Hello! Before you attack, please keep in mind that I've been busy with college, and have had no time to write any new chapters for any of my stories. It is most likely that my chapters will be pretty short from now on. Happy reading!

-Crims

Bardock's studied his new pupil as she did the same and stared mistrustfully at him through her bangs. She took in his overwhelming stature, his straining muscles, his face stern and scarred, and his strong inclination for red clothing. Niona unknowingly spread her feet and clenched Om to her chest.

Suddenly the man's face split into a grin and he clasped his hand against her shoulder, causing Niona to flinch and Om to snarl at the massive appendage engulfing her shoulder. Niona stared bewildered as Bardock's booming laughter suddenly filled the entire council room. Her eyes lowered, following Bardock's face as he crouched to her height.

"A freak with a temper huh? Well now I can say I've seen everything." He asked with shining dark eyes and smiling lips.

"Are you going to hurt Om? I won't let you!" She pressed Om to her chest and stepped away from him, his hand falling from her shoulder. Another thunderous laugh escaped from Bardock, his massive body shaking with mirth. "I have no interest in taking the life of your…companion. You however," he said as he brushed aside the hair covering most of her face, "I am very interested in."

His words did nothing to alleviate her suspicion. King Vegeta had also claimed not to be interested in killing Om, and he had already attempted to do so. Twice. She smacked his hand from her face, and glared at him through the hair that once more covered her face. Bardock chuckled and rose, finally turning his attention to King Vegeta.

"Your Majesty." Bardock said with a fist to his heart and his head bowed. King Vegeta nodded in acknowledgment, before standing to address the room. "Dismissed." The sound of heavy fists striking armor simultaneously resounded throughout the room. Retreating footsteps soon followed.

Niona watched them as they passed her to leave, finding herself on the receiving end of more than one cautious looks. Prince Vegeta sauntered from his throne to pass her as well, but stopped when he reached her. They stood side by side, each facing the opposite direction.

"My father may favor you now, but do not think for a second you are worth more than the filth that covers you, freak." His turned his gaze from the door to look at the quivering animal in her arms. "And make no mistake, I will kill that thing eventually, and when I do…" His black eyes took in her dirty face with disgust "I'll make sure you're watching."

Niona gave no indication that she heard him, choosing to stare ahead instead of giving him the satisfaction of seeing her squirm. Prince Vegeta clenched his fist and with an arrogant "tch," stormed out of the council room, his ever-faithful entourage of servants at his tail.

"Bardock, my office. You as well Niona." King Vegeta ordered, he too stepping down from his throne to leave the room. Bardock turned to follow him, delivering a gentle, but stern slap to Niona's back when she hesitated to do so as well.

With a sigh Niona turned as well and followed the two men out, the massive doors closing with a thud behind her as she did so.

.0.

Niona sat in a chair wider and taller than she was. She absentmindedly swung her feet and petted a sleeping Om as she took in yet another room that made her feel out of place. The room was exactly how one would picture the private study of a king to look like. It was large, with towering shelves of books and scrolls. The king's desk stood at the center of the room, with tall, marble columns on each side. A banner with the royal emblem was draped on each column. The image of the blue and red Oozaru stared her down, its large teeth bared at her in challenge. Yes, everything in this room made her feel small. Especially the two men who sat on either side of her, facing each other.

"…know her power level?" Niona tuned into their conversation.

King Vegeta's gloved hand thoughtfully stroked his beard. "It's large enough to cause the scouters to malfunction, but we won't have an accurate reading until she's been tested." She was then subjected to the King's hard gaze, and she felt even smaller.

"We should test her today. With all due respect, I have no intention in training her without knowledge of what she's capable of." Bardock crossed his arms with a frown. He seemed to do that a lot.

However, his words caught her attention. "train…ing? What training?" Bardock looked at her then, his eyes a bit wider before turning back to King Vegeta, his frown reinstated.

"She doesn't know?" His voice was hard with accusation. Niona turned to the King. He didn't seem the type that enjoyed being accused.

"She is a child. Her consent hardly matters," The King dismissed with a wave of his hand, but Bardock stood firm.

"I will not train someone who is unwilling. Especially a child. I cannot and will not push her to her limits if she has no desire to surpass them; It will break her, and you will find yourself without a protégé…again." After Bardock's declaration, the room fell into heavy silence. Both men examined each other, testing the other's resolve. Niona sat in the middle of this silent battle, her hold on Om tightening, and her heart sinking.

Finally, the King sighed, a small, barely perceptible smile playing on his mustached lip. "Very, well. At times I think you forget I am King, Bardock."

"I never forget. I simply choose to overlook the fact when I need to." Bardock grinned at the king as if they were old friends, not subject and master.

Niona felt the tension dissipate and took a breath before she was once again staring into the unforgiving eyes of King Vegeta. "Girl." She gulped.

"W-what?...Your majesty!" She hastened to add when his eyes narrowed.

"What is it you most desire?" He asked, turning his entire body in the throne-like chair to face her. Bardock's body tensed and he opened his mouth in what looked like the beginning of a protest, but he was silenced with the raised hand of King Vegeta. They were no longer old friends in this moment. King Vegeta then spread his arms in front of him, taking on the façade of a benevolent king. "Come now. You are young but you are hardly foolish. Surely you will not let this opportunity pass. I will grant you one, reasonable wish."

Niona remained silent for a second, intimidated by the frosty glare in the King's eyes. "…and…what do you want from me…in return?"

"Smart girl. In return for granting your wish, you will give your full consent towards my plans for you. You will become my protégé and undergo training under Bardock." He gestured towards the other male, who avoided her gaze when she turned her head to look at him.

"But make no mistake," The severity that had found its way into the King's voice force her attention back to him. His eyes had taken on a cold heat, one that only a harden ruler could wield, "I could simply force you to comply. So, little girl, do not mistake my offer for kindness," he spit out the word, "I simply have no wish to seek out yet another protégé. So, what is your wish?"

Niona's stomach spun in trepidation. Her eyes once again shifted to Bardock, who still refused to meet her eyes. The way his eyes hardened at the ceiling and his unrelenting grip on the arm of his chair told her that the offer that had just been presented to her by the King was in no way one she should accept. But, she turned her eyes back to her King, his eyes told her something much more chilling: accept, or die.

King Vegeta was right: she was young, but she was hardly an imbecile. With this offer, she would gain could gain her greatest wish, but he…he would gain her life. In that moment she was posed with a question an eight year old should never have to answer: what was worth more? Her life or her greatest desire?

King Vegeta's gaze narrowed, time was running out. She felt her heartbeat accelerate, her pupils dilating —the same sensation she had experienced everything she believed Om had died.

"Girl—"

"My mother," She said finally, her decision made, her soul sold.

"Find my mother."

King Vegeta leaned back in his chair, his satisfied posture mimicking that of a beast that had just devoured its prey, belly made full with blood, bone, and broken wills. His iron gaze caught Bardock's, and he all but hissed:

"Excellent."