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Even Though Our Love is Doomed	By : Froglady15 Category: Dragon Ball Z > Het - Male/Female > Vegeta/Bulma Views: 501 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Just my Husband, laptop, my 3 dogs and a very overactive imagination… Dragon Ball Z and Wuthering Heights characters and DO NOT belong to me. I MAKE NO MONEY/PROFIT!!

Chapter List
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Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Just my Husband, laptop, my 3 dogs and a very overactive imagination… Dragon Ball Z and Wuthering Heights characters and DO NOT belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my own twisted amusement.
Second half of my submission:
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Even Though Our Love is Doomed
Krillin awoke rather late the next morning, not surprisingly. He had been so absorbed in the journal that he had read all of it and even then had not been able to sleep properly, wondering what had happened between Vegeta and Bulma. Had they settled their misunderstandings and found their way back to each other? He was normally not the one for gossip or romance novels, but he was dying to know how this devastating, true story ended.
They must have, he told himself. Vegeta was here, he had obviously returned. He knew from what he already knew about Vegeta that he had made himself a very rich man during his short military service. If financial status had been Bulma’s main concern, as it was for most women, then he would have returned to her wealthy and more than able to provide. Had she waited though, was the question. She must have, he convinced himself. One could not possibly walk away from a love like that. Financially set or not.
Krillin got up to get dressed. He had already gotten far more out of this writing assignment than he would have dared thought!
He made his way down to the kitchen where the house maid from the previous evening was in the process of making breakfast.
“I had gotten water warmed for you but you seemed to be still asleep,” she said. “I trust the room is to your satisfaction?”
“It is, thank you,” he said, taking a seat at the table.
“Would you like breakfast?”
“Please. So how long have you served here?” he asked with interest as she began preparing his meal.
“I initially was serving the Briefs’ household. I was hired when their young son, Tien was born. Their mother was prone to illness quite frequently, so I helped her in raising him and then their second child, Bulma, was born. She passed when Bulma was around seven or eight years of age,” she told him. “I then did my best in raising the two of them and then when Bulma married Mr. Gero, I accompanied her here and continued on as her mistress.”
Oh no! He thought to himself at hearing that, his stomach dropping. He had been hoping so badly that she would have waited and chosen Vegeta!
“And it is just you now?” he asked in curiosity. From what he understood, Vegeta owned this home and it was empty; unless he leased it out. But how had Vegeta acquired this place if Bulma had married Lapis?
“I stay here and upkeep the place since Mr. Gero passed,” she confirmed. “Vegeta owns this property and Westerly Heights. Though this place is far nicer, he prefers to remain there. It is where he grew up and it holds a certain amount of sentimental value to him.”
“I see,” Krilling nodded. “I am here writing an article about him, actually, which is why I am staying here. I wonder if you would help me fill in a few of the blank spots I have,”
She paused a moment from her work. “I know you are,” she said. “Vegeta is a very private person and not the best conversationalist.”
“So I’ve heard,” he nodded. “I was told that writing this piece on him would be a complete waste of time because of his reserved nature, which was why I decided to stay here for several months. I’m sure to get something out of him.”
“Not likely,” she chuckled. “You do not know him at all if you think that. These days he rarely leaves the house. He’s mad from what I understand and it’s been months since I saw him last and it was only briefly. Otherwise, it was eighteen years since I last had anything to do with him and he’s become far nastier over time than he ever was before. You’d be lucky if he doesn’t send his pack of dogs after you or shoot you on sight should you persist.”
“He’s that hostile, hmm?”
“He is,” she confirmed. “He is the most volatile, loathsome man I have ever had the misfortune of being acquainted with. I attempted to raise him myself when dear Mr. Briefs brought him home as a filthy beggar child he had found on the street during one of his trips. What a mistake that was! I curse the day he brought him into the home, dear, kind man that he was.”
“I must admit, I came across a journal left upstairs,” he confessed, feeling somewhat embarrassed now at his snooping when it was clear to him that she was more than eager to share the mystery behind Vegeta. “I should not have, but I opened it and read it.”
“I left it there intentionally,” she shrugged, giving him a sly look. “I knew you were here to write about Vegeta, I know your work and I know that you tend to go undercover as well to write your articles.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say I’m undercover,” he said. “Vegeta knows why I am here and agreed that I could interview him.”
“I’m shocked,” she commented, leaning back in her chair. “I wonder what ulterior motive he has by allowing you into his life to do such a thing?”
“I couldn’t say, but I’m happy to have the opportunity, and judging by the journal I found, I’m very intrigued with the story behind it.”
“It is not a nice story,” she said darkly, her features clouding over. “I must warn,”
“It can’t be that bad,” he insisted. “Start from the beginning, I’d love to hear all of it from your point of view.”
“I do not know how much time I can spare,” she said. “I will tell you what I remember as I work,”
“That’s fine!” he nodded. He ran back upstairs to grab his notebook so he could document everything as well as remember some of the things he had wanted to get clarification on some of the unclear points in the journal.
Once they were both settled, she began:
Mr. Briefs brought home an orphan the summer of 1767. He had no indication of where he came from, who he or his parents were, or even a name to go by, so he named him Vegeta. Mr. Briefs’ wife was not overly keen on it, but went along with it. Their oldest son, Tien never took to him, and their daughter, Bulma who was the approximately the same age as the child, well, they became fast friends and nearly inseparable almost immediately.
From the beginning, I felt that Mr. Briefs had made a mistake in bringing this child into the home. He became a curse. It took many years, but ultimately he would become the bane of our very existence and to the existence of every single person he knew; still is!
Early on, Bulma and Vegeta seemed to forge this bond. It was as though no one else existed within their realm, nor did they care to include anyone else, nor did they take any care as to who they may hurt because of the result of their liaison with one another.
“They were lovers?” Krillin asked.
She paused as though trying to find a suitable answer. “Childhood sweethearts, would be more accurate,”
“I see,” he replied, not agreeing with her assessment, but not arguing with her either since this was her version of the tale.
“I did not, nor did anyone else, fully comprehend the depth or nature of their relationship until things spiraled completely out of control,” she revised, seeing as he had already read the journal. “I had simply thought it was an infatuation on both sides; it wasn’t. It was much worse than that. It was almost a deep fascination met with extreme obsession in a way that is unhealthy and had we all known, or even suspected, perhaps things would have unfolded somewhat differently.
“Vegeta came to us a very quiet, meek child. Tien was terrible to him on a constant basis, name calling and picking fights with him and it never ceased to amaze me that Vegeta never really reacted until later on, when he was in his teenage years.
“Bulma always came to his aid and always took his side, even when there were circumstances where Tien was not entirely at fault. Of course, Vegeta used her to his full advantage. I would not say that Bulma and Tien were exceptionally close before Vegeta’s arrival; they had a typical sibling kinship but Tien was a few years older than Bulma and so they did not play together much. When Vegeta arrived and he was more or less the same age as her, any relationship she may have had with her own brother suffered after that, and I do believe Tien lashed out in jealousy over Bulma’s supposed replacement of him. It did not help that the master, Mr. Briefs adored Vegeta and doted on him more than his own son and that is how the bad blood between those two came about.”
“Did Vegeta deliberately do things to make Tien look bad in front of his own father?” Krillin asked.
“No, I would not say deliberately,” she shook her head after thinking about it a moment. “He did not have to. Tien picked on him and initiated so many fights that he did that all on his own and Vegeta did not need to lift a finger. He did however play things up to his advantage and go out of his way to impress Mr. Briefs by picking up the slack with household duties, full well knowing that he was making his adopted brother look bad.
“To make things fair, Mr. Briefs implemented a weekly allowance to the boys to motivate both of them to work hard and fight less and hopefully develop some kind of cordial relationship. Of course this did not work either, for they could not work together without causing a stir. Tien did not take it seriously, being that he knew he would one day inherit the estate anyway, though he did warn everyone that it was Vegeta’s grand scheme to steal it from him, funny how he was somewhat correct, though he brought that outcome on himself and made it a self-fulfilling prophecy; I cannot fully blame Vegeta for it.
“Vegeta took full advantage of Mr. Brief’s willingness to pay him to work; he was a very hard worker, very thorough. Any job he did, he did it well and worked on it until he reached completion to his satisfaction. This of course was another reason for Tien to hold Vegeta in contempt.”
“I thought Vegeta went riding with Bulma every day,” Krillin said.
“Yes,” she nodded. “Mr. Briefs was very lenient and never really had time constraints on most jobs he had Vegeta do, so long as they were done within a reasonable amount of time, he was fine with it. Besides, he could not deny Bulma, spoilt girl that she was!”
“I understand Vegeta bought Bulma a horse?” Krillin asked.
“He did,” she confirmed. “Much to the master’s disapproval, but he allowed it. She desperately wanted to ride and learn to do jumps. Vegeta was a very good rider and Mr. Briefs knew he would teach her. She was going to do it anyway, might as well learn on a decent horse and with someone who knew what they were doing.”
“I suppose,” Krillin nodded. “So eventually Tien was sent away?”
“He was, yes,” she nodded. “Sent to boarding school. We did not see or hear from him again for three years. He never visited or even wrote to his father again, his resentment towards Mr. Briefs for sending him away was so great.
“It was during that time that Bulma and Vegeta grew exceptionally close, even more than they already were. Mr. Briefs let them do as they pleased and they ran wild across the countryside together causing trouble for fun wherever they went. I think it was because he felt so much guilt at sending Tien away and putting a wedge in their relationship that he never disciplined them for their actions.
“Now some might say that the things they had been up to were just typical young people’s mischief, harmless in nature, however it was as though they could not find amusement without doing something to aggravate the neighbors. I pleaded with the master to set some consequences for their behaviour, for example they caused a stampede one day resulting in the loss of half the neighbors head of cattle and damage to the county! Yet they denied their involvement until they were blue in the face and there was no proof that they had any part in it and all Mr. Briefs did was give verbal warning and laughed at their antics!
“It was shortly after that they seemed to calm down somewhat. When I look back on it now, I think it was around that time that they began to cultivate a romantic interest in one another. In the mornings, Vegeta would do his chores or study with Bulma and then they would be off together all day until dinner time; they spent every waking moment together. No one thought anything of it, myself included. I am not sure what the master would have thought had he known. He probably would have thought nothing of it and let them be, which would have possibly made this a pleasant story.”
“He died only a few years after sending Tien away, didn’t he?” Krillin asked.
“Yes,” she confirmed. “That was when everything changed. He returned for the funeral with a wife. She was a pretty little thing, a bit odd and high maintenance, but pretty and pleasant for the most part. Immediately, he banished all the house staff to the barn because she did not like the thought of residing with us. Vegeta was put out as well and made to live in the barn. Vegeta went along with it without a fuss, however Bulma threw the most horrific fit over it.
