Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Live Well ❯ The Wedding ( Chapter 2 )

Live Well

Chapter Two: The Wedding

It was only an hour later when she was brought down in all of the finery of the First Gown, and she would have been stomping on all sorts of feet to dash away. Everything, even the earrings and tail rings they had placed on her were heavy. She had a corset, three bodices over it, eight petticoats made of thick ruffled lace, and an over coat to wear over it to finish the look. Her petticoats were all visible in the front due to the upside-down v-shape that the light blue overcoat made.

The sequins - golden coins through which holes had been pierced - had been threaded up and down the sleeves of her overcoat, along the collar, and the hem. Huge coins had been sown in to use as buttons as well which kept her overcoat shut.

Kakarotto felt as if she would crumple onto the floor in a heap at any moment due to its sheer weight. Another reason for this need to fall stemmed from the first ceremony of the wedding. She was not averse to dancing - in fact, she danced rather well - however she was not certain that she could dance with a man that had proved to her how cruel he actually was.

From what she could tell, he would dump her on the side of the road as soon as the wedding was over.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the queen - in a black gown with black and gold petticoats this time - grabbed her chin, and made her look at her. “Hold still,” she said as she lifted up a headdress, placing it precariously over the rounded part of her hair. Suddenly she remembered Radittsu once comparing her hair to a sunrise he had seen once. The sun had been peeking just over the hills, and the rays had been so fierce that he couldn't stand to look at it for long.

Kakarotto missed him, she realized, but she didn't yet feel sad. Though it had been the longest night of her existence, she knew that she had quite a few more to go before they got tired of her. She wondered if she would not be able to sleep those nights either, though her exhaustion caused her to want to collapse to the floor and pass out into sleep within the minute.

The queen led her into the first room where the children of the Nobles were present. The incredible size of the room - and the sight of the thrones down at the far end of it - made her figure that it was a ballroom where Royalty would be able to entertain many guests at once. On the dais where the thrones sat, she could see an orchestra, likely there for the dance that would take place after their greetings.

The first ceremony demanded that the bride and groom greet the children of friends, allies, and family, and introduce themselves to them separately. Upon remembering the prince, she looked up from the smiling, little faces to see him on the other side of the room. With a hard swallow, she noticed that the man standing beside him must have been his father. King Vegeta was a head taller than his son was, and the man was garbed splendidly in dark blue armor, the usual spandex of soldiers replaced with black silk shirts and dress pants. The prince wore a lackluster red set, which somehow accented the dark lines of his face.

At every child she stopped at, she always seemed to see him out of the corner of her eye, getting closer and closer with every little dip and bow to the child in front of them. She would say her name, listening to the chirps of the little girls that she had to introduce herself, and, on the other side of the room, she could hear him and the boys.

She was suddenly bowing to the last girl child, and turned to come face-to-face with the prince. Without a word he offered his hand to her, and, for a wonder, she actually took it without stomping on his foot and running away. “Boys,” he said then, turning around, and gently guiding her with his hand on her waist to stand beside himself before he bowed, “This is my bride, the Lady Kakarotto of Afafal.”

As the boys bowed back, she curtsied to them, listening to them respond, “Good morning, Lady Kakarotto.”

She nodded, and turned, allowing the prince to face the girls himself. When she saw that he had done so, she smiled at the girls with a bow, “Young ladies, this is my fiancé, the Prince Vegeta.”

My fiancé, she suddenly thought, not even hearing the girls say their greeting to him. He's my fiancé … mine. Kakarotto straightened with Vegeta, standing with him as she watched the children form a circle around them, finally breaking etiquette to stand with friends or even betrotheds. Heeding the sound of the orchestra, she took Vegeta's other hand, and they instantly went into their dance.

Kakarotto wasn't entirely sure if her feet even touched the ground. Their dance was supposed to represent a fight or a duel, but it did not feel like any kind of fight that she had been in before. Yet only moments into their dance, the prince abruptly began speaking to her, “You can't kick me out tonight, my lady, and you definitely won't be laughing after I get a hold of you. I promise you that.”

Horrified, she stared up at him as her mind reeled, and tried to think of something to spit back that was just as nasty before she bit her tongue, “… I wasn't laughing at you.”

