"Princess Bura, your father asks of you to join him in the Main Hall."
Her thin, painted lips curl into a smile. The Princess would always remember the day, the day she heard of Zukin's fall. One of her guards told her the news. The Boy killed him, stole his maps and food. Then assassinated four of his comrades. He caused so many plans to fail and set back their progress to capture and sell planet Terra. A place wanted by rich aliens for its many resources and advanced technology.
To the Earthlings he was a true hero, saving them from enslavement and death, hiding them and helping them to escape the planet. Millions perished since the Saiyajin attacked the planet. To the Saiyajin he was a pest, an insect and he needed to be either eliminated or captured as soon as possible. Fourteen times they tried to get him, thirteen times they failed. The warriors who attempted to, ended up either severely beaten and broken or even dead.
Bura strokes her chin with the silky, light blue gloves she wears over her dainty hands. It's such an interesting time, the Saiyajin Empire expands quickly and gathers more riches and territories for itself. King Vegita wanted to start his expansion with Tsufuru, a planet within the same solar system. The Tsufuru had it all, they were a highly intelligent race with advanced technology and resources on their planet. Technology and resources the King needed to follow his final conquest, to control all of North Galaxy. The Royal Court of Advisors and Generals spent several cycles coming up with a plan to take over the planet, they had the army taking over smaller, less civilized planets first until a halfbreed soldier gave them the solution.
It was said that a lower-class warrior named Kakarot had a child with an Ossian woman who worked in the Undermoon Wing for Saiyajin children and babies. She managed to hide the child from its father for years within the army base and named him Gohan. When his father discovered his existence, he renamed him Yuacon and forced the boy into the army at an early age where he was often beaten and mistreated for being a halfling. During his time in the army, he became stronger and gained respect from his superiors. He was a talented fighter in the fields but an even better scientist and strategist, it caught the attention of the head of the Royal Army. Wherever Yuacon went, the army conquered within mere days. When offered an audience with the King and his Court he proposed the plan to attack the planet with their Oozaru form using a fake moon since Planet Tsufuru did not have a moon. He explained to the kind and his court how easily he could form a light beacon with ki that resembled their moon from afar. It had the exact same effect as a full moon on Vegita would. That ki would be shining for up to four days, giving all soldiers enough time to complete their missions as Oozaru.
And so they launched a brutal invasion using their newfound strategy. They crushed most of the planet and forced the royal families to hand over everything. Those who opposed were met with force. On what is now named 'The Last Gathering' the most powerful families got together to discuss the fate of their planet. Some Royal Tsufuru families refused to yield. They wanted to stand up and fight.. and so the Saiyajins committed mass genocide. Planet Tsufuru was reduced to ash and dust within one month.
Only a few thousand of them survived.
They were shipped over to Vegita and the Royal families quickly abandoned their people and offered their daughters to Saiyajin elite for cozy lives within the upper circles of Saiyajin society. As did Buras grandparents with their daughter Princess Buruma, now Queen of planet Vegita.. Yuacon was rewarded by king Vegita with a Royal Exemption, meaning his mother would be freed and his family and his lineage would be protected from the rules and social hierarchy on Vegita, they were specifically selected for the king's family to guard and serve them. King Vegita made a new law, especially for him and allowed him to keep his birth name; Gohan, as he requested. Within a cycle, planet Vegita gained all they needed to go out and conquer whatever and whomever, selling and buying any millions, destroying everything on their path leaving wives as widows and children as orphans.
Leading up to the moment when they attacked Terra for the first time..
..and so the moment when they finally captured the Nine Dragonflies.
Thinking about the war that allowed her into existence Bura contemplates; how could the Saiyajin have taken Tsufuru in such a short time and this one planet where the native inhabitants were supposedly as weak as stone, gave them so much trouble. The Princess slowly pushes a lock of lavender hair behind her ear as she follows the messenger to the main hall. Finally, she's going to meet the Group she heard of in the many tales her servants told her. Stories, true or not, were rumored by maids and guards around the palace that the rebels gathered an army that dwarfed theirs. They would come to Planet Vegita to murder the Royal Family and free their people. He and his comrades became legends, known as The Nine Dragonflies. Only three cycles ago, he rose and managed to fight off Saiyajin on his planet. But another human knew of his whereabouts and betrayed him to protect his family.
Pan, another élite warrior, and also Bura's guard, traveled to Terra by herself. Once there, she kidnapped his wife, The Seventh Dragonfly, to lure him in. Her plan succeeded, naturally, shortly after her victory she decided to bring them back to Planet Vegita to let the King decide what their fate should be. The main hall is filled with guards and slaves, warriors and soldiers all familiar with the story. Everyone is curious to see who these humans are and what they look like. Bura enters to bowing servants and takes her place on her throne, next to her mother Queen Buruma.
