Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Reflections of a King ❯ Chapter 3

Author: Cleodasia

Summary: Vegeta no Ou's memories of Vegeta as a child and the first fateful meeting with Frieza

Warnings: A/U; Vegeta no Ou's POV; references to male/male relationships

Archiving/Comments/Suggestions/Complaints/ Ideas/Flames: You can get in touch with me at cleodasia@yahoo.com!

Thanks in advance for reading/reviewing!

Blood.

Everywhere.

On my face.

On my hands.

Pooling at my feet.

Sliding down my legs.

Running down my bare chest.

On the dagger's hilt.

Gushing from the wound in my chest.

Splattered on the hands of my son.

On his face.

Dripping down his bare chest.

My life's blood.

Deepest, darkest crimson.

Glittering, obsidian eyes, welled with tears.

He doesn't take his eyes from mine, and I can't tear my gaze away from

him. I can think of no better way for my life to have ended. I am proud, honored to have died by those beautiful hands. I would beg his forgiveness, but it's far too late for words.

Nightmarish reality. This isn't a dream, it's truth. I will never awaken from this vision. There's no sleep for me anymore, not really. Another reason why I'm stuck here in Purgatory. The IDEA of my body, I just can't leave that behind. Just as I hold on to my memories. Reliving my own death, however, is as close to a nightmare as I can get. It wasn't the moment of my death, the intense pain I felt, or even the horrifying image of a son covered in the blood of his father. It was the knowledge that I had caused this through my own cowardice and ambition. And yet, there was something strangely comforting in the feeling of my heart struggling to beat around the metal blade. I knew, I KNEW, I had know all along that it would all end in my death. From the moment I gave Vegeta over to Frieza's care, from the moment I even entertained the idea, there was no other possible ending. I wanted to die. I wanted someone else to take responsibility. I died happily, readily. And left my son to face his future alone, to live with the fact that he had taken the life of his father.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Vegeta was nearing five years of age when I first met with Frieza. I know this only because Bardock's son Kakarrot had just been born that morning. My lover was still glowing with pride as we stepped into my main throne room. The changeling was already there, seated in my throne, awaiting my arrival. It was a breach of Saiyan etiquette, of Saiyan law, that had my advisors and guardsmen visibly upset. It wasn't a battle I cared to fight, not over something that small.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I should have.

I should have stood up to him from the beginning, even if it had meant my death.

To let him know that I could not be pushed, that I was not afraid.

But I was.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I walked in as if nothing were out of place. Bardock, directly behind me, took my lead and said nothing. Vegeta, on the other hand…that precious, foolish child. He had never kept his mouth shut before, and he sure as hell wasn't going to now. Everything was a point of honor with him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I don't know why we let him come, or why we let him stay. I blame myself, I blame Bardock, but mostly I blame Fate. It happened, it had to happen, it was supposed to happen. I KNOW this. Still, all I want is just one chance to run into that room, pick that arrogant child up by the nape of his neck, and RUN. And never, ever stop.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Vegeta followed in behind Bardock. The little Ouji was pulled up to his full height. His nose was up, his obstinant chin in the air, and he was swishing his tail behind him.

Oh, that tail. I have re-lived this moment a thousand times and every time I ask myself, why? Why was his tail not wrapped around his waist as it usually was? I can only guess that he was nervous, picking up on the mood in the room.

As Vegeta finished the distance to stand by my side, I noticed Frieza's attention move from our conversation to Vegeta's tail. It was gorgeous, an incredible color that matched the reddish streaks in his already-darkening hair. "Well, hello there, little monkey, " Frieza said in a husky voice.

Vegeta merely stared at him, not deigning to answer. Frieza chuckled and said, "My, my small one, what's the matter? You seem upset."

Vegeta no Ouji glowered and answered in his high, carrying voice, "I'm not a monkey, and you don't belong on that throne." Frieza raised an eyebrow and I cringed. I leaned over, and attempted to hush Vegeta before the situation got out of hand.

He just kept on talking. "That is the throne of the crowned heads of Vegetasei. Sixteen generations of the family Vegeta have ruled this planet. My father is the Saiyan no Ou. I am his Ouji. And you are nothing but a slimy, disgusting piece of worm-ridden filth." And with that, he sniffed his disapproval of the situation in general. The young prince turned his back on the both of us, and began asking Bardock questions about the new baby.

My heart was somewhere in the vicinity of my boots. Frieza let out a loud laugh and stood up. He crossed my path without a glance and went to stand directly behind Vegeta. The changeling reached out and captured Vegeta's tail in both hands. Every Saiyan in the room hissed in imagined pain. Vegeta never even blinked. He had lived with pain from the moment of his birth. The assault on his dignity, well, that was something else entirely.

In a voice as clear as water, and as sharp as broken glass, Vegeta asked, "What the FUCK do you think you're doing. Get your damned hands off me. Do it NOW."

Frieza reluctantly let go of the boy's tail, but as he did so, he ran his fingers through the soft tail fur. It was an extremely erotic gesture, one that would have been out of line had the boy been fifteen instead of five.

