Careful Bulma, Someone's got his eyes on you

It’s finally here!  I can’t believe it!  The next chapter!  Wow… I know it really took me a while.  So sorry!  ^_^’  It’s just that, I took a big vacation up to the mountains two days after Christmas, and then when I came back, I had this HUGE brainfart!  (My term for writer’s block)  So… well… you know.  Stuff happened.

Disclaimer:  I don’t own Dragon Ball Z, and I don’t own the song, ‘Every breath you take’.  The Police do.  They’re cool.

Steal after my heart, would you?

Sunday passed uneventfully.  Chi-Chi stayed at home doing homework and lounging the day away, while Bulma and Iiovana goofed off in the palace.  Bulma didn’t see Prince Vegeta nor Phoenix that day, though they did run into Madonna, the girl Bulma didn’t know, while eating lunch.  Bulma tried to engage her in conversation, but Madonna flat out ignored her, and would only talk to Iiovana.

“Can you say, ‘rude?’” Bulma had muttered as Madonna got up and left.

“I don’t know,” Iiovana had said.  “She seemed pretty nice to me…”

“Iiovana, she ignored me the whole time!  How can you say that she’s nice?!?”

Iiovana shrugged, and Bulma dropped it at that, still scowling.

Bulma had an odd dream that night too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bulma looked around and realized that she was under a microscope, nude, and carefully being watched by Prince Vegeta.  She screamed desperately trying to cover herself up.  The gigantic Prince chuckled, and picked her off the slide with two fingers.

“Unsatisfactory!” he spat, a horrible sneer on his face.  He tossed her into the air, to die on contact when she hit the floor.

The wind whipped Bulma’s hair around her face painfully as she fell further and further down into the darkness.  But suddenly, Phoenix appeared, dressed as an angel with wings, desperately trying to grab her hand and help her.  Their hands finally made contact, and he pulled her close to him.  She wrapped her arms around his body securely, and his wings encircled her, covering the blue-haired female.

“Oh Phoenix, I was so worried,” she whispered.

“Were you now?”

Bulma’s eyes shot open.  That wasn’t his voice.

She looked up into his face and found that a demon-looking creature, with long fangs and eye sockets aflame, was holding her.

She screamed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And then she woke up.

~Monday~

The morning bell rang, signaling the beginning of first period.  Chi-Chi and Kakarroto were sitting next to each other, looking at the other through the corner of their eyes.

“ALL RIGHT YOU GOOD-FOR-NOTHING MAGOTS!” Bardock’s voice shouted from the hall.  “WHEN I GET IN THEIR YOU BETTER BE READY TO TAKE MY TEST!”  All the students quickly got a pencil and a cover sheet out.  Bardock entered, and shut the door behind him.  He surveyed the room.

“What good little boys and girls you all are,” he teased, walking over to the front of the class.  He grabbed the tests off his desk, and started passing them out to the first person in each row.

“I hope you all fail!” he shouted confidently to everyone.  They all chuckled a little as Commander Bardock finished, and walked back to his desk.

“All right, you’ve got five seconds to finish it!” he said, sitting down and smiling at them.  Chi-Chi grinned down at her test, a hand in her hair, and giggled.

“3…2…1.  Ok everyone, pass them in!”

The kids smiled, and Commander Bardock took a large volume all about military history and began to read.

“How can you eat so much?” Bulma asked Iiovana, watching her friend eat over the table in their kitchen.  They decided against eating in the palace’s royal dinning room, so Iiovana fixed them both a ‘little’ something to eat in their kitchen.

“How can you eat so little?” Iiovana retorted, taking another bite out of her eggs.  (I must confess, I hate eggs.  I think I’m allergic to the little buggers…)

Bulma sighed, shrugged, and stood up.  She looked at the clock on the wall.

“We’ve got about two hours before we have to be in the Prince’s bedroom,” she said.  “I’m going to take a shower and get ready.”  Iiovana nodded, smiling.  There was a small piece of bacon stuck between her teeth.

“Ok.”

Bulma headed into their bathroom, and shut the door.  She turned the shower on, waited for the water to heat up, then stepped inside.  And of course, she was caught by that intense craving.  The unknown force that infects most of us: the desire to sing in the shower.

