Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Butterflies & Hurricanes ❯ Chapter 5

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer:  I don’t own anything.  Just my Husband, laptop, my 3 dogs and a very overactive imagination… Dragon Ball Z and any songs mentioned in this fic DO NOT belong to me. I’m just borrowing them for my own twisted amusement.

Butterflies and Hurricanes

CHAPTER 5

Vegeta stormed down the hall of the royal wing on his way to go and meet his father in his office. He was not sure how to feel about it. Part of him was pumped and ready but another part of him was dreading it. After the comments and the attitude his father had displayed last night towards Bulma and Trunks, he knew that hoping for his father to change his mind and accept his choices was in vain.

He paused a moment when he reached his father’s private study room to make sure to mask any emotions that may betray him and reveal any possible weakness. Once he was sure that he was the perfect mask of indifference, he went in.

“You’re late!” his father boomed.

“You never specified the exact time,” Vegeta replied in a bored tone. Was his father really going to think he was going to sit here and allow him to talk down to him as though he was a child again? “After the disgraceful manner at which you treated my family, be lucky that you are still breathing and that I decided to even show up.”

“Do not presume to correct what you believe to be proper manners to me, boy!” He countered. “Just because you have far surpassed me in strength does not mean that you have won my respect.”

“It doesn’t? Since when, old man?” Vegeta asked in a mocking tone. “You always instructed me that strength was all that matters.”

“Strength alone cannot rule an empire.”

Vegeta nodded and snorted, “Really?”

The King narrowed his eyes at his son’s disrespectful tone and gave him a stern glare. “I have made many mistakes over the course of my rule-”

“You don’t say.” Vegeta feigned surprise.

“Do not sass me, boy!” he bellowed. “You may have far surpassed me in strength but I am still your father and more importantly your King.”

Vegeta finally sat down and across the desk from his father and regarded him carefully. His father had aged quite noticeably since he had seen him last. The lines in his face and crow’s feet around his eyes had deepened; his hair was beginning to grey slightly around his hairline and sideburns. Vegeta wondered briefly how old his father had to be; he had to be in his late 50’s early 60’s by now. Saiyans didn’t keep track of their birthdays all that much, but they had a long life span and he knew that in any case, his father was much too young to be looking as aged as he was.

Father and son sat across from one another, each glaring and sizing the other up for a long time.

“So what is it you wanted to discuss with me?” Vegeta finally asked. “I am certain you did not want me down here this morning to participate in a staring contest with you.”

“I wanted to discuss many things with you,” his father said.

“Then discuss them,” Vegeta sighed. “However the topic of Bulma and my son is off limits. I have nothing to say to you with regards to them and you have no opinion on them either.”

“They will never accept them, Vegeta.” his father sighed in annoyance. “I won’t, the council won’t and the people won’t. I will acknowledge that I obviously cannot change your mind where they are concerned but my advice to you is to send them both away and take an appropriate Saiyan female as your mate; you may go and visit them from time to time and look in on them if they are that important to you. If you cannot do that, then keep the female here as a mistress or concubine if you must; but you will need a Saiyan female to be your queen and produce an acceptable heir with for appearances sake. We may conceal the half breed here in the palace; I will not make you put him down, but he will have no position of any importance and you will not acknowledge him as your son.

“Heed my warning and take my council, Son,” his father continued. “They will have them assassinated if you don’t, you know that just as well as I do if you continue parading them around this way. I do not care which female you take, just so long as she is Saiyan. You can even have that damned Asia if you so wish it.”

Vegeta wrinkled his nose in disgust. “No. I will have no one else and that is the end of it,” he said firmly. “Now why did you insist on me coming home? I left a peaceful planet where I had my family settled to return here against my better judgment at your request.”

“You belong here!” his father bellowed. “Not out playing house with some lowly slave and this freak show farce of a family you have created. Do you honestly think that I believe that you would have been content to live your life out that way for the rest of your days?”

Vegeta gritted his teeth, knowing that his father was somewhat correct. Sure he loved Bulma and Trunks with every fiber of his being, but he would not have been content with that forever. As it was, he had been ready to step up and begin the next stage of his life and come back here, he thought guiltily. The slow paced, care free life he and Bulma had created together had been like a breath of fresh air to him after all they had been through together. He had never known peace and contentment like that; but now it was time for him to step up and become who he was supposed to become.

“That is irrelevant,” he growled dismissively. “I would have returned here eventually at some point. I only returned here when I did because of you. I was under the distinct impression that there was a war going on. I returned in anticipation of that. I have been craving a reason to test out my new abilities to their full extent, to stretch out my legs and finally see what I am fully capable of.

“I destroyed Frieza with such ease, it was almost disappointing. The thought of returning here amidst a war was exhilarating. Yet I return and things are as they always have been,” he said, gesturing around the room lazily. “I must say, I am thoroughly disappointed.”

“I see you are still just as arrogant a little shit as ever.”

“What can I say, I learned from the best,” he shrugged. “So why the urgency of my return?” he asked again.

“King Cold.”

“What about him?” he snorted. “I was expecting to come back to seeing the planet taken by him and his vermin Ice-jin soldiers. Or at least the planet to be in a state of readying themselves for a war.”

“We are not at war yet,” his father admitted. “I have much to fill you in on though.”

“Well, get on with it.”

“He is angry that you killed his son and like any other father, requests a blood debt to be repaid,”

“You already told me that,” Vegeta sighed in boredom. “What are we to do about him?”

“He wants for you to turn yourself in to him,” his father said.

“Well, then, where is he? I will gladly meet him wherever he is and take much delight in destroying him much like I did his son. I will even fill him in on the events and manner at which his son died: At my hands, humiliated and begging for his life like the coward he was!”

The king nodded. “I am afraid it is more complicated than that, Vegeta. He has rallied the other half of the galaxy in his favor. Should I not hand you over to him to do as he pleases, we will be facing a war upon epic proportions that I fear we cannot win.”

Vegeta sat there in silence a moment. “I will face him, but I will not apologize for the death of his son.”

“He isn’t seeking an apology!”

Vegeta shrugged. “Send me to him with an army. I will decimate him and whoever he has with him.”

“It isn’t that simple,” he sighed.

“How much more simple could it be?”

“There is a council meeting in an hour, we will discuss it more at length then. What I want to discuss now is where the hell you have been all this time? What happened after you left here last time?” he asked him. “Was there actually a mission from Frieza or was it an excuse to go and see the woman?”

Vegeta glared at him, not wanting to drop the subject of King Cold but relented and decided to somewhat fill his father in on his whereabouts seeing as he did not want to leave the subject alone. “I had no knowledge of her survival. The mission Frieza had sent me on was at the time unknowingly directly related to her. She sought me out in such a way that Frieza sent me on a mission to find out who was causing problems for several months. As it was, it turned out to be her and Kakarott as there was no way for them to safely make contact otherwise. Once we made contact, I abandoned the mission and that was that.”

His father shook his head at him. “You have any idea how pissed off Lord Frieza was at your disappearance? Do you know how bad that made me look that my own son disappeared off the face of the galaxy?”

Vegeta shrugged. “Do you think I gave two fucks?”

“Vegeta, you abandoned your post and people for the sake of a woman! I raised you to have better sense than that!” he yelled. “I had to take another mate and produce another heir because I had no idea what had happened to you! At my age to not have an heir and to have to start all over again! Do you know how that looks?”

“And that is my problem why?”

“You have brought disgust and shame on your name, my name and our entire race!” his father yelled. “When will you grow up and begin to make decent decisions? Decisions worthy of being a king?”

“Decisions like yours?” Vegeta challenged. “I would rather blow up this rock of a planet than be a failure king and a failure father like you, making failure decisions left, right and center!”

