Author's Note: Yup, that's right! An update! Enjoy.
Set Me Free
Chapter 8
…Without breaking the kiss, he swung the beautiful woman in his arms around him and twirled in the moonlight…
Bulma shut her romance novel and released a sigh. She looked across the landscape; across the fields and forests. She was currently resting beneath her favorite spot beneath the oak tree and doing what she loved most: reading.
The young woman was having difficulty concentrating however, as she recalled the previous night's events. Setting the book at her side, she rested her face in her hands and pondered peacefully, her mind drifting back to the man who saved her. A handsome man, much like the one in her romance novel.
She scoffed. "Oh if only he knew…" She droned on, releasing a chuckle at the thought of the mighty prince being compared to a head-over-heels lunatic in love.
Folding her arms across her chest, the blue-haired woman leaned her back against the tree and allowed her mind to drift back to what happened the night before…
The strong prince carried the soaking woman into the castle until she insisted her put her down. With a smirk, he agreed and nearly dropped her, which earned him a good slap on the arm.
The couple proceeded to sneak through the halls, weary of any lurking eyes and unwanted company. Finally, they reached their destination of his bedroom and quietly snuck in through the large double doors.
Bulma immediately noticed the fire blazing on the far wall and instantly made a path towards it. "Oh thank the gods…" She murmured to herself, plopping down on the rugs in front of it.
The prince meanwhile made his way to the bathroom and emerged with two towels. He tossed one towards his guest and continued to rub down his own body with his.
Vegeta took a seat next to Bulma, folding his legs Indian-style and leaning back on his arms positioned behind him. They did not say a word but merely stared into the blazing fire. Suddenly, Bulma released a shiver – still drenched from the pouring rain. Vegeta turned his attention to her and she dismissed the look he gave her.
Rolling his eyes, he leapt to his feet and pulled the young woman with him and pushed her towards the bathroom, grabbing an armful of clothes along the way.
Bulma appeared from the bathroom moments later wearing a pair of oversize black sweatpants and long sleeve shirt that drowned out her figure.
Vegeta smirked at the scene before them and she released a small giggle before they both resumed their spots in front of the fireplace and engaged in conversation for hours into the night.
At one point, Vegeta caught site of the bruises the low-class soldier left on her beautiful pale skin the night before. He frowned and reached out as she continued her conversation. The prince grabbed her chin and turned it towards himself to examine the damage further and to inspect the progress from last night.
She preferred not to talk about it and shrugged is hand away. "It's fine…"
Silence erupted between the two and they looked forward at the flames in the stone fireplace.
Suddenly, Bulma spoke up. "So that girl…"
"She's no one. She means nothing to me."
Bulma nodded, unsure of where the conversation was going next. "And us…?"
The prince released a heavy sigh and continued to stare straight forward. "Well that's a little more complicated, isn't it?" It really was not a question he wanted an answer to and welcomed the silence as Bulma just nodded once more.
Finally, she released a long yawn, which brought Vegeta's attention back to her. He watched as her eyelids became heavy and drifted slowly downward.
"I'll walk you back to your quarters." He announced, getting to his feet and stretching out a hand for her.
"No, I'm fine. That's not necessary." She said as he pulled her to her feet.
"I insist."
She was too tired to argue and they walked slowly back to the other end of the palace where her bedroom was located.
"Well, goodnight Vegeta…" She trailed off, turning to open the door to her bedroom. He grabbed her hand quickly and pulled her in for one last goodnight kiss...
"Woman."
Bulma jumped from the rude awakening as she was dreaming about the night before. She released a hiss in annoyance and shielded the sun out of her eyes as she squinted up at her intruder.
"What?"
The prince smirked, shoving his hands in his pockets and squatted down so he was nearly eye level with the young woman sitting beneath the tree. He leaned into her, so close she could feel his hot breath against her lips. She too, leaned into him and closed her eyes expecting his lips against hers until –
"I'm going to need my clothes back…"
She released a growl and angrily pushed him, making him fall flat on his back. He could not contain his laughter as she pounced on him and proceeded to playfully hit and punch him.
"You JERK!"
Finally, they lay side by side in the middle of the fields, staring at the sky. Almost as if on cue, they both turned on their sides to face each other.
Vegeta reached out to brush a lock of blue hair out of Bulma's face when a soldier appeared hastily and out of breath.
"Your highness, your father requests your presence in the thrown room."
The prince jumped to his feet, attempting to hide the gestures that took place moments before. He must keep this a secret, after all.
Shoving his hands in his pockets, he followed the soldier back to the palace but stopped momentarily to peer behind in the distance to see the flash of blue before it disappeared from his sight.
"Alright, it's settled then. Vegeta will lead the army into battle on Planet Nash. We will discuss the specifics later." The king beamed as he showed his guests to the door. His thoughts drifted to the wealth they were accumulating by having the Saiyan army fight other planet's battles for them. And of course, they never lost.
The prince pushed himself up from the chair and shoved his hands into his pockets, then slowly followed the crowd out, lingering behind until he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"I need a word with you."
