Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Time & Tide ❯ Not-So-Happy Birthday ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter Two

"A present from the distant planet of Panaea: A rare pearl as a gift to the young prince when he becomes a teen," a male saiiyan knelt before them, holding out a small box. The man was about five foot eleven, dressed in dark blue attire and a long black cloak. Zafira smiled, "Thank you Celeris." King Vegeta took the box, opening it to reveal a long gold chain, in the center was the pearl Celeris spoke of. It was a little difficult to describe seeing as how it seemed to warp from midnight blue, through lighter shades before reaching sky blue and darkening back to midnight again. It was surrounded by a gold disc that held it in place with the chain. King Vegeta looked at it funny. "I'm...sure the prince will be grateful for his gift when he's old enough to express his gratitude." Celeris nodded and walked back down the steps of the throne to join the others that were mingling on the ballroom floor.
"Yes, but at the moment, he'll only care if it's edible," Zafira muttered with a smirk, earning the same from her husband. King Vegeta handed her the chain and she held it above her son, who stopped sucking on his fist to stare up at it. He blinked a few times before finally stretching out his hands to try and grab it. Zafira chuckled, "It's not edible, dear." She placed it back in its box and handed it over to a servant knelt beside her and took it to a storage room where all the other gifts were held.
Another male saiiyan came up the steps, his lady beside him and the two bowed before them. The two were dressed in matching saiiyan armor, white and dark blue with matching capes.
"A training weapon for when the prince is old enough to fight," the male said and the woman held out a large, double-edged sword. The handle was bronze-colored and decorated with red, green and blue jewels. It resembled a flame. The king's eyes lit up.
Finally, a useful present, the king thought. The king snapped his fingers and a servant came to take the gift off of their hands, only to nearly fall on his face from the sword's weight. Two more servants came out to carry it into the storage room.
Just then, a servant ran up and bowed before the throne. "Announcing Master Sdhoirm and Lady Sikah, arriving with their young son, Master Turles, your Majesties!"
"Ah! It's about time they showed up," King Vegeta smiled. "I was afraid I'd have to deal with this alone forever."
Zafira shot him a look. He didn't apologize, but he stopped talking and waited expectantly for Sdhoirm to enter.
The doors opened, and a small but elegant and impressive procession made its way through the guests towards the throne.
Sdhoirm was dressed in silver robes for the occasion, his sword held in a jewel-studded sheath at his side. His eyes were shadowed and dark as midnight, but they sparkled.
Walking beside him was his mate, Sikah. She was a small female, about Zafira's size, and her long eyelashes were often cast downward in modesty. Sikah was a quiet woman who had long ago devoted her entire being to her child. She possessed feathered black hair hanging just past her shoulders, and a golden chain hung from her neck, a present from Sdhoirm on their wedding day.
At his father's other side was the five-year-old Turles. Turles was sullen and indifferent to the glamour of the palace...He spoke only when asked a direct question and took orders from no person except his parents. He had not yet learned what King Vegeta and Queen Zafira's authority meant, so although he was willing to listen to Zafira, he didn't obey Vegeta.
Sdhoirm and his family approached the throne and bowed together. King Vegeta rose to his feet. "Where in the name of the moon have you been?"
Sdhoirm smirked. "Well. Hello to you, too. Sorry to keep you waiting."
Zafira stood up, bringing the prince with her. "Vegeta, remember your manners," she said smoothly, giving a hug to both Sdhoirm and Sikah. "Thank you both so much for coming...and for all of your help, Sdhoirm."
Sdhoirm nodded. Sikah put her hands together and made a tiny bow -- a gesture she had used when she was one of Frieza's diplomats. "It is our pleasure, your Highness."
"Oh, you may call me Zafira. I would prefer that," Zafira said quickly. The baby had stopped chewing on his sleeve and was reaching out to Sdhoirm, who offered his fingers but didn't take him.
Sikah nodded compliantly. Zafira knelt in front of Turles, who stared at the floor. "I'm glad you could come, too, Turles," she said in a friendly voice.
Turles' dark skin turned slightly pink, but he continued to look down. Sdhoirm chuckled and went over to King Vegeta. Sikah frowned.
"Turles!" she whispered to her son in a reprimanding tone. "What did we talk about?"
Turles shuffled his feet and reluctantly raised his head to the queen. He regarded the infant prince warily. "Happy...Birthday," he said slowly.
Prince Vegeta glanced at him, then continued to ignore them all again. Zafira smiled.
"You look like you are getting very strong, Turles," she said. "I think you've grown since I last saw you. Pretty soon you'll be as big as your daddy."
Turles brightened considerably at this remark. "Yeah, Dad's showing me how to fight like him, and Mom is giving me flying lessons every day! I'm gonna be an Elite soldier when I grow up!"
Zafira laughed. "Of course you will."
Sdhoirm and King Vegeta watched the conversation with interest.
"Normally nothing can get Turles to make small talk," Sdhoirm commented. "Zafira has quite a way with children."
King Vegeta snorted. "Sometimes it seems like they're all she thinks about."
Sdhoirm nudged him. "Oh, come on. You know Zafira's a warrior. Just wait for little Spitfire to grow old enough to go out on his own. He'll be independent enough." Then the silver Saiyan sighed. "You think she's bad..."
"What do you mean?" King Vegeta asked curiously, turning from watching Turles show off a new punch to Sikah and Zafira.