“I have made mistakes and there are things I would do differently if given the chance,” he admitted, “but mark my words, boy: you will learn that things are not so cut and dry when it is your turn to rule, Vegeta; and the rate at which you are going it will be a very long time before you will be ready and you are off to a very bad start if you do not shape up.”

“You have no idea of anything that I wish to accomplish! You have no idea who I am or who I have become yet you write me off as a failure!”

“You left, did not give any indication of where you were, if you were even alive for almost two years and you return with a weak alien female as your bonded mate and a half breed brat as an heir and you seem to think it to be completely acceptable!” his father argued. “How could you be so irresponsible? Once you learned that she lived, could that not have been enough? I told you when you first brought the wretched thing back with you to not bond with her and to never get her with child! Now she has poisoned your mind into thinking your union is to be something to rejoice about! From where I sit, so far you are nothing but a failure and will continue to be as such unless you begin to heed my council, you weak fool! I had nothing but high hopes for you!”

Vegeta chuckled darkly and shook his head. “She is off limits and not a topic of discussion.” His father glared at him for a long moment and Vegeta had to resist the urge to not laugh at him. He knew that look well. If he had still been a boy or if he had not surpassed his father in strength as much as he had, his father would have back handed him by now. “You know what I think? I think you are jealous.”

“Jealous? Of you!” the king snorted. “And what exactly do I have to be jealous of? You are trapped and bound to a weakling for the rest of your days and have produced a useless half breed mongrel for an heir. What exactly is there to be jealous of, boy?”

“I have ascended and have become the Legendary Super Saiyan, something you could never dream of attaining for yourself,” Vegeta gloated. “Your own weak mate did not last long and you are alone and miserable and only exist to watch your only son surpass you in every way imaginable.”

“You will mind how you speak of your mother!” he bellowed, his face reddening in anger. “She may have lacked physical strength, but she was worthy of being named queen of Vegeta-sei. She conducted herself with grace and honor the way a real queen should. There will never be a female as exemplary as her again and you will respect her memory.”

Vegeta nodded; he had meant no disrespect to his mother.

“You are the only real reminder that I have of her,” his father admitted quietly. “I only wish to see you succeed me.”

“I already have,” Vegeta said arrogantly. “I am stronger than any Saiyan has ever been.”

“Your strength at this point means nothing!”

“Would you care to join me on the training grounds and put that theory to the test?”

The King leaned back in his chair, still glaring at his son. “Your arrogance shall be your downfall. I care nothing of the woman and child you have brought back here with you but for their sakes, you had better reign that arrogance in and start thinking like a king. You will regret if it you don’t and should you fall, there will be no one who will protect them. For their sakes, you had better readjust your thinking.”

“Enough,” Vegeta sighed. “When am I to face King Cold?”

The King was silent for several moments, looking at his son with a stony glare. “Pretty much whenever you want.”

Vegeta nodded. “Then it is settled. As soon as my family is settled and I am confident of their safety, I will leave to face him. I will win and then return here. In the meantime, Bulma and Trunks will not be harmed or I will end you and everyone else whom I decide may wish them harmed.”

“They will not be harmed,” he said. “You have my word.”

“Good,” Vegeta grunted. “What else is on the agenda?”

“Nothing for now,” his father said. “There is a council meeting in less than an hour; I expect you to attend.”

“I will be there.” Vegeta nodded, getting up to leave.

“Son,” the king said just as he had reached the door. “I am glad you have returned. You look well.”

“I am well,” he grunted, sparing his father a quick, awkward glance.

“However the next time I request a private audience with you, you will not arrive reeking like you just rolled out of bed with that wench.” He said to him with a warning tone.

“And why not, father?” Vegeta challenged him. “In the past I have had to deal with accompanying you to both private and group meetings while you reek of several of your conquests from the previous night’s activities. I never commented or criticized knowing that it was not my place to do so. In turn, I demand the same courtesy. What I do and when with my mate does not concern you or anyone else.”

King Vegeta glared at his son, but only nodded once in reply. “I expect you to be at the council meeting.”

Vegeta left his father’s private office without further comment. He strode down the hallway confidently in the direction of the training grounds. He knew he didn’t have time for a work out or quick spar, but he wanted to check in on the soldiers. Many of which he had not seen since before he was sent back out in Frieza’s service again.

He waltzed into the training center as though he had never been gone and smirked as he saw several of his soldiers training hard. Some were off to the side doing drills, others were sparring. He took in a deep breath and smirked. He had missed this even more than he imagined. The humid atmosphere, the dense, musky smell of sweat and perspiration and the odd waft of blood in the air from over exertion and injury from possibly a broken nose here or there during a particularly intense sparring session.

Those are the best kind of spars, he thought to himself as he felt the slight rush of adrenalin flood through him. It was not the most pleasant of odours, but he did not find it offensive. It felt inviting and familiar and he embraced it like that of a long lost comrade he had not seen or heard from in ages.

The moment the door closed behind him the men all quit what they were doing and came to an immediate stand-still.

Vegeta smirked at his men.

"Your Highness!" Several of them exclaimed, dropping everything they were doing to greet their prince.

"It is good to see you my prince!"

"Where have you been all this time?"

"Is it true, your highness that it was you who slayed Lord Frieza?"

He was bombarded with questions immediately from some of them. He wasn't quite sure what to say. It surprised him. He had been under the distinct impression from his father that everyone was disgusted with him and that everyone would shun him and no one would follow him. Perhaps he had been referring to only the council members but that certainly did not seem to be the case with his men, his fellow soldiers he had trained with and lead in many missions over the years both under his father’s order and under Frieza’s service.

Instead of shunning him as he had half expected, they seemed elated at his return and were quite eager to know of his whereabouts for the last two years.

"Prince Vegeta," Nappa greeted him. "It is good that you have returned."

Vegeta nodded. has taken leadership in my absence?"

"I have, you're highness." Nappa replied.

"And how are my men?" He asked, looking them over. They all looked well. He was not worried; Nappa would not have allowed them to slack off in their training just because he was not around.

"Fat and bored," the bald Saiyan scoffed.

Several of the men chuckled. "Spoiling for a fight!" One of them called out.

"Is it true, Prince Vegeta? Have you ascended?" One of the other soldiers asked eagerly.

Vegeta smirked. "Now where would you have heard a rumor such as that?"

"Kakarott told me all about it last night," Raditz piped up. "It’s the talk of the kingdom, you're highness. It has been since news that rumor has it that it was you who destroyed Lord Frieza."

"Hmmmmn. is the clown this morning?" He asked, noting Kakarott’s absence.

"Not sure," Raditz shrugged. "At my parents I think with his mate."

"If you see him, tell him I need to see him immediately."

"Of course, your highness."

"So is it true?" Nappa asked eagerly.

Vegeta nodded once. "It is."

"I knew it!"

"Can you show us? Can we see it?" Several of them asked excitedly.

"Enough," he growled, feigning annoyance. In truth he was dying to gloat about his transformation. "You will all see it soon enough. Now tell me what is the status of everyone's training? I have been told there is a war brewing. We will soon be facing King Cold in battle. I expect that defeating him will not be a challenge.

"I single handedly destroyed Lord Frieza with my own bare hands; I beat him down, humiliated him and took his head off," he announced. "With relative ease I might add." A few of the soldiers cheered and applauded him.

"I may be able to annihilate Cold on my own, of that I am certain. However I wish for all of you to join me in battle; fight with me at my side. We will bring honor to the Saiyan race by destroying the Ice-jin's influence and control over not only us but the entire galaxy once and for all.

