Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed this chapter: preciousjade68, iluvveggie, sweetgilda, KimiruMai, Daughter of Vegeta, and SSRLakes.
Bulma dressed herself in a long, white dress that Kakarot had picked out. It was a nice gesture, but a few things about the dress saddened Bulma. One, it looked like a wedding dress, which she would never have; and two, white was the color of purity and it was a bitter reminder that she no longer was.
She observed herself in the mirror and was amazed at what she saw. Before, she was filthy, a mess, and covered in blood; but now after just one bath, she looked so much better and her age, even though her eyes clearly revealed that she was now an adult.
It was strange. Days ago, she and her parents were planning her seventeenth birthday party, a trip to a graduate school she was looking into for her masters, and the fact that she was soon going to be an older sister. All of that was taken away by an alien that looked like a purple lizard. And now another alien race had taken her from the desolate wasteland that was once her home.
Bulma wasn't an idiot. She knew what Vegeta and Kakarot were doing on her planet. She would have never thought anything like that possible had she not seen it first-hand. It was clear, though, that the two Saiyans who "rescued" her didn't really want to purge the planet. How did she come up with that? The jovial nature of Kakarot and the relief in Vegeta's eyes when he said that someone had beaten them to Earth's destruction.
It made Bulma wonder why they would purge if they didn't enjoy it? It was obvious that then lizard's men enjoyed every moment of purging. The actually laughed when they struck another innocent down. The streets were filled with blood, as Bulma could see from the windows of the building before she had been trapped in her room.
The monsters tore down the outer walls of Capsule Corp. and destroyed the defense system. Bulma closed her eyes and shook her head. She could NOT think of that now. Right now she had to figure out what was going to happen to her. She needed to why Vegeta hadn't killed her when he found her, or why he decided to bring her with him? He had given a reason, but it wasn't a decent one. Sure, it might have been better for them to know who else was out there, but she refused to talk. Vegeta probably knew that she wouldn't say anything, so keeping her around was useless. Was there a reason why she was spared and, if so, what could that reason be? Was there something that the prince wanted from her? She didn't know what the truth was anymore.
She left the washroom and found that they had taken off, although she hadn't felt it. She must have been really out of it. Curiosity got the better of her and she stepped onto the cold metal floor of the ship's hall. It immediately made chills run up and down her spine, but she ignored the feeling and continued to walk into the ship's main control area.
She found Vegeta sleeping in a chair near the control panel and was trying to figure out why he was sleeping there if the ship was on autopilot. Then it hit her. He had given her his bed to sleep in. "What do you need?" he asked, making her jump. She hadn't made herself known yet, and she had barely made a sound. He hadn't even looked at her yet. He turned in the chair to face her, looking impatient. "Well?"
Bulma looked away from him meekly. "I…n-nothing."
Bulma turned to walk away but Vegeta gently grabbed her arm and moved her to face him. He stared at her, his expression never changing, causing her to blush under his intense gaze. His face revealed no emotion to her, and it made her even more nervous, but Vegeta's expression did not soften.
"W-what are you…?" Bulma asked nervously when Vegeta took his other hand and caressed her face gently, moving back some loose strands.
"Nothing," he replied, taking his hand away from her face and let go of her arm. "You need rest. We will discuss what is to happen when we actually reach my planet tomorrow."
Bulma looked away. She did not feel comfortable in the way he worded that, especially after he touched her. It wasn't like he had done anything over the top, but she just wasn't comfortable with physical contact, at least not so soon after what had happened to her. Part of her wondered is Vegeta really was planning on using her the way he had implied with the other guy who had been with him. But hey, what would the difference be? At least he'd be gentler with her than her attacker, or so she hoped, but Bulma couldn't help feeling betrayed. She mentally scoffed at her own thought. This man didn't owe her anything. He hadn't needed to bring her along. He wasn't even a part of her race. There should be no feelings of betrayal here, but maybe it was time to cushion the blow.
