Will to Survive
Chapter three
Unsuccessful Triumph
Thanks to Lynz for Beta reading this ^_^
Disclaimer: How many times do I have to repeat myself? It doesn't make me feel better...*sighs* I do not own DBZ or any of the chars....I wish I did, but sadly, I do not...nor is it likely I ever will....pfft
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Chichi entered the greenhouse and looked about quietly. It was beautiful in there. She had never seen so many exotic looking flowers all in one place. Well...she'd never really seen so many flowers in one place, exotic or not.
She heard a slight off-tune humming coming from the middle of the flowers, but saw no way to get into them from where she was. If there was another maze in here then it might take her the whole day just to find the woman.
"Hello. Did you have trouble finding your way in here?"
Chichi spun to look at the blue haired woman, who she now knew was named Bulma. The humming was still coming from the middle of the flowers but Bulma had walked up to her from a little niche in the corner where a small wooden bench was placed.
"Yes, Goku showed me the way. I thought you were in the middle of the flowers."
"Oh, no that's Maria, she's the gardener. I have no interest in working with plants, I just come in here to look at them and relax."
"Oh......"
Chichi fiddled nervously with one sleeve of her dress, wondering when the woman would get to the point of her being here. She didn't seem to be in any rush as she walked over to a bush with several purple flowers on them. She cut one off and handed it to Chichi, who looked down at it in surprise.
"Listen, uhhh.....?"
"Chichi."
"Chichi, don't be so tense about this. I'm sure we'll find some work for you to do that you'll like. It's not bad working for me, my servants all seem to like it."
"Well, maybe. It'll be better than living on the streets."
"And risking being thrown in jail for stealing. You seem like a nice young lady, I wouldn't want that for you."
Chichi blinked in confusion. This was a rich, upper-class woman who cared about people? She was nice to her servants? Maybe all the things that she had heard about the snobbish nobility weren't true after all. But then again, she had never heard about a nice woman like this, so Bulma was probably some sort of eccentric.
"Let's get started finding something for you. Do you like to garden?"
"Well, I never have but I don't really think that I would want to spend all my time in here, lovely as it is."
"Let's try house work then."
As they walked Bulma began to describe the many jobs that Chichi could have working for her. Walking through the bright sunshine, through the lovely garden and surrounded now by many bustling people, Chichi got the slight impression, that it was going to be a very long day.
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"Look out!"
"Oh shit!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!!"
Chichi skidded to a stop in front of an older woman who stared at her in shock.
"You....you.......what the hell do you think you're doing?!"
Chichi grimaced and looked at the floor around her. She had been trying to see how working as a maid would work for her. Judging by the pile of dropped and now dirty clothing and the broken dishes that were strew across the floor she would have to say she wasn't doing well at it.
"I am sorry. Now I have to wash these clothes again. I'll help you clean up the dishes of course. I'm sorry."
The elderly woman sighed and shook her head, a wry smile making its way across her face.
"Ahh, it's not entirely your fault, so forget about it. The mistress is not going to be happy seeing those things in that state though. Come to think of it, Lorna will kill you when she sees that."
Chich grimaced at the thought of the grumpy laundry woman. She hadn't made a very good impression on Lorna yet and this certainly wasn't going to help her get into the woman's good graces.
"You're not kidding....I'm just not made for this. I might as well just go back..."
"Oh nonsense. Do you think any of us were made for this when we started out? I learned to cook from my mother, and lord knows that most of the gray in her hair was caused by me in the three years it took me to learn this trade.
Chichi smiled faintly at the cook's attempts to lighten her spirit, but she still felt absolutely worthless.
"Maybe, but I don't think I have any skill for any of this at all...."
"Oh here child, you're still finding your place right? Well now, maybe working with clothing and dusting furniture isn't for you. How would you like to work with me? You might find you're good at it, and I could use some help in the kitchens. I know that my youthful appearance doesn't show it, but I'm getting on in years."
The woman winked slightly at Chichi at that and she couldn't help but smile.
