This is an Alternate Universe (AU) fanfic. It's set in the Middle Ages, but it also will have some feudalism and other traits of medieval Japan as well. I've wanted to write this for some time, but was a little hesitant, because when I had finished looking over this story, it seemed to have a little Disney feel to it.

I hope you don't mind. ^^;

I will now put up the disclaimer: DBZ doesn't belong to me, so keep the cannons away.

One more warning: This won't be your average fic (and which one of my fics has been average? ^^) and it will appear that some OOC-ness will be present, as well as the pairings (couples) for this story. *Takes in a deep breath*

Chapter 1: Returning Home

Eighteen-year-old Chi-Chi smiled softly at her childhood memories. Those times with Goku. They were crazy. Sweet, memorable and crazy. Well, that came nowhere near the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai. Now that was insane. She had gotten so angry with Goku, and it was chaotic to try to get him to understand his promise and win the fight. In the end, she had forgiven him, but had gotten so worried about Goku's fights.

As she had mentioned to Goku several times after the engagement, "I don't want to be a widow before I'm married!" She had never been so afraid in her life. Goku enjoyed fighting and putting himself in dangerous situations.

The best thing to come out of this was her engagement to Goku, and that alone.

Chi-Chi smiled softly once more as she watched Goku's hair sway gently in the wind as they rode on the Nimbus together. Her fingers were laced together around Goku's waist, and she sat behind him, leaning her head against his warm back.

She closed her eyes, peaceful, listening to Goku's heartbeat and his rhythmical breathing. She didn't understand how she fell in love with him so quickly, and how her heart told her Goku was the one for her when she was younger, but it was for the best.

Like it was meant to happen, Chi-Chi thought in serenity, and sighed.

It was silent like this for a few moments, just Chi-Chi holding onto Goku, and Goku looking for the Ox-King's castle. It was said to be at the end of the ocean of pine trees below.

"Hey, Chi-Chi?"

The girl had nearly fallen asleep at the comforting surrounding, but her eyes opened at this question. "Hm?" she mused to her fiancé. She could feel the vibration of Goku's voice against her as he spoke.

"Do you think the Ox-King will remember me? It's been a really long time since he last saw me."

Chi-Chi thought he was worried, and she nodded, chuckling. "Of course he will. How could he forget after I've talked about you for so long?" Goku took the affirmation as a positive one, and finally saw the gray tips of the towers of the Ox-King's castle in the distance.

He smiled. "We're almost there, Chi-Chi! Hold on tight! Faster, Flying Nimbus!"

The fluffy cloud zoomed away at an even greater speed, carrying an exuberant Goku, and a squealing Chi-Chi.

***

Once Chi-Chi and Goku set foot at the entrance of the castle, a very strange aura was in the air. Worry crossed Chi-Chi's face as she looked up at her home. It wasn't the same. Everything was orderly and clean, and there was a lot of commotion, like a noisy crowd, coming from behind the tall gates.

Guards stood at the gate, and they whispered to each other in confusion. What was the princess doing coming back with a stranger?

"Excuse me," replied one guard when Chi-Chi and Goku walked past them. They stopped and turned to the inquirer. The guard appeared solemn. "The princess may pass, but you may not," he said to Goku. "Who are you?"

Before Goku could answer, Chi-Chi raised an eyebrow, puzzled. "What are you talking about? I order you to let him in. He is to come with me, so we may meet with my father."

The guard stuttered, lost, "Y-Yes, ma'am." He and the other guards pulled the gates open, pulling hard at the iron rings attached to the enormous wooden doors. When Goku and Chi-Chi stepped into the kingdom, they discovered it was very different from the last time they had been here.

Lines of row houses filled the Square, where many tents stood tall. Running children played, and common folks strolled by, while men worked hard at the dock, bringing in the day's catch of fish.

"I don't remember any of this, or those guards," Goku said to Chi-Chi, confused. "I guess your father did a lot while I was gone."

Chi-Chi nodded, and took Goku's hand. "Come on. We have to go see him anyhow." She kept Goku close to her as she made her way through the people, sneaking behind tall objects, so she wouldn't be recognized as the princess.

She and Goku faced the same problem of admission as they approached the Ox-King. Chi-Chi became annoyed at this, but before she could speak, the Ox-King took action.

"Let them through," he told the guards cautiously. His eyes never left the black haired stranger standing beside his daughter. He stood from his throne and stepped down the short flight of stairs leading up to his throne.

"Come with me, Daughter," he told Chi-Chi, and turned so she could follow him. Chi-Chi seemed lost, and gave Goku a look that said to wait as she left. She followed her father behind the ruby curtains behind the throne.

***

Once they were alone, the Ox-King looked down at his daughter, completely clueless. "Who is that boy you've brought?" Chi-Chi raised her eyebrows and tilted her head. "What's that supposed to mean? It's Goku!"

The Ox-King cast his concerned gaze downward as he rubbed his beard thoughtfully. That name seemed somewhat familiar...

Chi-Chi frowned, annoyed at her father's actions. Why did he pretend not to know who Goku was?

