Empire
Chapter 11: Hot and Bothered
Chichi walked behind Brolly and Bulma. Raeni stood next to her. Chichi had long since taken off her cloak. She had been literally baking with it on. She noticed that Bulma still wore hers. Raeni was carrying her cloak in her hand. Brolly had not even bothered to wear one. Chichi looked up at the sky.
The suns of Vegeta-sei were not being kind to them. The path from the palace gates to the city was at least four miles long. It was sweltering and there were no trees to provide them with any sort of shade. Chichi had begged to let Brolly and Raeni fly them into the city, but Bulma had refused.
She's stubborn as a mule. Always out to prove a point, Chichi fumed.
Bulma was just as vexed as Chichi, but for a totally different reason. Vegeta had known the walk was this long. She had noticed it when he asked her if she planned on walking. This must be his way of punishing her for what she did earlier.
What? He plans on seeing me cooked to death out here? What an asshole! Bulma turned and looked at Chichi. Chichi looked up warily at her. The princess turned back around.
After another thirty minutes of silent brooding and walking, Bulma saw tops of buildings. Letting out a sigh of relief, she picked up the pace a little. Chichi noticed this and ran after her friend, calling her name. Raeni sighed and went after the two. Brolly just watched calmly, keeping his steady pace going.
"Bulma, why are you running?" Chichi called.
"Because I'm thirsty! That's why!" Bulma yelled back. Chichi rolled her eyes and kept running.
Bulma stopped when she entered the busy city. She barely heard Chichi walk up beside her, it was so loud. Chichi and Bulma looked around at the other Saiyans. They had never seen so much spandex in their lives.
"Is that all you people wear?" Bulma asked. Raeni shrugged.
"It serves to fit all purposes. Not everyone can wear dresses all the time." Raeni scanned the vendors on the side of the street. "Come on. You said you were thirsty," she said. Bulma nodded and followed Raeni, pulling Chichi along. She had been staring at a child with a furry appendage sticking out his backside. She poked Bulma urgently.
"Bulma, look!" she whispered. Bulma turned her head to where Chichi was looking. She raised an eyebrow in question and stopped walking.
Raeni almost fell at the deadweight on her arm. Brolly noticed the three women had stopped moving when he caught up to them. He saw the bewildered looks on the two humans' faces.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Is that a tail that child has?" Bulma asked slowly, looking up at Brolly. Brolly looked at the little Saiyan, who was now trotting off with who he could assume was his father. The little brown appendage wrapped around his waist as he did so. Bulma's eyes traveled to Brolly's waist. "You have one?"
"You mean to tell me that you've been on this planet for almost a year now and you've never noticed that Saiyans have tails?" Raeni asked, looking at them incredulously. Chichi and Bulma could only nod. "Chichi, all the time you spend with Kakarrot, he's never once let it unravel?" Chichi shook her head.
"Why do you keep them wrapped around your waist like that?" Bulma asked.
"Imagine it getting caught in the door of a ship or something. It's best just to keep it like this. Plus, the enemy can't get it easily while it's like this. To most Saiyans, it is a weakness. They are extremely sensitive. To those of us who have been trained, it is not. Enough talk about tails. I thought we were getting something to drink," Raeni said, sounding irritable. Bulma nodded. She got the feeling there was more to it then Raeni was letting on.
Raeni took them to a vendor that was selling something that resembled snow cones. Bulma and Chichi could practically taste the alcohol from smelling the substance. It was purple and extremely cold, but warmed after two or three seconds. Once they swallowed it, it stung all the way down.
"That stuff's great. Earth should take lessons on how to make drinks from the Saiyans," Chichi said. Bulma rolled her eyes.
"Let's go look around," Bulma said.
Inside the festival, the quartet came to a fenced area. There were a lot of little animals inside the fence. There were furry animals, scaly animals, three-eyed animals, and eight-legged animals. Bulma's eyes were set on something that looked like a giant fur ball. She moved over to its side of the fence.
"Hey, little guy," she said sweetly. The giant puff turned around to look at her with one big eye. Brolly walked over to her, holding a bucket of something smelly. Bulma looked into it and almost threw up. "What the hell is this?" she yelled.
"You want to interact with that creature, don't you?" he asked. Bulma nodded half-heartedly. "Well, this is its food." Brolly handed her the bucket. Raeni and Chichi were snickering. Bulma shot them evil looks before she turned back to the adorable creature. It padded its way over to her.
Bulma finally got a really good look at it. It had big, blue eyes, much like hers. Its fur was white as snow and it walked on all fours when it was not curled into a ball. It was no bigger than a puppy. It sat down on its hind legs and looked up wonderingly at her. Bulma reached in the bucket and fished out a big helping of the creature's food: a large piece of what looked like flesh. It fell directly in front of the creature, almost crushing it.
