Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Unfaithful ❯ Part Three: 15 ( Chapter 15 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

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................................................................ ...................Rhapsody~*



________________________~* Part Three*~: Diplomacy
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From her seat on the veranda of one the city's most exclusive restaurants, Queen Magdalene could see a great deal of the sprawling, crowded city streets and the people that milled about on them. The fireworks had been made a public affair, since (in Magdalene's opinion, anyway) there were far too few to start with. The nobles might have complained, but at the moment, Magdalene was content to let them have at it.

Seated at her table with her was Bardock, who watched the crowds below with a somber expression and an untouched martini in front of him. Bardock had never been a good drinker. A few tables over, the younger members of the council, Nappa, Radditz, and Turles, drank the night away. Kakkarott had moved from their company to that of his girlfriend, Chichi. They stood at the railing together a short distance away, whispering and giggling to each other. Her son and the human monarchs, however, were nowhere to be seen.

"Have you received word about the humans?" Bardock asked, as if reading her thoughts. "I don't see them anywhere. Nor do I see Prince Vejita."

"I wasn't expecting Vejita to come," Magdalene said, sipping her own drink and scanning the crowd with her unique green eyes. "But I was under the impression that Bulma was looking forward to the fireworks. Yamcha is keeping her away, most likely."

"That man is one of the most foolish I've ever met," Bardock confided, eyeing his martini with distaste. After seeing the human king drink himself into a stupor, he had no desire to repeat the same process himself. "I hate to say it, but your son is right. The humans are wanting a war, but why?"

"Why does anyone want war?" Magdalene said sadly. "Power, recognition, name your preference."

"But there is no way that they can hold their own in battle. Even someone as stupid as Yamcha could see that."

"Therein lies our challenge." Magdalene leaned forward so that no one would overhear her quiet words. "He is planning something, I think. Maybe developing a new kind of technology that could take out a population before any hand-to-hand combat. However, I may be wrong. He might just feel that its time to expand his empire. My husband often had the same inclinations."

"But your husband had you to restrain his power," Bardock pointed out. "Yamcha does not have that in Bulma. She cannot speak up, because she fears punishment."

Magdalene raised an eyebrow. "She fears punishment because she receives it daily. If you look closely, you can make out her physical wounds. And on top of that, she is punished mentally every day that she is married to the tyrant."

"You defend her like a daughter," Bardock said, comfortable speaking his mind with the woman he come to know over the years that their sons had been comrades. "She is just visiting royalty, Magdalene. Are you sure that you aren't getting too attached?"

The Saiyan Queen could read his mind like an open book. "I will not resort to such dirty methods as assasinating leaders to win a war, Bardock, and I don't think that you would, either. The girl hasn't a friend in the world, thanks to her husband. Does that situation remind you of anything?"

"You may feel the connection between you and her to be strong, but you can never be too sure. Yamhca might be using her as a pawn in his little game here. She could turn on you at any moment."

"Please stop that," Magdalene ordered him. She knew that he was only looking out for the well-being of both herself and the empire, but to hear such accusations about Bulma hurt her. "Let us enjoy our drinks and the fireworks, and not dwell on those things."

Bardock nodded, but it was clear that his thoughts were not on his drink or the oncoming fireworks show. Not that Magdalene could blame him-- he was just a serious, dedicated man. They were lucky to have him on their side.

"Kakkarott seems to have found a good match," Magdalene said after a quiet moment, her eyes on the railing of the veranda where the young man and Chichi talked lightheartedly. "I wish that Vejita would settle down."

Bardock followed her glance and nodded, a wistful smile on his wrinkled face. "It brings me joy to see my son so happy. It is truly a privlege when you live long enough to see your children start families."

"I am starting to think that I will never enjoy that aspect of life," Magdalene said softly. "Vejita has no interest in searching for a mate."

Bardock tore his eyes away from Kakkarott and Chichi and studied Magdalene with somber eyes. "Perhaps that is not the direction that his life will take. Some people don't have the need to share their lives with somebody else. Either way, he will be a good king, this I know."

"It means a lot to hear somebody say that."

"It is my pleasure, Your Majesty," Bardock replied. "When your son assumes the throne, you have my word that I will serve him with all that I have."

Magdalene grinned and raised her glass, green eyes twinkling. "I'll toast to that."