"We will begin a new era. An era where we are the protectors of this side of the galaxy, not destroyers. We will make for ourselves a new empire. An empire where we are no longer slaves; an empire where we make our own choices in the alliances we make and the Saiyan race will once again be respected throughout the universe; not feared and despised as we are now."

“We would follow you to the end of the universe and back, my Prince.” Nappa said.

“Good.” Vegeta said. “Then it shall be done. Whatever training regimen you have all been doing will be doubled. I expect to leave to face Cold within a few weeks. I will take along with me whomever is capable, which will hopefully be all of you.

“I will personally train with each and every one of you; we will all improve and surpass our own personal best and achieve levels far beyond what any of you have ever hoped to achieve. Work with me, and it will be so.”

Almost all of the soldiers saluted their prince or gave verbal agreement.

“I would be honored to train alongside you, my Prince.” Several of them said.

Vegeta smirked at them. “Very well. I have matters to see to today with my father and several meetings to attend. You all have leave to do as you wish today; you may continue to train or take the remainder of the day to do as you please, it is at your discretion. Know that beginning tomorrow, we will start our new training regimen and there will be no breaks or down time; we will train relentlessly until Cold is dead by my hand.”

Several of the men hollered in agreement.
“I will see you all tomorrow morning then. I will be personally accessing each and every one of you,” he announced. “My advice is to rest up, as I will not go easy on any of you. Good day.”

“Aren’t you going to at least tell us where you’ve been, you’re highness?” Nappa asked eagerly as he turned to leave. “You’ve been gone almost two years.”

Vegeta stood there thoughtfully a moment, debating on whether or not to tell them. He knew he could trust each and every one of them, but would they still be willing to follow him in battle if they knew he had taken Bulma as his mate and had returned with both her and Trunks at his side?

He decided to tell them. He was not ashamed of his choices and if they would not follow him because of his choices, he did not want them.

“I served under Lord Frieza as his First Lieutenant, as you all know, following his last visit here,” he began, turning back to face them. He supposed it was best to get all of this out into the open now and find out which of his men were truly loyal to him and which ones weren’t. He was unsure of how many would be accepting, but he would carry on without them if need be. He only hoped he was not endangering Bulma and Trunks by revealing their presence. “I believed Bulma, my concubine and Kakarott, my First Lieutenant to have both been deceased by Frieza and so I served him for eight long months.”

“We were all grieved by their passing, your Highness.”

“I did not agree with what happened, my Prince.”

Many of them called out in anger and outrage over what had happened.

“Thank you. However I learned of their survival,” he announced. “They cleverly sought me out and so I abandoned my post with that vile lizard and remained somewhere secluded. Kakarott is alive and well. We have trained and he is more powerful than even he ever thought he could become and I expect you all to achieve the same. For his loyal service in caring for what is mine and for achieving levels far surpassing the rank of a third class Saiyan, I have promoted him to Elite. He retains his position as my First Lieutenant. As for the Woman, she is no longer my concubine, she is my mate.”

Several of the men were quiet for a moment as they took in the information.

“The same blue haired woman you had before?” Nappa asked in shock. “That tavern wench?”

Vegeta simply nodded in response.

“Nice!” one of the men from the back shouted.

“She is to be treated with respect as Princess of Vegeta-sei. That she is not Saiyan is irrelevant, she is more than worthy to stand at my side as my mate. It is by means of her brilliant mind that I was able to ascend and take my birthright as Legendary; for helping me to attain that, she has my respect, along many other qualities that are not up for discussion nor are they any of your business.”

A few men chuckled at his statement, assuming he was alluding to other things.

“It is by these means that we shall train together and achieve the strongest military force Vegeta-sei has ever had in history.” he said confidently. “Lord Frieza in his anger at my absence found her and took her from me. I went after him, humiliated and destroyed him for taking what is mine and threatening her life, as I will do to anyone who even considers doing the same. After much consideration, we have returned here with my heir, Trunks Vegeta. They are to be left alone, they cause no threat or harm to anyone. I ask for your allegiance. Anyone who disagrees with my choice in mate may leave and train elsewhere, I will not be requiring your services.”

“Your highness, no one cares.” Nappa chuckled.

“I met Kakarott’s woman and brat yesterday,” Raditz said. “She’s great.”

“We remember your woman, Sire. She was awesome.”

“Didn’t deserve what happened to her.”

“Remember that number she did-?”

Vegeta looked at Nappa in confusion. “My father said,”

“Your father is the only one who has spoken against you over it.” Nappa said. “The rest of us couldn’t care less.”

“If anything, we all wished we could have congratulated you on killing Zarbon.” one of them said, which initiated several of them shouting out in agreement.

“Zarbon,” Vegeta growled, wrinkling his nose in disgust. “That fool.”

“None of us could have done it.”

“Though we all wished it had been us.”

“You were a hero over it, sire.”

“Did he hurt her?”

“No, he did not.” Vegeta answered quickly, not wanting to rehash that event. “He would have, had I not intervened.”

“I would have gone after him had I known.”

“A delicate thing like her wouldn’t-”

“Enough!” Vegeta growled. “I appreciate your support on the matter, however I do not wish to discuss it any further. All you need to know is that it was then that I first learned of my ascension and that I easily beat him to a pulp.”

“Good on you!”

He smirked at them, feeling at ease. “I must go and see to a few things. I will return early tomorrow and I expect all of you to be here.”

“We will!”

“Say hello to that gorgeous woman of yours.”

Vegeta shook his head as he left them, feeling at ease and at the same time very surprised by their reactions. It would seem his father had been either terribly ill-informed or had lied to him with regards to public opinion, or at least the opinion of his men. From what he could tell, they were still his men. He would find out soon enough, he decided.

He would not mention to his father how things had gone with the soldiers just now. He decided it would be more prudent to make him believe that either he was right or that he believed his father’s lies.

Woman?

Hey, how’s it going? She replied cheerfully. Your father kick us out yet?

No. What are you doing? Did Kakarott come and get you yet?

Yea, I’m at the lab with Bardock. Vegeta, I don’t know how this is going to work.

How do you mean?

It’s just, I’m trying to help Bardock with a project and Trunks is being really fussy. She complained. I fed him and changed him and he just won’t settle in. Not in his carrier, not on the floor. Bardock even took us back to our place and I grabbed his play pen because I thought that might be more comfortable, seeing as it’s familiar to him and I brought Aro back to the lab to hang with him since
Aro seems to calm him down a bit and nothing is working. Poor Bardock must be ready to lose his mind!

Give it a few days, the brat just needs to adjust to new surroundings that is all. He will adapt. Just do not fuss over him like you do. Leave him be, he will settle on his own.

And if he doesn’t, Vegeta? I can’t deal with this and never mind me, this is unfair to Bardock. We’ve accomplished nothing today.

We will figure it out. Aside from that, everything is alright?

Yea. How about with you?

It is fine. I spoke with my father this morning.

Oh yea. How did that go? She asked sarcastically.

About as well as to be expected.

Sorry, she said. Wanna come rescue me from going insane by means of a very angry infant? Come take us for lunch or something? Bardock would be grateful for the reprieve.

I cannot. He answered. I have a council meeting I must attend. Have Bardock take you back if the brat is being too much of a nuisance. I have something for you to work on anyway that could take you a few days and you could work on it in the suite.

Ooh! What’s that? She asked eagerly.

I met with the soldiers and we need a strict training regimen as soon as possible. I was hoping to use the gravity simulator. However it is only big enough to accommodate three maybe four Saiyan soldiers at the moment; that is not enough. I either need a much larger simulator or several of them.

Hmmm, a bigger one could be interesting and probably far more effective in the long run. Although I would have to go through the schematics and recalculate the configurations to-

Can it be done, woman? He interrupted her before she lost him in her technological babble in which he knew absolutely nothing about.

