"Food!" Was the first thing that went through Kakarott's mind as he neared the entrance to the grand hall. His face lit up at the same time as he caught the waft of air coming from open doors.

His eyes focused on the room and nothing else as he walked, tunnel vision nearly taking over.

"Kakarott." came a voice from behind him.

"Shit." he thought as he turned. He hated to be diverted from his 'goals'.

"You'll be standing guard outside the doors tonight." When faced with a surprized look, the guard continued in a slightly rude tone. "Since you are such a high ranked guard, you'll be needed on duty." The male smirked smugly.

Kakarott scowled deeply. "That is no reason. What is the meaning of this?"

The guard smirked even more. "Seems you were reported for wandering the halls aimlessly. They couldn't get a name on your companion, but they knew it was you. Good going this time." The guard saluted and turned towards the hall... the food... damn!

Kakarott scowled defiantly as he stepped to his post. He wondered if he should have given Liena away, just so she'd have to stand right there with him. But no, she'd just give him that defiant, folded arm glare the whole time.

The thought made him smirk. Her eyes did that little flash thing-

He cut off his thoughts, shook his head, and practiced a bit of awake minded meditation.

Once he came back, his face pulled another scowl. All of that food, and he wouldn't get a bite of it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"-and then! Oh, this is the best part. He was still staring when I turned around again!" Liena finished her story as Kijah sat next to her, taking a huge bite of the leg of some small game.

Kijah raised a brow and spoke with her mouth full "He's got your scent. He's just very self controlled. I'm suprized he didn't jump you right then and there!" Kijah laughed, paying no mind to her full mouth, and dodged one of Liena's backhands again.

Liena sat back and took a bite of her own meat. "Well, maybe that wouldn'tve been so bad-"

Kijah groaned "I'm eating! Can't we talk about a battle or something?"

Liena just grinned and snapped out of her thoughts.

"Ah! Speaking of battles, did you see Zircon and Brezato fightng yesterday?" A male to Liena's right piped in.

Both females shook their heads and at the same time that gesture joined them into the conversation with three others.

"-and then he took his head off! 2 minutes into the battle! And get this, right afterwards, he ki basted the ground to get rid of the blood. Now what kind of battle was that?" The male continued to go off.

Kijah was a bit distracted as a few males down the table from her were looking quite wary. They whispered in low tones and shot glances around to see if anyone was looking. One even looked directly at her and glared.

Kijah glared right back.

"Kij, you ok?" Liena broke her gaze.

"Yeah, just fine." Kijah said finally "You tried that section over there?" she pointed to a heap of meat on the table "Good stuff!"

Liena smirked and grabbed the piece Kijah pointed to.

The two ate listening to wonderful battle stories and laughing along.

But Kijah herself kept an eye on those down the table. She was so engrossed in keeping watch that she totally missed Chatsu's eyes, which found themselves on her alone throughout most of the evening.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bulma had gotten used to the way they ate. In fact, she felt as if she needed to change her own eating habits so that she wouldn't get stared at. She instead decided to focus more on the small speech she had to give to promoted officers later on.

Vegeta was of course concentrating on an enormous pile of food. Bulma silently wondered if his ears were bothered by all of the noise from the entire palace's workers.

Her nose wrinkled into a little sneer as she looked back to her food, running her speech through her mind a few times over. Though, it was hard ot keep one's mind on such a thing when a feast bustled all around them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kakarott sighed.

All he heard was laughter and a few battle talks from close to the doors. And that wonderous smell, he could have nothing to do with it.

Oh he'd get back at her. One way or another.

He began to think of the many ways he could do such when he felt a ki flare from inside.

"Probably just playing around" he said to himself in a low tone as he turned to peek in the door. But the ki only stayed flared, and he saw the Queen stand through the small crack in the door.

"What the-"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Liena looked around. She'd felt a twinge, but had forgotten what that meant. Although it was just a slight difference in the atmosphere, she found herself wondering what exactly was going on.

Then the Queen stood, and all eyes went to her.

"Hey Kij, they should make armor that pretty! " Liena said in a low tone, referring to the Queen's attire.

Kijah didn't say a word back, and this made Liena turn to look at her.

"Ki?"

Kijah was focused in the opposite with narrowed eyes. Her hand gripped the edge of the chair seat, and her tail was around her waist.

"Ki whats wrong?" Liena asked

At the exact same time Liena said the word 'wrong, it seemed as if things began to move in slow motion.

The King's attention was called to a window, where some ruckas was going on, and that left an opening that only Kijah seemed to realize.

A bright light flashed from the direction Kijah had been staring at all evening. Kijah jumped out of her seat just as Vegeta turned from the window.

All eyes focused on a thin red beam as it shot towards the Queen-

-and slammed into Kijah as she dove to 'intercept the throw'.