His lips pressed tightly together as he very nearly glowered at her. With his hands on her waist, and grasping her hand, his grip tightened hard, “You're already on thin ice with me, so don't push it. If you lie to me again, I'll sell the use of your cunt to the highest bidder every night, and let them have their way with the filthy thing.”

“I have never laughed at you, my Prince,” she insisted, and he blinked in some confusion - his anger almost gone as he stared at her.

“You didn't even hesitate. Either you are a bigger slut than I imagined or you're telling the truth.” He grinned toothily at her when an offended appearance came over her face, “I'll think about selling your services to the guards then. If you even think about dishonoring me, then the betting will be on, and there will be no way to save your cunt from them.” The hand on her waist changed position, stroking up her side to glide up past her still developing breasts, and then fisted into her hair. It was an almost tender act for a Saiyajin, but she didn't think that he meant to be tender to her when she felt the fist in her hair grow more taut, pulling at her hair a bit.

Kakarotto's eyes were wide with terror, not quite ready to stand up to his cruelty just yet. She couldn't determine whether she would ever get used to it before he finally divorced her. Was he bluffing or just playing with her poor little head? To make matters worse, near the end of the dance ballad, the prince leaned down to kiss her.

The girl had never been kissed on the lips before, however kisses to her cheeks and forehead were common from her father and mother - and sometimes her brother when he wasn't annoyed with her - so the touch of his rough lips to hers almost made her back away. If it hadn't been for his fist tightly clenched into her hair, she might have attempted it though. He leaned into the embrace, sucking on her unresisting lips and tongue, and Kakarotto could only blink and stare up at his face - dark eyes closed.

When he pulled away at the very end of the song, he created a soft disappointed sound, eyes slightly narrowed as their eyes met, and then he pulled away, walking briskly back to his father. Kakarotto could do nothing else but return to his mother, striving not to touch her lips or imagine that he poisoned her in some way.

Upon exiting the ballroom, the queen asked, “Did he make you hot?”

“`Hot?'” She murmured, and cast her eyes up to peer at the older woman, “What do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean. That kiss he gave must have done something for you.”

Kakarotto said unsurely, “Well, it's definitely made me think …” It's made me wonder why he even bothered! What's the point in a marriage that is bound to fail? He might be my fiancé, and he might be allowed to kiss me, but if he practically tells me that he's going to kill me, why even do it?

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“How was it?” His father asked nonchalantly, and Vegeta frowned over at him before he shrugged, not very interested in the question.

The prince just walked on down the hall beside his father silently, admiring some pieces of art before noticing another piece of art that was currently bent over on her knees, washing something up from the floor. When she looked up and noticed him, he recognized her by her large, generous lips, and a smile curved slowly on his face before he remembered that he would be married in only a few hours. This in turn, made him recall the little slip of a girl in the wedding gown with whom he had danced, “She didn't do anything - she just stood there.”

King Vegeta murmured nothing under his breath before looking at him, “Most Noblewomen get mixed signals about marriage and sex. I can't even remember how many of my wives were like that at first. You'll just need to teach her how to reciprocate in kind until she proves what she's made of.”

“What a hassle,” he said, and began to strip away his armor, wondering whether his second outfit for the wedding was prepared yet. Vegeta tossed it to the side when he entered his dressing room, not bothering to watch a slave as he lurched to the ground after catching the armor.

He slumped back into a chair in the corner of the room, tapping his foot while peering out through a window. The view showed him the expanse of the training courtyard for the Royal Guards. They had been placed under his charge after the date of the wedding had been decided - as was the custom. His fist clenched into a tight ball as he recalled all of the thrills of his achievements.

It was true that his mother had to care for him until his power level had reached the right peak, but even before then, she had let him loose around the palace to do whatever he so liked. If he had met with any opponent that might actually do him harm, he had been instructed to run back to her heavy skirts. His eyes softened as he imagined the soft, scratchy lace of her petticoats, and he remembered laughing while he had ducked in under all of the capacious gowns. He had been happy then, and Vegeta was happy currently as well - even when he had all of the responsibilities that were placed upon him. The ascendance of `little prince' - as Grandmother had called him - to `Prince Vegeta' had been one of his greatest triumphs.

