"What is ^your^ problem?" He asked, coming over.

I stared up at him with, no doubt, a very suspicous look on my face. "What's it to you? You are too high above little old ^me^ to care!" I said harshly.

He just laughed amusedly. "Well, what if I said that I want to know why that girl is so paranoid? Or maybe I just wanted to know what she is on, and if I can have some..." He said, almost nicely.

Why was ^he^ being civil to ^me^? I thought. I definitly didn't trust his intentions. "Why are you even talking to me?" I asked.

He thought about it for a second. "I don't know, you are a weird person. Fun to fight with." He stated as if I were stupid. I didn't like that.

"Is that your twisted way of saying you want to be friends?" I asked, knowing it was a bold move.

"Not really. I just think you maybe aren't as bad as the other kids. People around here are very dull." He said, and sat down across from me.

My seven year old mind could not comprehend all of this as fast as I wanted it to. Why was he being like this? What was he getting at? Really, the only guy I had ever known was Goku, and his actions definitly didn't mean that he was normal!

"How so?" I asked.

"Well, all they care about is pleasing my father and Freeza, when he is here anyway. It is disgusting! When ^I^ am King, I will make sure Freeza is wiped from exsistence." He said, eyes troubled with thought of Freeza.

I had heard of this Freeza person, but not very much. I knew he was feared all over.

"Freeza....well.....what does he do that is so scary?" I asked. I didn't want to sound stupid in front of the prince, though I didn't know why.

"He kills anyone who crosses him without question. He is the strongest being in the universe, he moves from planet to planet destroying and killing. He works with my father, considering they have the strongest empires. I hate him." He said, face blank the whole time.

"So...if you make him mad, he gets mad, and you are basically dead? I don't understand. I mean, why do you follow him if you all hate him so much? There are so many Saiyans, you could easily win." I said.

"Not nessacerily."

"What do you mean? It is a good idea....like a rebellion!" I smiled at the thought. Maybe this place would be better if someone so evil wasn't working with it's inhabitants.

"No, everyone would be too scared to lose." Vegeta said, and glared at me. "Why do ^you^ care so much? You would be lucky never to see Freeza."

I shrugged but didn't respond. I wanted to think about things. I still didn't understand this strange planet's ways. I wished that my father were here. He would make sense of everything. A tear rolled down my cheek at the thought of my dead father. I would never see him again....

"Why are you crying?" Vegeta asked. He looked at me like it was a strange thing to cry.

"You wouldn't understand." I said, looking away.

He sneered at me. "Why ^not^?" He snapped.

"Because you don't know what it is like to lose everyone you care about, even your parents." I said, kind of meanly. He would ^never^ know what that felt like!

"I have never even known my mother." Vegeta said just as coldly. "At least you ^knew^ your family."

"What do you mean? You know your father." I said.

"No, I don't. And he doesn't know ^me^. All he knows is war and treaties. He doesn't know how to be a dad, or a family."

"I am sorry. But I really think it would be better to have never known them than to have loved them and have to watch one of them die." I bitterly said, and got up. "I have to go, Lela must be a wreck."

"Fine then. Bye." Vegeta said, and remained sitting as I left.

~*~

I walked slowly back to my room, thinking about my conversation with the strange, Saiyan Prince. What was he getting at? I got the feeling he wanted to be friends, but how could I be sure? Maybe he was trying to find stuff out for his father, from the inside sources.

I approached the door to our room and paused. Not a single sound came from inside. I wondered if Lela had gotten lost. I opened the door softly and called her name.

"Lela? Lela? Are you in here?" I asked, looking around. No, she ^definitly^ wasn't in here. I frowned in concern and sighed. I needed help.

I ran as fast as I could, back to the greenhouse. I flung open the doors and looked inside. Vegeta was still there, looking like he was meditating or something. I went up to him and lightly kicked his leg. He looked up and smirked.

"What do you want, girl?" He asked. He crossed his arms.

"I need you help. Lela isn't in our room. I think she might have gotten lost. I don't want to get lost here, so ^you^ can show me the way around this place." I said, crossing my arms and meeting his gaze.

"What's in it for me?" He asked slyly.

I glared at him. "I don't know, what could I give ^you^?" I asked.

He smirked evilly and stood up. "You let me win in all the classroom contests, is all." He said, and held out his hand. "Deal?"

