Crossroads

Chapter 21

Bulma began to get a little irritated as the weeks passed and her new life's demands began to sink in, but no one could blame her for it. Prince Vegeta sent several tutors and aids, just as he'd said, each of them with a different plan for educating the Princess on different aspects of her royal duties, as well as handling matters with discernment, privacy, and tact. It was harder than they thought, and not because Bulma was an ignorant woman, but because she was simply unavailable, and they could only stay for a few weeks at a time, before another set came in to teach her something else. This continued for months.

Bulma was much more annoyed by the disruption in her day than she was grateful for their advice and instruction. The tutors would insist that they didn't have much time to teach her what she needed to know before they had to return, and she would insist that she had even less time than they did, and less patience, and to get on with it, but not until she was done with her work day, and she declared she must be left alone while she was working. So, they usually wound up doing their classes with her on her days off. Luckily for everyone involved, Bulma is a classy type of woman, always well dressed and always well mannered, and even when stressed she could smile and charm her way into or out of anything. The brilliance of the woman was astounding, even to the tutors, and everything they taught her she caught onto quickly, but after her lessons she would beg at least one of the guards to take her out for a drink at a private place so that she could relax in peace without the eyes of the tutors watching her every move.

She was snappy for sure, but she usually calmed down quickly. In fact, the only time she ever really lost her cool was when she was on the phone or a video call with Vegeta. She could be heard yelling at him, to which all of the Saiyans were surprised, but impressed. Even so, the Prince seemed to allow it. Actually, they weren't sure that Vegeta wasn't egging her on, because those conversations never ended poorly and from her barking laughter every once in a while at something the Prince said, they were clearly getting along despite their battles.

Apparently, the Prince understood where she was coming from, and they took their frustrations out on one another, since after all, they're going through the same thing, but they always seemed to agree by the end of the phone call. Bulma would say that she wants him to come back and he would tell her he's working on it, and their fight would end, but another argument would start up between them all over again a few days later. It was actually kind of cute.

The women, the aids, and the tutors saw a lot of similarities between her and the Prince, and they couldn't help but joke with one another about how funny it is that they'd met and matched the way they did. Clearly, they were meant for one another.

The guard would ask the tutors how things were going on Planet Vegeta, and they told them that things were finally starting to settle down there. Prince Vegeta was busier than ever, and always training in the Gravity Machine when he wasn't in meetings, while the people seemed to be charged with excitement at having the heir of the throne finally married, and they weren't as upset about the circumstances behind the marriage as they had once been.

The threats on Bulma's life have stopped, but that didn't mean that there may never come another one and so they kept up their defenses, but they began to think that perhaps the people of Earth have come to understand that their lives are not under attack and so they've left the poor woman alone. Regardless, the guards kept watch over her and their home, and they were growing rather fond of the grounds and the caretakers, not to mention the many attractions of the cities surrounding them.

They were all assimilating to the best of their abilities by now, some of the women even enjoying shopping for the clothing the earthling's wore, and they watched movies and caught up on current events, with curiosity and intrigue every time they found something strikingly similar or remarkably different from their own kind. The seldom wore their scouters anymore, and only used them for communication between the planets and their colleagues, but phones were sufficient enough for their families and loved ones. Everything else wasn't that difficult to catch onto- their sleep schedule was very similar, even the seasons mimicked Planet Vegeta's to some degree.