"Whoops," Bulma whispered. Before the word had come completely out of her mouth, the little creature had walked up to the meat and devoured it almost completely whole. Bulma turned and looked at Chichi and Raeni.
"That was the most disgusting thing I have ever seen," Chichi said.
"It's a Feyore. They're very rare on this planet. I've been trying to sell it, but no one wants him," the owner of the creature said, walking over to them. Before Bulma could say anything, the Feyore hacked up a large bone and belched. "Do you want to take it off my hands?"
"Sure," Bulma said. Raeni stepped up beside her.
"Absolutely not, princess. What will Prince Vegeta think if he sees you have a pet?" she exclaimed. Bulma smirked in a very Vegeta-like way. Raeni cursed herself for giving Bulma incentive to defy the prince.
"Well, we won't know unless we find out, will we? Brolly, could you pay the man?" Bulma said. She reached down and picked up the Feyore. Before she touched it, it jumped on her left arm and crawled up to her shoulder, where it made a little perch. It was surprisingly light. "Nimble little thing, aren't you?"
"What are you going to call it?" Chichi asked, watching the furry alien as it examined Bulma's shoulder and hair. Bulma stared at her, then at the alien on her shoulder. "It looks like a miniature abominable snowman."
"I like that. Snow. I'll call him Snow," Bulma said. She took the Feyore off her shoulder and looked at him. He appeared to be smiling at her. "Do you like that name, Snow?" she asked. The Feyore made a noise that sounded like a bark and a purr at the same time, if that was possible. Bulma laughed and put the animal back on her shoulder.
They continued to trudge through the festival, Raeni at the front with Brolly bringing up the rear. Snow had taken a real liking to his new mistress and refused to leave her left shoulder for even a moment. They saw several tents: jewelry, fortune-telling ("Bullshit," Raeni had said.), and others had captured their interests. But one caught Bulma's eye above any other. It was an old inventor's tent. The old Saiyan looked up at her.
"Hi there. What have you got here?" Bulma asked, looking down at the trinkets and gadgets. She had never seen anything like them. They all resembled tiny orbs and watches. The inventor noticed the lock of blue hair coming out of Bulma's hood.
"You are not Saiyan, are you?" he asked. Bulma looked up at the old man. He merely waved a hand. "It matters not to me. An old man is glad for the company, I assure you. Do you know what these are?" he asked. He picked up a blue orb and handed it to Bulma. It was very heavy. Bulma managed to lift to it her line of vision to show the others. She recognized it.
"Any takers?" Bulma asked Raeni, Chichi, and Brolly. All three just shook their heads. Bulma sighed. "Oh, it's so simple! You'll have to excuse my friends. They're such ignoramuses." Bulma ran her hand over the ball, apparently checking for any indentations.
"Uh, princess, what the hell are you doing?" Raeni asked. Bulma ignored her and found what she was looking for. She pushed in and threw the heavy ball a little ways away from her. It exploded outward and a space pod appeared out of the smoke. Bulma looked triumphantly at the vendor.
"It's a space encapsulator. It helps you encapsulate large objects and put them in small places. That's one of the earliest models. I don't know how it got way out here..." Bulma trailed off as she began going through some of the other things on the table. Raeni and Brolly looked at each other.
"How did you know that?" the vendor asked. Bulma looked at him. She pulled her hood down to help her see the gadgets on the table better.
"Because I helped design them with my father. I was working on a smaller, more efficient, not to mention lighter, model before I was brought here. Apparently, some of my planet was ransacked and some things were stolen. As far as I know, Earth was the only planet with this technology because it was our own." Bulma was almost choking on tears. "It was like a family recipe." She turned and walked away from the vendor. Chichi and Raeni went after her.
Brolly stepped up to the vendor, eyeing him dangerously. The vendor knew what Brolly wanted. He did not even need to ask. The vendor nodded and Brolly scooped up all the remaining encapsulators. He then followed after his ward.
Bulma was stalking up the path back to the castle. Raeni and Chichi had fallen behind. They figured she needed a little space and wanted to afford her some time to think. One of Vegeta-sei's suns was still high in the sky, but the other was nearing sunset. Snow was walking along her feet. She assumed it was because of her hair being down and in the way.
How did they get to my scientists? Did they pillage and plunder everything? Will I even have a home to go to? she thought dismally. Sighing, she took off her cloak as she saw the gates of the palace nearing. She turned around and looked at her guards.
"Is there a pool or something nearby?" she asked. "I'm gonna die of heatstroke if I don't cool off," Bulma said. Raeni nodded and walked off. Bulma followed silently.
Raeni led her to an outside bath house. She instructed Bulma on which strings to pull if she wanted cold water, warm water, or suds. Bulma nodded mechanically for five minutes.
"I'll be back in fifteen minutes, princess. Scream if you need me," she said.
"I'll scream when I'm dying," Bulma mumbled.