Kijah landed heavily on the floor, and all was quiet.

Then all eyes turned to Vegeta, who stood in front of his mate, his tail fluffed and lashing. His stance was instinctive: to protect.

Every Saiyan in that room could have found fear for the first time when they looked into the King's eyes.

"Ah, sure. Like anyone would go near either of our royalty. Vegeta could blow up this entire planet on a whim if he thought better."

Chatsu's words flew through Kijah's mind as she sat up and turned her eyes in the king's direction.

All was quiet as nobody moved.

Vegeta turned, picked up his mate, and teleported out.

Still, nobody moved. The guards stayed at attention, the attendees at the table just sat in pure astonishment. The assasin himself stood still. He now did not want to be seen. Kijah sat up on the floor, blood trickling from her midsection. Her eyes were now turned to the one who fired the shot.

No one knew when to move, or what to say.

Vegeta broke the silence by teleporting back in, alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kijah looked around, her eyes blurry with adrenaline. She felt her midsection and the the subsequent liquid feeling on her hands and cursed inwardly.

She looked to Liena, who fixed her with an incredulous stare.

Then Kijah's eyes diverted to the one who shot the beam. He stood still, camoflauging himself amongst the others.

She knew who'd done it.

"Warrior stand at attention." Came the only voice that she jumped at, and despite her injuries, Kijah had completed the order in a split second.

She kept her eyes on the ground and the white boots finished her assesment of who was speaking to her.

"Stand down." he said. And she had snapped down and was looking to him in the eyes, awaiting further order. "Name and status." he said

She knew what to do. "Kijah ,sire. West Wing guard and trade file."

"You will be reporting to the outer chambers once the sun sets." he commanded simply. His eyes were still filled with anger and hatred. Kijah thought she'd even seen a touch of green in those eyes when he'd been in front of the Queen.

She nodded curtly to the command "Yes, your highness"

"Do you know who fired the shot." He asked as if it were an order. She didn't have to think twice before replying.

"Yes, your highness."

"Show me." he ordered.

Kijah pointed to the male who fired the shot. "Black armor, sire."

Vegeta nodded. His eyes were now set on his prey. "Take your seat warrior."

Kijah nodded and sat next to Liena again, who put her hand on Kijah's shoulder.

They all watched as the King approached the male, who went down to a bow, but looked to the king defiantly.

Vegeta raised his hand and shot a ki blast right through the male's tail, amputating it. "That is for being a sorry excuse for a Saiyan warrior." he spoke slowly, annunciating every word so that the audience could hear.

The warrior fought to hold back a scream.

Vegeta used the other hand to amputate both legs, covering the floor with blood before the effect of the blast had seared the blood vessels closed. "That is for even thinking of hurting my mate"

The King sliced off both arms with blast, and the warrior had no control left. He outright screamed in agony. "That is for planning to kill my mate!" Vegeta's anger was now at its peak.

He grabbed what was left of the Saiyan by the neck and held him up in the air. He made sure not to get blood on his attire, of course.

"This Is what becomes of anyone who touches my mate!" He yelled as the onlookers watched.

"Shall this wretch die painfully?" Vegeta yelled to his audience, and all at once they erupted into battle crys of all sorts, rooting for the traitor's death.

Vegeta turned and glared into the eyes of the dying traitor. "May you're family be cursed with such traitorous genes that you carry. Any and ALL heirs to YOU'RE tree will be annihalated by my trusted and eseemed warriors. Now die!" He yelled as he threw a ki charged fist straight through his midsection and dropped him, leaving him still breathing to die on the floor.

The audience erupted into battle roars once again, all cheering for the heirarchy as Vegeta spat on the body of his former warrior.

Kijah smirked to herself as she watched the display. No one lays their hands on the Queen of Vegitasei.

Vegeta turned to his audience. "The feast will continue as the Queen would have liked it. The commanding Royal Guard will take over, and read off the promotions this evening."

He walked down the isle, stopping briefely in Kijah's area "You will report after the sun sets this evening." he reminded her.

Kijah nodded "Yes sire."

And then he was gone.

With that the crowd immediately erupted into babble, the noise of their words filling the room quickly..

Kijah just sat there in a haze, still bleeding, until Liena brought her back. "Kijah! Are you ok? "

She nodded slowly and felt another hand on her shoulder as Liena looked up and she turned a bit.

"How's that feel?" Chatsu said, looking at her wound. His face no longer had the smug look as he stood before her, only light concern filled his eyes. Kijah smirked. She knew she'd do it.

"I cant even feel it. Its fine." She looked into his eyes as she spoke, assuring him that she spoke the truth.

"Eh," he looked to the male sitting next to Kijah. "You mind?" The male sneered, mouth full, but didn't oppose him. She'd just saved the queen's life. He stood and Chatsu sat down.