Glasses clinked, and the fireworks started.
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By the time they made it out of the palace, Bulma's feet felt as if they were on fire, but she didn't mind. It was almost as if the connection created by she and Vejita's joined hands was feeding her the strength she needed to make it without collapsing.

"Where are we going?" Bulma asked. "If its much farther, your going to have to carry me!"

Vejita was leading her along the path to the city, which was paved with cobblestones that did not bode well for ladies in heels. "We're going to a place near the outskirts of the city," he said impatiently. "If your shoes are hurting, just take the damned things off."

"And go barefoot?" Bulma asked incredulously. All her life, she had dreamed about running barefoot like the peasant children beneath her balcony, but to actually do it... "Perhaps I could just--"

"Whats the matter?" Vejita chided with a smirk. "Afraid already?"

"Afraid? What is there to be afraid of?"

The playful smirk got larger. "I knew that the fireworks scared you, but don't you think that your excuse is extreme?"

Bulma suddenly stopped in her tracks. "I am not afraid!" she insisted, bending over to take off her expensive heels. She left them by the side of the path without a second thought. "Are we going now?"

"Only if your sensitive feet can handle it," Vejita retorted, starting down the path again. "Hurry up-- we're going to miss the show."

The barefooted queen needed no encouragement. Without the restraint of her uncomfortable shoes, she was easily able to keep up with the prince. "Your mother will wonder where we are, especially when she finds Yamcha in the meeting room," she said worriedly. "What should we tell her?"

Vejita thought for a moment, his onyx-colored eyes ever searching for people on the road ahead of them. "We will simply tell her that since fireworks frightened you and your idiot husband passed out, it was the perfect time to discuss the meeting. And on top of that, the woman knows that I wasn't exactly jumping up and down over all of this fireworks bullshit to begin with."

"I hate lying to her," Bulma muttered. "She has gone out of her way for me, and now look at us."

Vejita grew deadly serious. "If you tell her now, there's no telling what the hell will happen."

"I wouldn't tell her," Bulma assured him hurriedly. "But that doesn't mean that I have to like it."

They had reached the outskirts of the city, which was deserted, much to Bulma's puzzlement. Vejita was quick to tell her that all of the Saiyans were likely gathered in places closer to the fireworks, in the heart of the action. He then led her around the side of a particularly large building, atop of which one could look over the whole rest of the city. Bulma looked doubtfully down at her binding wrap, then up at the building.

"On top of a building?" The human shook her head. "Its too risky. Any flying Saiyan could see us."

"What do you take me for, some kind of idiot?" Vejita gestured to the area around them. "There are no homes here. That's why I chose it."

"Ah," Bulma said. He was right-- there wasn't a home in sight. "You're going to have to fly me up there, though."

"Which won't be a problem, considering that you have the body weight equivelant to that of a dried-up corpse."

Bulma winced at the grisly analogy. "Charming. Utterly charming."

The Saiyan Prince smirked. "You didn't have to tell me that. I stick with what I know."

A test flare went off in the distance, warning the waiting Saiyans that the show was near to beginning. Bulma followed its glowing trail with wide eyes, her heart in her throat. She had seen fireworks once in her entire life, for a split second before her mother had shooed her away to shelter. Vejita nearly had to shout to get her attention as the flare exploded with a burst of orange sparks.

"Flying isn't necessary," he observed, surveying the building before them with expertise. "Raising my ki would catch Magdalene's attention, and then she would know where I was. All you have to do is climb up that pipe over there."

Bulma raised her eyebrows at the vertical climb. "Oh? Is that all?"

Vejita ignored her and started up the pipe with ease. He was up on top of the building in a matter of seconds. He then turned and stared down at the human girl expectantly. He clearly was under the impression that she could easily scale it as well.

"I couldn't possibly make up there!" Bulma called to him helplessly.

"Then I suppose you'll miss the show." Vejita crossed his arms and waited.

Bulma, at a loss for words, could only gape at the pipe. With shaky hands, she seized the hem of her wrap and tied it up above her knees, careful not to ruin the delicate fabric. She couldn't help but feel a bit ashamed-- never in her life had she revealed her legs to any man, save for her husband. It was downright scandalous to even show your ankles back on Earth, yet here she was, wearing the equivelant of a miniskirt. The human queen mustered up the bravery to look back up at Vejita, who acted as if there was nothing odd about showing one's legs. His casual demeanor gave her courage, and she found herself approaching the pipe.