“From that day, Tien cut all Vegeta’s wages off, arguing that he was technically not staff and so his working was to earn his keep. If he did not like it, he could move on. He forbade him from continuing on with his education as well. I suspect had he and Bulma’s relationship been strictly platonic, he would have left. Tien was nothing short of terrible to him and other than her, there was no reason for him to stay.”
“You still didn’t know at that point that they were in a secretive relationship?” Krillin asked.
“No,” she shook her head. “They were very careful about it. I missed all of the signs of it completely. It did not became apparent to me that Vegeta cared more about Bulma than he should until one afternoon he returned without her and was terribly upset. There had been an accident. They had gone riding as usual and decided to make fun of Lapis and Lazuli Gero, two kids they used to encounter at church in their younger days. The family was quite snobbish and kept to themselves. I know now that Bulma and Vegeta intended to run off and elope at this time, but did not know this at the time.
“Vegeta returned shortly before dinner on his own without Bulma, which immediately set me on edge. He related that she had fallen off her horse and had been mauled by a dog at the Android Plantation and that they refused to send her home without proper medical attention. At the time, I did not understand why Vegeta had been so upset about this; he should have been glad that she was being tended to properly. It did not occur to me that there was a lot more there between them than friendship or a close sibling comradery. I was not sure about Bulma and where her affections lay at this time, but during her absence, I began to suspect he cared more for her than he should. It was then, after her return that I began to keep a closer eye on them.
“Tien was livid. Vegeta did receive quite the beating over it, which he took without complaint because he blamed himself for her accident. Tien made an arrangement with the Gero family that Bulma may stay there until she was recovered. He had two motives for this; first being to put some distance between Bulma and Vegeta and secondly, he had been hoping they would be a positive influence on her and perhaps turn her into a lady since we could not. He forbade Vegeta from going to visit Bulma, but I know he found ways to go over there and look in on her, though she did not know it at the time.
“She returned, five weeks later a lady, but even more self-absorbed than before. Their luxurious way of living and snobbish attitude of superiority had worn off on her. I felt for Vegeta because it had seemed like Tien’s plan to separate them had worked. Not only had she changed, but Tien had put his wife, now pregnant at this time, in charge of actively working at keeping Bulma preoccupied on other things than spending time with Vegeta; she was very creative about it. Bulma was also lead to believe that to keep Vegeta from his work would only be to his detriment and so she willingly kept her distance.
“I know that Bulma and Vegeta had an altercation in the barn on the day of her return, though I do not know the full details of it. It did upset her though that Vegeta seemed to not appreciate her new outlook. To her credit, Bulma did invite Vegeta out with her for her visits to the plantation, but he always declined. So it came to be that to distract herself from her fall out with Vegeta, she became more so absorbed in herself and her appearance and frequently visiting her new friends, that she seemed to have forgotten her best friend altogether, or she acted that way. I found her crying in private on occasion because of her frustration between divided loyalties.
“Things were relatively peaceful until the day Lapis and Lazuli came to the home to visit Bulma here instead of her always going there. Vegeta was not to have any part in it, but I am afraid I may have been the cause of that bit of drama. It occurred to me that Vegeta cared very much for Bulma and I felt for him and encouraged him to take the afternoon off and spend it with Bulma and her two new friends.
“That was a mistake…”
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Upon hearing of Bulma’s plans for the afternoon, Baba went to the barn to seek out Vegeta in hopes that he might be able to join them.
“You are aware that Bulma is hosting Lapis and Lazuli this afternoon,” she said casually to him.
“I am aware,” he replied blandly, not looking up from his work.
“You should attend,” she suggested.
“I am not permitted,” he answered. “Tien told me that one of the stipulations to them coming over here was that I not be present so I may not corrupt or influence their precious minds.”
She winced slightly at his bitter tone. “I disagree,”
Vegeta shrugged.
“Would you not like to be there?” She asked him.
Vegeta shrugged again. “And watch Bulma fawn and fuss over Lapis, I should think not,”
“Why not give her a reason to fuss over you instead?” she suggested a little more insistently this time. “She misses you, you know,”
“She spends all her free time with them, how would I know?”
“Tien ensures that she is kept busy so it is not entirely of her own doing. I know she cries because she misses you. I have some old suits of Mr. Briefs that would fit you well. Get yourself washed up and I will lay one out for you.”
Once again, he shrugged. “My presence is not welcome.”
“So what? You like Miss Bulma, do you not?” she knew he did, though was not sure at this point how deep it went or if Bulma reciprocated the same feelings back.
He narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously; so far as he knew, no one knew that. They had tried to keep their relationship completely private and up until this point they had succeeded.
“If I was you, I’d start making sure I was noticed before Lapis makes more of an impression than he already has,” she advised knowingly.
“Nonsense,” he replied, standing straighter.
“I am quite serious, Vegeta. That young man has specific intentions where Bulma is concerned and Tien would not deny him should he make them known when he is ready.”
“And Bulma’s feelings on the matter?”
“I cannot say, however with the cold shoulder you have been giving her, if you do not attempt to make your affections known soon, she would not object to Lapis’ flattering her,” she advised. “You know how she is.”
Vegeta considered her words for a few minutes before nodding. He was finished his chores already and had been planning on taking his horse out for a ride so that he did not have to see Bulma socializing with her new friends. “Alright,”
“Good,” she smiled at him. “Go and get ready, I will put out a suit.”
He shaved, washed and even allowed Baba to trim and neaten up his hair a little bit so it wasn’t quite as unruly.
“There, you look like a prince,” she said confidently, pleased with her handiwork, and he truly did. When he put the time and effort into his appearance, he was truly devastating to look at. “Who knows, maybe you are a high born prince from wherever it is you are from. Who is to know? If you believe it and carry yourself like a gentleman instead of slouching like you normally do, others would believe it too.”
Vegeta shrugged but then straightened his shoulders.
“Much better,” she said in approval. “You are younger than Lapis but are built better,”
“Lapis is taller,” he objected, his confident stature faltering somewhat.
“Maybe, but your shoulders are broader and I think you are much more handsome,” she told him honestly. “Lapis is handsome, I suppose, however he is lean and lithe in build. You, on the other hand are strong and have a much more masculine build. Just watch, if you conduct yourself like a gentleman, you will attract the attention of every girl who sets eyes on you, I am certain of that,”
By the time Vegeta was ready, Lapis and Lazuli had already shown up and Bulma had everyone congregated in the sitting room.
“Vegeta!” she exclaimed happily when she saw him standing hesitantly at the door as though debating on whether he wanted to make his presence known or not. “Please, come sit and join us!” she said, skipping up to him, taking his hand and leading him to her spot where she had been sitting.
“You remember Vegeta, Lapis?”
“Vaguely,” he replied, looking warily at him as he walked into the room and took a seat. “Isn’t he the sable hand?”
“I am no servant,” Vegeta replied, offended. “What part of that do you people not seem to be able to comprehend that I have to remind you every time we meet?”
Lazuli gasped in horror.
“It is fine, Vegeta,” Bulma said to him, trying to diffuse the situation before it got out of hand. She was just happy he had decided to join them for once and did not want anything to spoil it.
“It is not fine,” he snarled before leaving. He was not about to be degraded and made fun of by these people, not even for Bulma.
About an hour later, Bulma brought Lapis and Lazuli into the barn. Apparently she wanted to show off her horsemanship skills to Lapis.
Vegeta had just returned from a ride as Bulma was saddling up her old grey gelding for Lazuli who was very nervous about going riding at all.
“This is your horse?” Lapis asked Vegeta as he led him into his own stall.
“Yes,” he replied cordially.
“May I ride him?” Lapis asked. “Bulma wants to go for a ride, it will save us the time of having to tack up another horse.”
“Oh, you don’t want to ride Vegeta’s horse,” Bulma advised. “No one, except for Vegeta can ride him.”
“I have plenty of experience,” Lapis shrugged off. “I’ve never been thrown from a horse, I’d love to see this one try.”
Vegeta smirked and handed him the reins. “Very well. Should you manage to ride him all afternoon without issue, I shall commend you personally.”
“Vegeta, I do not think that is a good idea,” Bulma said to him with a glare. Just because he was in a bad mood from earlier and did not like that she had other friends other than him, did not mean she wanted her afternoon ruined.
“I think it is a fine idea,” Vegeta gloated. “I trained him myself. It would be nice to have the opinion of another experienced horseman.”
“Lapis is not as experienced as you seem to think,” Bulma argued.
“I have enough experience,” he objected. “Perhaps I can give you some tips if he is that difficult that you have not been able to sort him out completely.”
“As you wish,” Vegeta said, exiting his horse’s stall. “Maybe we can learn something from each other after all,”
Lapis walked up to the black horse confidently. It threw its head back and flared its nostrils threateningly, not comfortable with someone else handling it.
“See, he’s just not a nice horse,” Bulma said to him. “We will saddle up one of the others.”
“It’s alright,” Lapis said, trying to sooth the horse. “I’ve ridden temperamental horses before, this one I am sure will be no exception.”
Vegeta shrugged and gestured for him to take him as Bulma shot him a dirty look. “By all means, let him see what he can do,”
“This is going to end horribly and you know it!” Bulma said to him between grit teeth as Lapis led the temperamental black horse outside.
She tried again a few times to discourage Lapis from attempting to ride Vegeta’s horse, as it was already acting skittish and stepping away from him, obviously not wanting anything to do with him, but Lapis persisted.
“Are you not going to help control your horse?” Lazuli asked Vegeta in shock, as Vegeta stood at the barn door with his arms crossed, quietly leaning against the door frame and observing the scene quietly.
“No,” he replied calmly. “If I go over there, it would be to his detriment. Besides, he boasted about how experienced he was with difficult horses, even when warned, so I am curious to see how he fares.”
“That animal could kill him!” she objected.
“Perhaps,” was all he said, ignoring her and her concern over her brother’s welfare.
It took Lapis a few minutes, but he finally managed to mount Vegeta’s horse. “He certainly is spirited,” he commented, looking at Vegeta. “What is his purpose, does he race?”
“He serves me for my purposes perfectly,” Vegeta replied. “He can jump, however.”
“Don’t!” Bulma cried out. “Let’s just go on a nice, quiet ride as planned.”
Bulma mounted her own horse and beckoned for Lazuli to mount the old reliable grey given her and for the first time she could ever remember, wanted nothing more than to get as far away from Vegeta as possible.
