we have time, maybe even several times over!"
Goten glared at her threateningly. "Apologize right now," he growled.
"I'm just making a suggestion, since your friend seems unsatisfied with what I've come up with," Serive replied. "And sit down before Bulma regrets your outburst."
Goten begrudgingly complied, and as he sat down, Bra spoke up.
"Well, if you're willing to go that far," she said lightly, "why don't you just do it yourself?" The discussion had easily progressed to the point where it reminded Bra of all the reasons why she shouldn't be so friendly with Serive. The rude comment to Paresu, who did not deserve it no matter what envy Bra had of her, had compelled Bra to defend the human.
The room was silent, but the instant tension was perfectly displayed by Serive's shocked expression, overlaid with a hint of betrayal in her eyes. Then her expression darkened and her gaze went to Bulma, who make a choked sound in her throat.
"Bra!" Vejita snapped disparagingly as he grabbed Bulma's shoulder.
"Repeat that," Serive hissed at Bra.
The Briefs girl's face paled like her mother's face and she immediately exclaimed, "I'm sorry! Please stop!"
Serive did so, and Bulma took in deep breaths of air now that she was allowed to breathe.
"It would seem that you all need severe reminders of exactly why I'm in charge on this ruined piece of shit!" Serive hollered, looking pointedly at Bulma. "I am NOT fucking kidding when I say that I WILL KILL HER if you don't do what I say!" She smashed her fist onto the main panel and glowered at the group. "And if you don't like the plans that I come up with, tough shit! I don't hear any ideas from you! As much as you all don't want to be here, you and this ship will follow through on my intentions!" Her burning gaze rested on Bra again. "Do you all understand?"
She was replied to with nods and murmurs.
"Good. You know the coordinates," she said to Bulma. "Get us there." She stalked from the room.
Ever the proud inventress, Bulma immediately hurried over to where Serive had pounded the main controls. Gohan and Trunks returned to their posts and Goten and Paresu went off to the galley. Vejita did not say where he was going when he left the room, but as he left he pointedly glared at his daughter, who remained in her seat and stared at the floor.
-----
It was a few hours before an automated voice announced that they were approaching Rattep, and the group gathered on the bridge and belted themselves into their seats. The experience of getting through the atmosphere passed easier than the first time on Elufer and the second time on Svaeg, and now there was the matter of where to land.
"No one has contacted us about landing yet," Serive commented with a frown.
"That's because when you had your little fit you destroyed the intercom," Bulma replied, clearly annoyed. She pointed to the crumpled speaker and buttons, which sparked as if on cue.
"Shit," Serive berated herself. She leaned forward in her seat and pointed to a spot on the ground near a building of many towers. "That looks like a landing strip. Land there."
Bulma followed the princess' directions, and again waited for the busted leg to collapse. It did not, but the groaning noise it made echoed throughout the ship.
"I hope we can get enough money," Bulma mumbled, undoing her seatbelt.
-----
As the group departed the ship, they were approached by a quite irate being that looked to be pretty much human.
"He looks pissed …" Trunks murmured.
The figure, as it stalked closer, was revealed to exactly resemble a human being. He was well built: fairly tall and muscular. His skin was darkly tanned and he had long black hair tied back into a ponytail. A silver breast plate was strapped to his chest by metal straps around his back, and he wore tight red pants and white boots. Ebony eyebrows were drawn together, exaggerating his scowl as he glared at the group clustered before their ship.
"Who do you think you are?" he shouted. "You had no clearance to land here!" His eyes flickered to Paresu as she moved to cling on Goten's arm. "This landing run is only for…" He trailed off as his gaze focused on the model, looking her over with widening eyes. "…royalty…" he finished softly. He fell on one knee with both arms crossed across his chest and head bowed. "Princess Tradvenuer!" he said, half-panicked and half-pleading. "Forgive me! I did not know it was you!"
The group glanced at one another, at Paresu, then back at the man, who stood up from his kneel. He thrust his hands out in an enthusiastic gesture.
"King Nobrust will be ecstatic to see you safe and well!" He turned a bit back towards a building in the distance and laughed. "And the rest of you may be just as happy about the reward!" He ran off towards the structure.
The eight he left behind stared.
"Um… exactly what was that about?" Goten spoke up.
"Seems that Rattep was recently missing a princess," Vejita said.
"Who looks just like Paresu," Serive added in an intrigued tone that suggested the gears in her head were cranking.
"Well, someone will just have to tell them that they're mistaken," Paresu said simply.
Serive turned to the brunette. "Oh, no," she contradicted with a smirk. "We're going to return their princess, get the reward, and have our ship repaired at the same time."
"WHAT?!" Goten's eyes nearly bugged out of his head.
Gohan glared. "We're not leaving her here!"
Serive rolled her eyes. "Don't fret. We'll just sneak her aboard the ship before we leave, and we'll be gone before they notice!"
"Wait just a minute!" Paresu spoke up angrily. "First you want everyone to steal, and now you want me to LIE?"
"Yeah."
"I can't do that! I haven't lied about a thing in my life!"
"Well, now is the time to start." Serive pointed at the figures rapidly approaching from the far-off building. The man had returned, now jogging beside a large, rotund figure dressed in formal yellow and blue attire. "If you don't, who knows how we'll ever get the ship fixed without any money?"
Paresu bit her lip. "But, I…" She wasn't sure what to do. She didn't want to trick these people at all, but if they didn't get their spaceship fixed who knew when they'd get off this planet? She looked to Goten, but he only stared back with a fixed, clueless, panicked expression.
"You have amnesia," Serive whispered to Paresu as the two came closer. "You only remember waking up in our ship two days ago."
