Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Prince and Princess Diaries ❯ Daijoubu? ( Chapter 13 )

Author's Note: Yay, I didn't take as long this time to get out the next chapter! Yay for me, and yay for everyone else! Now, let me just tell you that this chapter is just about Bulma, and how she feels about everything going on. The next chapter is when we start getting somewhere! Lets just say we are very close to having Bulma and Vegeta meet!! Anyhow, read and review and tell me what you think!!!!!

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Chapter Thirteen: Daijoubu? (Are You Ok?)

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Bulma hugged her pillow tightly, her face pressed into its soft comfort as she struggled to fight back her tears. But try as she might, they came down in torrents, all her feelings of anguish, suffering, and torment coming forth in a gush of emotion so strong that the beautiful princess could not control herself. She hid her wails and cries of grief and distress in the soft silk succor of her pillow. She had no notion of time or how long she let her misery burst forth on its own accord, all she knew was that she needed to let it go, for she had kept it buried for far too long.

It was almost too much. The stress and pressure of everything was just weighing her down. She felt exhausted all the time. She had no energy. Her face no longer held its youthful glow, and dark purple circles showed distinctly beneath her dull blue eyes. She hardly remembered the smiles, the sparkling eyes, the glowing complexion that she had been so proud to show. It was all gone.

She thought of all the things that had brought this crying escapade along. Her mother-in-law, Chichi, Vegeta-sei dying, her non-existent husband Vegeta. So much in so little time....

Her mother-in-law, to put it bluntly, was looking death straight in the face. She worsened with each passing hour, and Bulma wondered all the time if she would see her live one more day. Her condition was worse than bad. The doctors from their kingdom and other planets could not figure it out why she was still living. She should have been buried in the ground long ago.

This, of course, was always on Bulma's mind. She remembered all the wonderful, happy times that she, Chichi, and Hokora had had together. The Saiya-jin queen had been the mother that Chichi and herself had never had. She had done everything with them, allowed them their every whim, gave them whatever they had wished. Hokora had spoiled them horribly.

Bulma smiled briefly at this. Hokora had spoiled them to death. Bulma could not even count the money, the time, the tutors, the instructors, the clothes, the jewels, and the trinkets that Hokora had showered down upon Chichi and herself.

She realized suddenly how much she had taken the lovely older woman for granted for all these short years. Hokora had been everything that her mother had not been, and what had she ever done to thank her?

Nothing came to her mind.

The thought made tears pool in her eyes once more. She felt like a dreadful person. She made sure to remind herself to visit her mother-in-law later and tell her everything that she had done for her. She wanted to do that before it was too late....

After a moment of staring into space, Bulma thought of her best friend Chichi. She had been married just two days ago to Kakarott, whom in turn was given a major important title, property, and the money needed to start him and his new family off. This had been the wish of Hokora, who had wanted more than anything to see Chichi married and happy, with a family of her own. But she had not been able to see her fosterling married to the man she loved more than life, and this made Bulma even more depressed. Chichi's wedding day had been more somber than happy, almost as if it had been a funeral or execution. Chichi and Kakarott had planned an extremely extravagant wedding, but it had been put off and replaced with a quick and subtle ceremony. Almost as soon as the newly wedded couple had been pronounced husband and wife, they had left for Kakarott's new estate many miles away.

Bulma knew that she would see very little of her friend now that she was married. She had a life of her own now, and soon she would become with child and have a family to raise, not to mention being the lady of the manor and everything that came with being the chatelaine....

Bulma had cried very little when she had let her friend go, for both had wished a happy parting. Enough tears had been shed already for everything else.

Bulma released her pillow and relaxed against the enormous spread of her mattress. It took up a majority of her room, but it was the most comfortable thing she had slept on. The room was constantly warm and usually had a small fire burning in the marble grate. Currently there was a pile of embers glowing brightly in the hearth, and Bulma stared deeply into the red-orange coals.

Thinking suddenly of relieving some of her stress, she stood and walked over to her bell cord, which she yanked to summon a servant. Almost immediately, a young boy peeped his head in, at which Bulma ordered him to fetch her old nursemaid, Nana. He nodded and left, and her old nanny quickly appeared. Bulma smiled at the aging woman, noticing that she seemed to have added more lines to her face in the past few months. She understood why.

"Nana, I was wondering if you could possibly mix up some concoction for my bath to help me relax and relieve some stress. I am in need of something extremely bad."

The sweet woman nodded to the princess, saying, "Of course, my dearest child. I understand that this is a very trying time for you. I will go fetch something right now. If you wish, I could also bring something that will help put you to sleep and let you get some much-needed extra hours. You do not need tell me, for I can tell that you have not been sleeping well. You poor child, I will do everything I can for you. Just let me go visit my little trunk of herbs and whatnot, and I will be right back."

Bulma nodded gratefully as her nanny left. The woman was not really her nanny anymore for she was too old for one, so she was more or less her personal servant than anything. Bulma would always love her however, for everything she had done for her.

Nana returned after a few minutes, her hands full of small jars, pouches, and vials. Bulma did not question her, just walked to her bathroom and disrobed while the older woman added a few things to her water. She put a few drops of lavender from a vial in the heated water for the scent created relaxation. Next, she added a liquid cream to make the princess's skin softer than silk, and a couple more miscellaneous items to bring her princess some leisure and rest.

By the time she was done and the bathing tub was filled to the brim, the water was colored almost white. Bulma could not wait to get in, for she knew from experience that she would feel better in no time at all.

"I will leave you now to do your thing. I will set up a few things in your room for some extra comfort. Do you wish me to use bed warmers?"

Bulma nodded thankfully once more. It was getting colder now that the winter months were coming upon them, and Bulma hated being cold. Almost as if Nana read her mind, she said, "I will also build up the fire, love. You just relax and take as long as you want. I will be waiting for you whenever you are done."