“Do do do do, de da da da da…. Every breath you take; every move you make; every bond you break; every step you take, I’ll be watching you.”

She grabbed her can of shaving gel, and squirted some out.  Bulma rubbed the lathery substance over her legs, and grabbed her razor.

“Every single day; every word you say; every game you play; every night you stay, I’ll be watching you.”

Bulma carefully ran the sharp blade up her leg.  She was going to have to make sure that she covered every square inch.  Who knows how much skin she’d be showing to the handsome prince, and goodness knows she didn’t want him to spot any flaw.

“O can’t you see?  You belong to me.  How my poor heart aches, with every step you take!

“Every move your make; every vow you break; every smile you fake; every claim you stake, I’ll be watching you.”

There was a loud knock at the bathroom door, but with the shower running, Bulma just barely heard it.

“YES?!” she yelled.

“PHOENIX JUST CAME BY!  HE SAID THAT WE NEEDED TO MEET HIM IN THE MAIN HALLWAY AT 10:55!”

Bulma blinked, confused.  “HE SAID THAT WE NEEDED TO EAT HIM?!”

There was silence on the other side of the door for a moment or two.  Bulma listened with all her might.

“NEVERMIND BULMA!  I’LL TELL YOU WHEN YOU’RE THROUGH WITH YOUR SHOWER!”

“OK!”

Bulma turned back to her legs.  She ran the razor up her leg once again.

Now where was I?  Oh yea…

“Since you’ve gone I’ve been lost without a trace.  I dream at night; I can only see your face.  I look around, but it’s you I can’t replace.  I feel so cold and I long for your embrace.  I keep on crying baby, baby, please…!

“O can’t you see?  You belong to me.  How my poor heart aches with every step you take.

“Every move you make; every vow you break; every smile you fake; every claim you stake, I’ll be watching you.”

Bulma finally stepped out of the shower 45 minutes later.  She wrapped a towel firmly around her body, grabbed the hairdryer, and left the warmth and humidity of the bathroom.

Bulma winced and shivered as she was hit with a blast of cold air.  Iiovana looked up from her place at the kitchen table, where she was patiently waiting for her turn.

“Hey.  Sorry I took so long…”

“That’s ok.”

“What did Phoenix say earlier?”

Iiovana stood up and stretched.  “He said to meet him in the main hallway at 10:55.  He also said that we don’t have to be dressed up or anything, because all the fancy clothes will be provided for us there.”

Bulma nodded and headed for their bedroom while Iiovana skipped into the bathroom.

Soon, both girls were done, and left their room at 10:45.  They were going to make sure they were a little bit early this time to make up for being late Saturday night.

“Every single day; every word you say…” Bulma mumbled as they headed down the hallway.  Frustrated, she stomped on the ground.  Iiovana gave her a questioning look.  “Crap!  Now I’ve got that stupid song stuck in my head!”

“What song?”

“Nothing.  Don’t make me say it.”

“Whatever.”

They entered the main hallway to find Phoenix leaning against a wall, waiting patiently.  He looked over at them when he heard their footsteps, and smiled.

“Hello Bulma.  Hello Iiovana.”

“Hey,” they answered simultaneously, nodding.

“You girls are a little early?  Why the rush?”

Bulma shrugged.  “We wanted to make up for almost causing you guys to be late earlier.”

“Is that all?” he growled, smirking seductively.  Bulma blushed, and turned her gaze to the floor.  Iiovana looked from Phoenix to Bulma and back again.  She giggled.

“Um, Phoenix?” the brown-eyed female interrupted, breaking the silence.

“Hm?” he said, looking at her, smiling, eyebrows raised politely.

“What exactly are we going to be doing for this test thing?  I mean, how will it work?”

“Well, I’m planning on explaining that to everyone, once the others get here, but,” he looked up, and smiled wide.  “Since the three beautiful ladies have been so kind as to join us, I’ll get to answering that question right away!”

Bulma and Iiovana looked up to see Zoë, Madonna, and Cleopatra heading towards them, Zoë smiling smugly.  Bulma groaned inside her mind.  Of course Zoë would be happy about this event.

