Author's Note: Ahh....ONWARD TO CHAPTER 22!
.:.
Chapter 22: Hidden
.:.
"Do I look fat in this gown?" Bulma pouted in at her reflection, in her chambers she and Chi-Chi were deciding what to wear to the charade ball in only a week's time. Bulma was trying on a long and fitting milky white gown, a gown she had been eyeing for quite a while in the markets. She had finally convinced her Father to let her go on a little bit of a shopping spree with her Mother. Bunyae of course was very lenient about her clothing choices, and she absolutely loved that fact about her very gullible mother. She just had gone all out, and Chi-Chi had chosen her gown quite a while ago. Bulma had been wearing so much blue lately that she decided on a dark navy gown, a square neckline and a fairly high collar. She had several adjustments down to it, just so it was to her liking. You see, Chi-Chi and Goku had since had no interaction since the coronation ball. Chi-Chi had been very anxious to see him again, the clumsy and adorable Earl had caught her eye. She had to say, she was very smitten with the man.
"No, of course you're not! Lord, why must you be so vane?" Chi-Chi smirked, rolling her eyes and then sighing slowly, wanting to be back in that man's tender embrace. To think, the coronation ball had been two months ago. She felt so alone, yearning for the man's embrace...
"Because I'm a princess, and of course you know that image is everything when you're a lady and so damn high up in society." She frowned, being reminded once again what she was to the world; a tool. A rag doll that could be disposed at any man's desire, just because of who she was. It was so unfair, so wrong how women were treated. It was so depressing, so utterly depressing.
"Any ways...my wise, old, wrinkly cousin..." She smiled as Chi-Chi glared at her reflection but continued at her comment, "Has that stupid fool of yours been following you around like a lost squirrel?" She giggled a little at the faintest hint of a blush on Chi-Chi's cheeks, and that blush was very, very difficult to accomplish with her firm and straight-faced relative.
"Actually...no, he hasn't. I haven't seen him since the coronation ball..." She sighed, reclining more into the back of her chair. She was getting depressed again.
"Really? Where's my cousin that never would rely on a man, who would never let him control her emotions? Who are you and what have you done with my feisty Chi-Chi of Castile?" Bulma smirked, grinning at Chi-Chi as she stepped out of her gown. Chi-Chi threw a pillow off Bulma's near-by bed and it hit Bulma square on the head. She laughed and then a pillow fight commenced.
.:.
Vegeta was training by himself hard, working out by sword practicing with his squire, Henry. He smirked as he once again defeated the man, the tip of his sword squared onto his throat. Henry smiled as Vegeta placed an arm out to help him up, and he took it.
"You know...you really should go to the charade tonight." Henry said, once again collecting his breath as Vegeta studied his reflection in the very sharp and polished blade. The blade in which he had never taken a life, just once he felt like he was actually better than his Father. A rare emotion indeed. Vegeta's head snapped to attention, and glared at his servant.
"Why in the hell should I go to a social event?" He asked, wondering why his servant would ask such a stupid question.
"It's your birthday, though, your 17th birthday." Henry pleaded, he had seen his master's violent acts dramatically rise, as well as the shortness of his temper. He was deliberately asked by the Queen to make sure that he didn't become homocidical like he sometimes became with long period of time passing between him not being at home. His siblings deeply relaxed him, and he became more and more murderous when that support system vanished into nothing.
"Yeah, like anyone would notice." Vegeta gained a short epiphany from this, he wanted to go home. Just plain and simple. His mother always had payed attention to him, and he had always been the center of it on his birthday. His father sometimes was actually civil and a half decent father on his birthday. He had constantly though not expected much from his Father, people had always made excuses for his absences in the young Prince's life. He deserved a better father, and he had always been envious of the peasant's families. They all seemed to actually care about each other. But then, once again, he was reminded of one thing: they had no money. Money was the cure of all problems and evils. Or was it?
"Hey, I bet you that you couldn't last a minute around the gorgeous women of Castile. You'd get too chicken!" Henry said, turning this into a challenge for the Prince. He knew he could be killed by the future monarch's hand by challenging his authority, but he knew the prince well enough to know that he wouldn't kill his only companion in the world.