"Ever since I first told Sikah about my new soul-son, she's been stuck on the idea of having another baby. She may have been a diplomat all her life, but she is a mother at heart...I think that Turles spends so much time playing with Bardock's kid Raditz that Sikah misses having someone to really take care of," Sdhoirm explained.
King Vegeta started to snicker uncontrollably. "Well, you've certainly screwed yourself over, haven't you?" he laughed.
Just then, Zafira and Sikah walked over, Turles and his mother hand-in-hand.
"What's so funny?" Zafira asked suspiciously.
Sdhoirm shrugged. "Nothing. Just remembering something funny. Right, Vegeta?" He glared at the king.
King Vegeta immediately put on a straight face. "Yes. Funny. Right."
Zafira and Sikah glanced at each other. They knew the men far too well to buy this explanation. But before they could say anything in reply, Turles started bouncing up and down.
"Dad! Dad! Can we give Prince Vegeta his gift now? Huh? Can we?" He had apparently forgotten about his silent act.
Sdhoirm smirked. "Ah, yes...Very well. I will call Cassinian."
"What does Cassinian have to do with this?" Zafira asked in surprise.
Sdhoirm raised an eyebrow and gave her a sly grin. "He's bringing the present." Then he put his thumb and forefinger in his mouth and blew such an ear-piercing whistle that every guest and even Prince Vegeta stopped what they were doing and froze.
Nothing happened at first. Then, the sharp ears of the Saiyans caught the sound of wings. An instant later, the doors opened, and a huge and beautiful white tiger swooped in on white-feathered wings. Cassinian was an Emera, one of the biggest of his species, and he was Sdhoirm's special pet. They were bonded to each other and Cassinian faithfully served Sdhoirm and his family all the time. Wherever Sdhoirm went, Cassinian would not be far away.
Every guest parted a space for the Emera to land in front of the throne. Cassinian landed in the empty spot, and Zafira was able to get a really good look at him for the first time. A giant white tiger the size of an elephant with pearl-white, razor sharp teeth and gigantic white wings attached between his shoulder blades, Cassinian was frightening to behold. But he had stunning sapphire blue eyes, and he was as gentle as a kitten with Sdhoirm's family and friends, especially children.
Sdhoirm approached his Emera and rubbed the animal's shaggy fur. Cassinian rumbled a happy greeting. He carried a brown sack in his mouth. Sdhoirm took the sack, and Cassinian lay obediently down on the ground, so as not to frighten the guests. Prince Vegeta, however, looked delighted to see the big creature, and started to fuss in an attempt to get over to him. Zafira bounced him to quiet him down. Turles rushed over to climb on Cassinian's large back.
Reaching into the sack, Sdhoirm smiled as he touched something on the bottom. Zafira and Vegeta leaned forward in anticipation, and gasped when Sdhoirm revealed what it was.
It was a tiny Emera puppy, quite obviously the runt of a litter. It had tiny wings that were too small to carry it yet, and prominent black stripes. Zafira noticed that one eye was the same catlike type, green as emeralds. But the other eye was glazed with a bright yellow, and had a scar running across it vertically.
Sdhoirm transferred the puppy to his arms, and it sneezed and stared curiously at the Saiyans around it. Then it started trying to lick Sdhoirm's face. Zafira could not get over how adorable the little thing was.
"Sdhoirm, how cute! Where did you get him?" she breathed, stroking the puppy's soft fur. It stretched happily under her touch.
"Cassinian found him. He was abandoned," Sdhoirm replied. "I thought Vegeta might like him. Emeras make wonderful playmates, and the younger they are when they bond, the more loyal they'll be. His name is Warfrost."
Prince Vegeta looked thrilled. He laughed and reached out again. Sdhoirm moved Warfrost so that Vegeta could touch it. The puppy sniffed Vegeta's curious hands, then started to lick the prince's face excitedly.
Zafira laughed. "How perfect! They'll be a great pair."
King Vegeta looked questioningly at his son and the puppy. "Kinda small, don't you think, Sdhoirm?" he asked.
Sdhoirm shifted the puppy in his arms. Although small for an Emera, it was still the size of a medium-sized dog. "Well, he is a runt. But look at his paws, Vegeta. See? They're huge. This little guy is gonna be bigger than Cassinian one day."
There was a snort from Cassinian and a giggle from Turles. Sikah gave them a warning look.
"Well?" Sdhoirm asked. "Do you like him?"
Zafira looked at her son, who was having a staring contest with Warfrost. She smiled. "I love him. And I know Vegeta does, too."
Sdhoirm grinned and put the puppy on the floor, giving Cassinian a signal to watch out for him. "Good. Now..." He rubbed his hands together. "What'd I miss?"
"Not much," King Vegeta snorted. "Just a bunch of silly gifts."
This earned him a glare from Zafira.
He shrugged. Then as if remembering something, his eyebrows rose. "Oh! Sdhoirm, I want you to take a look at this." He reached to the pile of gifts and took hold of the fiery sword. Handing it to Sdhoirm he said, "What do you think?"
Sdhoirm took the sword without a word, but there was a sudden hungry look in his eyes and they were big and glowing. Sdhoirm could never resist any kind of sword, and he was an expert on them all.
"Remarkable craftsmanship..." he murmured, as if talking to himself. "Lightweight, but solid and sharp...I've never seen its equal." He looked up at Vegeta. "Where did you get this?"
"It was a gift to Vegeta," the king explained.
Sdhoirm looked down at the sword again, and the hungry look returned to his eyes. Then he snapped out of it and turned to both King Vegeta and Zafira. "I would be honored if you would allow me to train your son in how to use this sword."
King Vegeta smirked. "Of course."
Zafira nodded. "That would be wonderful. I think it will be good for Vegeta to have some diversity to his repertoire."
Sdhoirm grinned as he replaced the sword. "Then it's settled. Thank you very much."