“So glad you girls could make it!  And so early too,” Phoenix said.  “Guess that means I’ll be able to explain everything thoroughly and still have time to answer any of your questions!

“Right, well, this test is extremely simple, and shouldn’t be that hard to understand—”

“Listen up Bulma.  You might miss something,” Zoë muttered in a mock-worried tone.  Bulma shot her an ugly look.

“—but basically all you’re going to be doing is changing clothes, and then letting the Prince see you in them.  You will also have to walk around a bit.  Now, some pointers.  The Prince will be looking for posture and grace as well as looks.  Carry yourself well ladies, and take graceful steps.”

“What do you mean by graceful steps?” Cleopatra asked.

“He means that we shouldn’t walk around like you do,” Bulma answered before Phoenix could, smiling sweetly.  Iiovana started snickering, and had to turn her face around so she wouldn’t burst out laughing. Behind Cleopatra’s back, Zoë smiled wide, and had to cover her mouth with her hand to keep herself from laughing.  Cleopatra growled and shot Bulma the bird. 

“Now now ladies!  Let’s not have any of that!” Phoenix warned, stepping in between the two murderous-looking girls.  Bulma crossed her arms, lifted her nose high in the air, and snorted.  Cleopatra sneered at her.

Phoenix looked from one to the other warningly.  “Am I correct in thinking that you ladies can act responsibly, and do not need a supervisor wherever you go?”  Neither Bulma nor Cleopatra responded, so Phoenix merely grunted, turned, and walked down another hallway.

“Follow me girls,” he said, not looking at them.  They did, Bulma and Cleopatra making sure there was a lot of space between them.

“That was funny,” Iiovana muttered after a while.  Bulma looked at her, and smiled out of the corner of her mouth.  “You’re pretty good when it comes to insults.”  Bulma merely shrugged.

They walked up several flights of stairs, and Bulma soon found herself panting.  How in the wide world of sports did Sayians live like this?  She looked at Iiovana, who seemed didn’t seem fazed at all.  Bulma blushed.  Now she felt stupid…

Thankfully, Phoenix soon stopped.  He turned around to look at them all, and clasped his hands together.

“Ready girls?  Prince Vegeta is just behind this door.  Does anyone have any last-minute questions before we continue?”

Bulma swallowed.  Phoenix was making this out as if this was the last time they were to see daylight.  Zoë shook her head, a confident and relaxed smile on her face.

“Then good luck to you all.  I shall see you again when lunchtime rolls around.”  He pulled the door open for them, and waited until everyone was inside before he closed it again.

Bulma’s mouth dropped.  This couldn’t have been just a bedroom.  It was huge!  There was a door opposite of her, to her left, and to her right.  She and the rest of the girls looked around in awe.  Not even Zoë seemed to know what to do in a place like this.

“So…” Madonna finally said.  “What do we do?”

“Shouldn’t Prince Vegeta be, ‘just behind this door’?” Iiovana asked her, imitating Phoenix.  Madonna shrugged.

Everything was eerily quiet for a moment longer.  Bulma found herself wishing desperately that Phoenix hadn’t left them.  This was creepy.

The door to their right opened, and every girl’s head turned in that direction.  A small, skinny man with dyed, blonde spikes and several earrings in his ears appeared.  He sighed in a very feminine voice, and put his hands on his hips.

“Come, come now.  We mustn’t keep the Prince waiting,” he said with a great wave of his hand.  Bulma giggled.  He was so gay.

The other girls quickly realized this too, and all smiled wide as they hurried towards him.  He smiled back, and Bulma saw a gold tooth.  “What’s your name?” Madonna asked him.

“Clark,” he said, and ushered them into the room behind him.

“Took you long enough,” was the first thing that reached Bulma’s ears.  She looked for the source, and found that the Prince was sitting down in a chair, his chin in his hand impatiently.  Bulma scowled at him.

“Sorry Vegeta,” Clark said with a wave of his hand.  “I suppose this is probably my fault, seeing as how I wasn’t there waiting for them.  This being their first test, the poor things most likely didn’t know where to go.”

