Through the hazy swirls of fleeting dreams, the soft warmth of reality shone down on her bare skin. The sunny beach in her dream slowly drifted away, the people on the white shore waved at her, sad smiles on all of their faces. The soft lapping of the water around her ankles, the tangy sea air, the smiling faces…all of it was just a faded memory of her younger years when she was home. She felt herself release a deep breath that she hadn’t realized she was holding. Regretfully, she opened her eyes and immediately remembered what had happened. His bright, burning golden body above her, his mouth searing her flesh, their heat melting into one mass of fire. A shiver swept down her spine. He wasn’t there, she noted as the space next to her was empty and cold.

"Vegita…" Bulma murmured. Strangely she wasn’t angry or vengeful about it all, just sad. Did he realize what he’d done? What he’d created? She wasn’t sure, one finger absently traced the bruises coiled around her arm. Another sigh and she got up, stretching out the soreness and kinks from the night before. Looking in the full length mirror in the corner of his room, she saw the full extent of what Vegita had done. Bulma frowned. "That dumb—"

"Heh, what a fragile thing you are," Vegita said from the doorway. He chuckled when she scrambled for something to cover herself. "Woman, I’ve seen all that already," he reminded as she wrapped a nearby towel around her battered body.

Bulma sneered. "Well, I still have my modesty. It’s not every day I get knocked off my feet and screwed until I pass out. Not to mention nearly get ripped in half." She walked to the door and paused, waiting for him to move so that she could go find some clothes.

"You are very lucky to end up with only a few bruises. Saiya-jin mate very roughly." Vegita grinned, looking down at the black handprints on her upper arms. Funny, he hadn’t grabbed her that hard… or at least he didn’t think so.

"Lucky, huh? Sure. You also ripped my new dress to shreds. It took me forever to find the material to make it." Bulma frowned and thought to herself if she still had enough fabric left.

Vegita’s brow creased to a fine point on his forehead. The woman had no idea just how close she’d come to death. He had been angry, half mad when he’d taken her. The thought of her being battered to death by him sent a feeling of dread down his spine, zigzagging through his vertebrae and threading through his muscle fibers. "Woman," he began but stopped himself. It was best she didn’t know… she would think he had no control, that he was weak.

Bulma looked up at him, still waiting for him to step aside so she could leave. At that moment he shifted, giving her enough space to slip by, as if he just realized that she had been standing there waiting. Bulma turned sideways to squeeze through the gap, making her way to the small futon where her clothes where. To her surprise he followed her, she paused, unsure about what to do. Would he be mad if she walked in front of him? How did their union change the relationship they had? Bulma slowed down until he was walking next to her. "So," she prompted. "What are you going to do now that you’re a—" she stopped, wondering if this was pushing it.

"A Super Saiya-jin?" Vegita finished, seemingly unbothered by her choice of discussion. "I will finish my training early; we will leave sooner than expected. Even though by law you should be executed for your actions against the Royal Heir to Vegita-sei’s throne, you will be pardoned from your sentence." He smirked, glancing at her peripherally as they walked slowly towards the small room she had taken to. He watched as she tensed like a serpent ready to strike in defense, her hands clenching into small fists.

Bulma released the breath she was holding, and noticed that she had tightened every muscle in her body when he had mentioned the word ‘executed’. At least she would be allowed to live and go back to working with Bardock. Despite her gratefulness, she couldn’t help but wonder why he was pardoning her. Sure they had had sex, but to a Saiya-jin that held no special meaning, especially since it was an alien coupling. It was a common occurrence for warriors to use slaves. Still, a flare went off in her mind, a beacon signaling a ship at sea that a reef was nearby. There was something in his voice, a slight alteration from the norm.

"But," Vegita began.

Bulma felt her stomach drop to her feet and below into the heart of Vegita-sei herself. A catch. There was always a catch. Her vision darkened until all she saw was the angular face of the Saiya-jin no Ouji staring at her with something close to a predatory smirk slapped on his face. "But?" she repeated, her throat dry with anxiety.

"You will return with me and stay in the palace." Vegita watched her face, overcome with so many different emotions. She was a strange creature. It was so obvious what was going on through her mind. Her eyes plainly showed fear, anger, and confusion. The first tear slipped down her cheek. Vegita stepped forward and reached out to grasp her chin, tilting it up so that he could see into her eyes and understand exactly what it was that made her so fragile. She was made of glass, so majestic and beautiful from far away, yet when he came close enough to touch her, she shattered into thousands of pieces and scattered on the floor, creating prisms of light to shower over him… still beautiful.