"But-" the human was cut off when the huge man swept her up into a life-threatening bear hug, hoisting her up and pressing her against his chest. She came face to face with a pearly grin underscored by a double chin and padded with chubby cheeks. An orange mustache, with tips that curled at his cheeks, twitched under his stubby nose, and matching red hair was surrounded by a gold, jeweled crown that was bright like his eyes.
"Oh, Tradvenuer, my dear!" his jolly voice boomed into Paresu's face. "We've been so worried!"
"Um…" She fidgeted in the tight embrace. "Have you?" she blurted with a nervous laugh.
"What's wrong?" said the king with a chuckle. "You act like you don't know me."
"I'm afraid she has lost her memory, Your Highness," Serive spoke up with a small bow. "We found her on Renlak a couple days ago."
"How did you know to bring her here?" the dark-haired servant asked suspiciously.
"We didn't," was Serive's reply. "We were forced to land here due to complications in our ship."
The huge ruler frowned. "Amnesia… Well, that poses as quite a problem."
"It does?" Paresu said meekly as she was finally set down.
"No worries!" Nobrust suddenly exclaimed. "I'm sure your memories will return soon." He turned to the attendant. "Viarato, take my daughter and these fine people to the parlor while I get Cysamthetip and Dreob." Another massive smile to his supposed daughter. "Your mother and sister will be so happy to see you!" he bellowed before turning and going back towards the far building.
-----
They were lead through the Rattep Royal Aviation Center, which had been partly built into a boisterous hill. Viarato then escorted them through a tunnel that took them through the landscape, and they emerged at a back entrance to a huge castle. It seemed fairly ordinary as castles go, despite the odd combination of a stone fabrication and technological accommodations.
Viarato guided the group through ten minutes worth of seemingly endless corridors, then finally stopped and pushed open a set of narrow, towering doors to reveal an intricately furnished room. Paintings half the height of the doors hung on the walls, which were lined with panels with beautifully detailed carvings. A fireplace as tall as Gohan was set in the far wall, drawing attention to the picture that was set above it.
It was a portrait of the royal family that had been painted with such agonizing attention that it could be mistaken for a photograph. The spherical king stood in the top left corner in the same garments and grin they'd seen him in previously. His arm was around the slender shoulders of his much leaner queen. Her chestnut locks were pulled tightly back and little curly entrails were left to lay about the bun. Her pale face was angelic: a relaxed brow, soft dark eyes, an adorable nub of a nose, and a small polite smile above a pointed chin made up her pretty features. A smooth, long neck curved down to her shoulders, covered with the azure fabric of her dress. Her delicate hands rested on the slightly broader form of a young redhead. The girl could be considered thin, though not as much as her mother. Unlike her companions in the portrait, she did not smile. The line of her lips was straight, and her blue eyes were expressionless as she stared out from the painting in a forest-green gown. Beside her was…
Paresu. Well, not Paresu of course, but obviously the missing princess she had been mistaken for. Tradveneur had the same dark eyes, the same bright smile, the same cutely angled nose, the same roundish face. They had the same hair color, although the style differed. While one clump of Paresu's hair curved around her face, her counterpart's tresses parted on the side and hung straight until the tips rounded in at her shoulders. Tradvenuer wore a dark, mustard-colored gown with an elaborate black pattern stitched around the low, V-neck collar.
Viarato saw how everyone's eyes were stuck on the painting. "A close artistic friend of the Nobrust family painted that. It's become one of their most treasured possessions." He glanced at Paresu. "Perhaps it helps you remember?"
Paresu started, interrupted from her amazement at how identical she and the princess were. "Oh… uh… I'm afraid not…"
Viarato frowned. "It is your favorite painting."
A nervous laugh. "Is it?"
"Darling!"
All turned to the door to see that the King had arrived with his wife and daughter. The queen had her arms outstretched and quickly made her way to Paresu in large strides.
"Oh, sweetheart!" she exclaimed, bringing Paresu into a snug hug. "I was beginning to think I'd never see you again!" She held her "daughter" an arm's length away and looked her over. "And you're perfectly fine!" She laughed melodically.
"Yes. I'm okay…" Paresu replied nervously.
"What's the matter, dear?" she asked with concern.
"The amnesia, Cysamthetip," Nobrust reminded her.
The Queen raised a hand to her mouth. "Oh, that's right! I'm sorry, dear!" She took Paresu's hand in hers and gestured to the red-headed girl who stood by her father. "Well, this is your sister, Dreob."
Dreob looked emotionless, but her blue eyes scrutinized her warily. "Why did you come back?" she asked.
"Dreob!" Cysamthetip snapped. "What an awful thing to say!"
"I'm just saying, is all," Dreob replied calmly. "She left so eagerly, you'd think even without a memory she'd instinctually stay away."
Paresu blinked. "You mean I ran away?"
The king and queen visibly blanched, and one could swear that Nobrust elbowed his youngest daughter in the side.
"Yes…" Cysamthetip said hesitantly, before quickly adding, "but no one knows why."
"But it must've been pretty bad for me to just run off," Paresu argued.
"Perhaps," the king replied, "but once you remember it, I'm sure we can work it out!" He flashed Paresu an encouraging grin, but the way Dreob gave her father a sideways glance was not at all promising. "Now," Nobrust said, with obvious relief for a change in subject, "who is the head of this fine rescue group?"
Serive grinned. "I suppose that would be me."
Nobrust grasped the Wycanian's hand in both of his massive ones and shook excitedly. Bewildered, Serive was having trouble keeping her balance. "I don't know how to thank you!" Nobrust burst out. "We were so worried that she had been hurt, but you have returned dearest Tradvenuer to us safe and sound!"
