Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Unspoken ❯ Sold ( Chapter 4 )

Unspoken

Chapter 4 - Sold

As I sit and wait by the lake, I now question my coming. I should make a clean cut, but I can not. I have to see him one last time, absorb one last image of him, hold onto a memory that is not as toxic as last night's. I close my eyes, trying not to remember his devastating words. Of course, I do anyway.

"What? You did not actually think I was going to bed one of Brolli's whores? Be inside something he and his comrades have already spoiled countless times over?" My lips part, I am horrified by his words. He only laughs, "Perhaps your exotic Saiya-jin like features attract many a man, but right now I am trying to hold back the bile I feel rising upon the memory of touching you. Those few seconds were enough to make me desire a shower-yes-a shower. I think I will have to clean your stench off of me."

I shudder. Many times I have felt used, violated and broken by Brolli, but never have I felt like the whore Vegeta claimed me to be last night. And yet, I still need this one last deception, one last memory that I can take with me to Brolli's bed whenever he calls me, something that will sustain me for however long my miserable life is meant to continue.

"You are early," I hear his more pleasant voice from behind me. I stand and turn around to face him. "Could not wait to see me?"

I do not respond to his question. I get right down to business; it is now all I feel comfortable about talking with him. "Brolli is furious you took his woman from him last night. He was all shades of mad this morning."

My companion laughs at this; I suddenly want to slap him. "Well that was the idea." He walks closer to me. I hold my ground until he is only inches away. I take a step back. "But, let's not talk about Brolli right now," he suggests, and I feel a chill blast down my spine. He reaches for my face, so I take another step back. "It is long past time that I see you, woman. Take that cloak off." He crosses his arms, how humble of him to allow me to do the honors.

"I do not have time for this," I hiss and turn to leave, he suddenly materializes in front of me and I am stopped in my tracks. I gasp for breath, "I do not have time for these games!" I nearly scream. "I am here to give you information, if you do not want it, I am leaving. I already am pressed for time since Brolli made his class a half hour earlier."

"What?" the news startles him, so I bitterly explain.

"He is planning a special night with the one you denied him last evening, so he moved his class up." I use his moment of confused contemplation to step past him, I do not get very far before he grabs my arm and slams me against his chest.

"Why are you acting like this?" his hand tightens on my arm. "You are unnerved. Is Brolli suspicious of you? I can do nothing if you remain silent."

I bite my bottom lip. He makes it so tempting to want to trust him, to want to tell him everything, but I won't. I promised myself I would be wiser about this. I will be. "Please let me leave. It was risky coming here tonight in the first place, I need to go." But he does not release me, he does not even look at me directly, his eyes are fixated lower than mine.

"I will let you go," he deceives me in his promise, "Just let me see you first."

I blink, wishing he desired something else of me, anything but what I cannot give him. "No," I vow firmly. "Let me go."

He slides his arm around my waist and suddenly I am flush against him. What is he doing? "I did not know your kind fits mine so well." He lowers his head right next to my neck. He kisses my shoulder. My eyes slide shut. He kisses my neck, my chin, even through the fabric his touch reawakes parts of my body I have long believed dead.

"Please don't," it is intended as a demand, but it comes out more like a plea, one he does not listen to.

"Give me a reason to, and I will stop," his hold tightens; there is no escape. I fall against him slightly, my resolve failing. He wants something; I will give it to him, just as I will take from him in return.

"Close your eyes," I ask and he does after a few moments of hesitation. Once I feel certain he will not open them, I pull the bottom of my veil back, exposing only my lips. I touch them to his. He moans and parts them immediately. Our tongues clash, our arms wind around one another. I experience a sensation I have only read about back on earth: passion.

I want to savor it, imprint it on my mind and tuck it away somewhere that I can access when my deepest darkest moments overpower me. I hope I do, because the moment, as all those scarce minutes of pleasure I experience, is fleeting.

One of his hands slides up the side of my body toward my face; he grasps my veil, attempting to pull it away. I stop him by breaking our kiss. "No," I insist, and he lets me go. I feel out of breath; he looks mildly winded himself. The question suddenly pops into my mind, why did he want to kiss me? Why would he? He thinks I am a Qreatin! A slave!

"I have to go," I turn and run from him, I realize after he refrains from following me that he must be too stunned to do anything. What is he thinking, kissing a woman like me? He rejects pleasure slaves but solicits household servants? It makes absolutely no sense.