"A union forbidden by every law and custom of your people… that’s what you said. So, why? Why are you taking me back with you?" she hiccupped, shaking every time a new sob wracked her small frame.

Vegita’s frowned deeper. What was it that made her so upset? He had offered to take her back, hadn’t her? She was making no sense. He growled softly. "Woman." Slowly he trailed a finger down her face, following the flow of tears and wiping them off of her skin. The sobbing ebbed and her back straightened as she looked up into his ebony depths. Swirls of blue and icy white stared back at him.

"We will leave in few months, until then you will keep increasing the gravity in the outer boundaries. It seems that is the only way I can increase the level of my training. I will leave the Saiya Temple as a legend in the flesh and every Saiya-jin warrior on Vegita-sei will know who is the strongest."

Bulma nodded and turned away from him, moving over to her futon, sending him a patient look. The look on his face was dream-like, staring at a spot in the air only he could see, as if he was still in awe of his own power. He wasn’t even acknowledging her.

"Ahem," she prompted.

"Huh?" Vegita looked up and frowned. "What?"

"I need to change…"

The Saiya-jin no Ouji rolled his eyes and turned to leave, grinding his teeth. She was still shy about her body even after what he’d done to her. Shaking his head, he smirked. Sooner or later she’d get over it. The smirk grew into a full out grin as he noticed a spark of something new in her spirit, he would have to double check later but he was nearly certain that there was an extra boost in her ki signature.

Bulma walked silently into the kitchen where Vegita was seated at the table eating the remains of a lunch. He seemed to not notice her entry, but she knew his instincts were far too acute for that. Bulma pulled a glass down from the cabinet and poured herself some juice. She contemplated whether to go sit at the table with him, but couldn’t decide if he would be angry about it. Shrugging to herself, she advanced to the chair opposite him and sat. Once gain he seemed to not even realize she was there. Oh well. Smiling, she tapped her fingers on the table to the beat of her song and calmly waited for him to finish. This was their new routine: he woke up, ate breakfast, and "warmed up" for a few hours. To her his warm up was always a tad more strenuous than the average warm up, but of course she kept her "foolish woman opinions" to herself. Then, he came back for lunch and she increased the gravity from his warm up sequence to something more challenging. And then the "real workout" began. After four weeks he had increased his gravity training considerably but he still cursed himself for a weakness that she could not see. It was never enough for him, and she swore that if she wasn’t there to dissuade him from trying to double the increments then he would be one flat monkey. She nearly smiled at that.

"So," Bulma began. "How are the gravity workouts going?"

Vegita paused after a drink of juice and looked at her skeptically. It wasn’t usual for her to ask him anything like that, but then again she wasn’t normal by any means to begin with. He almost smirked.

"Well."

Bulma shook her head, wondering if she had slipped over the line, and sat silently as he finished the remains of his rice. She had to admit that this was much better than before. If she had initiated a conversation during a meal two weeks ago there was no doubt that he would have gotten pissed beyond words. But now… he was strangely passive. It was nice, but she still felt uneasy… as if he might suddenly switch back to the cold, hard monster he’d been before.

"Today you will double my increments," Vegita said, as he leaned back from the table.

Bulma stiffened. "I don’t think it’s a good idea to do that." Vegita frowned and paused in eating. "You’re pushing yourself too hard…" His growl interrupted her.

"I don’t need your advice when determining what level I can or cannot tolerate. I am a warrior, the Saiya-jin no Ouji." Vegita’s dark eyes narrowed, his elbows rested on the table’s edge as he crossed his thick forearms in front of his chest. As always he had come to breakfast in nothing but his skin and a pair of boxers.

Bulma had to fight the blush that was creeping up her cheeks. He looked absolutely adorable all scrunched up like that… she pinched herself and blinked. No...he was too damn stubborn for his own good; he was going to kill himself if he was so reckless.

"Vegita, look," she sighed, "at least work up in smaller increments. Don’t just double it like that." Her eye pleaded with him and to her amazement he suddenly looked away and stood up, abandoning his food. But before he reached the door he turned his head back over his shoulder.