They started down the road, Vegeta’s horse halting and half rearing in objection to someone else riding him. “He wants to run,” Lapis said, looking to the right of the property where the jumps were set up in a paddock nearby.
“I would not attempt it if I were you,” Vegeta called out from the barn, still watching them in amusement.
Lapis narrowed his eyes at Vegeta and steered the horse towards the other paddock, determined to prove that he could handle the horse and was just as good a horseman as Vegeta.
Vegeta smirked and shook his head as he made his way to the paddock to watch things for himself, not holding out much hope for Lapis.
Lapis urged the black horse on, which it didn’t seem to mind, it happily cantered around the paddock several times, throwing its head in objection a few times but not stopping. With enough confidence built up, he finally decided to try a jump. He tried a small one first and they sailed over it with no issue. They even did a second jump with success. Feeling extra confident, Lapis rode past the next few jumps which slowly built up in height and chose a particularly high fence.
He spurred it on, giving him leeway to speed up and then properly gathered him at the last second, as most riders would, except the horse stopped suddenly, throwing Lapis off clean, right over its head and he flew over the jump on his own, without the horse, falling hard on the ground on the other side of the jump.
Vegeta managed to hold off his laughter as both Bulma and Lazuli went rushing to Lapis’ aid and his horse returned to him where he was observing on the other side of the paddock fence.
“That horse is a disaster!” Lapis said as he stood up. “As temperamental and disagreeable as his owner.”
Vegeta shrugged unsympathetically as he mounted his horse. “You were warned,” was all he said and headed back to the barn with his horse, leaving the threesome alone.
-0-0-0-
“Bulma was terribly upset with Vegeta over that whole scenario,” Baba sighed, getting up and going over to grab a kettle off of the fire. “Lapis was perfectly fine, his pride bruised worse than anything, but Bulma was livid, as he left quickly after that. She and Vegeta had a vicious argument in the barn after that which was cut short because Tien’s wife, Launch fell ill and Tien sent Vegeta into town to call the physician to come immediately.
“Surprisingly, Vegeta did make haste on Tien’s request; the physician arrived within the hour.
“Baby Goten was born two months premature, but unfortunately, Launch did not make it. She passed early on the next day. It threw Tien into such a state of depression, he refused to hold or even acknowledge his son. It was left up to Bulma and I to care for him.
“While the rest of the house was in mourning, Vegeta celebrated, and it was the first time I found myself disgusted by him. He and Bulma had another terrible fight because according to Bulma, Vegeta was glad for what had happened. Not because he wished any ill will towards Launch or her son, but it brought pain and misery to Tien. It was that which brought great pleasure to Vegeta and while I could somewhat understand his sentiments, I also found I could not condone it and neither could Bulma.
“Lapis and Lazuli came around lots after that, checking in on Bulma and baby Goten. Tien was rarely seen except when he emerged drunkenly from his room for food or more drink.
“Vegeta became more agitated as he noticed Lapis and Bulma becoming more acquainted with one another and Bulma did not do anything to hide this from Vegeta either if they happened to cross paths with him.
“A few months later, Vegeta finally came to Bulma in an effort to salvage whatever was left of their relationship. She blew him off terribly. Vegeta petitioned her to hear him out but she would not. Lapis showed up amidst their argument and despite Vegeta’s insistence that she send him away and spend the afternoon with him instead, Bulma sent Vegeta away and opted to spend her afternoon with Lapis.
“They had a quarrel because Bulma was already in a disagreeable mood. Poor man, he had come alone to propose marriage to her that afternoon and she was in such a bad mood she had treated him terribly. First she insisted that I was to leave, and when I refused because her brother wished that she had a chaperone at all times, she pinched poor Goten, making him fuss so that I would leave the room to tend to him. I remember pointing out to Lapis that these were her true colors, but he either did not listen to me, or did not take me seriously.
“When I returned sometime later, they seemed to be having a serious conversation and were in the midst of an intimate embrace. I did not find out until later on in the evening that he had proposed to her and she had accepted, only she was in great turmoil over it.
“She came to me and we discussed it at length, coming to the conclusion that the only reason why she was interested in Lapis was because of his wealth and because he spoiled her, neither of which are very good reasons to marry someone.
“I cannot remember now at which point I was aware that Vegeta was possibly listening to our conversation but I tried to ask questions to steer the conversation in such a way that she would openly confess what she felt for Vegeta. I knew by this point that they both meant a lot to each other and that her marrying Lapis would be a mistake if she was not absolutely sure Vegeta was not the one she wanted.
“In retrospect, I should have halted the conversation because she did not respond the way I wanted and Vegeta only stayed long enough to hear the reasons why she would not marry him rather than lingering to hear the rest of her confession. In the end she herself concluded that she could not marry Lapis because it was Vegeta whom she truly loved.”
“That was as far as the journal went,” Krillin said. “And so she married Lapis I take it?”
“She did, eventually,” she nodded. “She went out to look for Vegeta for hours in a raging storm and got herself so sick she nearly died; stupid girl that she was. Even Tien lamented that there had been too much death and sickness in the house. Not only was she unwell physically, but she suffered a mental breakdown as well, she would slip into a near catatonic state at times and other time she was prone to fits of rage and screaming at any reminder at all of Vegeta. We were very concerned that she may even take her own life over her devastation of it.
“It was to the point where she would not see Lapis or Lazuli, and after several weeks Mrs. Gero came to call in and check on her. She was so kind as to suggest that a change of scenery would be good for her. The doctor treating her agreed that the less reminders of Vegeta around to plague her, the better.
“Moving into the plantation seemed to be the best thing for her and she eventually did recover, though it was nearly a year before she regained any semblance of her former self. In that time, both of Lapis and Lazuli’s parents became sick with a fever and passed on within a few weeks of the other, leaving everything to him. I think that also helped her, giving her someone to care for and something else to focus on other than herself and so it wasn’t long before she and Lapis seemed to be courting again.”
“Did you move with her?” Krillin asked.
“No,” she shook her head. “I remained here to help Tien raise Goten. No one else was going to, poor little thing. I had come to love him like I would if he were my own child. I remained with him until I was summoned to the plantation a few weeks before Bulma was to wed Lapis, I would have rather stayed at the Heights, but Lapis offered me a substantial wage increase, insisting that she needed me there and I could not deny her. I would have brought Goten with me, but Tien forbade it.
“Bulma married Lapis finally, three years later after Vegeta’s departure. She put it off as long as she could, but seemed happy enough with her decision and I was optimistic that things would work out wonderfully for her. Lapis was everything any girl could have hoped for and it was clear he loved Bulma dearly.
“They had a beautiful, lavish wedding and all was expected to work out perfectly except the next day, a visitor arrived to see Bulma…
.
.
Baba was outside, hanging some of the wash to dry on the line when she heard a whistle from the trees, attracting her attention.
“Who is there?” She asked cautiously, leaving the wash to inquire. Out walked a handsome, well dressed young man that she only vaguely recognized, but wasn’t sure; it was the eyes that she was convinced she knew.
“Baba, is that you?” he asked and it was his voice that gave away his identity.
“Vegeta!” she exclaimed in shock. He’d never looked better. He stood tall, had grown into his features. He was grown into a devastatingly handsome man, no longer a boy. Based on his clothing and stature, it was clear that he had come into some form of wealth.
“How are you?” he asked. “I went to the Heights to call on Bulma, but was told she resided here now because she has married Lapis. Is this true?”
“Yes,” she confirmed, still shocked to see him after all this time. “They were married yesterday.”
“I see,” he said, troubled at the news now that it had been definitely confirmed. A part of him had believed that it was only a rumour. “May I see her?”
“I do not advise it, you do not fully comprehend the mess you left behind when you decided to disappear,” she said, beginning to panic. “It is not fair, nor a good idea for you to make an appearance. She was not well and took severely sick, both physically and mentally. It took a long time for her to come to her senses and full health again,”
He frowned in concern at hearing that and did not feel any satisfaction from hearing it. “She is alright now?”
“She is, and she will continue to be if you never make your presence here known,” she said frantically, trying to steer him away from the house and into the trees. “You only risk upsetting her! Please, if you have any regard or feeling left for her, you will move on and forget she even exists. Give her a chance at happiness.”
“With Lapis?” he snorted disdainfully.
“Yes, he is a kind man who simply adores her, why should she not be happy with him; better yet, why could you not be happy with another girl? Look at you! You have never looked better! I am sure there are one hundred girls that would be thrilled to have such a handsome suitor as you.”
“I do not want any other girl,” he said. “I came back for Bulma, and Bulma alone. She is the only one I will have.”
“Well I can sympathize with you, but you are too late, I am afraid. She married Lapis yesterday. You must leave and she can never know you returned.”
“Why?” he asked suspiciously.
“Because she will be very upset and the physician said to not do anything to upset her mental state! She is very fragile, seeing you will potentially push her over again.”
Vegeta thought a moment in deliberation. No, he did not want to cause her any upset or ill will, but he needed desperately to see her. He could not have come back all this way just to not see her. “You call her down here to see me or I will walk in and search the house until I find her. I need to see her.”
Baba believed him and not wanting to cause more of an uproar than necessary, she regretfully relented and headed back inside.
“Bulma, there is a visitor downstairs to see you,” she said to her. She was sitting upstairs in the sitting room with Lapis and Lazuli for company.
“Send them up,” she replied, not looking up from her book; she was making a list of who to send thank you cards out to.
“They requested you come down outside to see them,” she said, not wanting to reveal the visitor’s name in front of Lapis.
Bulma simply sighed from irritation, placed her book down and exited the room.
“Who is it?” Lapis asked.
Baba hesitated a moment before answering. “An old friend who wishes to congratulate her.”
Lapis nodded but did not inquire further.
Bulma made her way outside into the front yard and froze when she saw who her visitor was. “Vegeta?” she exclaimed before rushing towards him and wrapping her arms around his neck. “Oh, Vegeta, where have you been?” she cried, kissing him everywhere frantically and clinging to him.
“I came back for you,” he said, bestowing kisses to her in return and holding her close, not even trying to be discrete or proper.
“Oh, Vegeta, I missed you so much! Why did you leave the way you did?” she asked, trying to not get emotional.
“I hear you got married,” he said, avoiding her question.
“Just yesterday,” she admitted, not looking at him but burying her face into his chest.
That was the scene Baba walked in on and she began hacking, worried someone would see them carrying on like that out in the open. “Lapis has asked you bring your visitor in.”
“Of course!” she exclaimed, taking Vegeta’s hand and dragging him into the house and up the stairs. “Lapis! Vegeta has returned!”
“Who, the stable hand with the terrible horse?” he asked, standing up as she flew into the room with Vegeta in tow.