I stop running once I reach the outskirts of Brolli's territory. I follow the same path through the back gates, through the servants' entrance and up the back staircase to my chambers. Once I am in my room I close the door behind me and pull off the cloak. I throw it on my bed.

"Don't stop with that," I spin around to see Brolli sitting on my bed, holding my discarded garment in his hand. I swallow. "What is the matter, Aoiro, surprised to see me?" He pushes himself off of my bed, and throws the cloak to the ground. Before I can blink he is in front of me, he grabs a clump of my hair and forces me against my door.

"Why did you disguise yourself and leave the premises?" he demands. "You know it is forbidden of you!" His lips part to say something else, and then he snaps them shut. He inhales my scent.

Fuck.

"Vegeta," he hisses the name so deliberately I am thrown back into my first days here, when I used to be deathly afraid of the monster. "You were with Vegeta?" he accuses. After he demands an answer, I nod. "That fucking son of a bitch!" he throws me to the ground; I am slow to return to my feet. "He ordered you to meet him again tonight?" I nod. "And you went, when you know full well you are under no obligation to follow the orders of anyone but me?" I nod again. He backhands me.

"After all I have done for you," he circles my clumped corpse. "This is how you repay me?" he screams, and grabs me by my hair again. I close my eyes, and I await my death. "No, Aoiro, you will not be dealt with so mercifully." I open my eyes as I feel him release me. "Killing you brings me no profit, and I better damn well get something out of your worthless ass."

I look at him, slowly realizing his meaning. "I would have treated you like a goddess you ungrateful bitch," he leaves me with ominous words before he departs from my room, slamming the door behind him. I am shaken by the tone of his voice. He almost sounds genuinely disappointed, upset by what he must do.

All things considered I should be grateful, he was more merciful than I would have expected. But I am not, because I know his punishment is much worse than merely my death. He plans to hit me where it hurts most, just as I have no doubt he believes I did to him.

He plans to sell me.

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

"Another rough night?" the sound of Radditz's amused voice irritates the hell out of me. I need to start avoiding my throne room after my meetings with Bulma.

"Fuck off," I hiss as I walk past him. I pull my cape and gloves off, throwing them to the floor. My blood is boiling. The damn woman has the audacity to kiss me! Me! The Saiya-jin King! She is nothing but a lowly servant. What ever gave her the gall to touch me?

I know I did, but I am hesitant to admit it. I wanted to touch lips with her. I thought the act would be so revolting, kissing a Qreatin, that whatever ridiculous infatuation I have begun to experience would quickly disappear. I have never been more wrong.

Her lips are soft and thick. Her tongue is warm and inviting. Her arms are tender in their embrace-not that I enjoy tenderness, of course-but she just feels so damn soft against my hardness; all of my hardness.

I have to kill her. The attraction is dangerous, not to mention embarrassing. If word of this ever surfaces, the entire planet will not think me a fit king. And how could I be, when my judgment is so perverse to form an attraction with a species that is not even compatible? I feel myself cringe.

"I thought you should know," Radditz follows me to the back exit that takes me to my private chambers. I stop in my tracks and turn around to face him. He must know I am displeased by his interruption, because he is quick with his delivery of the information, "Nappa has collected a group of men who were your father's closest allies. It is rumored that they plan to publicly attack your capability as King. They feel your advanced ethics will infringe upon their lifestyles. Between your decision to decrease purging missions and send elites back onto the battlefield, when in recent years they have become comfortable in their sloth, those who have the ears of society are threatening to speak out. And now that word has spread that you disbanded your father's harem, many fear you are planning for a more global display of your dislike for the slave trade."

"This is just what I need." I grind my teeth before stating, "I assume you have not come to me with this problem without a solution."

Swallowing visibly, Radditz nervously answers me, "I have three suggestions, which I believe will settle the rising tumult until a more permanent solution may be found, but you will not like any of them."

I anticipate that, but I am willing to listen regardless, "Speak."

"Well, I believe it would be in your best interest to invite them to stay on castle grounds. Claim that you are willing to listen to their concerns. It should shut them up for a while." I part my lips to retort, but Radditz seems to be reading my mind. "They will not dare reject the offer. They need public support and if they refuse to speak with you they will appear uninterested in the legitimate issues. After you went to Brolli's house respectfully, they can not withhold the same courtesy."

"I do not want them in my home," I insist. It is pointless to make the statement, since Radditz is already well aware of this. I cannot, however, help but confirm it regardless. "What else?"

"Alter the purging schedules."

