Sorry for taking so long to post this chapter. It's all my husbands fault! He got me this new book series, From Blood and Ash... And Er Meh Gerd! I could not put it down! And so that is why it took me so long. But I hope that this chapter was worth the wait.

First Disclaimer! I own nothing!

I want to thank MariIvyFenta for being such an awesome Beta! Helping me turn this story into the best version it can be.

And then I want to warn you there is a slight hint of drugs in this chapter and a smidge of steaminess.

And on with the chapter! Enjoy!

Ch:7 - None of this is real... It can't be

The man with the blood-drenched cloth around his eyes, gave a heavy sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. His free hand pulled out a hallowed horn, mysteriously already filled with ale, and brought it to his lips. After taking a long gulp of his ale, he turned to Bulma.

He clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth as he swallowed the ale, "Give me a minute to talk and explain things to the King and Queen, and my young Prince. Then I will explain to you, Princess."

Bulma threw her hands up in a 'fine, whatever.' "But stop calling me Princess, my name is Bulma. I am no Princess. Thank you very much." She then turned away from the man, doing her best to ignore the group around her talking in an old and ancient language.

With sharp and focused eyes, Bulma took in her surroundings. The wheels in her head, turning, trying to comprehend or understand what was going on with her. Just a few hours ago, she was in this same location- but, was surrounded by ruins and not this beautiful architecture that she was in now. Even while she was holding an ancient ax, she could see it. But that was just a vale of what she was presently seeing in full. Her slender fingers gently grazed across one of the many oak pillars that held up the magnificent arcs above her. She marveled at its craftsmanship. While at the same time, her logical brain was trying to grasp how any of this was possible.

'I was already having a hard time grasping the fact that I could see ghosts! And now this! I am seeing, being seen, talking, and touching the ghosts now. Like, what is going on?'

With a shaky breath, she breathed in through her nose and out of her mouth. Her free hand slowly ran down her face as her other hand held its position on the oak pillar, changing jobs from marveling to supporting in a blink of an eye. She turned to look at the people in the room. They all had stopped talking and were looking at her. The King and Queen, who Bulma guessed was the regal-looking couple. An older gentleman, who looked almost identical to her Viking fantasy man but taller, and an elegant but fierce-looking woman. They were both looking at her with pleased and high expectational looks. Bulma raised an eyebrow at them in a 'what do you want,' but then quickly averted her eyes.

There were also two other Vikings that she had not seen before. One who looked identical to the man with the bloody cloth around his eyes minus the bloody cloth. And a behemoth of a man with long dark hair. The behemoth made her nervous. His height and size alone would intimidate anyone, but add the freshly out of a battle Viking aspect to him, and it would make your blood run cold with fear.

Taking a nervous gulp, she turned her gaze to her Viking-Fantasy- she really needs to learn his name, constantly calling him 'Viking-Fantasy' is just turning him that much more... Alluring.

'I am engaged, damn it! These overly attracted feelings need to stop and go away! Now!'

Not wanting to stare at him any longer, or get trapped in those dark ebony eyes, she snapped her gaze over to the only person in the room that understood her. The man with the blood-drenched cloth around his eyes.

Squaring her shoulders, she marched back over to him. "You're going to explain to me what the hell is going on now!?" She demanded.

"Yes, Princess." He said with a bow of his head.

"Oh my god! Stop, calling me Princess! I told you, my name is Bulma!"

The man just smiled at her.

"I need an explanation of everything," Bulma said with more determination in her voice, "and now would be great."

The man reached forward and grabbed the necklace that hung from her neck. With a quick tug, he broke the leather strap. Bulma yelped as her hand flew to her neck.

"Hey!" She yelled, anger building up inside of her. "That was mine! A gift from my fiancé!" Her eyes shot to the stone that was now in his hands.

Wait- no... stones. There was now a second stone fused to the original one.

Her jaw dropped in shock. "What did you do to it? Why is there another stone fused to it?" She lifted her hand to take it from him, but he pulled away, stopping her arm mid-reach.

"It is not what I did. It is what Prince Vegeta did." He said with a tilt of his head toward Viking-Fantasy. Bulma shot a glare at the accused Prince, the words 'how dare you,' seething out of her eyes. He just raised his brows at her but then, quickly, returned the glare.

