Chapter 20

Vegeta had no idea where to start his search for his true mate. The batch of female saiyans his father had brought along had all left the palace a few days ago, finally giving up the hope that they could be with Vegeta. This was to Vegeta's immense relief as he even saw Tomara leaving out the palace doors. It was not as if he would choose anyone of them anyways. However, as luck would have it he didn't have to wait long for an opportunity to present itself.

Entering the throne room after being summoned by his father, Vegeta was met with the sight of a few people chatting at the far end of the room.

The King and Queen stood side by side, their tails wrapped around each others waists, speaking to a tall male saiyan who was standing next to a much shorter female saiyan. The female saiyan had long raven hair, which was tied back with a simple hair tie. She adorned the standard saiyan armour of blue and white, with a gold pin fastened on her chest plate. From the way she held herself and her slightly muscular stature, Vegeta could tell she was a seasoned fighter who was used to being out in the field.

On the other side of the guests, standing next to the King and Queen was Bulma who was studying the guests slightly whilst engaging in polite conversation.

Making his way over to them, Vegeta took his place by Bulma's side and wrapped his tail around her waist as was custom. He felt her thread her arm around his, the movements being so automatic by now that the two of them didn't even think much of it.

"Ah Vegeta, glad you could join us" the King said, nodding at him upon seeing him take his place beside Bulma. "Let me introduce you to two guests we have joining us for the next few months. We have minister Garick and his daughter Aubrey. They rule over the Northern lands of Vegetasei."

Vegeta nodded to the two newcomers. The female saiyan just stared at him slightly before breaking eye contact and looking back towards to the King and Queen.

Hmmmmm she seems normal. No weird blushing or anything.

"That's a bit weird" Vegeta thought as an after thought.

"The minister and his daughter will be joining us these next few months, to brainstorm ideas on how to proceed with the ongoing war in the North. The Northern saiyan races are fighting for independence from the Vegetasei mainland and we are aiming to come up with a strategy to curb further warfare" the King continued. "We'll be holding a few meetings each day with various council members and parties to see what we can all do going forward".

Vegeta nodded at this, feeling Bulma shuffle slightly at his side.

"I have heard much about the ongoing war in the North from the people of Vegetasei. I must commend you both for all your efforts so far. I know it must not be easy being placed in the middle of it all" Bulma spoke up from beside him.

Vegeta tightened his tail around her waist encouragingly. She truly was putting a lot of work into her future Queen preparations.

At her words, Aubrey and minister Garick smiled at her bowing their heads slightly in thanks.

"Thanks Princess. It's not an easy war to fight, especially when the battle is with your own people" minister Garick said softly. "Thankfully my daughter has been working hard this past year even being out there on the battlefield with the troops."

"I'll do what I can to help our people" Aubrey said gently. "Although I am keen to find better ways to finally bring this whole ordeal to an end and stop the further spilling of saiyan blood."

Her voice was gentle and slightly soft spoken but held a hidden strength to it. Totally not what Vegeta was expecting. Aubrey had a pleasantness about her that was not often seen amongst saiyans.

Vegeta studied her features closer; she was shorter than him but quite well-built for a woman. Her face was rounded with soft features that emanated gentleness. Her eyes shone slightly with intelligence and a hint of playfulness as she listened in on the conversation. Overall, she was quite beautiful in a non-traditional way that still captured your attention.

Not as beautiful as Bulma but still pretty close.

Vegeta unconsciously moved his arm that was linked with Bulma's to weave around her lower back. Thereby pulling her closer against his side. Bulma a bit surprised at his movement, had nothing to do with her arm now so followed his lead and wrapped it gently around his waist.

Chancing a glance at Vegeta next to her, Bulma tried to figure out what was causing this response in him. Usually they just always stood with his tail around her waist and her arm wrapped around his. They never really got any closer.

However, catching sight of him Bulma saw that he had his gaze transfixed on Aubrey who was currently conversing with the King. At that look, Bulma felt something drop at the bottom of her stomach.

