Disclaimer: I own nothing! Nothing, do you hear?!
A/n: Thanks to all my reviewers!!!!!!!
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Bulma of Vegetasei
Chapter 2
Princess Bulma was huddled in a dark corner of her capture's ship. The man claimed to be a king, but he didn't look like any king Bulma had ever seen. He looked more like a hermit than a king.
"You can come out of the dark my dear; I'm not going to bite you," the old man cackled at his own joke.
The aqua-haired princess gave the "king" a wary look, "And how should I know you won't? For all I know you could be just some dirty old man that kidnapped me for my beauty. Who are you and why did you take me away from my home?"
"Since you and I are going to be friends you may call me Roshi."
"Well Roshi, why did you take me away from my family?" Bulma demanded.
Roshi did not reply; he simply watched her soft features contort in anger. "Those eyes and that hair….." the old man muttered to no one in particular. "You're obviously your mother's daughter." When she growled at him and turned her head away he added, "But you have your father's temperament."
"I'm nothing like my father!" Bulma spat viciously.
"How would you know? Have you met him personally?"
"Of course you idiot! I've lived with my father all my life!"
"Not the King of Chikyuusei you foolish girl! Your real father, the King of the Gods, Zeus."
*****
At that precise moment the temper of an insanely jealous goddess on Mount Olympus flared up. Hera had taken just about enough of her husband's infidelity.
*****
"Zeus? The Greek Legend? That's not possible….." Bulma murmured to herself.
Roshi raised a bushy eyebrow at the Chikyuujin princess, "Are you sure? Have you ever wondered why your father seems to hate you so much?"
"I know why….." she replied sadly.
The old king nodded for her to continue.
"I was the reason my mother died. Right after I was born she died from exhaustion; at least that's what my father told me….."
"That is incorrect as well. You are the reason you mother died, but it wasn't because of exhaustion. She leapt from the highest window in the palace shortly after you were born."
Bulma's face contorted in rage, "That's a lie!"
"No, my dear, it's not. Your mother was bewitched into sleeping with Zeus. She was feeling so guilty that she killed herself. That is why you're the most beautiful woman in the universe. Your father was a god."
"Why would my family lie to me for so long?" she asked dejectedly. "What good would keeping the truth from me do?"
"It prevented disgrace." Roshi watched as his young future wife worked things out in her head. "Come on my dear, get off the floor. We'll be to my planet soon." The old man offered the young princess a hand to help her rise.
Bulma took the offered hand and stood up from the steel floor of the ship. "I guess I will be a queen after all….."
~::~::~::~::~::~
It had been three years since the night that Princess Bulma had been taken by the Kamejin King Roshi. The two now lived on a near deserted island on the planet Kamesei. On the island there was a fantastic white marble palace that the two lived in. In the three years that Bulma lived on Kamesei she came to trust the old man more than she ever had her father. There was one problem: Roshi would soon make the decision to marry Bulma. Bulma saw Roshi more as a father figure than a potential husband. He was really the only friend she had, and she didn't want that to change.
One day out of the blue when Bulma and Roshi were in the launching bay the old king brought up the topic of their future marriage.
"Bulma," Roshi said with a cough.
"Yes, Roshi," Bulma replied as she checked the fuel gauge on the ship she was sitting in.
The Kamejin king coughed again before he continued, "I was thinking about the whole marriage thing….."
"And?" she asked trying to cover the panicked tone of her voice.
"You and I, we're too different to get married. I mean, I am an old man and you are still a beautiful young child."
"I am not a child any more! I am eighteen!"
"Yes, yes, but you are still a child compared to me. So I've decided that you may leave and return to your home planet."
The Chikyuujin princess's eyes went wide, "You mean, I can just leave?"
"Yes, take a ship and go."
Bulma ran up to the old king, kissed him on the cheek, and
capsulized the nearest small ship. She
was walking toward the palace to collect her things when suddenly a lavender
haired man grabbed her by the arm and pulled her aside.
"Bulma?" the young man questioned.
The princess stared into the blue eyes of her new assailant and realized exactly whom the man was, "Trunks!" Bulma wrapped her arms around her older brother's neck and hugged him tightly. "It's so great to see you! I was just about to leave."
