(A/N: IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ! I'm so sorry! It's not my fault there was such a long delay. Every time I tried to update I kept getting an error message. But since you're reading this, it means the problem is solved. But I tested it a few times afterwards and the error message is coming up again, damn it! I already contacted support_fanfiction, but I'm still getting problems. Sorry for the inconvenience and hopefully this problem will be resolved quickly.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 14: Confrontation

"I'm so happy for you!" Bulma cried, hugging Gure. "I told you everything would turn out all right."

The little alien blushed. "I'm so happy. Soon Gure will get to be Prince Tarble's wife."

Bulma shook her finger at her. "If you're going to marry him, then you should stop referring to him as 'prince'. If there's one thing I know about boys it's that they're ego is big enough."

Gure blinked. "B-But, he's royalty."

"You will be too soon."

Sadly, Gure shook her head. "No, it doesn't work that way. Even as Prince Tarble's wife, I won't be considered royal since I'm not a saiyan."

Bulma frowned. "That's not fair. What about any children you have?" She briefly wondered if Gure and Tarble could have children or if they're genetic makeup was too different.

"Technically," Gure replied, "since they'll have saiyan blood in them, they'll be considered as having noble birth, but they'll still be looked down upon. Besides, Prince Vegeta is the heir to the throne. Even if he wasn't, I don't think any of the saiyans, not even the king, would approve of Prince Tarble taking the throne since he's… not as strong as others."

Bulma rolled her eyes. It seemed that strength was everything to the saiyans. But that was just their culture, and they had been living that way for who knows how long. They weren't going to change things any time soon.

"But that's ok." Gure continued. "Prince Tarble doesn't want the throne, and Gure loves him just the way he is anyway."

Bulma sighed. "Well, I guess that's the important thing. Good for you, Gure. Although I guess that means that we slaves are going to have to work extra hard to prepare for the wedding."

"Not really. Prince Tarble and I don't want a big wedding. And Gure doesn't think the king would want to draw any attention to our marriage anyway; he doesn't approve of me."

"He's still letting you guys marry, right?"

Gure nodded. "He's very reluctant about it, but yes, he is."

"That's good." She crossed her arms, looking thoughtful. "It's too bad. I was curious to see how a saiyan marriage ceremony went. I wonder how different it is from Earth."

Gure was curious. "How do they happen on Earth?"

"Hmm? Oh, well, most weddings include a big get together of friends and family. The bride dresses all in white and the groom wears a tuxedo. The groom waits by the priest at the alter with his best man. Then the bride walks down the isle with her bridesmaids and father, and once she reaches the alter, her father gives her away. The bride and groom exchange vows and then place marriage rings on each others fingers." She pointed to her left ring finger. "This one, because it has a vein that goes directly to the heart. And then the priest declares them husband and wife."

Gure's eyes were wide and shinning. "That sounds lovely."

"Oh, but there's so much more. During the ceremony, the bride carries a bouquet of flowers that she later tosses in the air, and whoever catches it is supposedly the next one to get married. Then the bride and groom share a dance to their wedding song and later cut the cake and feed it to each other, symbolizing that they will always nurture their partner. There's a big celebration before the bride and groom retire for the night. And later they usually go on a honeymoon."

"What's a honeymoon?"

"It's normally a trip the bride and groom go on together so they can be alone."

Gure began hopping up and down. "Oh, oh, oh, the saiyans have that. Prince Tarble and Gure are going to go away to another planet for a few weeks."

"Oh, how wonderful. A honeymoon to another planet."

"Actually," said Gure, "it's a moon we're going to." She smiled bashfully. "So we're going to a moon for our honeymoon."

Bulma rolled eyes. She hated puns.

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The wedding was small, and there were very few people. Aside from Goku and Gohan, no other saiyans were present. Not even the king or Vegeta. It was mostly a celebration for the slaves, though it did require them to work.

"So," Bulma asked the new bride, "how's it feel to be married?"

Gure blushed. "It's too soon to tell. It hasn't hit Gure yet. It still feels like a dream, but Gure is so happy."

Tarble rested a hand on her shoulder. "I'm happy too."

Bulma studied the couple. They looked so cute yet… incompatible together. But they were happy and in love. She supposed that's all that mattered. It was like something from out of a historical romance novel, slave and master falling for each other.

Right in the middle of the feast, of which Goku, Gohan, and Tarble had eaten the most of, a saiyan that Bulma had not seen before burst into the room. He looked a lot like Goku, only his skin was darker and he had an X-shaped scar on his cheek.

Goku, with his mouth full, waved at the saiyan. "'I 'Ad, wuss uh?"

