Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Time & Tide ❯ Farewell ( Chapter 14 )

Chapter Fourteen

"Sdhoirm, I've been meaning to talk with you."
Vegeta and Sdhoirm were walking down the halls of the palace, heading in no direction in particular. Cassinian and Warfrost were outside somewhere, most likely in the courtyards. They were completely alone, and Vegeta had the chance to get something that had been bothering him for awhile off his chest, without distressing his mate or his mother.
"Yes? What is it?" Sdhoirm asked his soul-son lightly.
Vegeta didn't answer for a moment, but then he gave Sdhoirm a serious look. They both stopped walking. "Is there something wrong?"
"Why do you ask?" the elder Saiyan wondered, but he didn't meet Vegeta's gaze.
"You've been more restless than usual these past few months. You can barely stay in one room for more than ten minutes, let alone stand still. You wouldn't be thinking of..." Vegeta paused, searching his soul-father's face for signs. Sdhoirm was impassive "...going away again...would you...?"
Sdhoirm folded his arms and looked up and down the hall absently, but made no reply.

~*~
It was true what Vegeta said about Sdhoirm being restless. The Saiyan Master of Swords didn't even sleep in the palace any longer. He always chose to lie down in the courtyard against Cassinian's luxurious fur coat. When asked about this, he vaguely responded that he felt cramped indoors, even though the space was vast and large. None of his family members pursued it, but they weren't convinced.
Besides sleeping outdoors, Sdhoirm trained with Vegeta less and less. He was always away, out running Cassinian or just drifting around the forests. He would leave very early in the morning and return late at night. Vaya was unnerved, but the baby took up all of her thoughts most of the time, and Vegeta was swamped under his duties as king.
But Zafira's time was free to wonder and worry. She was afraid that Sdhoirm's sudden anxiety and tension was due to the fact that he had spent almost twenty years on the same planet. She knew he was not used to it, that his system almost couldn't handle it...but she said nothing, hoping that if she pretended that it didn't exist, it would go away.
But as the days passed and Sdhoirm's impatience grew worse, she began to get a nagging in the back of her mind. She was kidding herself, and a tiny little nasty voice told her that she knew it.

~*~
"I know something's wrong Sdhoirm. We're all beginning to worry, me most of all..." Zafira said before her pacing mate. The two were luckily hidden behind the soundproof doors of her new room.
"You want to leave for space, don't you?" he stopped in his tracks and looked at her. It was all she needed to see. Sdhoirm couldn't help but frown at the almost heartbroken look on Zafira's face, but he knew she wanted him to speak it for himself. He pulled up a chair and sighed, "Yes. I feel so restless and confined in this palace even if it is so big. I guess it's a part of my nature." Zafira nodded slowly, "Well, there's nothing stopping you. I'd rather you were out there than cooped up in here. It almost looks as if being here kills you."
"No no no, never that," Sdhoirm said, walking up to her and pulling him in her arms.
"Then why do you spend less and less time in the palace and even less time with me? Have you grown tired of this lifestyle? Would you rather be free again? Because I won't stop you. I--" he silenced her with a kiss. Her emotional outburst would only lead to a rift between them. He placed his hands on her hips and led her to the bed. Zafira, finally grabbing a hold of her senses, pulled away from his lips.
"No Sdhoirm, you won't keep me quiet about it. I--" he kissed her again and gently laid her on the bed, his hands tugging at her clothing.

As he made love to her, over and over that night, he told her and expressed to her how much he loved her and how he'd never want another woman for a mate. Her nails dug thin lines along his back, drawing needle-thin trails of blood as he pushed deeper inside of her, making her scream.

The two lay spent and naked in each other's arms in Zafira's bed, finally running out of strength and just holding each other. Even though neither had spoken a word, Zafira knew he still wanted to leave and that nothing would change his mind. Sdhoirm was stubborn like that. Well she knew one thing was clear if he was leaving...
While Sdhoirm lay on his back, she climbed on top of him and sat just above his navel, catching him off guard.
"Zafira, is--" she placed a finger over his lips, quieting him.
"I can understand that you want to go and I won't stop you. I'd be making you a prisoner here, so I won't keep you here. But there's no way in hell you're leaving me in this palace alone, that's for damned sure. So you can bet that if you're leaving this palace, this planet, I'm going with you," she said with a determined and stern look. Needless to say, Sdhoirm was speechless, but he was very pleased. He'd want it no better way, it's just that he didn't expect her to want to travel in space for who knew how long. With only a smile on his face, he sat up, pulling her into a kiss. After pulling away, Zafira smirked and pushed him down onto his back again, straddling him and thus resuming their love ritual.