Her "mother" gave Paresu's hand a tight squeeze, but the human girl didn't notice. She frowned as the king expressed his joy. For all she knew, the real Tradvenuer was out there somewhere in real danger. The true Rattepian princess could be laying somewhere dying, praying for someone to find her, but no one would, because with this charade, no one would be looking for her. Paresu bit her lip, wanting so badly to speak up with the truth, but if they didn't get off this planet, Serive would get upset and hurt Bulma.
"Not to be too forward, Highness," Serive began politely, "but although seeing you with something so precious back in your protection is enough of a reward, I must make a small request."
The king laughed, his amusement echoing throughout the room. "Anything at all! No reward is enough for this!"
"Well, our ship, you see," Serive said, "has come across misfortune, and if perhaps your mechanics could take a look-"
"Of course! Of course!" Nobrust interrupted with a wave of his hand signaling that she needn't say more. "I'll have my best men work on it for you. I'll even instruct them to make any necessary improvements!"
"Oh, I don't think improvements are necessary," Bulma spoke up, looking offended.
"Improvements will be fine." Serive still smiled, but her eyes had a bit of agitation.
"And," the king added, "there is quite the hefty reward sum for bringing back my lovely girl." He winked at Paresu, who blushed shyly. "We shall give it to you before you leave."
"Thank you very much, Your Majesty," Serive said gratefully with a small bow.
The group behind them watched the exchange with interest until someone on the side coughed warningly and got the other's attention. The five blinked in surprise when they saw Vejita bowing and looking at them pointedly, and they hurriedly followed suit, nervous that they were too late to pay respects for the favor.
The Rattepian king and queen did not seem to notice, but the bored and observant princess did and raised an eyebrow at their strange behavior.
"While I send my mechanics to work," the Nobrust said, "Viarato will escort you to the dining hall. After your meal, you're welcome to wander the grounds as you like until repairs are done." He took Paresu by the hand. "Come, dear, we have so little time."
"So little time for what?" Paresu asked.
The king paled a bit again, as if he had said too much, but he quickly recovered. "We just want you to recover your memory as soon as possible, dear. Even though we would like to give you time to settle in, the obligations of royalty are demanding."
"Oh?" Paresu replied curiously. "What do I do?"
"Oh, many, many things!" the queen interjected, taking her "daughter's" arm. "Come, come, we must attend to some of them now."
Paresu felt a bit panicked as the woman led her towards the door. She looked back at Goten, who looked as if he would follow her if Trunks was not seizing his sleeve. "But, but I…"
Cysamthetip stopped, noticing Paresu's backwards glance. Her eyes immediately caught the emotion exchanged between the "princess" and one of her "rescuers." Her pleasant smile flattened to a stern line.
"Perhaps one of them could come along?" Paresu ventured. "Since it is so strange to be surrounded by new people…" She trailed off when she finally noticed the queen's hardened gaze.
The Rattepian sovereign chuckled with no amusement. "Now, now, sweetie, they are just as new as we are, are they not? After all, they found you only a few days ago." She stroked Paresu's cheek. "Come now, we have an important… dinner you must attend," she said as they left the room, though she was sure to give Goten a good glare before she was out of sight.
-----
"Are… um… my new friends going to join us for dinner?" Paresu asked nervously.
The Queen, leading Paresu down a hall with Dreob following, raised an eyebrow. "Why would they attend?"
Paresu laughed nervously. "Well, they did rescue me. It would just be pleasant and polite to have them as dinner company."
Cysamthetip shook her head. "Tradvenuer, I'm sure they were very nice to you, but this is something of an… official dinner. We'll be taking care of matters that don't concern them. They don't belong there." She smiled. "Now that you're back, things must continue on the correct path. You can return to your life here, and they can continue on their own journey. They did seem to be in some kind of hurry, after all."
"But, I--"
"Tradvenuer, my lovely," a sensual voice purred.
Paresu, quickly remembering that was her name now, looked toward the voice curiously. "Yes?"
A shockingly handsome man strode toward her, a soft smile on his thin lips. His short green hair was smoothly slicked back and shone like his brown eyes. His attire was neat and pressed, and he expressed an obvious superiority to the small entourage of attendants following him. He elegantly took her fingers in his and bowed down to kiss her hand. "It is the greatest pleasure to see you again."
Paresu blushed and smiled up at him nervously. "Oh, my… Thank you," she replied.
He straightened and caressed her face with soft fingers. "You father has informed me of your amnesia," he said with concern. "He wishes for things to continue as planned, but if you wish I am willing to conform to your needs."
Paresu cocked her head to the side in confusion as she pulled his hand away from her face. The touch was far too affectionate, not to mention Goten would surely be upset if he had seen it. "I'm sorry?"
The queen broke into laughter, though it had quite the nervous inflection. "Ooh, don't worry about her, dear! Things are back to normal as far as we're concerned!" She shooed him away. "We must get dear Tradvenuer changed, so you do so too!"
"Changed for what?" Paresu asked as the man walked away, his small entourage close behind him.
"For dinner," Cysamthetip replied quickly, leading Paresu down a hall. Following behind, Dreob frowned in disapproval.
"Who was that?" the human girl asked. "How do I know him?"
"He's a very good friend," the Rattepian queen answered, glaring at Dreob when the girl snorted in sarcastic laughter.
Paresu was going to press further, but a voice behind them called for the three to stop and they were accosted by a group of women who assailed them with questions. "The shipment of huelan filet never arrived! What shall we do?" one woman asked panickedly. Another pushed her aside and said, "Nevermind that! Someone accidentally released the doves!" Yet another shouted over the cacophony, "We can't find the musicians!"