It finally clicked for the Ox-King and he shook his head. "Hmm," he mumbled, and left the room behind the curtains, returning to his throne. Chi-Chi followed, wondering. What did 'Hmm' mean?

The Ox-King sat down again; appearing troubled for a moment. Chi-Chi didn't notice as she took her position next to her father, bowing her head. She glanced worriedly out of the corner of her eyes at her father. He kept a concerned and thoughtful glare on Goku.

Why is he looking like that? Chi-Chi thought worriedly. She looked down at her intertwined hands as soon as the Ox-King spoke.

"Tell me, boy. What do you call yourself?" the Ox-King asked Goku.

Goku tilted his head, smiling cheerfully. "I'm Son Goku, remember?"

The Ox-King didn't respond positively to Goku's happy manner. "Did you really come here to marry my daughter?" he snapped.

Goku kept wearing his trademark grin; despite the fact the Ox-King wasn't very happy to see him. "Of course! A promise is a promise!"

The Ox-King looked Goku up and down, and then held back a scoff. "And what do you think of my daughter?"

Goku tilted his head to the side, and smiled once more, looking at Chi-Chi. "Hmm. She's tough, that's for sure!"

The Ox-King glanced at his daughter standing beside him. Though her head was bowed, her pink cheeks, smile, and suppressed laugh were clear to anyone. The Ox-King sighed, as if he were bored. He leaned to the side, placing his elbow on the armchair of the throne. His palm cupped his cheek.

"Yes. And what shall you contribute to the kingdom?"

Goku's cheerful look was replaced by a confused one. "Well, I did win the Budokai..."

The Ox-King's eyebrows rose curiously. This obviously peaked his interest. "You? And what else?"

Goku shrugged. "Nothing else really."

The Ox-King frowned. "Hmph. You're about as useful as dirt, and you think you'll have my daughter's hand? I would have to be insane to give consent!"

The confused look returned to Goku as he kept his eyes on the Ox-King. What did he mean?

Chi-Chi nearly flinched at those words. No! She mustn't have heard right! But when those words settled into her mind, she knew it was true. Her heart pounded with fear. Jerking her head up, she gazed at her father, wide-eyed.

"What?! Otousan, you can't be serious!"

The Ox-King jumped to his feet, nearly fuming that his daughter question his decision making in front of noble guards. He spun to retreat behind the curtains once more, his robe swaying behind him.

In that moment, he seized Chi-Chi's arm and pulled her along with him. Alone again, the Ox-King released Chi-Chi. "Have no anger, Daughter."

Chi-Chi's eyebrows lowered together in her furious eyes. "I should have anger! How could you break your own promise?!"

She didn't care if she nearly yelled at the Ox-King. He may be the king, and the most powerful ruler in the land, but right now, he was being an unfair father.

"How could you?" she asked again.

***

The Ox-King grabbed Chi-Chi's shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Heed me. When you were young, it seemed hopeless that we would ever find you a suitor. I took the first opportunity I had. But now things are clearer and your marriage to Goku is therefore unnecessary."

"Nothing is clear!" Chi-Chi blurted. "Explain to me!"

The Ox-King took his hands off her shoulders and motioned for her to follow him. "Hush now, and come along."

Chi-Chi followed her father deeper into the room, though she burned with anger along the way. None of this was making sense, and just hearing the annulment made her blood boil. No way could he do this! Not after this! She thought.

Chi-Chi stopped alongside the Ox-King, who stood in front of many closed chests, crowded together. He looked at Chi-Chi once more, to make sure she was listening closely.

"You know of the terrible curse of the fire that has been with us, Daughter," he began solemnly. "It burned with a hateful vengeance for reasons unknown. You know the results of this fire. People feared me and no one desired, or could come near this kingdom. I knew that this was not good, and how lonesome you were as a child."

Chi-Chi looked away, vividly remembering the past. "Why did you behave that way? So everyone feared and thought ill of you?"

The Ox-King turned and opened a chest. A cobweb hung in the nearest corner, and dust billowed up as he took out a large portrait. Chi-Chi covered her nose and mouth with her hands, watching her father dust off the portrait.

It revealed a picture of a beautiful woman sitting in a background of colorful flowers. "Mother," Chi-Chi recognized.

The Ox-King nodded. "Aye, my child. It is so. I loved your mother very much, and was a changed man when she left this world. I had fallen into the deepest kind of dilemma, saddened to the very core of this planet. I had a hatred for the ailment that took her, and the ones who had failed to cure her. With a wicked and unforgiving heart, I changed for the worse, and with the burning fire, it contributed to the circumstance."

Chi-Chi looked at her father, touched and sympathetic, nearly incredibly saddened. She hadn't heard the true story in a long time, and hearing her father speak in that tone made her heart drop ten feet.

The Ox-King continued, "That is why, Chi-Chi. When Goku came around, it was an unexpected surprise. A miracle, if you wish to call it that. With his agreement to a marriage to you, I thought this was my chance to make my daughter happy. But now as the years have gone by, things have improved, and I've realized simply...

Goku is no longer needed. I should not give consent for an unnecessary occasion."