"Yes, yes, we're here to rescue you. Look!" Trunks pointed to a large group of Chikyuujin soldiers heading into the launching bay that Bulma had just exited. "Let go of me." The prince pulled free from his sister's grasp and headed for the launching bay with his sword drawn.
"Trunks! What are you doing?" she cried as she chased after her brother. When she arrived in the launching bay she found Roshi dodging bullets and swords that were attempting to kill him. "Roshi!"
"Don't worry about me girl! They'll never catch me!" Just as the words exited Roshi's mouth a blade was planted firmly in his side.
"NO! Trunks! Stop!" Bulma screamed at the top of her lungs, but it was too late. The Kamejin king was slowly bleeding to death in front of her eyes. "Roshi!"
The old man lay silently on the ground, not moving or breathing. Trunks leaned in to get his sword, but suddenly the blade was jerked out of the old man's side and placed right in the heart of the Chikyuujin prince.
"Trunks no!" the young princess shrieked. She quickly ran to her brother's side and removed the blade from his chest. Her older brother was coughing up enormous amounts of blood while Roshi sputtered behind her. "Trunks no….." she whispered softly as her brother took in his last breath. Tears spilled from her eyes as one of the soldiers picked her up off of the ground. Bulma watched as three others picked up the prince's body and began to carry it towards the ship they had arrived in. "Why Trunks? Why?"
~::~::~::~::~::~
As soon as the ship took off from the planet Kamesei the captain called the king of Chikyuusei and informed him of the princess's rescue and the prince's demise. Needless to say the king was less than pleased with the news that he now had no heir to the planet's throne.
When the ship arrived at Chikyuusei Bulma noticed several things: one; there were several strangers waiting for them, two; princes Yamcha and Frieza were there along with her sister Chi-Chi, and three; her father looked absolutely furious. "Hello Daddy," she said softly with her head bowed as she approached him.
"Yes, hello indeed," the king replied with malice. King Briefs turned to the men and women surrounding him, "There is an enormous lunch waiting for the men in the courtyard. If you would please wait for me there while I discuss certain matters with my daughter."
The men nodded and the women walked out whispering about how chauvinistic the king of Chikyuusei was. Amongst the men Bulma recognized only a few. There was Prince Yamcha and Prince Frieza of Frypansei, King Cell, and King Krillen of Monkusei. There were also several others that Bulma knew she had met at one time, but had never bothered to learn any names. Her attention was suddenly drawn back to her father after all of the guests had left the room.
"I can't believe you! You are a catastrophe! Look at what you have done! Now I must give you away to some fool of a prince so he can run our planet!" the king roared. He grabbed the princess by the arm and drug her out into the courtyard. "Because of you Chikyuusei has no heir! You are a jinx!" King Briefs turned to the kings and princes sitting at the table, "If any of you wish to have this foolish girl she is yours to take, but be warned! She will bring down suffering and turmoil on your family and your kingdom!" With that the king turned away leaving the kings and princes to ogle the forlorn princess.
Frieza looked to the other men sitting at the table and spoke in his feminine yet commanding voice, "Well gentlemen, what shall we do with this situation? Who wants the beautiful young princess? Hmmm?"
Prince Yamcha looked at the others, and no one said a word. "None of you can deny that you want her. None of you."
"Yes," Frieza replied, "what my brother says is true. All of us want her, but what would be the fairest way to decide who will get her. There is no doubt that she will bring the wrath of her gods upon us whomever takes her. What do you say Krillen? We are the only two that are married, so it only seems fitting that we decide."
The short bald king of Monkusei scratched his head in thought, "I guess drawing for her would be the most sensible way."
"Draw for her?" bellowed a furious Prince Yamcha. "She is a woman, not a door prize! You should at least treat her with some decency!"
"Well," his brother mused, "isn't that precious. My brother is defending the jinxed princess of Chikyuusei….. Or perhaps he is only against this because he wants her all to himself?"
That comment shut the younger prince up and he sat down silently.
"We'd have to make a pact on this," Krillen said. "Whoever wins Bulma also gets Chikyuusei, and all the others must swear to make sure she stays in the hands of her husband. We would fight on the side of whomever wins her."
"Brilliant idea Krillen," Frieza drawled in his icy voice. "Everyone take your crest off your neck and give it to me. Which ever crest is drawn from this water pitcher will win Princess Bulma, Chikyuusei, and the protection of all the other planets." The pale lizard held out his hand and all the surrounding princes and kings placed their crests in his hand. "And you brother? Do you want the fair princess or not?"