The Queen gestured for the ladies to quiet down. "Now, now! Let's all calm down." She gave them a reassuring smile. "We have other food to serve. I've ordered the chef to stockpile my husband's favorite, yualehn steak, so there should be enough for all our guests." The first woman nodded and ran off, presumably to the kitchen. "As for the doves, they obviously aren't going to return. We'll simply have to do without them." The second woman sighed and left. "I hired the musicians myself. They are good acquaintances. I happen to know they frequent Wherl Tavern very often. It is not that late, so I'm sure they've just lost track of time a bit. Go retrieve them." And the third hurried away. Cysamthetip turned to the remaining women. "See what simple solutions rational thought produces? I assigned you all to this occasion because I trust you to make proper decisions. Now go and solve your issues. I trust you."
"This is an important dinner?" Paresu asked as the ladies vanished down different halls.
"Oh, yes," the Queen answered idly. She linked her arm with Paresu's and continued to lead her down the hall. "Let's get you into proper dress, dear."
-----
The MARC crew, sans Paresu, sat in an extravagant dining room. At Serive's forceful request, the guards stood outside the doors instead of in the room, so now the travelers could speak freely while they ate. Part of the extensive reward was a delicious meal that was much better than what they had stocked on the ship.
"I wonder how she's doing," Goten sighed as he pushed his food around his plate.
"I'm sure she's fine," Trunks said. "It's not like they're going to torture her or anything.
"I can't believe you weren't going to bow," Vejita sneered at them. "It's only fucking polite, you know."
Everyone could only stare.
Gohan frowned, staring out the window at the courtyard. He would have expected to see noblemen and noblewomen parading about, but the finely trimmed patch of land was deserted. Perhaps they were all gathered inside for some kind of announcement, or to watch the king punish troublemakers. But it was so strange to see no one coming or going, as if whatever was going on was so important that they could not wander in late or have the nerve to show up early.
Trunks, sitting next to him, nudged him with his elbow. "What's wrong?"
"Hm? Oh, I was just wondering where everyone was."
Trunks glanced outside and shrugged before turning back to the table and asking, "So, how do we separate 'Tradveneur' from her family and get her back on the ship?"
Gohan tried to help construct a plan, but the emptiness of the courtyard was nagging at the back of his mind. He gazed out again, and saw a young boy run in from the arched stone opening with a box clutched in his hands. He raced along the cobblestone path to towards the guarded front doors.
"Hey!" Gohan called down. "Boy!" He ignored the confused questions from the others sitting at the table.
The boy stopped and looked up at the window. "Yes?" he asked with an urgent tone. He was obviously in a hurry.
"What do you have there?" Gohan asked. Serive snapped something at him, but he didn't acknowledge her.
The boy looked down at the white box, then back up to the stranger in the window. "The Royal Decorator was missing a centerpiece for the Royal Reception this evening!" he yelled up. "I am bringing her the remaining one."
"Reception?" Gohan repeated. "Is Dreob getting married?"
The boy gave Gohan a strange look. "You are not from around here, Sir?"
Gohan shook his head. "No, just visiting."
"Ah, I see." The boy walked to the gate as he finished the conversation. "I must go, but this is for the wedding of our other Princess, Tradveneur." He looked up at the guards, who let him pass.
In the room looking over the courtyard, the group fell silent.
"… WEDDING?!" Goten hollered.
-----
Paresu gazed at her dinner dress. It seemed way too fabulous to eat a meal in. It was a baby blue velour gown with yellow and black trim at the v-neck collar, sleeves, and empire waist. The sleeves themselves flared to be about half the width of the dress' hem, which fell over her sky blue ankle boots. A long white cloth had been placed over her head and held in place by an ornate silver crown. The sheet had a long slit on either side so that it parted over her shoulders.
"Oh, honey, you look gorgeous…" the queen sniffled.
Paresu raised an eyebrow. Her "mother" was acting as if she was getting married or some-
She froze. She looked from her reflection to the crying queen. She remembered the questions all the servants had and the strange man who'd kissed her hand.
"This is a wedding dress!" Paresu shrieked.
The two other women looked at each other.
"Why am I wearing this?" Paresu yelled. "I'm not getting married!" She backed away from the mirror.
The queen gently took her by the shoulders and turned her around. "Now calm down, Sweetie," she cooed.
"Psh," Paresu's "sister" scoffed, "she doesn't even remember him and she doesn't want to marry him."
"I'm not getting married!" Paresu shrilly repeated.
"Honey," her mother attempted to sooth her again, "I know this is bad time, but before you left you had put this betrothal off for long enough. He is a good match for you, and the alliance between our worlds will bring great prosperity!"
"No!" Paresu repeated. "This is insane!"
"Don't be selfish, Tradveneur!" the Queen snapped. "You are a princess and you are required to do your duty!"
"I'm NOT a princess!" Paresu screamed. "You don't understand. I lied! I'm not her!"
The Queen stared at her, and Paresu was relieved to tell the truth. Until her "mother" said, "You didn't lose your memory at all, Tradveneur!"
"What?"
She looked very angry. "This is just another stunt to put off the wedding!"
Paresu shook her head wildly. "No, I--"
"You listen to me, young lady," Cysamthetip said dangerously. "I have had enough of this! You will marry him, and you will cease your immaturity!"
Paresu didn't know what to say. The Queen didn't believe her. They were going to force her to marry a stranger. Suddenly she flung herself towards the door, but it was useless as the Queen easily snagged her arm and pulled her back. She was strong for an older woman; Paresu couldn't pull away. Finally she just screamed, "GOTEN!!"
Cysamthetip grabbed the girl's other arm and glared at her. "That boy! You are not to see him again!"
"No!" Paresu hollered, getting angry now. "You don't understand! I love Goten! I--"
Dreob's gasp was muffled under the piercing crack of the Queen's slap. Paresu, her cheek flaring a fabulous red, was shocked at the outburst and could only stare blindly at the wall.