She had never climbed anything in her life, so she was at a loss of what she was supposed to do. As she was deciding what to do, another flare went off in the distance.

"That's the final warning, woman," Vejita called, getting impatient. "Hurry up!"

Bulma took a deep breath, then gripped the pipe with both hands and hoisted herself off of the ground. The first few feet were extremely difficult-- her slender arms were not accustomed to bearing her entire weight, but with renewed adrenaline responsible by her eagneress to see her first fireworks, she managed to make it almost all of the way up without Vejita's help. There she stopped, her blue eyes wide with uncertainty. She couldn't bear to move another foot, she knew it, but her only other option was to let go and tumble to the hard ground. It would be hard to make up an excuse for a broken back.

"Vejita," she pleaded. "Help me up, please."

The prince was about to roll his eyes, but then realized that there was real fear and helplessness in Bulma's eyes, and reluctantly grabbed hold of her arms and lifted her easily up onto the roof. "You need to exercise even more than your weakling mate," he commented.

Bulma sat on the edge of the roof, catching her breath. "Don't call him that," she managed between breaths. "Calling him my 'mate' implies that our relationship was voluntary, and it most definitely was not. He is my husband by title only."

Vejita avoided her eyes, and ignored her comment. He instead moved to the highest part of the roof and took a seat, his gaze fixed on the sky above the city.

Bulma furrowed her brows in confusion. What had she said? Apparently it hadn't been unexcusable, because when she crossed the roof and sat down beside him, her wrap still tied up around her knees, he did not frown or scowl. A question loomed on the edges of her mind, but it was risky. Since she had nothing to lose, she decided to ask it.

"Why is it that you are not mated yet?" she asked quietly, her expression sincere. "I was under the impression that most are expected to be paired at a fairly young age. And you're the heir to the throne-- I would think that that would only speed up the process."

"It isn't that simple here," Vejita responded blandly. Her question had obviously caught him off guard. "A mate is not just someone that you call your partner and can divorce whenever you get sick of them. A Saiyan mates for life. There is only one person that is destined to be with you, so whether or not you find them is out of your hands."

Bulma thought this to be the most sensible way to find a partner she had ever heard of. "Do you think that you'll ever find her?" she asked softly.

Vejita turned to look at her, his eyes unreadable. Bulma waited for his answer innocently, her delicate features expectant. She had probably wondered the same thing for herself many times since she had married Yamcha, Vejita thought. And unfortunately, she would probably never find that person. "No one can ever tell. As far as I know, I could have met her already."

Bulma had not reply to this, so she fell silent. Vejita watched her for a moment, then leaned back on his elbows to better see the sky. He didn't mind the silence-- he own mind was turning full force. After a minute, Bulma leaned back beside him, still lost in thought.

Finally, with a burst of multi-colored light, the fireworks began. Bulma watched with gleaming eyes as the sky exploded with color and light before her. Vejita had seen fireworks countless times in his life, so this was nothing special. Inconspicuously, he watched the emotions cross Buma's enraptured face as the show went on. There was so many things that the girl had never seen for herself that she could experience here, and she didn't even know the half of it.

Bulma glanced over during a short break inbetween fireworks and noticed him not even paying attention to the show. "How can you not watch?" she asked. "You don't even know how lucky you are to have this kind of freedom."

Vejita snorted. "Fireworks? That's your idea of freedom?"

Bulma looked a little bit hurt at his amused reaction. "You take for granted what millions of others would give up their lives to have."

"Would you?"

The queen turned back to the fireworks. The brilliant colors were reflected on her eyes on face and made her even more breathtaking than she had been before. She sighed heavily, as if a heavy burden were being taken off of her thin shoulders.

"Yes," she breathed, closing her eyes for a moment, as if to imprint the moment in her mind forever. "I would sacrifice everything."

Vejita watched the show for another minute, then turned to see that Bulma was watching him rather than the fireworks. He smirked, knowing that they were on the same wavelength, and soon enough their lips met, as if to seal her admission. Because really, if they were discovered, she would be sacrificing everything.

Bulma no longer cared that she was missing the show-- they seemed to be generating their own fireworks. She squeezed her eyes shut tight to contain the tears were forming in her azure eyes at the perfect moment. If only it were really possible to give up everything, if only...

