Yay!I finished chapter four! I'm actually quite proud of this chapter as I managed to put in everything I wanted to. It is mostly if not all Trunk's POV and I apologize if it is confusing since it is organized as a stream of thought. Things are starting to get interesting :D I hope you all enjoy this and please READ AND REVIEW!!
-- Also don't forget to reread chapter two if you haven't read it with the latest changes :D
Trunks ate his dinner concentrating on keeping his eyes stuck on his plate. He knew if he lifted his gaze he would do nothing but stare at her. His first thought when he saw her was utter relief. He'd been so afraid he'd get stuck with an ugly bride and that his rival Prince Cantel (Crown Prince of Vegetasai's brothering planet, Cantelopium) would have a reason to mock him for the rest of his life. Cantel had a very pretty princess, but this female would be more than enough to outdo her.
This girl was the complete opposite if what he had expected. Trunks had expected to be set up to marry an otherworldly princess who had probably been groomed from birth to adore and tend to him- like many pampered princesses, he'd expected her to be fat and barely trained in combat. He'd gotten instead, what appeared to be Bardock's beautiful and resentful granddaughter. Trunks risked a peeked and saw that she was eating her soup, not with the grace of a princess trained in the ways of etiquette but with the grace of a warrior trained in the ways of swiftness and discipline. Next to her was her twin brother, Goten or something. This one was a stockier, shorter version of Bardock with short black hair, gelled to the side. The only similarity that suggested he was twins with the girl next to him was their identical emerald green eyes.
On his bride's other side was the elder brother, Gohan or maybe this one was Goten. Who cared? He was identical to his brother except he was taller, leaner and his hair was gelled upwards. He was also glaring at him. Annoyed by the disrespect, Trunks turned to look at his father who was quietly discussing something with Goku. This was the most surprising outcome of all. His father, King of Saiyans was treating this third class, almost earthling saiyan with a certain level of respect and even reverence. Trunks, who had since a young age been taught not to rely on a scouter, felt the odd family's kis. The mother and older son's wife had an expected low ki only a few notches higher than his own mother's. The older son's daughter had a ki that was close to Bra's (his own sister). The father, sons and even his bride to be, however, had kis that surpassed almost every other saiyan on the table. It wasn't enough to beat Trunks, Vegeta or even several of the elite class warriors but it was impressive, nevertheless.
Jocelyn sat near the other side of the table. With one look at her face Trunks knew she was the most confused of everyone in the room. Her husband, Sparasus, seemed nervous and angry next to her. Despite the many rumors that surrounded Jocelyn that called her from a whore, to bad mother to the shame of all saiyan women, Trunks had always liked the elder female. He did not speak to her much; out of respect for his sensei Bardock, but when he did he always got a sense of assurance and pride in the woman- a true saiyan spirit. Also, unlike what was usually speculated about beautiful women, Jocelyn was not dumb, far from it in fact.
Trunk's gaze turned back to his fiancée who was listening to her brother whisper something in her ear. He had a feeling this would also be the case with her. This marriage just might end up being far more interesting than I thought.
The dinner went on like this the rest of the night. Stares and whispers came and went from every direction while the noblemen and their families struggled physically whenever they had to refer to his fiancée as Lady Emily. Trunks smirked slightly at this, thinking that if they found that hard now, they would find it impossible two days from now when they will have to call her Princess. The sardonic thought made him chuckle slightly which earned him a glare from his pretty fiancée. He gave her a defiant look in return and they proceeded to hold a staring contest for a few seconds before his father interrupted. The King stood up and ended the dinner with the same words he always ended these dinners with: "Thank you all for your presence. We will end the night here." He raised his glass and was followed by everyone else in the Hall "Until we meet again, let's keep the saiyan race high and mighty."
