Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Prince and Princess Diaries ❯ Ucukusii Warui ( Chapter 19 )

Chapter Nineteen: Ucukusii Warui (Beautiful Evil)

It was only six in the afternoon by the time Bulma was finished with her "chores." She had done as much as she could by herself, but for the rest she needed to consult with her husband.

She had made the arrangements for King Vegeta's coffin to be made. She had decided that black with dark encrusted jewels would suit him perfectly, and she hoped his son would agree as well.

She'd had some difficulties making a choice with what to do about her mother-in-law. She really needed to talk to Vegeta about this one, because it was very important.

The decision about where Hokora was going to be placed for all eternity had been the sole responsibility of King Vegeta. However, the king was now dead. Vegeta had placed the choice in her hands, but she was not sure about what she should do.

What she wanted to do was have Hokora's ashes scattered across Vegeta-sei so she could be one with the land forever. Bulma knew she would be happy amongst the flowers and trees and oceans. However, she had a problem. She did not know if she could separate King Vegeta and his wife for all eternity...and that was what bothered her.

She definitely needed to talk to Vegeta about that one.

She had also made a visit to the secret lab. Her father and the scientists were making excellent progress. However, they still had not figured out a vaccine to kill the virus. She had urged them to work harder, but she already knew that they were working beyond their limits. The bags under their eyes and their tired movements attested to it.

So now she was wondering what to do. She had pondered doing a kata with her sword, but had swept the notion out of her head. It was a nice day out, since the extremely short Saiya-jin winter had just ended. Bulma had always thought that Vegeta-sei's couple week winter was hilarious. With their winter it got a little chilly, and you were lucky for a few snowflakes. On Anausia-sei, they had snow pour down for months on end.

But with the cool breeze and flowers starting to bloom, she just knew she had to take a ride. She had noticed that Vegeta had gone riding the other day; before they had both found out that King Vegeta had died. Now the thought of wind running through her hair and the pure feeling of being free tempted her unbelievably. She had not been riding for a long time...and now that Vegeta was back, she felt some of the pressures of running Vegeta-sei taken off her back.

Bulma hurried to her room and changed her clothes. After removing her corset and pantalets and every other undergarment, she got into a pair of modified pantalets that she'd had made especially for her. They were shortened, and she called them panties. She had learned the idea from Anausia-sei.

After that she pulled on a band of fabric for around her chest, an idea that she had also learned from Anausia-sei. She hurried into her black riding pants--almost exactly the same as the one's Vegeta had worn, except smaller for her. She pulled on a white lacy shirt; more feminine than the one Vegeta had also worn. She quickly laced up highly polished black leather riding boots, and after finding her sword and strapping it to her side (only a precautionary measure), she left her room for the stables.

She had always thought that Vegeta-sei's stables were amazing. The stable itself was enormous, and the sheer number of horses it housed always stunned her. Since they had to support the numerous soldiers that rode horses around the palace, they left them in the stable and came to get them when needed. There was also her horse, and everyone else's. There had to have been over three hundred horses there.

Bulma walked down the space between the stalls filled with horses, her feet smashing the hay underneath her boot. The ground was soft, for it was sand. She moved on down the few stalls, for the Royal horses were kept close to the palace. One would not want a prince or princess to walk too far, now would they? Bulma thought sarcastically.

Bulma stepped up to her horse's stall. She whistled softly, and he trotted up to her with a happy whinny. A stable boy ran up to her, several carrots in his hands. She thanked him as he handed them to her, and then he took off with a stutter and a blush.

Bulma crawled over the door into her horse's stall, giving him a carrot as she walked around him to see how he was doing. He looked, healthy, albeit a little fat. He had not been out for a long time, and Bulma decided that she would take him for a nice long, hard ride.

She brushed him and talked to him, fed him a carrot every now and then. He was so happy that he was prancing like a little colt. Bulma felt his happiness flow into her, and soon she was smiling and laughing at his antics.

Bulma had to admit that she loved her horse. She'd had him since she turned ten, and he was now eight years old. He was beautiful to her, almost completely black with only one white stocking and a large white star on his nose. He had a long glorious mane and tail, both of which were kept clean and brushed and groomed at all times. His coat was shiny and gleamed with health.