The finale of the show began, and neither monarch had any intentions of stopping.
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After the show, the Saiyan council, including Magdalene and Bardock, stayed on the restaurant veranda, which had been reserved especially for them, to discuss the meeting. Nobody looked happy to be talking business after the celebration, but it could not be avoided. They were getting nothing done, and if things kept on this way, there would be war for sure.

"There has to be a way to resolve this problem," Bardock said, partly to himself. "Yamcha clearly does not want to cooperate, but its the only way..."

Magdalene pondered whether she should tell the others about her plans to speak with Bulma. She looked around at all of the faces near her, and knew instinctively that they could be trusted. She had, after all, known them for their entire lives. "I think that I may have a solution for that particular problem."

Turles snickered. "I have a solution-- why don't we just beat him into submission? Its always worked before."

His fellow troublemakers-- aka Radditz, Nappa, and even Kakkarott-- chuckled at the only half-joking suggestion. Bardock looked like he had a migraine coming on.

"But you all must swear to absolute secrecy," Magdalene continued, her tone stern. "If word of this comes out..." She shook her head. "There is no telling what could happen."

The others leaned towards her, intrigued. It wasn't often that Magdalene did something so risky.

"I had a little chat with Queen Bulma the other day," the woman began, taking in the mixed reactions on the men's faces. Doubt, suspicion, and something approaching lust-- they were all there. "And I learned that she was punished for her wise words at the dinner. She is clearly our only good contact with Earth, the voice of reason compared to her husband. We decided to take our chances and have her meet with either Vejita or myself sometime after each meeting, so that she can share her ideas and perhaps help us to bargain with Yamcha. What do you think of that?"

Silence for a moment. Then Bardock spoke up, his voice grave.

"Are you sure that this is wise idea, Magdalene?" he asked, his voice lowered just in case any servants were eavesdropping, as they were sometimes known to do. "Bulma may remind you of yourself in earlier years, and you many think that you can save her, but how can you be sure that she won't turn on us?"

Magdalene snorted. "Oh, please. That poor girl is starving for some say in the matter. It is becoming increasingly obvious to me that she is unhappy and wanting to have her voice heard."

Radditz pouted. "How come Vejita is the one to meet with her? He has a hot temper-- he could explode and ruin things at any given moment. I think that if I were the one to--"

"Shut up, Radditz," Turles snapped. "You just want to get up her skirt, you bastard!"

Nappa came to his friend's defense. "Hey! Wouldn't you? I think that every man here with partly-functioning balls would go out of his way to get that."

"I wouldn't," Kakkarott said timidly. "Bulma's nice. She's just a friend."

"Kakkarott seems to be the only one here with a bit of sense," Magdalene pointed out. "The reason that I chose Vejita was because I know that he will be able to handle the situation, and I know that he would not utter a word about it. It sounds like I was right-- sending one of you fools out sounds a bit too dangerous for my liking."

"Speaking of Vejita..." Bardock said. "Where is he? It defeats the purpose of this discussion to have him missing. He is, after all, in charge of the talks."

"I had not told him that we would be doing this," Magdalene replied. "And he had no desire to watch the fireworks, so he is back at the palace."

Radditz, grumpy after being ridiculed, rolled his eyes. "How come he can get out of it so easily?"

Everyone at the table ignored him, which wasn't entirely unusual.

"Where Vejita is doesn't matter," Bardock said, breaking the silence. "Magdalene, I still do not think that Bulma should be trusted. She could easily con any sane man into spilling all kinds of political secrets."

It was then that none other than Prince Vejita himself entered the council's private veranda, scowling as usual. He had heard Bardock's comment, but was hiding it well. The Saiyan then pulled up a chair next to Magdalene and Turles. The people at the table waited for an explanation that never came. Instead, Kakkarott spoke up, unable to bear the awkward lull in conversation any longer.

"Where were you, Vejita?" he asked innocently. "You missed some great fireworks."

Vejita chuckled inwardly at the incorrect assumption. He had gotten his share of fireworks, that was for sure. And he was still feeling them, even after Bulma had slipped back into the palace, fully dressed once more. "I was in the palace. I despise crowds, and I've seen enough fireworks shows to blow up one of the moons of Namek."

"We were just about ready to discuss this evening's meeting," Magdalene informed him. Something in her voice led Vejita to believe that she had only pretended to accept his excuse. "I told them about our arrangements with Queen Bulma."