"And appear to be caving to these bastards' demands? Not a chance in hell. What is the last suggestion?" Radditz tries to convince me that altering the schedule only slightly and instead re-implementing the changes more gradually, will cause less friction between the elites. Nonetheless, I insist that I will not be budged on the matter. It is bad enough I am considering meeting with my enemies, as if I care what they think, but I will submit no more. "I asked for the third suggestion."

Radditz clears his throat. I realize he has saved the worst for the last. I cannot wait to hear this. "Purchase a woman."

My eyes narrow. I hope he has not said what I know I just heard, "Excuse me?"

"Look, let us be honest about this. In your lifetime you will not see the slave racket end. It is a losing battle, and I know you choose your battles wisely. Show your peers that you do not intend to stiffen their trade. Go to the Seriichi tomorrow and make a public display of your purchase. Just one woman, that is all you need to settle rumors."

"I do not sleep with whores," I growl. I want nothing to do with any purchases. It is a waste of money as well as my time. Not to mention I hate the Seriichi. My father took me there once when I was thirteen. He purchased me my first woman. I killed her once my father left us alone. I concluded I had done both of us a favor.

"Then do not sleep with her," Radditz's tone is a bit snippy. I think my rejection of his ideas is beginning to irritate him. "Look, I'll sleep with her. You just need to make the effort tomorrow. An hour or two out of your day will not kill you, but it will enhance your reputation."

I say nothing for several minutes. I contemplate my options. I do not like them. "Fine, I will make a purchase tomorrow. You may invite Nappa and his crew here for one week beginning three days from now. But, I will make no more allowances than that. In fact, gather a team of elites to meet me on the common tomorrow morning for some sparring. I think my people need a visual reminder of exactly why I am king."

"As you wish," Radditz bows before turning to leave. Once he disappears I finish my trek to my chambers. The infuriating state of my political affairs has at least served to kill my lingering arousal.

Damn woman.

But I will not think about her. As I walk over to my bed and collapse upon it, I try to think of anything but my hooded mystery woman. Maybe Radditz's suggestion of purchasing a wench is not so outlandish. It has been a long time since I have indulged. Perhaps another woman would help to distract me.

I sincerely hope that will be the case, because nothing would please me more then the end of this Qreatin nightmare I have been living.

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

"I am truly sorry about this, Aoiro, but I can not say I did not warn you," Ezria offers her condolences as only she can. I shrug my shoulders in mild indifference as she continues to set my hair for my sale today. Brolli wants me gone immediately. I do not recall ever seeing him so angry.

"His feelings run deeper for you than any other woman he has ever had," Ezria explains to me. "That is why he has not killed you. He cannot bring himself to do it. Plus, he wants to punish you for not returning his affection. I believe in the back of his mind he sees himself buying you back at some later date."

I shrug again. He will not. I do not plan to survive so long. "Have you considered the gentleman you have been meeting? If he is half as fond of you as Brolli seems to think the Saiya-jin king is, you might spare yourself some grief," Ezria questions while biting her lower lip. I know she is trying to hold back a laugh. She believes Brolli jumped to the wrong conclusion when he accused me of disappearing from his grounds to have an affair with Vegeta. If only she knew how close to the truth Brolli has come. I am suddenly glad I have not told her the King himself is the man I have been meeting.

However, she does evoke a question I failed to consider the night before. Vegeta did vow to purchase me from Brolli in exchange for my information. I know he expected the arrangement to last longer, but do I dare ask for his help? If he learns I have lied to him, will he still purchase me and set me up in a less degrading position, a simple house servant, perhaps?

No, I briefly close my eyes. That will never work, not after last night, not after our kiss. My fingers glide over my lips as I remember the all too brief experience. A moment of realization overcomes me. I think I am actually going to miss spending a few evenings a week with him. It has been an escape, a chance to remember who I once was. But no more, Brolli has to take that from me just as he has taken everything else.

"I could send him a note," Ezria suggests, "Alert him of Brolli's intent to sell you. Perhaps he will find some way to purchase you before it is too late, bringing you better circumstances of living."

It is a tempting suggestion, but I cannot warn him. I cannot be sure of what he will do if he knows the truth about me. As much as I wish I could trust him, self-preservation warns me against the gamble.

"For what it's worth, you look beautiful, my dear." It is a compliment, but equally a curse. Brolli wants me to look exquisite to pull in the largest price. I hope he makes less than his original purchase.