"You have only known that boy for mere days," the Queen said lowly, daring her "daughter" to speak out again. "To say that you love him is ridiculous. You will do as I say! You will do as your father says! You will do what is expected of someone of your station!" She took in a deep breath to calm herself. "This arrangement has become strained enough already. If you do not marry him, who knows what could happen?"
Paresu finally found her voice. "You don't understand…" she whispered, afraid of being struck again.
"You're so selfish, Tradvenuer," the Queen replied softly. She turned away and went to the door, grabbing Dreob's arm as she passed her. "We must be sure that everything is prepared. Let's go, Dreob, dear."
The redhead was steadfast as her mother tugged at her arm. She stared at her "sister," who was obviously holding back tears.
"Dreob." Cysamthetip's temper was rising again.
The younger princess gave her mother an indiscernible look before leaving the room. Her mother followed without another word to the disobedient bride.
The door closed and the sound of the lock echoed in Paresu's ears.
"Goten…" Paresu fell to her knees and cried.
-----
In a hall within the palace, two ladies in waiting- one petite, the other rather robust and taller- walked side-by-side and discussed the wedding that was to take place that evening. It was fortunate that the princess returned today; their potential ally had been very angry when she had vanished a month before.
Their discussion was turning into an argument, but before it got to the point where the ladies would get angry, they met an intersection in the hall. From around the corner on the left, feminine hands grabbed the smaller woman. From around the corner to the right, masculine hands snatched the other. The two ladies' cries were muffled then suddenly quieted completely. For a minute or two there was only the sound of clothing being removed and donned, then the two ambushers stepped out from their hiding places.
"I must say," Bra said, looking down at herself and posing for no one in particular, "this is rather cute."
"Speak for yourself!" cried her accomplice. "I look like… like…"
Bra looked up and couldn't repress her giggles. "Like a transvestite?"
"Very funny!" Goten snapped. He folded his arms and frowned angrily. "Couldn't we have looked for a lady and a guy?"
"We don't have time for that," Bra pointed out, adjusting the cloth on his head so that it shadowed his more masculine features. "You should probably keep putting your arms like that. We don't have time to make you boobs either."
"What is Paresu going to think of me?" Goten muttered.
Bra grabbed his hand and started down a hall, "She'll probably be happy that you're there to rescue her." She narrowed her eyes in concentration. "I think I sense her in this direction."
-----
In the palace hangar, a dozen mechanics were working on their guest's ship. Their first completed task was the repairs on the leg. Once they felt confident that the landing gear was good as new, they did as their king had told them and started on any improvements necessary. But since their queen had recently sent a messenger saying that she wanted the guests to leave as soon as possible, the crew settled for refining what was already present and added only a few new capabilities.
Whatever they had decided, they were clearly not finished when Bulma and Vejita walked into the vast room. They could see a few workers diligently altering certain wires beneath exterior panels of the ship, and heard voices coming from within the craft as others were doing their work inside. Two of the men had taken to polishing the ship and were dutifully shining the metal with rags.
Bulma approached a mechanic who stood beneath the ship as he closed a panel and began sealing it with a blowtorch. Shielding her eyes from the bright glow, she asked, "How is your work coming?"
He did not stop his work. "I'm done here, but I got two men inside and three on the exterior."
"How long will you be? We're in kind of a hurry."
The mechanic said nothing for a moment while he continued to seal the panel. "Well, it shouldn't take much longer for my one guy to fix your intercom. After I'm done here, I'll check up on all of them and let you know."
"Thanks," Bulma replied. She returned to Vejita. "He's not sure."
Vejita frowned, his arms folded in his usual stance. "Well, this half-assed plan is going to fall apart if the ship isn't ready in time."
"Well, there's always Plan B," Bulma replied.
"What's that?"
Bulma sweatdropped. "Using force."
"Remind me why we aren't using force now?"
"Well, for one these workers are in the perfect position to easily make the ship useless by jamming a wrench into the engine or some other useful part. Plus we don't want some intergalactic police chasing after us."
"If we have the 'princess,' they'll do that anyway."
"Which is why we're gonna haul ass." Bulma sighed, watching the mechanics' progress. "'Tradvenuer' is going with us of her free will, don't forget. We'll only have this planet's forces to deal with, I'd expect. If we kidnapped her, we'd have a bigger kind of law to deal with. Besides, if we use force, there's no way we're getting that money to feed all your bottomless stomachs."
Vejita said nothing for a moment, then said, "You know, I would kill her if I could. We shouldn't be out here to begin with."
Bulma smiled and brushed his arm with her hand. "That's strangely sweet," she chuckled at his threat. "But it looks like we're gonna be in it for the long hall. She never forgets to give me another dosage of those pletels."
"What if we emptied her doll?"
"How would we get to it? I've never seen it away from her for long. She'd figure it out before the stuff already in me wore off."
Frustrated, Vejita fell silent and frowned to himself.
Bulma tousled his hair. "Hey, everything's going to be okay."
Vejita bristled at the comfort. "I know that!" he snapped.
"Hey!" the main mechanic shouted over. "Looks like we'll be done sooner than I thought! Twenty minutes tops!"
"Thanks!" Bulma yelled back with a gracious wave. "Thank God," she muttered to Vejita.
-----
"I don't think this is a good idea," Gohan muttered.
Trunks peeked around the corner and saw no one in the hall. "Well, once we leave with Paresu, we won't make it far if they're coming after us."
"We're going to get caught."
"Only if you don't act natural," Trunks said, moving carefully through the passages.
Gohan sighed. "We're gonna have to run for the other hangar. There's no way Bra and Goten are going to get to Paresu undetected."
"Shh!" Trunks hushed him. "Someone's coming!"
