Okay, the next chapter. Sorry, but Videl will not show up in this chapter, but she will in the next, I promise.

Thanks for the reviews from the last chapter and keep on writing them.

Oh, I;m gonna stop mentioning the inspirationsongs. I have no more inspiration to come up with another, at least not for this chapter.

One more thing, Im going on a schooltrip next week, so I dont know if i can write another chapter before monday, though I already began writing the next chapter.

The palace never ceased to amaze Gohan. It was truly magnificent, unlike anything a man can see in his entire life.

After entering the palace, the company stepped into a huge marble hall. It had a high ceiling and was decorated with arches, paintings, mirrors and statues. The room was very shiny, with the marble, gold, mirrors and glass glistering by the light of the crystal chandeliers, hanging high above the ground.

Several statues were placed in the hall, every statue a few feet away from the other. Gohan saw a sculpture of the previous king, king Vegeta VIII, who ordered everyone to honor Gohan's grandfather before he died. The statue had a solemn posture, standing with a straight back and legs, leaning on a scepter. His features were folded in a stern and proud expression. He wore his royal garments, so the crown on his head, the cloak around his shoulders and the complex armor betrayed.

Now standing in the middle of the hall, Gohan saw the huge staircase that led to the second floor. It had many steps, which Gohan once counted when he was in his teens. If he had counted correctly, there were 203 steps, excluding the last, which, technically, was the ground of the second floor.

On the stairs lay a thick navy-blue carpet, with brown and gold figures decorating it.

Gohan saw that nearly 20 staff members where standing at the foot of the stairs. They were all slaves, transported from other worlds. Some looked a little different from them, with a blue skin, or were horned or had other eyes, but most were earthlings, who looked almost exactly like Saiyans, except for the absence of a tail and other minor differences.

The reason that most of the slaves came from earth was because they had no special talent that could contribute anything to the empire. They did not excel at anything. They were not strong (they were actually rather weak), they weren't scientists, they weren't architects, they weren't merchants, they weren't mathematics, they couldn't predict the future, they weren't craftsmen in any profession. They simply hadn't had special abilities, qualities or powers. Not that there didn't exist an earthling that was brilliant in math, or could compete with other merchants, but there were simply to few. So they were used as servants, doing the chores Saiyans like to do least, like washing, cooking and cleaning.

The slaves bowed their heads obediently as they gestured to follow them.

"They will lead you to your room, I am sure you'd like to rest now, from your exhausting journey. Ask them whatever you want and they'll bring it to you. Tonight I will dine with you at eight and you'll meet the royal family."

The king all stated that rather quickly. He clearly was uninterested.

"You may all go now, accept for general Gohan".

The other men bowed their heads and were all led upstairs leaving the king and Gohan alone. When Vegeta was sure that no-one could see nor hear them he walked over to Gohan and lay a hand on his shoulder. He squeezed it firmly. His expression was serious.

"Thank you, Gohan." He said while nodding reassuringly. All Gohan could do was nod back.

Vegeta let go of Gohan and started to walk through the hall, gesturing Gohan to follow. Gohan followed suit and soon found himself walking next to the king.

"You really did marvelous, I thought that war would never end." The king continued.

"I thank you, milord. I'm the first to admit that it wasn't easy, but I am proud my men pulled it off." Gohan answered.

The king remained silent for a couple of seconds, before replying.

"You should be proud of yourself too, you are the one who brought the victory".

Gohan bowed his head in modesty. "I was not the only man on that battlefield."

Vegeta smirked for a moment. "I've experienced enough times that one man can decide the difference between victory and loss. Look at your father and grandfather. And besides, what is an army without a strong leader?"

"Milord, you're giving me too much credit." Gohan said smiling, but feeling very pleased by hearing those words from the king, of all persons.

They had now reached a room with a wooden door. Gohan saw that figures were carved in the wood. There was an Oozaroo, and a tree and a few animals and other figures Gohan didn't recognize.