“Shut up Clark,” Vegeta barked, sneering at him.  Obviously, the fact that Clark was a homosexual sickened him.

“Right-o.”

“And take these girls to the back room to get dressed.  We don’t have all day, you know.”

“Will do.”

Clark led the rest of the girls past Vegeta, and into another room.  This place was full of mirrors, dresses, make up, and accessories.  There were exactly five stalls to change in, each with a mirror on the door and a number above the mirror.

“Now ladies!  Listen up!”  Bulma smiled at him as she and the rest of the girls perked up to hear what he had to say.  He reminded her of a good friend she had back on Earth who was gay too.  “Mr. Meeker has given me all your notes, saying which size I’m supposed to get you all and what color would best go with your features.”  He turned to Bulma, and smiled back at her.  “Personally, I think a gold flourish, with a beautiful design of black would go well on you, don’t you think?”  Bulma giggled, and nodded.  Clark smiled at her even wider.

“Well anyway girls.  As you see, the stalls behind you have numbers on them.  There is a specific changing stall for each of you.  Please don’t go into another stall or take another girl’s dress or something cause that would be real mean!  But your assigned stall does have all your clothing, jewelry, earrings, and lots more in it and everything.  The outfits are numbered by the order in which you model in them too.  We’ve tried to make this as simple as possible for you girls!  I know if anything is out of order for me, I just get so overwhelmed, you know?”  Zoë and Madonna giggled, while the other three girls nodded.

“Well here we go.  Numbers.”  Clark grabbed a clipboard off a nearby dresser, and looked down at it.  “Zoë Halimanger?” he called out.  Zoë raised her hand.  “Well girl, believe it or not, you are number one!”  Zoë smiled, and nodded with acknowledgement.

“Next, um… Bulma Briefs?”  Bulma raised a finger, and Clark grinned at her.  “Well hello Miss Gold and Black.  Nice to finally know your name.  Anyways, you are number two.”  The human female nodded.

“Ok and… Madonna Freeman!”  Madonna flipped her finger about, smiling playfully.  Clark winked at her.  “Well girl!  You are, like, number three!”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.  Anyways… Cleopatra Taylor?”

“Here,” Cleopatra answered.

“Yes, I know you’re here girl.  We’re all here.  I just needed to know which one of you is which!  Well anyway, Cleopatra… did anyone ever tell you that Cleopatra is just, the coolest name?”  Cleopatra blushed, and shook her head.  “It is!  Ugh, I am just so envious of you!  Wish I had that name….  Well anyway, you are number four.”

“Alright.”

“And you,” Clark said, turning to Iiovana.  “Must be Iiovana Veen!”  Iiovana nodded, her large brown eyes twinkling.  “Well Miss Veen, you are number five.  Last, but certainly not least!

“Now ladies, I wish you all good luck, and no matter how good or bad this test may turn out for you, don’t worry!  You’re all special to me.  Well anyway, just go in there and get changed you silly things!  Go on now!  Go!”  He began playfully shooing them away with his hands.

Bulma headed into stall number two without even glancing at Zoë, and still smiling.  She didn’t want to look at her.  Clark had put her in too good of a mood for Zoë to ruin it now.

The stall was a tad crowded, or maybe that was just because of everything that was in there with her.  She turned and looked at the line of clothes she had to prance around in.  They were all in numerical order, which would make things so much easier too.  Bulma checked the back of the line, and saw that the number ran to 40.  She sighed.

Forty items of clothing…  Oh well, cheer up Bulma!  Let’s try and make this an experience that we can organize in the good section of our brain.  Hey, who knows?  We might even show Zoë up…

Bulma smirked at her mind’s spunk, and picked the first dress up off the rack.  There was a small tag on it too.  She looked at it closer, and it read:

Match outfit with:

Shoe pair #4

Lipstick color #13

Blush color #3

Eye shadow color #3

Earrings pair #20

Mascara

“Gosh, they did organize this thing, didn’t they?” Bulma wondered aloud in a whisper.  On another side of the changing stall were 20 pairs of shoes, all lined up into four equal, neat lines.  On another side was a large table with makeup on it and situated in front of a large mirror.

