Tempy's notes: Yo. The name is Temptress, the Temptress Rises. You can call me Tempy. I like Tempy. Better call me that. Or I'll come up with a really good threat.
So, this is my first fanfic here on . I hope y'all like it. It's based on my favorite Greek myth. Brownie points if you guess correctly! (Seriously, earn five points and I send you a brownie.)
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z. All characters rightfully belong to Akira Toriyama, my sensei and inspiration.
Dedicated to my mother who fed me on fairy tales and myths. And to my dog, Spencer, for dragging me around the neighborhood.
Thanks to my parents for buying me this lovely computer, my Beta Reader iOc who is beyond amazing, and Akira Toriyama.
Summary: AU. After Videl accidentally steals a flower from the Ox King's garden, she finds herself in a rather peculiar predicament. She is engaged to his grandson— and she has no idea what he looks like! Would you go beyond the ends of the earth for the one you loved?
Red Roses
by The Temptress Rises
"Love is much like a wild rose, beautiful and calm, but willing to draw blood in its defense." Mark Overby
"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind."
William Shakespeare, Mid-Summer Night's Dream
"I learned the real meaning of love. Love is absolute loyalty. People fade, looks fade, but loyalty never fades. You can depend so much on certain people, you can set your watch by them. And that's love, even if it doesn't seem very exciting." Sylvester Stallone
Chapitre I
Misguided Ghosts
I was born without a name.
My parents just called me "baby" or "son" or "child" or something along those lines. My mother wanted to name me after Einstein or Archimedes. My grandfather attempted to have my parents name me after him. I don't know many children willing to be named "Oxford" or "Ox King Jr." but it was what he had suggested, much to my mother's chagrin.
Speaking of my mother, she told me that I was named one day with my grandfather mentioned by father's adoptive father. She told me that when he was mentioned, I brightened up and giggled. It surprised all three of them, my mom, my dad and my grandfather. Apparently, I wasn't much of a giggler.
But there was still much celebration at this little feat for my small family.
As time drew on, we lost my father. His heart had given out on him. He left me, my grandfather, and my then pregnant mother. No one was quite sure what to do. For several months, we were at a loss.
We moved on, though. We had to. For my mother. For my then unborn brother. For their health. Heck, for my own health.
We were numb, true, but living. It took several years before we really started to live, other than just going through the motions of life. And we were finally happy again.
That made my grandfather's people happy. You see, he is the ruler of a small village. He never held an iron fist above them. He's quite gentle, you see. His is quite loved.
Despite his tenderness for his people, he is weary of foreigners. His laws against them are quite strict.
It was because of one of these laws that I found myself in a rather unusual predicament.
And to think, it all started on a rather normal day, too.
Tempy's endnotes: Interesting, no? I wanted to write more, but then I would have been switching character point of views and a lot of people find that annoying (myself included). Plus, my BR advised me not to, thank you iOc.