Bulma hugged him and kissed his soft nose. He whinnied again and stomped his feet, nudging his head gently against her chest. She nearly flew into the door to his stall, but she just laughed it off.

She called a stable boy and told him to grab her saddle and whatnot. He nodded and ran into the tack room. He came back with a heavy black saddle and a white blanket for his back, along with her horse's mouth bit and reins. Bulma let the stable boy tack him up as she fed him the last carrot, and she laughed at his impatient snorting and stomping. She guessed that he had been cooped up for a while. She knew that the stable boys took him out just to give him exercise, but he was in need for some severe exercise. He was getting a little chubby.

Bulma thanked the stable boy for helping her, and mounted her horse with a quick fluid movement. The stable boy opened the door and led the horse out for her. He smiled when he saw how happy the princess looked to be riding her horse.

"Yur 'ighness, I couldn't help but notice dat yur extrem'ly 'appy ta be ridin' yur harse," he said in his confusing dialect. Bulma, however, was used to Rokkocu's speech. She grinned and nodded, saying, "It is nice to be out and about for once, Rokkocu. Oh, and thank you so very much for taking good care of Ucukusii. Has he been good?"

Rokkocu's eyes gleamed. Bulma knew very well that he worshipped her horse. He would feed him a carrot everyday and take him out for a small ride. Her horse had its good and bad sides, and he did not tolerate most people. However, he did tolerate Rokkocu. Bulma was very surprised at that.

Bulma listened to the sixteen year-old boy talk about her stallion as they walked through the stables. Her eyes caught a familiar sight, and she watched Vegeta's horse, Warui, standing idly in his own large stall. She was still stunned by the sameness of their horses, and to this day, if they did not have the stalls marked for their horses, Bulma would get them confused. It was almost as if they were twins.

They moved by the horse's stall, and Ucukusii whinnied as he passed by. Vegeta's horse snorted and stomped in return, and Bulma marveled at their interaction. She wondered about it until they reached the end of the stable and they walked out into the stable yard.

Bulma thanked Rokkocu as he handed her the reins, and she trotted out of the stable yard. As soon as she was in safe range, she galloped madly away from the palace. She felt her horse strain its powerful muscles beneath her, and she closed her eyes as her hair whipped behind her and she kicked her horse harder, urging him faster. She flew by a few random villagers that were out working in the fields, and she caught the tired and sad look in their eyes. However, at seeing her, they waved and smiled, and she waved back with a happy laugh. They knew about the queen and king's deaths, and they also knew that she was doing the best she could do with the plague.

Bulma passed the huge village that rested in the valley below the Versai palace. The village had once been thriving and teaming with life, but now the cottages were empty and only a few men walked in the streets. King Vegeta and herself had seen to the quarantine of many of Vegeta-sei's people, for they had not wanted to become an extinct race because of the plague. Currently the people were either on other planets waiting for the time to come back, or were in camps stationed far away on the other side of the planet.

She quickly forgot about the worries of palace life as she reached the woods about a mile away from the palace. There were paths and trails through the woods, and she liked to take Ucukusii for a ride through it whenever she had a chance. He trampled nearly everything in his path with his huge hooves, and she laughed lightly as he pranced through the undergrowth. He seemed genuinely happy to be with her.

Bulma moved through the woods for a while before she came out to a field, at which she smiled with glee. There were fences and walls everywhere; the perfect place to go jumping. She urged her horse on with an excited yell, not knowing what danger lay ahead of her.

********************

Vegeta sat there by himself. He was all alone, waiting for his princess to come and have dinner with him. He was wearing fine new clothes that he had just had tailored, and the table was set up and ready for food. There were two lighted candles sitting on the table, and the lights were dimmed low. He had even gotten some flowers for her at her maid's suggestion, however silly it had seemed to him. It was the perfect romantic setting.

