Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ New Dawn ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter 4

Kethry must have falling asleep there on the ground because when she cracked her tear-swollen eyes, the sun had moved a good deal. It had been the crunch of footsteps that stirred her awake. A shadow fell over her, blocking the sunlight.

"Can you stand on your own?" Vegeta's voice was a bit softer than when she had last heard it, though `soft' really didn't describe it, either. In response, she pulled herself into a tighter ball, her head under her arms. A sigh came from the man standing over her. "You can just lay there or you can get up and come have some tea."

Kethry looked up to see him standing arms crossed over his chest, raven eyebrows pulled tighter slightly with his lips set in a hard line. When Vegeta saw she was looking, he held out a hand to her, his expression unchanging. She got the feeling this was as close to saying sorry as he ever got. So uncurling her body, she took the offered hand. He pulled her effortlessly to her feet. However, her muscles had cramped from lying curled on the hard ground for so long and Kethry stumbled. Strong arms flashed out to grasp her before she went back down. She found herself leaning against a rock of muscle and flesh that was Vegeta's chest. He went rigid and Kethry caught her breath. Then just as quickly as the moment had started it passed and Vegeta stepped away leaving her to stand on her own.

"You're better now, yes?" The only response Kethry could come up with was a nod. "Good." He turned and picked up the bucket he had dropped earlier and headed to the pond. It was clear that in his mind his outburst was forgotten. Kethry could only shake her head. She moved to the fire pit and slumped to the ground. This strange man was a paradox, completely confusing her. Clearly, he was the type that would sooner spit on someone than say a kind word, yet he had saved her from her self-imposed death sentence. Vegeta soon returned and filled a cast-iron kettle with water, tossed a few tea bags into it, and hung it on the tripod. He collected five big logs and tossed them into the cold pit. With a careless wave of his hand, a fire sprung to life.

Kethry jumped, whispering in awe, "What are you?"

A soft chuckle rumbled in his chest. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He used a long stick and poked at the logs without purpose.

"Try me." She couldn't take her eyes from the now-roaring fire.

Vegeta was silent for a long time, thinking. Then he tossed his stick into the flames and sat back, his features closed. "Why not? Might be entertaining." He crossed her arms over his chest, in what Kethry was starting to understand was a normal pose for him. "Seeing how most of my story would make no sense to you and, since I have no wish to tell it to you or anyone else, I will stick to the basics." A smirk crossed his lips. "I am Vegeta, prince and only surviving member of the Saiyan royal house, as well as one of only two living, full-blooded members of my race. I was born nearly eighty years ago on a planet called Vegetasei, far away from this blasted world."

Kethry looked like a fish out of water, mouth gaping and working, but no sounds coming out. When she finally found the words, her voice was full of disbelief.

"So what you are telling me is this." She ticked off her points on her fingers like a shopping list. "One, you are from outer space; two, you are a prince; three, while you don't look a day over thirty, you're almost eighty years old; and four, you are one of the last of your kind. Do I have that right?"

Vegeta chuckled and nodded shortly. She put her head in her hands.

"Alright, now I am sure I am still laying in the woods somewhere dying because you sound way too sure of yourself to be lying. So this all must be just a fear-dream, right?" She was still babbling when Vegeta's hand shot out to grip her own. Before she could ask what he was doing, he held her hand over the fire. Kethry yelped and tried to twist away but it did not good, she was caught in his viselike grip. The smirk never left the man's face.

"Does a dream burn you?" Slowly, he started to lower her hand closer to the flames. Kethry's yelp turned into a scream as the fire licked at her bare flesh.

"It's not a dream!" she howled and Vegeta let her hand go with a barking laugh. Kethry cradled her sore hand against her chest; she had only gotten first-degree burns, they would heal easily. "Was that really necessary?" She tried to glare at him but it had no effect. He lounged against the tree stump, unmoved by her poisoned stare.

"I have learned the hard way that self-delusion is a weakness and as such cannot be tolerated." That was an odd comment, but Kethry left it alone.

"Well, in the end it doesn't really matter who or what you are. You saved me from myself and I owe you my life." She scuffed a foot in the dirt.

Vegeta seemed to stop moving, his eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by that?"

"You saved me from starving to death."

"What would move one as young as you to crave death? And why would my feeding you change that?"

Kethry dropped her eyes to her throbbing hand. "Weird really, when I stop and think about it. The first person who ever so much as bothered to ask my name turns out to be an alien. My parents abandoned me not long after I was born and no family wanted to take me in. Every friend I thought I had made betrayed me. It doesn't matter if you were pink with purple spots, I would still feel the need to thank you for helping me."

Those icy eyes narrowed even farther. "What if I have no wish for you to repay me?" Kethry shrugged.

"Then I would offer my thanks and continue on my way."

"And just what are you offering as payment for this debt you feel you owe me?"

Kethry laughed a bit. "Living out here, you might need water toted or wood chopped, and hey, I can cook pretty decently, too." She shrugged again. "I don't know. I am kind of at loose ends here."

Vegeta blinked and raised an eyebrow in sudden amusement. "A servant?" he chuckled. "It has been a long while since I have had a servant. Might be interesting, after all. I will think on it." And that, it seemed, was that.

The rest of the day passed with very little talk between the two of them. At dinnertime, Kethry tried to prove her claim of cooking and her efforts were met with an approving nod, but nothing else. Later, he once more he directed her into the small cabin and shut the door on her. That evening, he again slept outside.