"Come on, Aoiro. It is time to go." I follow Ezria downstairs. She walks me to the shuttle, which shall take me to the Seriichi. She offers me no kind words before my departure. She merely grants me her respect for having survived as long as I have. The thought is a cold comfort.

Once I arrive where I am to be sold, I suddenly feel like I am in a dream. I am taken to the waiting room that looks no different from when I first came to this fireball of a planet. There are almost two-dozen women already inside. I am given a number, twenty-three. It seems my wait will be long, but hopefully not too long.

I want this over with.

It seems it is time for me to enter another miserable chapter of my life.

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

"Twenty-sold," a short stocky alien announces the purchase, invoking a round of applause. I think I am beginning to feel nauseous. The stench in the room is horrible. The level of noise is several decibels louder than I prefer, barring on the field of battle. As I sit in the back, my feet propped up on a chair in front of me, I glower at anyone that shoots a questioning look toward me. They all are shocked by my presence, but none dares to say anything. Apparently they are not all as dumb as they look.

I feel Radditz elbow my shoulder as he hisses, "What was wrong with that one?"

"She was pink. I hate pink."

Radditz frowns at my complaint. I have found a petty one with every female so far. "With your attitude, you will never make a damn purchase."

I shrug, but he does have a point. "Then I'll buy the next one and be done with it."

"Number twenty-one comes to us from the recently purged planet Wojix…"

"No, you do not want that one," Radditz prevents my blasé purchase, "She is worth less than the opening bid for her. A friend of mine was on the squad that purged her planet. The Wojix have a short life span. She will be dead within a year."

"So why the hell should I care? I am going to kill her anyway." Radditz frowns again as he looks at me.

"You have waited through twenty previous purchases; you can suffer through one more," he advises me. "Besides, you do not want to appear a fool when this is your first purchase ever."

I shrug again, horribly indifferent to this entire process. I wait for the Wojix to sell. Once she does, the next one comes out. I plan to finish this farce by selecting her, but Radditz stops me again, "You can not buy that one either."

"Why the hell not?" I snap.

Radditz nods over in the direction of an elite as he explains, "Taro has already laid claim to her. Her being placed on the block is merely a formality."

"Is that typical?" I question.

"Yes, actually," Radditz continues to endow me with his wealth of knowledge, "It is mostly done to drive the price up for the woman, as well as publicly document her worth for future selling. Owners will, prior to the auction, guarantee the final bid to a certain person. It is most common with exquisite acquisitions."

"My, my Radditz, between the unfair prices and the backhanded deals you seem to be quite an expert on the Seriichi. Do you purchase often?" It is now my elder's turn to glower at me.

"It is my job to be well informed," he answers simply. I am prepared to explore the topic further when the short stocky alien announcer catches my attention.

"Twenty-three is quite a treat for you gentlemen this afternoon. She is the last living ningen in the universe. Her former master has taken excellent care of her. She is practically unspoiled. I am told only one other man has used her besides her owner. She does have one flaw, however, the woman is mute, so do not expect the walls to be quaking with her screams…" boisterous laughter interrupts the announcer, but my mind barely registers it. I am too taken aback as I gaze upon the woman. It simply cannot be.

"Is that not the woman Brolli fumed over my taking from him?" I lower my voice as I ask Radditz, "I thought she was his favorite."

"They had some kind of falling out," he gives me no details beyond that. My blood heats up as memories of her being near me cloud my thoughts. She is the one that smells like Bulma, the one that fits so perfectly against my body. The one I had to take a freezing cold shower to erase from my mind. Plus, she's Brolli's. Falling out or not, he will be furious to know I have purchased her.

Perfect.

"I want this one," I warn Radditz before I bid.

"Not an option," he tells me. "She is like the last one. An arrangement was made for Nappa to make the final purchase. She is to be his." I growl upon hearing this. That brute will break her within a night.

"I am ordered to start the bidding at fifty thousand duros."

"Expensive," I feel myself deciding immediately, the most expensive this evening. "I do not give a damn about Nappa's previous arrangement with Brolli. I want her." As I watch her stand before the salivating group, her hands bound in front of her as she lifts her nose to them in an intriguing display of pride, I feel all the more certain of my decision.

"Do I hear one-hundred and fifty thousand?"

"You absolutely cannot," Radditz insists, "Pre-Seriichi arrangements are to be respected. Not to mention, Nappa is the one challenging your kingship. Do you have any idea how spiteful it will look if you purchase a woman meant for him?"