“He wasn’t the stable hand, he was my friend,” she corrected him. “My very dear friend whom I missed dearly. He has finally returned to congratulate us.”
“Uh huh,” Lapis grunted, torn between deciding to escort Vegeta out immediately or be a courteous host.
“Can he join us for the afternoon, please, Lapis?” Bulma begged him.
“I suppose,” Lapis nodded. “If it makes you that happy that he has returned, then far be it for me to say no. Please, Vegeta, make yourself comfortable.”
“I would have barely recognized you,” Lazuli said to him as he came closer. “You look better than ever,”
“Doesn’t he?” Bulma gushed. “I am so happy you are well! I was so worried about you!”
-0-0-0-
“I set up an extra setting at the table to accommodate Vegeta’s presence for their afternoon tea,” Baba continued on with her story. “It became apparent that both Lapis and Lazuli were forgotten about rather quickly and I could not help but feel bad for Lapis and a sense of impending doom crept into my soul.
“They acted as though no one else was in the room, only having eyes for each other, their gazes lingering on one another for far too long and I knew trouble was brewing and that no good would come of this. I had thought as much when I saw the passionate embrace they had shared outside, but now I knew that Vegeta’s return would cause nothing short of calamity and heartache; even if he did move on now after learning that Bulma was not available. I worried for her own mental stability and what it might do for her if he left again and found that I could not determine which would be the worse outcome.
“Lapis became to feel uneasy as Vegeta lingered far longer than what he should have and in all that time, he never revealed where or how he had acquired his new fortune. He did, however make it very clear that he was very well off financially and hinted that he had spent some time in the military, but offered nothing concrete.
When it was time for him to finally depart, it was beginning to grow dark and as Bulma escorted him out of the house, I happened to hear them arrange a meeting in private between them.
.
.
“We need to talk,” he said to her, yanking her out the door with him swiftly. “Alone,”
“The brook?” she suggested. “I cannot tonight, but I will be there first thing tomorrow morning. I will tell Baba I am going for a ride, no one will question it and I will be there as soon as possible.”
“See to it they do not,” Vegeta said, letting her go.
“Do not pursue him,” she warned sternly as she observed Bulma watching him leave longingly. “If you do, do not drag me into your deceitfulness.”
“Fine!” she snipped, turning away from her. “Tell Lapis what you like when he asks about my whereabouts, I do not care.”
“And where exactly are you going tomorrow?” she asked, even though she already knew.
“Trouble yourself not about it,” she shrugged, coming back into the house. “I am tired and wish to retire now,”
“You are a married woman now, in case you have forgotten,” Baba reprimand her, desperately wanting her to change her course. “You cannot go out meeting other men, it is not proper!”
“I am not just meeting just any man,” she shrugged, carelessly discarding her council entirely. “It is Vegeta, whom I have not seen in three years and I need an explanation on his reasoning behind his sudden departure and whereabouts if I am to ever be happy.”
“I thought you were happy before,”
“That was before I knew Vegeta was back,” she admitted quietly. “Tell Lapis I wish to sleep in my own quarters this evening.”
“You should tell him yourself,” she advised, not wanting to be dragged further into this than what she already was, and not liking this new turn of events one bit. “No good will come to this, I am telling you and strongly urging you to reconsider your meeting.”
Bulma shook her head and made her way upstairs to the room that had been hers on the occasions she had stayed with Lapis and Lazuli before they were married.
The next day, Bulma got up early, dressed herself in her riding pants as opposed to one of her beautiful dresses she had taken to wearing and did her own hair in a simple style before heading out.
“Tell Lapis I need to run home to Westerly Heights a moment to check on my brother,” was the last thing she said before taking off and off she went…
.
.
As soon as she saw Vegeta waiting for her at the brook, she dismounted her horse and threw herself at him desperately. “Oh, Vegeta, you have no idea how much I missed you and how many things I need to say to you!” she cried, kissing him everywhere.
He pulled her into him and kissed her back with an intense passion that threatened to consume them both. It had been so long, but it felt so right. She hadn’t felt that kind of fire from kissing anyone since the last time they had kissed so long ago; she thought she might drown in him.
“I needed you,” she admitted between kisses. “Why did you wait so long to come back? Why did you not write to me? Why, Vegeta! Why did you leave without speaking to me that day!” she cried finally.
“Why did you not wait?” he shot back, ignoring her pleas, letting her go and putting some physical distance between them before things got out of hand. Feeling her close to him and kissing her like that brought back every ounce of desire he’d had for her nearly tenfold.
“I waited for three years, Vegeta!”
“So you waited three,” he mused, sounding reasonable as he thought about it. “You waited a whole three years yet could not wait an extra month or a week?”
“If I had known you were returning at all, I’d have waited another three years!” she insisted, not trying to keep her composure now. “You could not have returned a week sooner?”
He shrugged. “Would you have left Lapis just because of my return?”
“Yes!”
He looked at her carefully and did not detect deceit or manipulation and believed her. His heart wrenched painfully at the thought that had he only returned a week or so sooner, they would be together. He took half a step towards her, hesitantly. He wanted to touch her again, hold her and never let her go. Like a magnet, she closed the gap between them, flinging her arms around his neck again, kissing him frantically and desperately.
As he kissed her back deeply and hungrily in response to her, she thought she might die from the intensity of it and if the ground opened up and swallowed them both whole, they would have been content.
She raked her fingers through his hair, pulling him into her, needing to feel him close to her and he in turn gripped her hips firmly, holding her tightly against him as well.
“Would you leave him now?” he asked against her cheek, his lips kissing every inch of her face. “Come away with me. We will leave and never come back.”
“I cannot do that,” she said regretfully, her own mouth travelling along his firm jawline and she was now upset that he was ruining the moment of their reunion by reminding her of her current predicament. She had laid awake all night in anxiety over the unfairness of it all that he should return now of all times. “You cannot ask me to do that,”
“Why not?” he demanded, taking his lips off her.
“I am not free to do so, Vegeta. I am bound to Lapis, you know that or have you forgotten?”
“So what?”
“So I bound myself to him in the eyes of God and the law,” she said frantically. “I cannot leave him and marry you, it would condemn me!”
“Since when has fear of god been a motivator?” he asked between clenched his teeth, trying to keep his own emotions at bay. “Have you lain with him?”
“He is my husband, of course I have,” she said bitterly, knowing which angle he was coming at. If their union was not consummated, she could still legally get an annulment if she was so determined on propriety. It would cause great scandal, but it could be done and had she and Lapis not intimately confirmed their union, she would not have hesitated to Vegeta’s offer.
He looked at her with such a look of betrayal and hurt that she thought her heart would break. “You have laid with him yet you are here now with me.”
“I’m sorry,” she sobbed, burying her face in his neck, unable to look him in the eye. “I was not with him last night; I did not know until yesterday that you had returned. If I had...”
“You would have denied him?” he asked, his features twisting as though he were in physical agony. The thought that she would have let anyone else touch her or have her nearly revolting to him as he gently pushed her away from him.
“Yes!” she cried, clinging to his hand, still lingering on her shoulder. “He is so much the gentleman, he would have not touched me if it would have been against my wishes. Last night I spent on my own and he did not even question me.”
“I…”
“You what?” she pressed.
“I returned here for you,” he said, sounding broken. “I left to make a life for myself so that I may return and be an acceptable choice for you. I made my own success out of my own ambition and desire to prove to you that I could provide. I did that all on my own; I was not conveniently born into it. Do you know what this does to me now?”
“You should have written me your intentions!” she shouted. “I would have waited had I known! Now we are trapped!”
“It is you who is trapped,” he said, walking away from her. “I am residing at the Heights with Tien. When you change your mind, come and find me. I do not care about the law or about what god thinks.”
He left her there alone to consider her predicament.
-0-0-0-
“So why would Vegeta stay with Tien when the two despised each other so intensely?” Krillin asked; it didn’t make sense.
“From the way I heard it, Tien was in deep gambling debt,” she answered. “The Heights was all he had left of his inheritance because he had squandered the rest on liquor and bad bets. When Vegeta showed up, he offered to pay off all those debts if Tien signed the property over to him. In his drunken state, he did. It was a terrible mistake and Vegeta had to have been around town for some time or secretively made his own inquiries before his arrival to have learned of the state of affairs surrounding Tien. I am of the belief that he planned it all to the very last detail before his arrival.
“It all fell into place for him too perfectly. Everything but for Bulma; she was the one variable he could not control because of his own weakness for her and hers for him.
“The weeks following his return, Vegeta began to call on the house more and more frequently. This bothered Lapis immensely, but he allowed it without complaint because it made Bulma so happy. She rewarded his leniency with affection and things appeared to be so wonderful between them during this period, I wondered that things might just work out after all and eventually her association with Vegeta would begin to wane. She was kind and giving to Lapis, and he in return spoiled her.
“It wasn’t to last, however because eventually Lapis slowly began to resent Vegeta’s constant presence around the property, despite his own happiness at the news that his family would soon be expanding. It was not enough, unfortunately, and Vegeta’s presence began to cause friction between him and Bulma. They had only been married three months by this time. I remember the turning point exactly and things from that point forward never turned around for the better.
“There was a social gathering. Everyone who was anyone was there. Including Vegeta.
“He looked nothing short of perfect and of course the women flocked towards him, all wondering who he was, and once they discovered who he was, they all were very interested in knowing how he had collected his new found fortune. Vegeta always managed to redirect the conversation and never did reveal the truth about his wealth, even today I have no idea. I assume it was by shady means, however the popular theory was that he joined a pirate ship and came across some impossible treasure and invested it. Another popular rumor was that he murdered a very wealthy family and assumed everything.
“Well, those are all very exciting possibilities, however, so far as I am aware, he acquired it from his service in the Military and made some very smart trading decisions that are still working to his advantage financially even today.” Krillin laughed.
“I assumed as much,” she nodded. “Though to be honest, I figured it was more than likely he had acquired it under shady dealings. He never did say and people still gossip and every few years there is another scandalous rumor that is being spread about his fortune and how he keeps it, though I know for certain he has made smart property purchases and rents many of them out to tenants, like yourself.”
“He never says anything to end these rumours?”
“Not a word,” she shook her head. “I think he likes the attention and mystery surrounding him. He always was a bit of a mystery, remember that no one truly knows of his origins, not even he himself so far as I know. Perhaps he found some answers throughout his travels, who knows?
“Of course, Bulma took notice of all the female attention Vegeta was getting and did not like it one bit. So she began to deliberately fawn and fuss over Lapis in an effort to make Vegeta jealous. Poor Lapis did not even realize she was using him to provoke Vegeta!