Bulma sighed.  “Oh well.  Might as well get started.  Wouldn’t want his Highness to wait, now would I?”

*

“Ready girls?” Clark asked when they were all lined up in front of the door to Prince Vegeta’s bedroom; they were in line by stall number, so Bulma uncomfortably stood behind Zoë and in front of Madonna.  The girls all nodded.

“Great.  Follow me Zoë.  The rest of you stay behind.  You will be summoned for when it is your time.”  Clark smiled, took Zoë’s hand, and opened the door.

Bulma watched Zoë, Clark, and the Prince from the doorway.  Zoë was wearing a velvet, solid black dress that hugged her curves and delicate features.  Clark announced Zoë’s name, let go of her arm, and moved out of the way so Zoë could do her thing.  Bulma paid little attention to Vegeta’s expressions, since she was watching Zoë.  She wanted to know exactly what to do; goodness knows she didn’t want to make a fool of herself in front of the Prince and all the other girls.

Zoë smiled that pearly white smile, batted her eyelashes, and twirled around on the spot a couple of times.  She raised her arms in the air so the Prince of Vegetasei could see her sides, and just basically modeled for him.

Bulma smirked.  Modeling, huh?  Well she had done some modeling in her life.  This was going to be a piece of cake.

“Yes, yes,” Bulma heard Vegeta say.  “Very nice.  Very nice indeed….  Next girl please!”

Zoë winked at Vegeta, before turning and heading for the doorway.  She brushed by Bulma, hitting the human female on the shoulder a little harder than necessary.  Clark motioned for her to come in, an encouraging smile on his face.  Bulma took a deep breath, smiled, and walked in, her chin held high, shoulders strait, and tummy tucked.

Vegeta’s eyes trailed her as she walked in, and Bulma looked him strait in the eye.  She smiled out of the corner of her mouth mischievously, and then turned her gaze to the ground like a shy little girl.

Vegeta looked her over.  Bulma was wearing a long-sleeve sweater-dress that matched the color of her eyes and came down to her thighs.  The dress was a little more revealing than necessary, and when Bulma bent over slightly and pulled her hands up one leg, shoving the dress back a couple more inches, Vegeta thanked himself over and over again for taking the time out to learn to control the lower half of his body better.

Clark smiled at her, looking from Bulma to the Prince.  Vegeta shifted in his seat uncomfortably when Bulma ran her fingers over her breasts and stomach, sighing softly and eyes closed.  Vegeta cleared his throat.

“All right!  All right,” he said.  Bulma slowly opened her eyes, and looked at him.  “Clark, send in the next girl, would you?” Vegeta asked, never breaking eye contact with Bulma.  The human female smirked, and left the room, a swing to her step.  Madonna didn’t even acknowledge that Bulma was there as the Sayian brushed past her.  Bulma hurriedly walked towards the back of the line, and grabbed Iiovana’s hand, shaking.

Iiovana looked at Bulma with worry in her eyes.  “Bulma?  Bulma, are you ok?”

Bulma looked up at her friend, and smiled wide, still shaking.  “Oh yes Iiovana!  Yes I am!  I SO AM!  Oh MAN was I ever nervous!”

“You were nervous?  Did you embarrass yourself?  Well what happened?!?!”

“Oh man Iiovana, I did the whole nine yard!” Bulma whispered.  “I did the twirling, and the winking, and the sexy movements….  But gosh was I ever scared….  I don’t think I’ve been more scared in my whole life.”

“Scared?  Why?”

Bulma shrugged.  “I don’t know.  Maybe I was afraid he’d laugh at me, or something….  But whoa dude, I blew him out of the water, ok?  I got him twitching in his seat!  He wanted me bad!”

Bulma crossed her arms, and smiled smugly.

I really am beauty and brains, aren’t I?  Oh, and we mustn’t forget talent!  Beauty, brains, and talent…

“I hope I do half as good as you did,” Iiovana mumbled nervously.  Bulma looked at her, and smiled reassuringly.

“Don’t worry Iiovana.  Remember, the dress doesn’t make the girl pretty, it’s the other way around.  And you are already beautiful, so I have no doubt that you’ll do great.”

Iiovana blushed.  “Thanks Bulma…”

“Don’t mention it.”

