Beauty and the Beast

Chapter One

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Dragon Ball Z

Once upon a time, in a land where the air still held that magical touch, a young selfish, arrogant prince ruled the land. He was a prick of a ruler, having overly priced taxes that left the people in poverty. The living conditions were unbearable, but where was one to go when the heir wouldn't let you so much as breathe the air in the land...beyond.

One day a beautiful young sorceress had enough. She threaded up to the wondrous castle that held the wicked prince,

She knocked on the large, velvet colored door. She heard the rustle of feet and the loud clang of the door sliding across the marble floor.

She waved a hand over her body and transformed into an innocent looking child.

"May I speak to the prince. Please," she begged, she looked like the child that had died of starvation in her village. She wasn't advanced in sorcery, her grandmother had died before she could teach her much.

The thin, black haired lady nodded. She turned inside hung rung a bell. A gong like sound rung in the young girl's ears.

The prince was seen walking down the steps of the castle. He strode up to her, "What pest?" He snarled, examining his nails.

Strike one. "Your highness! It's my mother, she's-"

"Girl! Hurry up, I don't have all day! Besides, you smell wretched!" He stuck his nose into the air, crossing his arms over his chest.

Strike two. "My mother is dying. Would you please help?" the sorceress murmured calmly.

"Ugh! Like your mother dying is of any importance to me. Get out of my sight," he waved his hand, turning on his heel. His maid looked apologetic as she started to shut the door.

Strike three. She waved her hand in front of her body and transformed into the pretty young girl she was. "Prince Vegeta, you are to be turned into the beast that you truly are inside," she chanted a few swords in Latin before she blew upwards. "And your little servants are to be cursed along with you. You have to find someone to love you for who you really are before the last petal on this rose falls, or else you all die," she cackled softly, flying away.

The prince's eyebrows raised in question as he felt...different. He shrugged, walking down the hall towards the west wing, passing a mirror on the way. He glanced at the reflection and howled in fury.

Thousands of years had passed and the prince secluded himself inside his castle, leading the villagers to believe that he had died. They prospered, being able to keep their hard-earned cash.

Eventually though, the village died out and lush green took it's place. A heavily wooded forest grew around the green and within it's outskirts, a small town which hold our main character, Bulma. A true Blue Beauty.

Our story starts with Bulma and her family.

"Oh Papa!" Bulma trotted down the steps toward the kitchen where her father was working on some quirky invention.

"In here Darling Daughter! I'm working on the," Bulma heard a loud clatter, "microwave. The radiation needs to be lessened to cook the food. Now don't bother me right now. Go help one of your sisters," Bulma appeared in the kitchen, only to see her father wave his hand, indicating her to leave.

Bulma rolled her eyes, turning back the way she came. Going up the stairs, she bumped into her younger sister Maron.

"Oh, hello!" She waved cheerily.

Bulma sighed. Out of her two sisters, she disliked talking to Maron the most. Don't get her wrong, Bulma loved her sisters to death, but Maron was, as her father said, a bit mentally challenged.

"Hello Maron, how are you doing? Do you need anything?" Bulma asked slowly. Her father said talking slower could help her development.

"Well, um, Launch ic in one of her moodc," Maron struggled out.

She also had a speech impediment. She couldn't pronounce the letter 's.' The, 'ssss,' sound always came out, 'cccc.' Father was working on that.

"Thanks for telling me, wanna help me fix her?" Bulma asked.

"Yec pleace," Maron nodded, following Bulma up the beautiful mahogany steps.

Bulma entered the room, looking at the back of her eldest sister's blonde hair.

Bulma's heart constricted with sadness. Her mother had bore three children, each with something wrong with them. Launch had multiple personalities, Maron with her slight speech impediment and slight mentally problems, and Bulma had extreme anger issues and the odd rose-shaped birthmark on her right palm. While Maron and Bulma inherited their father's abnormal coloring, Launch got it as well, but when she sneezed, she had the exact hair color their mother had. The luscious golden locks, that, while Launch wore down, their mother, Bunni styled it atop her head in a fashionable updo.

