Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Saiyans Return ❯ So much for the Surprise... ( Chapter 9 )

Disclaimer: I, Lady Valtaya do solemnly swear that I own nothing worth taking- so don't sue me for this… DBZ isn't mine… darn it anyway.

Notes: LONG chapter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But once I started I just couldn't stop! Don't forget to REVIEW!!!! Huggles

Saiyans Return

Chapter 9

Never in his wildest dreams would Kayin have imagined this planet- and while he was only five, this was still a pretty amazing place… The capital city of Talon was called the City of the Sun, and it was really beautiful. Even from a distance the city shown like a jewel in the planet's afternoon sun. They had to land the shuttle at a facility that had been built back in the days of Frieza about 20 miles from the city and 30 miles from the palace. The former military base was built on a massive white cliff overlooking the huge bay that separated the city and base, and bordered one of Talon's huge purple oceans.

As they got closer in the hover jet he could see the, low gracefully curved and arched buildings made of pale white stone were nestled seamlessly among trees, flowers and grass separated by long wide streets and while most of the people below them were riding horses or walking, they were so high in the hover jet that no one below seemed to notice them at all as they were flown straight to the huge palace. Along the city's eastern edge, there was a glittering beach of pure white sand and water of such rich blue that it looked purple where the water was deepest. Elegant wooden schooners and frigates with their sails billowing on the breeze were sailing past the city in all directions seeming to skim lightly over the surface of the water.

"Woah!! What the heck is that thing doing?? No way!! I- that thing can't fly- can it??" Goku squawked, drawing everyone's attention straight down to the deep water harbor at the southern end of the city. The hover jet's Elven pilot stopped the craft but didn't get a chance to say anything, because Vegeta explained that the huge wooden ship that was rising off of the water was a Spelljammer- an Elven Man o' War. Meaning it could sail on the water and it was capable of long voyages through space as well. A member of the Imperial Fleet of Talon, it was piloted by a mage at all times and the wizard would use the power of his magic and his will to steer, propel, create and maintain a stable atmosphere on and inside the ship and to chart the course of the ship. Spelljamming could be very dangerous, because everything depended on the competence of the mage, but the warriors selected to go along were more than willing to take the risks involved for the chance to see the universe in a way that most people will never get to.

The ship circled the perimeter of the city once, seeming to show off its grace and elegance as it drifted silently through the sky before turning its bow and graceful figurehead of a swan to the clouds and began to sail higher. Kayin smiled looking down as he realized the ships' departure seemed to excite the people in the city too. He could just barely hear them waving and calling out to the ship as it sailed past them. Everyone watched until the sleek, graceful boat had disappeared into the clouds far in the distance before resuming their flight to the palace and Kayin couldn't help but notice how quiet everything was as everyone almost seemed to be holding their breath waiting for another glimpse of the departing ship.

There was so much life to sense on this planet that it had reminded Kayin instantly of home and then there were all of the beautiful trees and the flowers and the warm inviting breezes that smelled of a hint of lilacs and roses and of salt from the huge bay below them.

On the outside, the palace looked like a bigger version of most of the other houses they had seen. But as the hover jet began to land, it became obvious that the palace and the other buildings here were much larger than they looked. The building itself was made from more of the pale white stone the other buildings seemed to be made of. There were tall, shiny glass windows along the building's long, elegant façade. The grounds were equally enormous; carpeted by flowers. Some of them were arranged in fanciful patterns or bordering reflecting pools or large fountains but there were quiet walkways and playful statues nestled comfortably in every nook and cranny, also made in the pretty white stone everywhere, making the whole garden look like a beautiful playground that stretched for a full mile in all directions around the palace.

As they passed under a huge stone arch, they were inside of the palace, but it wasn't what Kayin had expected from all the movies he'd seen. It was beautiful; the floors were inlaid with pale pink and yellow stone too, forming sun patterns. But the huge room that the arch opened into was another garden, which surprised everyone but Max and Vegeta. Not only did it lack actual doors, but it was open to the elements from above. There was a three story tall indoor garden in it- complete with huge trees and all sorts of flowers that were not found in the gardens outside and there were a bunch more statues- but rather than fanciful animals these were life sized people statues- well elf statues.