.:.
"Why am I even here?" Vegeta asked to no one in particular, sitting down at the high part of the table at the end since he was a guest, staring down at his pork chops and potatoes. He took his glass full of wine to his lips, tasting it and nodding slightly in satisfaction. The wine was not too bitter, but not too sweet. Definitely a fine year for the brew. But, he was sitting there in his navy and black formal tunic, and he was extremely bored. The King of Castile, Ferdinand, was making a speech to new times and celebration. What in the hell was there to celebrate? He was over 150 miles from home (A/N: That back then was about a week's journey if you ran a horse full blown at top speed). His face was shrouded in a mask, a simple black mask that only let his onyx eyes shine through. He seemed very bored, and then looked down the royal table to see two women chattering and laughing amongst themselves. The Castilean Royal Family had always known how to throw a party, and this night was no exception. His eyes and attention wandered to the new monarch of the southern part of Spain, listening to the obvious finale of his grand speech.
"Now, without further adieu my Lords and My Ladies," He for a moment paused by bowing his head in a polite gesture, "Let us eat and be merry! Tonight is a night of celebration of embracing peace and new found freedom!" Ferdinand rose his glass high in the air to signify the end of his toast, and he heard several men reply in hearty 'here here!'s across the grand dinning room. The ceilings were elaborately painted for very special occasions, and tonight was definitely in that category. His daughter had requested a charade to...what did she say again? To welcome new cultures, of course! The room instantly filled with mindless chatter about politics with men, or battle scars or just simple flirtations with the other women at the tables. Vegeta was bored of his mind, but he began to eat, since no other activity really interested him at the moment. The world was so pathetically dull at times, he had just been so fed up with it. Then a soft tune caught his attention, it was a man playing a fife* to entertain the royal table, and yet again the two women's sweet laughter carried to his ears. He had no idea who they were, he couldn't tell anything at all about them, he could just hear them. It was very odd, but then he just took another bite out of his porkchop and got another hearty scoop in his spoon for his potatoes. The feast was very enjoyable, and the food was not actually half bad. He suspected that Alice had definitely helped prepare the grand meal, but of course she would. She was somewhat of a maid/cook/nanny to him in his family's fortress in England, but he didn't want to think about home now. It just made him feel horrible and very homesick inside.
.:.
"You were right, Chi-Chi! This was an excellent idea!" Bulma said, sitting down on a chair which her cousin quickly occupied. Chi-Chi then smirked and asked,
"Could you please repeat that again, 'You were right, Chi-Chi'? That just sounds so amazing coming from the lips of a genius, and I want to savor this moment of me being correct and your denial of this whole plan was wrong." Chi-Chi then became very dramatic and slumped back in her chair, and seemingly very content. The raven haired duchess ignored her cousin's angry snap at her comment as her eyes diverted and met with a man's across the room. She recognized those eyes immediately and grinned ear to ear as the man winked at her, and then she finally acknowledged her cousin's rambling to get her attention.
"Chi-Chi? Hello?" Bulma said, poking Chi-Chi several times in the arm, quite hard, actually, before she responded.
"WHAT?!" She whispered fairly loudly, her eyes becoming agitated and almost full of fire for her younger cousin for so rudely interrupting her quite intimate moment with her charming Earl. But was he even hers yet?
"I was just saying that I haven't seen Yamcha here! Where on EARTH could that man be? I practically planned this whole entire charade just to have a chance to dance with him, and if he's not here, then WHY DID I PLAN IT?!" She whispered in a rush the last clause of her statement, and then pouted in her aggravation.
"Oh, stop acting so pathetic! You look GORGEOUS Bulma, and there are at least 30 men here that would happily dance with you! Don't get so down over one stupid man that doesn't see a gorgeous woman right in front of his nose! The stupid Duke doesn't deserve you, and you shouldn't haft to rely on one man to have a good time! Now, who do you want to dance with?" Chi-Chi said in assurance, trying to calm her down. Bulma's eyes scanned the grand room as she listed what she was looking for.