Just then, Clark called for Cleopatra, and Madonna came back in the room.  She caught Iiovana’s eye and shot her the peace sign before moving on to her changing stall.  Bulma gaped at her.

“Did you see that?” she hissed at Iiovana.  “Did you see that?!  Walked right by me as if I didn’t exist!  What’s up with her?”

“I don’t know, but she seems to be pretty nice to me.”

“Well duh, that’s because she doesn’t ignore you!”

Iiovana looked at Cleopatra wistfully for a moment, then turned back to Bulma.  Bulma sighed, and realized what she wanted.

“Sorry girl,” Bulma apologized.  “Sorry.  Don’t mean to distract you.  Good luck!”  Iiovana nodded, and turned back to Cleopatra, watching the Sayian female’s movements, and marking them down in her head like Bulma had done.  Bulma moved to the back of the room, and entered her changing stall.

Bulma quickly threw the dress she was wearing off, grinning the whole time.  Boy, did she show the Prince what she was made of!  Heh heh heh…

She grabbed the next dress off the rack, and tore the little tag off the coat hanger.  The thrilled female placed it on her makeup table, and put the dress on.  After finding the correct shoes, lipstick, etc., Bulma headed out of her stall, and got in line behind Zoë.  Iiovana was doing her thing, and Bulma giggled, peeking over Zoë’s shoulder to see Iiovana acting like a feisty little queen.

“God, you little wretch!  Shut up!” Zoë hissed, turning her head around.  “The way you react around that large-eyed freak, I’m quiet shocked to see that you even want to be in this contest!  Why don’t you just go pair up with some other lesbian?”

“Because Zoë,” Bulma replied smugly, “I wouldn’t dare sink to your level.”  Zoë’s mouth dropped, and she spun around fully, fury in her green eyes.

“Now you listen here, slut!” growled Zoë, a blue aurora starting to grow, and her tail unraveling from her waist.  “I don’t know who you think you are, but don’t play any games with me, alright?”

“Next!” Vegeta shouted, and Iiovana headed towards the doorway, staring at Zoë worriedly.

“Because you’ll never win,” Zoë whispered over her shoulder to Bulma, before powering down and brushing past Iiovana into the next room.  Iiovana grabbed Bulma’s shoulder, panting.

“What?” Bulma asked.  “Did everything go alright?  Did he say anything to you?”

“No… no….  Everything went fine.  I just… gosh, I just don’t like performing in front of people!”  Iiovana shook her head, and walked on over to her stall.  Bulma smiled, watching her friend, then turned her gaze back to Zoë.

Zoë was wearing an elegant, green dress to match her eyes.  It was sleeveless and ran all the way down to the floor, but a slit was in it that came up to her thigh.  Zoë’s tail flicked back and forth like a cracking whip, and her eyes sparkled in a dangerously sexy way.  She licked one finger, and ran it along her leg, up the slit.  Her eyelashes were low, showing off their full length.

Prince Vegeta inhaled deeply, and gave her one of his devilishly sexy smirks.  Bulma felt this tightening feeling in her stomach, and wanted so badly to tear his eyes away from that slut and onto herself.

Clark seemed to find this both very funny and entertaining.  He couldn’t take his eyes away from Zoë and the Prince, and he had one hand up to his mouth to hide his smile.

“Enough,” Prince Vegeta said finally.  Zoë bowed for him, and exited.  Her tail smacked Bulma hard in the face, and Clark’s smile quickly turned into a frown.

“Well that wasn’t nice,” he whispered to himself.  Vegeta ignored him, as his eyes trailed Bulma.  The blue-female entered, wearing a silk, sleeveless, navy blue dress that came down to the floor, and shining earrings made from pearls.  Bulma had done a little something extra with her hair, as she had pulled it up into a bun at the back of her head, but let several blue strands cascade down her face.  Clark was shocked by her image, and even Vegeta held his breath.  No matter his opinion of her exactly, he had to admit to himself that she resembled without flaws the royal image of Vegetasei’s queen.  Well… minus the tail.