Vegeta froze momentarily and looked at his father. He crossed his arms, signaling for him to continue with whatever he had to say. The king crossed the room and took a seat in his enormous cold and black marble thrown.
"Have you picked a date for the wedding?"
The king's voice echoed across the large hall but Vegeta said nothing in return. He wanted his father to completely drop the whole "wedding" subject.
"The queen and I have decided to give you a month. That should be enough time. Plus, King Yemma has been on my back about this union since you brought his daughter home."
Again, Vegeta said nothing in response to his father's wishes. He could care less about the union between Planet Vegetasei and Earth. It was a foolish treaty to begin with. The prince had enough of his father babbling on and was growing bored. He turned and left the hall. The king stood up and called after him "one month! One month!"
Bulma currently found herself casually walking through the hallways of the palace, reading a letter from her father, and completely unaware of her surroundings. She hummed a tune softly which she learned as a little girl from her mother and rhythmically ran her right through her blue locks of hair while the left held out the letter, nearly touching her nose.
"Love, daddy-WAAAAAHHHH!"
Out of nowhere, a strong hand clasped her right arm and drew her into a dark, cramped room. The door slammed shut, which made it impossible to see her whoever captured her. Naturally, she thought the worst.
"Please don't hurt me! I'm gonna scream and then you'll be in trouble-" A coarse hand threw itself over her loud and obnoxious mouth, silencing her. The next thing she knew, the prowler flipped on the lights.
"Vegeta! You ass!" Bulma pushed the hand away from her mouth and slugged the prince in the left arm. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and stared down at her, a smirk upon his lips. "Where are we?" She looked around the small room and realized it was just a closet, probably for the maids. Mops and brooms were strewn about, which meant very little space for one person to be standing in there, let alone two. Bulma noticed the little space that was between them, which was barely about 4 inches.
They made eye contact and seconds later, dove at each other in a ferocious make-out session. Bulma wrapped her arms around the prince's neck as he clasped his hands around her back.
They twirled around and tumbled about in the limited space until Bulma lost her balance and fell, taking the prince with her. They crashed into the door, which was powerful enough to break it wide open, allowing them to fall onto the marble floor into the hallway.
Bulma sat up and grabbed her head. She opened her eyes to see she was straddling the prince! Her cheeks burned a bright red while he too adjusted to his surroundings and noticed the beauty perched upon his abdomen, legs spread on both sides.
They both stood still for a moment, taking in the situation until somebody interrupted, clearing their throat. They instantly cocked their heads in the directed and stared down one of the prince's personal butlers.
"Sir?" He asked, seeing the couple.
Bulma froze. Oh gods! This can't be happening – no one is suppose to know about us! She quickly thought about what she could say in order to make it less obvious about what happened. "Well, er, the prince did not know how to um… clean the fireplace so I wanted to show him where everything was! Hence the cleaning closet." She proudly boasted and thought that no one would see through her lie.
The butler raised an eyebrow while Bulma managed a glance in Vegeta's direction, who gave her a look of: what the fuck are you talking about? He put a hand over his face in embarrassment, both for him and for her stupid excuse.
"Very well, but what happened to the door?" He gestured towards the closet door, which was barely hanging on by its hinges. And he added "and why are you two on the floor?"
"Well, um…" Bulma was on the verge of concocting another excuse when Vegeta jumped to his feet, pulling Bulma to her's along with him.
"That's none of your damn business." The prince stated and took off, dragging Bulma behind him. Then he called out to the stunned butler "-and the fireplace still needs cleaning!"
Meanwhile, Chi Chi and Kakarott currently sat upon the ledge of one of many fountains scattered about the grounds and gardens around the palace. They were currently chatting about their days and making plans for dinner.
"Care to come to my room for a private dinner?" Chi Chi suggested, batting her eyelids playfully at the soldier sitting across from her.
Kakarott's face flushed and he grinned. "Sure Chi Chi!"
She grabbed his hand and they stared into each other's eyes. The princess slowly leaned into the handsome man, closing her eyes and pouting her lips. She waited for the soldier to come in for the kiss but it never came.
Chi Chi opened her eyes to see Kakarott looking into the windows of the palace, slight confusion on his face.
"Kakarott?" She turned look at what Kakarott was examining when suddenly a young couple burst through the double glass doors and ran past, hand in hand. They were laughing, huge grins plastered on their faces and casting glances behind them, completely unaware of their company sitting by the fountain. Soon they disappeared from sight into the fields in the distance.
"…I think that was Vegeta…" Kakarott mumbled, unaware of what just happened. His mouth hung open slightly in utter surprise.
"And Bulma…" Chi Chi joined, also in shock about what just happened. They both stared in the direction that the couple ran off.
"I've never seen him laugh like that." The soldier murmured while the princess nodded in agreement. Finally, they discontinued their staring into the distance and walked back inside the palace.
However, another pair of eyes witnessed the scene that just took place.
Author's Note: Uh-oh! Dun dun dun! So tell me what you think? Is the story starting to pick up a little? Thank you all to my magnificent reviewers! I love hearing from you - so review and tell me your thoughts.
