Vegeta stared back unwaveringly into the eyes of his attacker. The small face neared his own and he could smell her scent. The rapid beating of the pulse on her neck made her fear obvious. He breathed in her scent, reveling in the clean scent of leaves and the sweet scent that was hers alone.

"I won't hurt you, Little One." He spoke the words huskily, and moved his hand to the one holding the knife. The hand remained firm and the knife was once again pressed to the jugular vein in his neck, proving the knowledge of his attacker and her bravery against a larger, stronger man.

"I asked you, who are you and what do you want…" the woman growled, the lowness of her tone combined with the odd musical quality of her voice sent shivers down his spine.

"I am Vega, the Harper. I wander from town to town entertaining the people and bringing news." He smirked, and no one could tell anyone otherwise, at least no one alive.

She laid a hand on his shoulder. Then she blinked angrily. "Liar!" the woman hissed. "You lie! I can see the truth! Your intentions in this town are far from what you say they are, yet honorable as they are, I will forgive you for lying to me!"

"Lying to you! I have no reason to tell you the truth, and you have to right to pry, witch!" Vegeta seethed. "I should kill you right now for that!" He reached down for the knife hidden in his boot.

"You? Kill me! Foolish mortal as if someone could kill a Fae---" she clamped her hand over her mouth, still keeping the knife at Vegeta's throat.

"Oh do continue, Little One, I believe you were about to admit to me that you were a cursed Faemhphmhp!" she swiftly sheathed the knife and clamped her hand over his mouth.

"Don't even say it. And you better not tell anyone, or I'll tell them about what you're doing here, Prince Vegeta." He glared at her. She sighed. "We both know each other's secrets. I propose we work together." He arched his eyebrow at her.

"What do you have that I want?" He growled.

"I believe that we have what you need to free our people." She shifted on her feet.

"What? Our people? You are no Saiya-jin wench, no Saiya-jin would have hair such as that!" He gestured to her sapphire blue locks.

"It is true I am not a full Saiya-jin, but I do care about our people." She sat down on the small bed in the corner. "I am Xarantha, Princess of the Dryads, but you would call me Bulma. I am half Saiya-jin because Kakkarotto is my father. I came here to search for a new Master Woodsman, and to regain the Eight Treasures of Faerie. There is a servant of the Dark Lords who is here to steal them. They are no longer safe."

"What does this have to do with me?" asked Vegeta coldly. He knew the old stories, and Faeries didn't help humans or Saiya-jins alike, even if this Faerie was half Saiya-jin, or so she said.

"If the Dark Lords are released then the whole world will be in danger. We will be thrown back into the violence of the Dark Age. Besides, I do believe that there is something in it for you other than that. You desire to free your kingdom do you not?"

"Of course I do, woman! Why else would I search all of Terra disguised as a traveling minstrel?" Vegeta snorted.

Bulma chose to ignore his sarcasm. "Well up in my kingdom, deep in the heart of the Forests of Burzee, there lies a treasure, for you at least. It is not gold, nor silver, nor anything valuable to any man. It is a flute, carved out of sung wood from the Tree of Life, passed down from the first Dryad Queen to my mother and someday to me. I believe it is what you seek." Vegeta ran over the description of the flute and compared it to the instrument spoken of by The Goddess. It seemed to fit and his heart leapt with the thought of freeing his people. But he kept this to himself and looked imperiously over to the little Dryad sitting on the bed, trying to ignore her exquisite beauty.

"I accept."

"Good." Her eyes danced with merriment, then turned serious. "Don’t lie to me again, your highness, for I will know, and I will not hesitate to kill you. In Faerie, lying is betrayal, and I do not take that lightly from someone I do not know well."

"As if you could kill me, you're just a weak woman," Vegeta scoffed. He found himself pinned against the wall surprisingly swift and deft for anyone, never mind a weak woman.

"You should not underestimate the power of Faerie, mortal. It could get you killed…" and she laughed and left the spare room for her own little room. Vegeta watched her go, not trusting the little Dryad or his feelings toward her.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Vegeta sat in the corner of the hazy tavern of the inn. He resisted coughing from the combined fumes of smoke, bitter ale and stale sweat. It was one of the few situations in life where he cursed his keen Saiya-jin senses. He had played song after song for the patrons, and made more than enough in tips to get him a horse. Perfect. He could steal the Treasures of Faerie along with the pipe of the Dryads and get safely back to his kingdom. Double-crossing the Dryad didn't bother him in the least. Imagine, blackmailing the Prince of the Saiya-jins. She had overstepped herself with that move, Faerie or not. There was a rowdy cheer from the front of the room and Vegeta looked up. The chant began.

"Bring out the wench!!"

"All right, all right!" Timarash appeared in front of the drunken men. "Here she is!" A loud cheer went up. Bulma appeared, wearing a low cut, deep blue gown, made of a sheer material over a pair of black leather leggings and leather vest.

"Sing! Sing!" came the command. Bulma obliged by singing 'My Bonnie Blue-Eyed Boy' and accompanying herself on her small, carved pipe. Even Vegeta had to agree with Krillen. She did have the voice of an angel. He then reminded himself that this was a Faerie. She could trick the mind and fool the eyes. All of a sudden a lone drunken man in a corner called out:

"Come on now lassie! Dance for us!" and the rest agreed.

"Alright now," Bulma said coyly, "You keep the beat," and she clapped her hands in rhythm for them. The men and drummers took up the beat. She danced seductively, her hips swaying in time with the music and accompanied herself on her small pipe. The sheer dress slid over her body and little glimpses of her smooth white skin could be seen through it. When the dance came to an end, she ended it with a little flick of her hips which let every man in the room know what a woman she was. Coincidentally, that was just what Vegeta was thinking. Maybe he wouldn't kill her after all, and would bring her along with him to Saiya. She was half Saiya-jin after all…Arghh! Tossing his head, he thrust those thoughts from his mind. Half aroused by and half disgusted with her blatant display he walked stiffly up the stairs to his room.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

He awoke to someone shaking him gently. His ebony eyes flickered open to stare into sapphire blue ones.

"Come on, we must go." She whispered urgently. "Someone is going to try and steal the Treasures tonight! I can feel it." Soundlessly, she moved out the window and onto the roof. "Come on then!" she whispered impatiently. Vegeta gathered his few belongings quickly and followed her out onto the roof. She leapt gracefully from the roof. Vegeta gave a little cry and held his hand out to her. She, however, ignored it and landed softly on the grass with all the grace and agility of a cat. "Come along then Harper!" she grinned mockingly. He couldn't let her poke fun at him! Trying to ignore the two-story drop, he flung himself over the edge and landed clumsily on the grass next to her. She steadied him with surprising strength. "Come." And she pointed to the light flickering in the top window of the Watchtower.

"How do I get myself into these things…" grumbled Vegeta.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*