“If it worked, Vegeta did not let on that it bothered him, which seemed to throw Bulma even further into a rage. When she had finally had enough, she took herself away to an empty room, and within moments Vegeta went after her, not caring if others noticed him follow her or not. Worried for my master and how it looked for his wife to be in a room alone with another man, I too followed, unbeknownst to them both.
.
.
“You seem to be having a grand evening, Vegeta,” she said coolly. “Apparently you’re the man of the party.”
“So it would seem,” he replied. “You as well from what I can tell,”
“I will. Lapis and I had the most romantic evening last night as well,” she said snidely.
“Did you now?” he commented, trying to come off as casual as possible, watching her in amusement as she paced about the room in agitation.
“We did,” she confirmed.
“Did you think of me the entire time?” he asked as he came close to her.
Her face went instantly red. “I am not even going to respond to such a thing!”
“You do not need to, your reaction is all the confirmation I need,” he gloated cruelly.
She wound her hand up to slap him but he grabbed her forearm before she could connect and brought her close to him. “You will not leave him because you are so afraid of condemning your soul,” he growled quietly, his lips by her ear. “Yet you think of me while you lay with him. Refresh my memory because it has been years since I sat through a tiresome sermon, but is not thinking of another while one is with their lawful one still considered adultery?
“What does it say? If one thinks of another so as to have passion for them, they have already committed adultery in their heart, is what I do believe it says, or something to that effect so you have already damned your soul. If you are to be punished for something anyway, may as well commit the crime to its fullest.”
“Shows how much you know!” she lashed out in anger and embarrassment. “How dare you talk to me with such disrespect!”
“You disrespect yourself in the way with which you conduct yourself,” he said calmly, still holding her close, noting that she was not trying to put any physical distance between them. Carefully, he placed his other hand on her chin, bringing up her face to force her to look at him. “Admit it, you are trapped in this farce of a union and you are miserable. Come away with me, I will make you happy. We will get out of this damnable place and go where not a soul knows who we are so that I can take you legally as my wife, and should god damn us for it, then we will be damned together for eternity.”
“I cannot Vegeta,” she cried weakly as streams of tears began to fall. Her heart broke for not being able to do the very thing she wanted.
“Why ever not?” he demanded in a soft tone, but his eyes burned in anger and disappointment at her rejection of him. “Do you not comprehend how much I want you, how much I need you in my life! Whatever it is that is holding you back, we can handle it together, I do not care. I’d rip apart anything standing in our way, I would destroy this world for you if I had to just so we could be together.”
“I am pregnant, Vegeta,” she admitted finally with a sob. “I am pregnant with Lapis’s child and he knows. If I had no care at all for him, I would not hesitate to leave, but I cannot do that to him. It would destroy him.”
The news of her pregnancy was as effective a repellant as though she had dealt him a physical blow. He let her go and began pacing the room, raking his fingers through his hair roughly as he let it sink in. “He has taken joy in this?”
“He has,” she nodded, still crying.
“I would still have you, you know, even with the knowledge that you carry his child,” he said so quietly she barely heard him.
“I know,” she sobbed, throwing herself at him again and clinging to him with all her might. “And if I weren’t, I would let you persuade me to leave him against my better judgement, even though it would hurt him. But I cannot bear to deal him such a harsh blow as to lose both his wife and child. I care and respect him enough to not do that to him even though it means forever closing the door on us.”
He hugged her back, resting his chin on the top of her head, closing his eyes as he breathed in her scent, realizing that it was likely to be the last time he would ever embrace or hold her close again. “I need you to let me go then,” he said, kissing the top of her head tenderly.
“I do not want to,” she said, still leaning into him, wanting to remain that way, close to him for as long as possible. “I still need you in my life, Vegeta. Why can’t we just be friends?”
“We are not friends, Bulma!” he seethed finally. “We will never be friends!”
She swallowed hard, trying to keep the lump in her throat from making its presence known. She was determined she would not break down further in front of him.
“We were something so much more than friends,” he spat. “We could be still. We could be enemies, we could be lovers, we could be anything! But we will never be friends.”
“So what are we?” she asked hoarsely. Her throat was burning from swallowing down every drop of emotion just waiting to erupt.
“I do not know,” he replied honestly, stroking the side of her face tenderly. “You make me sick, and yet I am completely enamoured with you, despite the horrible games you play on me!”
“You are the one who is playing games!” she accused snappishly. “You come here and tease me with your mere presence, kissing me and touching me and reminding me of what we had and what we will never have again!
“Lapis is looking for you, Bulma,” they heard Baba saying discreetly from outside the room. He wasn’t, so far as she knew, but she had decided enough was enough before that scenario eventually did present itself, “Just what is it you think you both are doing?” she scolded them, walking into the room and shutting the door a moment later; she had seen and heard enough. “How would you explain this if someone besides me walked in on this scene, or worse yet, what if your husband had seen?”
“To hell with everyone,” she said, still clinging to Vegeta.
“You ought to be ashamed, both of you!” she whispered harshly in disgust at their conduct. “Now come back out here before both your absences are noticed.”
“Let him discover us,” Vegeta said, making no move to let Bulma go.
“No,” she shook her head and reluctantly pushed herself away from him. “Not here, not like this.”
Vegeta shook his head in irritation at her as she left the room.
“You need to leave!” she hissed at him, closing the door again once Bulma was gone. “I have told you before and I am begging you now, Vegeta, if you have any care at all for her, you will leave and never return. I am sorry it did not work out for the two of you the way you would have liked, but this is the path you both must walk now. Please, leave her be! Find another to take as your own. I noticed the women were quite taken by you, it would be a simple task for you and I am sure you could learn to love any one of them as much as you do Bulma but please, you must leave her be now.”
He was thoughtful for a moment before shaking his head. “Not without her sending me away because it is what she wants.”
“She hasn’t the strength or the good sense to send you away!” she insisted in frustration, not understanding how he could have been so selfish as to not see that for himself. “Do not make me get the master involved. Up to this point I have kept silent but if you do not deist, I will have no choice but to inform him.”
“And what would he do, exactly? He is a weak excuse of a man, I cannot believe Bulma chose someone like him. Even if she had married in my absence, why did it have to be someone of such weak character as him?”
“I do not know what he will do, but do not push him,” she said, ignoring his insulting remarks in Lapis’ character. “Find another.”
-0-0-0-
“I will not pretend that I was not completely appalled by their shameful conduct. It was good for them that no one came by and happened to see them or wanted entry into that room.
“Things were quiet for a few days until Vegeta made an appearance at the property again, only this time Lazuli was the subject of his interest, not Bulma.
“In wanting to protect my lady from the distress of it all, I led her out of the kitchen where I could plainly see Vegeta speaking with Lazuli and we went into the living room. Lazuli was smiling and it looked like a nice visit and immediately I became suspicious of his motives.
“It was not until about an hour later that all hell broke loose, when Bulma saw Vegeta returning to the plantation with Lazuli, riding the horse Vegeta had gifted to Bulma all those years ago.
“That fiend!” she exclaimed as she stood up, seeing them from the window. “That wretched, dirty fiend!”
Bulma marched outside. “What do you think you are doing, Vegeta, Lazuli?”
“Lazuli expressed desire at the gathering the other evening to learn to ride properly,” Vegeta responded casually. “I offered to teach her.”
“On my horse!”
“Yes, well I couldn’t very well let her learn on my horse,” he said. “Temperamental, wretched beast that he is, I’m sure you haven’t forgotten.”
“Of course I remember, but there are many other horses to choose from for her to learn on, including her own horse!” she ranted.
Vegeta shrugged, seemingly unbothered by her upset.
“You’re just jealous that Vegeta came and asked to call on me for once instead of you!” Lazuli said snidely. “It’s not like you ever ride your horse anymore.”
“That is not the point!” she raged. “Lapis will not let me ride my horse because I am pregnant even though I have not fallen off my horse since… never mind! You have-”
“When was the last time you fell off your horse, Bulma?” Vegeta asked in interest, looking at her intently.
Bulma shot him a dirty look. “It was years and years ago. So long, I barely remember. That’s how insignificant the incident was!”
“Are you certain it was insignificant?” he asked lightly, in good humor. “Well, I can see why you’d not remember it. You tend to repress and forget things on occasion.”
“Get in here!” she snarled between grit teeth, grabbing him by his arm and dragging him into the house.
“Where are you going, Bulma?” Lazuli shouted after them. “You will not ruin this for me! For once, stop being so selfish!”
“Selfish!” Bulma snapped at her, turning back around to face her. They were in the front entrance by this time.
“Yes, selfish!” she repeated. “You cannot stand to think that Vegeta may look at me the way you think he looks at you!”
“And how would you know how he looks at me?” she snorted.
“I’ve seen it! I’m not stupid!”
“Well, you are stupid if you think Vegeta would ever like you like that!” Bulma gloated teasingly. “Vegeta, do you like Lazuli?”
Vegeta looked at the younger girl a moment in consideration. “I suppose I could,” he confirmed, though he was looking at Bulma when he answered.
“Rubbish!” she exclaimed, stomping her foot on the floor. “Even if you did, which I know you don’t! You could never like her, never mind love her! And even if you did, I forbid it! And so would Lapis!”
“Why you jealous wench!” Lazuli screamed, lunging at her, but Vegeta came between them.
“Let us have a little chat, you and I,” he said to Bulma, grabbing her hand and dragging her off into the sitting room down the hall.
“Get your hands off me, Vegeta! What is the meaning of this, you toying with me like this?” she demanded. Baba followed them into the other room, not trusting them to be alone together by this point.
“I am not toying with you,” he replied innocently. “Lazuli, maybe, but not you.”
“Then what’s this all about? You taking her out, letting her ride my horse! I’ll not have it, Vegeta!”
“Jealous, are we?” he smirked deviously taking great delight in that knowledge. “You know you have no right to be jealous over anything I do from now on seeing as you have your own husband and soon a child too, to focus on.”
“That’s not fair, Vegeta!” she cried. “You are the one trying to make me jealous, and I am not!”
“If you are not jealous, why does it bother you so much that I have shifted my interests to another who happens to be available?” he asked, taking great joy in her obvious distress. “I returned here for one purpose and have had to change my tactic being that you are taken. Your servant so kindly urged me to find another for the purpose of your wellbeing, and so I have. You as well, have been so unkind, unfeeling and unfair to me, let me amuse myself.”
“So, you only care about Lazuli, suddenly?”
Vegeta gave her a dark look. “If you actually believe that I could ever genuinely feel for that out there even an ounce of what I feel for you,” he growled in a low tone, pointing outside the room where he assumed Lazuli was still standing. “I will go back to the Heights right now and hang myself.”