~*~
The next morning, Zafira awoke to find herself alone. Sdhoirm had disappeared again, and for a moment her heart stopped. But then she heard his voice outside, shouting directions to Cassinian.
She got up from her bed and, keeping a sheet wrapped around her body, went to look out the huge window. There was the courtyard below, and right in the middle sat a huge spaceship, obviously designed for long space travel. Sdhoirm was sitting up on top of it near an open hatch, and Cassinian was in the process of bringing supplies and belongings up to his master, who dropped them through the top. Zafira was surprised by how little he was taking, but she guessed that after doing this for as long as Sdhoirm had, one would know what was absolutely necessary.
She smiled and turned from the window to get dressed and ready to leave.

~*~
The final minutes before departure were the most emotional ones most of those present ever experienced. Warfrost and Cassinian were there, along with Kakarrot, Chi-Chi, and of course Vaya and Vegeta. Chi-Chi was holding her baby son Gohan in her arms. Kakarrot had been discovered to be Adrian's soul-father, and he had taken Adrian from Vaya so that the young queen could say her goodbyes.
It had been decided that Cassinian would still stay behind. Although the Emera protested this idea quite a bit, Sdhoirm explained to him that there simply wasn't enough room. Besides, Warfrost wouldn't be able to look after Vegeta, Vaya and the baby by himself. Only Cassinian knew what it was like to deal with children. Sdhoirm gave his lifelong pet a final bonded hug around his huge furry neck, and Cassinian sadly stepped back to let the others go. Warfrost made a whining sound, but stood firm beside his elder mentor.
Vegeta approached his soul-father first. He didn't quite know what to say, so he hesitated for a minute. Then he extended his hand, and smiled.
"Don't get into too much trouble," he said, only half-jokingly.
Sdhoirm took Vegeta's hand and shook it solemnly. "You know me," he said seriously, but there was a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, and his eyes were glittering.
Vaya and Zafira were giving each other a final hug, and when they let go, there were tears glistening in Vaya's eyes. She managed a shaky smile.
"Thanks for everything..." she whispered softly, "...Mother."
Zafira smiled and hugged her again.
Then Vegeta and Vaya turned to their parents.
Vegeta slowly approached his mother, trying to mask the sadness on his face, but failing at it. He let out his breath, which he didn't realize he was holding, when Zafira wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her tightly, knowing this would possibly be the last time they'd see each other. He was so used to having his mother around, to confide in, to talk with, to share his feelings with.
"Don't give me that look, Vegeta. You'll do fine, and besides, with such a beautiful wife, how could you be sad?" Zafira commented, making Vaya blush and Vegeta smirk.
"You're right," and the two hugged each other again.
Sdhoirm brushed the tears out of Vaya's eyes gently. "Don't cry."
Vaya sniffed and threw her arms around her father's neck, clutching him tightly. "I'm going to miss you, Daddy," she whispered.
Sdhoirm pushed her back and smiled. "My little girl has really grown up...You've become a beautiful, wonderful young woman, Vaya." He paused, and stroked her hair to calm her down. "Your mother would have been very proud of you."
Vaya was surprised; but then she smiled, too. "Thanks, Daddy."

~*~
Zafira and Sdhoirm were inside the ship, preparing to take off. Zafira stood by the control panel, in front of the mirrored windows. She was watching her son, his mate, her grandson, their friends and the Emeras...she would miss them all so much...
Sdhoirm came up behind her. He rested one hand against the controls, and slid the other around her waist. He leaned his head down and whispered in her ear, "Are you sure you want to do this...?"
Zafira didn't reply for a moment, just taking in the feeling of his presence. Something that had always made her curious about him was his voice. Every male Saiyan had at least a slight rasp to their voices. Not Sdhoirm. His voice was low and smooth and soft as velvet. Maybe that was why he could get people to listen to him without ever raising his tone.
She nodded once. "Yes. I'm sure."
Sdhoirm closed his eyes; with his other hand he brushed her hair back from her shoulder. He kissed her shoulder softly, pulling her body even tighter to his. "I'm glad you're with me, my love..." he murmured in his velvet voice.
Zafira's eyes drifted shut as well and she tilted her head to expose more flesh to his touch. "Why do you say that...?"
"Because..." he answered softly, nuzzling her neck and gently stroking her tail. "...With you by my side...I feel less alone." She couldn't help but smile, shivering under his touch of her tail.
"Well with you I'll never feel alone again. We'll never be alone," she said gently and he sat upright to look in her eyes, a warm smile donning his features. He pushed a few buttons on the control panel and pulled her into a kiss as the ship activated and launched out for space.

THE END