"Maybe....I suppose I could try. It sounds more interesting than folding laundry."
"Of course it is! Now, what's you name little girl?"
Chichi frowned dubiously at the 'little girl' part but decided not to comment. No doubt she did seem like a little girl to this woman, and truthfully, she was still rather young.
"Chichi."
"Ahh...a nice, sound name. Mine is Riala, call me Ria. And don't go placing any miss or ma'am in front of it either. I don't hold for any of that formality myself."
Chichi laughed lightly and bent to pick up the clothing, careful not to pick up any of the shards of glass while she was at it.
"Alright. I'll just take these to Lorna and then find Miss Bulma and see if I can try out the kitchen now."
"Sure thing, I think you'll find Bulma in her lab room. It's on the other side of the complex. Knock, and don't go in without being told to. You never know what you might walk in to in there. Why, Karla walked in once just in time to have her eyebrows singed off. She made a pretty picture until they grew back I don't mind telling you."
With a nod of understanding Chichi scampered (Yes! I love that word!! ::scampers off:: ) across the hall and outside. She headed for the laundry room, which she had managed to memorize very quickly, what with bringing this same pile of clothing there five times previously.
"Lorna?!"
"Damn it girl! Don't tell me I have to wash that clothing again! You're slowing me down!!"
Chichi sweatdropped and squared her shoulders before taking that next fatal step inside the laundry house. The air was so thick with steam and the smell of laundry soap that she had to fight to keep herself from gasping for air or stepping back outside. Lorna, a woman of average height and weight, with plain brown hair and dull green eyes who was closer to the end of her middle years than the beginning stepped out from behind a laundry tub and scowled at her.
"Give them to me and get out!"
"Fine. You'll be happy to know that I'm giving up on this and trying something else."
"Wonderful! I might actually get something done today. Where will you be, so that I can avoid you?"
Chichi narrowed her eyes at that but remembered that she couldn't cause any trouble with this woman; she probably wouldn't win.
"I'm going to work with Riala in the kitchens."
"Ria? She's letting you work with her? Ha! Finally she admits she's getting too old for that herself. Fine then, get off back to her. But mind you don't accidentally food poison the whole house."
Chichi humphed but otherwise decided to ignore the taunt. Her feet seemed to fly over the cobblestones in the yard as she dashed back to the house. Once inside she headed for the lab portion of the room. She hadn't really believe that her new mistress was a scientist, since all she ever heard about was that women couldn't do any such thing and only men should be entrusted with the difficult work of inventing and discovering things. She was happy to know that the pig-headed creeps who had told her that were most definitely wrong.
She reached the large doors that sealed off the lab from the rest of the house and paused to listen. No sound could be heard through the partition, but she knew that Bulma had to be in there. The small candle that signified the room was in use stood lit outside the doors. She raised one tentative hand to knock when the doors were thrown open and she barely dodged being hit by one.
"Oh I'm sorry Chichi! I didn't know you were out here. Have you found anything you like doing yet?"
Chichi suddenly found a speck of dust on her clothing that she became fascinated with trying to get rid of.
"Oh well, I think I might have. I still have to see. I was just on my way to find Miss Bulma. Is she in there?"
"Well yeah. Go on in. I think it's safe for now."
Goku smiled at her before stepping around her and walking down the hall. Chichi watched him walk away for a minute, a small smile plastered to her face, before she turned to the door. She whipped the smile away, once she realized it was there, and stepped through.
The sight that greeted her startled eyes was amazing. The room was several floors high, as tall as the house actually but there was only one floor to this part of the building. Inside there were several worktables covered with materials and experiments. As she wandered through the tables Chichi was very careful not to touch anything. She didn't want to ruin her chances here just because she had accidentally messed up something of Bulma's.
"Hello?"
"OH! Chichi? How's the search coming? Did you and Lorna get along?"
"Oh well...maybe not..along...but we certainly don't really hate each other....at least I don't..."
"It went that well did it?"