A man was waiting for them, and he was definitely Elven, although unlike the pilot of the hover jet, this man had golden skin and purple eyes. He smiled warmly at them, and bowed slightly. Kayin smiled back, he did like this place. Everything here felt warm and welcoming- even its people and he could tell his father and Vegeta felt the same way. Their tails were both down, and flickered lazily.

Knowing from the reactions of his dad and Vegeta that this was a safe place, Kayin wasn't interested in listening to what the man who greeted them was talking about, though. There was too much to see in this place. Heavy white stone benches were placed along the sun patterned walkway that went straight through the middle of the room and branched off several times through the garden before it lead into a smaller room, this one had heavy wooden doors that opened wide as the group approached them. When Kayin turned around, he noticed that no one was there to have opened the door.

The man leading them through the huge halls and up the stairs to the Empress that ruled this planet was some one of great importance. Kayin had heard Vegeta tell the others that he was the planet's Prime Minister- whatever that meant… There was interesting stuff to look at everywhere, but his father was holding one of his hands and his mom had his other hand, so he had to follow everyone else.

The hallways were what Kayin had expected to see from all the movies he had seen. Glittering treasures of every shape and description waited on end tables and sideboards and there were velvet cushioned benches and big fancy paintings of more golden skinned elves adorning the walls… but it was rather awe inspiring to be seeing these things in person. Huge vases filled with fresh flowers and the occasional large statue was also everywhere.

The boy was so busy looking at everything that he almost didn't notice the flicker of movement behind him as they rounded still another corner and came into a gigantic foyer with several flights of stairs leading up. Kayin tugged hard against his parents, trying to turn around for a better look, but all the adults seemed to be enjoying whatever the Prime Minister or whatever he was, was telling them. All the way up the stairs, Kayin kept trying to get a better look at the stairs behind them, but his parents stubbornly refused to let go.

Kayin started to growl when he thought he saw movement behind them again and he couldn't get loose to try to find out what it was. "Dad!!"

"Come on, it's ok, son. We're almost there, Erland said it's just a little further now and we'll eat some supper while we get to talk to the Empress, ok?"

"But dad, I-"

"Kayin." Jenna cast an exasperated look at her youngest child and sighed. "Honey, can't you stop that? You're too heavy to make us pull you like this. I know you're probably a little bored, but it's just a little farther…"

Kayin scowled, and stopped trying to pull away, but he was still trying to keep alert for any further movement from whatever it was that was following them. He wasn't bored; this place wasn't boring at all. Every where he looked he saw bright, shiny things to look at that just begged to be picked up and played with and that combined with the probability that they were being followed was just too intriguing to resist.

The scent of food was strong in this hallway and Kayin was more than happy to go a little faster as they neared it, but before he sat down, he made sure that he could see through the huge doorway and into the hall before he chose his seat. This put him exactly 11 chairs away from the nearest person, which was his father. Everyone looked at him funny, but even if he had noticed, Kayin wouldn't have cared, because he could still sense something waiting just beyond where he could see, in the hallway.

The food was wonderful, and he was surprised by how much of it the servants had placed on the table to start with, and even before anything was gone, even more was brought in. These elves were little, seemingly fragile and delicate how could they possibly know how much to expect a Saiyan to eat, let alone how much to make for several of them and their families. He still wasn't interested in what the adults were talking about, but he did like the Empress. She was a very pretty lady. She had warm, kind eyes, in a beautiful shade of lavender, and he couldn't help trusting her instantly, even though she had known his name even before anyone had said it.

Dessert was ice cream and fresh strawberries, and Kayin had had two bowls of it before he caught a flash of something golden moving in the hallway. He scrambled out of his chair and nearly over the top of the table before his father caught him and put him back in the chair.

The other adults also gave him an odd look and everyone just sort of laughed it off, but no one seemed to inquire, so Kayin reluctantly returned to his ice cream.