His only real problem was now the little girl prancing around in the traditional wedding garb of his Royal House. As his wife, she would be subject to all the horror of his world, and she didn't even look like she would be able to handle stepping outside of her suite. Vegeta's lips twisted into a sneer when he recalled that he had to look for a eunuch to become her manservant and bodyguard. What a carefree living she would have compared to him - she would mull over how far to bow to his parents and grandparents, teach the Noble women on how to become useless, and then lounge about while carrying his heir.

The thought of his heir brought a grin to his lips however. Surely, she would fail in someway so that he could implant a new wife with his seed instead. He had no illusions that this Kakarotto would be the mother of his heir. With the way things were going, he knew that the little twit would be long gone, and he would be that much closer to his true heir.

He smirked, Even if she does manage to live long enough to birth a male child for me, nothing will ever prepare her for the Saiyajin Princess' gravest duty afterward.

---

The second gown pinched everywhere, and she attempted to move as little as possible while inside of it, internally groaning. Kakarotto suppressed her sigh, knowing it would merit movement, and turned to the queen when she called for her. Stopping in front of her, she almost winced when the queen began to pat over her torso and down her legs before standing and nodding.

She relaxed only a margin as she followed the queen down the hallway. This next ceremony was not one that she was familiar with since it was a custom of the Royalty only. From the severity of her dress and the hectic way that the slaves had been acting, this ceremony didn't just appear to be more pomp and rituals that were added in on a whim by strict Royals. Something was happening that Kakarotto didn't quite understand, and it unnerved her.

Yet she worried more over the things that she did know about - there was no point in fretting over something of which she was not yet aware. For all she knew, it was just more dancing. However, she couldn't dream of dancing in the silver gown that she was in.

The queen stopped in front of a pair of doors, only to turn to her, and whisper fiercely, “Do not say a word.” Kakarotto was ignored afterward, and the queen opened the large doors.

Keeping her head high, she was then led into another ballroom, and she clenched at her skirts a bit more tightly than she had before. In the middle of the room was a fountain, and it was filled to the brim with a green liquid substance, and right beside it was a long couch with a golden rod resting on it. As she went still while staring in confusion at these things, she saw motion to her left, and looked up to see the prince standing beside her. His grin chilled her as he offered his arm to her almost congenially, but all she could do was take it, breathing rapidly as he took her down the flight of stairs from the doors to the ballroom floor.

Kakarotto only barely registered the Nobles that were watching the proceedings. He picked up the golden rod, and, with a small flourish, the prince suddenly twirled her as if they were dancing, dipping her back onto the couch. Her eyes grew wide as she gazed up at the man, apprehension eating away at her when he began to tear at the lovely silver gown. While the Second Gown was being stripped away from her, she glanced around the room, nearly sweating a river when her flesh was bared to them all.

The prince lifted up the rod over his head then, and it glinted dully in the lamplight above them in the chandeliers. When he seemed sure that everyone was silent and all eyes were on him, the rod, and the naked woman on the couch, he said, “Here, the Royal Court will oversee the testing of the Lord Nuches' loyalty. Whether he has sold only to the Royal House or whether he has sold the bride to others as well.” He directed his eyes toward her eyes, and she paled when he knelt at the end of the bed that her feet were facing. Grabbing her ankles, he dragged her down to him, and she attempted to close her thighs tightly, fearing the worst. Abruptly, he brought the rod against her hip, causing a yelp of pain to come to her lips, “If you struggle one more time, you will have proved that you have something to hide.”

Not even letting that sink in, he dragged her closer again, but she understood the gist of it, and kept as still at her quavering form would allow her. Bracing herself when she saw him coat it with the syrupy green liquid that was in the fountain, she then felt the cool rod against the apex of her thighs, and she clutched at the fabric of the long couch. Wincing when he pressed it inside, she tore her eyes away from it, attempting to look anywhere but at what he was doing - though she could feel it quite clearly.