Bulma reached into her turquoise dress, white apron combo, pulling out the feather used for emergencies such as these. She yanked Maron forward and threw the poor girl at her. Launch, stunned, froze for a second, just enough time for Bulma to wiggle the feather under her nose.

"Achoo!" She sneezed, reverting back to her original self.

"What happened?" She questioned.

Bulma laughed, the other knew nothing about their counterpart. "Oh nothing. What were you doing anyways?" Bulma asked, plopping down on the bed.

"Oh, I'm going on a date with Tien. You know he asked me to marry him? I hope Papa allows it," Launch fretted, digging through her closet.

"You could wear the white drecc with the navy blue ribbon under the buct. And the navy blue slipperc with the blue pendent necklace," Maron swung her feet above her head.

"Oh! Good suggestion Maron! Thanks," Launch giggled.

Maron smiled brightly. She knew of her disabilities, and she hated when they treated her like she was lesser than. However, she loved when they praised her and showed her appreciation. Especially in the area of fashion. She hoped to be one of France's best fashion designers.

Launch dug into her closet, pulling out the outfit. She stripped down, dressing. "Hey Bulma? How's it going with you and Yamcha?" Launch asked, slipping the dress on.

Bulma groaned. "Don't even ask. I caught him fucking the duchess," Bulma rolled her eyes.

Launch and Maron gasped. "Bulma! Don't be so vulgar!" Launch scolded.

"What? It's only us," Bulma sighed, leaning back into the comfort of a sea of pillows, her aqua hair spread around her face.

"I know, but Bulma it's unladylike," Launch giggled.

"Whatever, you would probably faint if you found it the things you say," Bulma mumbled.

Launch cocked her head in confusion. "What are you taking about?"

Bulma waved her hand, rolling onto her stomach, "Nothing, nothing at all." Bulma opened her mouth to say something else, but the doorbell rang.

"Oh no! He's here!" Launch started to flutter about, messing with her already perfect look.

Bulma rolled her eyes,"Stop!" She grumbled.

Launch froze. She learned at an early age to never disobey Bulma when she was annoyed. Unless you wanted her to burn off one of your eyebrows in your sleep.

"Maron, you help Launch calm down. I'll stall Tien," Bulma instructed.

"Cir, yec, cir," Maron saluted.

Bulma yawned as she got off the bed and shuffled down the stairs.

"Tien Goldstien. I need to have a word with you," Bulma motioned with her finger to the private sitting area. Tien gulped. Bulma scared the crap out of him.

He followed her to the room and sat on the comfy violet couch.

"Now Tien, I hear your planning on marrying my sister. Is that correct?" Bulma's usually joyous eyes were now ice cold. Show no mercy.

"Y-yes?" He stammered.

"You say that as a question. Do you plan on taking my sister, and everything she's got to offer, then leave her?"

Tien's eyes harden as he sat up straighter. Bulma inwardly smirked.

"Ma'am, I would never, ever leave Launch. She is the love of my life. The sunshine that brightens my day. The klutz that brings a smile to my face. I don't mean offense. I mean it in that cutesy way of hers that makes me want to smile along with her when she makes mistakes, or pat her on the back when she's in one of her 'moods.' You see, Launch is my everything and if you take her away, there will be no purpose to my life."

"What life do you have to offer her?"

"I am no rich man. I admit that. I can't exactly offer her a life of luxury, but I can give her a quiet carefree life on the mountainside. I have a cottage there not too far from here. I have a secure job as a blacksmith and another as a librarian. I can give her a life," he stated, passion thickly laced his one

Bulma nodded her head, standing up. She walked over to Tien and glared down at him. Bulma was a petite girl, barely over four feet, however she could look down at someone no matter what their size.

