The Ballad of Neo-Serenity
"..."-Portrays speech
Serenity eventually found her way to the staircase leading to the main room after her talk with Bardock. She mused to herself how easy it was to get there when she wasn't thinking. Her light footsteps allowed her to glide down the steps and across the room to stand in the middle of the main room. Luckily for her, the style of doors that lined the left and right walls was similar to glass French doors on Earth. Except for the solid white doors that she assumed were bathrooms. It didn't take her long to find a glass door, which led to an oversized kitchen.
The kitchen was as big as her dining room on Earth with extensive white cabinets lining the top of the room. And beneath the cabinets were rows of white marble counters with different appliances and a huge sink that took the space of two counter tops. Not too far away was a refrigerator two heads taller than Serenity and 6 inches wider than her body. In the middle of the room was a large white made of a shimmering stone while five comfortable chair with ivory cushions surrounded it. There were to on each side and one at the head of the table. There was no doubt in her mind that Bardock sat at the head of the table, and his sons sat around him. But the fifth chair was what puzzled her. Perhaps it was for her, perhaps it was for an extra guest, or perhaps it was his dead wife's. Although Serenity wondered she decided not to ask, thinking of how he exploded when she gave him her sympathies. The hungry girl hadn't eaten since dinner on the ship, which was barely enough to fill her stomach for more than an hour. Yanking on the refrigerator door, it didn't even budge. So she propped a foot against a nearby counter and pulled with all her might. Serenity stumbled back as the gigantic door swung open, revealing compartments packed with meat and vegetables from top to bottom. Shelves with large containers of water and bluish liquids she assumed was some sort of juice were stacked in the center. Serenity would have opened the freezer above her head if she could reach it. Tilting her head to the side, she decided on her next action. *I could make something, but what do Saiyans eat anyway.*
Serenity's friend Makoto was learning to be a gourmet chef and had taught her plenty of good recipes. However, she didn't know how useful they would be on another planet. Just then Radditz came in looking relieved. "So there you are, I thought you ran away or something." Sereniy put her hands on her hips and scowled.
"Where were you?!"
"Around." Not willing to accept that as an answer, she said, "I had to find my way here on my own." Radditz frowned at that.
"My Otousan will have a fit if he catches you barging into everyone's room."
Serenity began to fidget, "I already spoke to Bardock-san." Radditz looked surprised.
"What did he say?"
Smiling nervously she replied, "Well, things could have been worse, let's leave it at that."
"You pissed him off, didn't you?"
"Oh come on, he's not exactly the easiest person to get along with!" Radditz smirked.
"I'll defintly agree with that." A silence came between the two as Serenity looked at her feet and Radditz gazed at Serenity.
"I suppose you want me to cook.", she said timidly. "Of course, that's what a serving slave does."
"I'm not an expert cook.", Serenity warned. Radditz waved his hand as if to dismiss what she said.
"That's O.K., Saiyans don't need anything fancy. Just as long as there's a helluva lot of food and it's somewhat tasty, we're content." Serenity
nodded.
"I'll see what I can do." Radditz walked to the door and stopped, "By the way, we take our noon and evening meals in the dining hall. The kitchen is only for morning meals. Sometimes we will use the dining hall for morning meals if we have a guest."
"Where is the dining hall?" Radditz pointed to a second door on the other side of the room. Through the large window in the door, she could see a large hall off-white walls and polished ivory floors. A huge table that looked as if it could fit twenty large Saiyans stood in the middle of the room. Large chairs made of fine brown wood and white cushions surrounded the table. Radditz left the room as Serenity began to pull foreign meats from the fridge. Opening cabinets, she foraged for familiar looking spices and cooking ingredients. All the while she prayed something edible would come from the cooking.
Fours hours later, a meal and dessert were prepared. Serenity's tongue was bitter and her throat was parched. In order to get the right flavor of the alien spices, she was obligated to taste them. So far she had found a purplish spice close to cinnamon and a greenish one close to vanilla and nutmeg combined. Serenity grimaced at the thought of a brownish spice she had tasted. It was so hot she thought she would faint. It was almost like two mouthfuls of hot sauce and a dash of jalapeno pepper. Never wanting to make the mistake of using it again, she set it far away from the other spices.
After gulping down some ice cold to refresh her taste buds, she looked at her meal with pride. A large dinner of baked and fried meat with steamed seasoned vegetables. She even managed to bake a large cake with homemade frosting in record time.
After setting the table, Serenity went to the staircase and screamed, "The evening meal is ready!" Her voice echoed through the main room as well as the hallway upstairs. She waited a few seconds and was about to try again, when she heard a rapid thumping noise. Serenity stood there in puzzlement and wonder as the noise got louder and constantly closer. Then all of a sudden her eyes widened at a frightening realization, a stampede! Serenity managed to dive out of the way before she was run over by Turles and Kakarotto. A long trail of spiky black hair flashed in front of Serenity, signaling that Radditz was close behind. The frightened girl clung to staircase railing in fear of being trampled to death. Just as she got her shaking legs to become steady, she heard a deep laugh echo through the room. Bardock stood there at the top of the staircase laughing heartily. Serenity gave him one of the dirtiest looks she could muster as he made his way down the steps still chuckling. Bardock ignored her and passed her as if she didn't exist.
Serenity said grace over her food silently as the Saiyan family before her stuffed their faces.
"This is good", Kakarotto complimented.
Serenity smiled, "Thank you."
"It tastes strange and alien. I don't know what you did to this meat or why it's so crispy, but it's somewhat edible."
Serenity looked across the table to watch Bardock who had addressed her. *Why can't he just be nice for once.*
"Well Bardock-san, I am an alien and this is the only way I know how to cook. As for the meat being crispy, I'll have you know it's fried. Is it at least good?", Serenity asked sweetly. Bardock snorted, "Hn, like I said, it's edible." Serenity sighed, *Looks like that's all I'm going to get out of him.*
Bardock watched Serenity clear away the dishes from dinner and take them into the kitchen. Dinner was surprisingly delicious and more than edible. He had never tasted so many spices on anything in his life, especially the vegetables. And she had made the sweetest, moistest sugar cake he had ever eaten. Although no sugar cake that he knew of had a sweet glaze on it like hers, it only made it unique. Of course he would never tell her such things, it would only make her think he liked her. She was slave and unworthy of his comments, she didn't need them and she could live without them. Serenity came in for the last of dishes and Bardock watched the steady sway of her hips in the pretty white dress she wore. He shook his head and stood up to leave, *She is only a weak, helpless child, remember that.*
Serenity finished washing the dishes and cleaned the kitchen before she went to bed. Radditz, the children, and Bardock had left for bed a long time ago. Serenity shivered as she thought of him, *Bardock.* She still remembered feeling his eyes on her as she gathered the dishes. *He's so hot and- no Serenity, think of Mamarou-chan. How he died because of the Saiyan race and how they made you a slave. Besides, he's old enough to be your father.* Serenity sighed, she knew Bardock hated her anyway. *Why adore a man who hates your guts and you have no chance with?*
