I shook my head. These thoughts seemed too. . ..un-innocent, for a girl of my age, anyway. They made me feel bad for not facing my problems. A shooting star sped past, and I smiled. A shooting star was something to wish on. I squeezed my eyes shut and wished.

~*I wish for myself to have strength in the hardships to come. . ..please, Kami, give me strength.~*

I opened my blue eyes and sighed. Somehow doing such a thing cheered me up. Or maybe my wish worked. Either way, it worked for me. I walked back to my room, and went in.

Goku was sitting on the floor, eating, as usual. He looked up and smiled at me reassuringly. "I heard some of the guards talking today." He stated matter-of-factly.

"Really? What did you hear?" I eagerly asked. I was always hungry for new things. Maybe it was news about the fate of some of my friends! It had to mean something to me, or else I didn't think Goku would tell me.

"Well, they said it would be a matter of hours till we arrive on Vegetasei, and that was two hours ago. They said that the educators are ready and waiting for us." He said, cringing at the word 'educators'. Goku had never liked school. Or learning, for that matter.

"Good! The sooner we get off this ship, the better!" I said, trying to sound happier than I was.

The truth was, I didn't know what to think! I mean, how do you choose between prison and being a hostage? You can't! Did I want to be on Vegetasei, doing things that would help ^them^ rather than me, or would I rather just be on this ship, with limited freedom and activities? What a decision. . ..

A loud knock sounded on our door. Goku rushed to the door to answer it, me close behind. I wasn't going to miss out on a thing! A Saiyan stood in front of the door, looking bored.

"I have orders to give you these garments, and stuff to clean yourself with. You are to look at least halfway decent when we arrive, King Vegeta would not like for his subjects to think he brought in a bunch of scrawny bums. Or Freeza, for that matter." He growled, and threw the stuff at us. Goku caught it effortlessly.

The Saiyan left abruptly, leaving us to stare at his retreating back. I took the stuff from Goku to look at it. I set the stuff on the floor and sat down next to the pile, Goku beside me.

There were outfits for both of us. Mine was a pair of black pants with a red tank top. Goku had a simple blue gi. There were two brushes, water to wash with, and soap.

I took my clothes and changed while Goku turned around. He did the same, and we washed our hair and faces. I brushed out my now-clean hair and put it in low pigtails. Goku just ran the brush through his hair and smiled.

"I feel much better!" He said, standing up. I followed, happy to look nice again. The clothes fit good, but I had to wear my black boots. I didn't really mind.

"Yes, I know! Let's go to a window and see if we can see the planet." I suggested. I wanted to watch us land. I also wondered about the planet itself. From Earth, it looked like a big star.

We walked to the window I was looking out of eariler, and could see a blue planted looming before us. We were rapidly approaching, and I clenched my hands in anticipation. We were about to land. Goku looked at the planet with a faraway look on his face. Probably wondering about his Daddy, I thought. I felt a little said at the word 'Daddy'. I wondered if he was watching me from Heaven. A tear rolled down my cheek, and I wiped it away. I didn't want anyone see me cry.

~*~

"Daddy! Come here!" I called, looking at the small stream in front of me. Father and I were exploring the woods near Capsule Corp. I think I was about three years old. I was in a cute little lavender dress, with my purple hair lightly curled.

"What did you find, Little One?" Father asked, coming over. "Oh! A stream! Good discovery, Bulma. You know that fish live in streams, don't you?" He asked.

I was always eager to hear what my father had to say to me. I looked at him with wide, sky-tinted eyes and nodded.

"Yes, Daddy." I said, sitting down on a rock.

"Well, there is a whole ecosystem in that tiny stream. An 'ecosystem' is like a mini-town, where things live off one another, and cannot survive without each other. Like a family. . ." He said, and I listened intently. I started learning at an early age, and my Father was determined to make me a smart little girl.

After all, I was his little princess. And my life and family were perfect. Why shouldn't ^I^ be?

~*~

I let go of the precious little memory and wiped the tears I had let go of off my face. We were nearly landed now. The ship bounced a little, but slowed to a steady stop. Goku and I looked at each other, and ran down the hall to the children's room.

"Lena! We landed! We landed!" I called, looking for her. The other kids looked at me and a couple mumbled ‘hi's'. Lena came running from the back of the room.

"Really? Yes, now we can go and settle down! Maybe we will have a room together!" She excitedly said. I nodded eagerly and pulled her to a window, the only one in the room.

But the planet we saw was not the planet we expected. The skies were overcast and gray. Guards and officials were all over. Several warriors were shouting, and there were a couple of Saiyans torturing a short man.

Then we saw the palace. It was enormous! The biggest building I had seen anywhere. Guards were almost totally surrounding the place, and Saiyans and other aliens were entering and exiting busily. It looked kind of like one of those old buildings I had seen from pictures of France I had seen when my parents went some years ago. Goku gasped at the size, and grabbed my arm.

"I want to go see!" He said, and pulled me along with him. My arm was practically getting dislocated!

"No! They will come for us, for sure! We will get hurt!" I yelled. My arm was burning now.

Goku stopped and let go. "Yeah, sorry. I guess I got a little carried away. Heh heh." He sheepishly said, and scratched his head.

"Yeah, well. Let's go back before someone sees us and we ^really^ get in trouble!" I suggested, and ran back to the rooms. My old, soiled clothing lay on the floor in sad, dejected pile. I couldn't just trash them and forget.

~*~

I have always been spoiled. I guess that all comes with being so rich. Though I have never thought of myself as a snob. If I wanted something, I got it. But I was always grateful.

I once had a friend, Melissa, who took advantage of this. I was about five, and her, too. She would come over and play with my toys, clothes, and dolls. When we would go to the store, she would beg and whine until she got what she wanted. My mother finally caught on and I haven't seen Melissa since. I kind of miss her, sometimes. She was, after all, my first friend.

I couldn't just throw away my clothes. They were my only connection to my old life, my past now. Somehow I have linked this story to this thought. Maybe it is because I think of how much Melissa would have wanted the nice clothes. If I threw them away, it would be like throwing away my memories, and my memories are all I have left. All ^any^ of us have left.

~*~

Well, what did ya think? Sorry it was so short, I have MEAP and homework and all. Sorry! The next one will be ^extra^ long, so don't worry! Anywayz, thanks for all the comments and such. Remember, if you would like to draw a pic for my story ^please^ tell me, because I need one so I can post this on ^my^ homepage!

Send all questions/comments to: Beautifulirony1@aol.com

Ja ne' for now!

b e a u t i f u l : : i r o n y

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Chapter 4