Author's note: Thanks to those who reviewed/favorited/followed.
If there are any Star wars fans here peeking and waiting for an update: I'm still writing on my next chapter of my SW fic To have a heart.
Don't worry. I haven't abandoned it.
Enjoy!
"My oh my!" Chichi exclaimed as the palms of her hands went to her cheeks in shock.
It had been a week since the crash had happened.
One whole worrisome week that had passed without their guest entering consciousness.
Tears of joy sprang to Chichi's eyes. The last thing the Saiyan prince had expected to see, causing the usual scowl on his face to break and earning from him another stunned expression.
"Howdoyoufeel?Areyouhungry?Doyouhaveaname?MineisChichi!Pleaseletmeknowifyouneedanyhelp!" Chichi quickly said and Vegeta stared in awe, wondering how the woman had managed not to lose her breath when she had been speaking so fast.
But soon the awe and wonder left, replaced by great annoyance. The Saiyan prince then attempted to push himself up, ready to blast the earthling woman and the dwelling he was in into smithereens and try to find his way somehow back to one of Frieza's headquarters.
But then nothing.
Nothing happened.
He didn't move. Couldn't. Not even an inch.
Vegeta's jaw dropped in horror.
"W-why can't I move?" He barked and frantically demanded princess Chichi harshly.
Chichi jumped a bit at the unexpected cruel tone. Then her face swiftly shown her sadness.
"C-Can't move?" She asked worriedly.
"Yes! I said can't move! Are you deaf, woman?! Or just plain dumb?" Vegeta screeched, glaring daggers at her. "Answer me now! What did you do to me?!"
Chichi's expression turned stunned, clearly wounded by his words and cruel behavior, but a few seconds later her face quickly changed.
Red ki rapidly shot out around her, stunning the prince.
Chichi's kind eyes turned cold and the loose strands of her hair that had escaped her bun waved in the breeze that her red ki brought forth.
"WHAT DID I DO TO YOU? HOW DARE YOU IMPLY SUCH A THING! AND DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK TO ME THAT WAY! ESPECIALLY IN MY OWN HOME AND AFTER ALL WE DID FOR YOU! In the last week do you know who's been emptying your bedpan? MY FATHER! And I was the one to give you water and food! I FED YOU SOLIDS AND BROTH WITH A SPOON, YOU UNGRATEFUL SWINE! BROTH I MADE BY MYSELF! VEGETABLES FROM OUR GARDENS! CHICKENS FROM OUR COOPS! ALL BY SCRATCH!"
From the second he witnessed her ki, Vegeta had looked at her with a dropped jaw. He hadn't realized he had stopped breathing until she had finished speaking.
He found himself almost unable to look away from the beauty of her fierceness.
Chichi's demeanor changed to sadness and her ki disappeared.
"Now, as for you not being able to move, I haven't the clue as to why..."
Vegeta swallowed hard. His mind raced for an answer of what could of caused this.
I don't remember my spine being hit or my nec-wait!..
"Woman, tell me now! When my stab wound was cleaned was there some type of blue goo oozing from it?!"
"Blue goo?" Chichi questioned in confusion. She pondered the question for a few seconds, attempting to recall when all of the sudden a flash of a memory of her cleaning his stab wound came to mind: Yes, there had been some blue goo, just barely a hint of it on the cloth that she had used to clean his wound.
"Yes! Yes there was!" She exclaimed. " Just a little. I..I was bothered at first by it, wondering what it was when I saw it, but I got distracted and forgot about what I saw..."
"Forgot?!" Vegeta seethed.
Chichi gritted her teeth at his rudeness.
"Do you know what you looked like a week ago, Mr. whatever your name is?" She demanded coolly. "Right after I dragged you out of your ship that exploded you had burns and wounds all over! You had glass embedded in your skin that our nurses had to pluck out like they were plucking feathers from a bird! When I was cleaning your stab wound that's when you conveniently started screeching in pain!
So don't give me that attitude, Mister! I'm more caring and compassionate than you realize. If I forgot something like seeing a tiny bit of blue gunk while cleaning your injury then something pretty big had to have happened to cause that."
Vegeta gritted his teeth at her words. Mentally he swore at her fiercely. He turned his head away from her with an angry grunt, turning into his mind as to what he should do next.
Chichi's hands went to her hips.
"Care to explain about the blue goo? Or did your mother teach you no manners?"
Vegeta's eyes flashed cold.
His head snapped towards her and he glared at her with such hatred that the sight made her feel as if icy water had just been dumped on her head.
"The blue goo means I'll be likely paralyzed from below the neck until two to six weeks or four months, if I'm lucky." He snapped sarcastically.
"The gloo is from a certain flower that I'm sure in your primitive life you've never heard of and once its eaten or enters the bloodstream it paralyzes you after an hour has past. I know about it because it was a flower on my planet, used to inject in prisoners before torturing them. I saw my father order it administered to many before he had them ordered to be tormented.
The cretin on the planet I just left who stabbed me with his sword must of dosed his blade with it's substance that's clear but changes it's color to a dark shade of blue when it leaves the body.
... And as for my mother, Queen Serori died shortly after giving birth to me. Safe to say she never got the chance to teach me the manners of my people, much less your inferior earthling ones."
The immediate pain expressed on the woman's face at what he had said about his mother's passing was as satisfyingly as drinking cool water after a long day of battle for the Saiyan prince.
He smirked and shut his eyes and then chuckled to himself.
"Oh, come now. You're aren't feeling bad for me now, are you? Going to cry?"
His mocking tone felt like a hard slap to her face.