"What's gotten into you, since we got here, Kayin?" Goku asked in a whisper. "You know not to climb over tables, don't you?"

He looked up in surprise at his father. "I- yeah, but-I saw something earlier, there is someone following us in here, Dad."

"Really? You think so? I don't sense anything."

"It isn't threatening dad. I just want to know what it is. Whatever it is- It's fast. If I hadn't been looking almost right at it that first time, I never would've noticed it either. But even then I still haven't been able to tell what it is, yet."

"Are you saying whatever you saw was actually as fast as you?"

"Yeah." Kayin nodded but then he smirked. "But I don't think it's as strong as me. It's smart too, since it knew I saw it and managed to hide again even before I could tell what it was."

"So you think it's still out there?"

"I think it wants in here. It was following us almost as long as we've been in this place. I'm sure if we wait long enough, that I'll see it again. If I go under the table can I try to catch it again?"

"If it is some kind of a pet I don't think our hostess will want you chasing it all over the palace, Kayin, why don't we just ask her what it might be?"

"What's the fun in that? I'm not going to hurt it, Dad. I just want to try and catch it. Besides, I think it's about my size, and it's too smart and too curious to be any kind of a normal animal."

"Well, remember, we aren't on earth, so the animals might be very different here."

Kayin growled, and took another bite of his ice cream. It was hard being five, no one wanted to take you seriously. "So, after this, what are we going to do?"

"Well, the Empress has offered to let us stay here for a few days. She has magic that she and Vegeta think will help us find the planet that those other Saiyans were from."

"Are we going to- stay for a while I mean?"

"I think so. Vegeta seems to like it here, and I do too. What do you think?"

"I think if they have more of this ice cream, I'd stay forever." Kayin giggled, but just then something moved just beyond the door again, his eyes narrowed and he tensed up, but forced himself to sit still. For a long moment nothing happened and then just as he was getting ready to take another bite of his ice cream, he saw a face in the shadows of the doorway. Pretty and golden like the Empress, but with large silver eyes, the little girl seemed to see him at the same time, and again she retreated- but not before Kayin caught sight of a long, golden tail, exactly the same color as her hair.

"You saw it again, didn't you?"

"I saw someone alright- but I didn't think elves had tails, Dad."

"What??" Goku yelped, but was already remembering the little elf with the tail he had met on the video monitor- he had almost forgotten about her. He wasn't sure how to answer that, but luckily Kayin hadn't said it loudly enough that someone else might have heard it. The rest of the long table was listening and laughing so hard while Max was telling a funny story, that none of the others had even glanced their way since Kayin had tried crawling over the table.

"Dad?" Kayin tugged on his sleeve. "I saw someone! I really did!"

"I know. But I want you to keep this a secret, just between us for a while." Goku said, using telepathy to speak into his son's mind.

"Why?"

"Because- it's a surprise for everybody, Kayin. I promise I'll tell you all about it later, but you can't tell anyone for a while yet, ok?"

"If it's a surprise, how come you aren't surprised anymore?" Kayin asked suspiciously.

"Oh, I am alright." Goku nodded. "But you can't tell anyone else about Rashanna yet, ok?"

"What?? How do you know her name?"

"I met her a few days ago. Kayin, I can't talk about this right now…"

"Why? Is she bad?"

Goku laughed. "No. But you and me and Max have to keep her a secret for a while yet, it's important, can you help us do that?"

"I guess, but I don't understand why, Dad, she looked really lonely to me."

Goku grinned. "Well, if you promise not to break anything and if you promise you'll come and find your mom and me when it gets dark outside, maybe you could go play with Rashanna for a while so she won't be lonely anymore."

"Really dad? You're the best!" And the youngest of the earth demi-Saiyans vanished from the room in a blur. He went the same direction that she had and it wasn't long before he heard the sounds of someone crying, quietly. As it turned out, the curious little girl hadn't gone very far from the room, and Kayin was right, she seemed very lonely, for as he followed the sounds, he found her sitting in the lap of a huge white marble statue that sat in an alcove carved from the stone wall, crying with her head resting on her arms, hugging her knees up to her chest. The tail he had seen was hers, curled tightly around her small waist.