Of course it can, Vegeta. I am a genius after all. It would just take me some time.

Good. Take Trunks and head back to my quarters and work on that. I will be back once I am finished this blasted meeting.

Sounds good, then poor Bardock can maybe get some work done today. Have fun in your meeting!

Vegeta groaned inwardly at her teasing remark as he finally reached his destination and stood outside the council room doors. He really did not feel like sitting through a boring meeting that would likely last most of the afternoon if not the rest of the day. However, he could not avoid it now.

In he went.

To his surprise the room was mostly empty with the exception of Asia and Paragus.

“Prince Vegeta, how good of you to join us.” Paragus greeted with false politeness.

Vegeta glared at him and took his usual place at the end of the table, on the right hand side where he usually sat during these tedious meetings.

“I am sorry, your highness, but that is no longer your seat,” Paragus informed him.

“Is it not?” Vegeta asked. “And whose seat is it, then? The right hand of the King. Yours, I take it?”

“It is, my prince,” Paragus nodded. “Has been for some time now.”

Vegeta shrugged rudely. “Find another.”

Paragus glared at him, but made no effort to push his point any further.

“How is Bulma today?” Asia asked with a fake smile. “She seemed rather upset last night.”

“She is well.” He answered.

“Did you speak with your father this morning?” she asked. “I know he was anticipating a private meeting with you.”

“I did,” he nodded.

“And how did that go?”

“Fine.” he replied. “When is this all important council meeting to begin?”

“Shortly.” Paragus answered. “Why? Do you have more pressing matters to attend to, by all means you are welcome to attend to them. We have done well enough without your input in your absence.”

“I think I will stay,” Vegeta said with an evil grin. “I would love to know the damage you have done in my absence. Not to mention, I am very interested in knowing about the state of this supposed war that is brewing with King Cold. Is there an actual war or was it just a well fabricated lie crafted by my father to guilt me into returning?”

Paragus smirked at him. “As a matter of fact, your highness, there is a war brewing. Your assistance in the matter will be greatly appreciated, please forgive my thoughtless comments.”

“There is no need for flattery, Paragus,” Vegeta snorted. “You and I have never gotten along and I know you detest me. So cut the bullshit and tell me everything you know with regards to Cold.”

“As you wish, my Prince. My intel has knowledge of Cold’s current whereabouts. Rumor has it he has only a small army at his command.”

“Well, find out. I need more than just rumors.”

“I have it on good authority it is more than just rumors, my prince. Either way, it should be very easy for you to overpower and defeat him with the men already at our disposal; that is if any of them will follow you after you’ve shown up here nearly two years from the last time you were here without word or sound of their prince and general.”

Vegeta smirked at Paragus’ snarky remarks. “I would not worry about that end if I were you, let me worry about my men and if they will choose to follow me or not. I think you will find, they are not as fickle and easily swayed by petty gossip as the masses.”

“For your sake, I should certainly hope so.” Paragus said. “Excuse me a moment, I will return in a moment for the meeting, which should be starting at any moment.”

Vegeta narrowed his eyes as Paragus left the room.

“I am glad you’re back.” Asia said to him once her father was gone.

“Are you, now?”

“I am,” she nodded. “I’m sorry for my behavior the last time we spoke.”

He frowned at her, trying to think of everything that had happened last night.

“Not yesterday, I meant when you returned the last time from your tour with Frieza and then you left again,” She said. “I conducted myself horribly.”

He smirked and nodded. “Grown up, have we? It’s a good thing then that nothing did happen between us, you ended up with something far greater. You’re queen now, must be nice.”

“Actually, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”

“It isn’t?” he asked in a surprised tone. “I thought it was everything you ever wanted.”

She shrugged. “It was, however I think if it had been you and me it would have been much more fun, however then I would not have my son; maybe you are right and it is best things turned out the way they did.”

“Uh huh,” he sighed.

Before she had a chance to say anything further, Vegeta’s father followed by several other council members and Paragus finally filed into the room and took their seats. Most of them nodded at Vegeta, acknowledging his presence.

“I would like to begin this meeting by welcoming back my son.” The King said.

Vegeta cringed inwardly and nodded as he was greeted by each council member a second time from some of them. It was going to be a very long afternoon.

-0-0-0-

They eventually settled into an odd routine. Vegeta was usually gone already to train by the time Bulma woke up. It seemed no matter how early she was up with Trunks, he would already be gone and would return back to her late at night a few hours after she'd crawl into bed.

Sometimes he would wake her and he would for an hour or so give her his complete and undivided attention. Other times he didn't, but she knew he was there. She would always sleep better once he came to their bed. Even when they didn't do anything intimate and he would just hold her close it seemed to just make everything better for that short amount of time.

They had only been on Vegeta-sei a week and already she could feel him withdrawing emotionally from her a little bit more each day. It was beginning to frighten her somewhat; knowing that whatever he was going through with his training and his father was weighing heavily on him.

Bulma would spend her days confined to either their quarters working on plans for a larger gravity simulator or the lab with Bardock once Kakarott got around to escorting her there since she wasn't allowed to wander the halls of the palace on her own.

She finished her breakfast for the morning and got herself and Trunks dressed for the day. As she let Aro back into their room she couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor Shepherd. He hadn't been walked since they'd arrived on Vegeta-sei. The several weeks they'd been on the ship he had been pretty confined as well. She couldn't remember the sat time she'd had a good ball toss with him.

Bulma stood outside on the balcony for a moment contemplating leaving the palace on her own for a bit. Even if it's just for half an hour, she decided. She knew Vegeta would be more than pissed with her, but she was so bored with the way things were going that she really didn't care.

She changed into a comfortable pair of pants that used to be loose on her but now felt a bit snug in the waist. She sighed in frustration. "That does it." She said to herself. Just because she was a mom now didn't mean she had to compromise and let herself go. She knew she looked pretty good for a girl who'd just had a baby but she supposed there was always room for improvement. She wasn't doing herself or anyone else any good hanging out over here every day doing nothing.

She threw her pair up in a high ponytail and managed to find a pair of sunglasses while rifling through her old stuff. She put on a modest t shirt, made sure she had her pendent on for both herself and Trunks before hooking Aro up on his leash. She chuckled at him as he began to get excited when he saw his leash; he was anticipating going for a walk apparently.

Bulma quickly put a hat on Trunks before picking him up, opened the door and poked her head out. There was no one out in the hallway from what she could tell. She stood at the doorway for another moment; debating on whether or not to go through with this plan of hers. Vegeta would not be happy with her. It occurred to her then that maybe he'd like to take a break from all the political nonsense.

Hey, Vegeta? She called to him. She figured she'd not get a response from him. Unless she was upset, he usually didn't reply to her. She waited for a few moments. “Screw it. I'm going.” She sighed under her breath and off they went.

Bulma walked quickly and quietly down the hallway, passing a few palace slaves as she went. She smiled, nodded and said hello to all of them. Who cares if the king didn't like it? She thought to herself. She saw a few palace guards as well and acknowledged them politely, cringing inwardly and hoping they would not stop her from leaving. Soon she made it to the huge doors and she left the palace.

Bulma took a deep breath, taking in the fresh air and warm breeze and sunshine. She walked down the long steps and stopped once she reached the bottom.

"Now which way should we go, Aro?" She asked the Shepherd. She decided to walk to the left and stay close to the palace so she wouldn't get lost.

She shuffled Trunks onto her other arm, wishing she had a stroller; he sure was getting heavy already.

She walked with Aro all the way around the palace, it hadn't taken her nearly as long as she thought it would and decided to take him around again once more seeing as the palace grounds seemed to be more or less deserted; she didn't see the harm. So off she went.