“So what’s this all about then?” she asked again, growing more and more agitated with him by the second. “If not revenge against me?”
“It is not revenge against you, but against Lapis,” he clarified. “I have nothing against you, even though I know I certainly have more than enough reasons to.”
“If you want revenge against Lapis, do not ruin Lazuli in the process,” she said. “Please don’t. She is an innocent in all of this and does not deserve to be played and preyed upon because of whatever devious, dark plan you have concocted. She is a good girl and deserves better than that!”
Vegeta shrugged. He was about to say something else when Lapis strode into the room.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded. “I feel I have been more than reasonable in allowing you to come and go freely, however I no longer approve of your associations with my wife under any circumstances and must ask you to leave immediately and not return.”
“I was not here to call on Bulma,” he replied innocently.
“He’s here trying to steal Lazuli’s affections under false pretenses!” Bulma objected. “I was sending him off, forbidding him to see your sister because I assumed you would not approve of their union and this is the thanks I get?”
Lapis glared at Vegeta. “What business have you with Lazuli?”
“Everyone keeps telling me to shift my interests to another, and so I have and yet you still take issue with me, my goodness what is with you people?” he taunted. “You should trust in your wife, she is very loyal to you and you alone, I regret. Believe me, she will not leave you, but not for want of persuasion on my part.”
“See how he devalues my character, Vegeta?” she snipped. “I have remained loyal and he still acts this way, punishing me by not allowing me to see my most cherished friend.”
“It is him I do not trust,” Lapis said.
“Well, if you do trust me, then it is pitiful you constantly feel the need to interrogate me of my whereabouts on the most trivial of things!” she spat at him. “Where are you, who are you with? I am always with Lazuli and Vegeta! It never changes, yet you feel the need to bother me over it!”
“You leave Lazuli behind!” he exclaimed. “She tells me so. The two of you take off on your own, full well knowing she cannot keep up and then go off about your business.”
“It is not our fault she cannot keep up on horseback and is too afraid to try anything faster than a walk!” she argued.
“That is not the point,” he said, beginning to lose his patience with her. “The point is, it is not proper for you to be spending time alone with Vegeta. You are married to me, or do I need to remind you of this?”
“How dare you make such insinuations against my character!” she snarled. “Vegeta, you are going to allow him to speak such accusations to me?”
Vegeta smirked nastily at Lapis. It did not bother him in the least that he suspected something improper was possibly going on between them. While he would not pretend he wasn’t doing anything wrong by trying to sway her into leaving with him, they certainly had not crossed any lines with regards to physical intimacy between them. “I would not disgrace Bulma in such a manner, so take care about what charges against her you make.”
“Is that all?” Bulma shrugged at him and his very neutral response. “I would have thought that you would be as appalled as I am to hear what he thinks is going on. He has completely slandered my character and you are not bothered by it?”
“I have let him off with a warning,” Vegeta responded, glowering at Lapis. “Besides, you do not need me to fight your battles for you. You never have.”
“That is true, she can fight better than most, however the insult is more towards your character than hers,” Lapis said. “Leave my house, at once! Should you return, I will be forced to take measures and will treat you as an intruder.”
Vegeta began to laugh at him. “Such strong words for such a meek individual. Can you back it up?”
“By any and all means possible, now please leave before I call for reinforcements and have you removed.”
Vegeta began to laugh even more at him. “So you cannot do it yourself! Pathetic! And this is what you chose?” he said condescendingly, looking at Bulma.
“If you wish to turn him out, Lapis take him out yourself, do not hide behind servants!” Bulma said, taking Vegeta’s side on the matter.
-0-0-0-
“I felt terribly for the poor man. Vegeta finally departed, however and both Bulma and Lazuli flew into a fit of rage at Lapis for making him leave, both for different reasons.
“Lapis forbade either of them to see Vegeta again and notified the servants that he was not permitted entry into the house for any reason, nor was he welcome on the property. Lazuli confessed her undying love for him, which prompted Lapis to threaten that he would disown her if she even so much as thought of continuing any type of relationship with Vegeta, friendship or otherwise. She fled the room to pout and that was the last Lapis would ever see of her again.”
“Why, what happened to her?” Krillin asked eagerly.
“Just wait, I will get to that,” she said, holding up a hand. “Lapis and Bulma then had the most volatile fight I have ever been privy to, all because he told her she needed to choose between himself and Vegeta. She began throwing things in a fit of rage and even slapped poor Lapis, who did not know what else to do but take leave to his personal study to weep. Perhaps this was because she was hormonal at the time, she would have been around three months pregnant, but I was horrified and embarrassed by her conduct.
“Bulma closed herself in her own room for three days, refusing food, water or to see anyone besides myself. She insisted she was dying and wanted me to tell Lapis so that he would come and reconcile with her, but I did not take her seriously. I assumed she was being manipulative, and at this point, I believe she was in no real danger, but I tell you, it was her stubbornness that ultimately did her in.
“After a week, I told Lapis that she was still refusing to take her meals at all, only consuming water. By this point, he decided that it was her who needed to come to him since she was the one refusing to end her friendship with Vegeta and so a bitter, childish stalemate was where they stood.”
“They weren’t on speaking terms at all?” Krillin asked in amazement.
“Nope,” she shook her head. “It was childish and ridiculous and I scolded them both severely over it, but while I do believe they both wanted to reconcile, neither one was willing to take the first step and go to the other.
“During all this silliness, no one thought to inquire or check up on Lazuli, who had begun writing letters in secret and sneaking off to meet with Vegeta. Even I did not know until I went to the market and heard the news from someone there that Vegeta and Lazuli had apparently left town to elope the previous day!”
“No,” Krillin exclaimed. “Oh boy, this just keeps getting better and better, doesn’t it?”
“If you say so,” she snorted. “I did not believe the gossip at first; there was no way I would have thought she would be stupid enough to just leave her brother and run off with Vegeta, not even knowing him all that well! Stupid, naïve girl!
“I raced home to discover her own horse missing and she was not in her room or anywhere to be found, but she had left a note for Lapis, stating her intentions to marry Vegeta with or without his and Bulma’s consent or approval. The irony did not escape my notice that it was this girl, whom be barely knew had agreed to leave with him but the one he ultimately wanted would not.
“Lapis made no indication to follow her to attempt to stop them, being of the mind that she knew full well the consequences of her actions. We both agreed to keep this information from Bulma as long as possible, that it would do her no good to know about it. Unfortunately, she overheard two thoughtless house maids gossiping over it and she was set off again.
“Feeling that enough was enough, Lapis went to her and was horrified to see what two weeks of self-neglect had done for her. She would not speak to him, and reverted back to the nearly catatonic state she had been struck with the first time Vegeta had left her.
“Her illness had returned as well, being that it was winter time and she insisted always on leaving the window open. I could not figure out how she could have wanted the room left so cold at all times, but I suspect now that she did it intentionally in an effort to end her own life. One time, when I went to close it, she started in a screaming rage and threatened to throw herself out the window when I left if I did not leave it open. What was I to do?
“Her pregnancy was not an easy one. She was sick with fever and physically ill every morning until mid-day for the entirety of it. Lapis took to caring for her on a constant basis despite her not wanting to see him or have him near her, her depression was so great that had it not been for his persistence, I am sure she would have succeeded in starving herself within weeks.”
“So they set their differences aside. They were civil and there were moments when she seemed to enjoy his company again; Lapis had so been hoping that with Vegeta permanently out of the picture that she would see this incoming child as a new beginning for them to start off fresh, but she never quite came around again. Either it was not enough to give her the will to recover, or she had done so much damage to herself by this time that she could not have recovered even if she’d wanted to.
“He loved her still, despite her depressive state and he cared for and attended to her better than even I could have. She wanted for nothing and he made sure she had the best care available to her, no expense was spared.
“It was four months before Vegeta and Lazuli returned, and he came to hear of Bulma’s illness; by this point everyone knew that she was ill and most likely not going to recover at all.
“I received a message from Lazuli, begging me to come to visit her, as she had come to realize what a mistake she had made in marrying Vegeta almost immediately, according to her letter. I went to the Heights to humour the poor girl, Lapis knew I was going and wanted no part, but he approved of my leaving Bulma to see to his sister; however he was very adamant that she was not welcome back into his home no matter what Vegeta had put her through.
The home I had cared for for years was in such a state of disarray that I was shocked. It broke my heart that poor little Goten had no idea of who I was anymore, so much time had passed by this point. Vegeta greeted me warmly and eagerly invited me into the house, offering me a drink, of which I declined. Tien was nowhere to be seen, however.
“He to me related his own regret in marrying Lazuli.”
.
.

“I thought I might be able to learn to love her as I indeed loved Bulma, as you suggested I may be able should I find another to turn my attentions to. I know now, however that I will never be able to do that,” he lamented.
“And why ever not?” Baba asked in anger. She did not know Lazuli particularly well, but she had enough fondness for her that she knew she deserved better and was not as detestable as he seemed to think.
“She looks too much like her brother,” he said. “They have the same eyes, the same detestable, cold eyes and I cannot get past that.”
“And you could not have figured that out before marrying and ruining the poor girl?”
“I only married her to irritate Lapis,” he confessed. “She is his sister and should anything happen to him, then I will inherit the plantation by default.”
Baba shook her head in disgust at him. “You are truly detestable and I regret even knowing you! Will you at least not try to make a happy life with her?”
“Why bother?” he shrugged. “I will make her miserable because I cannot make Lapis miserable. Besides, she has already given up on trying to please and amuse me. All she did was cry and whine the entire time we were gone.”
“Can you blame the poor girl?”
“It matters little to me,” he snorted. “She knew what I was before she stupidly ran off with me. She was the one who thought I had redeeming qualities and let thoughts of romance cloud her judgement.”
“You led her on!”
“I did not,” he shook his head, standing up.
“I saw you the last time you came to the house speaking with her and whispering sweet nothings into her ear, do not lie!” she accused him.
“I have no clue what you are talking about, but I can assure you, anything I did say, she twisted in her mind to believe that I cared for her. I even told her that I would never love another the way I love Bulma and yet she saw it as accepting a challenge rather than the deterrent it was meant to be. I saw an opportunity to hurt Lapis and took it. That is all. Now tell me of Bulma, I hear she is ill.”
She shook her head yet again at him and his cruel, yet casual attitude at ruining another’s life with so little regard or thought and her heart broke for Lazuli. Surely this was not the same young boy that Mr. Briefs had brought home. That boy was meek and mild and would not hurt a fly. This was a monster and Baba was ashamed to know that she had been the one to aid in raising him.