Bulma smiled softly at him and twirled around once, letting her arms flow with her.  Vegeta studied her every feature in complete awe, managing somehow to keep his expression, as always, hard and cold.

So this is my destiny?  To wake up every morning and see her beautiful face next to mine?  ……… Oh, I just don’t know.  She’s not even Sayian!  But… Sayians and Humans do seem to have several traits in common… don’t they?

Clark somehow finally found his voice.

“Wow…” was the first thing he said.  Bulma side-glanced at him, and giggled.  Clark smiled a little, still in complete shock.  “I mean, really, wow!  Do you see what Miss Briefs has got, Vegeta?”

Vegeta seemed to snap out of a trance at hearing his name.  “What?  Oh.  Oh yes, I see her.”

“But… do you see what she’s got?  She resembles Patricia so—”

“THAT’S ENOUGH… Clark,” Vegeta silenced.  Bulma noticed that Prince Vegeta’s eyebrow twitched slightly when hearing his mother’s name.  What she couldn’t figure out was if he didn’t like his mom in general to be talked about, or if he didn’t like the fact that she, a human female, was being compared to Patricia, former Queen of Vegetasei.  Maybe it was a combination of both.

“Next!” Vegeta shouted at the door.  Bulma curtsied for him, and left, her mind troubled.

They broke for lunch at noon, having modeled in only half of the outfits in their changing stall.

“Don’t worry,” Clark had said before they left.  “We’ll do the other 20 when we come back at 4:00.  Don’t be late ladies!  I want to see all your beautiful and shining faces here!”

Bulma strolled down the steps lazily, hands behind her head, and staring up at the ceiling in deep thought.  Iiovana walked beside her, her stomach growling from hunger every now and then.

“Oh MAN am I ever hungry!” Iiovana whispered.  “I’m starved!  I’m going to pass out!  I—”

“Hey Iiovana,” Bulma asked suddenly.  The younger Sayian female looked up.

“Yea?”

“Whatever happened to the Queen of Vegetasei?”

Bulma turned to look at her friend, and dropped her hands to her side.

“Why do you want to know, Bulma?”

“Cause… well… um….  I mean I know she died.  King Vegeta told Chi-Chi and me when we arrived.  But… how did she die?”

“Why do you want to know?”

Bulma shrugged.  “Curious, I guess.  Vegeta seemed a little touchy when Clark mentioned Patricia.”

“Oh… well, do you know of the virus Itok-ocv?”

Bulma’s eyes widened.  “Yea!  I read about it in a book once when I was looking up info for a science project.  You mean the Queen died of it?”

Iiovana nodded.  “Yea.  Vegeta was… oh… about four, I believe.  Both he and the King were traumatized.  Prince Vegeta, actually, became depressed and stayed that way for the longest time.”

“Vegeta was depressed?” Bulma asked, shocked.  Iiovana nodded, opening the dinning room doors for Bulma.  Bulma quickly hurried inside, and Iiovana after her.

“And he was only four years old, the poor thing.  It took a while, but King Vegeta eventually convinced his son to play outside and start eating again.”

Bulma furrowed her brow in thought, starring at the ground.

Wow… poor Vegeta…

Bulma and Iiovana got their lunch, and sat down.  Their topics of conversation turned to something a little brighter, mostly about the test they just had.  Iiovana seemed to have done pretty well from the way she described Vegeta’s expressions and reactions.  But about forty-five minutes later, Bulma looked up to see Madonna grabbing her food, and heading over to their table.

“Ok, Iiovana, watch this,” Bulma whispered.  “If she happens to sit down here, she’s going to completely ignore me!  You just watch…”

As fate happened, Madonna did sit down at the table next to Iiovana.  She was smiling, and as Bulma predicted, she never once glanced at the human female, even though Bulma stared at her purposely.

“Hey Iiovana!” Madonna greeted cheerfully.  “How’s life treating you?”

Iiovana glanced at Bulma, and then turned back to Madonna.  “Um… fine!  And you?”

“Ok.  That test thing we had was a synch!  I think I really did impress Prince Vegeta.”

“Neat.”

“Yea.”

Iiovana giggled, biting her bottom lip to keep from bursting out laughing.  Bulma was practically leaning over the table, staring at Madonna, and not blinking.