Her gaze wanders over to her father, his perpetual frown seems deeper today. The King was always stoic, so she didn't expect him to greet her, let alone smile at her. But her brother, on the other hand, is displeased. He hisses at her, "What took you so long?!"
She ignores her brother and turns her attention to the scene in front of her. Before them stands an infamous merchant, The Wing of the West. One of the most brutal Saiyajins to ever walk the planet, Cumaber. The Wing of the West, as they call her, loves to fight. And just like any other Saiyajin and she fights to kill, always. She enjoys killing. She enjoys torture and causing suffrage. She kills for the feel of warm blood on her hands and to hear the screams of misery her victims let out in their last hours. Seeing a creature breathe its last breath to never wake again is her reason to fight. And fight she did.
"My King, my Queen, the Nine Dragonflies!" Cumaber exclaims proudly as she bows, three of her crew members walk into the hall, pulling a row of chained individuals wearing severely damaged clothes and bags made of thick black fabric on their heads. They can hardly stand and some of them nearly trip when walking. As soon as they all kneel, Cumaber introduces them.
"This is the first Dragonfly, my Liege, this one is special even by human standards. As you can see," she pulls the bag off to reveal his face.
Tien stares down. His arms hurt from the awkward position he's chained in and the cuffs digging into his wrists. Without warning his head is pulled back by his chin and Cumaber forces his third eye open, revealing it to the onlookers. "he has three eyes instead of two!"
Tien winces and gasps in pain, his pupil violently darts around. The whites of his eye slowly turn red until Cumaber lets him go.
"The second Dragonfly is a little easier on the eyes, this one is female." Cumaber once again reveals a face. Kusami's eyes widen as she looks around her, the palace hall looks immense. The Prince leans forward and stares at the blonde with a slight smile. Cumaber moves on to the third, "Here's number three, quite small in size my Liege,"
Kuririn sits up when the black fabric bag is removed from his head, it takes him a second to adjust his eyes to the bright palace light suddenly after being in the dark for four days on the ship. He looks around. Surrounded by the enemy and not knowing what his faith would be.
Cumaber continues to talk, "I know he doesn't look like much but he had the fighting spirit of an Ossian! It took us two days to catch him, he's a quick little bastard."
Some onlookers laugh at the comment.
"This one, my my, what a beauty. Is she not?" she pulls off the bag. As soon as the light hit her eyes, Erasa panics. Her breathing hikes up and she looks around frantically. Cumaber quickly pulls her head back by her short blonde hair. Cumaber traces the purple line resting under her left eye.
"Be. Still." she orders and pushes her back in line.
Erasa sneaks her hand onto her friend's squeezing it tight. She feels Angera's hand trembling, she's cold and hungry. Cumaber moves over to her, "My Prince I am sure you would adore this one as well!"
Cumaber reveals the face of a woman with red, fluffy hair. She sobs and shakes as she stares in front of her. Bura figures she must be afraid, her purple eyes well up with tears. They look about two moons older than Bura herself, about Gohan's age.
"Everyone, meet the sixth Dragonfly," Cumaber pulls the black fabric bag off Yamucha's head, causing his long hair to fall over his face and down his back. Cumaber bends down and turns his face from left to right to show him off. She grabs a handful of his hair and pulls his head to the side to have her mouth directly over his ear. "I like this one the most, I must say he's quite the looker too."
Standing up she hovers over Lazuli and Marron for a second before removing their bags at the same time. "These are the Seventh and the Eighth," Marron jolts, she looks along the line of her chained comrades.
Tien. Kusami. Kuririn. Erasa. Angera. Yamucha. Her mother, Lazuli.
They were all thinner, sickly pale and covered in dirt wearing torn, bloodied clothes.
Marron blinks twice and looks again.
Tien. Kusami. Kuririn. Erasa. Angera. Yamucha. Her mother, Lazuli...
She slightly leans over to her mother and whispers, "Mom.."
"Where's Lapis?"
Lazuli doesn't look at her daughter, she can't. Her eyes are fixed on the Queens' footrest. Cumaber is still talking loudly about them to the King, she walks back over to her father. Marron taps her thigh quickly and mouths the question again. Without blinking, Lazuli shakes her head slowly and takes a deep breath, she whispers, "Marron.."
"H-He's dead."
Marron's grief is interrupted as Cumaber kneels and presses her hand against Lazuli's mouth like she would a cheeky child. Lazuli looks the Saiyajin in the eyes before she feels the harsh sting of her hand against her the side of her face. Blood drips from her lip as her face reddens and swells from the impact. Onlookers start murmuring and laughing, Lazuli's eyes lock with her husband before Cumaber turns her chin. They face each other again. Marron looks at her mother with widened eyes, terrified.