"You ..." And then returned the red aura of Ki around Chichi, halting the Saiyan's laughter immediately.
"Your ki..You must be a warrior of some kind, servant woman?"
The scowl on Chichi washed away along with the scarlet Ki around her.
"S-S-ervant woman?" She asked in confusion, brows coming together.
"That's what you are aren't you? A hired worker? You ranted on about how you and that father of yours have served me. You both must work for whoever owns this place."
Now she understood what he meant by calling her that.
"Oh, you're mistaken. My father is king of this place and land. I'm a princess." She solemnly corrected him. "I'm princess Chichi."
Vegeta's confident smirk fell.
"I know what you're thinking." She murmured before he could have a chance to speak. "Why then would my father and I do such things when we have servants who can? Honestly? We like taking care of our guests. We consider it an honor."
Waste of time if you ask me. Vegeta mentally scoffed. And a complete embarrassment to have a kingdom where it's King and his royal daughter do the tasks of hired workers. Pathetic.
"And about me being a warrior... I was. But I quit. Exactly a week ago to be precise."
A loud growl erupted just then from Vegeta's stomach, startling the two and interrupting the conversation.
Vegeta cringed in pain, feeling the uncomfortable feeling of his stomach rumbling while the desire for food sprang to life in him.
Chichi attempted to stifle an affectionate giggle but failed miserably, earning her a scowl from Vegeta.
"I'll be right back, Mr nameless Prince." She smiled at him as she began to leave the room. "I'll get you some of that food that I just made and have some of the medical staff check in on you again, now that you're awake."
.
.
.
Chichi generously ladled out of the giant boiling cooking pot the soup that she had made. She avoided giving the nameless guest any meats and vegetables and poured into his bowl just the broth and some of the noodles.
The massive pot that hanged over the equally enormous fire in the kitchen was about nine feet tall, large and deep enough to make dishes that would fill her large father and all the hired servants and also including herself.
Carefully she descended from the ladder she had stood on, holding tightly on to the large yellow bowl she held with both hands.
The princess's mind wandered to the grouchy man she was preparing a meal for.
For someone so handsome, he sure is rude! She mentally huffed.
But... maybe he's like that for a reason? She considered softly.
Maybe some bad things happened to him and that's why he's like that? That's what daddy has said makes some men so cruel.
"Sometimes Hurt people, hurt people, daughter." Chichi could hear her father's words repeat in her mind.
"Maybe..." She muttered to herself as she stepped off the last step of the ladder.
"Your Highness." A voice behind her spoke devoutly.
Chichi carefully turned and there was the short grey-haired elderly maid she had sent off to check about the whereabouts of her father.
"Oh, good! You're back. Have you found my father the Ox king?"
"Yes, Princess. He is asleep in his private chambers. Shall I wake him?"
Chichi considered. Dad's been working an awful lot lately.
"No, let him sleep." She politely replied to the maid with a smile. "Just tell him our guest is awake once he's up, please. Will you?"
"I will, Princess. Of course." The maid replied with a curtsy.
.
.
.
Vegeta stared out at the clouds that passed, through the only window in the room. He was deep in thought. He had finally time alone to think about things, now that the stupid medical servants had left.
the image of the earthling princess's ferocious gaze as the glow of her red ki reflected in her brown orbs entered his mind, bewitching him momentarily. Much to his displeasure and embarrassment.
A deep color of red flashed across the bridge of his nose and cheeks for a second.
No! I can't be a fool I need to forget her!
Nows not the time to be daydreaming of females. I need to try to remember if there's a way to prematurely release me from this stupid condition I'm in! There has to be a way!
Think! Try to recall. Did father ever mention anything about an antidote?
.
.
.
Walking slowly, careful not to spill anything Chichi entered the room carrying a tray with the meal she had prepared for vegeta.
A bowl of the broth and noodles she had made was set on the tray, along with a cup of mixed fruit. A glass of water with a straw she had also provided and finally a few slices of toast.
"Now, here we are." Smiled Chichi as she entered Vegeta's room. "I wanted to keep your meal sort of light cause I don't know if you can handle real solids just yet, with all the meds the staff gave you while you were out cold. Some might have caused you some nausea."
"Woman, I feel nothing of the sort." He murmured gruffly as she set his tray down beside the bedside table.
"That's good news." She answered him cheerfully. "Let's just play it safe for now though with your first conscious meal and see how well you do."
She pulled a chair close by him, readying herself to feed him.
"So, where would you like to start with first? Would you like to try some toast or-?"
"That soup that you made." He quickly interrupted, feeling his stomach gurgling as the aroma of the broth swept underneath his nose. Saliva pooled in his mouth.
He swallowed hard, staring at the ceiling. He was now ravenous.
Chichi smiled at the sound of desperate hunger in his voice. Having an appetite was a good sign.
She turned to her right and carefully grabbed the bowl of soup and a spoon off of the tray and then dipped the spoon in. She scooped out a good portion of the yellow broth and noodles and blew on it for a few seconds before reaching over to feed the prince.
"Careful, it's hot!" She warmly warned before bringing the steaming spoon to his lips.
Vegeta's mouth widely opened to receive the nourishment and his eyes grew large in delight when the delicious broth hit his tongue.
Quickly he slurped up the food, emptying the spoon and gulping loudly.
Remarkable. He hadn't had good food like that in years. It had to have been before Frieza had killed his father and destroyed their planet. Leaving him and the rest of the surviving Saiyans such as Nappa to live mostly off the slop Frieza fed them.
"More!" Vegeta desperately demanded of her.