The beautiful blue haired woman stepped from around another table, dusting her hands off on her pants as she did it. Chichi couldn't stop herself from staring, her mouth gaping wide. This was the same woman she had met earlier, but now she was dressed in pants and a tight fitting shirt. Certainly it was an indecent outfit and she was surprised to see that Bulma owned anything like it.
"What? Oh, you don't like my clothing? Well, they're only for working in here you know. Otherwise I would never wear men's clothing."
Bulma's smile increased and she changed her tone to a melodramatic pitch.
"I'd be cast out of the good graces of society if they ever knew. Alas, poor me."
Chichi laughed alongside Bulma at that. Although she knew it was meant to be funny, she also knew that it was true. The upper class society expected young women to behave by its laws, and Bulma's work clothing would be frowned upon. In fact, Chichi had already heard some of the others gossiping about how unpopular Bulma's tendencies to scientific study had made her.
"Well, if you're not satisfied with housework, then what should we try next?"
"Oh! That's what I came in here for. Riala asked me to help her in the kitchen. I...think I might like that."
"Well then, you go ahead. I'm surprised Ria asked...but I'm sure she knows her own mind. I'll check on you later. Close the door on your way out."
She nodded and briskly walked out, weaving her way through the tables again, equally careful not to break anything. Once back out in the hall she headed towards the kitchens and her new apprenticeship with something close to anticipation and happiness, a mixture of emotions she had never felt before.
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AN: Ok, so...I know it took me a looong time to get this update out and I apologize. But you know, I had some very good reasons, especially this week. I've been very busy, in fact, I shouldn't even have been doing this because I have something for school that's a bit more important. BUT, I felt like working on this. ^_^ Well, I'll try to update again soon. I'm glad I felt inspired again or I might have given up on this story, I'm certainly not even certain that I like it right now.....oh well. We'll see where it goes from here. ^_^
Lady Nightshade: Thanks. ^_^
Jen Trunks: ^_^ Thanks. I know, aren't they cute? I'm sorry it took so long. I really do try to update quickly. ^_^
Chapter three
Unsuccessful Triumph
Thanks to Lynz for Beta reading this ^_^
Disclaimer: How many times do I have to repeat myself? It doesn't make me feel better...*sighs* I do not own DBZ or any of the chars....I wish I did, but sadly, I do not...nor is it likely I ever will....pfft
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Chichi entered the greenhouse and looked about quietly. It was beautiful in there. She had never seen so many exotic looking flowers all in one place. Well...she'd never really seen so many flowers in one place, exotic or not.
She heard a slight off-tune humming coming from the middle of the flowers, but saw no way to get into them from where she was. If there was another maze in here then it might take her the whole day just to find the woman.
"Hello. Did you have trouble finding your way in here?"
Chichi spun to look at the blue haired woman, who she now knew was named Bulma. The humming was still coming from the middle of the flowers but Bulma had walked up to her from a little niche in the corner where a small wooden bench was placed.
"Yes, Goku showed me the way. I thought you were in the middle of the flowers."
"Oh, no that's Maria, she's the gardener. I have no interest in working with plants, I just come in here to look at them and relax."
"Oh......"
Chichi fiddled nervously with one sleeve of her dress, wondering when the woman would get to the point of her being here. She didn't seem to be in any rush as she walked over to a bush with several purple flowers on them. She cut one off and handed it to Chichi, who looked down at it in surprise.
"Listen, uhhh.....?"
"Chichi."
"Chichi, don't be so tense about this. I'm sure we'll find some work for you to do that you'll like. It's not bad working for me, my servants all seem to like it."
"Well, maybe. It'll be better than living on the streets."
"And risking being thrown in jail for stealing. You seem like a nice young lady, I wouldn't want that for you."
Chichi blinked in confusion. This was a rich, upper-class woman who cared about people? She was nice to her servants? Maybe all the things that she had heard about the snobbish nobility weren't true after all. But then again, she had never heard about a nice woman like this, so Bulma was probably some sort of eccentric.
"Let's get started finding something for you. Do you like to garden?"