Vejita glared at his mother sharply. That had not been what he had expected. His mother must have been extremely worried about an impending war to allow such a dangerous secret to be shared. He hoped that the woman knew what she was doing. "I hope that everyone is aware of what could happen if word gets out." And everyone knew that war was not the only punishment that would come to them. Vejita may be their friend, but he also had the blood of millions on his hands. What was a few more to him?

Bardock cleared his throat, preparing to speak. "You can be assured that no here will utter a word," he said with a respectful nod to his prince. "I give you my word."

"Which is more than enough," Magdalene interjected. "Moving on-- what did you think of the meeting, Vejita?"

"Unproductive to the casual observer," he responded, leaning back in his chair with a smug look on his face. "But not so much if you know what to look for."

Nappa could nto help but disagree. "We got nothing done, Vejita-sama. All that was shown was that we share no common goals whatsoever."

"You are looking at it completely wrong," Vejita continued. "If you dumbasses weren't so caught up on making quick progress, you would have seen what I did-- weaknesses."

The Saiyans mulled this over for a moment, then realized that Vejita was right. Magdalene's green eyes gleamed with pride.

"Yamcha is clearly a drinker, and it doesn't take much to affect his judgement," the prince said, picturing Yamcha slumped over the table, a half-empty glass of wine still within his reach. "His anger is also something that can be used against him. And then... there's his woman."

"Bulma?" Bardock shook his head. "How is she a weakness?"

Vejita smirked at his own cleverness. "She is his trophy. Compliment her to keep him happy, and use her to control his actions. If worse comes to worse, she can be used as a tool to bargain with. And when she starts giving her opinions on the meetings, we can also acquire any information that Yamcha is keeping from us."

Magdalene looked grim. "So be it then. The girl could be the downfall of both our empires."

Vejita looked away. If she only knew.
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Bulma returned to her room to find that Yamcha was still unconscious in the meeting room, which worked well for her, considering that it would have been nearly impossible to conceal her excitement over the fireworks. And Vejita.

Unfortunately, she could not bask her in happiness alone. Nataliah scurried over to her the minute she stepped through the door, her plain face worried.

"My lady!" she exclaimed. "Where were you? And what of King Yamcha? The meeting ended hours ago!"

Bulma almost did not mind her maid's frantic questions today. "I went to watch the fireworks, and Yamcha is... still in the meeting room." The queen took off her uncomfortable shoes and started over to her vanity, where she took a seat and motioned to the hairbrush that rested on it. "Would you brush out my hair please, Nataliah?"

The handmaiden obediently began to do her lady's bidding, but her thoughts were elsewhere. She had no doubt in her mind that Bulma had been with the dark and handsome Saiyan Prince. The thought deeply troubled her.

"Oh, Nataliah," Bulma breathed happily as the other girl brushed her silky curls. "I had so much fun this night. It almost makes up for the horrible meeting."

"Did you enjoy the fireworks, m'lady?" Nataliah asked, hoping that Bulma's secret would slip. "I've heard that they are quite frightening."

Bulma closed her eyes for a second, as if reliving the moment. "At first they are, but it is hard to be scared of something so beautiful." The queen then spun around in her chair to face her maid earnestly. "Promise me that you will never tell Yamcha that I went. I need your word." When Nataliah nodded shakily, her eyes averted elsewhere, she relaxed and sat back down.

"Did you watch them with the queen?" Nataliah dared to ask. As for the promise she had made... she could only hope that she would have the strength to honor it.

Bulma seemed to hesitate for a moment before answering. "Yes. Her and the Saiyan council. They behave so differently-- almost like a family. They even call each other by their first names."

"How strange."

"Not strange," Bulma corrected her with a wistful smile. "Comfortable."

Nataliah finished brushing the last section of Bulma's shining hair and took a step back to admire her work. "You seem to like it her, m'lady."

"Oh, I do," Bulma said. "Everything is so relaxed, and the planet is so gorgeous, like something out of a dream."

Nataliah responded quietly. "And what of... the people?"

Bulma sighed contentedly. "Wonderful. The people here are wonderful." The queen then stood and turned to her maid with a yawn. "If you'll excuse me, I believe I'll retire."

Nataliah curtsied before leaving for her own room. "Good night, m'lady."

"Good night," was Bulma's moony response.

Nataliah grimaced as she turned her back and exited the room. It was worse than she had feared. The married queen was either completely head-over-heels in love or stark raving mad, and as time passed, the second option was seeming far more appealing.
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Rhapsody~*
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