Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Shadow in the Twilight ❯ Chapter 14 ( Chapter 14 )

Chapter 14

Lluvia was dog-tired by the time she'd finally stumbled into her rooms. Jen had been suffering from false contractions during the last couple of hours, and nothing Lluvia tried made her any more comfortable. The blond singer looked like she was ready to pop at any given moment, much to Lluvia's dismay.

Kami, please hold off on Jen's labor until we complete this gig and get off of Vegeta-sei, she prayed silently to the empty room.

To her weary eyes, that immense bed had never looked more inviting, even if it meant that she was going to spend the night in it alone and disappointed. Given the lateness of the hour, her much-anticipated tryst with Bardock wasn't going to take place tonight. As she started to undress, her eyes alit on a small wooden basket sitting on a low table in the middle of the room. It contained a variety of snack foods and an unlabeled bottle of dark burgundy wine. A corkscrew was thoughtfully provided and Lluvia made quick work uncorking the bottle to let it breathe properly.

Hmm, she thought, carefully inspecting the basket and its contents. No note attached to this thing. I wonder who was thoughtful enough to send thisto me? I'd really like to thank him or her. Perhaps my benefactor wishes to remain anonymous?

After taking a short restorative shower, Lluvia emerged from the bath wearing a short kimono, made of a watery green silk and intricately embroidered with white lotus blossoms. She set up a couple of pillows against the bed's backboard and poured herself a glass.

Whoa, this stuff is strong, she thought after the initial sip. By the second and third quaffs, she became acclimated to the heady overtones. The wine took effect, quickly relaxing her stressed-out mind and body. Draining the glass, she carefully placed it on a side table and stretched herself facedown on the bed as the induced lassitude overtook her.

The prince of all Saiya-jins stood by the bed looking down at the peacefully sleeping figure. She was quite the beauty, all right. Such a nice, tight dancer's body! Long slender legs and a most pleasant scent coming off that freshly bathed skin. He would have a bit of fun at her expense this time!

"I must say that I'm quite impressed! She managed to polish off an entire glass of ceremonial wine before conking out! The usual dosage of half a glass has been enough to knock a man twice her size flat on his ass!" Vegeta grasped her far shoulder and easily rolled the limp female onto her back. After removing the leather glove from his right hand, he reached down and easily undid the loosely knotted sash from about her small waist.

"Do you require any further assistance from me, your highness?" Nappa inquired solicitously.

A snort was his answer from Vegeta. "How kind of you to offer, Nappa, but I really do think that I can take it from this point forward!"

Nappa nodded and left to take his post out in the hallway in front of the female's doorway.

The prince has certainly acquired a taste for the exotic ones, the large bodyguard thought to himself.

Toma finally relinquished his friend for the night and none too soon, as far as Bardock was concerned. He couldn't shake off the dreadful feeling that had overtaken him once the prince and his attendant bodyguard had removed themselves from the crowded mess hall.

That royal bad seed was undoubtedly up to no good and his little baka was going to be on the receiving end of it, he just knew it!

As soon as he had rounded the far corner of the hallway to the guest quarters and saw Nappa camped outside her door, Bardock's worst fears were given weight and his heart leapt into his throat.

"Stand down, Bardock!" barked Nappa. "Mind your own business, you sorry excuse for a third-class!"

"That female is my business, you overgrown boot-licker!" Bardock snarled in reply, ignoring the danger attached to threatening an Elite like Nappa. "King Vegeta himself placed her in my charge for the duration of her group's stay on Vegeta-sei, which means that she is under the king's protection!"

Nappa sneered down his nose at the warrior and scoffed, "Now, you know as well as I that the king's royal directives don't apply to the prince! The boy tends to set his own agenda! And right now, that happens to include some private, quality time with the female in question!"

"I'm warning you, Nappa…!"

"YEEEEEE-AAAAAHHHHHH!" A blood-curling scream suddenly came forth from the other side of the door, effectively severing through the two Saiya-jins' heated argument.

Believing that something dire had occurred to his royal charge, Nappa instantly spun around to palm the sliding door's access into the open position. Bardock fell in right behind Nappa and ran into Lluvia's living quarters. Both Saiya-jins froze in horror at the sight before them, but for very different reasons.

Vegeta was writhing in pain on the floor, his right wrist clutched in his gloved left hand. The flesh of his bare right hand was smoking, a large burnt-to-black gash running the entire span of his palm. Blithely insensible from the effects of the wine, Lluvia was stretched out on the bed with her kimono undone, sleeping away. The only clothing she'd worn underneath the robe was her hi-cut lace underwear and a pair of white slouch socks. Around her hips, the silvery chain was pulsing with a slowly diminishing white-hot light.