They made it about half way when she noticed a tall Saiyan male standing by the back exit of the palace by himself. He wasn't doing anything, just standing there quietly by himself. Bulma was sure she hadn’t seen him before, not that she had met that many people the last time she was here. She vaguely remembered Vegeta’s companions the night she and Vegeta had met. One was a huge, muscular, bald giant. The other was also really tall but his hair was almost down to the ground. That was all she could remember.

This male was also very tall, well she supposed everyone was tall in comparison to Vegeta. However he wasn't bulky in build like most of the Saiyans she had seen. She loved that Vegeta was sleeker in his build and not bulky like most of the other Saiyan males seemed to be. Kakarott was a tad more on the bulky side than what she liked.

This guy was tall and lean. He had the typical dark Saiyan features, but his expression wasn't as harsh as most of the race seemed to put off. His hair was long, but flowed behind his back neatly; she could not tell how long it was.

Bulma couldn't help but look at him. She wasn't sure if she should say anything to him or not. He was looking right at her and she figured in that case it would be rude of her to not acknowledge him.

She smiled at him as they made eye contact. Though he just continued to look at her with a blank, almost vacant stare. How odd. She thought to herself.

Not knowing what else to do, she kept walking. "Hello," she said as she walked by him. He was watching her intently and she couldn't read his expression. If she thought Vegeta had a straight poker face that she had difficulty reading, he had nothing on this guy.

Alright, whatever, she thought to herself, shrugging it off. At least she'd made the effort.

She kept going but couldn't shake the awkward feeling that he was still watching her. Against her better judgment she turned to look back at him and sure enough, he was still watching her closely. It was weird and just a little bit creepy she decided.

Bulma quickened her pace just a bit, wanting to head back into the palace and to the confines of her room as quickly as possible.

What is wrong? She heard Vegeta ask.

Nothing, she lied.

No, you are bothered about something. He persisted. Are you alright?

So now you want to talk to me? She snipped irritably at him.

What are you on about?

I tried to talk to you earlier and you didn't reply.

Were you in danger? He asked.

No.

Were you in need of assistance?

No.

Then?

I'm bored, Vegeta! She wined. There's nothing for me to do, nowhere for me to go.

Woman, I cannot sit around with you all day or bring you and the child with me.

Okay, but can you maybe show me around outside the palace maybe? So I can get out a little bit? I'm going stir crazy.

No. He replied somewhat harshly. Just stay in. It is not safe for you to be wandering about on your own.

But I'm not on my own, she objected. I have Aro and Trunks with me.

You know what I mean, he deadpanned. Did Kakarott not come get you today?

No, not yet. What are you doing now? Come get me. Let's go for a walk. Aro needs it. I'm bored. Show me around the outside the palace. Take me out and show me your planet. Please?

He was quiet a long moment and she figured he was distracted by whatever he was supposed to be doing. Later. He finally replied. You are alright? No one has come to trouble you?

Yes. I'm fine, she said already back to the palace entrance and climbing the stairs. Still there was no one in sight.

There is a banquet tonight, celebrating our arrival.

You mean Your arrival. She corrected.

Our arrival. He insisted. We shall attend as a couple or not at all.

Oohh that could be interesting, she teased. You sure you wanna be seen with the likes of me? They may boo us out and throw things at us. Case in point, are you sure I’m even invited?

Do not be foolish. He growled. Just have yourself and the brat ready in a few hours. I will come to get you and do not dress the boy in any ridiculous garments.

No worries, I won't. Anything specific you want or don't want me to wear?

Blue.

You want me to wear blue or you don’t want me to wear blue?

Wear something blue. He clarified.

That’s it? Just blue?

What are you going on about, Woman?

You have no further opinion on what I wear?

What further opinion do you want? He asked irritably.

Oh, I don’t know, light blue? Dark blue? Something Sexy or something elegant? She rattled off in a teasing tone.

There was a long pause. Surprise me, he finally replied.

Alright, will do. She answered. I’ll leave you to whatever it is you’re doing and see you later. What are you doing by the way? She was already back and inside the confines of Vegeta’s quarters by this time. She thought briefly about worrying on being lost in the huge palace. It wasn’t that hard to find her way around.

I am in a council meeting, a very boring council meeting.

You can’t ditch? She asked hopefully, though knew the chances were highly unlikely.

No, I cannot. I will see you when I come later to get you. Make sure you are ready to go when Kakarott comes to get you.

See you then. Love you.

He didn’t respond further but Bulma didn’t take offence. She knew he was busy and stressed out. She hoped that maybe tonight he could take the opportunity to just chill through the evening, though she knew the possibility of that was slim to none.

Bulma unhooked Aro and opened up the balcony door before grabbing him a bowl of water. She smiled at him as he drank; maybe she should have left him behind, she thought to herself. It was really sad she just couldn’t give him the time he needed. Not that he was any trouble, she just felt bad that she couldn’t give him the exercise he needed because she wasn’t supposed to leave. She decided that she would talk to Vegeta about it tonight. Hopefully he would be in a decent mood this evening.

Bulma placed Trunks into his baby carrier as he had fallen asleep again. She hoped that he would sleep the rest of the morning while she was getting fitted. He was usually pretty good so she wasn’t overly concerned.

About twenty minutes later, there was a knock at the door. It was Kakarott.

He picked up Trunks and off they went. Bulma was thrilled that they were attending this banquet thing as well. She would have someone to talk to at least.

“Here we are,” Kakarott announced cheerfully. “You remember Amira, right?”

“I do,” she nodded, feeling somewhat relieved that the talented seamstress was still there.

“Hey, would you like me to take Trunks back with me?” he asked, looking at the now awake child.

“Where are you going?” she asked somewhat in alarm but then felt bad for asking him that. She knew Kakarott would never do anything to put Trunks in danger. Vegeta’s paranoia was obviously beginning to rub off on her. “Sorry, that’s fine, but I don’t know how long I will be.”

“I’ll just take him back to my mother’s place, if that’s alright. Chi-Chi is there with Goten. She’s getting ready for the evening and my parents aren’t attending so they offered to watch Goten and even Trunks for you and Vegeta for the evening. I can bring Trunks back to you first thing tomorrow morning.” Kakarott offered between making silly faces at Trunks, making the baby laugh.

“Are you sure they won’t mind? I don’t want to impose,” she said, looking at Trunks. “And I don’t know if Vegeta would agree with that, not that he doesn’t trust you or your family, I know he does, but-”

“It’ll be fine, Bulma. I’ll talk to him after I drop Trunks off and come take you back to his room,” Kakarott said easily. “Come on, Bulma. He and Goten haven’t seen each other since we got here and my mom is dying to meet the new heir and you as well, actually.”

Bulma nodded. “Alright,” she agreed. “But if it’s too much trouble, bring him back.”

“Not a problem, he’ll be fine, Bulma; you’ll see. It’ll be good for you and Vegeta too. I know he’s stressed to the max.”

“Yea,” she sighed.

“Okay, I’m going to go. I’ll go grab a few things from your room and then head off with Trunks. I’ll be back in about an hour, alright?” he said.

“Sounds good, thank you, Kakarott.”

“Don’t mention it! Chi-Chi and my mother will be thrilled.” he said and turned down the hallway, leaving Bulma there. She hoped Vegeta would be alright with the arrangement for the evening. She just wanted to have a nice evening with him. Hopefully they could have that tonight.

Bulma walked into the seamstress’ shop.

“Hello?” she called out, knocking on the door as she walked in.

“Hi there,” a feminine voice greeted, though she could not see anyone. “Oh, it’s you.” she said coming out from behind a wall.