For a moment, he wasn't sure what to say, but he was lonely a lot of the time too, he always felt left out being the only half Saiyan his age. After all, normal children couldn't keep up with him so they rarely wanted to hang out with him, and even Pan and Bra were so much older than he was that they never really wanted to play with him either. Without making a sound, Kayin crawled up onto the statue beside her, and sighed. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

The little girl gasped and had already scrambled up onto the statue's shoulder, carefully putting the statue's head between them before she looked at him. For a moment neither moved again and neither of them said anything else. She seemed to be studying him just as curiously as he was looking at her. Her tail slowly unwound itself from her waist, and flickered distrustfully behind her for a moment. After what seemed to take hours, her suspicious expression softened slowly, but she didn't climb down and Kayin stayed still too, wondering if she could understand what he had said.

Kayin couldn't help but notice how graceful she was. Even taken completely off guard and probably scared half to death by how easily he had gotten that close to her, she had still moved with the light, feral grace of a Saiyan. Her tail wasn't brown or black, but the way that it moved and the way that she let it reflect her feelings was very Saiyan too, besides, Kayin knew that Trunks and Bra had each been born with a tail the same shade as their hair. "My name is Kayin, is your name Rashanna?"

"Yes." She answered. A question for him showed clearly in her large silver eyes, but she didn't say anything else and although her tail slowed in it's erratic movements, obviously she was still not sure whether she wanted to talk to him or not.

"You're a demi- Saiyan, like me aren't you?" Kayin asked quietly, watching her tail carefully for her reaction.

"H-how did you know I'm half Saiyan?"

"The tail."

"Many races have tails, and there are lots of types of hybrids."

"Maybe…but your scent and the way your tail moves says you are at least half Saiyan."

"My scent??" She seemed surprised. "I don't stink."

"I don't mean that kind of a scent! Silly." He laughed. "You smell like soap that smells like my mom's favorite flowers. But under that scent you are a Saiyan, I just know. But why were you crying?"

"My aunt didn't tell me that my father was here. I don't know if she was ever going to tell me. I never knew my mother, because she died long before I could be born… and my father has not visited our planet since I was born either. My aunt promised she would tell me when he arrived and she didn't."

"Y-you mean he's here now? What's his name? I don't think my father has ever been here before… so it can't be Goku."

"My father is Prince Vegeta." She said proudly, almost daring him to discount her statement.

"But how?? You're just a little kid and Vegeta has been bonded to Bulma for a long, long time."

"I'm half Elven, half Saiyan, so I'm much older than you think. I'm twenty-six years old. It takes many decades for an elf to mature. Prince Vegeta and my mother were both very young when my mother became pregnant with me. Frieza was still alive then and my aunt didn't want Frieza to know about me, so I could not be born until he was defeated."

"Frieza, again?? Man, everyone we have met talks about him all the time. It kind of makes me wish I had gotten to see him. Well, my dad was the one that beat him, so I guess in a way I do feel like I knew him a little, but I don't understand why he was so important if he's been dead for such a long time."

"He was the reason my mother died. He killed her… I love my aunt, and our people and our home... But I feel like no one here will ever understand me. I have never felt like I truly belong here. My father was one of the most feared men in Frieza's entire empire- yet my mother loved him and I have never even been allowed to meet him. Since he is here and no one told me I'm afraid that I will never have the chance to know him. I don't expect you to understand." She sighed, climbing down the statue. "No one does."

"Hey little man! So this is where you've been, Kayin. Your mom was just-" Bulma smiled, tussling the boy's hair gently as she came around the corner. She seemed to forget whatever she was going to say when she saw Rashanna and her tail peering silently out from behind the statue, though. "I- who is your -friend?"

"Uh… Dad told me she is a surprise." Kayin said innocently.

The little half elf curtsied. "My name is Rashanna Silversong. I am pleased to meet you, Lady Bulma. Because I know that you are my father's love mate."