Except Bulma was not there. It was nearing eight thirty. Oddly enough he was not mad, but instead, he was worried. It was a foreign emotion, one that he had never felt before. He was used to hatred, anger, coldness...no emotion. But Bulma was making him feel so many different things that he could not even name them all. He was always wondering about her, if she was thinking about him or if she was happy or sad. Most of the day he had stared off into space, wondering what she was doing right then. Was she thinking of him? Did she hate him or did she want to forgive him? Did she think he was ugly or handsome? Did she wonder what he was doing at that moment as well?

So many questions...they almost made him sick. He felt like a blubbering beau wooing his first lady. He shot a look at the wild flowers sitting in the vase in the middle of the table. He had not stooped so low as to go pick them himself, for he probably would have puked. They were nice however, and he hoped that she would enjoy them.

He stood after looking at the clock sitting on the mantelpiece above the fireplace. Eight thirty-two. The feeling in his stomach was not because he was hungry; it was because he was scared. Something was not sitting with him right, and he did not know what it was.

He left his room, searching out any servant he could get a hold of. He found one loitering in the hallway near the staircase, and he grabbed him by his shirt so he could look him in the face. The servant nearly wet his pants.

"Where is Princess Bulma?" he demanded, tightening his hold on the cowering man. He had no clue as to why he was being violent, but it suited his mood just fine.

"Uh, uh, uh...I d-do not know, your majesty. S-she uh...I t-think she has been gone since a l-little after six when she f-finished with her d-d-duties."

Vegeta felt his face fall. "After six?! Did you see her leave?"

The man nodded his head. "S-she ugh, she was dressed in r-riding attire...I umm, um, um...think she was g-going out for a r-ride."

Vegeta threw the man away and ran down the stairs and out of the palace, immediately heading for the stables. The sick feeling in his stomach was not leaving. Had she been kidnapped? Had someone hurt her? He growled fiercely at the thought. If anyone has hurt her...I swear to the gods I will kill them.

He entered the stables, and instantly searched out a stable hand. He cursed when he saw no one. Of course no one is around when I need them!

He ran to the room where he knew the stable hands slept, and saw several laying around and two playing a card game. They all stood up immediately upon his entrance, all of them starting to sweat nervously. They had never seen that look on the prince's face, and it scared the hell out of them.

"Do any of you fools know where Princess Bulma is?" he asked, searching all their faces. One of the younger one's lifted his hand.

"What? Tell me now!" he yelled, ready to strangle them all for their fear of him. He wished one of them would grow some balls and stand in front of him without trembling and pissing themselves.

"She done went out fer a ride a while ago, yur 'ighness," Rokkocu said, seeing an odd look in the prince's eyes. Was he scared?

"Do you know when she left and where?" Vegeta demanded, fear clenching his stomach. He hated the feeling, but it was pure instinct and it had never let him down. Ever.

Rokkocu scratched his head. "Well, I'd done saddled 'er horse up a little after six, I be thinkin'. She 'eaded for the woods as far as I can tell ya. That's where she'd always be goin', yer 'ighness."

Vegeta nodded. "If I do not come back in an hour, send a search party out for me and the princess. Is that understood?"

They all nodded, and he took off out of the room and headed for his horse's stall. Warui lifted his big head at the sight of his owner, and then let out a big snort. Vegeta did not have time to give pleasantries to his horse or saddle him up, so he ripped open the door and leaped up on Warui's bare back in a fluid motion. He grabbed for the horse's mane and kicked him hard in the sides, causing Warui to snort loudly and rear back on his hind legs before he bolted out of his stall, heading for the open stable door at a reckless gallop. Vegeta urged him on as fast as he could, yelling at him to go faster and kicking him hard in the sides. He pushed his horse as hard he could, and soon they were flying across the countryside towards the huge forest that surrounded Versai. He passed stunned peasants and jumped small streams and crossed empty fields. He was nearing the forest at an incredibly fast speed, and he silently thanked his stallion for being so strong and willing to push himself so hard. After this mishap, he promised himself silently that he would give him a big bag of oats and feed him lots of carrots.

He entered the forest, and he had to slow his pace in order to pick through the underbrush. Tree branches and low bushes whipped at his face and legs, but he did not feel it in his urgency to find Bulma.