“Hi,” Bulma nodded.

“I heard rumors that you were back here,” she said. “Though I didn’t believe it. Wow! Who’d have thought!”

“Yea, it’s pretty wild,”

“So are you here for a gown for this evening?” Amira asked.

“I am, if it’s not too short notice.”

“Not at all. I have a few things actually already in the works that could work. Come take a look and it won’t take me long to alter something and finish it for you for this evening.”

“Thank you,” Bulma said gratefully.

“Something blue?” she asked.

“Yes, please. It’s Vegeta’s, I mean the Prince’s favorite.”

“I know it is,” she said knowingly. “Alright. Now what exactly are you looking for? I have some small dresses that I have started and never completed that I think would fit you perfectly. Since I saw you last, I had ordered a bunch of patterns to fit your small frame. Unfortunately, you weren’t around long enough last time. Here, have a look at these,” she said, handing Bulma a few different pattern designs.

“Thank you,” Bulma said, looking through them eagerly. It was going to be hard to choose one being that they were all beautiful. “Oh wow, these are exquisite.”

“I like this one,” Amira said, pulling out a pattern of a very sexy ball gown with a plunging neckline and high slits on both sides.

“That is beautiful,” Bulma agreed, looking at the picture. “But I think I need something a little less revealing.”

“You’re still the prince’s concubine, are you not?” Amira asked shortly. “I think it’s perfect. You certainly have the figure to pull it off.”

“Thank you,” Bulma nodded, feeling her face grow warm. “Umm, actually, I’m not his concubine anymore, I’m his mate.”

“Oh,” she said in surprise. “I did hear that, though I thought that had been just a rumor. Alright then, so you need something elegant; this is your first official appearance as mates then I take it?”

“It is, yes,”

“Alright, well, I think you need to make a statement then,” she said with a smile. “It has been the talk of the palace that the Prince returned with someone; there are several stories and theories going around. I had heard that it was you, but dismissed it as it was reported that you had been killed.

“So I think we need to whip you up something special. Something dramatic yet intricate, sexy but still elegant and modest-”

“I don’t need anything too over the top, really. Asia might get upset.” Bulma cut her off quickly.

“The queen has the most exquisite wardrobe at her disposal already, worry not.” Amira said, waving her hand in dismissal. “You must have something amazing, I insist on it! Do you know how many women I have fitted for gowns today in hopes of catching the eye of the Prince?”

“I thought you said there was a rumor he had someone?”

“Exactly that, it is just a rumor, no one knows for sure; no one has seen him or heard from him in a long time. Therefore, we need to find you the perfect dress.”

“Alright,” Bulma agreed with a smile. In truth, she wanted something amazing to wear and wanted to look her absolute best seeing as it would be her and Vegeta’s first official appearance together; she was nervous and afraid of the reception she would get. Would people be accepting or would they be outraged? She figured she may as well look her best.

She continued to flip through several design patterns on the table, it was no easy task, seeing as all of the dresses were stunning. She flipped through two or three more when she noticed one dress that immediately caught her eye. “This is it,” she said, turning it around to show Amira. “If you have the time,”

Amira smiled and nodded. “I think it’s perfect!” she agreed. “And I have a very similar dress pattern that is already half made up. It will take nothing for me to alter it a little and add some of these finer details.”

Bulma smiled, satisfied with her choice.

“Now, come with me, I have to take your measurements and fit the existing dress to you,” she said, leading Bulma away to the back of her workshop. “And in the meantime, I want to hear everything that happened since I saw you last.”

-0-0-0-

After about an hour, Amira was satisfied with what she had created and let Bulma leave with Kakarott so she could finish the remaining alterations and finer details without interruption; Bulma’s dress would be complete within just a few hours.

Kakarott escorted Bulma back to her and Vegeta’s suite so that she could get ready for the evening.

“I told Vegeta about Trunks,” he said. “He wasn’t overly thrilled, but in the end I convinced him that it was alright.”

“How did he seem?”

“Who? Vegeta? Or Trunks?”

“Both, I guess,” Bulma shrugged, though she had more been asking about Vegeta.

“Oh, well, Trunks was fine. He and Goten seemed really happy to see each other, so they’re fine. My mother is watching them and Chi-Chi is getting ready for tonight,” Kakarott told her. “And Vegeta isn’t in the best of moods, but I’m sure he’ll cheer up. I let him know that the two of you are invited over for breakfast tomorrow at my parents place when you come to pick up Trunks.”

“Really? I would love to, but I don’t want to impose any more than I already am by leaving Trunks over there.”

“It’s not an issue, Bulma,” Kakarott shrugged. “Besides, Chi-Chi really misses you and it would be good for you to know where we’re staying just if you want to leave Trunks again, then you know he’s fine and it’s not far from the palace so you can maybe come visit Chi-Chi and Goten any time you want.”

“Yeah, right, like Vegeta would allow that ever.”

“He might,” Kakarott shrugged. “I’ll convince him, you’ll see.”

“Alright, I’ll leave that in your hands then,” she sighed.

“I’ll see you later on, Bulma.” Kakarott said once they reached Vegeta’s quarters. “Hey, I wanted to get something nice for Chi-Chi for tonight. Any ideas?”

Bulma smiled at her friend. “Aren’t you sweet,”

“Well, I haven’t since she became my mate and she found a really pretty dress at the market earlier and I thought it would make her happy to have something nice to wear with it?”

“Just go get her something matching,” Bulma shrugged. “Like some flattering jewelry or something. Did you see the dress she got?”

“Yea,”

“Alright, get her a bracelet or a really pretty necklace and matching earrings to go with it. Every girl loves jewelry and accessories; you can’t go wrong with that.” she suggested.

“Thank you, Bulma.”

“Sorry I’m not more helpful,”

“No, that helps a lot, actually.” he said. “See you guys later.”

“See ya.” Bulma replied, heading into their suite. Truth be told, she was feeling a little bit excited to go to this thing this evening. She figured she had a couple of hours to prepare and decided on taking a bath, washing her hair and just relaxing and taking her time to get ready.

She checked in on Aro, who had gone back to sleeping on the balcony once he noticed it was only her entering the suite. She grabbed a glass and a bottle of wine and set to running herself a nice, hot bath; she hadn’t had one in so long, the thought to herself. Not since she had been here last. She quickly dismissed the memory of the last time; that had been the night Vegeta had been upset over learning that she would be preforming for Frieza’s visit. Everything had gone bad after that.

She shook her head in an attempt to shake off the bad memory.

Bulma poured herself a glass of wine and slipped into the deep tub as the warm water continued to run.

She smiled to herself as she thought about the evening to come.

Amira had been helpful and had given her some insight on what was happening here. According to her, half the kingdom had been in an uproar over what had happened to her what with Frieza blowing up the ship she and Kakarott had been on.

It hadn’t specifically been that, though, it had been the way the King had handled it. When rumors that Vegeta had taken Bulma as his mate had gotten out many of the people had been horrified not at the thought that he may have taken a slave as his mate but at the callous way by which King Vegeta had written off the whole situation. He had written off his son and only heir who had been well loved and respected throughout the planet by the people and his peers after Vegeta had not only lost his mate but had been brutally beaten by Frieza for doing so and then sent out to serve under him.

The King had not once showed an ounce of sympathy towards his son but instead spoke out against him and his character, making his son out to be weak minded and foolish. Therefore, public opinion in the palace and around the planet as a whole was that Vegeta bailed on his post as Lord Frieza’s First Lieutenant, betrayed his father and assassinated Lord Frieza as a means of avenging both her and Kakarott’s supposed deaths.

