DISCLAIMER: I do not own nor am I associated with Dragonball Z or any of it's franchise. If I was, maybe I would not be as broke as I am. However, I do own this story, the Squalls, King Tidus, Risa, and Isabelle -take them and die! J

LAST TIME ON 'WHY?':

An older woman answered her. "Yes. So has Yamcha, the poor dear. I thought that he was going to cry when he found out. He just nodded, turned around, and walked outside." Bulma felt her heart thud again. 'He knows.'

"So, when exactly IS this so-called wedding taking place?" Once again, the older woman answered.

"Tomorrow night."

~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 5: The Wedding

Bulma barely uttered a word as she was prepared for the wedding/bonding. She secluded herself from everything around her enough that she could barely feel the prodding hands that scrubbed her flesh until her skin was pink, washed her hair until it almost fell out, and dried and brushed it until it shone. Now that the wedding was only hours away, the maids were starting to get jittery with nerves. Isabelle, however, was worried about the princess. She never once protested anything that anyone did and she did what she asked the first time she was asked, but at the same time, she was dazed and cut off from the world. It hurt Isabelle to see her best friend hurting so much, and there was nothing she could do about it.

While her friend and servant worried over her, Bulma had one word running through her head over and over again. 'Why?' she kept asking. It was the same question that she had been asking anyone and everyone from the moment that she found out of her doomed fate. When she did speak, that was the only thing she said. When she saw Yamcha, that one word was the first thing that came out of her mouth.

Yamcha..Bulma's eye started to well with tears again at the thought of her lost love. She knew that Yamcha knew of her arranged marriage before she found him. Bulma came up to him at the creek, their creek. When he heard her, he hesitated before facing her, causing Bulma to burst into tears from the pained look that had overtaken his features.

"WHY?!" She had screamed, to no one in particular. "WHY ME?!" Yamcha could not do anything except hold her, and even that didn't dim the tearing of their hearts.

"Bulma?" Isabelle's face and voice brought Bulma back to the present. Bulma didn't say anything, but instead looked into the worried servants eyes, acknowledging that she heard her.

"Bulma, you need to get into the dress now,' Isabelle said in a nervous tone. She thought that the mention of her wedding gown would send Bulma over the edge. Shockingly, however, Bulma simply stood up and let the white gown slip over her head. After her gown was snug and fit, her make-up and veil was applied for her before a large bouquet of white roses was thrust into her pale hands and she was ushered out of the door.

~*~*~*~*~

Vegeta waited calmly and patiently at the alter. He looked around to the millions of beings who surrounded the room. It seemed that at least half of both Chick-yuu's population and Vegetasei's population came to witness this ceremony. 'Probably to make sure that it wasn't a rumor.' Vegeta thought dryly. He still could not believe that he was doing this. He remembered when he would scream at his father that he would never mate because it would make him weak. 'He's probably laughing his ass off at me right now,' a sarcastic thought popped into Vegeta's head. However, his thoughts were cut off as universal royal music began, signifying the start of the ceremony.

First, the preacher welcomed all of the guests and explained what exactly was going on. 'Like they don't already know.' Finally, the music started again, and the bridesmaids walked down the quarter-of-a-mile aisle. Bulma had chosen her 14-year-old sister, Risa, and her 11-year-old sister, Alaina, to be two of her bridesmaids, and her 7-year-old sister, Michelle, to be the flower girl.

Vegeta kept his impatience hidden well. It seemed like eons for all of the bridesmaids and other people to get down the aisle, and he was not a very patient man. While all he wanted to do was to shout for everyone to hurry up, he restrained himself. Finally, the music stopped and was replaced by the Chick-yuu royal music. Vegeta's head snapped up as he sought out his bride. She was too far away for him to be able to make out her features, but he could tell that she was escorted by her father. The king of Vegetasei's lip turned upwards slightly in amusement. 'I bet she loved that arrangement..whoa.' His thoughts were interrupted as she got close enough for him to really see her. Immediately, his breath caught. She was absolutely stunning! The dress fit her perfectly, and her hair was pulled back in a French twist, curled, and then the curls were pinned. The white gown set off her sea-blue hair and baby blue eyes, which were darting around in fright at the moment. When she approached him, Vegeta could see the fear in her eyes. He held back his smirk as she reluctantly took his arm and the both faced the preacher, who was once again talking.

~*~*~*~*~

Bulma had snapped back to reality the minute the music started and she started down the aisle. Suddenly, fear and anxiety overwhelmed her and her father had to grip her hand on his arm tightly to keep her from turning around and running away. The princess tried to force herself to calm down by taking in deep breaths, but it did not seem to work. She got more and more nervous with every delicate step that she took, which brought her closer and closer to her soon-to-be husband.

Finally, when Bulma walked up the steps and took Vegeta's arm, she finally gathered up the courage to look at him in the eyes. She knew that he could see her fear through her eyes even though she tried to hide it. Even though she was terrified, Bulma did have to admit that he looked really sexy all dressed up like that. Then, the ceremony really began..

~*~*~*~*~

"Do you take her to be your earthly wife and your saiyainly mate?" His black orbs burned deep into her soul as he answered with a deep-voiced and stern

"I do." The preacher nodded before turning to the girl.

"And do you take him to be your earthly husband and your saiyainly mate?" Her breath caught as she struggled to come up with an answer. Desperate for some sort of relief, she started panting, her bright baby blue eyes frantically searched the room full of beings from galaxies on end until they landed on her father, the king of Earth. 'Father,' she thought to herself. 'How could you do this to me?' A squeeze to her hand by the man in front of her brought her back to reality.

"What?" She gasped out, startled.

The preacher, obviously nervous, cleared his throat and repeated the words:

"Do you take him to be your earthly husband and you saiyainly mate?"

Still, she hesitated; until her husband-to-be whispered her name threatingly and squeezed her hand again.

"I do!" she gasped out. The preacher smiled.

"I now pronounce you man and wife on Earth," turning to the man, the preacher continued. "There is now only one thing left to do to become saiyainly mates." The man nodded. Reaching out for her, he moved the dress so that the base of her neck on the left side was bare. 'What is he doing?' she thought desperately as he leaned towards her. The next thing she knew, she was screaming in pain as he sunk his teeth deep into her skin. She felt Vegeta wrap his arm around her back to keep her from (a) falling and (b) trying to get away from him. Immediately, she stopped screaming and instinctively buried her head against his shoulder, sobs of pain racking her body. Bulma could not believe the pain she was feeling, and she couldn't explain why being this close to Vegeta made her feel so safe.

In her dazed state, Bulma did not realize that Vegeta had wrapped both of his arms around her and held her as the pain continued. Slowly, it dimmed and Vegeta felt her try to pull away. When he let her go, a roar of applause sounded around the room. However, Vegeta and Bulma barely heard it as they stared into each other's eyes, some unknown connection not allowing either to break it.

***A THING ON BONDING IN MY STORY: What Vegeta did to Bulma in the wedding (when he bit her) WAS bonding, but a different kind. He bit her/bonded with her basically to mark her as his own. The reason why she didn't bite back (and the reason why it hurt so much) is because neither is in love with the other, so the bond wouldn't have worked. They'll bond again when/if they fall in love with each other. Hope that explains some things!! On a side note, I am not criticizing anyone, but I got a review from someone who said they were glad I had gotten over my laziness and re-posted this story. Well, first off, I'm glad that you liked this story enough to want it back. However, I did NOT stop out of laziness. It was a combination of flamers and hardships in life that I was dealing with at that point. Just thought I'd clear that up. Hope you enjoyed!***