"What? Your father is my- love mate? V-Vegeta is your father?"

Rashanna nodded slowly. "This was my mother, Princess Shannelle. As his bonded mate, you must have heard of her…"

Bulma was so shaken, that it took her a moment to figure out that the beautiful statue was what she was talking about. She didn't need much more than a glance at the larger than life statue to decide that it was indeed the girl whom she had seen in Vegeta's dreams so many times the night that Bulma had bonded to the Prince. Besides, Rashanna looked just like her mother had- well aside from the long, graceful tail.

It just wasn't fair- suddenly coming so close to a memory from so long ago. A memory that even now, meant as much to her mate as she did… Standing there, Bulma was fighting desperately for something to say- anything- the child was very polite and well mannered but nothing was coming to mind. Obviously the child was caught up in her own emotions too, slowly her silver eyes were beginning to fill with tears, and then she looked away, seeming to disappear behind the statue, but it took Bulma a moment to realize that she and the two children were not alone. Vegeta was there too…

**

All through dinner Vegeta had been able to feel how edgy Kayin was getting. Then when he suddenly hurdled the table, the Saiyan Prince had been certain of what he had suspected for a while. Something was very odd around here. The youngest son of Kakarrot and Jenna was as perceptive and as much of a loner as he himself had been when he was that age. That was why Vegeta had always been so fond of the boy, and visa versa, Vegeta smirked knowing that Kayin even imitated his stance, but regardless, because of Kayin he knew something was happening now. Even though he had tried to ignore his suspicions, he was convinced of it when Kayin had bolted into action so fast that his father almost had to transform to catch him.

Vegeta sighed. He didn't know exactly what the Empress and Max had told Kakarrot after he had left the gravity room the other night, but he was pretty sure Kakarrot knew what was going on. Vegeta knew that the Empress had most likely told him the full truth about Shani's death. But Vegeta hadn't been able to fathom what else she could possibly have said that would have kept the man from coming to try and console him. It was just terribly unlike Goku to leave anyone alone when they were upset like he had been the other night. Goku was still too soft in some ways, but Vegeta knew he'd grown so fond of the other Saiyan, in spite of himself because of it. Goku's ability to trust in others and show his feelings was a big part of the reason that Vegeta had finally learned to trust others again.

He sighed. Shani…The statue in front of him was made in the image of the girl who had been the very first person to gain his trust long ago, and it still hurt to look at her. The memory of their innocent friendship was too much with the way that she had been taken from him. Even now he had a hard time accepting that what had happened 12 years later had been very real as well. Proof of that seemed to stand before him now. It was hard to believe the memory of that one girl still got to him the way she did- but he couldn't help it or deny it, any more. There were some wounds that time might never heal and having her taken from him twice while he had tried so hard to spare her- was one of them. It was still painful to remember her, she had been so innocent and so trusting- After leaving the gravity room that night, Vegeta had been glad to get to face her memory alone- though right now he felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him, because at first glance he had thought the child standing in the shadow of her statue right now, was her. The he noticed something gold move in the shadow behind her and blinked, staring in shock.

Even as his rational mind told him that the little golden skinned child partially hidden behind the huge statue couldn't possibly be real, he recognized her instinctively. He knew whose child she was even before he caught her scent, and he was a little surprised as he realized quite suddenly that he didn't really even care how she had some to be here- he was actually glad to see her. Shani's death had taken everything that he had ever cared for from him- not once but twice both times he had feared he had let Shani down in ways he could never explain in words. And now tonight, here was his daughter, through Shani- very real and vibrantly alive.

He saw her tail wringing itself anxiously in circles and felt sorry for her instantly, as he realized he was scowling at her along with Bulma and everyone else that had come with them, so the girl had to be feeling surrounded and cornered... Her eyes were filled with tears, but Vegeta was glad to see that his beautiful youngest daughter had his spirit, for she adamantly refused to let them fall. That the child shouldn't exist because of her mother's terrible death was still secondary in importance to the fact that she was alive.