So that is his name, Prince Vegeta. Huh.

She turned her glare back toward Bloody-Cloth-Man. "And why did he do that?"

The man straightened his shoulders as he twirled the fused stones between his fingers, studying them. "Ever heard of soul mates?" He questioned.

Bulma gave a small snort. "Yeessss," she said slowly, drawing the word out longer than needed as she crossed her arms over her chest. "And I used to believe in it when I was an immature teenager. But, now I know that that is nothing more than just pure fantasy." Her eyes slowly made their way over to Viking-Fantasy, er- Prince Vegeta. She had to quickly close her eyes against the instant butterflies that took over her stomach. With much difficulty, she re-focused back to Bloody-Cloth-Man before her. "What of it?" She asked sternly.

"First off, soul mates are not just pure fantasy." The man started. Bulma just rolled her eyes in response. "Time is a continuous string. People are born and die all along that line. And every person, or soul, that is born has a soul mate. But sadly, sometimes, those soul mates are born on two completely different points of that line and never get the chance to meet. Much like you and my Prince here."

Bulma gave another snort to his explanation, her face giving away her disbelief. But then the words of what he just said clicked, and her face dropped to complete and utter confusion. Her hand lifted with a pointer finger up in question. "Wait, wait, wait." She paused as the wheels in her head turned, trying to process everything. "Are you trying to tell me that me and Mr. Viking-Fantasy here-"

"Prince Vegeta," the Bloody cloth man corrected.

"Ya ya," Bulma said as she flapped her hand about, ignoring his correction. That is not what was important here right at this present moment. "You just said that we are soul mates?"

The man nodded his head in agreement.

"Soul mates!?" Bulma said more sternly.

An amused grin spread across the man's face as he yet again nodded in agreement.

"Ha!" Bulma let out a belly-clenching laugh. She knew that by now, she must be looking like she was on the verge of insanity. But she did not care- this was getting ridiculous.

The King had made his way over to Prince Vegeta, Kakarot, and Raditz. They all stood there sipping mugs of ale, studying the scene before them with questionable looks. The King looked over to his son, his face giving off his message clearly- 'You got your hands full with this one.' The Prince just shook his head before taking another large gulp of ale. Little did anyone know, he was still plotting on how to get rid of that curse of a woman. It was going to be difficult, but he will come up with something. With an irritated groan, he took another sip of his ale.

The Queen had remained still, a pleased smile on her face as she watched the scene before her. She did not understand a word that the young woman was saying, but she could see the fire in her eyes and that the young woman could put any man in their place without even batting an eye. And that is the type of woman her son needs.

Bulma took in a deep breath, trying to calm herself from her outburst of a laugh. "You have got to be joking, right?" She said through a small fit of giggles. Bloody cloth man and everyone else in the room had remained silent, which then put a complete stop to the laughter and her face to drop. "You're not joking?"

"No, Princess." Bloody cloth man stated matter of factly. "My Prince here came to my hut asking me to find him a bride or to point him into the direction of his destined bride. And with knowing him, not just any woman would do. I had to find his soul mate. And so I put forth a spell, finessing with time a little bit, and had you be drawn to find him. And once he was able to fuse stones from the past and future," he held up the two stones that were once around her neck, "then not even time could stop soul mates from being together. And that is how you ended up here and no longer in your time."

Bulma stood completely still as she stared at Bloody-Cloth-Man, the new information rolling about in her head. But no matter how long Bulma stood there, she could not bring herself to believe that nonsense the man had just told her.

"What kind of drugs did Gine put in my drink? This is just all too weird." Bulma said with a nervous laugh as she brought both of her hands to the side of her face and slowly ran them up and into her hair. Once her hands were on the top of her head, they were full of her tangled-up blue locks. With a groan, she sank to her knees onto the floor and shook her head back and forth. "This is all too weird. There is no way that this can be real."

There is just no way. None of this can be real. How is it even possible? Questions began to roll about Bulma's head as she slowly began to lose her grasp on reality.

"I'm sorry, Princess." Bloody-Cloth-Man said, his voice barely over a whisper. "But it is very much so real."

They stayed that way for a good minute. Bulma searching in her head for a logical explanation, anything to explain what or how this was happening. The Seer just stood there, allowing her the time she needs to accept her new reality.