“Bulma is no longer your concern,” she told him. “You should concern yourself with the wellbeing of your beautiful new wife and forget about Bulma for good.”
“I could never forget Bulma,” he ground. “Now tell me, is she alright?”
She answered, despite her better judgement. “She is severely ill since you saw her last and it will be a miracle that she survives long enough to even give birth to hers and Lapis’ child. At the moment, that is all that can be done. She is beyond recovery both mentally and physically. We are trying to keep her alive long enough that the child is not lost as well.”
“Liar!” he spat. “Bulma is the strongest person I know, both mentally and physically. She will recover.”
“You say that only because you have not seen her,” she told him darkly. “That woman of which you speak does not exist anymore, instead she is merely a shell. She is fragile and must be handled with care.”
Vegeta threw his glass of whiskey into the fireplace in anger at her words. Baba stood there uncomfortably for a few minutes as the only thing he did was stare into the fire and pace violently back in forth in a barely contained rage at the confirmation of the news on Bulma’s illness.
“I must see her,” he said finally.
“No,” she said firmly. “I cannot allow it. For you to see her now would only finish destroying her. You have no idea what these past four months have been like! She broke when she heard of yours and Lazuli’s marriage! Leave her alone, you have done enough!”
“I need to see her,”
“No, you do not. Believe me when I tell you that you do not even want to see her, Vegeta! Her illness has been so severe that she resembles nothing of her former self. To see her now would only cause you deep distress,” she tried to warn him. “I do not deny you out of cruelness, but out of compassion.”
“Arrange it,” he said, unwaveringly. “I do not believe that she would allow herself to succumb to illness that easily. I must see for myself.”
“She was broken hearted after Lapis told you to leave,” she told him. “She has been in a state of depression and has done this to herself. She refused food and sustenance after that day, locking herself in her room and when it got cold, she insisted on having the windows wide open and it was then that she made herself sick.”
“He made her choose, didn’t he?” Vegeta snarled. “That cowardly bastard!”
“How are you any different?” Baba snarled back. “You kept coming around and confusing her instead of leaving her be like I begged you to! I was privy to many of your conversations; I know you tried to get her to leave Lapis. You are just as much to blame as she is for her condition!”
“I would have never made her choose!” he replied. “Should she have wanted Lapis in her life as a friend I would have been alright with it, knowing her affections truly belonged to me.”
“How do you know where her affections truly lie?” Lazuli shouted at him from across the room, for she had been listening to them from the stairwell in the hall this entire time. “You never really saw Bulma and Lapis together! They love each other more than any two people could possibly love each other!”
Vegeta laughed nastily at her words. “Of course, that is why any spare chance she had to spend with me, she jumped to the opportunity.”
“Right, and yet she still remained loyal to him despite your tactics to make her betray my brother!”
“That is because you and your family have brainwashed her into worrying about what god and what society thinks,” he sneered in disgust. “Before she met your detestable family, Bulma did not care about what anyone thought. She was wild and free and that was what I absolutely loved about her and then you and your lot had to destroy that streak.”
Having heard enough of his ranting, Baba turned to leave. “Your brother has stated on no uncertain terms that you are not welcome back into his home, but that I can keep contact with you,” she told Lazuli on her way out of the house.
Lazuli threw her arms around Baba’s neck. “Please tell them I am sorry. I should have listened to my brother, and please give Bulma my best. Tell her he is not worth killing herself over!”
“I know that and you know that, but I am afraid it is most likely that she is beyond help at this point. Take care, I will be around again when time allows,”
“You will give this to Bulma,” Baba heard Vegeta call out from the living room area. She saw him a moment later with a piece of paper. “It is a note. You may read it if you wish. Give it to her, let her know I will be coming to see her as soon as you make it possible.”
“It is not a good idea, Vegeta,” she said again. “I highly advise against it for both of your sakes.”
“Come on, Baba,” he sighed almost petulantly. “You have always been my good friend, nay my only friend other than Bulma my whole life! Do not let me down now.”
-0-0-0-
After several more minutes of my declining and trying to dissuade him, I finally relented and agreed to give Bulma the letter and allow him to see her the moment Lapis had left the home. I gave Lazuli a hug and returned to the plantation, regretting agreeing to let Vegeta come to see Bulma once again.
Four days later it was Sunday. Lapis left to go to church against my wishes that he remained at Bulma’s side, for her condition had worsened considerably. So much so that I was convinced she would not last until the end of the day.
The other house servants left with him and like clockwork, I noticed Vegeta standing outside, waiting for permission to enter. I had not given Bulma the note, though I carried it on me in person at all times so it would not accidentally be discovered.
“You have a visitor,” I said to her, handing her the note. She did not respond to even open it. “Vegeta asked me to give this to you, requesting that you see him.”
She looked up at me at the mention of his name and nodded, not looking at the letter. I was about to go outside to tell him it was alright to come in, but he had apparently gotten tired of waiting and had the audacity to walk into the house without invitation. I ran into him on the stairs.
“She is very fragile,” I warned him. “Mind what you say, do not upset her and be warned, she looks and acts nothing like what you remember.”
He did not say anything in acknowledgement, only waved his hand at me to indicate for me to be quiet as he walked in the room and looked at her in shock. Standing beside him, I noticed his face turned white at the sight of her; she was thin and hollow looking and pale. We had cut her hair short because of her illness and it was in the way when she was sick.
“What’s with this foolishness I hear you are ill?” he asked her after catching himself a moment later, trying to keep his tone light even though he could tell that she was seriously ill and finally understood my assumption that she would not recover from this. “You’ve never been sick a day in your life.”
“I am dying,” she said, trying to stand up to greet him. “Vegeta,”
“Stay,” he said, rushing to her and taking her in his arms, which she fell into the moment they made contact. “You positively are not dying, why would you say such a thing?”
“Because I am,” she sighed. “I feel it.”
“No, you are not. I will not allow it,” he said firmly, looking at me in distress, full realization hitting him hard. “She’s been seen by a doctor?” he asked.
“Doctor says there is nothing more to be done,” I replied, shaking my head.
“No,” he said, hugging her close. “Something has to be done, I will not lose you,”
“I cannot go on like this. Our love is doomed,” she said sadly.
“No,” he shook his head. “If that is the case, then let us fight for it.”
“It is too late,” she said.
“Then fight for me,” he insisted, shaking her gently in his franticness despite his awareness of her condition. “Our stars may be horribly crossed but let us defy them! Let us defy everyone! Just do not leave me here on this earth alone.”
“I cannot,” she shook her head weakly.
“When I was gone, I was... I found myself in dire straits and life threatening situations on several occasions and believed that I was done for, it was the thought of not seeing you again that made me fight and figure my way through it. You are the only thing worth fighting for, worth living for!”
“I am ill,” she said. “There is no point anymore,”
“Am I not worth living for?” he asked, his voice cracking in emotion.
“Not if I cannot have you in my life,” she replied. “Love is supposed to be long suffering and kind, not cruel,” she said. “You have been so cruel.”
“No more cruel than you have been to me,” he replied. “I acted out of spite because of you, because of the way you treated me. It wasn’t bad enough that when I returned, I learned that I could never have you, but you flaunted him in front of me for your own amusement full well knowing what that did to me.
“I came to you time and again, imploring you to come away with me and yet you would not. That you are ill and dying is of your own doing. You ruined all that was good and all that could have been.”
“You left!” she practically screamed at him with every ounce of strength she had left. “Do you have any idea what that did to me, when you went away? You separated from me first! You did not wait for me to come to you! That day I told you I would come to you in the evening and you were gone! Why? Before I die, Vegeta, I must know!”
Vegeta clenched his teeth so hard, his jaw was visually pulsing at the reminder that she had only a short time left with him as she trembled in his arms as she began to have a violent coughing fit. He never had told her the reason why he had left or where he had gone or even why he had returned. He gently picked her up once the fit had passed and placed her back into bed, lying next to her, holding her close so they would both be more comfortable and she would not expend so much energy standing.
“I returned to the house to see if everyone else had gone to bed yet because I was anxious for you to come see me; I was still angry from our conversation earlier when you had chosen to keep company with Lapis instead of dismissing him like I had asked,” he started, holding her close. He had not spoken of it with anyone ever since leaving and revisiting it now was difficult as the intense, raw emotions from that night began to feel fresh again as though it were only yesterday. “I overheard your conversation with Baba and that Lapis had proposed to you,”
“Then you had to have known that I loved you more than I could ever love Lapis!” she cried, instantly recalling the conversation.
He shook his head. “All I heard was about how you loved him and were going to accept him because I was apparently an inappropriate choice and beneath you. You wished to impart some of your future husband’s fortune to me in order to elevate my status. I did not stay to hear anymore.”
“Then you missed out on what else I had said!” she cried. “I told Baba that I simply could not marry Lapis! That I could not breathe without you in my life! I would have left right then and there with you despite the horrid storm that was raging! I nearly died from pneumonia because I was out looking for you to tell you how I truly felt about you! I remained in your room in the barn for three days without food or water in hopes that you would come back! It was you who abandoned me! And in doing so, you have killed me! I am laying here dying here because of you, I blame you!”
“I will take no responsibility for your present condition, do not put that on me, especially in your last hours,” he growled forcefully. “I came to you repeatedly, asking you to leave with me and you chose to remain here with him. You are the one who truly came between us. I would have done anything and defied anyone to be with you, yet you would not once take a leap of faith to be with me to give us a chance!”
“So you are not sorry I will be gone,” she spat, some of her old fire returning to her. “I suppose it’s to be expected. You left me before and had no qualms; you stayed away for three years without word and then you married my own sister-in-law just to spite me and to hurt me!”
“I did not mean it. I did not mean any of it,” he said, tenderly touching her face and leaning in to kiss her to calm her down, and I began to feel uncomfortable standing mere feet away as they openly expressed such deep affection for one another, forgetting my presence entirely. “I thought of you every moment of every day,”
“You will not forget me when I am gone, will you?” she asked, running her hands through his hair as she kissed him back as though he were her lifeline.
“How could I ever forget you?” he asked, finally allowing himself to give way to emotion. In all the years I had known Vegeta and troubles he suffered growing up, I never saw that boy cry; I never knew he even had it in him to cry.
She kissed him back and he noted her energy was waning. “Rest,” he said. “Please rest,”
“No, if I fall asleep, I may not wake up again,” she sobbed.
“You will,” he insisted. “And I will be here when you wake up.” he shifted somewhat, making sure she was comfortable in his embrace.
“You’d better be,” she murmured as she began to doze off from exhaustion, her arms wrapped around his waist and her cheek resting on his chest; she looked so small in his arms now.