They ducked into a perpendicular hall. Trunks glanced around the corner and saw two figures in light-colored dresses approaching. "You think they've found the guards that were watching all of us yet?"
"There'd probably be more commotion if they had."
Trunks nodded. "Alright. Play along with me."
"Huh?"
Trunks stepped into the hall and approached the two women coming towards him. "Ladies! Hello! I was just wondering if… if…"
"What's the matter?" Gohan asked as he joined the Briefs boy. Then he saw the two ladies in waiting. "… GOTEN?"
Goten covered his face in embarrassment. "Hi."
"… AH HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Trunks collapsed to the floor in laughter.
Bra couldn't help her own laughter. "Hey," she giggled, "I think Goten-chan looks very pretty."
That only resulted in more boisterous laughter from the man rolling on the floor.
Gohan sweatdropped as he stared at his brother. "So… no luck in finding Paresu?"
Goten shook his head. "This section of the castle is dead."
Trunks was no longer laughing, but his grin was a mile wide. "What's up with that get-up?"
"They're not gonna let two foreigners near the bride," Goten pointed out. "We need to pose as servants."
"Why don't you just knock the guards out?"
"Like we need to bring more attention to ourselves?"
Gohan held up a hand to hush them. "There's someone coming!"
The footsteps coming towards them were slow, but determined. After a moment, an elderly man turned into the hallway. He gripped his cane with one hand and held a white box in the other. His face was twisted with exhaustion and pain.
"Oh, man…" Bra extended a hand to the man, unsure if he needed help. "Are you okay?"
The old man stopped and looked up. His surprise showed that he hadn't notice the four were there. "Oh, hello!" his raspy voice greeted.
"Do you need help?" Bra pressed as the man continued on.
He sighed as he persisted on, though the sweat on his brow was a plea for his body to take a rest. "I must get this to the princess' dressing room. The ceremony is due to begin within the hour."
The younger four exchanged glances. They didn't have long.
Bra grinned. "Well, my friend and I are actually supposed to help Princess Tradvenuer with any last minute alterations on her dress," she fibbed. "We'd gladly take it there for you."
The old man stopped and smiled appreciatively at her. "That's very kind of you!" he exclaimed, extending the box out to her.
Bra smiled as she took the white box. "No problem."
"Such lovely ladies, helping out an old man," he thanked again, smiling from Bra to Goten.
"You're welcome," Goten replied, blushing madly when Gohan and Trunks snickered.
"But, pray tell us, sir," Bra continued, "where the Princess' room is? We seem to have lost our way."
"Oh, yes." The elder pointed down the hall. "Just continue on here until you can't go straight anymore. Make a left, and it should be the second door on the left. You'll see the guards."
"Oh, and may I ask you a question too, sir?" Trunks jumped in. "We're, ah, foreign apprentices to the Royal Aviation Center. We're supposed to help fix some of the fighting crafts."
"Oh, yeah!" Gohan said. "Yeah, we've gotten lost and we're not sure where the army hangar is."
The old man nodded. "Just go down this hall and make your next right. The trail to that hangar is right out those doors."
"Thank you, sir!" Bra and Trunks chirped in unison.
"Thank you, dears," the old man said, before turning around and hobbling back the way he'd come.
"Catch you guys at the ship," Bra said in a low voice to Trunks before hurrying off with Goten.
"Come on," Trunks said to Gohan. "We don't have much time."
-----
A few minutes later, after following the old man's directions, Bra and Goten had found the room. Two towering guards stood outside the room and stared down at them.
Bra drew herself up to her full height and tilted her chin up. She marched right up to the guards and stared at them haughtily. "Let us pass," she said, trying to deepen her voice so she'd sound more womanly than girlish, but not so much that it was obvious. "We have Lady Tradvenuer's crown." She looked to the side and gestured for Goten to come up beside her.
Goten, blushing furiously, did his best to let the fabric draped over his head and hide his face. He moved to Bra's side and held up the box so the guards could see.
Bra looked up at the two men. "Well, move aside, sirs."
The two guards exchanged unreadable glances, but did not move their staffs from in front of the door.
Bra frowned. "Well?!" she repeated expectantly.
The two men looked down at the two so-called ladies in waiting and-- to Bra and Goten's discomfort-- leered.
"The wedding doesn't begin for a while yet," the bearded one on the right said to Bra. He leaned down and flashed what he probably thought was a smooth, flattering smile.
"Yeah," the shorter guard on the left agreed. To Goten's horror, he flashed the cross-dressed young man a similar grin. "Why don't we talk for a bit?"
Bra worked her mouth as she tried to thing of what to say. Finally, she sputtered, "Ex-excuse ME, gentlemen! I don't appreciate this conduct at all!"
But her admirer was not obliged to let up. "A lovely woman like yourself should always be complimented."
It was obvious to Goten that these guys were the type who liked girls who played hard to get. So he tried a different approach. "Oh, boys!" he said. He didn't have to raise the pitch of his voice too much; his voice was high already. "We'd love to chat with you, but we really must get the princess ready for her big day!" He did his best at a coy, girlish giggle as he inched towards the door.
To his great disappointment, the men kept blocking the door, and now the shorter guard thought he had it made.
"I still say we have time for a little chat," he said with a wink at Goten. He looked down at Goten's hands, clutching the box with the crown. "Your hands seem a little rough," he commented.
Goten blanched. "Um, well… You know, we do work hard for the queen!" he said. "Can't keep our fingers dainty for long."
The guard set his free hand on Goten's shoulder. "Well, it's always nice to see a woman that's good with her hands."
"Really!" Bra snapped. "We would like to get into that room NOW."
