Inali

Chapter 17

The Ox King was big, huge. A man who looked like a mountain but with his character he was not threatening. No one in his kingdom was afraid. The King was a good, paternal figure. He was understanding. The younger ones loved him, seeing him so imposing. The older ones felt serene and the elderly could count on him as a present and reassuring figure. Almost a friend.

They say that a good king in times of war cannot exist. Because a peacetime ruler cannot manage a war situation.

These people have never heard of the King of the Ox Kingdom. He almost never went into battle, preferring placid diplomacy. Furthermore, after the loss of his beloved wife he had cultivated a firm passion for peace, enriching the soul of the people with the love he felt for his deceased wife who loved her king and citizens so much.

His daughter had grown up like a princess with the soul of the flames of the always active volcanoes that could erupt at any moment: severe and impartial. She had always loved martial arts, and her father had helped his daughter increase a passion they shared. Of course, Princess Chichi was more enterprising than him... and for this the King was very proud. The Kingdom was in safe hands.

The good King had also partially predicted, that that little child raised by his trusty Captain Gohan, was something else. He wasn't even surprised that the young foundling impressed his little girl.

According to spirit culture, Chichi's fire needed water to balance it. Young Goku was the transparent water he was looking for.

He knew that Son Goku was different from all the others, not only did he not care about the throne and titles in the slightest... but he was also extremely naive and loyal. Honestly, the King was not convinced when the Elder elected his nephew as his successor. He feared that his long-time friend had also fallen victim to preferring a relative, given his love for his adopted son and his age.

Nonetheless, it was the period when the two young people found each other again after childhood. He wanted to give them time to spend together, the title of Dragon Captain would take Goku away for a long time - Chichi's commitments as Princess and Heron Captain were enough for both of them.

Furthermore... in his heart, the great King was hesitant... he was afraid of what might happen to Goku. War could change you from the inside. And he didn't want that innocent face to be lost. His heart was already broken by the loss of his wife years before, and the face of her daughter who, as much as she loved battle and saw war as a sometimes necessary evil... remembered the face of her who had returned from the front the first time.

The King had welcomed Son Goku as his son, he wanted to protect someone. Because what's the point of being a King when you can't protect the ones you love? What twist of fate gives you so much power and then you're stuck in a chair, under a crown, rules and laws and traditions that erase your personal will.

He knew that Goku could deal with many things, as could his daughter, but that didn't mean he would stay on the sidelines forever.

He could do nothing against the illness that was killing her old friend, the alliance agreement with the Saiyans was now tenuous. But he would not stand still while the lizards were so close to his kingdom, to his family.

Goku was arriving with just his staff and without his battle uniform. Prince Vegeta next to him. He had not yet fully understood the turbulent soul of the Saiyan Prince. His stern face and strategic mind hid something. Maybe it was the paternal side of him speaking.

He seemed to see two young people who should never have known war. Saiyan or not.

The Ox's spaceship was nothing flashy. Vegeta wanted to fight the damn lizard on a planet... Saiyans can't breathe in space. What war worth calling is waged with such gadgets as lasers and phasers from a spaceship?