"High and mighty." The whole Hall repeated and drank to the King. Everyone that is, except Emily, Goten and Gohan- who settled for staring at Vegeta with mixed looks of disbelief and amusement. The vein in Trunks forehead throbbed slightly with fury. He breathed deeply to calm his saiyan temper down. No one since Cantel had ever managed to irk him this much and his annoyance was quickly turning to anger. Luckily the Hall was already emptying and his father spoke up "Trunks, Emily, Kakarott, if you would come with me please." It was an order more than a request. Bardock gave him a questioning glance and Vegeta nodded, indicating that he was also allowed to come but Raditz and Turtle stayed behind.
The elder brother, Gohan, stood up as well "I'll be going too."
Vegeta stared at him for a moment before nodding. The younger brother stood up making the move to follow as well but his brother stopped him "No Goten. Stay here with mom, Videl and Pan." He eyed Raditz and Turtle with a dark gaze.
Goten looked like he wanted to protest but one look from his brother made him resign and sit back down. Trunks had the impression that the younger siblings obeyed their older brother more than their own father. What kind of dysfunctional family is this? He wondered slightly.
All five of them followed Vegeta into a small undecorated chamber adjacent to the Hall. Vegeta sat on the small throne on the table and turned to look at him and Emily. "You will be married in two days." He spoke clearly but quietly. Goku and Bardock stood behind while Gohan was standing protectively next to his sister.
"Emily you already know the reason for the marriage but Trunks, my son, you do not. You should know." Vegeta said to him.
"You don't know why we're being forced to get married?" Emily asked in a surprised tone, for the first time in the evening speaking to him. "Then why are you doing this?"
Trunks gave her a surprised look. The answer was obvious. "My father told me I had to. He is the King and I am the Prince. It is my duty to obey him."
She gave him a quizzical look while her brother gave a low whistle and said "Sheesh, what a mind job." Behind him everyone felt Bardock's ki shoot slightly up.
"Enough of your emotional constipation Gohan." Vegeta growled quietly "I don't want this to happen any more than you do but it is necessary. We don't need any trouble from you."
Gohan look annoyed but nodded at Vegeta and stayed quiet. Vegeta then proceeded to explain the reason for their marriage. His fiancée seemed to be listening intently as it seemed she did not know the exact details of how it all came to be.
"This Lara witch" Trunks spoke up when his father finished explaining "Can't we just find her and destroy her?"
"Believe me" his father replied "Kakarott and I have searched under every rock in the Universe. We cannot find her."
"But perhaps it's all just a bluff." Bardock spoke up, finally understanding some of the situation.
"It's a risk we cannot take." The one named Kakarott and Goku answered.
Vegeta nodded in agreement "You need to be married for one year. After the year is done we can dissolve the marriage and things may go back to the way they were."
Emily's eyes glistened with the closest emotion to happiness she'd felt since she'd been told of this arrangement. "You mean it's only for a year? I cand return home after a year?" Gohan, also looked relieved at the news.
"Yes but…" Vegeta's voice trailed off and he broke eye contact with Emily.
"What?" she asked quietly and Trunks noticed that her voice had a soothing sing song quality to it.
"You must" Vegeta coughed and his cheeks tainted a bit "You must consummate the marriage, at least once before the year ends." He quickly added "It can be only once… at the beginning or on the last day before the deadline… but it must happen before the year ends."
Trunks brows furrowed in confusion. They were supposed to consummate only once? In the whole year? Before he'd learned of these circumstances he'd thought consummation would be part of the whole marriage package. This worried him. He gave his future bride a glance and saw that she was completely red in the face and staring at the ground. A virgin huh? Those were rare now a day. He sighed; this was going to be a real pain.
"Anything else?" Trunks asked breaking the uncomfortable silence. His voice jolted Emily out of her train of though and she gave a slight jump.
"Yes" Vegeta nodded, this time turning his gaze on all of them "No one but the people in this room and of course your two families (he pointed to Trunks and Emily) can know about the circumstances of this marriage. As far as everyone is concerned, I arranged this marriage myself because I deemed it proper. Understood?" he gave Bardock a look and the old saiyan nodded quickly. It's not like anyone would believe it anyway.