"Oh no, is this where I lose him?" She thought, somehow knowing in her deepest heart of hearts that this was the start of either something new or the end of what they had already begun.

Over the next few days, Aubrey and her father minister Garick had settled into the palace. They occupied some quarters just outside of the royal chambers, so Vegeta saw them walking around often. They also joined them for meals in the dining hall as well as the training rooms whenever they had free time.

The royals had held a number of meetings with Aubrey and minister Garick, trying to fully understand the situation in the Northern lands as well as the political situation surrounding the rising tension.

During these meetings, for some odd reason, Vegeta couldn't keep his eyes off Aubrey. She was intelligent and extremely down to earth. One of the rare females he had seen in his time in the palace. She didn't treat him any differently either or try to suck up to him and rub herself all over him. Often, she even argued back with him when she felt his suggestions wouldn't work or could not be used in the current war.

It was a refreshing feeling.

Throughout these interactions, Bulma was always at his side so he had never spoken to her in an unofficial manner as yet. He was curious as to how this would go though. Would Aubrey be the same in private as she was in an official setting around the boardroom table?

His curiosity was getting the better of him, he was not going to lie.

Currently, all the royals were sitting in the boardroom with Minister Garick and Aubrey on the other side of the table. Bulma sat on his right, with his mother and father on his left as they discussed the ongoing war.

Aubrey had brought up another suggestion, and Vegeta once again found his eyes being drawn to her. He could feel his mother sneaking glances at him out of the corner of her eye at his behaviour, but he couldn't care. She didn't know the situation he was in and the need for him to find his true mate in time.

Maybe this Aubrey woman might do the trick.

She didn't seem terribly annoying that he would want to rip her head off as soon as he looked at her. She had intelligence for sure, maybe not as much as Bulma, but intelligence of a different kind. Her cleverness came from her experience on the battlefield and her knowledge of how people worked. It was rather intriguing to watch. She was also beautiful in her own way. The way her eyes would light up when she saw something catching her attention was mesmerising to witness.

So definitely not a bad option at all.

He tried to picture himself with her. Tried to imagine her in the throne next to him. Tried to imagine the feeling of coming back from a long and tiring mission, knowing she was the one waiting for him to come home. Tried to imagine her in his bed each night.

For some reason at these thoughts he felt a bit dead inside. He didn't have that rush of excitement he had felt when he had these thoughts of Bulma and the opportunity to even court her as his fake mate. But he would have to make do. At least he wasn't feeling absolute revulsion which was a start.

Okay he would have to make a plan to see if he could interact with her a bit more.

Bulma on the other hand was sitting next to Vegeta, slowly feeling her heart sinking deeper and deeper into her stomach. She was not dumb, she could see Vegeta's eyes transfixed on Aubrey. She had spent most of her life with Vegeta so she could clearly see on his face what he was thinking of.

He was considering Aubrey as an option for his true mate.

The thought made her chest hurt and she clasped her hands in her lap, wringing them slightly. Bulma knew what was happening between her and Vegeta was never meant to be forever, but she had come to fully acknowledge her feelings for him.

He was someone who she couldn't live without. He had been a part of her life for so many years and she had only recently realised that her attraction for him was real. She liked him, she wanted to be by his side, she wanted to be there to support him to be the best King Vegetasei had ever seen.

I love him.

The thought struck Bulma so suddenly that she literally jumped slightly in her chair. The realisation hitting her hard. Why now? Why of all times she has to realise this now?

She seriously doubted Vegeta felt the same way as her, taking into consideration he was still looking at other women as his true mate. Sure, there was definitely physical attraction between the two of them, but she was certain that it didn't run any deeper on Vegeta's side.

Sighing to herself she dropped her head slightly. She would just have to accept things as they were, it was probably best this way anyways.

Straight after the meeting, Bulma didn't wait for Vegeta she just left the conference room. Vegeta had exited the room slightly after her, looking at her strangely as he watched her retreating back down the hallway.