The bearded guard laughed. "Ooh, feisty…"
Goten looked up at his guard and sneered. "We are quite busy, sirs! We have been perfectly nice to you, and you have been nothing but rude and are keeping us from attending to the Princess! I'm going to have to report this to the king!"
The shorter man frowned. "I'm sorry," he said convincingly, until he continued with, "Can I make it up to you later?" He then moved his hand from Goten's shoulder and grabbed his ass.
Goten's eyes went wide at the blatant violation. He could slightly hear Bra cry out when his hand came up and launched a powerful ki blast at the guard's groin. The horribly injured man howled in pain and grabbed at his crotch. Goten drew back his arm and slammed his fist into the side of the guard's head. The second guard gaped at his fallen friend, and had only looked up for a split second when Bra chopped her hand into the side of his neck. He fell on top of his comrade.
Goten glowered down at the two men. "That was RUDE." He looked over at Bra. "Did that ever happen to you?"
"A few times," she replied. She then grinned. "But after that the guy usually loses function in his hand for a while."
"Heh." Goten opened the door and stepped inside.
"I am NOT getting married!" a familiar voice cried from within the room.
There was movement in front of him and something shattered onto his head. Goten yelled out in surprise and minimal pain. He looked up from the broken pot pieces on the floor to his attacker. "Hey, Paresu."
Paresu's face positively lit up when she recognized the only man she did want to marry. "GOTEN!!" she squealed. Then she froze and her eyes gave him a once over. "Goten?"
-----
"One of our guests wishes to speak with you, Your Highness," an attendant announced from the doorway of the Great Hall.
Queen Cysamthetip paused in her criticism of the table settings and glared at the servant. "Very well."
The attendant stepped aside and Serive entered the room. She bowed to the Queen. "Thank you for seeing me, Your Majesty."
The Queen picked up a blue linen napkin and gave it to one of her ladies in waiting. "Get something of a lighter shade." She turned back to Serive as the woman ran off. "I am quite busy. What is it you need?"
Serive nodded. "I only wish to request the reward that was promised for the return of your daughter. We appreciate your hospitality, but we are pressed for time."
Hearing this, the Queen smiled brightly. "Oh, well, of course! If you must be on your way, I'll have my guard pick up the parcel. It's all in the standard currency, of course." She waved to one of the guards at the door, and he bowed and left the room.
Serive stared at the great hall. It was lined with towering pedestals, lifting the ceiling up towards the clouds. On the far side was a platform, where the music of the minstrels would echo off the ceiling and down to the space left for dancing. The rest of the floor was occupied by nearly a hundred dinner tables, the settings of which the Queen was agonizing over.
"It looks lovely," Serive said idly.
"Hm." Cysamthetip picked up a fork and inspected it. "Everything must be perfect for this dinner."
"Well, every mother wishes such for her daughter on her wedding day."
The Queen looked up and smiled at being found out. "So you know."
Serive nodded. "It's an odd practice, isn't it? Marrying your daughter off when she can't even remember who she is?"
Apparently satisfied with the silverware, the Rattepian royalty replaced the fork. "We don't want to further annoy the groom's parents."
"They are angry?"
Cysamthetip sighed. "My husband has known the groom's father since they were young. They always promised each other than one day their children would marry and their kingdoms united into prosperity and happiness. When Tradvenuer was born, she was immediately betrothed to the prince of our sister planet, and we visited each other frequently so the future spouses could get acquainted." She gestured to an attendant, who pulled out one of the chairs for her. She sat and folded her hands in her lap. "As years went by, it became clear that while my eldest daughter didn't hate her future husband, she did not want to become his queen. She became more and more rebellious to the idea, and finally ran off. Her future in-laws were merely upset before when she blatantly expressed that she wanted to marry another, but when she ran away they were furious and actually made some threats to us." She closed her eyes. "Nobrust has been so upset, to see his close friendship being chipped away by Tradvenuer's disobedience."
Serive nodded. "Ties are difficult to maintain when you're royalty." She tapped her foot, getting impatient for the reward. "I'm sure your daughter will settle down with him eventually."
Cysamthetip opened her eyes and looked at Serive sternly. "The young boy with you. With the black hair. I have seen how he looks at my daughter. He does not intend to interrupt the ceremony, does he?"
Serive shook her head and laughed. "Of course not. He does have a small crush on the princess, but I have told him that he is not to trifle with royal affairs." She smiled assuringly at the queen. "That is one of the reasons I have decided we must leave as soon as possible. The silly boy is quite heartbroken."
The queen smiled back at her guest with relief. "Well, he has worried me. To tell the truth, I ordered our mechanics to be quick with the improvements to your ship."
"Oh, that's fine!" Serive chimed agreeably. "I understand perfectly."
The guard returned with a large, thick sack. Serive gazed at the plentiful reward and grinned. "You are too kind, Your Highness."
The queen nodded and gestured to her guard. "He will carry it back to your ship for you."
"Oh, that's not necessary," Serive replied. She took the sack from the guard and swung it over her shoulder. She bowed despite the heavy weight on her back. "A thousand thanks for your hospitality, Your Majesty." She straightened. "As soon as your men are done with our ship, we'll be on our way and you won't have to worry about temporary youthful affections."
The Queen nodded respectfully in Serive's direction. "Thank you. Your return of Tradvenuer is inexpressibly appreciated."
Serive bowed again. "Good-bye, Your Majesty." She carried the sack out of the room.
The Queen turned her attention back to the table setting. Tradvenuer would understand eventually. She herself did understand how her eldest daughter wanted to marry for love instead of for her planet, but for Kings and Queens and their children, their choices were limited to their responsibilities. It certainly wasn't fair, but it was the price to be paid when one was born or married into such a high status.