Tien, sitting down, was well over six feet tall. In the position he was in now, he could just barely see over Bulma's head.

"Just know, if you so much as think about hurting Launch, I will kill you, as brutal and ruthless as possible."

Tien stood, staring Bulma down. "Don't worry about it because I will kill myself if Launch ever so much as dreams about me hurting her."

Bulma shrugged. "Either way it goes, you die," Bulma twisted on her heal, walking out of the room. She trudged up the stairs.

"Launch, he's all your," Bulma winked at her causing Launch to shiver in fear. Bulma threatened anyone who decided on courting her sisters.

Launch leaned down and kissed both Bulma and Maron on the cheeks. "Bye," she waved gracefully swaying down the stairs.

The pair waved back, smiling.

"They make a really cute couple, don't you think?" Bulma asked, sighing in love.

"Of cource. They were made for each other," Maron giggled

"I wish my boyfriend was like that," Bulma scrunched up her nose in disgust.

"At leact you have one," Maron winked.

"Ugh!" Bulma groaned. "You can have him. I want someone more...beastly," a smile broke across her face.

"What do you mean?" Maron tilted her head in curiosity.

"Well, Yamcha is, how do I say? Boring. Boring to talk to, interact with, sleep with," Bulma nudged Maron mockingly.

Maron blushed. "Bulma! Have you alwayc been thic vulgar?"

"Um, yea!" Bulma threw her head back, chuckling.

Maron smiled, pulling Bulma into a sisterly hug.

Maron always viewed Bulma as the oldest, even through Launch was the eldest.

When they were little, they hadn't had much. Just a two bedroom shack of a home with hardly any food or water. There was a thunder storm, and water leaked through the holes in the ceilings, splattering on the girls' faces keeping them up all night. The lightening was scaring them, and Bulma, tired of being afraid, made them sit up and form a circle.

She started telling them wondrous stories of princesses and unicorns.

The stories had soothed them into sleep, taking away the frightened tremble of their bodies.

Ever since then, Maron had looked up to Bulma, viewing her as the person she wanted to grow up as. She viewed her as her...mom.

"Hey Bulma," Maron whispered after several moments of silence.

Bulma turned to face her, "Yea?"

"I think that you chould go out more. Cee the world," Maron said slowly, weighing each word before saying it.

Bulma laughed, a short bitter, humorless laugh. "I wish I could, but I can't. I mean, I have to marry Yamcha so that I can become a rich lady and Papa can become a world famous inventor. It's my duty to marry, not after love, but responsibility," Bulma sighed, sounding absolutely miserable.

"Why?" Maron asked. "Why doec it have to be you? Why can't it be Launch. I mean che ic the oldect."

Bulma laughed, the same cold, empty laugh. "Launch is too, well, naïve. She couldn't marry out of responsibility. She'll end up doing something stupid like having an affair or killing herself, or something."

"Oh," was all Maron said. "Do you-"

"Bulma! Get down here, Yamcha is here for your guy's date," her father shouted up the stairs.

Bulma groaned, wiping her face and rolling off the bed. She fell on her hands and knees with an, "Oomph!" She carefully got on her feet and reached the door muttering, "I'd rather stab out my eyes." She then took a deep breath and trotted down the stairs.

Maron laughed. "I hope you find your beactly man cicter. He ic out there."

ChiChi turned to Goku. "Why isn't he coming out today?"

Goku shrugged. "He said, 'Get the hell out Kakarot, before I break your ticking face.'"

"I think he's getting moodier," Eighteen yawned.

"Probably because there is only a petal left on the flower, and each petal is worth a year. The what? Five thousandth mark is coming up in five months. If the master doesn't find someone to love him, we're screwed," Krillin panicked.

"MaMa? What does Uncle Krillin mean?" Gohan asked, nudging her handle.

"That, if Master Vegeta doesn't fix his attitude, we're all gonna die," ChiChi whispered solemnly.