The saiyan cut his eyes at him. "Swallow and try again."

Goku did so. "I said, hi Dad, what's up?"

Bulma did a double-take. Dad? As in his father? She turned to the little alien beside her. "Hey, Shimo, that saiyan…?"

"Oh, that's Bardock, Goku's father."

That explained the similar appearance. "He doesn't look much older than him."

"That's because saiyans evolved from a warrior race. So they sustain their youthfulness so they could fight longer."

Bulma pouted. 'Well, that's not fair.'

"By order of the king," Bardock announced, "this party is over."

Gohan frowned. "Aww, but Grandpa."

Bardock shook his head. "I didn't give the order. I'm merely delivering the message."

Tarble sighed. "Oh well, I suppose we should be glad Father allowed us to celebrate as long as he did."

"I shall thank him for you." Bardock replied.

As he turned to leave, he saw Bulma out of the corner of his eye. He gasped and was suddenly in front of her. Bulma cried out in surprise, but he grabbed her by the chin and began to study her, his eyes narrowed in concentration.

"W-What are you doing?" she asked.

He didn't answer. He just continued looking her over.

"No," he said out loud to himself, "it can't be."

He released her and left the room. Feeling uneasy, Bulma glanced at Goku and Gohan. "What was that about?"

Goku shrugged. "Don't know. Maybe he had a vision."

"Vision? What vision?"

"Grandpa Bardock is psychic." Gohan explained.

Bulma blinked. "Psychic? As in he can read minds, see the future, teleport, levitate objects, and such?"

"He can see the future." Tarble told her. "It's the main reason why he's so high-ranked. After he and his team went to conquer the planet Kanassa, he developed his power. According to legend, those that live on Kanassa develop psychic abilities. After Bardock received a head injury from one of the natives, he began seeing the future at certain times. His power has been really useful too. Though most of the time the future he see can't be altered or avoided, he has foreseen certain things that would have been disastrous, allowing us to either avoid or reduce the damage."

Bulma shivered. "That's just creepy. And he's the only one who became psychic? How many others were there?"

Tarble tapped his chin. "Um, lets see… Bardock's team consists of his sister Fasha, her mate Tora, and two others. Borgos and Shugesh I think." He looked at Goku for confirmation and received a nod. "Yeah, that's it, but it was only Bardock that developed foresight."

Bulma crossed her arms. So, this Bardock was the real thing, someone who could actually see the future. But then what had he seen in her? What role did she play in the future?

She wasn't sure she wanted to know.

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Bulma returned to her room late. She was surprised to see Vegeta sitting on the bed, waiting for her with a displeased look on his face.

"You're late." He told her. "Where were you?"

Bulma put her hands on her hips. "Hey, I may be a slave, but even slaves are allowed to do what they want after they finish their duties for the day."

"Perhaps I had some more I wanted you to do. Now tell me, where were you?"

"Where you should have been!" she snapped. "At your brother's wedding. The two of you may not get along, but you should still have been there for him."

Vegeta frowned. "My brother and I get along just fine. I simple didn't want to see him disgrace himself by taking that vermin as his mate."

Bulma growled. "You're such an arrogant, egotistic, bastard! I hope Frieza crushes your pride under his foot!"

Anger mixed with amusement crept up the saiyan prince's face. "You certainly have a lot of nerve to speak to your master like that." She just glared at him, making him snicker. "You know, you should show me more gratitude. I provide you with protection. Remember, you are just a slave. Nappa may have been the worst of them, but there are other saiyans that would take advantage of a lovely young slave girl wondering around at night."

She shivered in fear, remembering how she was almost brutally raped by the bald-headed saiyan.

"I may not always be able to protect you." He continued. "So you should stay close to me." Smirking, he walked over to her, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at him. "However, that won't protect you from me."

Bulma felt a blush heat up her face. She cursed her attraction to the saiyan prince. Sure she found him very handsome, but she could do without his bad personality. Why couldn't his attitude be more like Tarble's?

Vegeta chuckled at the blush creeping up her face. "Or perhaps you don't want to be protected from me."

She saw it coming a moment before it happened. "Don't you dar-"

Too late, he kissed her. Warmth flooded through Bulma and her legs went limp. Damn he was a good kisser. He could always make her go weak in the knees. And it absolutely infuriated her. Why couldn't she resist him? She knew she was attracted to him, but she had never planned on acting on it. She was engaged, that made all other attractive men 'look, don't touch' scenarios.

The problem was that he knew of her attraction to him, and he was taking advantage of that. With her being a slave, he could do anything he wanted with her, and she was unable to stop him.

