Bulma Briefs stood in awe as she gazed upon the large Palace that stood before her. "Wow Seripa-san am I gonna live here?" she exclaimed!
"Perhaps Bulma-chan we'll just have to see what the king has to say about you hmm" Seripa said gently. She rather hated the thought that she would have to give the girl up if the king decided to keep her at the palace, and she was sure that he would. He would see it as repaying a blood debt to Dr. Briefs, whom had provided the empire with most of its main technological devices and had also, improved many that they already possessed. Though the capsulation process had never been mastered by the saijiin techs. Bulma would be a great asset if she could provide the empire with capsule technology.
"Wow a king! If I live here will that make me a princess?!" Bulma continued to chatter happily as they made their way into the palace and towards the throne room whilst Seripa worried that she might never see her again. She had grown quite fond of the Chikyuujin child in the time they had spent together on Bardock's ship. She had had a child of her own once, but the child had been unusually strong and exceptionally brilliant, and had been placed in the palace as an elite soldier under the young Saijiin Prince. Seeing Bulma had made her long for her own child whom was not much older than Bulma-chan herself. Her daughter did not even know whom either of her parents were and Seripa hoped that maybe she could catch a glimpse of the girl while she was here. After all it wasn't likely that Seripa would get a chance like this to see her again.
After what seemed like a very long time of walking, to the four-year-old Bulma, they at last reached the imperial throne room. The child marveled at the beauty of the room with its elegant red tapestries and Black marbled floors that had gold inlaid between each marble tile. It was truly a beautiful place. It reminded her of a palace that one would find in one of the fairy tales her mother used to read to her before… she mustn't think of that now. "I have to be strong" she thought determinedly, "Momma and Poppa wanted me to be strong. And Seripa-san, I mustn't show her that I am weak. She told me Saijiins don't like you to show much emotion." She never could really grasp the concept that they didn't know what love meant, that they had no words for such emotions. Seripa had told her that she would understand one day. Bulma turned her attention to the throne that she found herself bowing before. She had been so lost in thought she had hardly even noticed Seripa telling her to bow. Seripa-san did not speak to the tall man that she assumed must be the king she instead allowed Bardock-sama to speak to the man. "He was kinda scary", she thought to herself. They spoke quietly for a few minutes and then the king asked Bulma to come forward so that he might speak with her. She was very nervous as she looked up to the tall king. He was very tall, taller than Bardock. "So brat," he spoke gruffly, "Commander Bardock tells me you are the daughter of Dr. Briefs." "I'm not a brat", she grumbled.
"What was that?" he snapped?
Seripa held her breath hoping Bulma would not upset the king. She couldn't stand it if Vegeta Ou were to kill the girl. Seripa's hopes were all in vain because Bulma apparently did not know that you should not contradict the Saijiin no Ou.
"I AM NOT A BRAT!" she shouted loudly causing most Saijiins within hearing range to wince in pain. "My name is Bulma Briefs, daughter of Doctor Trunks Briefs, and the smartest girl in the universe!" she said proudly crossing he arms over her chest. The king stared at her for a moment with an unreadable look on his face; no one ever dared to speak to the king that way. Seripa and Bardock were positive that little Bulma was shish-ki-bob and Bulma was just standing there with her arms crossed and a mad little look on her face. She did NOT like being referred to as a brat.
The king surprised every one when he threw back his head and laughed.
'Don't laugh at…"Bulma started to shout but Seripa quickly clamped her hand over the child's mouth. "Well brat", the king said stressing the word, causing Bulma to growl beneath Seripa's hand, "you have more balls then most of my elites." "Feh, she nearly has the attitude to match my brat's" he said turning to Bardock. It would be amusing to get them into an argument and see which one could outwit the other", he said with a broad smirk on his face.
Bardock smirked back, "Yes your majesty the brat certainly is a little spitfire, and from what we have seen she is every bit as intelligent as her father if not more so." "She learned our language fluently in only a weeks time. And she has also had some meager training by Seripa on the journey home. Her power level is rather miniscule compared to our own but it is still much higher than it was when we first found her."
