AGE 719
18 years before the Fall of the Saiyans
~~~
Princess Miyako stared out into the vast lands that would be her own kingdom one day. Below, she could see her citizens working peacefully together to make it through another day. She smiled. All was well.
A gasp escaped her as she was transported elsewhere, her body paralyzed by the sight before her. Bodies slain over the land, piles and piles, too many to bury so the conquerors resorted to burning, and even roasting over a fire like a hunt well done.
Who were these people?!
She desperately tried to see faces but the figures were like shadows with blurred faces. She strained. At least one crucial detail...!
A manly figure stood proudly over his kin. He crossed his arms over his chest and laughed loudly, victoriously. The sound made her skin crawl.
This voice, Miyako tensed. I will remember it.
As quickly as the vision had come, it had left her. She gasped for breath, glad to be returned to reality.
"Your Highness? Your Highness!"
Miyako turned to the voice. "Governess Tatsoi!" she reached out for her.
Tatsoi embraced her. "It was another one, wasn't it?" she rubbed her head.
"...Yes."
The older woman thought. "You are so young to be having such a powerful connection already."
"What of it?"
"Your Highness," Tatsoi began, "I believe you will be our Great Ancestor's reincarnation."
Miyako flinched. There was that title again. "Why is that so... important?"
"Do you not listen to my lessons?" the governess chuckled. "Our Great Ancestor—Lady Ayata—is said to be freed once her reincarnation appears."
Her eyes widened at an idea. "Then, she could stop what I saw!!"
"What did you see?" Tatsoi asked curiously.
The Princess hesitated. "It was... the complete annihilation of a species. There was a man behind it all. If I could hear his voice, I would be able to tell who he is immediately."
The governess let the Princess go. "A man, you say?" she started. "The only men you have seen would be the men of our kind, is that not true?"
Miyako blushed. "I am only fifteen years of age. Naturally, I have not met many species like Mother and Father have."
"Quite right, Your Highness."
"Yet," she eyed the governess, "I sense you are trying to implicate something."
"Yes," Tatsoi nodded. "You have only ever met Saiyan men, haven't you, Your Highness."
Miyako stared up at her. "Do you mean to say...the Saiyans will slaughter all those people?! But, Mother and Father would never do such a thing!"
"Correct," the governess nodded. "The Saiyans who would do such a thing are those savage cousins of ours."
The Princess blinked. "They are still around?"
"Unfortunately, Your Highness."
Miyako looked over her people. She wanted to keep them safe. There was no way she would stand idly by and let the savages harm her people.
"In my vision, I could not tell time. I do not know when that horrendous slaughter will occur," she clenched her fists. "It seems I have no choice but pay a visit to our cousins."
"Your Highness, they do not deserve the honor of being graced with your presence—!"
"I will be the Queen of my people one day," the Princess stopped her. "I must ensure their safety, even if I will be uncomfortable for short while."
Tatsoi let out a breath. "What will you say to their Majesties?"
Miyako lightly smiled. "I did listen to your lessons, dear governess. I shall say we will be visiting our brilliant and beloved friends, the Tuffles."
~~~
"The Tuffles?" King Kayno raised a brow at his only child. He sat upon his throne beside his wife, Queen Mizuna.
"Yes, Father," Miyako pleasantly smiled.
"Well," Mizuna started, "the Tuffles have been our loyal friends for some time. Not only do they keep an eye on those... barbarians, but they have also gifted us with such lovely technology."
The Princess quickly jumped in. "Which is precisely why I must make haste to befriend them before I am Queen. It will only be a short few years before I am of age, after all."
"I am not against this—quite the opposite," Kayno admitted. "I am merely surprised. Your first venture off this planet and that is where you wish to go?"
"Yes, Father," Miyako bowed her head. "I hunger for more knowledge."
He chuckled in amusement. "You speak well beyond your years. I fear I will have nothing left to teach you."
"Do not worry," she lifted her head to smile at him. "You will always have something to teach me."
Kayno returned the smile. "Very well. I hope you enjoy Planet Plant. Send my regards to the Tuffles."
"I shall."