Taking a deep breath in, Bulma flung her hands out of her hair at the same time throwing her head back, flinging her hair behind her. "You know what," she said as she aggressively let out her breath of air. "I need a bath! And then I am going to go to sleep. And when I wake up tomorrow morning, with all of you gone, I am going to yell at Gine like no other for drugging me so much!"

"Um, Princess-"

"Shut up!" Bulma yelled, lifting both of her hands before she continued her rant. "I am tired of being covered in blood and mud, and I'm still cold! So point me in the direction of where I can take a bath! So I can go and relax there! And then." She took a deep breath as she stood, beginning to pace back and forth. "After my relaxing bath, I am going to go to bed! In the morning, I am going to re-address this! But you will be gone because I will no longer be high on whatever the hell Gine gave me! So then, as I said, I am just going to yell at her!"

Bulma looked up to the people in the room, all of them looking at her with complete shock. They most likely thought that she had just lost her marbles, but she did not care- they were not real. So she continued on.

"And so, I am going to ride out this weird-ass high. Take a nice relaxing bath, Viking style. That will be an experience. And then curl up into a bed full of furs!" She finally finished her yelling rant with a huff and a stomp of her foot. Bulma planted her fists onto her hips and glared at the people before her. As she slowly was able to catch her breath, she eased her face into a smile as she looked at Bloody-Cloth-Man. "So, please, point me in the direction. Of. A. Bath."

Bloody-Cloth-Man took a nervous gulp as he slowly turned toward the Queen next to him, and every so politely relayed her message. The Queen's face slowly eased from one of concern and shock to one of content and understanding.

"Já, auðvitað." The Queen said to Bulma as she approached her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked to the men and spoke an order at them as she guided Bulma out of the longhouse. All of the men, except for Bloody cloth man, nodded their heads in understanding. Bloody-Cloth-Man's shoulders sagged in defeat.

("Yes, of course.")

As the Queen guided Bulma out of the longhouse, she hollered out more orders to what Bulma guessed were her servants and/or slaves. Bulma looked over her shoulders, watching the young women scurry about and carrying out whatever the Queen had just ordered of them. Her eye then caught Bloody cloth man, who was still following them out of the longhouse as the other men made off back toward the docks.

Bloody-Cloth-Man sighed, noticing Bulma staring at him. "The Queen has ordered me to follow and be the translator. Only while she sets you up. Then, you will be left alone to collect your thoughts. She had just ordered those ladies to get you washing materials and clean clothing." He simply stated.

Bulma nodded her understanding and turned to look straight ahead again, allowing the Queen to guide her along the way. The three of them were silent on the small journey behind the longhouse and up a flight of stone steps. The Queen grabbed a small torch just before ascending the steps, using the dancing flames to light their way.

Bulma knew that the mountains behind the village gave way to a small clearing, but she never had the interest to go off and venture to it. All of her archaeological findings were in the dig site at the main village. But now Bulma was beginning to think that maybe she should have ventured out from the village- she might have found something of interest. Just as the thought crossed her mind, she stopped herself. 'Not like any of this is real.' She scolded herself. 'This is all just my high imagination going wild.' With that in mind, she relaxed and just followed the Queen down a small winding pathway, torches being lit all along the way.

Not far down the path, as they were nearing the end, trees began to hug very closely to the path's edge. The smell of sulfur filled her nose just before she noticed the air was getting warm, and thick around her. Curiosity and excitement bubbled up within her. Where was the Queen leading her?

Bulma looked over her shoulder to Bloody-Cloth-Man. His features were now barely visible within the darkness around them. The highlights of his face had a warm golden glow from the flames of the Queen's torch. The torches behind him created a thin gold outline that flickered about his silhouette. The lighting made him look very eerie and intimidating, causing her to take in a startled breath. She cleared her throat and adjusted her shoulders, forcing herself to ignore the fear that was tingling just under her skin. "Where are we going?" She softly asked him. "This is an awfully long walk just to go and take a bath."

A small smirk graced his features. "The Queen realizes that you are in a very stressful state right now. And so has decided to take you to a better place to relax than just a meer bath."