Shortly after Vegeta’s last appearance on the planet Vegeta-sei, his father had taken Asia as his mate and produced a new heir. This as well caused something of a scandal. While no one knew where their prince was, everyone knew that he was alive and well and that he should have been revered for slaying Frieza. Not pushed aside and be spoken of as though he were a deceased traitor of his race.

Bulma could not help but feel somewhat relieved that for the most part, people seemed to be happy that Vegeta had returned, despite the king’s slanderous remarks to everyone about him. She wondered how much the king had really said and how much of it was done by Paragus. Vegeta had been very vague, but she knew he and the King’s advisor were not getting along. She wouldn’t put it past the miserable man to go around and spread lies about them to turn public opinion against both Vegeta and herself. If he was, it didn’t seem to be helping. With the exception of the king, no one seemed to care that he had chosen her. Everyone she had met so far had been polite to her. Though she wondered if that was because they weren’t sure who she was. She supposed after tonight everyone would know that she was indeed their Prince’s mate so it could change. She decided to not dwell on it; whatever would be, would be.

Bulma shut off the water and fully immersed herself in the warm water, revelling in the heat. She shut her mind off and tried to not think of anything but the relaxing feeling of the warm water enveloping her body. This would be her new favorite pastime. She told herself.

She lay back in the tub for a few minutes, basking in the complete silence. She opened her eyes and sat up, leaning against the back of the tub, bringing her knees up to her chest. She took a sip of wine and watched the water ripple as she made figure eights and other circular motions in the water. It felt like an eternity since she’d had any time just to herself of peace and quiet. No crying or fussing; it was almost odd. She fought back the slight pang of guilt at allowing Kakarott to take Trunks.

She was quite content with the silence, not realizing how much she missed it. Did that make her a horrible mother to have just let someone take him so that she could relax this afternoon and so that she and Vegeta could have an evening out and to themselves? She hoped not. She loved Trunks dearly, but as of late he had been so fussy. She didn’t know if he was just teething or still adjusting to their new surroundings. She had been trying to keep him on a consistent routine of feedings and naps. Though now by letting someone else care for him that would be out the window. So much for trying to establish that, she scoffed to herself.

Bulma wondered how her parents were doing. She hoped they were alright. Her mother would have known what to do with Trunks, and how to deal with all this drama. Her mother was always good at turning an awkward situation around.

As she sat in the tub, allowing her mind to jump to all sorts of random thoughts for a while before she noticed her hands beginning to prune up and decided it was time to come out. She quickly washed her hair before shaving her legs and exfoliated herself; she wanted to make sure she looked perfect for Vegeta. Not only for this banquet itself but after as well.

She came out, dried herself off and was happy to have found some subtle scented body lotion. As she applied it generously, she could not help but inspect her body and the changes it had undergone. She knew she was very fortunate to not have gotten any stretch marks, but was still not happy that her belly wasn’t as flat and toned as it had once been. She knew she didn’t look that bad for a girl who had just had a baby a few months ago, but she also knew she would have to start doing something about that now before it got away from her.

Normally she would not have been so harsh on herself, but the dress she had chosen to wear tonight was such that any physical imperfection she may have would be noticed and she suddenly wished she hadn’t let Amira talk her into such a dress. She hoped Vegeta liked it at least.

She quickly combed out her hair and found her old rollers left over from before with her stuff from Earth; she had no idea what she was going to do with her hair yet but figured curling it would give her some volume and help her figure something out. After she did that, she started on her makeup.

She kept it simple; her lips a very light pink and brushed a shimmer with a hint of pink on her cheeks but made her eyes dark and dramatic with a smoky look. On her upper lids she blended a navy blue eyeliner into a charcoal, and blended it flawlessly only on her eyelids so it gradually faded into a nude shimmer shadow up to her brow line. When she finished, she thought of darkening it a tad, but then changed her mind, deciding that having just dark lids was sufficient; she didn’t want to detract from her dress too much and as it was, the navy blue contrasted with the natural light blue of her eyes, making them stand out.

By the time she was done her makeup, her hair was mostly dry. She took out the rollers and scrunched some kind of product into it. Still unsure of what to do with it, she found herself tousling it and twisting it this way and that and decided that she wanted more of a messy look. Bulma loosely braded her hair on either side of her head. She then twisted the two sides and pulled them back into a low ponytail and created a tightly put together but somewhat tousled-looking bun that sat low on the nape of her neck. She was able to strategically pin it in such a way that it looked loose, but it actually wasn’t. She smiled at herself, quite pleased with herself and decided it was perfect.

About twenty minutes later, Amira showed up personally at her door.

“Oh my, you look stunning! I can’t wait to see you in this dress!” she exclaimed.

“You sure it won’t be too much?” Bulma asked nervously. “I mean, you don’t think I’ll be over dressed? I don’t know what anyone usually wears to these things.”

“It absolutely will not be too much!” she rolled her eyes. “Just wait until you see what everyone else is wearing, you’ll be fine. Though I must say this is by far one of the prettiest designs I have ever done. You’ll definitely make a statement!”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Bulma sighed. “Alright, let’s see it.”

Amira hung up a long dress bag on the door frame of their bedroom and unzipped it, revealing the exquisite royal blue satin gown.

Bulma smiled as she looked at it, reaching out to touch it. It was surprisingly light weight. “It’s beautiful.”

“It’ll look even more beautiful once it’s off the hangar and on you.” the seamstress said brusquely, taking it off the hanger and handing it to Bulma.

She went quickly to the washroom and changed into it, being very mindful of all of the delicate embroidery, beading and mesh. It was essentially a simple, sleeveless mermaid-style gown with a sexy, yet modest sweetheart neckline. Where her skin was bare on her chest and back, however was a nude colored, nearly invisible mesh, however from a distance, it appeared to be completely backless, with the exception of embroidered flowers only on the left. She zipped the dress up the side and went outside to show Amira her masterpiece.

Amira beamed at her as she exited their bedroom and made her way back into the living room area. “It’s perfect!”

“This is gorgeous,” Bulma agreed.

“Turn around.”

Bulma did as she was told. “You sure it’s not too over the top?”

“Not at all!” she commented, helping fasten a hook on the side another few notches in, making the dress slightly more snug around her waist and hips, giving Bulma the appearance of a perfect hourglass figure. “Hmmm,”

“What?” Bulma asked nervously. “It doesn’t look right, does it?”

“No! It looks perfect on you!”

“Then what’s wrong?” she asked suspiciously as she noticed the other woman staring at her bum.

“It needs a train.” Amira said, scrutinizing the dress itself and not Bulma.

“No,” she said quickly, shaking her head. “I’m going to a dinner function, not my wedding.”

“Pity,” she sighed. “You would have made an exquisite bride. I can see why he likes you.”

Bulma held back a smile. She remembered Amira saying that to her before when she was making a wardrobe for her when she had first arrived here.

Amira walked around her slowly, taking in every possible detail of how the dress fit and hung on her. The flowers from the back left side of the dress tapered off on the mesh on the front of her left shoulder and a small cluster of flowers began on the front of the dress on the left near her collar bone, delicately traveling at an angle upwards and over her right shoulder; only a few stray light blue petals and leaves showing behind her shoulder, no lower than her shoulder blade.

Amira stepped behind her to help her button up the mesh in the back around her neck. “The mesh is nearly invisible, I knew I’d picked the perfect shade.”

“Yeah, It looks way better than I thought,” Bulma agreed. “And much nicer than the sheer blue we were going to use.”

“You mean what you wanted to use.” She corrected. “I told you we needed to make a statement. It would have been beautiful with the blue, but I think the nude gives it a bit of an edge. The gown is still very polished and proper, but that little extra skin showing, but not, makes it striking and fierce.”

Bulma laughed at her overdramatic explanation.