He smirked to himself, was grateful to Bulma. Only she could have changed him this much. There had been many years in his life where he could have destroyed this planet if he had even suspected that his trusted Elves would have betrayed him like this- keeping his own child a secret from him. A child that would have been the princess of two incredibly powerful races could have shaken the empire to its very foundations, and he knew it. Arrianna had had no choice but to keep her hidden, because it was not the Elven way to abandon their families, and yet there was no telling what Frieza would have done to the poor thing, so, the Empress had done the only thing that she could- hidden the child from everyone until it was safe politically because of the rest of the empire- and from her own father.

Beside him, Vegeta could feel Bulma's anxiousness and her confusion... He could feel that his mate was afraid that Shani was still alive, that she would loose him to the Elven Princess. Vegeta still couldn't bring himself to take his eyes off of the little girl's face, but when he finally could, he knew he would need to give Bulma lots of reassurance that she was still his chosen mate. Vegeta didn't have to wonder if Shani was still alive or not… he had been the one who lit the pyre upon which Shani's body was destroyed at her funeral. He had stayed with the memorial fire all night too, even then part of him was still unable to accept that she had been taken from him again. He squeezed his eyes shut- forcing the memory of Shani's final hours from his mind- If this was really their daughter, as he hoped; conceived before Frieza and Dodoria found them together, then she was the only real piece of her mother that was left, so it was only fitting that she should look like her, in the same way that Bra looked like Bulma.

"So, guys, what is going on over here?" Bra asked, using one shoulder of each of her parents to look past them into the corner. "Oh my!! Aren't you a beautiful little angel? Where did you come- a t-tail??"

**

At that moment, Rashanna had had enough! There were too many people around, and she was too insecure of her own feelings already to deal with anyone else gawking at her right now! She was so fast that only those with magic could catch her here in the palace where she had been raised, but she screamed and thrashed as an impossibly strong arm caught her around the waist, and tucked her gently into an equally strong, muscular chest.

"Shh. No one is going to hurt you. Shh. I think you and I need to go have a little talk with your great aunt, don't we?" The voice that spoke near her ear was masculine and soothing, even though she felt as if he were amused by her.

"Let me go, right now!! You're not my nanny!! I don't want to go anywhere with any of you!" Rashanna growled, trying to wriggle loose again, but since the visitor that was holding her was probably her father, she found herself being carried into the chambers that she knew belonged to her aunt, where she knew she would be in huge amounts of trouble for not staying in her chambers as she had been told to today. She growled though, she still felt like she had every right to be angry with her aunt, because she hadn't been told of their visitors' arrival or who they were.

"Rashanna, is that you making all the fuss?" The empress was smiling as she came into the sitting room adjacent to her bedroom wearing a white floor length silk dressing gown and a robe, but she quickly finished tying the robe closed as she saw she had several visitors. "V-Vegeta?? Oh my… Everyone, please come in, and sit down. I- oh I'm so sorry- She is- oh I know how incredibly awkward this probably seems- I- honestly just don't know what to say- except that I'm sorry I know this must be upsetting for all of you."

"Why didn't you tell me my father was here? This isn't fair! I hate being a little kid- I don't feel like the way I feel matters to you at all!" Rashanna cried before she could stop herself, not even realizing she was still being carried by her father, so as she collapsed into tears, she was crying on his shoulder.

"I'm not sure I understand what is going on…"Bra said looking at the Empress and then at her father, with disappointment brewing in her eyes. "Is this- I mean- well- is she yours, daddy??"

"If you mean is she the daughter of the Empress and I, no, she isn't. She is my daughter, but through Shani. We only had one night together before Frieza murdered her- it was many years ago, when I was18, Bra. Making me just a little older than you are now. I tried my damnedest to save her, but it was two against one and when I finally woke up, she was already dead. But my lady, there are several things I don't understand about this. Not the least of which being that Shani was too young to go into season- so she shouldn't have been able to conceive…"