Vegeta opened the door and they both entered the room. It appeared to be a study. There was an ornamented desk with papers and books and valuable items, a few bookcases full of books, a sitting corner and a fireplace. The walls were full of paintings of heroes and deceased kings and there were rare artifacts. Vegeta pressed some sort of button on his desk before he walked to the large red chair near the fireplace. Gohan followed him and sat down on the dark green sofa left from the chair.

Vegeta seemed to study him for a few seconds when the door of the room opened. A maid with an almost glowing white skin, chocolate brown hair and eyes the lightest shade of blue, came in. She was long and slender, definitely from earth. She brought in a small cart with drinks and snacks. She rolled the cart next to Vegeta's chair and bowed before she exited the room, closing the door again and leaving the king and the general alone again.

The first decided to speak.

"Gohan, may I commend you. You've gained many victories and you have become an honorable man and still you remain modest, unlike your predecessor."

Gohan smiled a little. "You know how my mother is."

"Yes, I do. If you ever show what she considers to be improper behavior, she'll hit your brains out with that frying pan of hers." Vegeta chuckled.

"I'm surprised she hasn't given the queen her own frying pan."

"Oh, she has, more than once, they just…disappear after a few days."

"What a coincidence."

"Definitely a coincidence. I really have no idea where they could be."

Vegeta smirked at Gohan, who smirked back.

"How is my mother?" Gohan asked.

"I believe she's fine, though I haven't seen her in a while. I've sent your father to the planet of Qorron. The economy is stagnating and the money we sent seems to be spent on rebuilding their royal palace, instead of their infrastructure or rebuilding houses. Your father will solve this matter. Your mother went with him."

Vegeta filled two glasses with a strange blue liquid and gave one to Gohan. Gohan looked a the king questioningly.

"What is it?" He asked.

"I have no idea, but it wouldn't hurt if you tried it, would it?" The other replied.

They both took a nip. It tasted sweet and it was very refreshing.

"Your father is very proud of you." The king said after a while.

Gohan smiled at the thought of his father. "I know. I wish he was here."

"If I knew you would come back from Tasshik so soon, I wouldn't have sent him to Qorron."

"I understand. When he comes back, I will throw him a ball at Crystler Castle. You and your family are invited too. You'll greatly honor me with your presence there."

"And I accept that invitation. It's been a long time since we had a good party."

"Well, I am positive my father will make it a night to remember."

"Yes, I wouldn't want to miss it. Especially if your father will drink a whole bottle of Oronian ale again."

"And then 'dance the night away', as he calls it."

"When is someone going to tell him he'd better not 'dance the night away'?"

"When someone has the courage to come close to him when he 'dances the night away'. With his mowing arms he'll break someone's neck."

"That's true. What a colorful man he is."

"Indeed."

The king smiled a little, which soon faded when he thought of what he would say next.

"Though I enjoy conversing with you about these insignificant subjects, I have called you to discuss something of a entirely different nature." The king now said seriously.

Gohan watched the kings mood fell down to seriousness, instead of the merry mood he was in just seconds ago. He decided to remain quiet and let the king finish.

"Not too long ago, I received a message which, I must admit, distressed me greatly." The king continued, while he shifted in his chair.

"Do you remember a certain Ferdiad?" He asked now with a cocked eyebrow.

Gohan thought for a while. The name was familiar, he knew he heard it somewhere, but where? Fedriad, Ferdiad, who was Ferdiad?

"Perhaps you were too young to remember." The king now answered for him, after seeing how Gohan tried so hard to remember the name. "I shall answer it for you."

Vegeta rose from his chair and walked towards the fireplace, and he watched the flames absently, while he thought of Ferdiad and why his name was in that message he received.

And he started his story.

"Almost thirty years ago, when my father was still king of the empire, somewhere on Vegeta a child was born. Now, you won't think that the birth of a child is something special, but this one was. You see, a very unusual thing had happened. The child was a half-blood, half Saiyan, half human."

The king paused shortly, to give Gohan some time to think of it. When the latter heard the last sentence, he was shocked greatly. A Saiyan and a human, having a child together? That was unheard of. How could that have happened?