Cysamthetip smiled. How lucky she was to have fallen in love with Nobrust. She loved her husband dearly. He was always so cheerful and optimistic. His laugh was positively delightful; it rumbled in such a way that she could feel it in her gut and couldn't help but laugh with him. Nobrust was naturally a bright-minded person, which was why it upset her when Tradvenuer ran away. Their daughter's actions were damaging a friendship her husband had held dear since childhood. Couldn't she see that?
She sighed. She would have to sit down with Tradvenuer after the wedding and speak with her more calmly about the situation. She regretted having been so harsh with her earlier. Really, how could she have struck her little girl? Cysamthetip was letting all the stress get to her. This was no such way to think or behave on her daughter's wedding day. It was supposed to be a happy occasion, not a day they would look back on with embarrassment or ill-feeling.
In fact, Cysamthetip realized, it was best if she talked to her daughter now. It certainly couldn't be good luck for the bride to go through the ceremony with a dismal outlook.
"Your Highness!" an attendant yelled and rushed into the room. "The guards escorting our guests were found unconscious in the dining hall!"
"What?" Cysamthetip exclaimed.
The servant flinched at the shrill tone, but nodded. "And we found two of your ladies knocked out and in their underclothes in the South Wing! And Tradvenuer's guards are also down!"
The Queen stood up and began shouting orders. "You!" she yelled, pointing to a guard. "Go to the hanger and stop that ship!" She gestured to the other, "Get men to the fighter crafts in case they take off!" She set her gaze on her attendant. "Go alert the rest of the guard to search for our guests and Tradvenuer!" As the three ran off to carry out her commands, she marched from the room
She supposed this day just wasn't meant to be happy.
-----
Goten, Bra, and Paresu rushed through the halls. They kept alert for any signs that they were being pursued and ducked into thankfully empty rooms each time they spotted someone heading their way.
"We're almost there," Bra said as they entered a familiar hallway. A few turns later, they spotted the door that led outside to the guest hangar. And they quickly ducked into a perpendicular hall.
"Shit!" Goten hissed. He peeked around the corner. Sure enough, the seven guards were not in his imagination. "What do we do?"
A figure appeared in the adjacent hallway. The three looked up and gasped. None other than Dreob had caught them in hiding. They froze, unsure what to do. The plan to get away as quickly as possible without causing harm was falling apart.
Dreob stared at them with mild interest until a guard's voice caught her attention.
"Princess! You shouldn't be wandering the halls with those miscreants on the loose," he called down the hall way.
"I saw them head that way!" Dreob shouted back, pointing to the left. "I think they're going to steal the Royal Vessel!!"
The guards quickly obeyed their princess, who watched them rush off toward the royal hangar. She turned to the three foreigners in hiding and nodded her head towards the door to the outside. "Before they find out you're not there," she said.
They ran out the door and hurried along the path to the large craft-hoarding building. They reached the door and Dreob stop and stared at her "sister".
"You really aren't her," Dreob said, inspecting Paresu closely.
"No," Paresu admitted.
"Heh, I thought you seemed different." She laughed derisively. "I guess my parents are more worried about this stupid wedding than Tradvenuer."
"I'm sure that's not true!" Paresu protested. The idea that the match was more important than their daughter was just too horrible.
"Look, you have to go," Dreob said, walking into the hangar. The three quickly followed.
Through the wide window on the front of the ship, they could see that the other five had already made it there. Gohan and Trunks started laughing at Goten again, while the other three seemed to be at a loss for words. Shaking her head and saying something, Serive disappeared from view.
"You've all made quite a mess here," Dreob commented, but didn't show any overt anger.
"I'm sorry," Paresu apologized quietly.
Dreob stared at the girl, showing no emotion. Then she grasped Paresu's hand. "Promise me something."
Paresu looked up. "Yes?"
"If you find her, ask her to come home."
Serive appeared again on the stairs leading up into the ship. "Come on!" she snapped. "Unless you want to masquerade here forever!"
Paresu smiled at Dreob. "I will!" she pledged, squeezing the other woman's hand. "Goodbye!" she called out as Goten grabbed her arm and dragged her towards the ship.
Bra briefly touched Dreob's shoulder. "Really though, we're sorry about this whole thing," she said, before running to the ship.
"It's fine," Dreob said to herself as the stairs ascended back into the ship. She turned and left the hangar as the MARC powered up. "Maybe now the betrothal will finally be broken and she'll come home."
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The Queen hurried to the ship repair hanger with and entourage of servants struggling to catch up. They were halfway between the palace and the hanger when they heard the unmistakable sound of the building's roof sliding open. Their guests' ship shot into the air and up into the atmosphere. She looked for any Rattepian ships in pursuit, but the sky was otherwise empty.
"Why aren't they going after them?!" Queen Cysamthetip hollered.
And attendant appeared before her, breathless from running. "Our ships have all been sabotaged!" he cried out.
The Queen could think of no other action to take upon hearing this. She fumed to herself until the escaping ship disappeared from her sight. She whirled around and marched back towards the castle. Passing through the massive doors, she spotted Dreob sitting on a bench in the hall.
"It's not like she wanted to marry him anyway," her other daughter muttered.
Cysamthetip stopped. She closed her eyes and breathed in deep, before opening her angry gaze and setting it on her daughter. "Being royalty isn't about what you want," she said coolly. "If you are going to be like Tradvenuer, you are welcome to desert us like she did."
"Sister didn't desert us."
"Dreob… As far as I am concerned, you don't have a sister," the Queen stated and ventured into the castle to find her husband and break his heart.
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Let me tell you, Tradvenuer's mom originally wasn't going to be so mean, but, uh, that's how the plot evolved. This chapter annoys me because it's so long, and it required me to fill in a LOT of plot holes. I hope it doesn't suck.