"I am their king, Radditz," I remind coldly. "You suggested I come here to show my support for the slave trade, so what better way to do that then send shockwaves through the planet by stealing a purchase another man-a man daring to defy me-was intended to claim?"

"One-hundred ninety thousand."

"This is more of a shock than I had planned," Radditz cautions me, but he knows when I make up my mind there is no changing it.

"Two-hundred thousand," Nappa finally places his bid. So that was what Brolli was expecting for the woman. I watch her visibly flinch. She appears to be displeased with her intended.

"If there are no other bids, twenty-three is sold to-"

"Half million," my voice resonates throughout the room. It drops to dead silence. Everyone looks at me. Had I known this was all it would take to quiet the masses, I would have done it earlier.

"A…a half…of a… a… million duros?" the stout man questions. I do nothing more than nod my head in confirmation.

"Had to go for the gusto, didn't you?" Radditz mumbles under his breath as my eyes roam toward Nappa and then Brolli. They both look incensed.

Perfect.

"Allow me to save you the effort," I shout across the room to the alien master of these ridiculous games, "no one will be outbidding me."

"I-ah, yes, of course," he rings the bell that signals the purchase. "Twenty-three goes to you, your highness."

The silence is thick for another few minutes before an unknown warrior applauds. A few more follow and then the room is displaying their pleasure for my bold move. I ignore them for the most part, however. My eyes are locked with Brolli's. He looks ready to fly across the room and attack me. My lips curl into a smirk.

"Go get my acquisition, Radditz. See to the payment and then take her back to my chambers." Radditz does as I order, while I turn to spot Nappa walking toward me in an acute fury. He gets only half way across the room before Brolli steps in front of him, and slams a hand across his elder's chest. The two men glare at me, and then Brolli whispers something to Nappa that causes the brute to reluctantly turn around and depart in the opposite direction. Brolli then continues down the path Nappa started. Apparently he intends to be the one to "deal" with me.

Soon Brolli stops next to me. He towers over me, but I am not in the least bit intimidated. "We need to have a word, outside," he demands of me. I agree only because I am pleased by his anger and wish to see what he does with it.

Once we are outside I notice a group of stragglers following us for some distance. They back away once Brolli and I finally halt. They want to know what is transpiring. Shockwaves indeed. "You are keeping me from my new toy, Brolli. This had better be important."

"You had no right to purchase her."

"She was for public sale."

"She was intended for Nappa. You had no right to make such an outrageous bid!"

"You are complaining?" I have mock astonishment in my voice. "You will receive more than double what you had expected. Have you any idea how ridiculous your anger is?"

"Ridiculous, my anger is?" Brolli takes a step closer to me. He lowers his voice as he states, "you fucked her without my permission. That is against our laws."

I feel my brow rise, "And just when did I do that, Brolli? You gave me a pick from all your women. Just because you did not like the one I chose-"

"I am not talking about the night you were allowed into my home, I am talking about last fucking night!" I immediately become defensive. Last night? "You had no right to arrange to meet her while you knew I would be off training those sniveling brats you had me assigned to!" I blink in confusion. He thinks I met his whore last night while I was with Bulma? I cannot help but wonder what has brought him to such a false conclusion. "She comes into my home draped in a petty servant's garb, reeking of your scent..."

Servants' garb? My scent? Suddenly the timing all filters through my mind as I scramble to reach a conclusion I am not ready to accept.

Her scent.

The night I was with her, it was identical. I had written it off with an easy excuse, because I could not believe the woman I had been meeting with had not only lied to me, but also was one of Brolli's women-a woman who was supposed to be mute. It just cannot be. They cannot be the same woman.

I think of our kiss last night, her body against mine, her insistence that I not see what she looks like.

Fuck.

It has to be her. It makes complete sense and none all at the same time. "Are you listening to me?!" Brolli bellows at me, and I turn around to face him to deliver one quick announcement.

"No, but you will listen to me," I warn as I flare my ki to prove my point, "I do not give a shit about your arrangement with Nappa or any other accusations you want to level at me from the past. Your woman is now my woman. I bought her for a very generous price, so do yourself a favor, take the damn money and buy yourself another fuck, because your precious little ningen is now mine."

I am in the air within a second of my declaration concluding. I head for where I told Radditz to take my woman. My fists clench. In life, there are few things that truly inflame me, but betrayal is one of them. If it turns out this woman has been making a fool of me, not even her gods will protect her from my wrath.

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