He stopped suddenly, thinking that he had heard something. He strained his ears, and he felt his eyes widen when he heard a rough scream.

"Vegeta!!! Someone help me...please!!!!!!"

He kicked his horse in the sides again, ignoring the stinging of all the branches hitting him. He broke into a clearing, and he heard her screaming more clearly. He could hear her tears even through all her cries, and he could hear her voice straining from yelling so much. She kept calling his name, and he felt his heart clench knowing that she was relying on him to save her.

He cantered into the field, his eyes searching the open field covered in fences and stone walls. It was starting to get dark out, but his eyesight was very acute, even in the dark.

He found her behind a high fence, sobbing wildly. He imagined that she was terrified of being left out in the field all night long by herself, and who knew what else was wrong with her. He quickly dismounted his horse and ran to her side, seeing her horse lying on its side next to her. Bulma was sitting next Ucukusii, tears streaming down her pale face as she petted him in a soothing motion.

Vegeta fell down beside her, his hands on her instantly. "Woman, what is wrong? Are you hurt? What happened?"

Bulma began crying louder as Vegeta ran his hands over her to search for any broken bones or injuries. Bulma followed his eyes as he reached her leg, which was trapped under her horse. Even through the dimming light she could see him flinch.

Her leg looked completely mangled. From what Vegeta could see through all the sluggishly flowing blood, her leg had broken and the bone had snapped clean through her skin on her thigh. The horse lying on top of her seemed to be helping to slow the blood flow down, but he imagined it did not help with the pain.

He looked away from her wound and searched her face. She was trembling horribly, and she clutched his arms as he looked into her eyes. He cupped her face and pushed her tangled hair out of her eyes. He dried her tears with his thumbs, and shushed her when her lower lip began trembling. He did not even think about it; he just brushed his mouth lightly, gently against hers to calm her. It seemed to work, for she drew in a deep breath to calm herself. Her ragged breathing slowed and evened out more, and Vegeta smiled softly.

"It is alright, woman. I will take care of you," he promised quietly, looking over to her heavily breathing stallion. She looked as well, and tears welled up in her eyes once more.

"Vegeta, I...I did not mean to do it. I thought he could take it...but I was wrong."

Vegeta nodded, understanding her without having her tell him exactly what happened. Apparently she had jumped the high fence that they were sitting by, and Ucukusii had not made it or had landed incorrectly. It could have been a number of things. He would ask her later, when she was safe inside the palace, warm, filled to the brim with good food, and healing.

He left her side to check on the horse, and sat by its side. He put his hands on its rounded stomach, and moved his hands slowly over it to calm the panicked animal. It was snorting and breathing heavily, as if it was in pain. Vegeta searched for an injury.

"His leg is broken."

Vegeta lifted his head, hearing his wife's shaky voice. He could barely see her through the near-darkness.

Vegeta found the problem immediately. The stallion's right front leg was nearly broken in half. Vegeta sucked in his breath. He did not think he had ever seen such a horrible break on a horse before.

He looked away and moved back over to Bulma. She looked at him with dread in her wide eyes, almost as if she knew what he was going to say.

"It's bad, isn't it," she said, and Vegeta was surprised to hear her talk without her normal proper dialect that she had been taught her whole life, just like him. He nodded sadly, and she looked away.

"We'll have to put him down," she stated, and Vegeta nodded again. She drew in a shuddering breath.

"What are we going to do?" she asked, searching his face. Her leg was nearly ripped apart, and she was trapped under her suffering horse. She did not know what to do, and her pain was dulling all her senses. All she knew was that it hurt like nothing she had ever felt before, it was so hard not to scream her head off. She had certainly done enough of that when it first happened. She just wanted to pass out or have Vegeta hit her upside the head or something. Anything to make the pain just go away....

Vegeta checked out her leg and where the horse was lying on her once again. He frowned, and then looked at her again.

"Bulma, this is going to hurt a lot, but it is the only way." He stared into her eyes, for they were the only things he could see clearly through the darkness. It was now completely dark outside, and he could hear the night animals begin to stir. There was no light except for the stars and the moons, but it was still extremely dark.