Bulma's brows scrunched together as she tried to quickly think of something that would be better than a bath. Her brain had been dump piled with information beyond the level of comfort from all of the events that had happened today, so it was not working as fast or effectively.

"Bíddu hér." The Queen said as she held a hand up, freezing Bulma in her tracks. Bulma kept her eye on the Queen as she walked around lighting more torches, bringing light to the area. Slowly, the reason for the warmth and thickness of the air was revealed- a hot spring.

("Wait here.")

A smile of excitement spread across her face. She always wanted to soak in a hot spring. But because of her busy lifestyle, she never had the chance. And it looked like her drugged-up mind understood this struggle and was giving her the opportunity to indulge in such leisure.

The hot spring was about the size of four large jacuzzis. The trees that had lined the pathway so closely now gave way to this hidden oasis. The dark stone had turned white around the edges of the spring. Steam danced and snaked up off the murky water, creating a thin layer of fog around the entire area. The flames from the torches gave the whole place a warm and welcoming glow.

The sound of the Queen's voice broke Bulma out of her trance. With both of her brows raised in question, she looked to Bloody-Cloth-Man for translation.

The man gave a small sigh before speaking. "The Queen wants you to enjoy your laugardagur (bathing day), and to know that the thralls will be back soon with your new clothing and washing material. When you are finished, find her by the hearth of the longhouse. She will then show you to your sleeping chambers." He then crossed his arms over his chest, one of his hands lazily running through his beard. "As for me... I will go to my hut and find a rune to use that will help you understand the language of our time."

Bulma arched a brow at the man before her. A rune to help her understand the language? Ya, ok. Like that will do anything. She gave a small smile to the two and bowed her head in thanks. The Queen and Bloody-Cloth-Man then turned to leave.

"Oh, wait," Bulma called out, freezing the two mid-step. "I don't even know your name. I would like to call you something other than Bloody-Cloth-Man... Not that it is going to matter come morning, with you all gone." She added under her breath.

A deep chuckle escaped past his lips. "Bloody-Cloth-Man? That is what you are calling me? ... Makes sense." He said with a shrug of his shoulders. "You may call me Seer or Bardock. And my Queen here is Queen Eschalot, her husband the King, is King Vegeta."

Bulma nodded her thanks again and then remained quiet as she watched the two retreat back down the torch-lit path. Once they were both out of eyesight, she gave a heavy sigh and turned toward the hot spring. Slowly peeling off her layers of clothing, her skin began to painfully goosebump as it was exposed to the air around her. Even with the thick warm steam dancing about, the air still had an icy bite to it.

The moment her last article of clothing hit the ground, Bulma climbed into the steaming hot waters without hesitation. At first, she winced and had to slow down her descent. The contrast of the cold that goose-bumped her body and the steaming hot waters was shocking. But once she was fully submerged into the murky waters of the spring, she let out a sigh of complete content. Once she got used to the warmth of the waters, it was no hotter than the normal temp of a jacuzzi.

She had rubbed her hands up and down her arms once or twice before a small pitter-patter of feet sounded down the path. Bulma looked to the intruder and was met with two young women, the same ones that the Queen had ordered about earlier. Bulma gave them each a small smile and became very grateful that the water was murky. She was not a fan of showing her nudity to complete strangers.

"Þvottavörurnar þínar og hreinn fatnaður, konan mín," One of the ladies said as they placed what they had in their arms onto the stone ground near Bulma.

("Your washing materials and clean clothing, my lady.")

Bulma nodded her head in thanks, guessing that they were just letting her know that those objects and clothing were for her. The two women gave small nods of their heads in return before they both turned to leave the way they just came. Once she was sure they were both gone, her blue eyes dropped to the contents that were at the edge of the spring. With curious hands, she picked up each item individually.

The first that caught her attention was a comb, elegantly carved out of some kind of animal bone. She had found a few of these at her dig, but of course, none in such pristine condition. It made her archeological nerves tingle with excitement. Next, she was also given some kind of tweezers to clean her nails, also carved out of animal bone. Lastly, she picked up and examined the bar of soap and simple washcloth. Bringing it to her nose she inhaled deeply, and the scent of ash and earth filled her nose.