Bulma walked over to the strings and pulled the one marked "COLD." The water came from a large pipe above the ceiling. Bulma let go of the string and the pulled on the one marked "HOT." The steamy water mixed with the cold. Bulma undressed folded her clothes on the side. She slipped into the green, sudsy water and floated to the center. She ducked her head under twice. When she came up, she heard Snow making some sort of hissing noise.
"Snow, what is it?" she asked the creature. Snow's hair was standing on end and he was baring his razor sharp teeth. His eyes had narrowed like a cat's. He was looking at something behind Bulma. Bulma turned around slowly. The first things she saw were the boots. The second thing was the scowl. Bulma immediately shrunk down into the water until only her head was visible. "Why are you spying on me? You perve!" she yelled.
Vegeta flinched at the shrill scream of the princess. He had merely been walking past the bath house when he heard the sounds of the pool being filled. Curiosity got the better of him and he wanted to see who it was that was indulging in a bath. Low and behold he should find the spoiled little princess.
"I was not spying on you, woman. Besides, you haven't got anything I would want to look at," he said in his usual sniveling tone. Bulma's face contorted into a frown. He was trying to get a rise out of her.
"Oh, really? A willing girl who ISN'Ta whore must be hard to come by in Aenire," Bulma said. She floated towards his feet and stared up at him. He looked down at her with disdain. The white ball of fur to his left was making an irritating racket, but all his attention was focused on her.
"I've seen dead women on the battlefield who look better than you do, woman," Vegeta said. Bulma smirked and floated backwards to the center of the pool.
"That a fact? Tell me you don't fuck dead women, Vegeta. If you do, that just solidifies my theory that WILLING females are hard to come by for you. At least dead women don't have to suffer by looking at that repugnant mug of yours the entire time."
Vegeta could not believe the effrontery of this woman. To speak to him in such a manner would surely mean to death. If any female had done so, he would have killed her on the spot. Well, he would definitely not let her have the last word on this little bout.
"Woman, you can say all you want about my sexual conquests. It just confirms my suspicions about your tension around me," he said. Bulma shot him a look.
"What do you mean by that?" she asked. Vegeta smirked.
"Get out of that pool and I'll show you what I mean," he said in a dangerous voice. Bulma did not like the glint in Vegeta's eye. Snow was still barking/purring madly at Vegeta. Vegeta noticed Bulma's hesitation and just smirked. "I didn't think so."
"You're such a pervert, Vegeta. You just want to satisfy your lascivious needs by seeing me naked," Bulma said haughtily. She would fight for the last word till the very end. Vegeta was definitely a worthy adversary and he would not go down easily. Vegeta just turned to look at her again.
"I'm a prince, woman. I can be a pervert if I want to," he said. Bulma opened her mouth to say more, but found that he had effectively ended the conversation. She floated to the other side of the bath. Vegeta finally took notice of the hissing little alien at his feet. "What the hell is this thing?" he asked as he picked it up by the scruff of his neck.
"That's Snow, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't hold him like he's a piece of trash," Bulma said. Vegeta looked her in the eye and dropped the creature unceremoniously on the ground. Bulma went over to where he was. Vegeta stood there calmly, arms crossed. He had a feeling he knew what she was going to do. He stepped up to the edge, daring her. Bulma smirked. "Your arrogance will be your downfall, my prince." Bulma grabbed his foot and pulled as hard as she could.
Too late did Vegeta get what she meant by that. Any other day of the week, Bulma would not have been able to accomplish the feat of yanking his muscular leg from under him. But, with the assistance of a slick, wet tile floor and there being very little traction on the bottom of his boots, she was able to achieve the act that day.
The stuck-up prince slipped and fell on his backside. Bulma pulled him even further into the bath until he was completely in, cape and all. Laughing, she climbed out while he was trying to find his way out of his cape. She grabbed a robe and wrapped it around her as his head popped up out of the water. He was seething.
"Superciliousness never got anyone anywhere, my prince," she said. She blew him a kiss. Vegeta walked to the edge of the bath, getting ready to hoist himself out of it. Bulma picked up Snow.
"Run, woman. Run very, very fast," he said. Bulma's eyes widened and she took off. She heard Vegeta jump out of the pool. She looked behind her and saw that he had taken off his cape and armor and was chasing her in just his bodysuit now. Knowing she was in trouble if she got caught, Bulma ran the only place she could think of: the throne room.
Vegeta was playing fair by not flying to catch up with her, but he was still somewhat faster than the princess even on foot. He could catch her if he really wanted to. He wanted to see where she would take him. When he realized where she was going, he decided he needed to catch her. She would call his mother from there, and he could not have that. He sped up and grabbed her around the waist.