Wonder what's wrong with her?

Shrugging to himself, he made his way to the dining hall as all these meetings were making him hungry.

Upon entering the kitchen, he came across an unusual sight. Kakarot's mate was chatting amiably to Aubrey and giggling hysterically at something she had said. The two of them seemed to be getting on quite well.

Chichi caught sight of Vegeta from the corner of her eye and turned around to greet him.

"Oh hey there Prince Vegeta. Are you here for some snacks?" Chichi said waving at him.

At her words, Vegeta nodded in acknowledgement crossing his arms over his chest.

"Sure I'll just whip something up quick. You can go wait in the dining hall. I'll be about 10 minutes" ChiChi said turning back and heating up the stove.

Vegeta grumbled his thanks and turned around to make his way to the dining chamber. As he was leaving the room, he heard ChiChi speaking to Aubrey.

"You go wait in the dining hall too Aubrey. I won't be long".

Vegeta thinking this would be a good opportunity to chat to this Aubrey woman, took a seat at the dining table.

Aubrey spotting him at the table she cautiously took the seat opposite him. For Vegeta, that was the first sign she was different from all the other saiyan females he had known. She didn't take the opportunity to try to flatten her body against his the moment she got a chance.

"Okay tick that box. She's not a whore" Vegeta thought to himself, smirking slightly.

"So are you enjoying your stay at the palace so far?" Vegeta said addressing her. He cringed slightly at his words; he was never one for small talk. He just didn't know how to start the conversation.

"Yeah it's been good. It's nice to live indoors for a while. I've been out on the battlefield with the soldiers these last few months" she said wistfully glancing around at the high ceilings of the dining hall.

"Ah I miss the battlefield. It's been a while since I've been out there" Vegeta said, instantly regretting his words. She was out there fighting a war, not having fun training and purging.

At his words Aubrey chuckled slightly "It has its good and bad days. Not always the best of times when you're out there staying with a group of sweaty saiyans who have been fighting the whole day. You would think at least some of them would learn how to take a bath."

Vegeta chuckled, remembering the smell of a sweaty army all too well. "Trust me woman, I wouldn't keep my hopes up if I were you".

"I suppose you're right. But a girl can dream" she said smirking slightly.

After that the conversation descended into a slightly awkward silence. Neither of them really knew what to say to each other. Luckily only a few minutes later, ChiChi burst through the back doors, pushing a trolley loaded with food.

"Tuck in" she said jovially, once she unloaded the food onto the table for them both to have.

Vegeta tucked in immediately giving himself an excuse to ignore the awkward silence that had descended on him and Aubrey.

"That never happens with Bulma" Vegeta thought to himself as he stalked the palace corridors, thinking of the slightly awkward conversation he just had with Aubrey.

Bulma was just so damn easy to talk to. Most of the time he found himself searching for her presence so he could have a chat with her. Conversation with Bulma just flowed and they both were so relaxed around one another. Interacting with her was always an interesting experience that he looked forward to.

Ughhhhh he was never going to get anywhere if he kept comparing all his future mate options to Bulma.

Okay okay. At least it wasn't that bad of a conversation. She was tolerable and not a complete dimwit. She seemed quite down to earth which at least made her relatable. Maybe he could just mate her and never really have to interact much with her.

That was an option.

Right?

Shaking his head, he knew that would be hard. The king and queen would have to work closely together to make decisions and sound out ideas between each other for future plans. If Bulma's future queen training was teaching him anything, in fact he would be required to communicate a lot more with the Queen than he had initially thought.

Maybe he was jumping the gun a bit here. This was only his first conversation with her. She might get better soon.

"I shouldn't be so picky anyways. I only have 2 months till the crowning ceremony" he thought glumly to himself stalking down the corridors.

Author's note:

Oh no this Aubrey looks like trouble. Hope things don't de-rail too badly for our favourite couple :)