Upon seeing Gohan shocked expression, the king continued.

"Yes, apparently something like that can happen. Scientists later studied the genes of Saiyans and humans and came to the conclusion that 99,4 percent of our genes match, which makes it possible for Saiyans and humans to bear children."

"But still, Saiyans cannot bear children unless he and his mate have gone through the bonding process." Gohan said, still not believing that a Saiyan and a human could bear offspring.

"They were bonded."

Gohan's shocked expression turned into a horrified. Bonded with a human? The idea only was preposterous, ridiculous, disgusting. How could a Saiyan bond with a weak creature such as a human? It couldn't be possible. It was scandalous.

"I do not know how anyone possessed the madness which made him bond himself with a human, but the truth remains: a child, neither completely Saiyan, nor completely human was born on the night when Vega shone its bright light in the sky almost three decades ago."

"Who was the Saiyan?"

"The commander of the Royal fleet. He mated and bonded with a slave of his."

After hearing the kings words, Gohan shook his head in disbelief. How could a man be so stupid to give up everything he worked for, a high position, status, respect, glory, for a human, one of a people of slaves, the lowest creatures in the hierarchy of the Saiyan society.

"Ironically enough, the child did have a tail." The king continued, while he walked to the cart to pour some tea. He looked at Gohan, asking him with a nod if he also wanted tea. When Gohan answer was negative, he continued.

"Can you imagine the faces of the human midwives when they delivered the baby?

Immediately after the birth they called the Saiyan guards, since they thought the child was an offspring of one of them. When they denied to have bonded and mated with a human, they called their master, which was, of course, the commander and the father of the child. When the guards threatened to kill the human slave and the child if she didn't tell who the father was, the commander killed two guards in his anger for threatening his mate. So they immediately knew who the father was. The remaining guards tried to capture him, but the commander killed them all, before he took his mate and his child and flew out of his mansion and escaped. After a few days, however, the commander was discovered here in Tauvega, while he was carrying a boarding pass of the next spaceship to the planet Naemron, of the neighboring empire. Of course we searched the entire ship, but the slave and her child were not found. We don't konw how, but they escaped, and the commander did not."

The king sat down on his chair again, this time with a cup of tea in his hands. Gohan had listened to the story feeling nothing but shock. He could hardly believe a Saiyan killed fellow Saiyans for threatening his slave, even of it was his mate.

"What happened to the commander?" Gohan eventually asked, while Vegeta was about to take a nip of his tea.

"He was sentenced to death." The king answered indifferently. "But I didn't tell you this story without purpose. I told you this because the child that was born, the half Saiyan, is, in fact, Ferdiad. Do you remember now?

Something began to dawn upon Gohan. Yes, of course, now he knew. He remembered his mother warning him never to look upon a female human like he looked upon female Saiyans. "Or you will end up having a child like Ferdiad." She used to say. She never told him who Ferdiad was but he figured quickly enough that it was the result of Saiyan's and human's mating.

Without waiting for an answer, the king rose from his chair again and walked to his desk, with the cup still in his hands. He put down the cup and got something from his desk.

"Three days ago I got a message from planet Alderyn. And the content…well, read it for yourself."

The king handed Gohan a small note and Gohan began to read it. It read this:

Send this message to your king: Alderyn is taken over by real warriors. If you do not come and face me, we will conquer and conquer until there is nothing left to conquer in your Saiyan empire. One way or another, I will avenge my father and the horrors your bloodline have committed against so many people, whether it is by taking your empire, or your life. Decide, for I shall not stop until the once glorious empire of the Saiyans will fall apart and it is rid of the injustice, malice and cruelty, features which you and your followers so evidently possess.

Your hald-blood enemy,

Ferdiad

Gohan read the note twice, before he gave it back to the king, who looked at the general's reaction.

"How did he conquer Alderyn?" Gohan asked with cocked eyebrows.

"I do not know. I have no idea how he could gather so much men that he could conquer Alderyn, a planet which has more than enough means to protect itself from such attacks."