"I'm letting you in on this Bardock because I want you to look after Emily during her stay here in Vegetasai." Bardock looked uncomfortable but nodded "I supposed you've noticed but she is your granddaughter."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I will do as you ask." He replied, not answering the question. Goku, Gohan and Emily looked at the man curiously.
"Good" Vegeta sighed "Then we are all dismissed."
They all turned to leave the room when Vegeta said "Trunks, a word."
Trunks looked questioningly at his father but stayed behind. When Bardock closed the soundproof door behind him, Vegeta began to speak in a harsh tone.
"The woman you are about to marry is doing Vegetasai a great favor by giving her personal freedom in exchange for the planet's survival. You will treat her with respect. That is an order." When Trunks did not reply he continued "You must consummate the marriage once but you will do so when she is ready. Furthermore you will do everything in your power to make her as comfortable as possible. If I hear you've done anything contrary to this you will answer to me personally. I don't care if you are my heir."
Trunks stood flabbergasted by his father's words and it took him several seconds to find his voice. "You speak of her as if you are speaking of Bra, father."
"I might as well be." He replied. Father and son stared at each other for a few seconds before Vegeta patted him on the back and said "A word of advice son; you are dealing with a half saiyan half human that grew up on Earth. If you want to get through the year alive you need to understand that she is not like any female you've ever met. What's more, no matter how hard you try, you will never understand her."
Trunks stayed there analyzing his father's words long before the saiyan King had left the chamber. What was the old man talking about? When he turned around to leave he was surprised to find he wasn't alone. Claire Duvan, a nobleman's daughter with quite a reputation and a bit of a history with the Prince stood behind him. Trunks had been so immersed in his own thoughts he had not felt her presence.
"What are you doing here Claire?" he asked slightly exasperated. He'd had a ridiculously long day.
"I thought I'd offer myself to you on you last days as a bachelor. I thought perhaps you'd like to feel the heat of a real woman before getting married to your new lady." She said the word mockingly.
Before Trunks could reply she had already unzipped his pants and taken his groin in her hand. Trunk's body reacted immediately and his mind quickly remembered his latest discovery and resounded with his father's threat. He was up for a year of celibacy; he might as well enjoy what he could while he could. Claire was just beginning to unbutton his shirt when a voice from the shadows stopped her cold.
"Sorry to interrupt." The voice hissed acidly "I was hoping for a private word Your Highness, but I didn't think you would be otherwise occupied." It was Emily.
Claire jumped in the air and quickly bowed, excusing herself out of the room. Emily eyed her menacingly but said nothing as she left. Trunks zipped his pants up and crossed his arms over his chest in a position of defiance.
Emily turned to him and said "Your friend?" Every word dripped with irony and Trunks found himself unwillingly intimidated.
"She's a subject." He replied simply. "What was it that you wanted to discuss?"
"I forget" she shrugged "You understand?" she said referring to the scene she just witnessed.
Trunks did not reply and waited for her to speak again. She stared at him, sizing him up. He did the same. Finally she said "Listen, you don't want to do this and I don't want to do this but no matter what we want we both have to do this. I'm not going to ask much of you but I will ask you this. You will" she demanded "treat me with respect. From today until the end of our marriage you will not fool around with any other woman. I am to live for a year in a foreign planet, married to a complete stranger for one year. I do not need you or your saiyan Court to take me for a fool. I am your future wife and I expect to be treated as such." She spat her final words and huffed once she was done. The way her chest heaved heavily up and down did nothing to help with Trunk's boner.
He stared at her impressed at how she managed to surprise him yet again. When she put it that way it was difficult to argue that she'd gotten the worse part of the deal. "Fine." He replied simply.
This time it was her that was surprised "What?"
"Fine" he repeated "You are right. As my wife you do deserve that much respect at least and I will oblige you."
"I have your word?" She asked uncertainly.
"You have my word." He repeated.
She gave him a doubtful look so he took several steps closer to her and whispered "Emily I am the Prince of all Saiyans. My word is law." With that he left her contemplating him alone in the chamber while he headed off to take a cold shower. It was going to be a long year.