“What is it?” Madonna asked her Sayian friend.  “Do I have something stuck in my teeth?”

“No.  But um… Madonna, I don’t believe you’ve met my friend Bulma Briefs,” Iiovana introduced, motioning to Bulma.

Madonna took a bite out of an apple, suddenly very interested in her food.  “Yes I have,” she answered simply.

Bulma waved her hands in front of Madonna’s face, and when the female Sayian didn’t even blink from her movements, Bulma sighed, and put her forehead on the table.  Iiovana burst out laughing.  This was just too funny.

“HELLLLOOOO?!” Bulma suddenly shouted at her.  “WHY WON’T YOU TALK TO ME?!?  IS IT MY PERSONALITY?!  HAVE I DONE SOMETHING TO OFFEND YOU?!  I NEED TO KNOOOOOWWWWW!”

Phoenix, who was chatting with several of the other palace guards, suddenly looked up at Bulma’s shouting.  He stared at Bulma curiously, and several of his other friends turned around in their seats as well.  When they saw that it wasn’t a physical fight, they turned back around, and continued eating.

“You have done nothing to offend me,” Madonna said, studying her apple closely.

Bulma stood up, raising her arms high above her head.  “AND SHE SPEAKS!  IT MUST BE A MIRACLE!”

Iiovana snorted and burst out laughing again.

“Watch it girl.  You’re pushing it,” Madonna suddenly said, standing up as well.  Bulma sighed, and dropped her hands.

“Sorry.  But it’s just… I’ve been trying for so long to get you to talk to me!  What was up with you?  What was up with me?!”

Madonna looked around her for a moment, and then sat back down.  She shook her head, signaling that either she wouldn’t tell her, or that it was nothing.

Bulma moaned.  “Not this again.  Ok!  Fine!  Whatever!  BE THAT WAY!”  Madonna took another bite out of her apple.  Bulma grabbed up her food, and turned to Iiovana.  “I’m going to see Phoenix about you-know-what.  I’ll see you when I see you.”  Iiovana nodded, and watched as Bulma threw her food away, and walked over to Phoenix.

“That girl is a firecracker,” Madonna muttered, smiling.  Iiovana looked at her, and smiled out of the corner of her mouth.

Phoenix stood up, grinning wide, as Bulma approached him.

“You and Madonna getting along well, I presume?” he asked.

“Shut up.”

“Fine.”

“No, wait, don’t shut up.  I need you to tell me something.”

“Anything for you Bulma,” he muttered, leading her away from the table he was at.  He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, but Bulma brushed it off uncomfortably.  “So what it is?” he asked her.

“Um… well… see….  It’s kind of a personal question,” Bulma said, fidgeting.

“Oh, personal, huh?” he growled.  “What kind of personal question?”  He licked his lips.

Bulma stared at him for a moment.  His beautiful eyes and sly grin would have been enough to make Bulma melt… if she didn’t have this odd, disturbing feeling about him.

“Are you hitting on me?” she asked, eyes narrowed seriously.

“And if I am?” he replied, taking a step closer to her.  Bulma swallowed, and stepped back.

“If you are… then stop it!” she said.  He cocked an eyebrow.  “I just need to know, the hour and a half that we’re supposed to be training… well… can I go for a swim during that time?”  He frowned, confused, and tilted his head to the side.

“You want to swim?  Why not train?”

Bulma blushed.  “That’s the personal part.”

“Oh…”  His eyes flashed.  “Are you sure that you don’t just want to show off that beautiful body of yours?”

“You know what?!  Just forget it you dweeb, ok?!  UGH!  MEN!”  Bulma threw her hands up in frustration, and stomped out of the cafeteria, Phoenix’s gaze on her until the doors closed, blocking her from sight.

Yea!  Chapter’s done!  What in the world is up with Phoenix?  Is Bulma capturing the Prince’s heart?  And will Bulma ever find out what the deal is with Madonna?!  Maybe that girl’s just got issues!  I don’t know… well, actually, I do.  BUT YOU DON’T!  BWAHAHAHAHA………… Or, at least I think you don’t.  Te-he.  Oh well.  Please review!