"Fine." She hardly heard it. "But tomorrow I’m doubling it," he said and then strutted out to stretch.

Bulma opened her mouth to yell at him but wisely checked herself. Shaking her head she got up to put away his leftovers for tomorrow. She paused, blinking. Now that wasn’t normal.

Vegita stood in the outer boundaries, lightly stretching before his warm up. The woman was making him feel strangely. He snorted… he had actually left part of his meal because she was so … He growled. She was becoming a distraction. During breakfast he had made sure to check again for the spark and indeed there was another ki inside her. A brat… his brat. Was he ready for such responsibility? He shook his head. There would be another time to think of such things, right now he had to concentrate on training. As long as he kept a fair distance between himself and the woman there shouldn’t be a problem.

"Shouldn’t…" he mused to himself. His muscular shoulders shrugged in a sigh, he had a gnawing feeling that she would never cease to be a distraction but rather increase her wicked magic on him. Something akin to a smirk tugged at his lips. She was beautiful… but there was something else that made her attractive. Perhaps she was just biding her time until she had another chance to kill him. Try, he amended. That thought sent a jolt through his body. He wasn’t all too sure that he disliked her ability to invoke such ideas in his mind. His chest expanded with a deep breath and golden aura sprung from beneath his feet, swirling up and around his muscle bound body until it flashed passed his head, leaving the flame of his hair a shocking blonde and his eyes a rich emerald hue. The power that he had craved for so long was finally his. Vegita clenched his gloved fist, staring at it questioningly. In a few more weeks he would open the doors of the Saiya Temple and finally show Vegita-sei what he had become.

The Legendary…

His mind trekked on to another topic. He would leave, yes, and take the woman with him… but she would not be accepted. He sighed, clenching and unclenching his golden power laced fist. The Royal Council would not accept her as a fit Queen and she would not accept a place as his concubine. Even after he killed his father and ascended as Vegita-ou he knew that the council would be far from ready to allow an alien Queen. It went against every code of Saiya-jin purity they had. They would see her as an evil pollutant to the Saiya-jin race, the strongest race in the universe. Perhaps they would grow accustomed to it in time. Once the initial shock gave way and they were able to see that she wasn’t a helpless alien woman. Helpless. There was no doubt in his mind that some fool would try to get rid of her, seeing her as his weakness. His eyes narrowed and the lightning around him jumped faster. The thought of someone doing her any harm was igniting a searing fury inside him. He would let no one touch her and if anyone was so lucky to get past him, he grinned… that person would be on an express flight to Hell compliments of the new Saiya-jin no Ou.

"Alright then," he mumbled to himself. "Time to train." Vegita’s image flickered briefly before vanished into a whirl of golden wind.

Bulma sat on the floor next to her futon carefully sewing the last hem on her dress… her second dress.

"Damn that Vegita!" she snapped only half-seriously and smirked. "He’ll never miss the bed sheet I used," she said with a giggle. Once she had finished tying it off, she stood and stripped to her bra and panties. "Finally I won’t feel so masculine. Those boxers were starting to get on my nerves."

"Is there something wrong with my clothes, woman?" said a rather amused Vegita from the doorway. Bulma gasped and groped for her new dress on the floor, but looked down to see it missing. A feral chuckle from Vegita made her lift her head to see him holding the precious blue garment. The combination of him holding her dress above his head and away from her, the look he was giving her, and his eyes roaming up and down her exposed frame made her blush scarlet and cross her arms over her chest. "Surely you aren’t suggesting that my clothes aren’t good enough for you..." he teased as he stepped closer to her. Bulma stepped back and bumped into the edge of her futon, glancing behind her momentarily.

Turning back around, she glared at him with a mixture of nervousness and anger. She reached out towards the navy fabric only to have him jerk it out of her reach. "Vegita, give me back my dress," she snapped. His lips curled back in a slow grin.

"Now you’re demanding me to follow your orders. My, my… you really are being an insolent whore aren’t you?" Vegita watched her face turn livid.

"Nani! A whore?! Just who the hell are you calling a whore you stuck up—"

A white glove covered her mouth as she mumbled the rest of her insult into a fabric filter. Vegita chuckled as he twisted her around in front of him, clutching her soft body to his muscled mass. "You," he began as he pulled of one white glove and dropped it uncaring to the floor. "You are the frailest creature I have ever had the displeasure of meeting." The words were said softly and with a sort of subdued kindness that made Bulma hold back the colorful insult in her head. His olive toned fingers were trailing lightly along her collar bone. "Still ashamed of your body, woman?" Vegita whispered before slipping his tongue out to glide along the rim of her ear.

