A Marriage of Convenience

It is a common phrase amongst Humans that when a person gets incredibly nervous,they experience a fluttering experience in the stomach and loss of appetite. Such a feeling is called 'having butterflies in the stomach' and is quite common when facing stressful situations. Saiyans however, had for the last several centuries lived on stressful feelings and didn't get butterflies anywhere. The nearest time that a Saiyan got close to nervousness was when realising that perhaps attacking an army numbering 10,000 all by yourself probably wasn't the best of ideas.

Gohan however, as part Human, didn't just feel like there were butterflies in his stomach but they had invited several ant colonies and a tap dancing millipede to liven things up. He was about to make his entrance into the Ballroom where the elite classes of the Moon and Northern Quadrant were gathering. Protocol dictated that as a Prince of Earth, Gohan would be one of the first to be introduced, after the Monarchs of the Solar System but before various other dignitaries. Queen Serenity and Princess Serena were already in the Ballroom, along with the other Princesses.

Gohan felt his heart jump sharply as he walked to the large double doors that lead to the Ballroom and the servant at the door called out "His Highness, Prince Gohan of the Ox Kingdom!" Gohan walked up to the entrance and was greeted with the sight of dozens of Heads of State looking at him curiously. As the Ox Kingdom lacked any kind of traditional dress that was customary on such occasions, Gohan had decided to wear his Saiyan armour over his blue uniform and the Circlet Crown of the Ox Kingdom around his head.

Gohan took a deep breath and started to walk down the steps thinking "If I fall down and break my neck, I will never hear the end of it." Thankfully however, he got to the bottom of the stairs unscathed. Looking around, Gohan allowed himself to be taken in by the sight of the Ballroom. It was cavernous, flags of dozens of Worlds hung from the ceiling along with streams of silver fabric. Three sets of glass double doors opened out over the gardens which themselves were lit by dozens of bright lanterns. At the end of the Ballroom, Gohan saw a large table strewn with plates covered with food and several metres away from that, a several dozen strong orchestra played some calming music. Remembering Kami's advice, Gohan made straight for it as behind him, the servant introduced the next guest.

As "Emperor Vir III of Centurai!" Rang out through the hall, Gohan made his way to the buffet table and found Kami was already there, sipping on a glass of water. Though Gohan seemed oblivious to it, Kami saw that the young boy was getting a few curious glances from the rest of the royalty. Kami gave Gohan a friendly nod; the Namek was clad in fine white robes that went down to his feet with his martial arts symbol emblazoned in red across his chest.

Gohan looked past Kami onto the table containing the food and groaned slightly. Since the Ball was being held on the Moon, they had the choice of cuisine. This meant faiter, lots and lots of faiter. Kami chuckled at Gohan's expression "I'm sorry Gohan, perhaps when you're invited to a Ball held by the Saiyans…"

"Saiyans don't have Balls." Gohan said innocently and with a certain amount of sadness.

Kami blinked "Pardon?"

"Saiyans don't have diplomatic meetings like these. It's considered good manners to meet someone face to face. A large amount of people is only for when there's something big to celebrate. So, Saiyans don't have Balls… Are you alright?"

Kami coughed "Yes, yes I'm fine. I just begin to making snorting sounds that sound suspiciously like laughter occasionally. It's a Namek thing." Gohan, thankfully, swallowed the lie and turned to the entrance of the ballroom as "Emperor Sigmar of Reikland!" Rang out through the room.

The Five Princesses had met up by this point, having previously been talking with the other Royalty of the Central Quadrant. All five wore long loose gowns in their usual colour co-ordination. Mina smiled broadly at Gohan when they approached him and Kami. "Can you believe it?" She said excitedly "Pretty much half of the Northern Quadrant's Royalty has come to this Ball. It's going to be a great night!"