Lightly humming to herself, and trying to turn her brain off and forget about everything that had just happened to her within the past 24 hours, she began to lather herself thoroughly. She shut her brain off against just how tired she was from her lack of sleep. She shut her brain off from how strong of a pull she felt toward the Prince. And such an unnaturally strong pull, she didn't even know his name until like 20 minutes ago. She shut her brain off against just how real everything felt when in reality... This was just her imagination. Effects from some crazy drug Gine gave her? A lucid dream, maybe? A crazy realistic lucid dream?

No, she was shutting her brain off from all thoughts and questions.

She locked her gaze to the building bubbles gliding down her arms, hoping to find therapy in the simplicity of the tiny bubbles. But there were so many of them, so scattered about with no rhyme or reason. Much like her thoughts now. No matter how hard she tried to turn off her brain, the questions and freak-out moments kept repeating within her head. Letting out an irritated groan, she pried her eyes away from the bubbles and submerged fully into the water. Holding her breath until her lungs burned.

Under the water, she let out a scream. She let out a scream that could have had the birds in the trees fly away in fear. But that is not what Bulma wanted -she did not want anyone witnessing her break down. Them being real or not real, she did not want anyone to see her. So thankfully, the water worked as a barrier, not allowing it to travel and attract unwanted attention. With her lungs deflated with lack of air and filling her chest with an unbearable burn, she finally broke the surface of the water. Like a starved animal she took in a much-needed breath, easing the burn within her lungs. She let the breath out in a choking sob as she blinked her eyes and re-took in her surroundings. She was still in the hot spring, surrounded by fire-lit torches. And the ancient Viking cleaning materials, in pristine condition, still laid on the edge of the spring.

She bit the inside of her cheek as she fought back the sting of tears. The scream did not work. Normally if you scream with that much power you would wake up. But that did not happen this time. She must be in some deep and intense dream. But she desperately wanted to find a way to wake up. Wake up back in her tent in the year 2025 next to her loving fiencé, Yamcha. And no longer be in... only God knows what year this is -being surrounded with people expecting her to be the soulmate of some Viking Prince!

But what was wrong with that? Really? Marrying a Viking Prince who is hot, and strong, and a great kisser. And the way he looks at her makes her feel desired and wanted. Something that she has not felt from Yamcha in a long time...

But none of this is real... That is why she needs to wake up and go back to reality. Go back to her dig site and only see Vikings through the many ancient artifacts that she finds.

Raspberrying out another deep breath she submerged under the water once more. But this time allowing her face to break the surface. Her eyes then locked onto the starry night sky above, her ears under the warm water. Silence finally filled her head. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes, welcoming the much-wanted silence. She did not know how long she was in the water like that, nor did she care. But she did not move or stir from her meditation until she heard the sound of muffled talking. Confused, she lifted her head, only to find one of the servant girls standing at the edge of the spring, a look of concern plastered on her face.

"Ó, þakka guði. Ég hafði haldið að þú lést í hvernum." The girl said placing a hand over racing heart. "Hélt að viðkvæm húð þín réði kannski ekki við hitann."

("Oh, thank the gods. I thought that you died in the hot spring.")

("Thought that maybe your sensitive skin could not handle the heat.")

Bulma just stood there, staring blankly at the girl. Not understanding a word that she was saying.

"Ég mæli eindregið með því að þú farir út núna." The girl continued to speak, not even realizing that Bulma did not understand her. "Prinsinn er á leið í bað um vorið."

("I highly recommend that you get out now.")

("The Prince is on his way to bathe in the spring.")

Bulma continued to remain silent as she stared at the woman. There was one word that caught her interest, Prinsinn. Prince. She was saying something about the Prince. Bulma let out an irritated sigh and rolled her eyes. She could care less about anything the Prince wants. If he wants her for something, he can wait.

Lifting her hands out of the water, she gave a 'shoo away' motion to the girl. Hoping to make her go away and tell the Prince that she was not ready.

The girl's face paled. "En prinsinn er á leið hingað. Nú ... Að baða sig." The girl said as she pointed down the path, trying to get the blue-haired lady to understand that the Prince was coming. "Þú. Farðu út. Núna?"

("But the Prince is on his way here. Now... To bathe. ")

("You. Get out. Now?")

Bulma rolled her eyes once again. Crossing her arms over her chest, she locked her eyes with the girl. "Nei." She said sternly.