"Alright Commander," the king stopped him before he could continue, "I've heard enough. The brat shall be given a room within the palace and she shall be schooled in the company of the elite children. "And", he stated looking directly at Bulma, "When she is old enough she shall take over the science wing if her skills and inventions prove to be as invaluable as her father's have." "Would you like that Miss Briefs?" the king asked her gruffly, looking down at the tiny girl.
Bulma was silent for a moment. She was beginning to feel welcome here even if the king was a little scary. He was offering her the chance to attend school with the top-level saijiin children, the chance to run the entire science department and most importantly he was offering her a home. So she thought to thank him in the only way she could think of, she leapt at the king, giving him a big hug and repeating thank you over and over again. The Saijiin King was startled needless to say and after regaining his composure he pried the child off of his leg and handed her to Seripa. "It seems the brat needs to be better trained in the ways of the Saijiin," he stated gruffly.
"Yes… yes Ou Sama I will see to it personally", Seripa promised. "Does this mean that I will continue to be allowed to see Bulma-chan?" she wondered silently.
"See that you do" the king stated casually, "Or I will see to it myself." It was an obvious threat, though the king seemed to be somewhat more amused then angered by the child's actions.
Later that evening Bulma sat gazing around her new room. It was rather large, at least it was larger than the bedroom she'd had at home and that was saying something. However there were no toys and she was disappointed about that. But maybe they would give her a little lab or something if she asked for it. She was sure the king would allow it, after all if she was to take over the science wing then she would need a lab of her own to tinker in. That would be better than any amount of toys. She always had preferred to play in her father's lab rather than with the massive amount of dolls and stuffed animals that her mother bought for her. One time when she was about 3 her father had given her a little robot to play with. It had begun malfunctioning and she had taken it apart and repaired it with the skill of someone whom had been doing that sort of thing for years. The toy had worked even better than it had before it had broken and it also did some things that it had not initially been programmed to do. That was the first time she had displayed her mechanical genius and after that her father had let her help him around the lab. So she was very impatient for a chance to ask for a lab. The 4-year old looked at a science lab like a huge playground where she could create and destroy things at her will.
After sitting in her room for a while she began to get extremely bored and so she decided she would go exploring. Seripa had told her not to leave her room but then what harm could it do if she just looked around for a little bit. "I really need to learn to fly", she said quietly as she climbed up on a chair so that she could reach the panel on the door. When she found it to be encrypted she just smiled eagerly and cracked the code in a matter of seconds. The doors whooshed open and she leapt off the chair and dashed out the door intent on exploring the palace. She soon came upon a door with what she assumed to be the royal insignia engraved into the glass. She peered through the translucent doors and gasped in surprise. It was a beautiful garden much like the one inside capsule corps, her home. She frowned a little. Whenever she thought of her home she always felt so sad. She missed her parent's terribly. She wanted Seripa, for she was the closest thing that Bulma had to a mother on this world. Bulma sniffed back a sob; she didn't want to cry, not here. She would go into the beautiful gardens maybe they would make her feel better. She was horrified when she realized that she could not reach the control panel. So she just slumped down beside the door, her knees pulled to her chest and tried not to cry. She couldn't even get into the one place that really reminded her of home. "Why can't I fly?" she murmured softly.
"What are you doing here?"
Bulma was startled by the sound of a small slightly gruff voice. She peered up to see a boy whom appeared to be around her age. She smiled at the boy but he just scowled at her.
"I asked you a question" "What are you doing here?' the small boy repeated his question. Bulma stood up. "I was trying to get into the gardens but I cant reach the controls," she pouted. "Can you help me?" she asked hopefully. The boy just glared at her. You are not permitted there. Only the high level elites and royalty are allowed into the gardens, not common slaves. "I'm not a slave," she shouted indignantly. Who are you to be calling me a slave?"
"I am Prince Vegeta, the Legendary Super Saijiin and the future ruler of the planet Vegetasei," he proudly stated. "And you will learn to show respect to your betters" he snarled grabbing the front of Bulma's shirt and lifting her till her feet no longer touched the ground. "So what are you going to do now little wench" he spat.