The other Princesses started to voice their agreement and started to talk amongst themselves about who they'd like to meet and talk to during the Ball, leaving Gohan and Kami to talk to themselves again. This was remedied by Queen Serenity, who was wearing a long silver flowing ball gown, walking to the group from her previous conversation with the King of Mars and smiling at Kami "I'm glad that everything has gone so well, what do you think of it so far?"

Kami nodded slightly "Well all the guests have turned up and we've yet too have a declaration of war from anyone. Much more dull than usual…" Queen Serenity gave Kami an exasperated look and shook her head.

She then turned to Gohan "And what about you Prince Gohan? Is this anything like the Balls held on Vegeta?"

"Saiyans don't have…" Gohan started but was quickly interrupted by Kami.

"Such large diplomatic meetings. A more personal approach is preferred." Kami said quickly and smoothly. Gohan gave Kami a puzzled look which he chose to ignore "Your Majesty, has there been any further word from Namek concerning the Ambassador?"

Queen Serenity shook her head "Not as of yet, though word has reached me that he will be here in two weeks time. I believe that the Namek High Council may also be using its influence in the Northern Quadrant to bring more Worlds to our side."

Kami smiled "Yes, I've heard such reports myself. I'm thankful that the High Council realises the threat the Dark Kingdom poses." Inwardly, Kami felt himself cringe at those words. His already strong suspicions were almost confirmed by Serenity's words "If the High Council are using their influence to bring the entire Northern Quadrant to our side than the Dark Kingdom must know about them… But how?"

Kami was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that Queen Serenity turned to Gohan and asked "And what how do you think the Ball is going so far?" The question drew Gohan away from the entrance to the Ballroom where a blue haired Empress and her daughter had just arrived…

"It looks really interesting with all the different people around. But I'm worried about messing up…"

His humility made Queen Serenity smile "Don't worry Gohan; I'm sure you'll do fine. All who have been invited are cultured, calm and well mannered…"

"His Excellency, Rufus T. Firefly of Freedonia." The servant called out.

"Apart from him." Kami muttered darkly as the President of Freedonia descended the stairs and seeing the buffet table, made a beeline towards it. Kami tried to quickly move out of the President's way but was held in place by Queen Serenity, who smiled pleasantly at the approaching President. Gohan raised an eyebrow at the President's appearance, a rather cheap suit and tie, a large black cigar protruding from his mouth which did little to hide his huge black moustache and frizzy black hair. Only a bright red sash showed any sign of rank.

Queen Serenity smiled as the President approached "Your Excellency…" She began.

"You don't look too bad yourself." Firefly cut in. Noticing Gohan for the first time, Firefly pulled out a pack of cards and held them out in front of the Prince "Here kid, you like magic? Pick a card, any card."

Gohan hesitated in confusion before reaching out and gently pulling out a card, the Ace of Spades "What shall I do with it?" Gohan asked, curious to see where this was going.

"Keep it; I've got fifty one more." Firefly said and deposited the rest of the cards back in his pocket. Gohan's brow creased in confusion as Firefly turned to Kami "So any new business?"

Kami resigned himself to an evening of comments for the sake of diplomacy and breathed outwardly "Well the Namek High Council…"

"That's old business." Firefly cut in "You shouldn't have paused."

Kami gaped at the man and found himself speechless. Gohan walked over to where Ami was standing and muttered "Is that guy always like this?"

Ami nodded "I don't know how, but he always seems to get away with it as well. I think Queen Serenity has a 'thing' for him… Oh this should be good." Gohan glanced over to where Ami had motioned and saw General Cosmos approaching, clad in his formal military uniform. Gohan inexplicably found himself feeling as if he was going to enjoy the next few minutes…

Cosmos stopped beside Serena and said "Your Highness I… Oh no not you." Cosmos said the last bit as he saw Firefly for the first time. His mortification at seeing Firefly making him forget all about diplomatic decorum for the minute.