~~~
Miyako stepped cautiously into a ship. "Can such a machine really resist against the extreme conditions of space?"
Tatsoi chuckled. "Yes, Your Highness. It is perfectly safe."
"V-Very well."
During the trip, the Princess tried to observe the wonders of space, but she felt motion sickness and retreated to rest for the duration of the journey.
"Goodness," Miyako exited the ship in relief. "What an awful feeling."
"Are you well enough to speak with the Tuffle King?" Tatsoi asked her.
The Princess felt several of her guards behind her and cleared her throat. "Of course. I must make the perfect impression."
The governess wondered if she had been too strict in her lessons.
At the landing dock, the King of the Tuffles stood waiting with his own guards for the Princess' arrival.
"Ah, at last we meet, Princess Miyako," the King smiled. He had long, plant-green hair and dark, dirt-brown eyes. He donned a green-brown coat with a navy long sleeves underneath and well as tights. A belt held the coat comfortably against his body. A white cape fluttered behind him, matching his white gloves and boots. Most notably, a golden necklace with three blue circular crystals rested around his neck.
"King Rambutan," Miyako, as well as her subordinates, bowed. "A pleasure to finally meet you in person. I hope your relationship with me will be as strong as with my parents."
"I hope so as well," Rambutan chuckled. "But enough, you are too formal. We shall be friends! I hear you wish to know more about our people and technology? Are you an inventor by chance?"
The Princess blushed. "I dabble a bit in creation..."
"Are you being modest with me?" he questioned. "There's no need to hide your genius from me. Come! I shall personally show you around myself!"
Miyako flinched. She hoped she would have a chance to look around the planet on her own. She needed to see the Saiyan savages. "You honor me. But I am sure Your Majesty is far too busy to be escorting a curious girl."
"Nonsense. You are my guest!" Rambutan insisted. "And please, do not be so formal. Since we will be friends, call me Rams."
She didn't want to refuse further for fear of being rude. "Very well... Rams."
He smiled. "Come along," he held his arm out to her.
She accepted, and they made their way from the landing dock to the castle. Standing beside him, she noticed he was relatively short. He was basically as tall as her, and she was still a child. In fact, the other Tuffles around her were short as well.
Looking around, she noticed they were on a tall plateau that overlooked the rest of the city of Santol. Mysterious rectangular buildings were littered across the city, brimming with lights escaping their windows. Many, however, were designed as semi-spherical structures. The roads were lined with a smooth material, making it even the whole way. Many people walked about, and curious hovering vehicles traversed the roads.
"It is something to behold, isn't it?" Rambutan remarked.
Miyako stared in wonder. Could she make her peoples' lives as peaceful as theirs? "Yes," she replied. "Nothing I could have imagined even in my dreams."
"Well, dream no further," he chuckled. "If you wish to make advancements such as these, we will be glad to help."
"Then you must speak to my father, the King," she lowered her head. "I am still just the Princess."
"It is because you are the Saiyan Princess that you will need to convince the Saiyan King," Rambutan remarked slyly. "He has accepted some of our technology, yes. But, he is missing out on so much more. Your people can still be greater!"
Miyako thought about her people. Her kind was great. They did work hard, but, they seemed at peace. "I shall...speak to my father."
"Very well!" he smiled. "But now, I shall show you more of our technology up close!"
He led her along, but Miyako wrapped her hand around the Red Jewel on her neck. It burned at her palm.
~~~
Miyako couldn't help but be amazed at their technological advances. Doors that opened on their own, security systems that listened to commands from voices, robotic servants, and large screens that displayed bright pictures of words, people, and even foods. There was so much, she ended up with a headache.
"Perhaps I should have restrained my eagerness," Rambutan sheepishly apologized.
Miyako held a hand to her forehead. "It is alright. I continued to press you..."
"Your Highness," Tatsoi placed a hand on her shoulder. "May Your Majesty grant us a room to rest and medicine?"
"Of course!" the Tuffle King obliged to their needs, and he let them be for a while.
The Princess laid in bed as her governess sat to watch over her. Her guards stood ready outside the room.