"Yes, Prince Vegeta," Bulma said with a small bow before scurrying back to his room in silence.
Vegeta looked on in confusion. He had no idea why, out of nowhere, she was starting to use his title. Had he said something that made her think that she had to be formal with him? When his father wasn't listening, though proud of his royal status, Vegeta didn't like those he was close to using his title. But then, he wasn't close to the girl, but the way she had just acted made him feel a little strange, and not in a good way. He decided that, for now, he would just leave it. The girl had just been through a traumatic experience and probably took offense to everything right now. He knew what that was like after seeing it so many times first hand.
He decided to go check on her later and found her sleeping peacefully in his bed. She looked comfortable and warm and, for some reason, Vegeta found himself wanting to join her. He shook the thought and ruled it as him just being exhausted from the travelling and returned to the chair in the control room. Travelling in space was Vegeta's least favorite way to pass the time. He would have rather been back at the palace. Being so far away, he had no idea what was going on, and that alone left him thinking too late and too long. It was a wonder he was so drained.
The next day, or the next day according to the computer screen, Vegeta woke up quite early. Kakarot and Bulma were still asleep so, for now, he reveled in the peace and quiet and made himself something quick to eat. He didn't make much since he really wasn't that hungry to begin with. When he was done with his meal, he felt Bulma's energy increase a bit and knew she was awake. An hour later, she still hadn't moved and Vegeta caught himself wondering what was wrong with her and why she was staying stationary.
He went to his room and saw her staring at the metal wall of the ship, unmoving. It was almost as if she was trapped inside of herself again, although her eyes were not glossed over as they had been. Vegeta walked closer to her, his presence causing her to shiver in fear. It left him stunned since the day before she had seemed at least somewhat comfortable in his company. The whole situation was not ideal for her, he understood that, but why was it that she suddenly afraid of him so suddenly?
"Bulma, what's wrong with you?" he asked with a slight growl. She didn't respond. He grabbed her as gently as he could and forced her to look at him. "Answer me."
"I…I'm sorry, Prince Vegeta," Bulma whispered.
Vegeta narrowed his eyes at her. "Stop that," he snarled.
Bulma looked at him nervously. "Stop what?"
"Since when did you start using my title?" he returned. He really wanted to know. It wasn't like she was a member of his race. Even Kakarot was no longer using his title, though the girl probably didn't know that. She had only seen his subordinate on her planet and they had to remain detached from each other with his father listening. The girl herself had figured that out.
"When I realized I was going to really be your concubine," Bulma replied sadly.
Vegeta was beyond shocked at that. He thought that she had known that wouldn't be what became of her. She had even thought his words to be exactly what they were: an act. Had he said anything last night that made her believe that his words were true? He thought about the moment in the control room when he had touched her probably a little to intimately and scoffed. Last night, he didn't know what possessed him to do that, nor did such a gesture imply that. He had been right last night; the girl was taking offense to everything. He needed to be much, much clearer.
"You won't be," Vegeta assured her. "Last night, I wasn't trying to lead you to believe that would be our arrangement. That is not what we had to discuss."
Bulma cocked her head and something inside of Vegeta fluttered at the innocent and hopeful gesture, but he ignored it. "It's not?"
Vegeta glared at her. "I'd be no better than those aliens that raided your planet."
Bulma returned his glare, angered by his statement. "You aren't!" she shouted. "You were going to do the same thing!"
"Not by choice!" Vegeta yelled back. Then Kakarot came into the room.
"Hey you guys, why are you screaming?" he asked rubbing his eyes.
"Kakarot, leave," Vegeta ordered.
Kakarot shrugged. "Whatever," he grumbled. He walked out, leaving Bulma and Vegeta alone.
Bulma stared at Vegeta who was brooding over what she said and avoiding her gaze. "Vegeta?" He looked over to her, but said nothing. His face betrayed no emotion, but his eyes were a different story. Bulma could see the hurt he hid in his dark irises, but that couldn't be right. He was a murderer and she couldn't forget that, but something in the way he was looking at her was weakening her resolve.
