Forsaken Freedom

Chapter 2

When she woke, the first thing Kay felt was the cold chain around her limbs. Shit, what the hell is this? I escaped weeks ago, there's no way in hell he coulda tracked me down that fast! The Wolfen pulled at the restraints stubbornly in attempt to pull free. No such luck.

As her eyes opened, Kay took in the situation while recent events came back to her. Saiyajin. Whatthefuckyouhavegottabekiddingme! Her struggles became more frantic.

Waking up and not knowing where the hell she was? Never surprising. Waking up and not knowing how the hell she got there? Never had it any other way. Waking up and not knowing who the fuck was staring down at her? Never happened.

And so, it was the first thing that needed to get straightened out.

"Who the fuck are you?"

The black haired saiyajin's expression turned dark. A sharp, stinging pain across her cheek as her vision misted informed Kay that he had slapped her.

Damn he was fast. And strong. And very used to slapping people…..

Through the haze, Kay could see him puff out his chest. "I am Prince Vegeta of the Saiyajin, and you will address me as such." His haughty voice rang out through the room, echoing in Kay's sensitive ears.

She couldn't suppress a groan. "Great, another fucker who thinks he is everything in everyone else's mind. You know, you shou-" Kay was cut off as the Prince backhanded her, head hitting the wall sharply. Darkness blossomed in her mind.

He was very used to doing this sort of thing.

"That's Sir, Prince, Lord, Your Highness or Master to you girl!" He snarled, wrenching his sharp voice into her throbbing head. It occurred to Vegeta that he didn't even know how old this Wolfen really was.

Due to her lax attitude, and the look of pure loathing when he had said 'master', it was pretty safe to assume that she had been through this before. Might explain some of the scars.

When no witty retort was forthcoming, Vegeta decided to get a few things over with and out of the way.

A needle gun appeared in Kay's line of vision.

She shied, pressing her back into the wall desperately to get more space between that….thing….and her unprotected neck.

Vegeta noted this immediately. This would be to his advantage. "I see you don't like needles."

Kay opened her mouth to protest, but thought better of it. He was the one with the needle en hand.

"It contains a truth serum, one of the most lethal in the universe. If you talk willingly and truthfully, I won't have to use it." Vegeta observed that this seemed to take some of the pressure off the Wolfen girl, but her eyes were still glued on the syringe gun.

Kay scowled, but sagged forward against the chains. "What is it you want from me, Saiyan?" She asked bluntly, sourly agreeing to his deal.

The Prince frowned at her disregard of formalities, but let it slide. "Questions. Nothing more." For some reason, the girl seemed highly suspicious but relived at the same time.

"I probably don't have much information that you could use, but whatever. Start askin' 'em." Kay sighed with exasperation, and was only mildly surprised when she didn't receive another blow to her already sore cheek. Her attitude wore everyone down pretty quick.

"The first few should be easy. Number one: Name?" Vegeta sat back on the bed, crossing his legs. Not once did his eyes leave the Wolfen.

The answer was short and curt. "Kay. Next?"

Something was out of place. Either she was lying, or hadn't told him her full name. "Your full, official name, Wolfen."

It seemed to agitate her to no end, giving her full name to him. Must mean something. "Kaylakic Lythiumi."

A very long and meaningful name indeed. Since he wasn't familiar in how to translate Wolfen names, he was going to ask for an explanation. Kay just knew it.

"And what does it mean, Lythiumi?" Vegeta asked as if on cue.

Next thing he knew two of the fifteen or so chain holding Kay back had snapped as she lunged at him. Her arms flailed, claws anxious to get at the Saiyajin Prince. This reaction stunned him.

"Don't.Ever.Call.Me.That.Again." She managed to spit out through clenched teeth. From the stupefied look on his face, she was going to have to explain it.

"My first name is used by people. My last name is used by slave masters. 'Lyth' roughly translates into 'forever', or 'for eternity'. 'Iumi' becomes 'mine', in a possession tense. Like when using it on an object, or something that is 'yours by purchase'. 'Kay' is 'rebellious', or 'fiery spirited' and is bluntly 'stubborn'. 'Lakic' means 'tainted', 'dirty', or in my case, 'scarred both emotionally and physically'.

