A/N : Gods, I am so sorry for the VERY late update. You see, I had the wormblaster virus on my computer for almost two weeks and I could not get rid of it. Then school began and you know how it is…. Well, I hope you all have fun reading this baby!

Chapter ten

Tic. Tac. Tic. Cling. Whiteness. Brightness. So much light. So much noise. And a headache. A splitting headache. What was happening…

As hard as Bulma tried, she could not open an eye nor lift an arm. She felt sore all over, but strangely enough, she also felt healthier. She tried to remember the last events it was difficult. However, she did piece the whole puzzle together eventually and felt a sharp pain pierce her heart. ' How could Bardock do this to me?' she wondered.

Slowly regaining her senses, the woman slowly opened her eyes, letting the bright light filter through her lashes. Getting accustomed to the light, she got up from her bed and looked around, sometimes tripping a little since she did not seem to have found her center of gravity yet.

She was not in her room but in much more luxurious one, she realised. The bed she was sitting on was humongous, covered with soft burgundy silk sheets and feather pillows. The carpet adorning the floor was ivory as were the walls. Several paintings were hung on them, all representing beautiful women she supposed were coming from Saiya-jin mythology. The dresser was made from  deep brown-red wood and was very finely chiseled.

But most surprising of all was the window. The window. Black. Black. Blue and green. A sphere. A tiny sphere. Planet Earth seen from far far away. Bright, very bright stars. And so detailed.

Bulma tried to cope with her pain. No one would miss her anyway. Not even her family. She was not perfect enough.

She turned around. Why wasn't there anyone with her? What was expected from her?

So thirsty. Bathroom. Mirror.

' Is that me?' she thought.

Her hair was longer, fuller, curly but not frizzy. Her eyes were bigger and her lips fuller. Her legs, her arms, her body were well defined, better than she remembered. Oh. And a tail. A blue fluffy tail to be more precise. A shout. A frightened face.

A knock.

Bulma was brought out of her trance. Was it all a dream? So strange.

" Hello, Bulma," a familiar voice greeted. " Please take a bath and put this on, you have a ceremony to attend."

" Calirma, is that you. I never realized you looked that way. You are really pretty, you know," a soft voice responded.

The young girl blushed.

"Bulma, I have been ordered to explain to you what happened and what you will have to do in the next few hours. You see, a few years ago, our planet was a flourishing place. Mates were happy, the economy was going well, the royal family was respected and everyone was content. However, 3 years ago, every saiya-jin female living on the planet began to die for an unknown reason. One after the other. They all died. The only reason why me and a few others survived is because we were not on the  planet at that peculiar moment. Scientists began to search for the cause of such death and for its cure. But as you know it, Bardock could not possibly be efficient enough by himself and the others, even thought they tried to help him, were not versed into the scientific field from the beginning."

"We were always a race of warriors. So they all died before a cure was found. We still do not know the cause of the disease. It was a period of sadness for everyone and the males were going crazy with no woman to satisfy there craves. And that is when Bardock announced that humans were compatibles with saiya-jin. Of course, once we learned how weak you were, we were appalled. But we had no other choice."

"So, king Vegeta decided to go to your planet and select a girl for each of his men. And one for him. And not any girls. The best of the planet. And THE best of them all for him. You see, you won each of your competitions. You showed strength, bravery, determination, fire and much more. So he chose you."

" Meanwhile, Bardock found a way to satisfy the saiya-jin : a potion to change humans to saiya-jin. That is the shot you received after your battle and that is why you must feel a little disoriented right now. All your senses are heightened."

" All of this was explained to the other chosen women, and they all agreed to our terms. In exchange, we left your planet without harming anyone. Do not worry: your friends will be treated with much respect."

" Now, you were chosen as Vegeta's mate and the ceremony will take place today. You shall now prepare," Calirma finished in a sight.

Bulma accepted the information slowly. All was now making perfect sense. She was to get mated with that arrogant monster. Against her will. But what could she do. She was too feeble to resist. For the moment anyway.

So she took a bath. Piled her curly hair to the top of her head. And put on the ivory silky dress. It was very modest. It fell right above her knees and  was long sleeved. She wore a pair of white sandals. Her tail was swinging freely behind her, still a little puffed up.

Bulma followed Calirma throught the long corridor until they arrived in front of a large door. There, Calirma opened the metallic mass and pushed Bulma inside, closing the door behind her.

Bulma could not believe her eyes. Thousands of saiya-jin were in front of her. Males and females. How did they all fit in one room of a spaceship? She was on the stage and Vegeta stood before her, magnificent as usual. He had been waiting for her.

Loud cheers erupted. The dark king advanced towards her and took her hand. He led her to the center of the scene never looking away from her eyes. Arrived at destination, Bardock entered the scene carrying a dagger. Bulma could not help the flash of trahison that was reflected by her eyes. Bardock looked at her saddened. She simply looked away.

 " Let's begin the ceremony," he announced.

He talked in an unknown language to Bulma-and all the women- until he reached a part that he recited in both language.

" Now , you shall both drink each other's blood to seal the eternal union of bonded mates…"

At that, Vegeta took the dagger and made an incision in his neck. He waited for Bulma to lick the blood but she could not move. She seemed paralyzed. Sensing her discomfort with the whole situation, the king made a gesture totally alien to him: he took her hand and drew round patterns on it in front of everyone. The audience gasped.

Bulma, finally understanding what was awaited from her, approached him and liked the wound. The blood left a burning sensation in her throat and her tail began to swing appreciably. Bulma felt lighter for a short moment. Happy, satisfied.

Then it was his turn. He gently nipped her neck and then, without warning, bit her and drank some of her blood. At that moment, he stopped drawing circles in her hand and took her in his arms completely. They both felt a special link unite them and the cheers began all over again.

The last events being too much for the recently recovered Bulma, she fainted in the arms of her newly mated king.

  A/N : Yeah! What comes after the mating ceremony? I bet you all know? I just want to warn you that future updates may be long since this year I have to get really good marks at school.

Now, don't forget to review!