Yamcha looked down at his crest and then up to the beautiful woman he was competing for. "I'll do it." He pulled the crest off of his neck and handed it to his older brother.
Frieza placed all of the emblems into the water pitcher and rattled them around a bit to mix them up. The pale prince presented the pitcher to Krillen, and the bald king drew a single crest from inside.
"Here," the king muttered after looking at the crest he handed it to Frieza and walked away.
The future king of Frypansei looked at the crest and then up at his brother, "Well brother, it seems you have won her after all."
~*~*~*~*~*~
Vegeta was in his training arena shooting ki blasts at various targets that were set up around the room. Each target was hit with exact precision, and not a one was left after five minutes. The dark prince was about to order a nearby servant to round up some more targets when his younger brother, Kakarotto, strolled into the room.
"Hey Vegeta!" the younger Saiyan said joyfully as he waved to his older brother. The two had known each other for over four years now, and Prince Vegeta still didn't understand Kakarotto. "Whachya doin'?"
Vegeta rolled his eyes, "What does it look like you fool?" The still confused face of the younger prince forced Vegeta to continue, "I'm training! Now what do you want?"
Kakarotto's face screwed up in thought, "Um….. Oh yeah! Now I remember! Dad says you are supposed to go to Chikyuusei. I guess the prince there died, and they want you to go say you're sorry. He also said something about it being a good chance to make peace with Chikyuu so they don't decide to go to war with us or something like that."
The future king growled and stormed out of the training arena towards his father's study. When he reached his destination he noticed that there was someone following him. "Come out Vega. You don't have to hide from me," he called to the figure of his sister that was hiding in the shadows.
"You suck Vegetable Brains," she muttered as she stepped out of the shadows. "I would have gotten in too….."
"You're so juvenile Vega, and you need to work on your tracking skills. Just sneak in behind me. He'll never notice you."
Vega smirked impishly at her older brother and slipped in through the door right behind him.
"Father," Vegeta growled when his sister was well hidden from view, "what's this I hear about me going to Chikyuusei?"
With that comment the hiding princess was forced to cover her mouth to hold back a gasp.
"Prince Trunks of Chikyuusei has been killed, and I want you to go and console the king," King Vejita replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
The prince's eyebrow raised, "And?"
"And I also want you to give King Briefs this message." He handed over an envelope that contained a message about a peace treaty with Chikyuusei. "Be careful boy, there are likely to be other kings and princes there as well, and if you step out of line they will more than likely turn on you."
"Do you honestly think any of them would have a chance and even so much as injuring me? Chikyuusei is a planet full of weaklings. They present no threat."
"No, but go now. There is a ship waiting for you, and your things are already packed."
Hiding in the shadows of the room Princess Vega made a decision, "No! Vegeta can't go to Chikyuusei! I already told you what would happen if he goes!"
"I've had enough of your foolishness girl! Vegeta will go to Chikyuusei, and he will return, and all will be right with the universe."
"Goodbye Vega," Vegeta muttered to his sister as he left the room, "I'll see you when I get back." The twenty-one year old prince headed down the hall and out to the launching bay. "I wonder what she was talking about?" he wondered out loud as the ramp to his ship descended in front of him.
~*~*~*~*~*~
On Chikyuusei it was the night of Bulma and Yamcha's wedding. The young princess wore a beautiful lavender gown that brushed the floor, and her hair was pinned up on top of her head. This day was supposed to be a happy coronation, but it was not. The night before Frieza and Yamcha had gotten word of their father's death. A week earlier Bulma's father had died in his sleep. Bulma and Frieza's coronations were held just that morning, and tonight Yamcha would be crowned King of Chikyuusei along with his queen, Bulma.
Chi-Chi was hustling around the room searching for the royal crest that their mother had worn to place around Bulma's neck. "Where did it go? Bulma have you seen the crest recently?"
"Chi-Chi, I just got back a few weeks ago, how should I know where the crest is?" the queen of Chikyuusei asked her older sister. "Did you look in the closet? I think I remember it being up there last time I saw it."
"Right!" Chi-Chi pulled the chair away from the vanity and began to search for the crest on the top shelf of the closet. As Chi-Chi was looking for the crest her two-year-old daughter came toddling into the room.