Before any of us could react, however, Vegeta had already taken matters into his hands. It happened so fast, without any warning, that Frieza was taken completely by surprise. As soon as his tail was out of Frieza's grasp, Vegeta turned and was in the air. He slammed his forehead into the changeling's nose with such force that Frieza fell backwards onto the ground. His nose gushed amethyst blood, but Vegeta wasn't through yet.

I screamed at him, tried to pull him away, but his rage was so great he never heard me. Vegeta's natural bloodlust had taken hold. He had tasted first blood, and he wanted more. In the time it took for Bardock and I to get the boy off of Frieza, he had already landed five more, rather devastating blows.

We finally wrestled him away, and Bardock ran out with the boy in his arms. Vegeta was still throwing punches and screaming curses. Remembering that day, I don't see how Vegeta could have impressed the changeling any more. Proud, arrogant, beautiful, already physically striking, fiery-tempered, with a mouth that could flay skin from bones.

Fool that I was, I did not challenge Frieza. I had more than enough reason. The boy had been molested in front of my very eyes. Cowardly, stupid fool that I was, I let matters stand. The child had been extremely frightened to have lost his control so completely. And I, his father, did nothing. I apologized over and over, not to my son, but to the monster Frieza. And so I sealed my fate…and Vegeta's.

We continued our discussion and finally reached a mutually beneficial deal. It was a hell of a lot of money, and an alliance with one of the strongest beings in the universe.

It was the beginning of the end. Frieza left late that evening, laughing about that hellatious little son of mine. The seed was sown, his attraction to Vegeta already present…if only I had known then what I know now.

I went to Bardock's quarters to see to Vegeta. My son was standing quietly over the baby, Raditz and Turles flanking him. Bardock motioned me outside, closing the door behind us. He told me off for my reluctance to take up for the child. "Dammit, Vegeta, you should have ended the deal right then and there. He assaulted the boy. Ouji-sama was only taking up for himself! He's small for his age, he could have been seriously hurt. I don't know what the hell you're trying to accomplish…"

My voice rising, I interrupted him, "Power. An alliance with Frieza brings us a steady income and physical security."

Bardock screamed at me, "For whom, security for whom? Not your son. He's in grave danger. That was lust in Frieza's eyes. He knew exactly what he was doing to the boy!"

I just shook my head at him, saying, "Nothing will happen. We need him. We can do more, be more, than we could be on our own."

My lover said disgustedly, "It isn't worth the price we'll be asked to pay."

I asked him if he'd had a vision of the future. He said cryptically, "What future?" I thought he was just angry with me, but he could feel it, too. The sword hanging over our heads, the danger just around the corner.

I turned my back on Bardock, and went inside to collect Vegeta. He was standing in the exact same spot, I doubt his eyes had left the spike-haired baby. The other boys were nowhere to be seen. I went down on my knees beside my son, but I was unwilling to touch him without his permission. Vegeta whispered, "Bardock is sending the baby away, on a far-away mission. I think he's afraid of Lord Frieza."

I nodded sadly, and touched the sleeping baby's forehead. I said softly, "That's his choice." My son reached over and took my face in his hands. I looked directly into his eyes, something I rarely did. His dark eyes seemed to reflect all light, and it felt as if he was looking straight through me, into my soul.

We stayed like that for some time, until he said softly, "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you today. I hope I didn't mess it up." I was ashamed. He had fought for his dignity today, without help from anyone. And he was apologizing for it. I touched his shoulders gently, and told him, no, he had done nothing wrong and that I was not angry with me. My son looked at me as if I had given him a benediction.

He worshipped me. I realized it for the first time, and it scared me to death. I was nothing. And he didn't know it. Vegeta was the single bright and wonderful thing that I had ever accomplished. I saw in him the future of my people. Obstinate and single-minded, dignified and unstoppable. Somehow he felt that he would never measure up to my expectations of him. He had already exceeded all of them. I worshipped him, my small god with his ancient eyes.

We left Bardock's quarters, with Vegeta's hand in mine. Mentally, I promised Bardock that we would speak later. I would apologize, and we would make up. But the one who had been injured most that day, he looked at me as if I were the greatest being in the galaxy.

I fed him some supper, and when finished, he went and bathed himself. When he was ready for bed, I went in to check on him. I was afraid that the fight with Frieza had distressed his already-aching joints. He was lying ramrod-straight in the bed, eyes closed and jaw clenched. I kissed his forehead, and asked if he wanted something for the pain. He didn't answer, so I knew the pain must be rather bad. I brought him some pills and a glass of water. He took them without a fuss. I turned and left the room, returning with some towels soaked in warm water. Vegeta shrugged out of his pajamas, and we laid the towels across his limbs. I stayed beside him until he began to relax.

I took the now-cool towels away, and brought in a dry towel. I wiped away the water from his body. I kissed my son again, and pulled the covers up to his chin. Vegeta began snoring gently. I left his room and went into my own. As I closed the door, I fell to my knees and wept for my son. He was so courageous, and yet so very, very foolish. He wasn't even five years old and he had already made an enemy of the strongest fighter in the universe. I felt it in my bones, a pain that rivaled my son's, that this day had changed everything…

To be continued