Firefly grinned at Cosmos's expression and walked up to him "Hey there what's-your-name…"

"I'm surprised you've forgotten my name after what happened last time we met." Cosmos said bitterly.

Firefly peered at Cosmos before clicking his fingers in recognition "Of course, you're Cosmos ain't you? Normally I never forget a face but in your case, I was happy to make an exception."

Cosmos glared at the President "My title is General Cosmos your Excellency. I would be grateful if you would show me the proper respect by addressing me by it." Cosmos actually said all that through gritted teeth.

Firefly actually looked somewhat affronted at that "Why Cosmos, I have nothing but respect for you, and not a lot of that."

Cosmos's eyes bulged in outrage "I will not stand here and take these insults!"

Firefly shrugged "In that case, leave in a huff. If that's too soon, leave in a minute and a huff." Gohan finally succumbed to temptation and let out a giggle along with Ami and even Kami gave a smirk. Gohan also noticed that Serena kept her face carefully blank.

Cosmos's left eye started to twitch and his hands clenched. Rather than have anymore abuse hurled at him, Cosmos turned to Serena and said "Your Highness, would you please join me in the garden for a brief conversation?" Serena nodded slightly and followed General Cosmos out of the Ballroom and to the Gardens.

Queen Serenity smiled sweetly at Firefly and Kami "I believe you two should meet a close Ally of the Moon Kingdom…" Clasping both by the arm gently, Queen Serenity led the two away from the table and into the throng of people. Gohan turned to talk to Ami only to see her and the rest of the Princesses heading walking off to talk to some quite handsome looking Princes. Feeling quite left out, Gohan looked around the Ballroom, feeling somewhat dejected.

XxX

The Gardens were beautiful in the evening light and the various lanterns hung upon the sides of the pagodas. There were few people around at the moment as most of the guests were still in the Ballroom and the servants were attending to other duties. Princess Serena and General Cosmos walked side by side in silence; Serena in particular was uncomfortable standing next to Cosmos. For her, the General had always been a stern and unapproachable figure, quick to condemn and hard to please. But now the man was actually helping her in her relationship with Prince Darien. Serena would have probably been less confused if she could have found someone to explain the phrase 'real politik' to her.

When Cosmos had become satisfied that they were out of earshot, he placed his hand into his jacket pocket and withdrew a plain white envelope. Handing it over to Serena, Cosmos said in a low voice "Here is another letter from Prince Darien. I hope all is well between you two."

Serena found herself nodding as she clutched onto the letter as if her life depended on it "Did you get to see him at all?" She said quietly, hoping for any news about her beloved.

Cosmos shook his head "I'm afraid not, the way the letters are sent are so that it would be impossible for us to meet face to face and thus incriminate ourselves." Cosmos gave the Gardens another quick look before continuing "There is another matter that requires your attention your Highness."

"Oh, and what is that?"

"Matters concerning the well being of you and your mother."

Serena gave Cosmos a confused look "What are you talking about?"

Cosmos sighed sadly "I'm talking about the Celestial Senshi." Cosmos really didn't want to do it. He had hoped that the Princess would have never have had to claim this incredible responsibility. But, alas, things were not meant to be. Cosmos continued over Serena's look of shock "I was planning to petition the Queen about the issue sometime during the week and request that your training should start immediately. But I realise that such a matter should be passed before you first…" Cosmos paused as he watched Serena and tried to gauge her reaction.

Serena herself was amazed at the suggestion. The idea of her and the other Princesses forming the Celestial Senshi was amazing and actually quite frightening. The Celestial Senshi was the stuff of legends. The Royal Families of the Planets had, since contact between the Planets begun, been the focus of great magical energy, the Princesses and Queens especially. Whenever the Planets had been threatened by an incredible dark power, various members of the Royalty had bound together in order to use the natural magic of the Planets to fight. It was always the Moon Royalty who took on the leadership of the Senshi, reflecting the extreme amount of magical power the Moon could wield.