“Silly,” she scolded. “What have you done with your hair?” she asked, still behind her from finishing doing the back of her dress up and examining her hair.

“Is it bad? I can change it.”

“No,” Amira said quickly. “I like it. Do you know how many women began pinning their hair up after the last time you were here?”

“Really?”

“Uh huh,” she nodded. “It was quite the trend for a few months. I was quite busy making jewelled hair accessories and little hats. Several of the dresses you had worn when you preformed had been in very high demand; variations of them, anyway.”

“Oh wow,” she murmured. “That’s kinda cool.”

“I hope you don’t mind, but when we sat down and did up a wardrobe for you and you had given me your input on several of the dresses, I used a lot of those modifications.” she admitted.

“I don’t mind at all!” Bulma said cheerfully. “I’m flattered; use what you want. Feel free to ask for suggestions any time! I kind of always wanted to be a fashion designer back when I lived on my own planet, but I ended up designing more practical things for my father like ships and such.”

“Well after this evening, I am sure I will be getting many new demands,” she smiled. “Thank you for letting me experiment with you and lending your creativity.”

“No problem! Thank you for finishing this up so quickly! I can’t believe it.”

“Not a worry,” she scoffed, waving her hand in dismissal. “I had this flowered embroidery panel for ages; was never sure what to do with it because it was simply too beautiful to cut up. I needed the right project to justify it.”

Bulma laughed at her. “Thank you, I love it.”

“Now what type of shoes will you be wearing?” Amira asked her.

The two women began a debate on which shoes to wear. Fortunately, Bulma had been wearing flats when she had come to see Amira and amidst the seamstress’ excitement over a new project they had completely forgotten about shoes.

Bulma was trying to convince her that it was perfectly acceptable for her to wear flats with the dress, seeing as the hemline hung just above the ground. Amira argued that she could still get away with a bit of a heel.

As the two of them debated it, neither of them noticed Vegeta come into the suite. He stood there a moment, watching them discuss shoes at length and shook his head. “Are you ready to go, Woman?” he asked.

“Vegeta!” Bulma exclaimed. “I didn’t see you, yes, I’m ready. Amira just came by to drop off my dress, what do you think? Is it too much?”

“No,” he said simply. “It is acceptable.”

Bulma held back a smirk, knowing that even commenting that much in front of Amira was a big feat.

“I am glad you approve, your highness,” Amira said to him. “Have a wonderful evening.”

“Thank you, Amira.” Bulma said to her as she headed out of their suite.

“Wear heels!” was all she said before she slipped out.

Vegeta frowned in confusion.

“Shoes,” Bulma said.

He nodded. “I have something for you,” he said, walking up to her slowly, looking somewhat unsure of himself.

“Oh yea?” she asked with a raised eyebrow, eyeing the two rectangular black boxes he had in his hands.

He handed her the first one.

Bulma smiled brightly at him, biting her lower lip, trying to contain the girlish giddiness threatening to take hold of her. She opened it up and covered her mouth with her hand. There, in the rectangular box was a pearl and crystal necklace, with a matching bracelet and simple pearl earrings. The necklace had four strands of pearls withstrand bigger than the next, and a giant crystal brooch in the shape of an intricate, blue crystal vintage flower.

The bracelet was an identical match to the necklace, in that it also had the four strands of pearls and brooch but also had a mix of crystal leaves and pearls, and it made as much of a beautiful, delicate statement as the necklace did without being over the top.

“This is absolutely stunning, Vegeta,” she whispered to him almost in awe. Never had she seen such a beautiful piece of jewelry.

“Hmmmn,” he smirked at her, he knew he had done good in his choice.

She handed him the box as she took off the earrings she had initially chosen for herself and replaced them with the new ones. She put on the bracelet as well and held up the necklace, inspecting it even more closely for a moment before turning around and holding it up around her neck. “Will you?” she asked.

Vegeta placed the other box down on the table next to them and did up the clasp on the necklace for her. He leaned into her and lightly kissed and then nipped the back of her neck once he was done. He ran his hands down her sides slowly, taking in the back of her dress. While she was still technically covered up in sheer nude mesh, it gave the distinct impression that her back was bare, but only on the right side, the left side of her back was partially covered in light blue beaded flowers that went from the small of her back and all the way up to her shoulders, disappearing around the front of the dress.

He took note of the intricate, blue beaded flowers on the sides of the mesh; they were so delicate that they almost gave a tattoo effect on her skin before they blended in with the navy blue fabric of the actual dress itself.

“What’s in the other box?” she asked eagerly, turning herself into him. “Something matching for you?”

“No,” he snorted. As if he would wear anything with flowers and pearls on it! “This was my mothers.” He said, taking the other box and opening it for her, revealing a small, thin, single strand tiara wreath made of dark blue stoned flowers, very similar to the flower on her necklace and bracelet, only in dark blue stones. There were small diamonds and pearls encrusted into it, making it look elegant and delicate; it was the perfect complement to the rest of her pieces he had given her.

“I can’t wear this, Vegeta,” she said after taking it in a moment.

“You do not like it?” he asked.

“No, no, Vegeta! It’s beautiful, I love it!” She defended quickly, not wanting to offend him. “I just, your father is going to have a fit, is all. Wouldn’t anything that would have been your mother’s belong to Asia now?” she asked, touching the small jeweled flowers carefully as though worried it would crumble.

“It was at the palace gallery, as were a many number of exquisite pieces of jewelry that were my mother’s at one time. They have been discarded and donated by my father and that wench.” he replied somewhat harshly. “Therefore, anyone may have them.”

“Then I would be honored to wear it,” she said, carefully taking it out of the box and looking at it. It certainly was delicate, held together by the thinnest silver setting. “It is beautiful. Is the necklace and the rest, were they your mother’s too?” she asked.

“No,” he answered. “I just happened to notice it after I had chosen the necklace and bracelet bit. My father and I had chosen it for her; I cannot remember the exact occasion, but my father brought me along with him to select something for her for some banquet and this was what I had chosen. It was mere months before her passing, she had been pregnant already.”

Bulma smiled warmly at him as she took a step close to him, wrapped he arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips. “I’ll keep it always,” she said to him. “Thank you.”

She turned from him and walked up to the mirror in their bedroom and placed it on her head and fixing a few strands of hair so that it wouldn’t fall out. She admired herself and her beautiful new accessories a quick moment before heading back towards him.

“Well? What do you think?” she asked, turning around in front of him.

“I think you look like a queen.” he said.

“Well, I wouldn’t quite go that far, but thank you.” she said, blushing a little under his heated gaze. “So were you out shopping for when we spoke earlier? Is that why you were so distracted?”

“Hmmn,” he smirked at her, non-committedly.

He took a quick shower before changing into a royal blue flight suit beneath his formal armor, compete with the deep red royal crest on the white breast plate, white gloves, boots and red cape behind him.

She walked up to him and kissed him chastely. “You don’t look like a prince, you look like a king.”

“Let’s go.” he said, offering her his arm after kissing her back.

Bulma linked her arm with his and walked with him as they exited their suite. “Try to loosen up and have fun tonight, will you?”

He said nothing but they continued down the hall walking together brusquely, arm in arm towards the huge banquet hall.

Bulma stopped abruptly just as they reached the doors. Vegeta turned and looked at her with a questioning look.

“I’m scared,” she confessed. “What if they kick me out?”

“No one will kick you out,” he said irritably. “Should that be the case, and I highly doubt it, we will leave together. Just stay close, you will be fine.”

“Don’t abandon me.” she said.

“I would do no such thing,” he scoffed. “Let’s go.”

Vegeta opened the doors of the banquet hall and together they walked in.

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