I stood there, shocked. Let him win? But I had ^promised^ myself that I would rule the classroom! "Fine. But only for two weeks, tops." I said, and shook his hand to cement the deal. "Let's go find her."

~*~

I was in the woods, alone and scared. How had I gotten lost? Goku should have found me by now! I wrapped my feeble arms around myself for warmth.

One minute I was playing hide and seek, the next, I was alone in the middle of this enormous forest, cold and lost, sitting on this boulder. Who knew what kind of things were lurking in this big, dark place? I only come here if Goku is with me, my parents don't think it is safe.

I called his name over and over, until my thoat was raw. It was getting dark, and considerably colder. I began to cry, using up what strength I had left. I finally gave in and curled up on the large rock, falling into a deep, worried sleep.

~*~

I shuddered at the memory of that time long ago when I had gotten lost. Goku found me, of course, but not until the next afternoon. My parents were positively livid when we got home. But I wouldn't let Lela get lost and alone in this terrible place. No, I had the Saiyan Prince helping me, for a bribe, a good one, too.

"You friend is a fool, no smart person would run off by thereself here!" Vegeta said, looking up and down the long, dim halls. "Then again, she ^is^ a young child, barely past a toddler, really." He said.

"And so are you! You are only two years older!" I said angrily, for ^I^ was her age, also. "Shut up!"

"Watch it, girl! You friend is also very naive." He said.

I scowled and ignored him. It seemed like we would ^never^ find her. The palace was so big, we could have been running in circles around each other!

"We are ^never^ going to find her!" I whined, looking out a window. It was dark already, the stars brightly shining.

"Your telling ^me^. She is probably back at your room, worried about ^you^. This is a waste of my time. Go straight down this hall and you will be back at your room in about five minutes. Remember the deal!" He said, and walked quickly in the other direction.

I threw up my hands in defeat and followed his directions. I could only hope to Kami that she was safe there.

~*~

I opened the door to my room reluctantly. The walk was ^ten^ minutes, not five. My feet ached from all the walking Vegeta and I had done. I closed it behind me, and walked over to the bathroom.

"Lela?" I called. But there was still no answer. Where could she ^be^? I thought, and went over to the window to cry.

There were no stars to wish on now.

~*~

I woke up the next morning on the cold, hard windowsill, my face dry from all of the tears shed the night before. The early morning sun sent warm, golden rays into the greenhouse as well as our room. I looked at the clock.

6:31, it read. I shrieked and shot up. I would have to be fast to make it to school in time! I ran over to the closet, and grabbed a fresh uniform from the hangar. I nearly cried again at the sight of Lela's. The pale yellow looked good on her pale skin.

I sprinted to the bathroom and put my hair up in a ponytail after washing my face. I came out of the bathroom and saw I had five minutes. I frantically ran down the hall, and threw open the school room door. The class stared at me disdainfully.

"So nice of you to join us, Ms. Briefs. Will you please take you seat?" The teacher asked rudely. I trudged over to my desk and plopped down. Vegeta shot a glance at Lela's empty seat pointedly, and I shook my head. He nodded.

The teacher droned on about some Saiyan warrior who had killed many people, and to no one's surprise, was of the royal family. Vegeta looked even more bored than I was. He had probably heard this a million times, being of the royal line and all.

"So, we will be doing a project. You will have to research someone famous from Saiyan history, someone who is ^dead^." The teacher droned. I perked up. Something, ^anything^ to do was fine with me!

Some kids snickered at the word ‘dead'. I had apparantly missed something. "You will pick a partner for this. Class dismissed." The teacher said, and beckoned me to come forward. "I understand you are sharing a room with Ms. Lela Shader, are you not?" He asked.

I looked up at him. "Yessir." I said.

"Do you know where she is, Bulma?" He gently asked.

"She has been missing since last night." I sadly said, and exited the classroom, where Vegeta waited, arms crossed. "What?" I asked.

"They will probably hold ^you^ responsible for this, so I suggest you look for her." He commented, eyes down.

"You have to help me this time!" I begged. I wished that he would be a little more kinder of a person so I didn't have to do things in exchange for help all the time.

He nodded and smirked. "Do the project with me, but you will have to do most of the work, I'm warning you. I have other things to do rather than go on some girl hunt." He said.

I nodded. "Deal."

~*~

So, what did you all think? Please write to me about this chapter, I am not sure about it at all!

Beautifulirony1@aol.com