Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Slave ❯ Don Juan ( Chapter 16 )

A/N - Thanks to everybody who read and reviewed the last chapter! You guys are great for my self esteem!

For the people who would like to know, Vegeta is 26, so he's a whole nine years older then Bulma.

Thanks to Nikoru for beta reading for me! You're best! I couldn't do this without your help! And also Thanks must go to David who always tries to help me improve these chapters…even if I don't always listen to him ^_^

~*~

"But I don't want to go the Med Bay!" Bulma wined, glaring at Brolly and Bardock who stood across her living room like two immovable chiseled statues.

"The prince has ordered us to take you there to get some treatment for your face." Bardock tried to sound reasonable and sauntered across the room to Bulma, the look on his face warning Bulma not to defy him. "If we don't take you for your treatment then we'll be punished."

Bulma sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ears. She didn't want to go anywhere this morning. She just wanted to sleep some more and then maybe go down to the science laboratories, wherever they were, and do some work on that ki enhancer that Vegeta was so keen on.

"Bulma." Brolly strode forward to stand next to Bardock, his tone warning her not to give them any attitude this morning.

Bulma was struck at that moment when Brolly and Bardock seemed to be more her prison wardens then her body guards. Was that why they were really here? To spy on her on behalf of Vegeta?

Her eyes narrowed at them, and with a moody shrug Bulma agreed. "Fine, I'll go to the stupid Med Bay." Her voice sounded sulky, and Bardock and Brolly exchanged a look that spoke volumes.

"You know Bulma; most women would be pleased to get rid of that unsightly bruise on your face. I really don't see why you're being so difficult about this." Brolly spoke reasonably, so not to give Bulma another excuse to get mad. He left Bardock's side and put a hand that was surprisingly gentle on Bulma's shoulder. "I know this has been hard for you…"

"You don't know anything!" Bulma interrupted angrily, her eyes wild. "You know nothing about what my life was like before this. Do you know what I used to do? I used to make computer chips for Saiyan weaponry! And maybe if I was here of my own will I'd be happier, but the fact that I was captured by slave traders who had me declared a non-person and then sold me off as a whore really does bother me." Bulma laughed crazily and pushed Brolly's hand off her shoulder. "I hated my life on Earth, but I'd trade everything I have now just to be back there."

Bulma took a deep, steadying breath and rubbed the bridge of her nose as though she had a headache. "I'm just sick of not knowing where I stand. I don't belong in your world; I belong on Earth making computer chips." She tucked her rogue strand of hair behind her ear again and looked at her silent companions who were regarding her as though she hadn't just ranted loudly at them.

The door chimed suddenly, shattering the uneasy silence that had descended and scared all three of them. Bulma started walking towards the door when she was pulled back by Bardock, who shook his head and motioned Brolly forward to open the door.

"What are you doing?" Bulma whispered in annoyance, squirming out of Bardock's grasp.

"We don't know who that could be, it might be someone sent on behalf of Zucchini to murder you." Bardock glared at her in an almost fatherly way. "The last thing my career needs is for my charge to wind up dead while I was watching her." His sarcastic remark made Bulma smile, and she shook her head in amusement as she watched Brolly gingery open the door as though expecting Satan himself to waltz through.

Satan wasn't at the door, but Ilandra was, and she was positively glowing with excitement as she swept in the door, smiling at Brolly and Bardock as she caught Bulma's arm and pulled her away from her two bodyguards.

"How are you?" Ilandra gently touched Bulma's bruised face, her voice concerned. "Did Prince Vegeta do that?" Her tone softened and Bulma nodded.

"Yeah, but he made up for it later." A small smirk stealthily crept onto Bulma's face, and Ilandra laughed as they shared one of those 'girl' moments.

"Good for you, you make that man want you." Ilandra flashed a smiled at Bulma then looked covertly at Brolly and Bardock. "Now tell me, how are you getting along with these two?" She raised a perfect eyebrow, and Bulma smiled warmly at her friend.

"They're great. I'd probably go mad if I didn't have these two keeping me company." Bulma spoke with obvious fondness and decided not to mention her suspicions about them spying on her for Vegeta.

"Well, that's great. I was hoping you wouldn't be too lonely." Ilandra tossed her mane of lavender hair and gave Bulma a smug look. "Are you busy today?" Her tone was secretive, and Bulma gave her a curious look.