"Remember that reintroducing you to each other after keeping you two apart for 12 years was Frieza's idea. There were chemicals in her body as she was prepared for her funeral that our healers simply could not identify, I believe they were some sort of fertility drug, because as you say, she was still almost 30 years to young for her natural seasons to start, but she was pregnant... The medallion that she was forced to wear made certain that she died. There was nothing I could do for Shani. But I was able to save Rashanna because the medallion stopped working in the instant that Shani's heart stopped. I had seen in a vision what was going to happen to Shani. And Vegeta- I'm so sorry, but I foresaw that she would be pregnant. I- I didn't know how to tell you, but I could not give up my family without a fight. My sister gave her own life to save Shani when Frieza tried to kill her the first time. It would have been a terrible crime to let both Shani and the child die- when there was something I could do. I bought one of the incubation chambers made for the Saiyans and secretly had it installed here in my palace. When the medallion could no longer stop my magic, I only had to teleport Rashanna into the incubator. She was so small that I couldn't even see her! But I knew in my heart that it had worked. I know it was risky to put such a tiny embryo into stasis for any length of time but she was your daughter, Vegeta. I was sure she would survive it. I made the decision to keep her in stasis until I was certain that Frieza would never find out about her. As you know, Vegeta there are hundreds of secret rooms and passageways in this palace. But just in case anyone connected to Frieza ever found that room, I didn't want to take the chance of them finding out that there was anything at all in the incubator, so she was not brought out of stasis until I saw what happened on Namek. Vegeta, your daughter is 26 years old and…"

"W-what? N-no way!!" Trunks cried, "That means she's about as old as I am!!"

"Elves are immortal until they are killed, Trunks. No known race grows as slowly as elves do. She would be 6 years old if she were a purebred elf- but actually, she looks like she is about the same age as Kayin."

"That is still very normal for an elf, Vegeta." Arrianna assured him gently. "Remember, Shani had several human children her own age to play with here in the palace, before you met her. Rashanna has never had anyone her own age to play with. On the other hand, she is quite a bit like you in personality and disposition, she seems happiest alone sometimes. You'll find that she moves very quickly and can be very stubborn. She seems to be mostly Saiyan, she has no interest in magic or the arts, literature, music- and she usually has more energy than we know what to do with. She likes to fight and is as much an escape artist as her mother was."

"She likes to fight??" Vegeta arched one eyebrow curiously at the mirror image of the most un-violent person he had ever met.

"I'm not going to tell you that she is very strong," Arrianna smiled, her loving smile focused on the sleepy Rashanna. "but yes, we managed to find her a trainer, and she spends several hours a day running circles around the poor man. It gets her to sleep at night, but she just keeps getting faster."

"You sound as if you want us to take her with us." Bulma said quietly, she sounded sad, but was unable to look away from the little girl who looked so innocent as she slept on Vegeta's lap, leaning into his chest and shoulder.

Arrianna laughed. "I have no interest in getting rid of the only heiress to my throne. What I want is what is best for Rashanna. I have done my best to raise her, but I am not a Saiyan. There is a lot about her that I don't understand, and she knows it. I want to understand her but I'm not her mother- I don't have that bond with her and I'm a purebred gold elf; I was born and raised to rule from on high in the palace. She is as wild and free as the autumn wind. She can and I'm sure she will grow into my responsibilities eventually, but for now she is too busy exploring and trying to capture or at least understand the part of her that is Saiyan to ever be happy here. All her life she has known about her father and mother and that she lost both of them many years ago- long before I could tell either of them about her. She has known for several years now that since the defeat of Frieza, her father has had another family and that he has stayed with them on earth. I think she has every right to want to find out for herself who she is and what it is to be half Saiyan. Shani did not know when she died that she was with child; I saved Rashanna because I owed it to my sister and to Shani to save what was left of our family. If you think of it this way, I know that you will understand what I want. Lady Bulma, if your situations were somehow reversed, and it was Shani who was still alive- I know she would want your children to have the chance to get to know their father. Remember, you don't have to decide anything now, because Rashanna may not want to leave Talon at all. I only hope that you will not hold my actions against her. Again, I am deeply sorry for deceiving you. I know this is a shock that none of you were prepared for. Please…"

