Stolen Hearts Chapter Seventeen
The day had arrived at last. She had done it. Perhaps the sorrow was finally over and her stars were aligning. Bulma had become a Zeladonii and the celebration in her honor was to be held today, on this glorious spring day that made it hard to believe there could ever be such a thing as rain.
She wished she could play the look on her parents' faces when they found out of her success over and over again in her head. They glowed with a happiness that made Bulma feel like the center of the universe, bursting with pride. They did love her, and that love was becoming more and more evident as they recognized her new drive and zest for life. If only they knew they reason she didn't think their smiles would be as bright, but they needn't know. What they don't know can't hurt them, right?
"I am loved!" Bulma shouted in an excited giggle as she twirled around in her beautiful pristine white gown, customary for the occasion, hers being even more exceptional for she was the Princess after all. All she needed now was a crown of fresh wild flowers and she would be ready. She gave one last laugh of triumph before she galloped outside to the pavilion, her new state of mind not even recalling the other event involving gathering flowers that used to torture her.
"Oh look at all the beautiful flowers in bloom, how could I have ever hated them? Maybe I never really saw them before even though they were right in front of me. I can appreciate them now."
The ceremony was long and flamboyantly royal, but Bulma adored every smile and word of praise she received. This had to be one of the best days of her life. All of the people who used to glare and say she would never amount to anything even near a proper ruler were now bowing at her feet showing their faith in their Princess.
Bulma even began to believe she could do this on her own, and not need a superior husband to look after her and her peoples affairs. She was the royalty and she ought to do this herself, right? Her whole body felt warm and it burst out in a constant smile of graciousness. For the first time, she truly looked like the Princess she was.
A hand on her shoulder made her turn, expecting more congratulations, but instead she received a kiss.
"Vegeta!?" she yelped a little too loudly, and she had to quickly pull him off around a corner before any inquiring eyes discovered there was an Elf in their midst.
"What in the gods names are you doing here you pompous fool? How did you even get here without being caught?? Almost all of the elite Fey are here, INCLUDING generals, are you mad?" she cried in a flurry while still dragging him further away from the crowd. He wore an amused grin, as if he knew a secret she did not.
"I think I have answered that question before. They pose no threat to me."
"I find that hard to believe, you are only one and they are many. You will find there are limits to everyone's power."
"Well then I guess I'm lucky I have you to protect me. You didn't think I would miss your big day now did you?"
"No, I just thought you would come at night."
"Is that all I am to you?" he scoffed.
"Indeed, so you better watch your step, I could fry in an instant now," she jested.
"And I could cut off your head just as easily, but just because I can doesn't mean I will."
"Well, I shall accomplish both."
"You know you can't resist my charms."
"Pah! What charms? It certainly can't be your eating habits!" she tried to say in a condescending manner, but it came out in a laugh as she gave in to his embrace.
It was impossible for her to be ill-tempered today. She laid her head on his shoulder where it fit so perfectly, her second home in his arms, and thought that of all the congratulations she had received today, this was the one she liked the most. They stood swaying like that, supported by each other, happily content to be so close.
Vegeta had been quite put off by his hasty removal the other day and it was like a pebble had been placed in the bottom of his stomach that kept grinding and grinding, no matter how many times he told himself it didn't matter. Seeing her so happy around her people didn't help any either. It was a sharp reminder of how much he didn't belong, and he worried now that she had found peace within herself, she would see no need to take the risk of being with him.
They obviously weren't so close that she couldn't just push him away when it was inconvenient, and he saw that she still kept her heart locked up. Maybe he was just a fleeting affair and she didn't plan on taking it any farther then convenience allowed. There was so much he didn't know about her, though he was guilty of the same. They had to change that if anything was to progress.
But should they? Perhaps it was wisest to let her go her own way. The world seemed to think so. If they were to stay together, he had to be found out eventually, and he could tell Bulma never wanted that to happen. He was and always would be her secret, a secret that would be immensely shameful to tell.
Could this ever last? Was he only fooling himself? Would this only end in pain? It was better not to ask these questions, not to have to answer, not to have to look in the face of reality and recognize what tomorrow could be like. It was better to focus on the moment they were in, to hold their breath, and not think of anything, anything at all.
But he had to know, he deserved to know her intentions. He would not be her fool. He would not fall any deeper if he was falling alone. If he was gone she would still be surrounded with people who loved her, but if she was gone he would have nothing. She didn't need him did she?