Bulma shivered inside as she took on this new situation. She shouldn’t be nervous... after all he said that he wouldn’t let any harm come to her. So she shouldn’t be nervous... nope, not at all. Her body still shook as she tried to convince herself that she was in no danger.

Vegita chuckled as he watched her shake in anxiety. He shifted his weight so that she leaned back against him. "Hold on," he murmured.

"Huh?" Bulma asked before he lifted them both into the air. "Waah!"

"Calm down, woman. I’m not going to drop you," he said with a slow smirk, "…yet." She only whimpered as he flew ahead through to hall and towards the outer boundaries.

"Vegita!" she gasped, "the gravity!" Vegita responded by flaring his aura, albeit slowly as to not fry his woman. He smirked… he’d never hear the end of it if he gave her any degree of burn. Though, he reminded himself, she seemed good enough at burning herself, glancing at the slightly rougher spot of skin on her calf. The Saiya-jin no Ouji shifted so that Bulma was horizontal and his arms looped under her bent knees and across her back. Bulma felt a building pressure, almost like being deep under water as the golden light surrounded her. It was a soothing warm sensation that set all of her nerves off, as if she’d just licked a battery. She wrapped her arms tighter around the prince’s neck, feeling the power drain to his feet. That was the only warning she had before the two of them were shot forward towards the vast white nothing that Vegita trained in everyday. Bulma opened her mouth to let loose the shrillest scream she could muster but her throat tightened like a vice, leaving her mouth gaping open. After he had flown a good distance, the muscles in her throat relaxed enough for her to speak again.

"Is there some reason you decided to bring me all the way out here in my underwear?" Bulma’s voice snapped.

"Are you questioning me?" Vegita slowly smirked.

"Yes! Yes I am!" she admitted blatantly, not really caring.

Vegita laughed. "You will see woman."

Suddenly, Bulma wondered something. "Do you even know my name?" She felt him tense slightly and had to control her grin.

"It doesn’t matter. I will call you whatever I deem fit."

"Ah ha! You don’t do you?" she said, waggling a finger.

Vegita growled and squeezed her tighter to his chest, startling Bulma. What? Had she really made him that mad? The woman shrank against him, keeping silent. They flew on silently for a long while before he spoke again.

"Briefs," he said quietly. In truth he had known of her before she had come into the Temple. His father had spoken of her talents during councils, but he never really paid much attention to what his father was saying. Actually, Vegita surprised that he was able to recall that name.

Bulma felt something warm in her chest, though she couldn’t quite figure out why. It did give her a faint sense of satisfaction to hear him say it…

"Bulma Briefs," she completed for him. He merely grunted in response, as if he had accomplished something. Bulma smiled a bit, now she felt relaxed. It was when Vegita tensed up that her fear began to resurface. The night of their coupling he had promised her that she would never be harmed; that she was his… so why was she still afraid of him? Her mind floated back to when she worked with Bardock in the labs and the respect that had been drilled into all the alien slaves. If any Saiya-jin walked passed you, you bowed and waited for them to move on before rising. It was simple: bow and live, or stand and die. Some people would stand, thinking that they would rather go down fighting than live on their knees… but a slave’s death at the hand of a Saiya-jin wasn’t a nice quick blast through the heart or a simple break of the neck. It was painful… painful beyond words, either torture or rape. She changed her train of thought to something a bit less gory. It wasn’t like that with all of the Saiya-jins though. Like Bardock, for example, when she was working alone with him she never bowed or spoke to him with any special respect, but when another Saiya-jin was present with him she gave him total respect. It was just a learned relationship that she had with him, and he understood. Her mind flicked back to her slave ring. Gods… she hadn’t worn it in nearly three months. It was quite satisfying to be rid of the heavy piece of metal. Vegita hadn’t noticed the difference; at least she didn’t think so. Soon, though, she would be wearing it again. Vegita-ouji wanted to leave in a few more weeks. She sighed, shivering slightly. To her surprise, Vegita sensed it and turned to look at her.

"Are you cold?" he asked, revealing no emotion.