With Cosmos's suggestion, Serena realised the threat the Dark Kingdom actually posed. While aware of what was happening in the Southern Quadrant, it had always seemed far away to Serena. But with Cosmos's proposal, Serena now knew how deadly serious things had become; the Senshi was only formed in the most dire of circumstances "What about Ami, Rei, Mina and Lita? Have you asked them?"

Cosmos shook his head "You needed to be contacted above the rest. The leadership of a member of the Moon's Royal Family is the most necessary part of the Celestial Senshi." Cosmos watched Serena's face, full of regret and hope at the same time. Regret, in that he had now put the idea of the Senshi into Serena's mind and possibly exposed her to danger. Hope, in that if Serena did accept, the Moon Kingdom would gain strength against this colossal threat.

Serena thought deeply, not wanting to make the wrong decision regarding this issue. On the one hand, the thought of actually entering in combat against the Dark Kingdom terrified her quite a lot. On the other, Serena knew that the Moon Kingdom was in deep trouble, the marriage to Gohan exposed that. Realising that the concerns of the Moon Kingdom came before her own fears, Serena relented "I'll do it, but on two conditions."

"And what are those?" Cosmo could barely keep the relief out of his voice.

"The first condition is that the others are told before we go to my mother. I don't want them thinking I've gone behind their back about this."

Cosmos nodded "Very well, and the second condition?"

Serena looked at Cosmos with hope etched across her face "Organise a meeting between me and Prince Darien." She practically begged "I need to see him face to face at least once before the Wedding."

Cosmos paused at this. It was dangerous but not entirely unexpected, he merely nodded in response and said "I'll do what I can but it'll be dangerous and will take a while before it can be done."

Serena nodded at this, hope and gratitude showing in her eyes, an expression which reminded of Cosmos when he also had… But that wasn't important now. Motioning his head towards the Ballroom, he said "Perhaps we should head back before all the faiter has been eaten." Serena nodded and she walked back to the Ballroom, Cosmos following behind her.

XxX

At first, Gohan was unsure about how to dance, having never come across the stiff and proper waltz before. Saiyan dancing was a lot more aggressive, the moves resembled fighting techniques and sped up until either the musicians became to stiff to play or the dancers dropped from exhaustion. The waltz, was actually proving surprisingly easy to Gohan, it didn't hurt that his partner was a rather competent dancer herself.

The Princess was short, even more so than Gohan, slightly younger as well. She wore the traditional blue-green dress of her home World, similar to the kimono of Earth, had oddly coloured pink eyes and incredibly long, light blue hair that was tied up in two pigtails that went down to her lower back. Gohan found her personality to be bright, pleasant and very positive. Sadly her name reminded Gohan of a certain type of sausage that he was fond of but because of the Moon Kingdom's peculiar dietary habits, he was unable to obtain "How am I doing?" He asked as the two rotated around smoothly.

"You're doing great!" The young girl said brightly "Just remember to keep in time to the music. You don't have to be so fast you know."

"Oh right, thanks Sasami." Gohan said blushing. The two continued to dance for a few beats while Gohan adjusted his speed, the young Saiyan finally worked up the courage to ask "So, what's Jurai like?"

Sasami beamed at the question "It's great! There's so much stuff to do and things to see, only last week I was with my sister who's getting married to this noble named Tenchi who's really a bit of a soft touch but my sister likes him all the same and she keeps trying to get Tenchi to like her just as much as she likes him. Anyway as I was saying, last week…"

Gohan felt his jaw drop slightly as the words flew out o Sasami's mouth. He glanced over to the buffet table and wondered how much sugar actually went into those chocolates… His musings were interrupted by Sasami finishing off "… And so now we have to buy all new furniture for the Summer Palace. And what's Planet Vegeta like? How was your life there?"