A wicked smile crossed Kay's lips at Vegeta's horrified expression. "So literally, if you were to call me by my full name, you would be referring to 'My rebellious slave which I have scarred deeply and will never escape'."

The girl's harsh laugh was mocking. No wonder she had freaked when he had called her 'My slave forever'!

Vegeta hid his embarrassment behind amusement. "Who named you?"

Amazingly, it did not provoke another attempt to get at his throat. "My master gave me my last name in place of my family, and I was given the first by my mother as she died." There was no emotion in her voice as this came up.

The Prince cleared his throat. At least the first name was accurate. "I will assume that you are indeed a Wolfen." He started, moving away from the topic. "Your age?"

"14."

Somehow this astonished her captor. Kay watched him blanch. "Fourteen, and you were already on the front lines? Do all children your age go to war?" She had expected the first outburst, but not the second.

"Next year I would have been an adult, if I wasn't a slave. Wolfen are considered mature at around 15." She told him evenly, watching as the cool Prince stuttered.

Too much info in that last statement. So, she is really a slave after all. No wonder she didn't seem to upset by the chains. Vegeta composed himself, studying the Wolfen before him for more questions. Ah. He knew what the next topic would be.

"And your ears?"

"What about them? They are my ears."

A sighed escaped the Prince. "Are all Wolfen ears maroon colored? Are they sensitive, as Saiyajin tails are? Why did some of the fighting Wolfen have cuff rings on the lower lip of their ear? Why only one ear? Why do you have those white, scribble-like lines on your right ear where the cuffs may have been?"

Kay took a second to memorize the order of the questions before chuckling lightly. "Ever curious, eh Prince? Well, let me see here."

A deep breath was taken.

"Yes, although most are more brownish than reddish. Extremely, even more so. Ring cuffs can provoke certain emotions. Tribal customs dictate which ear. I used to have a ring cuff before I tore it out."

Clearly, this was a more intricate subject that just jewelry. "If your ears are so sensitive, then why do you pierce them? What emotions do they cause? What exactly dictates which ear? Why did you have a ring cuff and why the hell did you 'tear' it out?"

Vegeta was disturbed by the thought of putting holes in his tail. He couldn't see why Wolfen would do something as craze as that, especially their ears were even more sensitive.

Kay sighed deeply, shifting the chains so she was slightly more comfortable. "May as well just describe everything to you to save you the trouble of asking."

"First of all, our ears are highly sensitive with coming into contact with certain metals. Each pure metal provokes a certain trait and emotion. Gold calms you and brings out obedience. Silver is very painful, and often provokes screams. Copper makes you lustful and sexually active. Titanium brings out rage and brings up you ferocity and physical strength. There are a few others, but they aren't as common."

It made sense. Vegeta was nodding to himself without realizing it. Some Wolfen had Titanium ear cuffs to make them stronger. He glanced back at Kay and motioned for her to continue.

"When you have your ear pierced, it always leaves a different white pattern depending on the metal. Some Wolfen pierce their ears out of honor. To see a person with a jagged white line on their left ear shows that they were mentally and physically strong enough to get a Titanium ring cuff to fight and defend their home planet. Most cuffs are removable, and only worn during an actual battle for safety. Others are permanent, and cam only be removed by being literally ripped out."

"More about that later. Left or right ear is a huge difference. Left ear signifies that you made the decision yourself and had it done as an act of great meaning. Right ear is entirely different. Only slaves have ring cuffs on their right ear. Masters decide what kind of slave you will be, and cuff you accordingly. Gold goes on house slaves for work, copper goes on sex slaves and silver goes on slaves who simply get beaten half to death every other day. Silver is most common, and leaves the mess of white lines as its 'scar' that you see on my ear."

"Even though our ears are very sensitive, they heal very quickly and very almost flawlessly. Needless to say, salve cuffs were permanent. When I escaped, I had to pull out my cuff to stop them from tracking me down with a metal detector. I was unconscious for a few days, couldn't move around coherently for a few weeks, but my ear healed cleanly but for the white fur."

The Prince leaned back, digesting the information he had been given. Wolfen were barbaric, even compared to saiyajin standards. He watched Kay from the corner of his eye. She seemed to be lost in a memory.

A sharp knock at the door brought them both to the present with a snap.

"Prince Vegeta, open up. You really need to hear this!"