He had to find a reason for the way he felt inside, and he had a plan. He was going to take her to a place where there was only truth, where deceptions fell away, even ones you had with yourself, and you could see clearly as you ever would be able to. It was risky but entirely necessary.
"Come away with me Bulma."
"I though I asked you not to talk about that."
"No, I mean just for now, I have something I want to show you."
"Right now? Can't it wait? I can't leave in the middle of my celebration."
"Yes you can."
"Don't be so blatant, we can't all have everything we want."
Vegeta looked at her with an angry pout.
"What? You make me feel like such an evil witch. Stop looking at me like that. What do you have to show me that is so important?"
"Trust me."
"Can I?"
"Yes."
"Alright then, I'll go. But if I get in trouble for this, it's your head. I don't want to infuriate my parents after I have finally earned their respect and love."
"You shouldn't have to earn it. You don't have to earn mine."
"I do, I just do it subconsciously," Bulma tried to act indifferent, but she felt her heart tremble. That was the closest he had ever come to saying he loved her.
"Perhaps."
Their voices quieted as they drew away from the gala, and Bulma didn't know why she had put up such an objection. This would be the perfect end to the perfect day, she thought, her eyes taking in the perfect body in front of her. She guessed she just didn't like the idea that she would do anything Vegeta said. Pride had both good and bad sides.
His deep soothing voice began to flow over her again when they had successfully sneaked a safe distance away. It put her in a trance and she followed him like she was possessed.
"We will climb the hills and get their good tidings. We will go to a place where nature's peace will flow into you as the sun flows into tress. Where the winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy. A place where time drops off like autumn leaves."
"Sounds wonderful, like a dream."
"It is."
And it was. It was a beautiful secluded glade with a crystal brook streaming along towards the sea. The flowers and trees seemed to be radiating life and shone in a golden light, and the water was shinning silver. Everything thing seemed soft around the edges, almost like the world was pleasantly out of focus so nothing would be harsh or garish.
"Where is this? I have not been paying attention to where we have been walking."
"It is a place away from the world and no path leads to it. You only must have faith and it will appear to you."
Bulma's brows knitted a fraction but she spun about in delight until she looked like a flower herself, blue and white elegance, radiant in the afternoon sun. She let herself fall to the ground and raised her eyes to look up and Vegeta looking down. This place made him look young, and soft. His eyes could be soft here. Released.
"It was all a dream wasn't it? Before? All the pain? Say it was only a bad dream and this is our reality."
He simply sat down beside her, not wanting to face that question just yet. Opposite them there was a grand elm tree over which grew a vine heavy with large purple grapes.
"How lovely they are together and how different they would be apart," he said softly as Bulma curled up attached to his side, "The tree would be useless and the vine flat on the ground, unable to grow fruit."
They lay there on the grass away from everyone, beside a huge thatch of wild roses, perfuming the air in a delicious way. For a long time, which didn't seem like anything for time held no power in this place, they laid in harmony saying nothing, until Vegeta whispered,
"Isn't it the most blissful thing in the world to be away from everything you have ever known, to be so far away that you don't even know yourself anymore and you're not sure you ever want to go back to the things you're a part of?"
Bulma knew so well what he meant that it made her sigh and press herself against him as if he was the last thing in the world. He kissed her on the forehead, and ears, and neck, and shoulder and she enjoyed herself beyond anything she had know thus far, she had never been touched this way, and her heart fluttered with every touch of his lips. He reached for her mouth tentatively and his kiss was returned feverishly as satin lips parted readily. Eyelids slid close as sweet tastes were exchanged and savored. Leisurely, they explored each other, hot tongues stroking and tangling and searing, slick lips smooth and warm. Bulma was suddenly feeling that she was made up of only good things.
But just as suddenly she was reminded of the world she had tried to forget. Her past, filled with pain, dread, and evil. Confusion filled her, and for some reason she couldn't drown it here, but it boiled to the surface refusing to be neglected. All her worries, all her fears, all her misconceptions finally caught up with her. Vegeta knew what was going on, she could see it in his eyes, and her heart was distressed.
"She is here."
"What? Who is here?" she said, her turmoil deepening, until she followed his gaze and with a gasp she beheld the most glorious creature in the world, and all her inhibitions and worries flew from her like bats from a cave banished by a light. It was a Unicorn.