He said no more, just sat there with a straying eye on Kijah's wound.

Liena piped in again "How did you know?"

Kijah shrugged "I heard them badmouthing the queen, then I saw a few of them pointing and looking wary down there." Kijah motioned to where a handful of pale-faced guards sat. "I just kept an eye out, and thats the only reason I was ready."

Chatsu flicked quick glances around, glaring at anyone and everyone who looked to Kijah. "At least my spotlight won't be so bright now" He smirked as his light eyes wandered the huge hall.

Kijah shook her head with a similar look on her face. Maybe she'd be better off now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kakarott growled. He had to get in, but he couldn't leave his post.

He'd heard, felt and seen the action through the crack in the doors.

"What- Oh hell. I'm going to kill her. Its all her fault." he growled to himself. It wasn't actually her fault and he knew it. He wouldn't admit it to himself, but he actually just wanted to see if she was alright.

His curious side was overwhelming him, and it was hard not to let anger course through his veins. He felt like he was the only one who had missed all of the action.

Kakarott sighed. He was being a total infant. He snapped back to attention, and watched as he should. The only thing being completely ornery was his tail, which was lashing behind him in a very unmannerly fashion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He teleported in and found her sitting on the bed. Her eyes were downcast, and she was obviously still in shock.

Vegeta circled his mate, leaving his tail to slide around her waist as he did so.

Bulma looked at him oddly and almost giggled. "What are you doing?"

Vegeta snorted and settled behind her, his head resting on her shoulder and his tail still around her waist. "Nothing." He sat taking deep breaths, taking in her scent and assuring himself that she was alright.

She let him do what he wanted, as he was rarely this way to begin with. Her mind settled on more troubling things though. "They all hate me don't they?"

Vegeta scowled into her hair "No, moron! They don't hate you. That was just one unneeded weed in our heirarchy. That female guard took the blast for you, and they all cheered on the traitor's death. One mindless attack does not mean the entire palace hates you."

Bulma sighed a bit. "I'll be able to talk to the one who took the blast for me right?"

"She was ordered to come after sun set." Vegeta answered.

Bulma turned her head a bit and Vegeta leaned back on his elbows, leaving his tail around her waist. "You didn't have to order her!"

Vegeta shrugged. "If she's to be promoted then she should take orders." He sighed, tiring of going on about his warriors.

Bulma's face pulled another sad look. "My feast was a total bust. Remind me never to try that again."

Vegeta snorted again "Will you stop being such an idiot? The feast is still on, the higher guards are reading off promotions, and they are all having a 'good time'. Just like you wanted. Now stop fretting over such minor things"

Vegeta was obviously trying to get her to yell back, but she just wasnt up to it. "I'm sorry. " she sighed and crawled back next to him, laying on her stomach. "I think I just need a nap."

"That is the smartest thing you've said all day." Vegeta stated simply. He turned his head a bit to watch her rest, leaving his tail draped over her waist. He didn't need any rest, but his instincts forced him to stay right there next to her. No one would ever touch his mate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"She'll be the highest ranked in the family, and I'll be the one who gets the brunt of Dad's lectures." Shinto finished.

He had been going off since Kijah had made the spectacle of herself. He knew she'd be promoted, and that he'd be left in her wake.

"Stop it Shin. You're a high ranked guard. Thats all you need to get around well. Would you rather be stuck in the towns? Much less another continent?" a female voice helped him along. Telara herself was finally getting sick of his whining.

He merely snorted. "Whatever." He turned to glare at his sister once again from across the room.

To his suprize the glare was returned. By none other then the hybrid, Chatsu.

Telara noticed his fluffed tail and hair. "What has got you so round up?"

"That moron! Look at him. He's sitting right there! Doesn't she notice what he's doing?" Shinto did not choose to calm down.

Telara followed his gaze. "Ah, he's just trying to get the eyes off of her is all. Calm the hell down! The hairs on that tail of yours are going to fall right off!"

Shinto bared his teeth and then snorted. What a day this had been. Without Telara, he might have already gone ballistic.

He scowled at his food before he finally continued eating. Though, his tail once again fluffed as the guard called Chatsu's name for promotion to Royal Guard Training.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Not so bad eh?" Kijah drawled as Chatsu sat down.

"Nope. Not one bit as bad as I'd thought it'd be. " He shrugged and grabbed some meat from the pile in the middle of the table.

"Oh, try that section!" Liena pointed, winking at Kijah.

Chatsu did so as Kijah gave Liena one of her 'looks'.

They sat back and went on about war stories, trying to keep their minds off of the past incident.

Kijah meanwhile, was trying desperately to keep her mind off of everything. From the incident, to the meeting that awaited, to Chatsu.