"Well I do have to go to the Med Bay this morning to get this looked at," Bulma said dryly and pointed at her bruised face. "And then I have to go the laboratories to begin work on…"

Brolly interrupted her with a cough. "We should be leaving now." He gave her a 'don't-argue-with-me' glare and began moving towards the door, throwing a look at Ilandra that said he didn't entirely trust her.

Ilandra's face twitched in what looked like annoyance. "Those two act more like your jailers then your body guards." She sounded outraged, and Bulma nodded in agreement.

"Tell me something I don't know. Say, why don't you come to the Med Bay with me? We could continue our talk there." Bulma ignored the looks that Bardock and Brolly kept throwing at her and spoke civilly to her friend.

"I'd love to come with you," Ilandra giggled haplessly again and threw a companionable arm around Bulma's waist, hugging her. "I have a feeling that you and I are going to get along great."

~*~

Vegeta sat behind a curtain in the Med Bay and growled softly as the doctor in front of him began to run some salve into his burns.

"You know, I could do this myself," Vegeta growled out and tried to shove the doctor away, embarrassed to be treated like an invalid when all he had were some measly burns. "I'm not a child." He tried to cross his arms over his chest in a defiant movement but they brushed against the burns, and it took all of his will power not to wince.

The doctor looked at him through a spiky fringe of black hair and slowly shook his head. "I've been treating you since you were a child, Prince Vegeta, so don't try to intimidate me." The doctor picked up the salve again and squeezed more out of the tube, rubbing it in with the practiced ease of someone who had been caring for others for a long time. "Besides," the doctor began to speak again, "some of these burns are more serious then they look." He sounded mildly chastising, and Vegeta's face twitched with annoyance.

The Med Bay was a demoralizing place. The walls were a bright white color, and the floor was a polished grey, marred here and there by rubber marks from the trolleys and stretchers that were wheeled over it all day.

The main room that Vegeta was in was lit brightly by overhead lights that made the white walls glare intensely. Certain parts of the room were partitioned off with light grey curtains, and it was behind one of those curtains that Vegeta sat now, glaring at the silhouettes on the other side which passed by every now and then.

Vegeta was perched on the edge of a padded examination table, and the doctor was seated in front of him on a small stood. Next to the doctor stood a tray on which sat the salve as well as a wide array of bandages, dressings, plasters, and other strange looking gels and liquids.

"Is this going to hurt?"

Vegeta perked up suddenly as he heard Bulma's voice heading towards him. He almost slapped himself when he remembered that he'd ordered Bardock to bring her down to get her face fixed.

Hopefully the woman wouldn't see him being treated for mild burns. She'd probably think it was hilarious that Zucchini had hurled a mug of hot coffee at him because he'd slept with Bulma.

"No, it's a very painless procedure. We just rub this blue gel here onto the side of your face and leave it to sit for about five minutes, then we wash it off and hopefully it will have healed."

The silhouette of the doctor, Bulma, another woman, Bardock, and Brolly all passed by the grey curtain as they walked into the little partitioned room next to his. He cocked his head to the side as he listened to the doctor telling Bulma to sit down and tie her hair back.

There was silence for a few moments, and then he heard Bulma exclaiming. "That stuff's freezing!"

"Well don't touch it." The doctor's voice sounded amused. "It'll soon warm up, now I'll be back in about five minutes to wash it off." Vegeta heard the sound of the doctor leaving.

"Okay, time to spill." Vegeta blinked in surprise as he recognized Ilandra's voice. "What do you really think of Vegeta?" Vegeta almost jumped in surprise, and the doctor murmured at him to keep still.

"Vegeta is…I don't know." Bulma sounded unsure of herself. "He's great in bed and most of the time he's pretty reasonable."

"Uh huh, now tell me what you really think of him?" Ilandra giggled at something. And Bulma muttered something rude under her breath.

"This damned gel! Okay, Vegeta's…well he's smooth. He's like the Don Juan of Saiyans."

"Who's 'Don Juan'?" Ilandra sounded interested now, and Vegeta couldn't blame her. Who the hell was this Don Juan?

"He's a…guy…who's known for being really good with the ladies. You know - a sweet talker with the looks to boot." Bulma sounded wistful, and Vegeta felt himself tense with jealousy.

Was Don Juan an ex-boyfriend of hers? Did she still love him? Maybe she had been involved with him before the slave traders had taken her!