"He hast to be fairly tall, handsome, of course, and maybe something...different, about him." Bulma said, and then her eyes stopped on one man that was sitting at the end of the royal table, looking bored out of his mind and then Bulma smirked, thinking of this man as a challenge.
"I bet you a triple chocolate cookie that I will dance with that man," She motioned towards the mysterious man in navy and black with her fan, "By midnight."
Chi-Chi smiled, rolling her eyes at her cousin's obvious innocent and nieve challenge, but then gave in.
"Okay, the bet is yours."
.:.
Vegeta's eyes were wandering from one woman to the next on the dance floor, it was fairly full by now. All of the women being spun and twirled by the suitors were almost all beautiful, but none was truly exquisite. But, how could one tell, since their masks were covering their most important part of their appearance? The question begged to differ in the young prince's mind, and then he saw a woman in a pale, light blue satin dress came over to him, and said a simple statement...
"Would you please be my escort for the next dance?"
.:.
Author's Note: dun Dun DUN!!!! XD So evil, so evil, I know. But the thing is, It only took me 15 days to write this, and I'm getting quite proud of myself. I mean, I know that I couldn't just sit down and write a 2000 word chapter in a day, but I really am trying. What did you all think about this chapter? Was is it too OCC? And I'm going to try to involve you, the readers, more in the writing of my story. Sure, smaller details, but honestly. You guys are basically the ONLY reason why I keep writing this story, and every time I do write another chapter or a part of one...it's like therapy. I feel like, I'm giving away a tiny part of my soul with every single word you read. I know, I know, I'm starting to sound like some kind of 'Hummmmmmmmmmm...' monk or whatever, but it really is true. XD So, the question for the poll this time is...
1) Should the title of the sequel be...
A) Longshanks and the Blue Maiden: The Sequel
B) Castilia and the Arrogant Crusader
C) Poison and the Long Journey
Thanks! And, always remember that you can email me at :
hard_rocker119@yahoo.com
If you want to be on the update list, or just put your email in a review, and I'll put you on. =D Thanks for reading you guys, and have fun! =D
.:.
Chapter 22: Hidden
.:.
"Do I look fat in this gown?" Bulma pouted in at her reflection, in her chambers she and Chi-Chi were deciding what to wear to the charade ball in only a week's time. Bulma was trying on a long and fitting milky white gown, a gown she had been eyeing for quite a while in the markets. She had finally convinced her Father to let her go on a little bit of a shopping spree with her Mother. Bunyae of course was very lenient about her clothing choices, and she absolutely loved that fact about her very gullible mother. She just had gone all out, and Chi-Chi had chosen her gown quite a while ago. Bulma had been wearing so much blue lately that she decided on a dark navy gown, a square neckline and a fairly high collar. She had several adjustments down to it, just so it was to her liking. You see, Chi-Chi and Goku had since had no interaction since the coronation ball. Chi-Chi had been very anxious to see him again, the clumsy and adorable Earl had caught her eye. She had to say, she was very smitten with the man.
"No, of course you're not! Lord, why must you be so vane?" Chi-Chi smirked, rolling her eyes and then sighing slowly, wanting to be back in that man's tender embrace. To think, the coronation ball had been two months ago. She felt so alone, yearning for the man's embrace...
"Because I'm a princess, and of course you know that image is everything when you're a lady and so damn high up in society." She frowned, being reminded once again what she was to the world; a tool. A rag doll that could be disposed at any man's desire, just because of who she was. It was so unfair, so wrong how women were treated. It was so depressing, so utterly depressing.
"Any ways...my wise, old, wrinkly cousin..." She smiled as Chi-Chi glared at her reflection but continued at her comment, "Has that stupid fool of yours been following you around like a lost squirrel?" She giggled a little at the faintest hint of a blush on Chi-Chi's cheeks, and that blush was very, very difficult to accomplish with her firm and straight-faced relative.
"Actually...no, he hasn't. I haven't seen him since the coronation ball..." She sighed, reclining more into the back of her chair. She was getting depressed again.