The radiantly beautiful Unicorn, with hooves of gold and silver and a graceful spiraling horn of pearl reaching towards the heavens, was standing serenely beside the water as if it had always been there. There was a dreamlike quality in the air, as if a shower of gold dust had come from the sun. It made her conscious of every blade of grass, every color in the glade, every movement of the sacred white creature. Everything was more alive with her presence, singing in praise. She exuded magnificence, purity, innocence, serenity, and beauty. It took Bulma's breath right out of her body and crystal tears shone in the corners of her eyes.
The Unicorn stepped daintily over the heather, scarcely seeming to press it with her airy gait, her coat like a shinning beacon of pure white, whiter then new fallen snow, but sparkling with the same effect as when it is hit by the winter sun. The wind made waves in her long pristine mane, infused with flecks of gold amongst the powerful white purity, but the most marvelous thing about her were the eyes that looked into your soul, showing all the truth that is hidden there. They were great melting faint violet eyes filled with nobility, gentleness, wisdom, trust, and incorruptibility.
They killed all other emotions but love.
It was beautifully overbearing to a mortal's senses and Bulma wept with the joy at this honor. Few were ever blessed with the presence of this holy creature that stood for all light and goodness in the world. On top of it all Bulma couldn't believe it would come to a person like her.
"Her name is Soronume," Vegeta told her, "I found this place long ago. I had run away to end my life, but she found me first. She saw purpose in my life that I was blind to. She showed me the way to Galatea, and they saved me. Every time I thought I couldn't go on, they saved me from myself. Why they chose me to guide I'll never know. I'm not strong Bulma. I try to act like it so no one will see how much I'm breaking up inside. I have nothing to hold me together, a side effect of my youth I suppose. Indifference was never my forte, though I've had much practice. Sometimes my emotions are so intense, like a raging wild fire, I can't control them and soon I find myself with a knife in my hand. I like to see myself bleed because then I see that I am actually alive. And when it heals I know that at least my body is still working." he couldn't believe he was telling her this, he hadn't planned to, but it was what came out when he opened his mouth.
That was what Soronume did, she allotted them the freedom to voice words that their hearts had so locked away, that would have never otherwise been freed.
They finally could tell each other everything under Soronume's watchful gaze. All their shames, all their fears, all their hopes that were crushed, the pasts they had feared to face so openly, and it was wonderful. They didn't see themselves as ugly any longer, there was someone who knew the entire truth about their souls, naked and unabashed, and they did not turn away but looked back at eyes with stars shining out of them. They always thought they would die before they let anyone see them in such a vulnerable position, but now they went on fearlessly into the unknown, there was nothing left to lose or fight. It was like giving in to the undertow. There is not point in fighting it head on and getting so exhausted that you drown, you have to let the current take you out into the deep blue waters.
Most of the things leading up to here was the outside stuff, the usual things they did to hook the other in. But now they had got to the real part, the part they had been hiding because they thought that it would blow it, but it only heightened their affection, they were still here. They could not look into the eyes opposite them and think them dirty from the past. There is not shame in having a dirty face; the shame is in keeping it dirty.
Bulma told him of her past, of how she thought herself a succubus of sorts after she had been broken as a child in the forest. She told him of her siblings deaths and how they bore on her soul like a mountain, and how she was certain her parents whished she would have been the one dead. That was until recently, because of him.
Vegeta admitted his family lineage, and though Bulma was shocked at first, she was calmed as he continued with the story saying how he hardly even saw them. He was a complete outcast, and the reason was unknown to him. He told her the truth of his ruthlessness, and how his 'family' had shaped him into the monster he was at such a young age. He was a blind servant to them for a long time, before he realized no matter what he did, they would never accept him. He was nothing but a scourge to them. Perhaps they were right.
Bulma turned upon him in a swirl of affection, "You are a grand man, a good one, and a kind one. It will come out right."
And Vegeta knew he was in her hands. There was no point in worrying about it now, for there was nothing he could do, he could only trust in her. She was the one for him, the one he had been desperately searching for in his subconscious. There she was, right before him, and he adored his rose petalled princess. Now that he saw the real her, the part she thought he would hate, he was only in love with her more.
It was like a children's book he had once read about a tree who loved a child, and the tree gave the child everything it had just to make the child happy. And even though the child took all its apples and branches and even it trunk, it was happy, because it gave them to the child it loved and the child was happy. He would give her everything he had, that was all he could do, and he would be happy to do it for her. She really didn't have to do anything at all to earn his love.
So they lay together until the world became moon drenched. Together in peace, wondering if anything would ever be this good again and hoping desperately for nothing to break, but for the first time believing it was possible not to.
AN: I love the story the Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, anyway, till next time, thanks for reading