Gohan paused as he considered the various answers that sprang to mind. Knowing that saying he was routinely bullied and shunned would hardly help the mood, Gohan instead opted for "It was… tough. I was always pushed to be the best because of who my father was. I always hoped that I could just get away from the pressure, have some fun and just relax…"

Sasami looked at Gohan with a large amount of concern in her eyes "And are you able to relax and have fun now?"

Gohan smiled slightly "Yeah definitely. Have you met Princess Serena at all? She's a really nice person."

Sasami grinned a mischievous grin and said "Is she as nice as me Gohan?"

Gohan thought about this for a moment "Well it's hard to say since I've only known you for a few minutes while I've known Serena for several days now but you do seem to be just as nice."

Sasami gave Gohan was an odd mixture of amusement, confusion, annoyance and endearment. Finally, the young girl grinned "You really don't know when you're being teased, do you Gohan?"

Gohan's brow knotted in confusion "You were teasing me?"

Princess Sasami rolled her eyes and gave a giggle "You're sweet." The statement caused Gohan to blush furiously. At that point, the music finished and the two stopped in their dancing. They paused and looked at each other as light; polite applause was directed at the orchestra. Blushing ever so slightly, Sasami turned her face down slightly but looked up to Gohan's face with her eyes "Prince Gohan," She said rather shyly "Would you like to…"

Sasami's words were cut off by a voice coming from beside the two "Sasami," The two turned to see Empress Misaki III of Jurai, Sasami's mother "Could you come and have a word with me?" Sasami looked confused but nodded anyway before giving Gohan a brief wave and walking away with her mother.

Gohan watched on, feeling very depressed. Though it had come from an entirely different race than his own, the tone that the Empress used when speaking to Sasami mirrored the tone he had heard throughout his life. He remembered a particular incident when he was six when he had met a Saiyan girl named Parlee. They had gotten on together and played for about an hour before Parlee's mother had found them, taking Parlee away. Gohan remembered that the tone of suppressed fury and disgust was exactly the same tone Empress Misaki had just used when talking around Gohan, not even bothering to acknowledge his presence.

Realising that he would almost certainly never see Sasami during the night, (Or ever again for that matter) Gohan walked out of the Ballroom and out onto the Gardens. It was night now and there were several people dotted around the place, deep in conversation. Looking around, Gohan saw Kami sat by himself in a pagoda, sipping a glass of water. Happy to see a friendly face, Gohan walked up to the elderly Namek "Having a good time?" Gohan asked.

Kami smiled slightly "So long as Firefly is out of my way and in Cosmos's then I'm fine. And how about you?" The question came with a tone of concern.

Gohan paused at this before answering "I'm actually… not good at all." He slumped down onto a chair beside Kami "I've just met Princess Sasami for Jurai, do you know her?"

Kami nodded "I've met her and she's a nice girl. Odd family though, especially that sister of hers…"

Gohan nodded, not really listening. When a person vents their frustration, they're not interested in what someone else has to say "I've just danced with her and we were getting on really well when her mother interrupted us…" Gohan gave out a sigh which had a hint of a sob in it "It's just like being back on Vegeta, only it's because I'm a Saiyan that nobody likes me here…"

Kami frowned at that "Gohan, you know that isn't true. You have friends here including myself."

Gohan nodded slightly, showing that he conceded that point at least "Yeah but it's only you guys and my family who've really made friends with me. Every other time I've tried to make a friend, I've always, always been rejected because I was a weak Human. Now I'm being rejected because I'm a barbaric Saiyan." Gohan covered his face with his hands and said in a voice leaden with sadness "Sometimes I wish… I just wish my parents had been completely Human or completely Saiyan. Then I could have at least have had half a chance at a normal life."

Kami paused at this, unsure of how to comfort Gohan. He had travelled the entire span of the Galaxy and had experienced more in his lifetime than entire generations. But when confronted by a young boy who was almost crushed with the prejudice aimed at him, Kami was at a complete loss at what to do. Turning towards him, Gohan gave a bitter smile, as if reading Kami's thoughts "I'll be OK. I just get into these states once in a while. I just need some time by myself really."