Bardock carefully sniffed the air in the room and growled angrily under his breath. The smell of burnt flesh was one thing, but the decanted wine bottle's pronounced herbal scent told him all he needed to know about this orchestrated scenario.

"Nappa, take me to the infirmary right now!" Vegeta hissed his command between intermittent waves of pain. "I need to put my hand into the extremity regeneration tank immediately!"

"Right away, my prince!" Nappa bent down to assist Vegeta to his feet. "But what happened?"

"It was that stupid chain! It was emitting a strange humming sound and glowing as I neared it so I grabbed at it to get it out of my way and…" Vegeta stopped in the middle of his recitation when he suddenly realized that an additional set of ears was in the room with them. He snapped his dark gaze over to the commander. "Bardock! What are you doing here?"

The Saiya-jin immediately fell to one knee at the sound of his sovereign prince's haughty voice. "Prince Vegeta, I am here because it is my responsibility to safeguard the female, as per your father's implicit instructions."

Vegeta walked over in a stilted fashion to stare down at the kneeling Saiya-jin subordinate. "Listen to me very carefully, soldier! You saw nothing! Do you understand what I'm saying?" The words were delivered in a low, menacing tone.

Not raising his eyes to betray his conflicting emotions, Bardock merely nodded his spiky head and said, "I hear and obey, your highness!" As soon as he heard the soft hiss of the sliding door close behind him, he released the tense breath he'd been holding in. Thank Kami! That was a close one!

Even though he was confident that the prince and his bodyguard were not going to return, the Saiya-jin commander stayed in his kneeling position for a while longer, asking himself question upon question. What exactly happened to the prince's hand when he touched the chain? The Saiya-jin commander stared in puzzlement at his own hands. But it doesn't make any sense! I've come in contact with her chain a number of times in the past two days and other than feeling a frigid sensation coming off the metal, nothing else happened!

Bardock rose to his feet and walked over to where the opened wine bottle was sitting. One sniff and his suspicions about its contents were no longer in doubt. This was the specially prepared wine reserved exclusively for use in pre-arranged royal marriage situations. Its properties allowed even the most reluctant bride and/or bridegroom to be put into a more receptive mood. In this fashion, a royal heir would be conceived without too much resistance being offered by either of the participants. The Saiya-jin picked up the offending container and dumped the remainder of its liquid contents down the drain in the bathroom.

He returned to view Lluvia's recumbent form laid out on the bed. Carefully, he pulled the sides of the kimono together to cover her partial nakedness. He loosely tied the sash once more before tucking the ends of the coverlet around her body. Wordlessly, he straightened his stance and walked out of the room to stand guard outside her doorway, remaining there until the morning star rose above the crimson horizon.

Lluvia awoke with just a trace of a hangover and her mouth tasting rather funny.

"Blech!" she said aloud to the empty room as her tongue ran along the inside of her mouth. Sliding off the bed, she looked down at her slightly undone kimono, wondering why she went to bed without taking the darn thing off first. The embroidered robe was one of her favorites and she never slept in it for fear of inadvertently ripping the silky fabric. Stumbling around the foot of the bed on the way to perform her morning ablutions, her sock-covered foot encountered something on the floor, sticking out just under the bottom hem of the draped bedcovers. It was white and made of some sort of leather material. Curious, she bent down and retrieved it. The royal Saiya-jin insignia embossed on the cuff of the glove was instantly recognizable. But it was too small to belong to King Vegeta. She'd seen the bearded monarch up close and knew that this glove would never fit his large hand. Her spine went rigid, the blood chilling in her veins as she continued to stare at the glove.

This glove must belong to the prince! How the hell did it get into my room? Was he actually here? Inmy room? And why was he here?Her anxiety skipped ahead of her racing thoughts. And if he washere, where was Bardock?

Frightened, she ran over to the full-length mirror and quickly undid her robe with fumbling fingers. She took a quick inventory of her body, starting from her neck on down. When she realized that her underwear had not been removed and that she'd not been raped while unconscious, she almost passed out in relief. Her shaking hands then fingered the silvery chain, which responded to her searching touch by humming its familiar, comforting song. The links' vibrations sent her a message of reassurance through her trembling palms.

The Dragon's Kiss! Have you again saved me from one who would have taken advantage of me?

A nauseous feeling quickly replaced her newfound relief and she sat down hard onto the floor, hugging her arms tightly around her tremulous body.

No amount of scrubbing under the steaming hot shower could totally remove the feeling of being nearly violated. Though her body had not been physically compromised, her sense of security was definitely gone. One more day…just one more obligatory performance to do…just one more night to endure, then she would be off this freakin' monkey planet and back to Theta Seven where she belonged!

Kami, please grantme the strength to live through this nightmare and then I can feel secure again! she quietly prayed.