"Are you feeling better, Your Highness?" Tatsoi asked.
"...Even this medicine is incredible," Miyako mumbled.
"Your Highness...?"
The Princess sat up. "Everything on this planet is incredible. The Tuffles are so advanced."
"Yes, I am quite astounded as well."
She hesitated. "Do you think the Tuffles share this technology with our Saiyan cousins?"
"Absolutely not," the governess frowned. "You saw it yourself, Your Highness. Those savages will commit genocide."
She noted her tone. Were their cousins truly just savages? Or were they actually just a peaceful race that was unjustly discriminated against?
"Then, how do you think our cousins live? Do they live like us, or are they struggling? If these struggles are what lead them to violence, then perhaps they just need some compassion from us. Maybe this will change the future."
Tatsoi pursed her lips. "They live like savages. That is why we call them as such."
"I would appreciate it if you could be more objective," Miyako stood.
"Apologies, Your Highness," she quickly bowed her head.
"...I am going for a walk. Alone," the Princess said and left the room. She refused her guards from following her.
Miyako took a deep breath. She wanted to clear her head, but the metal walls only made her feel caged. She continued to wonder endlessly until she noted glass windows. When she could look through into the room, her eyes widened. "What...is this...?"
The room contained a plethora of glass pods filled with different colored fluids. Inside the pods were sleeping Tuffle infants. At least, she hoped they were merely sleeping.
Miyako felt sick and held a hand over her mouth. It didn't seem humane to keep babies in some sort of liquid incubators. They were already born. Someone should be taking care of them instead of letting a machine perform on physical nurturing.
"This is not right," she placed a hand on the glass. "Do mother and father know about this...?"
No, she answered her own question. They would have told me something.
The Princess looked both ways down the hall. Do the Tuffles think this makes them so great? Superior than our cousins? Superior than us?
How dare Rambutan be so haughty, Miyako frowned. This is not greatness. I must find out the truth!
The Princess snuck out of the castle, using the Red Jewel to help her sense and avoid guards. She perched at the top of the castle and sensed for her Saiyan cousins.
The Jewel sensed many souls in the faraway wasteland.
"At least they are alive," Miyako assured herself. She placed her hand against the roof of the tower. Would it be alright to see them...?
She shook her head. "I must!" she decided and flew towards the wasteland.
~~~
"What do you think we should hunt for tomorrow?" a Saiyan man patted his fat belly. "We haven't had Kimrit in a while."
"Ugh, those are too tiny!" a Saiyan woman scoffed. "You could eat them all yourself!"
"But they're so tasty!"
A taller Saiyan man who was sitting at a campfire with them rested his chin in his palm. Another pointless argument, he thought as he rolled his eyes. We will always find something to eat.
"Are you hungry?"
The man and the other two turned to the question of a figure with a feminine voice. They wore a crimson, hooded cloak, hiding their face.
"Did you bring something?!" the fat man eagerly asked.
The tall man stood. "Who are you?" he glared.
The figure stepped closer. They had to look up at him before dropping their hood.
His eyes widened to see a young lady with a pretty face and long, wavy black hair. What caught his attention most was an iridescent Red Jewel hanging from a black collar on her neck. "You are...not from here."
Miyako studied him. His voice. It wasn't the one from her vision. "No, I am not," she confirmed. "I came all this way to see you for myself."
"Me?"
"Not you specifically," she faintly smiled. "Well, I suppose I should introduce myself now."
She lightly bowed her head. "I am Princess Miyako, Heir to the Ayatan Saiyan Throne."
"The who now?" the Saiyan woman crossed her arms.
Only the tall Saiyan seemed to grasp what she was saying. "So," he scoffed. "After all this time, our fellow Saiyan cousins have come to visit?"
"Yes," Miyako nodded.
"And they've sent their young Princess at that."
"...Yes."
"Then," he bent down to near her face. "What do you think?"
The Princess swallowed hard, but tried to keep a calm demeanor. "I am wondering what your name is, sir."
Sir? he smirked at the title. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Princess. My name is Vegeta."
~~~
07-11-2023
<3 Alex-san