The old nanny left Bulma to her devices, at which the young princess stepped into the tub and sat back in one of the built in reclining seats. The water felt creamy, smelled good, and her skin felt tingly and warm all at the same time. It was a wonderful sensation.

Almost on its own accord, her mind started wandering again. Earlier that day the death toll had come out. She remembered the horror she had felt when she had looked at the staggering numbers. 10,675,986 women were dead. Bulma had no clue what the population of the planet had been before the plague, but she knew that it had been close to at least a billion. After hearing the stories about the poorer village women of Vegeta-sei being dumped into mass graves from so many being dead and too little time to make graves and coffins for each, she knew that it was worse than she had originally thought.

Thankfully, her father had been summoned some time before, and she knew that he would be here soon. She just knew that he would make everything better. She could not wait to see him, but she knew it would be a while longer before he arrived.

She bathed herself and washed her hair quickly, wanting to be done with it so she could continue to relax. The herbs and extracts that Nana had placed in the water were working wonderfully.

As she was washing her arm, an unbidden image of her husband came to her mind. She scowled to herself and wondered why it had just popped up like that. She knew that he was older, more mature, more dangerous, and more stupid, so she had the feeling the image in her head was out of date. She had gotten a brief glance of him a while ago, but it was been so quick that she could not recall it. She wondered if he was even more devastatingly handsome....

No!! How could she even think that? She hated him to the very core of her being. He had been summoned home repeatedly for the past three months, but he had not returned. He knew his mother was sinking towards death, knew that Vegeta-sei was being plagued and that all the women were perishing. He knew his wife was here, ready for him to return.

She smiled evilly at a thought that popped into her mischievous mind. A wife, after missing her husband for a long time, would welcome him with open arms. Bulma would welcome him with crossed arms, and then maybe a slap. And then a punch. Maybe even a kick. She giggled, and then sighed. She had no idea how she was going to react when she saw her husband. She knew deep down inside, somewhere, there was a good man, a man that could soften and let his heart open. A man that could love and cherish, just maybe, one day.

She was so afraid of what he would think when he saw her. Would he still think her childish? Would he chastise her for being a little girl still? Would she ever please him?

She could not imagine him thinking her childish, at least now. With as many stares as she attracted from men now, she imagined, or at least she hoped, that Vegeta might do the same. Now that she was eighteen and a full-grown woman, she knew she had curves that could attract some attention. With the bosom she had acquired over the past years that her husband had been gone, she knew that she had changed. Her hips had grown wider, her features more womanly and engaging. Men were always asking for her attentions, and she knew why. She might be innocent to the touch of a man, but she knew what men wanted from the fairer sex.

She thought briefly of forgiving him. Maybe some time in the future she would be able to pardon him for what he had done, but not until she knew that he was over his childish image and hate of her. Who knew what he thought of her now, or even if he hated her more. She knew that it would take a very long time for her to get over what he had done. She wondered if she ever would.

The notion depressed her. She had always wanted love and adoration from a husband. Knowing that she might not ever have that struck her heart hard. She was like any other woman; she wanted a loving husband, children from their union, and a happy, carefree life. It seemed like all of that was going down the drain.

Bulma wondered if Vegeta would ever want to touch her, even if just to copulate to produce the needed heir. She knew he despised her, but how much? Would it be enough for him to refuse to touch her? Would he hate her enough to kill her? She was not stupid; she knew that her husband was ruthless when he needed to be. If he wanted it, he could make her death look accidental or even from some sort of sickness. He could even spirit her away and leave her with some bandits who would rape her until she got with child and then kill her and her babe along with her. Maybe he would lock her in the palace dungeons and give her to his men. Maybe he would make her the palace whore or just divorce her and make her his concubine while he took another, better wife.

She shook herself. She was letting her imagination get ahead of her. Vegeta would never do that; he was not like that. At least she hoped.

She sighed and knew that she needed to get out of the tub and go to bed. It was getting late and as her nanny had said, she needed sleep.

Bulma let the water from the bathing tub drain, and wrapping herself in a fluffy white towel, left the bathing room and went into her bedroom. Her old nanny had just placed a tray of small tidbits to eat before she slept. Bulma smiled broadly when she saw the fire roaring brightly in the fireplace, her sheets pulled back and ready for her to be tucked in. Her favorite nightgown was lying across the back of a chair by her fireplace.

Nana took her hand and sat her in front of her mirror while she brushed her hair until it was dry. Bulma had always loved the feeling of her hair being brushed by someone else, and it gave her an even more relaxed feeling. Her nanny took the towel from her, dressed her in her nightgown, and then sat her down again to braid her hip-length hair. It had never been cut, only trimmed. It was the most beautiful color that Nana had ever seen, and she was proud of her little mistress for never cutting it. Many lower-class girls nowadays cut it into short little bobs, and Nana thought it hideous. Bulma's hair flowed like shimmering water over her shoulders and back when it was down, and she could just imagine the lust it would create in her husband one day when he saw it down around her lovely nude frame. She smiled evilly to herself, for she knew just what would happen.

Nana ushered her over to her bed, which was heated from bed warmers. She snuggled herself deeply into the blankets, forgetting totally about the tray of food left for her. Nana smiled as her charge closed her eyes, and was immediately asleep. She kissed the top of her head, said a soft goodnight, and after turning off the lights, left the room and the princess to get her much needed rest.

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Author's Note: Well, the next chapter things will hopefully get accomplished. You will see some advancement in the plot, which I know you have all been waiting for very eagerly! I'm not sure quite yet what I'm going to do, but I have an idea. Hopefully it will be something good. Bwahahaha...REVIEW!!!!!!!