"Wow, sounds like my kinda guy," Ilandra giggled again.

"Yeah, Don Juan was something else," Bulma sighed. "I don't suppose I'll ever see him do his thing again."

Vegeta growled softly. He was gong to find this Don Juan and kill him! He would not tolerate his woman pining away over some man whore from Earth!

~*~

"I think that's been five minutes." The doctor came back into Bulma's little partitioned off room and examined her face again. "Yes, that seems to have done the trick." The doctor sounded proud of herself, and she quickly produced a damp towel which she used to wipe the gel off with.

"That stuff was awful! It was so cold!" Bulma shivered in remembrance and rubbed her cheek afterwards, surprised to feel that it didn't hurt anymore.

"Yes, it is rather nasty isn't it? It usually heats up after a little while, but I suppose since you're not a Saiyan it must work some other way." The doctor shrugged and held up a small mirror so Bulma could see her now smooth and flawless cheek. There wasn't even a hint of bruising.

"Wow!" Bulma exclaimed. "That stuff really does work! It's amazing!"

The doctor just laughed at Bulma's wide-eyed enthusiasm and put the mirror down on the tray that the gel had been sitting on.

Ilandra nudged Bulma. "Do you want to get out of here?"

"And go where? Have to go to the science lab, remember?" Bulma huffed in annoyance. The last thing she felt like doing was trying to re-create that ki enhancer. It had been one of the most difficult and complicated machines that she had ever designed.

She wasn't even sure if she could re-design it.

"Well I'll walk you down there." Ilandra took Bulma's arm and pulled her to her feet. Outside of the partitioned room, Brolly and Bardock stood waiting in their usual bodyguard stances.

Brolly looked at Bulma sideways and mouthed the word 'Vegeta' then nodded towards the little room next to hers.

Bulma blinked in surprise. Vegeta was in there? What on Earth had happened to him? It couldn't have been anything too bad or else he'd be in a healing tank. She shrugged and allowed Ilandra to pull her towards the door.

Vegeta wasn't really her concern. She'd play the dutiful slave around him, but whenever she was on her own she would be her own person and do what she wanted to do.

Ilandra led the way down the boringly monotonous hallway until she reached a steel door that had several pressure locks on it.

"Wow," Bulma breathed in awe as she looked at the impressive door. "I see the Saiyans are a little protective of their science."

"They never used to be, but King Vegeta decided that it was time for the Saiyans to change their ways." Ilandra looked over at Bardock. "Bardock here is quite the scientist, although you wouldn't know it to look at him."

"Really?" Bulma said in amazement. "You're a scientist?" Her jaw dropped, and her eyes widened.

"Not really." Bardock blushed. "I just designed a few attacks that can maximize a Saiyans fighting capabilities." He shifted his weight uneasily. "It was nothing really, just common sense."

Ilandra shook her head. "What a lie! As far as Saiyans go, Bardock has a brilliant mind." She raised her eyebrows at Bardock and motioned towards the door. "I'm assuming that as our brilliant minded scientist you know the codes for the locks?" Ilandra's voice had dropped back into an amused drawl, and Bardock jumped.

"Oh yes." He shook his head as though chastising himself and quickly punched in three different and very complicated looking number and letter codes into the key pad by the door. One by one the door locks snapped open, and the door itself swung inwards.

Ilandra entered first, looking around her with interest. Bardock ushered Bulma in next and then went in himself, giving Brolly strict orders to guard the door while Bulma was inside. Then the metallic door swung shut again, and the locks snapped shut.

Brolly leaned up against the wall, looking up and down the hallways as people drifted past occasionally, only paying him the smallest bit of attention. Eventually one hooded person stopped by him and spoke in a low, rough voice.

"The girl must be killed; she knows far too much and cannot be trusted. If you can end the whore's life I will make it worth your while." The figure rasped and pushed its hood back a little so Brolly could see who it was. "She must not know who it is who has ordered her death, is she finds out she will tell him and he will do everything in his power to destroy me in revenge."

Brolly schooled his features and nodded, not daring to disobey his better. The figure nodded, evidently pleased, and then left Brolly, disappearing back the way it had come, secure in the knowledge that soon the concubine would be out of the way for good.

~*~

A/N - Oh, oh, sounds like trouble doesn't it?

BTW - Don Juan is the main character from the famous play 'Don Juan.' All the character 'Don Juan' does is seduce women ^^