("No.")

"Nei?" The girl asked, beginning to shake. "En Prinsinn..."

("But the Prince...")

Just then, the sounds of heavy footfalls could be heard approaching the spring. Surprised, Bulma watched with wide eyes as the shadow of a man casually made his way to the spring. His strong arms stretched as he took off his chainmail and tunic.

"Er konan úti?" The man asked, his voice no louder than a low growl.

("Is the Woman out?")

As he dropped his tunic on the edge of the tree line, his eyes locked with Bulma's. A shiver danced its way down her spine as she looked into the cold eyes of Prince Vegeta. 'So that is what the girl was trying to tell or warn me about... That the Prince was coming here... Well, shit.' Bulma cursed at herself as her body was now shaking uncontrollably. Was it from fear? Was she afraid of this ruthless Viking before her? Afraid and vulnerable in her naked state?

Against her will, her eyes began to drift slowly down from his eyes to his well-sculpted chest and broad shoulders. Her teeth snagged her bottom lip as she imagined her hands slowly traveling down from his pecks, across his abs, and lightly teasing above that deep V. She had to clenched her thighs together as she fought against another shiver... Oh no, this was not from fear. It was from excitement and anticipation. Taking a nervous gulp, she forced her eyes back up to his face, only to find him devilishly smirking at her.

He turned his gaze to the ghostly pale girl that had tried to get Bulma out of the hot spring before he arrived. "Farðu." He commanded as he began to slowly toe off his boots and kick them next to his discarded tunic.

("Leave.")

With a quick curtsy, the girl scurried away.

Bulma watched as his calloused hands began to work the strings of his pants, and only once his thumbs went under the fabric did she snap out of her trance. With a yelp, she held both of her hands up in a 'no, no. You stop it right now!' fashion.

"Nei!" She demanded, trying to make him stop his actions.

"Nei?" He asked in a deep chuckle. "Enginn segir mér nei." He said as he continued to slowly and teasingly glide his hands over his lower stomach to the side of his hips. A triumphant smirk formed as he saw her lips part ever so slightly, and the slow rhythmic rise and fall of her chest picked up in pace. True, he still thought of her as a curse and wanted nothing more than to get rid of her. But who in their right mind would pass up such an opportunity?

("No one tells me no.")

Just as he was pulling his pants down, the bluenette yelped again and spun away from him. Her long blue hair spread out around her like an elegant silk fan that only the wealthiest of people could dream of touching. But he had touched it. He has had the chance to snake his fingers through those silky tresses. And his fingers tingle to know that feeling once more.

"Ef þú vildir ekki baða mig, prinsessu, þá hefðir þú átt að komast út þegar Þráallinn sagði þér að gera það." Vegeta said as he slowly tossed his pants on top of his other discarded clothing. "Svo aftur ... Þú skilur ekki orð sem nokkur okkar segja." He stood there completely in the nude as he studied her, patiently waiting to see if she would have the courage to sneak a peek at him. To his disappointment, she did not.

("If you didn't want to bathe with me, Princess, then you should have gotten out when the Thrall told you to.")

("Then again... You don't understand a word that any of us say.")

'Which is why you are nothing but a curse to me... I do not have the time, nor the patience to teach you how to speak our language.' He told himself as he slowly eased into the hot water. 'And what good would a Queen be if she could not even speak to her subjects? If she could not lead her shieldmaidens into battle with strength and confidence?' He said to himself as his eyes roamed over her slender shoulders -such a fragile form. 'She is not the Queen that I, nor my people, deserve. My Queen needs to be more than just beauty... And the Gods say she is my soulmate, how absurd.'

He was just mear inches behind her, his hand slowly reaching up to run through the blue silk that was her hair. But just as he was about to touch it, she spun back around, facing him. Her eyes burned with a deadly fire. He smirked at her as he slowly continued to walk closer to her. Easing her up against the stone wall behind her. The fire in her eyes began to burn more and more as desire began to build within her. He may deny her of being his Queen, but this strong connection and desire that builds within him just from one look at her... there was no denying that. He can only hope that when his true Queen is revealed to him, that he will feel a fraction of what he feels now.