A sudden pressure made her eyes widen in panic before she looked up into his eyes. The prince actually seemed surprised to find her hymen there, strong and whole, before he jerked the pole in past it. Her entire body jolted with the shock, tears springing to her eyes. Surprisingly, the pain had not been as great as she had heard, but the shock factor contributed greatly to her tears. She panted and squeaked softly in pain as he moved the rod in a bit deeper, and then he circled it inside of her rather roughly, tearing up more of her hymen in the procedure. Kakarotto clenched her fangs tightly as she waited for him to finish, unable to face that smug appearance that had come over his face.

When he pulled the rod out, he made a great show of revealing the blood, and stood upright, “The Lord Nuches' loyalty has proved true! Bless him for he has offered to his prince a virgin.” The prince turned around to look down at her, “And bless you for no man's flesh has broken you, so you shall forever remain a virgin.” He offered his hand to help her rise, and she took it with a hard swallow, badly shaken.

Someone touched her shoulder, and she nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt it, but relaxed when she saw that it was the queen. Eyes hard, she said, gesturing to the fountain of green liquid, “To live well for herself, Lady Kakarotto of Afafal must lay in this regeneration fluid.” Kakarotto went still in understanding.

The regeneration fluid must have been why the breaking had not been as painful. Its numbing qualities had eased the majority of her torture even while not being stimulated by the electric waves of regen-tanks.

She sucked in a gasp when the king was suddenly beside her, breaking her train of thought, and he put a hand on her other shoulder, “To gain a new name for herself, Lady Kakarotto of Afafal must pray in this regeneration fluid.”

Then, the prince wiped the tears from her eyes, and she gaped, nearly offended that he had done it as if it were only part of the ceremony! Kakarotto knew already that this was so, but his odd aloofness affected her too deeply. She took a deep shuddering breath as he tilted her head up by the chin as if to show her to everyone better, “To become what she must be for herself, Lady Kakarotto of Afafal must pray.”

She held her breath, one hand clinging to his shoulder when the prince lifted her up into his arms, and then felt the air rush out of her in shock when he lowered her into the cool liquid of the fountain. As he sat her down inside, the level of the regeneration fluid reached her chest, and she was about to lower her head to pray, but then the prince pressed his hand over her head to push her backwards inside.

Grappling against him only momentarily, she opened her eyes under the regeneration liquid, quite used to sitting inside of a regen-tank. He raised an eyebrow at her when she tried to get out again when her air was running low. Kakarotto nearly pouted up at him, but restrained the act, and opted to release the air from her lungs slowly. She nearly choked when she breathed in the regeneration fluid; however, she forced herself to inhale quickly. The fluid used in the regen-tanks was breathable, and the mask often used in the healing procedure was usually only for comfort purposes. Comfort had never been a priority when treating common peasants, so she and her family had to learn to breathe in the tank's fluid while they were suspended inside. It had come to be so much easier that she had refused the hefty, hard breathing masks that more advanced regen-tanks possessed.

Some time after she became used to using the thick liquid as air, she watched the prince finally pull away, and it almost seemed like permission to rise again when she was finished, but she held back, staring at him through the inky green substance. Kakarotto almost raised her hand up because it looked like she was peering up at him through glass, and he was the one suspended in regeneration fluids. While the solution crept into small crevices of her body, she spread her legs a margin in hopes that the fluid would come in to soothe her still sore womanhood.

The thought made her pause to reflect, Am I a woman now? I have no hymen any longer, yet … I still haven't embraced a man in his sheets. She looked up at the prince, and pursed her lips in her pondering, hardly noticing the furrow of his brow - that appearance was always there after all. And he called me a virgin still … I have to join with this man tonight though. What they had instructed her to do while within the fountain came back to her, and she scowled more, seeing his eyes widen in slight indignation. Why should I pray when I don't have a chance? I might enjoy the nights under his covers, but what will happen after he tires of me? He doesn't look like he even wants a wife. Why is he going through with this?