"Really? Where's my cousin that never would rely on a man, who would never let him control her emotions? Who are you and what have you done with my feisty Chi-Chi of Castile?" Bulma smirked, grinning at Chi-Chi as she stepped out of her gown. Chi-Chi threw a pillow off Bulma's near-by bed and it hit Bulma square on the head. She laughed and then a pillow fight commenced.
.:.
Vegeta was training by himself hard, working out by sword practicing with his squire, Henry. He smirked as he once again defeated the man, the tip of his sword squared onto his throat. Henry smiled as Vegeta placed an arm out to help him up, and he took it.
"You know...you really should go to the charade tonight." Henry said, once again collecting his breath as Vegeta studied his reflection in the very sharp and polished blade. The blade in which he had never taken a life, just once he felt like he was actually better than his Father. A rare emotion indeed. Vegeta's head snapped to attention, and glared at his servant.
"Why in the hell should I go to a social event?" He asked, wondering why his servant would ask such a stupid question.
"It's your birthday, though, your 17th birthday." Henry pleaded, he had seen his master's violent acts dramatically rise, as well as the shortness of his temper. He was deliberately asked by the Queen to make sure that he didn't become homocidical like he sometimes became with long period of time passing between him not being at home. His siblings deeply relaxed him, and he became more and more murderous when that support system vanished into nothing.
"Yeah, like anyone would notice." Vegeta gained a short epiphany from this, he wanted to go home. Just plain and simple. His mother always had payed attention to him, and he had always been the center of it on his birthday. His father sometimes was actually civil and a half decent father on his birthday. He had constantly though not expected much from his Father, people had always made excuses for his absences in the young Prince's life. He deserved a better father, and he had always been envious of the peasant's families. They all seemed to actually care about each other. But then, once again, he was reminded of one thing: they had no money. Money was the cure of all problems and evils. Or was it?
"Hey, I bet you that you couldn't last a minute around the gorgeous women of Castile. You'd get too chicken!" Henry said, turning this into a challenge for the Prince. He knew he could be killed by the future monarch's hand by challenging his authority, but he knew the prince well enough to know that he wouldn't kill his only companion in the world.
.:.
"Why am I even here?" Vegeta asked to no one in particular, sitting down at the high part of the table at the end since he was a guest, staring down at his pork chops and potatoes. He took his glass full of wine to his lips, tasting it and nodding slightly in satisfaction. The wine was not too bitter, but not too sweet. Definitely a fine year for the brew. But, he was sitting there in his navy and black formal tunic, and he was extremely bored. The King of Castile, Ferdinand, was making a speech to new times and celebration. What in the hell was there to celebrate? He was over 150 miles from home (A/N: That back then was about a week's journey if you ran a horse full blown at top speed). His face was shrouded in a mask, a simple black mask that only let his onyx eyes shine through. He seemed very bored, and then looked down the royal table to see two women chattering and laughing amongst themselves. The Castilean Royal Family had always known how to throw a party, and this night was no exception. His eyes and attention wandered to the new monarch of the southern part of Spain, listening to the obvious finale of his grand speech.
"Now, without further adieu my Lords and My Ladies," He for a moment paused by bowing his head in a polite gesture, "Let us eat and be merry! Tonight is a night of celebration of embracing peace and new found freedom!" Ferdinand rose his glass high in the air to signify the end of his toast, and he heard several men reply in hearty 'here here!'s across the grand dinning room. The ceilings were elaborately painted for very special occasions, and tonight was definitely in that category. His daughter had requested a charade to...what did she say again? To welcome new cultures, of course! The room instantly filled with mindless chatter about politics with men, or battle scars or just simple flirtations with the other women at the tables. Vegeta was bored of his mind, but he began to eat, since no other activity really interested him at the moment. The world was so pathetically dull at times, he had just been so fed up with it. Then a soft tune caught his attention, it was a man playing a fife* to entertain the royal table, and yet again the two women's sweet laughter carried to his ears. He had no idea who they were, he couldn't tell anything at all about them, he could just hear them. It was very odd, but then he just took another bite out of his porkchop and got another hearty scoop in his spoon for his potatoes. The feast was very enjoyable, and the food was not actually half bad. He suspected that Alice had definitely helped prepare the grand meal, but of course she would. She was somewhat of a maid/cook/nanny to him in his family's fortress in England, but he didn't want to think about home now. It just made him feel horrible and very homesick inside.