'The creep!' she thought angrily, even as she kissed him back.

Vegeta pulled away, looking into her glazed eyes in amusement. "Has your precious fiancé ever made you react that way?"

"You're a jerk." She whispered.

"Am I now? I for one think I'm being very generous. You're my slave, yet I treat you better than one. I haven't hurt you, have I?"

"No, but you're sexually harassing me."

"Really?" He threw her down on the bed and pinned her down. "If you were such a genius, you'd know that the term sexual harassment is defined as unwanted sexual advances." He traced the lines of her face with a finger. "And from your reactions, my advances are anything but unwanted."

She tried to bite his finger and he pulled it away. "That's just the body's natural reaction. Cut a person and they bleed."

He shook his head. "It's very different, my dear. You're reaction to Nappa's advances were quite different."

"He was violent."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "So, if his touch had been as gentle as mine, you'd be moaning his name simply because it's the body's natural reaction."

Damn he was good. He was forcing her to admit her attraction to him, making her admit that she wanted him.

"I can see the conflict in your eyes." He told her. "You're not so sure of yourself anymore. No, that's not it. You already know what you want; you're just in denial. You don't want to want me."

She gulped, struggling to find her voice. "E-Even if that were true, my mind is separate from my body. No matter what my body may want, in my mind I know it's wrong. Yamcha is the one I love. I will not betray him."

The saiyan prince chuckled. It really was a lot of fun messing with her like this. "The mind and heart tend to follow the body. Eventually you'll get tired of fighting and you'll just accept the inevitable."

She knew she was about to step on thin ice, but it was all she had. "Sounds very much like your situation with Frieza."

That knocked the smirk off his face. Amusement became cold fury as he stared at her angrily. How dare she speak to him like that! The wench needed to be taught a lesson. He would see to it. At first this had been a game, but she had just gone and made it personal. He would get to her soon enough. He'd break down her defensive walls and show her that she was his.

Getting up, he turned to leave. "You're a stubborn woman, but your resolve will fail. Soon you'll willingly share my bed." He grinned at her cruelly. "And when you do, you won't even remember your fiancé's name."

Heart racing, Bulma watched as he left the room. That had been too close. For a while there, she thought that she might be raped by the saiyan. Strangely though, she hadn't been scared of that. Well, no, that's not true. She had been scared, but the fear hadn't been the same as it had been when Nappa had almost had his way with her. It was a different terror.

Perhaps she had been afraid that she wouldn't see it as rape; because, damn him to Hell, she did want him. Being held down and forced was one thing; she could always tell herself that it wasn't her fault, that she hadn't wanted it, that she couldn't help it. But that wouldn't be the case here. She did want it, but like he said, she just didn't want to want it.

She growled in frustration. What was wrong with her? Why was she feeling this way? She wasn't some cheap whore. She didn't sleep around. Hell, she and Yamcha had never gone past second base and she loved him. So why now was she having thoughts of having full-blown sex with the saiyan prince?

Ok, so she definitely lusted after him, she accepted that. But she could never and would never sleep with someone she didn't love. She loved Yamcha. She may fantasize about other men, but the only one she truly wanted to be intimate with was him.

But if that was true, why was she having to convince herself not to accept what Vegeta offered? Why did her thoughts seem to go beyond fantasy and make her actual consider them?

Did she love him? No, no she didn't. But did she have feelings for him? Perhaps. She did feel like she had a crush on him. But why? He certainly wasn't a nice guy. His attitude was tolerable at best. He was rude, arrogant, and, at times, just plain mean, even cruel. How could she have feelings for someone like that? Yes, she, like many girls, was into the 'bad boy' type, but also like many other girls, what she truly wanted to settle down with was a kind and caring person.

Ok, so she had some feelings for him. No problem, she could deal with a crush. She wouldn't let that affect her. There have been guys she liked in the past, that didn't mean she jumped on them. She once had the hots for an intern at her father's company, but he had a girlfriend. No matter how much she liked him, she didn't act because of this; it was morally wrong.

It was the same thing here. She liked Vegeta, but she loved Yamcha, Therefore she would do nothing about her feelings for the saiyan prince. He was just a passing phase. Soon enough her feelings for him will fade away and only Yamcha will once again be in her heart.

Or so she told herself.

(A/N: Bulma was really taking a risk when she brought up Frieza. But Vegeta is attempting to beat her at this game. Other than that, this was an interesting chapter. And we got to meet Bardock. But just what was it that he saw when he looked at Bulma. Stay tuned to find out.)