"No," she said. He nodded and began to slow his flight. He white booted feet touched the ground softly and Bulma waited to be set down, but instead of letting her swing down he started walking.

"Where are we going?" she wondered. Vegita didn’t answer. Bulma frowned. "Hey, where are you going? It all looks the same to me," she said while pointing around them at the whiteness in all directions.

"I want to show you something," he said steadily, seemingly unfazed by her tone. Bulma watched his face carefully. There was absolutely nothing out there to see. He was acting different… a good different. After walking a few more meters, he let her swing down and stand on her own, but no further than an arm’s length away.

"Stay close. This gravity is more than you could stand." Bulma nodded, completely agreeing with him.

"So, what is it that you wanted to show me?" Her slightly bruised arms wrapped around her chest, and her legs crossed self-consciously. Vegita snorted and reached out to rip off her bra, ignoring her gasp and look of sheer outrage.

"VEGITA!?" she screeched, covering up.

"That," he said pointing at her arms, "is unnecessary." Bulma, now scarlet red, looked down at her chest.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" she snapped, still appalled.

Spiky black hair swished as he shook his head and unfolded her arms from her body. "Don’t do that. It’s not necessary. Shame is for the weak."

"I-Its not shame..." she said meekly, turning away from him.

"Oh? It’s not, eh? Then what would you call it?" he asked, while smirking at her flushed face. He had to admit that it was rather attractive.

"Modesty. On Chikyuu—" she began, but stopped before she got herself slapped. But a quick glance at the Ouji said that he was still listening intently.

"Go on," he said. Chikyuu…. So she was Chikyuu-jin.

"On my planet, a man and a woman came together on a special night after a ceremony that declared them lawfully together as..." she looked for a word that would make sense to him…

"Mates?" he finished. Bulma’s blue hair bobbed as she nodded. Vegita took a breath. "So that’s what it’s about… you think that what we did was lawfully wrong?"

"No, not lawfully wrong. It’s just that…" Bulma stopped. She really didn’t want to get into this with him; she already knew he would get angry. It was like feeding the fire when you were already too hot.

Vegita frowned as he watched her fidget. "What then?" Impatience was crowding him.

"Nothing…" she said, stepping away but then realized that she was stuck in a small area around him. Feeling cornered, she twitched and shifted her arms over her chest. Damn that Vegita… he ripped her only bra.

"What is it woman?" he growled, taking a menacing step toward her, which to his amusement she avoided by walking around to his right. Clever, he mused.

Bulma risked a glance at his face and immediately regretted it. He was mad. She knew Vegita would get like this and then if she told him why she was uncomfortable around him he was bound to get even more pissed.

"You said that it was a forbidden union, but that I was to stay with you anyway," she said. Vegita growled and turned slightly as if he was disgusted, but Bulma was far from finished; Vegita said he wanted to hear what she had to say, so here it was. "I’m not stupid, Vegita. As much as it may shock you to know it, I do understand some politics of the Royal Monarchy…. enough to know that I will not be anything but your pet in the eyes Vegita-sei." Bulma looked down at her feet and then back up at him, her eyes as clear as crystal water. Her eyes met Vegita’s dark ones, and she saw the possessive glare in them. Here it came…

"You will stay in the palace as my concubine."

Bulma felt her heart sink, all of her dignity and self-respect shredded. "No..." she began, tears flooding her eyes, but not one was shed. All she could see was the dark pit ahead and her feet beginning to sink.

"You will! After I kill my father I will announce to the state that you are to be my queen," he stepped forward to get her attention but she was too deep in her own self pity to notice. "Woman!" he grasped her shoulders gently. "Bulma."

Bulma’s eyes slowly looked up into his as she focused on what he was saying. He said her name.

"You will be my queen, the Saiya-jin no Ouhi, and…" his hand landed on her flat abdomen, "the mother of my heir." Bulma felt the blood drain from her face and the white room tilt. No… it wasn’t possible! What was she saying? Of course it was possible, but no! She couldn’t have a baby… she couldn’t be a mother! She was too young. Her shock dissolved into a fit of sobs, the previous dam she had created broke in an instant.

Vegita stood, completely confused. She should be honored to be with his brat! He opened his mouth to yell, when she spoke softly.

"I’m pregnant…" she said as if it had just dawned on her. "I’m going to get fat."

* * * * *