Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or its characters (although I wish Vegeta was mine). *sigh* Oh well.
Chapter One --- Loss
The girl screamed as strong arms held her tightly from behind, screamed as she was forced to watch her father murdered before her eyes. A glint of metal, the sun's rays hitting the soldier's sword, and then… her beloved father's head hitting the ground, his body following it a moment later.
She sagged in her captors' arms, falling to the ground and retching as her body quaked with sobs. And the smell! That horrible stench of fresh blood. Her father's blood.
When she'd emptied her stomach, she looked up, but avoided the sight directly in front of her. Where were the other villagers? Were they alive? And her brothers? She couldn't see them anywhere, only those damned soldiers wherever she looked!
"Get up, girl!" one of the two soldiers holding her said sharply as he and his partner yanked her upright.
"Let go of me!" she screamed, fighting to free herself. "You will pay! You murderers! You killed my father!"
They laughed at her. "You stupid girl! Your father was a traitor to the king! He died a traitor's death!" the taller one sneered.
"No! He wasn't a traitor!" she cried. "He was a great man! Your king is a traitor—to his people!"
The tall soldier backhanded her. She fell back against the other man. But she refused to cry. She glared back at her attacker defiantly.
"You speak treason, wench!" the man who'd hit her said. "King Vegeta is your king as well as ours. You will learn respect!"
"I will never respect a king who murders his own people!" the girl spat. "You can go ahead and kill me too, because I will never serve that man!"
She hoped they'd kill her quickly. She'd heard terrible stories about what soldiers did to girls and women they'd captured. She'd rather die than let them violate her that way.
She could tell that the taller man was about to hit her again, but the shorter one shook his head. "Never mind. She'll learn soon enough what happens to people who defy the king. It'll be a shame, though, to see such a beautiful creature die…" He ran one finger down her cheek gently. She tried to bite him, but he pulled his hand away fast and laughed again.
"She's a wildcat, this one," he said, chuckling. "You think we can get her to the palace without killing her first?"
"Come on, Caro, this is no time for fooling around. The king expects us back right away. We'll put her with the other captives." The tall man turned suddenly and called to another soldier. "Hey, Matoro, make sure you bring the traitor's head! His Majesty wants it as a souvenir!"
"Yes, sir!"
The girl felt like throwing up again. How could they talk about her father that way? Her father, the kindest man she'd ever known, so unlike most Saiyan men. The man who'd raised her after her mother died giving birth to her, the man who'd taught her, cared for her, loved her. How could she go on without him? She couldn't! She was glad she was going to be killed. But there was just one thing she wanted to do before she died.
She wanted to see King Vegeta face to face.
And she wanted to kill him.