Bulma felt a strong arm slink around her waist as Vegeta caught her. He yanked her around into an alcove behind a curtain. While she was panting and gasping for breath, Vegeta was breathing regularly. Snow fell from her hands. She looked Vegeta up and down and noticed that his hair was not defying gravity as it usually did. She could not help but laugh as it dripped in his face.
"What's so damn funny, woman? You're in no position to be laughing," Vegeta said.
"It's nothing, really. But, you just look so cute with your hair down like this. I did not realize it was this long." Bulma put her hands on it and raised some of it up so Vegeta could see. He frowned and stepped back from her. Bulma pulled him closer to her by the hair. Vegeta flinched; it really did hurt to be pulled like that.
"Woman, release me," Vegeta said, trying not to sound like he was in pain. Bulma held fast and pulled him closer to her face. All Vegeta could do was obey her will. He put a hand on either side of her head.
"You knew the walk to Aenire was that long, didn't you?" Bulma asked, her voice totally different than before. Vegeta could not resist an evil smirk. Bulma glared at him. "You knew! You bastard! You could've warned me when I said I was going to walk. I was out there in that hot sun sweltering!" Bulma screeched in his sensitive ears.
"That's not my fault, woman! If I know anything about your loudmouth friend, then she tried to talk you out of it. You were to MULISH to change your mind, though. Am I right?" Vegeta asked. Bulma opened her mouth to retort, but immediately closed it. Vegeta grabbed her hand and removed it from his hair. "I thought so."
It was then that Bulma finally noticed the position they were in. She was against the wall of the small alcove. Vegeta's hands were on either side of her head and he was inches from her body. Her attire did not help the situation, either; she was only wearing the robe she'd grabbed in a hurry to escape the bath in.
Vegeta could see her nervousness with their situation. He leered inwardly and decided to play on it. There would only be so many opportunities that he would get her in this position.
And be sober, he thought sardonically.
"My cape is dry clean only, woman. How are you going to pay me back for ruining it?" he asked.
Bulma raised an eyebrow, looking him in the eye. He was no longer wearing his cape and armor, just his bodysuit.
How did he strip that off that fast? she thought. She recounted that he had been wearing his full armor and cape when she pulled him into the bath. So, it was indeed ruined. She looked back at Vegeta's face. She knew exactly what he was doing and where this was going.
"Payment, eh? Well, this could go one of two ways, your highness," she said.
"Oh, do not leave me in suspense, your majesty," Vegeta said. Bulma smirked in a very astute manner.
"I could say that my ruining your precious cape was my way of paying you back for not telling me about the brutal heat of this place. Or," Bulma took Vegeta's hands and removed his gloves, "we could see the various uses of these fingers." Bulma intertwined her fingers with his. Vegeta could only stare wide-eyed at the princess.
Bulma knew she had Vegeta speechless now. She released his hands and untied her robe. Vegeta's bare hands rubbed up against her thigh as she stepped up to his face. She put her hand on the back of his head to bring him forward. Vegeta squeezed her leg almost apprehensively. He took his right arm and slipped it inside her robe and around her waist to bring her closer. Bulma was so close to his face now that she could practically taste his lips.
The curtain was suddenly moved aside. Bulma and Vegeta turned their heads and saw Raeni standing there. Raeni looked between the two, sizing up the situation. Bulma stepped away from Vegeta hastily and pulled her robe closed. Raeni was carrying her clothes in one arm and she had Vegeta's wet armor and cape in the other. She looked at Bulma.
"Your highness, you left your clothes in the bath house," she said through clenched teeth. She thrust Bulma's dress forward. Bulma stepped nervously out of the alcove. She took the clothes from Raeni and cleared her throat.
"Thank you, Raeni. I'm sorry I didn't call for you when I, uh, left," she said quietly. Raeni eyed her again and then looked at Vegeta.
"I also retrieved your cape and armor from the bath house. Your cape is apparently ruined, your majesty. What do you want to do with it?" Raeni asked. Vegeta snapped out of his apparent trance once Raeni addressed him. He looked down at his shrinking cape.
"You can discard the cape. Take my armor to be cleaned and polished." He looked down at the floor for his gloves. He found them by the Feyore named Snow. Snow was gnawing on one of them. When Vegeta reached for it, he snapped at him. "Fine! Keep it, you little shit," Vegeta said. He just wanted to get back to his suite as quickly as possible. He turned and walked away, leaving Raeni and Bulma standing there.
Bulma did not watch him leave. She could feel Raeni's accusing eyes on her. Bulma bent down and let Snow crawl on her arm to her shoulder with Vegeta's glove. When they started walking, Raeni did not even look at her. Bulma kept stealing glances every now and then.
"Raeni?" she asked after two minutes. Raeni did not speak. "Raeni, I can explain..."
"Oh, you will. I want a nice, long explanation on why I caught you and Prince Vegeta in such an eye-catching position. And, princess, it had better be good," Raeni said. Bulma smiled weakly.