The men remained silent for a while, thinking about the strange thing that had occurred on one of the most well-protected planets in the empire. They both knew the significance of the planet, because of it's convenient position, it's natural resources and because it had one of the largest trade cities in the empire. It was very important for the economy and they had to get it back.

"What would you have me do, milord?" Gohan eventually asked when he realized why he was called by the king.

The king scratched his forehead before replying.

"I want you to conquer it again." He simply said.

"Milord, the men have just returned." Gohan carefully began, since it wasn't wise to disagree with the king. "They need a few days off, to heal physically and mentally."

Gohan truly believed that taking the promised free time away from the men would seriously harm the moral, which was crucial in a battle.

The king was less inclined to believe that. He sighed and looked at Gohan irritated.

"Gohan, the empire will suffer if Alderyn isn't taken back immediately. We have no choice."

"But, milord, the empire will suffer more if another army is lost. We don't even know how strong they are, how many men have joined Ferdiad."

"General. You WILL set out for Alderyn. Tomorrow." The king ordered sternly.

Gohan closed his eyes in defeat. Tomorrow…how could the men be ready tomorrow? He just hoped this was just a normal rebellion and that they were seriously weakened by their attack on the Alderyn.

The king sat down in his chair, watching Gohan intently again.

"Come, come Gohan. It's not that I send you to your grave. How dangerous can a half-Saiyan be?"

He did have a point there. How can a half-Saiyan be as strong as a Saiyan, if he has human genes. But it didn't comfort Gohan at all.

A silence fell, which the king used to taste some of the exotic snacks. Some were surprisingly good, though they looked strange.

Suddenly the king remembered something and he decided this was the time to say it.

"Gohan, how old are you now?"

Gohan was surprised by the question. He didn't see that one coming. Hadn't they just been talking about a serious rebellion?

"I will turn 27 this winter." He replied.

The king nodded and seemed to think before he replied.

"Wouldn't it be time that you choose a mate?"

This drew Gohan's attention.

"You're well over the age of mating and I know more than a few female Saiyans who would kill for a man like you." Vegeta continued. "And an offspring wouldn't be bad for your image."

"My king, you are not the first to say I should pick a mate." Gohan said, still bitter from the result of their disagreement, while staring at the fire in the fireplace. "And it's not that I am not ready, I just haven't found the right person yet."

"Have you tried it before?"

"Yes, I have. I've even mated a few women, but I just couldn't complete the bond. I couldn't mark them. It didn't feel right. They marked me, though. Fortunately the mark disappears when someone doesn't mark them back."

Vegeta used the next silence to conveniently change the subject.

"You know, my daughter is in town." He stated, hoping that Gohan would catch the hint.

Gohan almost, almost, cocked an eyebrow.

"She is?" Gohan asked as politely as possible. "What brings her back here, I thought she hated court."

"She came for you. When she heard about your victory, she decided to come here as quickly as possible. She wants to see you."

Gohan again almost cocked an eyebrow. He didn't know what to say. The princess was a beautiful girl but that was about it. Maybe she liked him, but that would be one-sided for sure. He carefully chose his words before answering, not wanting to insult the king.

"Then I guess the princess and I shall meet each other tonight."

Vegeta, who honestly thought that Gohan was oblivious for his hints and would never react this nonchalantly when he had caught the hints, nodded.

After that, Gohan asked permission to leave and retreat to his room until dinner and then left quickly, not comfortable when the princess was the subject, but mostly worried about the next day. He would set out so soon. That had never happened before.

But when Gohan was already walking through the marble halls, he realized that he could bump into the princess any time if he was in the castle, which was exactly what he didn't wanted. Desperate, he decided to straw through the city, at least till six o' clock. Between six and eight, she would probably dress herself for dinner, which meant that he couldn't bump into her then. And so he walked through the huge gate of the castle for the second time this day, only now from the other side, and he let himself be warmed and caressed by the weaker growing daylight of the afternoon sun.

R&R please, and don't spare me.

Next chapter will be up, I think before monday