"Hello Pan," Bulma called to her niece from the bed. "How are you?"
"Bulma!" the little girl cried loudly as she ran to her aunt's arms. "You look pretty!"
"Thank you Pan. You look very pretty too. Are you looking for your mother?"
Pan gave her aunt a toothy grin and nodded.
Bulma pointed to Chi-Chi standing on the vanity chair looking through a box. "Chi, I don't need to wear the crest! I'm going to be late, and then they'll all be pissed off at us."
"Oh calm down Bulma. I think Yamcha would wait forever for you."
"Yeah, unfortunately….."
~::~::~::~::~::~
The wedding passed by without a hitch, and Bulma and Yamcha were now the legal rulers of Chikyuusei. That evening however Frieza came up with the brilliant plan to have Yamcha show Bulma off to the male guests of the wedding. Wearing her best, yet revealing, dress Bulma was to sit upon her thrown for all the men to behold.
Going into the event Bulma was not aware of the fact that she would be the only woman at the party. It seemed as though her new husband, or perhaps his brother, was just as chauvinistic as her father.
~::~::~::~::~::~
Vegeta looked up at the large palace in front of him. It seemed that the royal family of Chikyuusei had a fondness for large lavish buildings. The Saiyan prince's guards stepped out of their small pods and stood behind him. "I don't think we're expected," the prince said to his guards who were looking confused because of the lack of people waiting for them on the docking bay.
"Your Highness, what do you think we should do?" the taller of the two guards asked as he surveyed the area for some kind of life.
The prince rolled his eyes at the stupidity of his guard, "What do you think Nappa? We're going to have to let ourselves in."
"But, Your Highness-"
"Are you contradicting me Nappa?" Vegeta growled.
"No Your Highness!" Nappa replied in a panicked voice.
"Good. Let's go." Without waiting for his guards to follow the Saiyan prince headed for what looked like the main entrance to the palace from the docking bay. Noticing that his guards still were not following Vegeta yelled back while opening the door, "Nappa, Raditz, unless you're going to stay here and guard the ships I suggest you get moving." With that he walked through the door and began walking down the large main hallway that he guessed led to the throne room.
Nappa and Raditz ran to catch up to their impatient prince, and followed as close behind him as it was possible to do without invoking his wrath.
As Vegeta walked down the corridor his eyes flicked from one door to the next; he seemed to be looking for some kind of sign that showed where he was supposed to be going. Then finally as the trio reached a set of large wooden doors Vegeta stopped in his tracks causing his guards to nearly run into him. "This is it," he said opening one of the two doors and stepping inside. Once in the room Vegeta was grabbed by a pair of large men that held him in place.
Everyone present in the room stopped movement as the two burly guards dragged the Saiyan prince to the back of the room where a man and a woman wearing crowns were seated on very ornate thrones. "King Yamcha," the guard on Vegeta's right growled while bowing his head to the man on the throne, "this man is here unannounced. We believe he may be an assassin."
The man on the throne, apparently named King Yamcha, gave Vegeta a searching look, "An assassin? Tell me sir, what purpose do you have here?"
"I was sent by my father, the king of Vegetasei, to deliver this message and our condolences to you for the loss of your son," Vegeta said in what he hoped was a sincere tone as he handed the envelope his father had given him to the King of Chikyuusei.
"My father is dead," the woman on the smaller of the two thrones said. "But I will take your sympathy for the loss of my brother."
Vegeta looked up at the woman on the throne; he hadn't noticed her before she spoke. She was the most beautiful creature that the Saiyan prince had ever laid eyes on, "Forgive me, my lady, but I was not informed of your name."
"My name is Bulma," the woman replied. "Bulma of Chikyuusei."
"It is a pleasure Queen Bulma. My name is Prince Vegeta of Vegetasei," the prince said in an almost whisper. He freed himself from the clutches of the guards on either side of him and stepped up her throne. Taking her hand in his the prince pressed his lips against the soft flesh of her hand. "I look forward to meeting you again…"
~*~*~*~*~*~
A/n: So, Bulma and Vegeta are now on the same planet and they've met… How will Bulma's new husband react to an unknown prince making moves on his wife? PLZ R&R!
~*~Raven~*~
