Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters

Two years later…

Bulma grew to hate her father after that day. Not only had Vegeta told her of the "promise" her father had made but then, hours later, was told she would be marrying Zarbon when she was of age. It wasn't that Zarbon was a terrible guy, but he was her father's lap-dog. He would do everything her father wanted. She would be controlled for the rest of her life. No, she would much rather have Vegeta. He was dark, dangerous, even cruel; but he was also kind to her and never lied about who he was. If anything, her father made him the cruel man he was and Bulma didn't hold it against him.

Vegeta had kept his promise and began training her in secret. She had turned out to be an excellent fighter which surprised Vegeta. They both knew that after seeing her fight he had grown more attracted to her and that made Bulma very happy.

"Good morning, princess," Vegeta said quietly while meeting up with her. He bowed to her respectfully, but she was the only one he would ever bow to on the ship.

And she bowed back. "Good morning, my prince." She always hated how her father treated him especially when he had been a prince on his planet. Her father always said the "monkeys" were a filthy and disgusting race and should be treated like dirt, but Bulma respected the Saiyans and she would never let Vegeta forget he was their prince. She knew that it also boosted his ego a bit, which he needed if he was ever going to take her father down.

"So how long now?" Vegeta asked talking about the wedding.

"Two months," Bulma answered looking away from him. She didn't like the idea of arranged marriage and she didn't want to marry Zarbon. Truth be told, she was scared. Two years earlier she was nearly raped, and rumor had it that her father and his men used rape as punishment to their men on many occasions. It disgusted her and it caused her to wonder if Vegeta had suffered that type of punishment. Her fear was confirmed one day when she asked him and he flinched and told her never to ask that again. Why was her father so vile to his men? "I wish I didn't have to."

Vegeta caressed her cheek and said, "One day, Bulma. One day we will all be free and we can finally be together. We'll find a way."

Bulma smiled and put her hand to his. "Yes, and I hope that day comes quickly. Have you reached your goal yet?"

Vegeta frowned. He had been trying to become the Legendary Super Saiyan that Frieza was so terrified of. "Not yet, but I will."

Bulma took out a device that she had created. "I made this for you. It's a gravity simulator, like the ones my father has his men use, but compact with a cloaking device. You can be under up to 500X gravity anywhere you go, even if you are just going to eat."

Vegeta stared at her before smirking. "You really are a genius, woman. How did you come up with that?"

She shrugged. She never really knew where her ideas came from. She just wanted to help him. It was important to her to stop her tyrant father. One day she would be seen as a traitor among her people, but she would rather be seen as a traitor than some obedient little twit that did everything she was told. It wasn't in her nature. It never would be.

Vegeta hooked the simulator to his spandex pants and turned it on. After he set the gravity to 20X gravity, ten more than his home planet, he activated the cloaking device. Feeling the weight pulling him down, he smirked. Yes, this would help him greatly.

He looked over to Bulma with admiration lighting his eyes. Over the years, he was still impressed with the fact that she wanted to help him take her father down. The man had raised her. It made him wonder why she would want to get involved. Vegeta was planning on her surviving his rebellion, but he was taking down her kingdom. She owed him nothing. It wasn't like it was her planet that had been destroyed. Vegeta, at this point, had already believed Frieza had something to do with it, but he would never know for sure.

They sensed Zarbon heading their way, and Vegeta went to hide while Bulma sprayed her chemical in the air around her. He came from around the corner and grinned at her.

"Hello, darling," Zarbon greeted. Bulma just smiled. Inside, she was really ready to be sick any time he was near her.

"Good morning, dear," she said hoping she didn't sound too bitter.

He looked around for a moment. "I thought I sensed the monkey around here?" he said not responding to her half-hearted greeting.

"We passed each other in the hall earlier," Bulma lied, "but it was just for a second."

"Filth like that shouldn't have the honor of walking in your presence," Zarbon said. Vegeta nearly growled from the spot he was hiding, and Bulma frowned.

"Maybe, but aren't reptiles even lower in the animal kingdom?" Bulma asked sounding very innocent. Zarbon thought that she didn't realize she was insulting him, so he let it go. Bulma was too sweet for that.

"Not exactly," he muttered. "I'll be seeing you tonight at dinner." Zarbon left and seemed very irritated. Vegeta had to force himself not to laugh at his pissed of expression when he passed his spot. The girl's insult cut the lizard deep and they all knew it, Bulma included. Bulma and Vegeta smirked at each other before going their separate ways. They knew they would meet up anyway later.

Bulma ended up at her father's throne room.

"I cannot be sure, sir," she heard Zarbon say to Frieza. "She may still be with him, but I never see them together."

Frieza frowned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I should have destroyed that monkey the first time he laid his filthy hands on her," Frieza stated. "I should have destroyed all of them as I did their planet." Bulma held in a gasp. If she had made any noise, her father would know she was there. "That will be all, Zarbon."

Bulma ran as fast as she could. She wasn't running to her room, Vegeta's, or the other Saiyans. She wasn't running anywhere at all. Eventually, she ended up crashing into Nappa. Nappa caught her and looked down at her fearful and panicked face.

"Bulma, what's wrong?" he asked noticing the tears in her eyes.

"Please don't hate me," she begged falling on her hands and knees. "I don't want to be alone again."

Raditz and Vegeta were not too far behind him and overheard.

"Bulma, what's going on?" Vegeta asked her. He got down on his knees to be at eye level with her, but she couldn't bring herself to look at him. She was feeling guilty and scared, scared that her one true friend would hate her if he knew.

"I'm sorry, Prince Vegeta," she said almost diplomatically through her tears. "But my father…he…your planet…he destroyed it." She bent down even lower and cried even more. She was expecting Vegeta to walk away and leave her. When she felt his hand on her back, she looked up. He wasn't glaring at her, nor did he seem angry.

"I know," was all he said. "I suspected it a while back. I could never confirm it, though."

Bulma blinked her tears away and looked at him. She didn't understand. He had known, yet he still wanted her. He still treated her with respect and kindness. He kissed her, the daughter of the man who destroyed his home. Didn't he understand that her father killed his people and family and still tortured him every day? How could he think of her as anything but vile?

"How can you not hate me?" she asked. Vegeta didn't answer, but Nappa did.

"You haven't done anything wrong, princess," he told her. "Your father is the one to blame and you are the only one who shows us kindness on this piece of floating trash. How could we hate you?"

"Besides," Raditz interjected, "you've been helping us by healing us when you're told not to. That's gutsy and, honestly, really Saiyan-like."

Bulma smiled. She liked it when they said she was like them. She never felt like she belonged in her father's world and she never would. But the Saiyans, she felt like she belonged with them every day. They never treated her like a child or a woman (well, her father's idea of a woman), but as an equal. They allowed her to train and speak her mind. They were the only people who would ever know the real her. Maybe she wasn't so different from them after all.

A/N: This chapter was edited on 12/7/2012