"What do we have to do?" she asked, holding her weight up with her arms. She seemed determined, but her face was beyond pale and she was trying not to cry. Vegeta smiled briefly at her strength.

"I am going to have to try to lift your horse off you, and you are going to have to drag yourself out from under him," Vegeta said, his voice quiet. He did not know why, but he was trying to be soothing.

He positioned himself by her leg and pushed his hands under Ucukusii's back with some difficulty, for the horse was huge, even for a stallion. Bulma flinched as she moved herself into a better position. She was already ready to scream from the pain, and she knew deep down that this was going to hurt worse than hell. She did not dare look at her leg, for she knew that she would freak out.

Vegeta glanced back at his wife before he nodded to her and turned back to her horse. He lifted upwards with all his strength, his teeth gritted and his muscles tensing. He heard Bulma cry out from the pain, and then gasp loudly as he lifted with all his strength and the horse shifted upward just enough for her to move out from underneath it. He could not imagine the pain she was going through as she finally managed to move out from beneath it, and he let the horse down as gently as he could. He did not want to put it through any more pain.

Bulma flopped onto her back, tears pouring down her face as she struggled with the agony from her leg. She let out a shuddering breath at the pain, but she was determined not to scream and show how weak she was to Vegeta. She knew he was a man of strength, him lifting her horse clear off the ground only attested to that, and she wanted to show him that she could be strong too.

Vegeta moved to her side, pushing her hair out of her eyes once more and gripping onto her hand. "Are you alright?" he questioned, afraid that she had fainted again. She had done a lot of fainting since he had come home.

She shook her head, sniffing as she held tightly onto his fingers. "No, I am alright," she said softly, her voice rough from screaming for over two hours.

Vegeta nodded after he released her hand and started taking off his shirt. Bulma felt her eyes widen. "V-Vegeta...what are you doing?"

He could not help but chuckle. "I am going to tie my shirt around your leg, woman. It is bleeding very heavily now that the horse is off you. Believe it or not, I think he saved your life by stopping the blood flow to your leg." He did not want to think about finding his wife dead from blood loss.

Bulma smiled pathetically as he finished unbuttoning his shirt and laid it on the ground. He began unbuckling his belt, and Bulma gulped. This situation was just so odd....

Vegeta managed to get his leather belt around her leg without touching her. He started tightening it around her upper thigh, and she sucked in her breath painfully as he tied it as tight as he could and then hooked it. He glanced around, and then told her he would be right back. She sat there by herself for a few minutes before he came back, two large sticks in his hands. Bulma had been getting worried about him being gone for so long, and not to mention she was starting to get light-headed. She was in so much pain, but oddly enough, Vegeta's presence helped her. She was grateful for him so much in that moment that she felt a lump form in her throat.

Vegeta strapped the two sticks to the sides of her thigh after ripping his shirt into several different pieces. She held her breath until he was done, and then let it all whoosh out. What was left of his shirt he wrapped around her leg to help stop the flow of blood. Bulma was very impressed by the time he was done, albeit in extreme pain. She just wanted to go home....

Vegeta told her he would be right back, and then came back in a moment with his horse. Bulma noticed through the dark that Warui was bareback and was missing reins. She jerked her head towards Vegeta, a questioning look on her face. Had he worried about her so much that he had jumped onto his horse without a saddle or reins just to get to her? She wanted to sigh romantically at the notion, but she was in too much pain.

Vegeta knelt down beside his wife and told her to wrap her arms around him. She wanted to protest because she knew this was going to hurt worse than anything, but she was surprised at how gently her lifted her and held her against his bare chest. She pressed one of her hands against the smooth skin over his heart for balance, and she could feel it beating under her palm.

He carried her over to Wauri, where he expertly maneuvered himself so he could mount his warhorse and hold her at the same time. Bulma was stunned, but did not say anything. She was starting to get extremely woozy, but she did not say anything to her husband in fear that he would panic. That was the last thing she wanted him to do.

As they started riding slowly out of the clearing, Bulma jerked her head up. "What about Ucukusii? I cannot just leave him here to die by himself!"