She chewed her tongue, biting into it to make it bleed, and then let the fluid numb the bite mark, actually able to feel the cells stitch together. It comforted her marginally. As she tried to view the healing of her tongue by sticking it out as far as she could, she noticed his eyebrow twitching out of the corner of her eye. We're going to be husband and wife soon anyway though. Can't we try to make the most of it? After a moment, she let her tongue back into her mouth so that she could gaze up at him again. He didn't look very thrilled about her prolonged immersion within the fountain. I'm … I'm marrying him while the Lord's daughter stays safe at home. If she has that feeling of security, can't I feel some form of that too? I would need to work hard to gain that though, but at least …

Swallowing some of the fluid while she thought, Kakarotto gazed back at him, and really tried to see him for just a moment.

You are my fiancé. My husband … Did they think that I would go around and be their daughter for them though? I may not have wanted this lot in life, but I'll be damned if I just go around saying that I'm someone that I'm not. I'm not their daughter. I am a commoner, and I am … Her jaw set firmly, hands fisting at her sides as her mind began to rage. The prince's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed nothing, still watching her frame in the liquid, and then she recognized the paler shade of green that he had become. Kakarotto's eyes trailed down to inspect her frame, seeing her tail, which had coiled around her waist sometime during all of her fright. Slackening her tail, she smiled faintly before firmly pushing it aside.

She breathed in deeply before expelling as much of the fluid as she was able. That done, she stood up inside of the fountain, striving to be silent while she gulped down fresh air to replace the regeneration liquid. The prince took her hand when she reached for it, and he carefully led her out. Taking extra precaution due to her slick feet, Kakarotto walked beside him until the two of them stopped in front of the king and queen.

The older woman smiled serenely, lifting her chin up, “You have survived well thus far, Lady Kakarotto.”

They only had to wait a few moments after that before the king raised his hand, “You are now our pride and privilege - our Honored Princess Consort of the House of Vegeta. We hope that your conception shall also bring strength and dignity to our House.”

“My dear Princess Kakarotto,” the prince raised her hand to kiss her palm before he said, “I shall clothe you within your station.” He let her come closer to grasp his arm more firmly than she had before, and they walked to the exit of the ballroom. Almost the very moment that the heavy doors shut behind them, he wrenched on her arm, tightly clasping her wrist, “What the hell were all of those faces you were making? Do you think this is funny?”

Frowning at him was his only warning before she yanked her arm away from him. At the sight of his astonished face, she smiled while her stomach told her how dangerously she was currently acting by turning. “Of course. This is all one big joke.”

He jerked in surprise before he looked her up and down. For her credit, Kakarotto didn't move a muscle when his eyes lingered to inspect choice bits of her bare-naked body. Tilting his head to the side when his eyes met with hers, he smirked, “It's the biggest fucking joke of my life, but …” his left eye twitched, “You will not disrespect me like that again. Next time that you stick your tongue out at me, I'm cutting it off, and eating it as a side dish.” Raising her chin up proudly, she walked toward the door that she had changed her gowns in, and he followed close behind her. She noticed a quick flash of brown, and tensed when she realized that it was his lashing tail. The prince came up close, leaning in as his hand rested on her waist, and he murmured when she stopped in front of the door, “And you need to stop swinging what you think are hips. Skinny fifteen year old girls don't interest me.”

“So don't look at me,” his hand jolted before it tightened, and his other hand clasped onto the other side of her waist. Kakarotto went still, remembering how naked she actually was before she yanked the doors open to enter the room full of slaves. He would not dare to try anything in there - even in front of slaves. To her luck, his parents were also waiting for them inside, and she relaxed considerably when they frowned at the hands on her hips, so he lifted them off her. The queen took her wrist, and dragged her over to where the slaves were waiting with another splendid heavy gown.

She pointed at Kakarotto, “Clean her up, and get her in that dress within ten minutes. The guests are waiting for their final greeting.”

The king yawned, apparently bored as he talked to the prince, “Is the buffet set up yet?”

“They had most of the tables ready, and the kitchens were stocked full with cooking food. I think we'll be good to go,” he answered, and then peeled off his wedding coat, tossing it and most of his other clothes away until he was simply wearing a black spandex under suit.

“Queen Arba,” a slave said as Kakarotto jerked to attention, stopping with the slaves in front of a sweat bath, “we won't be able to get the regeneration fluid out of her hair in a sweat bath.”

“So put her under a spray of water to rinse it out. I won't have her smelling like she's bathed in her own filth like some commoner.” The queen turned up her nose at the thought, “Hurry up! Nine minutes!”