.:.
"You were right, Chi-Chi! This was an excellent idea!" Bulma said, sitting down on a chair which her cousin quickly occupied. Chi-Chi then smirked and asked,
"Could you please repeat that again, 'You were right, Chi-Chi'? That just sounds so amazing coming from the lips of a genius, and I want to savor this moment of me being correct and your denial of this whole plan was wrong." Chi-Chi then became very dramatic and slumped back in her chair, and seemingly very content. The raven haired duchess ignored her cousin's angry snap at her comment as her eyes diverted and met with a man's across the room. She recognized those eyes immediately and grinned ear to ear as the man winked at her, and then she finally acknowledged her cousin's rambling to get her attention.
"Chi-Chi? Hello?" Bulma said, poking Chi-Chi several times in the arm, quite hard, actually, before she responded.
"WHAT?!" She whispered fairly loudly, her eyes becoming agitated and almost full of fire for her younger cousin for so rudely interrupting her quite intimate moment with her charming Earl. But was he even hers yet?
"I was just saying that I haven't seen Yamcha here! Where on EARTH could that man be? I practically planned this whole entire charade just to have a chance to dance with him, and if he's not here, then WHY DID I PLAN IT?!" She whispered in a rush the last clause of her statement, and then pouted in her aggravation.
"Oh, stop acting so pathetic! You look GORGEOUS Bulma, and there are at least 30 men here that would happily dance with you! Don't get so down over one stupid man that doesn't see a gorgeous woman right in front of his nose! The stupid Duke doesn't deserve you, and you shouldn't haft to rely on one man to have a good time! Now, who do you want to dance with?" Chi-Chi said in assurance, trying to calm her down. Bulma's eyes scanned the grand room as she listed what she was looking for.
"He hast to be fairly tall, handsome, of course, and maybe something...different, about him." Bulma said, and then her eyes stopped on one man that was sitting at the end of the royal table, looking bored out of his mind and then Bulma smirked, thinking of this man as a challenge.
"I bet you a triple chocolate cookie that I will dance with that man," She motioned towards the mysterious man in navy and black with her fan, "By midnight."
Chi-Chi smiled, rolling her eyes at her cousin's obvious innocent and nieve challenge, but then gave in.
"Okay, the bet is yours."
.:.
Vegeta's eyes were wandering from one woman to the next on the dance floor, it was fairly full by now. All of the women being spun and twirled by the suitors were almost all beautiful, but none was truly exquisite. But, how could one tell, since their masks were covering their most important part of their appearance? The question begged to differ in the young prince's mind, and then he saw a woman in a pale, light blue satin dress came over to him, and said a simple statement...
"Would you please be my escort for the next dance?"
.:.
Author's Note: dun Dun DUN!!!! XD So evil, so evil, I know. But the thing is, It only took me 15 days to write this, and I'm getting quite proud of myself. I mean, I know that I couldn't just sit down and write a 2000 word chapter in a day, but I really am trying. What did you all think about this chapter? Was is it too OCC? And I'm going to try to involve you, the readers, more in the writing of my story. Sure, smaller details, but honestly. You guys are basically the ONLY reason why I keep writing this story, and every time I do write another chapter or a part of one...it's like therapy. I feel like, I'm giving away a tiny part of my soul with every single word you read. I know, I know, I'm starting to sound like some kind of 'Hummmmmmmmmmm...' monk or whatever, but it really is true. XD So, the question for the poll this time is...
1) Should the title of the sequel be...
A) Longshanks and the Blue Maiden: The Sequel
B) Castilia and the Arrogant Crusader
C) Poison and the Long Journey
Thanks! And, always remember that you can email me at :
hard_rocker119@yahoo.com
If you want to be on the update list, or just put your email in a review, and I'll put you on. =D Thanks for reading you guys, and have fun! =D