Bulma's breath hitched as Prince Vegeta eased closer and closer to her. His strong arms caging her in place as he placed his hands on either side of her. She kept telling herself that she needs to put her hands on him and push him away or yell at him... Something! But she was frozen in place, her heart racing a hundred miles a minute. He whispered something to her as he leaned in, his breath dancing across her lips. She had to clasp both of her hands hard against her chest, her nails digging into her flesh, desperately fighting against the urge to grab him and pull him in.

She wished that the urge she felt was to slap him or push him away -like she kept telling herself to do... but she knew herself better. She knew that she was craving to continue their session that they had started on the battlefield. Slowly her eyes began to close, anticipating the feel of his passionate kiss on her lips once again. Through hooded eyes, she watched him inch closer. His left arm slowly slid behind her, grabbing a hold of something.

And then he pulled away.

The feel of the distance between them growing and not shrinking surprised Bulma. Her eyes shot to full size as she glared up at him. He just smirked at her as he held up the bar of soap in his hands like that was all that he was after in the first place. He began to Casually walk backward to the other side of the spring lathering his arms with the soap, a knowing smirk on his face as he watched her. Her brows knitted together as she watched him in return.

'He is just toying with me! That ass hole.' She lifted one of her fists out of the water, preparing to retaliate against him. His smirk widened as a mischievous glint glimmered in his eye. But before she could slam her fist back into the water, the voice of the Queen stopped her.

"Prins Vegeta! Hræddu ekki tilvonandi tengdadóttur mína!" Her voice came from down the path, increasingly getting louder as she marched her way closer.

("Prince Vegeta! Don't you scare away my future daughter-in-law!")

Prince Vegeta growled with a roll of his eyes. "Ekki hafa áhyggjur, mamma. Ég hef ekki snert hana." He replied as he continued to walk backward, putting more distance between them. He also wanted to tell his mother that the blunette was not to be his wife, so she should stop calling her the future daughter-in-law. But he would never dare say such things to her, not unless he wants to be sent to the great hall early. And by the hands of his mother nonetheless.

("Don't worry, Mother. I haven't touched her.")

The Queen made it to the edge of the spring, her skirts billowing around her as she stopped her march. She placed her hands on her hips as she glared down at Vegeta. He looked back at her, his brows raised. He held up the bar of soap and waved it about as if saying, 'I'm doing nothing wrong. Just washing up.'

The Queen sighed heavily at her son, but then eased her face into a warm smile as she turned toward Bulma. She offered her a hand. "Við skulum láta þig þorna, klæða þig og fara síðan í rúmið."

("Let's get you dried up, dressed, and then to bed.")

Bulma glanced to the offered hand, but then darted her eyes back to the Prince. Squaring her shoulders, she lifted her hand and gave him the universal 'turn around' finger motion. He responded with a tilt of his head to the side. The Queen growled something at him, finally getting him to turn around so she may exit the hot spring. Bulma smiled her thanks to the Queen before gratefully taking her still offered hand and lifted herself out of the spring.

The Prince remained with his back turned, the muscles of his back working as he continued to clean himself of the dried-up blood that still clung to his body. Bulma had to fight herself not to stare at him as she dried and dressed. She put on a simple dress, with ties up at the bodice, and a long fur cloak. Once finished, she followed the Queen back down the torch-lit path and back into the Longhouse. With very little talking and only hand gestures and nods, the Queen led Bulma to a well-furnished room in the back. Once inside, the Queen just smiled at her and then left her to get situated.

Slowly untying the fur cloak, she scanned her surroundings. A large wooden bed, full of furs, laid in the center. On one wall had a simple set of wooden furniture and the other, a large fireplace. Two logs were already burning, warming the room from the bitter cold. With a content smile, she tossed the cloak onto the chair of the simple furniture set. Without wasting any time, she climbed into the bed, bundling herself up in all the furs. She sighed happily, "Come morning time, this will be all over, and I will be back at my simple dig sight... With Yamcha." She lazily lifted her hand and gazed at the small diamond on her finger. "My Fiancé." She did not know how long she laid there staring at the ring, but before she knew it, her eyes were closed, and she was fast asleep. So deep in sleep that she did not even notice, nor feel the bed move when another body climbed in next to her.

Ta Da! And that was the chapter. What do you think? Please leave a Review to let me know and I will see you next chapter.