Kakarotto followed the slaves into the sweat bath, and was pulled into some kind of stall where she watched a slave turn metal knobs. She gasped when hot water abruptly poured over her from above, and two slaves entered the stall to start scrubbing briskly at her hair, applying scented oils that were rinsed out quickly. When they pulled her out and into the steaming sweat bath, she was bug-eyed and confused by the strange phenomenon. She sat down on the bench in a daze, absently noticing that the prince was in the sweat bath as well, and had just completed his cleaning for the final greeting. He rose, and opened his eyes from whatever meditative state he had been in only to smirk at her.

He left with several slaves trailing after him, and she sighed before beginning to yawn. She had traveled more than half of the night, nervous and trembling as if awaiting death, and the only time that had been given to her for sleeping had been wasted on even more worry. For the past couple of months, all she had been able to think about had been the wedding, hardly sleeping at night or in the day, and now that it was almost over, she merely wanted to find a nice cot to sleep within eternally. Kakarotto yawned again not more than several seconds later, and she started in surprise when the queen was standing before her, snapping her fingers, “You don't have time to sleep. It's time to get you into your Third Gown now. Come. We have three minutes left.”

The slaves and the queen herself had to help her dress in time, and even then, they were doing up the buttons and clasps in the hallway as they walked briskly to another ballroom. Kakarotto had just pulled on one glove when a voice boomed from down the hall, “Our great sovereigns have adopted their first daughter who has become Prince Vegeta's first wife. May their strengths as our future rulers shine through in everything that they may accomplish together!”

Taking her gloved hand while some other maid put the other glove on, Vegeta slowed them both down so that they were walking behind the king. After putting her headdress in place, the queen jogged to join the king's side, and glanced back at them once, but the glance awarded Kakarotto with a strange glimpse of white fangs flashing in humor. She heard the queen whisper to the prince, “The Empress would be so happy to see you dressed as you are now, little prince.”

“I'm not a little prince anymore, Mother.”

“Nonsense,” she smiled brighter, and turned to face the ballroom doors as they waited for the summoning. “You will always be my little prince.”

“His Royal Majesty, the Lord General of the Undefeated Army, our Grand Duke of the Saiyajin, our Magnificent Marquess of Vegeta-sei, and Honorable Sovereign of the Northern Galaxy, King Vegeta!” Almost lurching forward, the king yanked open the doorway to stride down the aisle to the thrones sitting up on the other end of the room, the queen right beside him, for the announcer then proclaimed, “Her Royal Highness, our Grand Countess of the Saiyajin, the Beloved Duchess of Vegeta-sei, and Honorable Marchioness of the Northern Galaxy, Queen Consort Arba!”

“His Royal Majesty, our Illustrious Lieutenant General of the Undefeated Army, the Grand Baron of the Saiyajin, and Great Viscount of Vegeta-sei, Prince Vegeta!” The prince paused only long enough to see that the slaves were finished with their work. Her face had not been touched on by paints or powders because the queen had claimed she would not need it. Kakarotto recalled other times that other women had said the same, saying that her large eyes were enchanting, and her thick, black lashes already looked as if they had been coated with mascara. The overcoat she had been decked out in was a deep burgundy that complemented the prince's own dark gray and silver attire, and her petticoats were black instead of the white petticoats she had been wearing before. When the new couple stopped and turned around at the foot of the dais, the announcer shouted when Vegeta lifted her hand high in the air, “Now gladly presented to you by the Royal Prince, this is her Royal Highness, the Majestic Baroness of the Saiyajin, and Gracious Viscountess of Vegeta-sei, Princess Consort Kakarotto!”

She stood taller, smiling beatifically before stepping up onto the dais - led by her new husband. Placing her hand on his after they sat at their own thrones, which had been placed side-by-side, she thought with conviction as she faced the assembly, I am the princess, not her.

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Uh … XP You know, Chapter One and Two were going to be just Chapter One all together, but I found out it was way too fucking long, and right smack dab in the middle was where the wedding actually started anyway, so I just split it in half. XP;;; Aren't you glad I didn't make you sit through nineteen pages of this crap?

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