Vegeta frowned at her through the dark, allowing his horse to pick his way through the brush in the field. "Shut up, woman. Just rest and let me do the worrying. We have been gone for over an hour, and there should be a search party coming after us. I will give them the needed instructions."

Bulma felt herself pale. "But Vegeta...I did not get to say goodbye."

He sighed and was tempted to run his hand over his face, but he was too busy holding Bulma and holding onto his horse at the same time. "Alright. If I go back and let you say goodbye to your horse, do you promise you will be quiet the whole way home?"

She nodded pathetically, tears reaching her eyes. How was she supposed to say goodbye to a horse she had known for almost half her life? He meant so much to her...she did not want to let him go. This was all her fault. She was so stupid....

Vegeta turned back and quickly reached her horse again. He saw Ucukusii's tail flick through the darkness as he let out a weak snort. He managed to dismount his own horse without falling on his face, which he was thankful for. Bulma might be light as a feather, but it was hard dismounting a horse while holding someone. He was happy that his horse was so perfectly trained and knew to stand still.

He carried her over to Ucukusii's [Author ID0: at ]side, but he did not let go of her. It would be difficult getting her into his arms again without hurting her.

Bulma relaxed somewhat oddly in Vegeta's arms as he knelt down close beside her horse. She reached out her hands to touch Ucukusii, and she felt tears overflow from her eyes when she felt him trembling from pain. She could not imagine what pain he must be going through, even though they both seemed to have broken legs. Just another thing to add onto the list....

Ucukusii snorted and tried to lift his head to look at his mistress, but he could not move much. He snickered softly as Bulma touched his nose and began talking to him.

"Sweetheart...I am so sorry for doing this to you," she cried, unable to stop her tears. "It was all my fault. I should have known that you would not be able to make that wall. You are such a good horse...you were the best that I have ever rode. You are so smart and beautiful...and that is why I gave you your name. Because you are so beautiful."

Bulma let her horse blow his breath onto her hand. She kept petting his nose, for she knew that he loved it. It seemed to make him feel better and calm him.

"I promise that I will never forget you. You will not be in any more pain soon," she sobbed, hearing yells and calls briefly through the forest. Vegeta seemed to have noticed as well. "I will make sure that you will be buried somewhere nice...where you would like it." She felt a huge lump form in her throat and she could barely talk. "I love you...I love you so much." She covered her face with her hands, unable to hold it back anymore. Vegeta moved to leave, and she cried out.

"No, I am not done," she whispered, looking closely at him. He grunted and nodded.

She moved her hands back to her horse, and he shuddered at her touch, almost as if he knew what she was talking to him about. "I have to go now, Ucukusii. I want you to know that you were great to me...and I could never ask for a better horse," she said gently, petting him one last time. "I love you...and I will see you in heaven someday, I promise. Be a good boy for me, and say hi to everyone up there as well."

Bulma leaned forward as best as she could, not caring about the sharp shooting pains lancing through her leg. She kissed his soft nose, and gave him a watery smile before Vegeta lifted her up and began walking away. She looked back at him, and waved goodbye. He whinnied, and Bulma felt her tears flow unstopping down her cheeks.

Vegeta mounted his horse again, and she had one last glance at her beautiful stallion before they rode out of the clearing.

The last thing she heard Ucukusii do was whinny, and it floated away on the wind...and she knew that she would never hear it again.

Ucukusii - Beautiful

Warui - Evil

Rokkocu - Rib

Author's Note: So, what did everyone think? I have to admit...I cried when I wrote this chapter. It was just so incredibly sad for me to write about that horse suffering. I had to get up and take a break because it was so SAD...oh well, I hope that this chapter was excellent for all of you, because I think it is!

So...what do you think is going to happen? Is Vegeta going to take care of Bulma and make sure she gets everything she wants like the spoiled princess she is? How will Bulma take the loss of her horse? And what about the plague? Who is going to catch it next? Will anyone ever come up with a vaccine to save everyone on Vegeta-sei? Find out next time on The Prince and Princess Diaries....