Taking the hint, Kami reluctantly rose from is seat, pausing to say "I know that you are feeling depressed and upset now but remember that you will always have support from the Queen, me and the Princesses." Gohan nodded showing he understood and Kami walked away, deeply regretting he was unable to do anything for the troubled boy.

XxX

Serena yawned loudly, barely even bothering to cover her mouth. It was now nearing midnight and after nearly four hours of dancing and conversation, she was exhausted. Next to her stood Ami who was almost asleep on her feet and on the other side sat Luna who at least looked half awake and aware of where she was. All three were standing next to a set of the double doors that led to the Gardens. When Serena felt her head nod down slightly, Luna's voice called out teasingly "I think it's high time you were in bed Princess Serena."

"Mrrrh…" Serena groaned, actually agreeing with Luna for once "Where are Lita, Mina and Rei? I thought they were right here?"

"Serena, they went to bed about ten minutes ago." Ami mumbled through her tiredness "I agreed that I should stay and make sure you would get to bed alr…" Ami's head drooped and she stopped her sentence part of the way through.

Serena smiled a little at Ami's tiredness before her eyes started to close once more. She, along with the rest of the Princesses had spent most of the evening in the company of some quite handsome and charming Princes. Serena's feet were aching from all the dancing she had done and she rather regretted at those Princes leaving so soon. She was especially annoyed that one of them seemed more concerned about finding an 'Avatar' than spending time with her. Serena was quite confused as to why the Prince would want a pilot at this time of night anyway…

"Wow, you look as bad as I feel." Came a wry voice. Serena turned around and saw Gohan, smiling sadly at her.

Ami suddenly jolted her head up "Oh hello Gohan," She said quietly "I've got something her for you." Ami pulled off something she had attached to her dress by placing it carefully between a sapphire brooch and her dress. She handed it over to Gohan who held it in his hand, it was a small cylinder made of wood. On one end of the cylinder there was a small, yet intricate pattern of a mighty tree. Ami smiled at Gohan's confused expression "It's a gift from Princess Sasami." She explained "She also told me to tell you not to tell her mother about it." Ami gave a small shrug showing that whatever Sasami meant, she would wait until morning to find out.

Gohan was actually surprised at this seeming inconsequential gift "What is it?" He asked.

Luna had been peering at the cylinder as well and answered in a curious voice "It appears to be the Royal Crest of Jurai on the base." She explained "If you stamp the Crest on any letter heading to the Jurai Royal Family, it will go straight to them, without going through any security procedures. It's only meant for the most important of state letters."

"Or to send letters to a new friend…" Gohan thought, his spirits suddenly lifted out of their mire. He smiled as he deposited the seal into his pocket "Well," He said "I think it's bed time."

The others nodded in agreement and started to walk past the remaining guests of the Ball to the stairs which would lead them to their beds. At the top of the stairs, Serena suddenly stopped and glared at Gohan "What did you mean by saying I looked bad?" She demanded. Gohan realised that he probably wasn't going to get to bed quite yet…

To be continued…

Some notes on this chapter:

1: I apologise to the spirit of Groucho Marx who will almost certainly kick my arse when we meet in the Afterlife. Sorry Groucho, but the thought of you running amok in one of my fanfics was too much to resist…

2: Kudos to all those who spotted the various cameos dotted here and there. I'll post a full list in the next chapter if you like.

3: Don't expect Sasami to play a major role in the story from this point on. It was only something I felt would be nice to put in, as I reckon Sasami and Gohan would make a rather cute couple.

4: The reason I've changed the name of the Sailor Senshi to the Celestial Senshi was the same reason I changed the title of Super Saiyan to Ascended Saiyan. They both sounded a little campy… And I realise the irony of saying anything from a Magical Girl anime is too campy.

I think that's all for now, just remember to read and review!