"Oh, how touching," a raspy and sarcastic-toned voice pierced the room, silencing all conversation and directing all attention to the three figures standing at the ballroom entrance. Frieza sat in his floating chair, his arms rested on the armrests, smirking with evil intent. By his sides were his two first generals: Zarbon and Dedoria. Dedoria was a strange, pink blowfish-looking creature with red lips and a plus size. Zarbon, on the other hand was a handsome emerald-skinned devil with blue eyes and long dark green hair that came into a braid at his waist. He also donned silver ball earrings and a matching chain across his forehead. The two generals also wore matching smirks with that of their lord. Everyone stared at the three in fear and shock. What was he doing here?

King Vegeta was not at all pleased with this situation and anger was written all over his face, no matter how well he tried to hide it. His gloved hands were balled into fists and Zafira was the first to notice. Zafira placed her slender, smaller hand over his and looked in his eyes.

"Please, remain calm, my husband. Nothing good can come from starting anything with him," Zafira said in a deathly calm whisper. Sikah and Turles, who had never seen Frieza before were completely silent and frozen in their tracks. Though they had never seen him, they could tell by the looks on everyone's faces that he had to be the hated Tsiru-jin.

"Get out through the back," the king whispered to Sdhoirm and Sikah. Sdhoirm nodded and muttered a "be careful", before gently taking his wife's hand and leading her out through the curtained exit beside the throne, Turles following suit. Cassinian was wise to sit beside the throne and was as still as stone.

"Lord...Frieza, we didn't expect to see you at the celebration," King Vegeta said, trying desperately to control his anger.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous Vegeta. What in this universe made you think I would miss the first birthday of the saiiyan prince?" Frieza said with a smirk.

"Go off and enjoy yourselves in the palace, but only for a few minutes. This shouldn't take too long," Frieza whispered quietly enough for only his generals to hear. The two smirked as Frieza floated towards the throne where the king and queen stood still. His seat floated him up the long flight of steps to where the king and queen's seats were. King Vegeta bowed and Zafira curtsied. Frieza slowly turned to Zafira. "Ah, Zafira, my dear. You seem to grow lovelier every time we meet. It seems motherhood has done you justice." He smirked, knowing that she was probably shivering inside under his gaze.

"Thank you, my lord," she said quietly, clutching her son tight to her breast.

"Please, sit down," Frieza said and the two took their seats. Frieza smirked, finally noticing the bundle in the queen's arms.