"I said be still!"
Lazuli nods. Cumaber pats the blonde on her head and wipes the blood off her lip before she continues with her showmanship.
"And lastly, I present to you, the Ninth Dragonfly."
Cumaber pulls the last black fabric bag off the man on the far right.
Uubu looks up, directly at the Royal Family. In his dark eyes, dance flames of anger. There are several big scars on his muscular chest, some look like blade cuts and others looked like Ki burns. The rebellion emblem was burnt into his shoulder, leaving a discolored wound on his dark skin. This was their leader, the boy she heard so many stories about, it just had to be. The blonde woman next to him holds his hand, she soothes him with words, words Bura doesn't understand but recognizes as a Mondial language on the blue planet. She only knew a few words, a handful at the most. While her father and Cumaber discuss the sum they can sell them for and use for them, Bura keeps her eyes on the couple.
"I love you," she hears her say. She knew what it meant, to love. She saw this kind of affection rarely among Saiyajin, only with races that had a different kind of mating system called marriage. Instead of claiming they used contracts and gold to bond. She didn't understand it, if someone belongs to you, why not mark them? Some races found it weird that Saiyajin never did these things, they called them uncivilized for it. But they were quite simple. A Saiyajin left their mark on the body of their counterpart, whether it is a scratch or a bite that draws blood or not, they leave behind a bit of their energy on the mark to seal their bond. The other did the same. With marking they left their energy behind on their counterparts so they could smell one another and sense each other's life forces without scouters. It also made the whole process of mating more intense. A mark had to be 'renewed' over a period of time, or else it would fade thereby making the process undone and so losing these abilities.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Her gaze goes back to the boy, she wanted to see him. More of him.
"Keep the women. What you do with the males is none of my concern, get them out!" Vegita barked, this was taking too long. Buruma let out a sigh, the King is always agitated for no reason. But since these rebels gave his army so much trouble, he would be angry. Seeing how thin, underfed and disgusting they looked made him even more frustrated, it's an embarrassment to his army that it took almost five cycles to conquer Terra.
"Wait father, not yet!"
Bura stands up and descends from her throne.
Every creature in the Main Hall is silent.
"Let him stand, I wish to see him," she says, pointing at the boy on the far right. Uubu looks surprised as Cumaber undoes his chains and allows him to stand. The Princess' lips curve into a smirk. He has, as her brother liked to describe it, a body made for great sin. He looks strong enough to cope with her habits. She twists her fingers and Cumaber turns him around. She looks at his back, another large blade cut and a trail of dried-up blood resides. He's torn and beaten up, but so.. so interesting.
She wants to see more.
"Show me his face." Princess Bura walks up closer to see. Cumaber holding him up by his hair, allows the Princess to inspect him. He snarls in pain, the harsh treatment causes his head wound to reopen. Blood coats his cheek. The Princess decides she had seen enough of him, pleased, she lowers her hand. Cumaber drops him, he falls on his face and instantly loses consciousness. The girl who sat next to him flips back her oily hair and rushes to his aid, only to fall herself. One of Cumaber's crew members stepped on her foot chains. He pulls her back in line and flashes her a toothy grin when she turns around to face him. By her left arm, he pulls her harshly back in line, nearly dislocating it.
"I've decided father, I want that boy. Gohan, take him to my quarters and let one of my servants clean him up."
Marron's eyes widens, she couldn't understand the Pig-Latin-like language the Sayajin spoke, but she knows it can't be good. A rather large, armored man lifts the unconscious boy up. Uubu couldn't struggle or fight, he limply hangs over the shoulders of the larger alien as he walks away.
She looks at her comrades.
Kusami throws her head back, allowing the tears to finally come out as she hears Tien's last promise to her before he's led elsewhere. Yamucha and her father don't get the chance to say their goodbyes as they are quickly dragged out of the main hall. Angera stares in front of her with a blank face whilst Erasa and herself are also getting their chains undone.
Marron bites her quivering lip.
For the fourth time in one week, he is taken away from her. And this time it was sure she wouldn't see him again.
A New Note:
I made this whole thing up about how the time works on Vegita but it was way too complicated. So now I figure a moon is eight years and a mooncycle is one year. Eight mooncycles completes one moon so their ages are measured in cycles, their milestones for life are measured in moons starting from birth.
Am really busy making/typing up some more Saiyajin folklore to scatter across the story.
And Years ago I wrote this: ¨Also, I am getting so tired of the whole telepathy and mind link bullshit in fictions about bonding.¨ and I still mean it.