"Well, I never have but I don't really think that I would want to spend all my time in here, lovely as it is."
"Let's try house work then."
As they walked Bulma began to describe the many jobs that Chichi could have working for her. Walking through the bright sunshine, through the lovely garden and surrounded now by many bustling people, Chichi got the slight impression, that it was going to be a very long day.
~*~~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
"Look out!"
"Oh shit!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!!"
Chichi skidded to a stop in front of an older woman who stared at her in shock.
"You....you.......what the hell do you think you're doing?!"
Chichi grimaced and looked at the floor around her. She had been trying to see how working as a maid would work for her. Judging by the pile of dropped and now dirty clothing and the broken dishes that were strew across the floor she would have to say she wasn't doing well at it.
"I am sorry. Now I have to wash these clothes again. I'll help you clean up the dishes of course. I'm sorry."
The elderly woman sighed and shook her head, a wry smile making its way across her face.
"Ahh, it's not entirely your fault, so forget about it. The mistress is not going to be happy seeing those things in that state though. Come to think of it, Lorna will kill you when she sees that."
Chich grimaced at the thought of the grumpy laundry woman. She hadn't made a very good impression on Lorna yet and this certainly wasn't going to help her get into the woman's good graces.
"You're not kidding....I'm just not made for this. I might as well just go back..."
"Oh nonsense. Do you think any of us were made for this when we started out? I learned to cook from my mother, and lord knows that most of the gray in her hair was caused by me in the three years it took me to learn this trade.
Chichi smiled faintly at the cook's attempts to lighten her spirit, but she still felt absolutely worthless.
"Maybe, but I don't think I have any skill for any of this at all...."
"Oh here child, you're still finding your place right? Well now, maybe working with clothing and dusting furniture isn't for you. How would you like to work with me? You might find you're good at it, and I could use some help in the kitchens. I know that my youthful appearance doesn't show it, but I'm getting on in years."
The woman winked slightly at Chichi at that and she couldn't help but smile.
"Maybe....I suppose I could try. It sounds more interesting than folding laundry."
"Of course it is! Now, what's you name little girl?"
Chichi frowned dubiously at the 'little girl' part but decided not to comment. No doubt she did seem like a little girl to this woman, and truthfully, she was still rather young.
"Chichi."
"Ahh...a nice, sound name. Mine is Riala, call me Ria. And don't go placing any miss or ma'am in front of it either. I don't hold for any of that formality myself."
Chichi laughed lightly and bent to pick up the clothing, careful not to pick up any of the shards of glass while she was at it.
"Alright. I'll just take these to Lorna and then find Miss Bulma and see if I can try out the kitchen now."
"Sure thing, I think you'll find Bulma in her lab room. It's on the other side of the complex. Knock, and don't go in without being told to. You never know what you might walk in to in there. Why, Karla walked in once just in time to have her eyebrows singed off. She made a pretty picture until they grew back I don't mind telling you."
With a nod of understanding Chichi scampered (Yes! I love that word!! ::scampers off:: ) across the hall and outside. She headed for the laundry room, which she had managed to memorize very quickly, what with bringing this same pile of clothing there five times previously.
"Lorna?!"
"Damn it girl! Don't tell me I have to wash that clothing again! You're slowing me down!!"
Chichi sweatdropped and squared her shoulders before taking that next fatal step inside the laundry house. The air was so thick with steam and the smell of laundry soap that she had to fight to keep herself from gasping for air or stepping back outside. Lorna, a woman of average height and weight, with plain brown hair and dull green eyes who was closer to the end of her middle years than the beginning stepped out from behind a laundry tub and scowled at her.
"Give them to me and get out!"
"Fine. You'll be happy to know that I'm giving up on this and trying something else."
"Wonderful! I might actually get something done today. Where will you be, so that I can avoid you?"
Chichi narrowed her eyes at that but remembered that she couldn't cause any trouble with this woman; she probably wouldn't win.
"I'm going to work with Riala in the kitchens."