"Ah, so this is the young prince that the whole planet is so worked up over," Frieza said with a smirk, floating closer to Zafira and slowly descending to make eye-contact with the newborn prince who couldn't seem to take his eyes off the Tsiru-jin. This was the prince's first encounter with Frieza, and he automatically didn't like him. The prince began fuss and soon started crying. Zafira's eyes shot towards the prince and she gently pulled him to her, trying to calm him down.

"He's simply adorable, Zafira. You must be proud," Frieza said in a sickeningly sweet voice.

"Yes...I am. If you'll excuse me my lord," Zafira said before giving him another curtsy and exiting through the curtained exit. Frieza smirked as he watched her go. While Dedoria was long gone, Zarbon watched this scene with interest and took off as well.

~*~

"Shh...it's all right darling, everything's going to be okay. He's gone now. It's just you and mommy now," Zafira said tenderly as she gently rocked he baby in her arms, quickly silencing his sobs. Zafira sighed, feeling that icy trail on her spine easing off of her. That situation in the throne room was a premonition. Frieza would definitely be more involved in their lives now, particularly the prince's.

"Your highness, you have a visitor," a feminine computer voice spoke. Zafira nearly jumped as it pierced the silence.

"Enter," she ordered and slowly placed the baby down in his crib. She could hear the visitor's footsteps as the doors swooshed close.

"That was a hasty exit you made back there, love. One would almost think you were...afraid," Zarbon's voice entered her ears and her eyes shot up. She glared and turned around slowly, "What are you doing here?" Zarbon mocked being insulted, "Why, you allowed me entrance! Am I to believe that I'm no longer welcome here?"

Zafira merely glared at him and stormed past. He smirked and followed suit where they stood in the living room which was connected to the nursery.

"Well?" she asked coldly.

"Well what?" he asked, faking innocent.

"What do you want? You obviously didn't come in here for small talk," Zafira said in the same tone. Zarbon merely smirked and gently stalked to her till their faces were inches apart.

"You can drop the act, love. You know I wouldn't harm a pretty little hair on your head," he said, his voice turning from sly to seductive, that smirk still on his lips as he began to circle her slowly, taking in the curves of her body and how that royal gown hugged them so perfectly. He licked his lips. She felt like vulture's prey under his gaze. Ever since she had become queen, Zarbon began to act differently. At first, he seemed disgusted to be in the same room as her, and then he was always eager to be alone with her. And whenever they were, he seemed to be making passes on her.

"My dear, you can't really get me to believe that after all we've been through, you want to treat me like the enemy," Zarbon said in the same tone.

"If this is all you came for, you might as well leave. We have nothing to discuss. I am no longer Frieza's general and no longer your inferior," she said, not making eye-contact with him. He finally stopped in front of her, suddenly pushing her against the wall. She gasped as his left arm snaked its way around her tiny waist, holding her to him and as his right hand gently held her face close to his till their lips were almost touching.

"You can fight it all you want to, but one day, you will come to me. It's obvious this king of yours isn't giving you what you truly need," he ran a finger softly against her bottom lip, "Oh, what I wouldn't give to kiss your lips--"

"How dare you!" she quickly shoved him away from her, suddenly catching her breath which she didn't realize she was holding. Zarbon merely smirked.

"If you ever handle her majesty in that way again, you will pay dearly for it!" she almost yelled, anger evident in her voice.

"Now...get out!" she ordered. At that moment, the automatic doors slid open and Sdhoirm came walking in.

"Queen Zafira...I came to see--" he paused, taking in this scene. The queen was up against the wall, appearing to be boiling over with anger, while Zarbon was a few feet from her, a sly look on his face. His brow rose. Zarbon only glanced once at the new visitor and bowed to the queen, "As you wish, your highness."

He stood upright and gently walked to the sliding doors, which swooshed open and he stopped.

"But you can't hide behind your precious king forever," he said before chuckling and exiting the room. Zafira ran a gloved hand through her hair and sighed before rushing back into the nursery.

"What just happened?" Sdhoirm asked.

"Nothing," Zafira said almost too quickly for her own good.

"Zafira..." he said in that knowing tone she was all too familiar with. She stopped in her tracks, not facing him.

"I know something's wrong, his scent is on you," Sdhoirm said and she slowly turned to face him.

"Please, whatever you do, please don't tell Vegeta. He'd lose all self-control and attack Zarbon. And you and I both know that's a battle he couldn't win. Frieza would surely breach our contract and we'd be his enemy," Zafira pleaded. Sdhoirm looked at her carefully, evidently still shaken after what had just conspired in the living room, then with a sigh, he nodded. The last thing they needed was a war against Frieza.

Frieza and his generals eventually left and the people of Vegetaseii were allowed to breathe with relief.