"You don't know anything," he replied. "And that is what I had to talk to you about."
He got up abruptly and stormed out of the room, slamming the door in frustration. Bulma stared at the door in confusion. She had only said something she had observed, something that she believed to be the truth about him and his race. It wasn't like he could deny why he and this Kakarot guy had come to her planet. He hadn't denied it, but what he said about a choice…she just didn't understand.
She also didn't hear the door open again.
"Hey, don't mind him," Kakarot said forcing her from thought. His voice had startled her, but she managed to stay calm though her heart was racing a mile a minute. "He just has a lot to deal with."
Bulma looked over to the other alien. "What do you mean?" Her voice was hesitant, Kakarot noted, but his sharing anything with her left him more hesitant. He didn't know how much Vegeta wanted to tell her about the environment she was entering. He frowned, knowing Vegeta would have wanted to tell her what exactly they were up against. Vegeta, though, being as upset by her remark as he was would remain in a training room the rest of the trip. It was his friend's insanely bad habit.
"Vegeta's father isn't a good man," Kakarot finally admitted. "His grandfather was a great ruler who Vegeta admired, but his father is just plain twisted. As soon as his grandfather passed away, his father took over the throne and started acting like a vicious tyrant. He refused to even give our previous ruler a proper burial so Vegeta, his mother and brother, and my family did it in secret.
"After his father took over as ruler, he declared all of the old laws 'trivial and pointless.' He created many new laws that put everyone in danger if ever they even uttered one negative word about him. Vegeta's mother became fearful of her husband and tried to keep Vegeta and his brother away from him, but he found her out and tortured her." Bulma looked incredibly concerned when he said that. Kakarot held his hands up. "Don't worry; she's okay now. Unfortunately, she never disobeys her husband. She protects her sons from him, but other than that, she has become obedient.
"Vegeta hates his father, especially when he sends us away like this. Earth wasn't our first planet this trip." Bulma paled, but she was starting to understand why they were doing what they were. "We've actually been doing this for the last six months. He hates being away for so long because he always worries about his mother and brother not being there when he returns. One day, we hope to bring him down, but until then, we all have to play a part. He was just going to explain that to you."
"Kakarot," Vegeta growled in warning. Apparently he hadn't started training yet like Kakarot had expected.
"Oh, hey Vegeta," Kakarot greeted as if nothing happened, ignoring the angered expression directed towards him. "I'll just leave you two alone."
Kakarot left and Vegeta stared at Bulma. She was stunned into silence by what she had just heard. "I…"
"Don't worry about it," Vegeta ordered. "It's fine."
Bulma wanted to tell him it wasn't fine, but she just couldn't say anything. "I…want to help."
Vegeta raised his eyebrow at her. Sure, he was going to discuss that with her later, but he didn't expect her to offer. She wasn't really a part of this yet, which is why he needed to explain in the first place. He was hoping she'd be settled in before he started discussion strategies with her or anyone else. "Why?" he asked, genuinely curious.
Bulma looked into his eyes, holding back her own tears. "Because no one should ever live like that…afraid in their own home. And parents are supposed to protect their families, not force them to commit crimes." She looked like she was about to start panicking again, so Vegeta got down next to her and pulled her close to him, hoping she'd calm down.
"It's my life," he whispered in her ear. "I've learned to accept it." Bulma shook her head as she let out a few more whimpers. "But that is what I needed to tell you. Only around my father, you need to act as my slave. You will only use my title around him. You will never be alone with him and if he ever seeks you out, you will call for help. I will make sure that if I am not there, that you will have a guard. Do you understand?" Bulma nodded. "Good."
Vegeta gently pushed Bulma away from him and got up to leave the room, leaving a very sympathetic Bulma still sitting on the floor. She watched as the door slammed shut a second time and felt guiltier than she had in a while. Vegeta was a murderer, but he was also something else entirely.
He was a victim.