"Ria? She's letting you work with her? Ha! Finally she admits she's getting too old for that herself. Fine then, get off back to her. But mind you don't accidentally food poison the whole house."
Chichi humphed but otherwise decided to ignore the taunt. Her feet seemed to fly over the cobblestones in the yard as she dashed back to the house. Once inside she headed for the lab portion of the room. She hadn't really believe that her new mistress was a scientist, since all she ever heard about was that women couldn't do any such thing and only men should be entrusted with the difficult work of inventing and discovering things. She was happy to know that the pig-headed creeps who had told her that were most definitely wrong.
She reached the large doors that sealed off the lab from the rest of the house and paused to listen. No sound could be heard through the partition, but she knew that Bulma had to be in there. The small candle that signified the room was in use stood lit outside the doors. She raised one tentative hand to knock when the doors were thrown open and she barely dodged being hit by one.
"Oh I'm sorry Chichi! I didn't know you were out here. Have you found anything you like doing yet?"
Chichi suddenly found a speck of dust on her clothing that she became fascinated with trying to get rid of.
"Oh well, I think I might have. I still have to see. I was just on my way to find Miss Bulma. Is she in there?"
"Well yeah. Go on in. I think it's safe for now."
Goku smiled at her before stepping around her and walking down the hall. Chichi watched him walk away for a minute, a small smile plastered to her face, before she turned to the door. She whipped the smile away, once she realized it was there, and stepped through.
The sight that greeted her startled eyes was amazing. The room was several floors high, as tall as the house actually but there was only one floor to this part of the building. Inside there were several worktables covered with materials and experiments. As she wandered through the tables Chichi was very careful not to touch anything. She didn't want to ruin her chances here just because she had accidentally messed up something of Bulma's.
"Hello?"
"OH! Chichi? How's the search coming? Did you and Lorna get along?"
"Oh well...maybe not..along...but we certainly don't really hate each other....at least I don't..."
"It went that well did it?"
The beautiful blue haired woman stepped from around another table, dusting her hands off on her pants as she did it. Chichi couldn't stop herself from staring, her mouth gaping wide. This was the same woman she had met earlier, but now she was dressed in pants and a tight fitting shirt. Certainly it was an indecent outfit and she was surprised to see that Bulma owned anything like it.
"What? Oh, you don't like my clothing? Well, they're only for working in here you know. Otherwise I would never wear men's clothing."
Bulma's smile increased and she changed her tone to a melodramatic pitch.
"I'd be cast out of the good graces of society if they ever knew. Alas, poor me."
Chichi laughed alongside Bulma at that. Although she knew it was meant to be funny, she also knew that it was true. The upper class society expected young women to behave by its laws, and Bulma's work clothing would be frowned upon. In fact, Chichi had already heard some of the others gossiping about how unpopular Bulma's tendencies to scientific study had made her.
"Well, if you're not satisfied with housework, then what should we try next?"
"Oh! That's what I came in here for. Riala asked me to help her in the kitchen. I...think I might like that."
"Well then, you go ahead. I'm surprised Ria asked...but I'm sure she knows her own mind. I'll check on you later. Close the door on your way out."
She nodded and briskly walked out, weaving her way through the tables again, equally careful not to break anything. Once back out in the hall she headed towards the kitchens and her new apprenticeship with something close to anticipation and happiness, a mixture of emotions she had never felt before.
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AN: Ok, so...I know it took me a looong time to get this update out and I apologize. But you know, I had some very good reasons, especially this week. I've been very busy, in fact, I shouldn't even have been doing this because I have something for school that's a bit more important. BUT, I felt like working on this. ^_^ Well, I'll try to update again soon. I'm glad I felt inspired again or I might have given up on this story, I'm certainly not even certain that I like it right now.....oh well. We'll see where it goes from here. ^_^
Lady Nightshade: Thanks. ^_^
Jen Trunks: ^_^ Thanks. I know, aren't they cute? I'm sorry it took so long. I really do try to update quickly. ^_^