Bulma just smiled and formed a small ki blast. She blasted the little Prince right in the face. It wasn't a powerful blast but it was sufficient to surprise him enough for him to drop Bulma who landed on her butt with a thud. She stood up and glared down at the saijiin prince whom was sitting on the floor looking at her with something bordering shock. "And I", she smirked, "Am Bulma Briefs, genius extraordinaire, and future head of Vegetasei's science department." SO YOU BETTER NOT MESS WITH ME!" she yelled.
The prince's apparent shock did not last much longer and he jumped to his feet immediately yelling in her face. Listen here I don't give a damn about who you think you are! I'm the prince and I am in charge here. And what I'd like to know is how a tiny little weakling like you managed that.
"Managed what?" she asked innocently.
"To knock me down!" No mere slave should even be able to manipulate ki!" the prince ranted.
"Seripa-san taught me," she said proudly. "And I am not a slave are you as deaf as you are stupid?" This boy was really annoying her. But annoying as he was, arguing with him was far more entertaining than wandering around all alone. She glared at the boy for a few more moments before deciding she would much rather be friends than fight so she smiled broadly at him.
Vegeta was a bit unnerved by this and just shot her a strange look. What was she doing? It was his experience that people only smiled when they were up to something.
"Why don't we be friends?" she asked him still smiling.
He gave her a suspicious look. What was the girl going on about?
"Well come on let's go play in the gardens". She turned towards the door before remembering that she couldn't reach. She turned to look at the prince whom was still standing there looking at her oddly. "Well come on help me I cant reach ya know!"
Vegeta pondered on whether or not he should take her into the gardens. He didn't see what harm it could do. And he was curious about this friend thing she was talking about. So he walked over to the door and levitated up to the control panel and punched in the entry code. "I don't see why you could not have done that yourself," he said as the doors whooshed open and he levitated inside and landed.
Bulma quickly dashed in behind him. "Because I can't fly duh!" she exclaimed.
"If you can shoot ki then you can fly it's basically the same principal," he stated simply as the doors swooshed closed behind them.
"Oh" she said and then gazed at her surroundings.
The gardens were even more extravagant then the ones at capsule corps there was even a small lake, which a large waterfall spilt into, a rainbow forming in the mist it created. The foliage was reminiscent of a tropical rainforest one might find on earth and the air smelled sweet with the scent of exotic flowers.
"Wow!" she exclaimed, "It's beautiful!"
Vegeta smirked, "Of course it is! My mother designed these gardens herself."
"My mother had a garden like this," she whispered quietly. "But now she is dead, and so are her gardens and my whole world for that matter."
"I am sorry," the prince stated gruffly.
"It's okay" she said sadly. "But I don't want to think bad things right now so why don't we go and play?" She shot the young saiyan prince a sad smile.
"Tell me what is this 'play' thing you keep talking about?" the prince asked genuinely curious.
Bulma looked at him wide-eyed. "You mean you don't know what playing is?" Doesn't anyone ever play with you? When he still did not seem to get what she meant she tried again. I mean spend time with you and have fun.
"You mean training and fighting?" he asked. She just looked at him like he was stupid.
"Well what other fun could there possibly be?" he growled at her.
She giggled at his apparent ignorance.
Vegeta just looked at her quizzically and then growled not liking it at all that he did not know something.
"Oh forget it!" she snapped highly annoyed, "I'll just play by myself."
"I command you to teach me this 'playing' thing" he stated regally. He was very curious as to what she was going on about. The Prince had always been an inquisitive child though he tried not to show it most of the time.
"All right then!" she shouted excitedly, "Lets go!"
And so Bulma Briefs of Chikyuu spent the rest of the evening in the Gardens teaching the Saiyan Prince the fine art of hide and seek. Vegeta failed to see the point but Bulma convinced him that it would be good training since that was the only sort of play he seemed to know.
WELL THERE YA GO! God knows when ill get the next installment up so help battle my writers block with suggestions. I know what I want to happen later on but I need them to be older first like teens. So help me!
And please review!!!