“You’d better leave before Lapis returns,” I said quietly once Bulma was asleep.
“I cannot leave her now,” he replied, not taking his eyes off her as she slept, running his fingers soothingly through her now short hair. I was used to always seeing him so stoic and hard that it was almost surreal watching him display such affection and gentleness, even though I had witnessed him show affection to her when he did not know anyone was watching. “Why is he not here? What if she does not wake up? Is she to die alone? I cannot, nor will not do that to her.”
“I believe he is still at the church service praying for her,” I said, though as terrible as it is to think poorly of Lapis and everything he was going through, I did agree with Vegeta that he should have been here with her now in case things took a turn for the worse.
“Praying? What good is prayer, when she is laying here like this, dying?”
“Do not judge him, he has taken such good care of her. Especially once you left with Lazuli when she first became ill. He nursed her better than anyone could have those four months you were gone,” she defended. “It would not do you any harm to put in a prayer for her as well,”
“She’s past that!” he hissed in anger, trying to keep his voice down so as not to wake her. “She’s not much time left!”
“I told you she was beyond recovery and you needn’t torture yourself by coming here and seeing her like this,” I said. “This is not the way to remember her.”
“No, but I could not not come,” he insisted stubbornly. “I left her before, it was the biggest mistake of my life. I cannot now leave her when she needs me, no matter her condition. I should have done more, I should not have ever left her in the first place,”
“You should not have returned,” I added coolly. “I’ll bet she’d still be alive and happy if you’d not come back. She did this to herself, you know, because of you. Both you and Lapis broke her heart that day you both fought.”
“She broke her own heart when she chose him over me,” he said bitterly, letting his emotions begin to consume him. “I loved her with all my heart and soul from the moment we met.”
“Lapis loves her very deeply as well,” I reminded him. “You will not be the only one to be grieving her loss when she is gone.”
“He may love her, yes, but he could not possibly love her as much as I do,”
“Yes, well, it is not a competition,” I said, shaking my head in disgust at his pettiness. What difference did it make at this point who supposedly loved her more? “And in the end, you both lost it would seem.”
“Leave us,” he said.
“It is not right-”
“I do not bloody care!” he snarled so viciously that he actually frightened me. “Get out,”
I sighed in exasperation at him, but left the room. If it was the last time for them to spend together, then I would not interfere until I knew Lapis was on his way back.
“I am sorry, I am so, so sorry for everything, my love,” I heard him sob a moment later and it truly touched me that he was finally able to allow himself to completely give way to his grief, even if it was in private and Bulma was not privy to it.
He lay there, holding her in his arms weeping bitterly until he fell asleep as well. That was how he was when I returned some time later to check in on Bulma. I left them be, she needed to sleep and I did not want to suffer Vegeta’s wrath if I woke him.
She awoke nearly two hours later, her sickness advanced even more; she was wheezing and having more difficulty breathing, but she awoke with a bright smile upon waking up in Vegeta’s arms.
“I dreamed a horrible dream,” she murmured, touching the side of his face, looking at him in wonder.
“What did you dream?” he asked, awaking at her movement.
“I dreamt you left me and did not return; I did not know what happened to you. You broke my heart and I married Lapis because I assumed you were forever lost to me, except you did return and then it was too late,” she said, beginning to cry.
It was clear that she had become delusional because of her fever and illness.
Vegeta had only now just noticed me sitting quietly in a chair in the room near the window, keeping watch for Lapis. I shook my head at him to not bring her back to her senses; better for her that she not be upset. He nodded once in understanding.
“I’m here now,” he said soothingly to her, pressing his forehead against hers and stroking the side of her jaw. She had grown paler in the last few hours.
“Why are you crying?” she asked with a slight frown before realization began to sink in. “It was not a dream, that happened, didn’t it?”
He nodded, unable to speak as he shook as he held her in his arms and wept.
“I ruined it all,” she said. “Please forgive me,”
“Lapis has returned,” I informed them, standing up. “Vegeta, you need to leave now.”
“No! Do not leave me!” she cried frantically, clinging onto him for dear life.
“Lapis is right outside and will be inside any minute now,” I said, trying to reason with her, afraid for what might occur if Vegeta was still here with her when he arrived. “He will be livid if he discovers Vegeta here,”
“No! I need Vegeta here with me and he needs to accept that!” she ranted in near hysterics. “Do not leave me, Vegeta!”
“I am not going anywhere,” he replied squeezing her reassuringly however she fainted in her upset mere moments before Lapis came into the room.
“What are you doing here?” he exclaimed in immediate anger at seeing them together in such an intimate embrace and in her bed no less.
“She wishes for me to stay here with her, so I will,” he said firmly, raising a hand to keep him from coming at him. “I do not want to fight with you. When this is all over with, we may quarrel and you can cast me out any way which you see fit, but so long as she wants me to remain, I shall remain.”
Lapis nodded, reluctantly allowing him to stay. He did not want to do anything to unnecessarily upset Bulma in the fragile state she was in. “How is she?” he asked, though he could tell from looking at her that the news was not good.
“Her breathing is worse and she is delirious and not fully aware of what is going on or where she is even,” I informed him. “I think it best for you to send for the physician.”
“I did already on my way home from church,” he said, gently touching the side of her face. “He should be here at any moment.”
Vegeta managed to untangle her arms from around him, getting up to allow Lapis to see to her. “She has been peacefully sleeping for the most part,” he said, pacing the room uncomfortably.
“Thank you for remaining with her in my absence,” he replied. “While I do not understand her fascination with you, I know it would have made her happy that you were here. I have not decided if my being lenient and allowing her to see you all this time or if my denying her from seeing you was my biggest mistake.”
“It matters little now,” Vegeta huffed.
“The physician finally arrived a little while later and it was then that Vegeta agreed to take his leave. The concern at this point was for the child she was carrying, rather than for her.
“He vowed to remain close to the house and I promised I would notify him of any changes as soon as I knew anything. She awoke a few times, but never said much of anything. Finally, in the late hours of the night, she passed.”
“Lapis was so overcome in his grief that he could not bear to remain in the room while the physician attempted to save their child. He worked quickly and efficiently and I assisted while he removed the baby,” she paused for a moment as she recalled the terrible incident. “You know, for all the terrible things I have related about her, I did care for her. For all her faults, she was not the worst.”
“Of course not,” Krillin agreed. “You raised her, did you not?”
“Practically,” she nodded, taking a deep breath to keep herself from getting emotional. “It is such a shame she never had the chance to know her daughter. I apologize, I do not speak of this often.”
“It is alright, take as much time as you need.”
“I hope to never have to take part in anything so horrific again,” she shook her head. “Thankfully everything was alright, although she was premature by two months. I cleaned and swaddled her and took her to Lapis, but he had no desire to see her.
“The poor little thing had no name for three days. Lapis named her Bra and once his grief subsided, he spoiled that little thing terribly, doting on her and giving in to whatever her little heart desired. She is truly the spitting image of her mother.”
“And what of Vegeta?” Krillin asked. “How did he take the news?”
.
.
Vegeta waited outside all night long, as he said he would. It wasn’t until early morning that Baba came out to see him and fill him in on what had happened, though he had already somehow figured it out for himself.
“She’s dead, isn’t she,” he said as a statement of confirmation rather than asking in inquiry.
“I am sorry, Vegeta.”
“I did not need you to come out here to tell me, I already knew!” he seethed as he finally let his emotions take hold of him. “Was she angry I left her?”
“No,” she answered. “She never regained full consciousness again; she never knew that you were not there.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “She went peacefully then, did not suffer?”
“No, she did not suffer,” she said solemnly. “She was conscious enough to give birth to a beautiful, healthy daughter. She passed not two hours afterwards and is at peace now,” she lied, not wanting to disclose the real, somewhat gory truth to him.
“I certainly hope not!” he exclaimed. “Did you hear her? In her last words to me she told me I killed her!”
“She was delirious, Vegeta and not sound of mind at that point,” she insisted. “She did not mean that, I am sure.”
“I hope she meant it! I hope she meant every damned word of it!” he shouted in his grief. “They say the dead haunt their killers. Let her haunt me every hour of every day until the day I die.”
“Why would you wish such a thing?” she asked in disgust, his demeanor beginning to frighten her somewhat, concerned that he would begin to suffer the same madness Bulma did when he had left.
“Because I cannot go on without her soul in my life, I cannot! Don’t you see?” he confessed sadly, giving way to tears again.
She tried to think of something comforting to say to him, but could not. “I should hope you never find anyone to love again,” she said. “It is far better to be hated by you than to be loved by you. You destroyed the one thing you loved the most and she, in her way, destroyed you as well. You both deserve each other. Now go home to your own wife and try to focus on making a decent life with her. You may never love her, but let her love you and sooth you. She is not Bulma, but she is a good girl.”
He did not reply and so she left him there in the yard as he wept bitterly in his grief.
-0-0-0-
“The next day was Bulma’s wake and once Lapis left, Vegeta came to see her. We had dressed her in her best and left the chapel open to the public. He came at night and kissed her. He did not say anything to me and only stared at her for about an hour, or I left him there with her after he had been there an hour, having spent all day accepting condolences.
“The next day, I noticed he had left behind a lock of his hair in her hand, before we sealed her coffin. I said nothing to Lapis about it. The poor man was so beside himself in grief that I did not wish to bother him with any unneeded drama.
“Vegeta attended the service at the back of the church, arriving discreetly just as it began, and he left as soon as it was over. He remained a fair distance away from everyone as she was buried and was the last to leave. Lapis did not approach him, of which I was thankful for. No one was aware of the love triangle and I felt it best that no one ever come to know of it.”
-0-0-0-
“What a story!” Krillin exclaimed, shaking his head. “I have covered and heard my share of unique stories, but I must say, this one tops them all.”
“I warned you that it was not a pleasant story,” she said, getting up. “And there is much more to it than what I even told you.”
“What’s the rest of it?” he asked then thought for a moment. “What happened to Lapis and Lazuli? What about Bulma’s daughter?”
“I am very behind now on my work, I need to finish it. I will tell you the rest another day after you have met Vegeta for yourself and have formed your own opinion on him.”
Krillin frowned at her as she left the room. He sighed as he looked through his notes he had taken. He had enough material to write a whole story based on this alone and he had half a mind to do just that, except he knew he would not be able to leave without meeting the man himself. He was beyond curious.
He washed his own dishes so as not to put Baba out any more than he had already and headed up the stairs back to his room. It was already dark and he only noticed now that it had taken her the entire day to tell him the rest of the story.
Not tired from having slept in and still bothered by the intensity of the story, he sat down and began to write his article.
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Even Though Our Love is Doomed