Bulma stiffened where she sat; unaware of what was going on around her anymore. The last thing she had heard anyone say cut her too deeply to fathom. Bulma tried to force herself to focus on something else… but the words seemed to stay in her mind- because she knew it was true. If Shani had been the one that was still alive, she would want to let Trunks and Bra be around their father. But right now, Bulma just wasn't sure she could be that strong. Sharing Vegeta with the memory of someone she had never met was already hard sometimes. Shani was as warm and compassionate, as Goku- capable of charming even the Prince of all Saiyans into caring for her-even trusting her after he had already lost her once before. Even her exotic beauty left Bulma speechless every time she had seen the elf in a dream or the Dragon Tear- it was hard to feel as if she would ever be able to compete with someone like that. What did Bulma have that could ever draw Vegeta away from someone like Shani??

"Bulma." The voice that spoke softly, next to her ear, was that of her mate, and she scrambled out of his arms and across the darkened room as if he had attacked her. As she finally realized that they were alone, she threw herself on the bed and turned away from him, remaining silent. She heard her mate growl, but stubbornly she refused to say anything. "Damn it. Do you think this is easy for me? I thought I had finally started to make peace with Shani's memory and suddenly I have a daughter by her? That night should never have happened; she should have died when I was seven. But there is nothing as sacred to these people as their families. Arrianna is nearly 550 years old- but for her race she is still young, she still has another century or two to get around to choosing a mate. Elves actually are immortal until slain, but they consider their lifespan to be no more than a curse if they have no one to share it with. Their magic is powerful in ways that even I can't begin to imagine, but these people would never do something like this to hurt you, woman! Do you think I should toss her aside and pretend she isn't mine? Is that what you want?"

"No!!" Bulma gasped, but she couldn't bring herself to look at him.

"Then…"

"I just- Vegeta, I don't see what you see in me, when you compare me to her. Shani was so perfect and you loved her so much that it almost destroyed you twice- I just don't see how I can compete with someone like that. And now that Rashanna's here I'm wondering if you regret what's happened between you and me… Don't you ever wonder what it might have been like if you-"

Vegeta arched one eyebrow at his mate quizzically before he kissed her. His lips and tongue were demanding and he put her on her back, making her open her legs to him before finally breaking the kiss faintly amused by her dazed expression he settled on top of her comfortably, apparently unbothered by the fact that they were both still dressed. "When are you going to understand that you won't ever have to compete with Shani? For one thing, she's dead. Yes, I spent one night with her. I won't lie to you; Bulma, yes, that night was very intense… So much so that I still wonder sometimes what stopped me- why I didn't offer her the bond… but if I had, then we both would have died that night. There was no way her body could have recovered from what those two bastards did to her without very powerful healing magic or a tank and this time I knew instinctively that they weren't going to heal her when they were done- and we know if something happens to a Saiyan's mate he will die too. I don't remember what finally happened, because I literally snapped, just went cold with rage and attacked. But it didn't matter because she had been dead for at least two hours by the time I woke up next to her. Everything happened so fast that night that I never had a chance to wonder what would have happened if I had made her my mate, Bulma. Before we kissed and that led to more, yes, I knew she was beautiful, but so are all of her people and I've seen beautiful women from all over the universe and none of them ever got to me the way Shani did, and you still do. She was my best friend and I will always see her more as my friend than as a particularly interesting bedmate. I don't regret having her as my friend. I only regret that I could not save her. I used to regret the night we spent together- but only because I was not able to protect her the way that she deserved to be protected then either. We were young; we allowed our bodies and our hormones to run away with our heads that night, but because of it, there is one piece of her left. Shani wants us to be happy, she wants us to be together, look at The Dragon Tear, and it was her magic that made you age as I do- woman you are being ridiculous, you have no reason to..."

"I know that! I mean why did you choose me when you had someone like…" Vegeta rolled his eyes and kissed her again.

"Destiny chose you for my mate, silly girl. Maybe there wasn't a reason at all. Besides, you are more like Shani than you realize. So, no more talking, I want to concentrate on you for a while."