Chi-Chi couldn't believe he was going back to that. Her sorrow was quickly replaced with a rush of anger. "What about the huge wedding you planned? It'd be one heck of a surprise if the groom turns out to be someone else!"

Ox-King shook his head, chiding her. "You needn't speak to me so. I did not annul your marriage, Chi-Chi. I simply rearranged things. You do know only a prince is suitable for you."

That was it!

Chi-Chi clenched her fists and teeth, never feeling such anger. Her blood boiled, and she felt as if she would erupt with a fiery fury. He didn't care for her happiness! He only wished to be correct in the eyes of ancestors!

The Ox-King added, "We need royal blood in an heir, Chi-Chi. Why not just make the child have complete royal blood? Not only that, but the child is going to rule this kingdom after I'm gone and I have certain requirements I'd like to see in that child. This is for the best."

"The best for you!" Chi-Chi blurted. "It's what YOU want! Did you ever consider my feelings? We speak of my wedding here! I deserve to be happy, and I'm happy with Goku!"

The Ox-King wouldn't tolerate this disrespect any longer. "Foolish daughter!" he bellowed. "As a princess, your first priority is to become a good wife to your husband, and I have that husband for you, who will rule this kingdom with his wise hand. What can Goku do? He knows nothing but martial arts! There's more to life than that!"

Chi-Chi spun around with an unappreciative grunt, giving her father her back. She was jerked back suddenly, and spun around, as the Ox-King seized her arm once more and forced her to face him.

"Forget him!" he firmly commanded. "I asked you to come home with the prize money in the first place, not a dull boy cherished in your fantasies! Now go out there and have him removed from this kingdom."

A whirlpool of emotions churned inside of Chi-Chi. She had wanted to cry, to scream, to protest, to win... But now, though she still upset, she was surprisingly calm. Her dark, blazing eyes met with her father's.

The Ox-King could see right through Chi-Chi's façade. Rebellion oozed out of her.

"NOW," he added. "Do it NOW."

***

Goku had been following Chi-Chi's order of waiting patiently, and he smiled cheerfully again when he saw Chi-Chi and the Ox-King come from behind the curtains.

The anger stored in Chi-Chi melted into grief when she looked up to see Goku's happy face. Her heart twisted with sorrow. How could she tell him to leave? She loved him.

Chi-Chi swore she would punish herself, somehow, someway, if she told Goku to leave. Complete authority was in her words, and once she "requests" his departure, she would never see him again...

Kami knew she didn't want that, but....

Chi-Chi shot her father a pleading glance, but his glare cut right through her. "Say it!" it seemed to echo. He may be her father, but he was also the king...

Chi-Chi hung her head, fighting the tears and trying her best to ignore the lump that had formed in her throat. "Goku," she whispered shakily as her cheeks burned with anger. Emotion was clearly laced in her speaking.

"Hm?" he inquired innocently.

The nearby guards, who made sure Goku didn't leave, smiled evilly. They had guessed what had happened, and seeing this now would be a treat to them.

"Goku, you have to go," Chi-Chi managed to utter, hating every word. "I.. I can't be with you anymore. You.. You must leave this kingdom."

Goku stared at her in disbelief. She had wanted so badly for him to be with her and now that he is, she doesn't want to? "I don't want to go, Chi-Chi. What about the promise I gave you?"

The burning tears threatened to splash down Chi-Chi's face even more. "Please, Goku. Don't make this harder than it already is.."

"But.."

"Goku, go!"

Goku wished she would look him in the eyes. She certainly didn't sound ashamed when she looked for him at the tournament, fought him, and cared for him in between and during his other fights. This wasn't making any sense to him.

"Is it something I did? I thought we were getting married."

The Ox-King spoke up this time, his eyes bearing him with scorn. "You don't even know the concept of marriage. You will never amount to anything, and certainly aren't worthy of my daughter's hand."

Goku seemed thoughtful and confused. "But I can learn if you give me the chance. I-"

"You dare defy me?! Guards!"

The guards quickly responded to their lord's calling, and seized Goku. Their strength was greater than Goku's, and they had him on his knees. He cried out when one slapped the back of his head with his metal-covered hand.

One guard chuckled at the circumstance, and at Goku's cry. "He dares to speak against you, my lord?" he asked the Ox-King, and yanked Goku's arm toward him.

"Who knows what such a rebellious man might do? I say you shouldn't give him any chances. He should be executed at once!"

"No, no," another guard protested. "This one has incredible strength. His resistance alone showed power. Such a strong man as he should be a slave, my king."

The last guard voiced, "O Great One, my first aide may be correct. This man appears to be the rebellious type and could do some damage with his strength. He is useless to you anyway. Just sentence an exile."

The Ox-King rubbed his beard thoughtfully. He knew the second guard was right. Goku was a very strong person, and he had even seen his strength as a little boy. With all that training over the years, it may have increased over tenfold.

"I can't argue with Yan," Ox-King said, gesturing toward the second guard. "Goku has strength like I have never seen. Such a creature would make a fine slave. Yes, it shall be."

He turned to Chi-Chi and patted her on the head. "Some good has come of this, Daughter. You've brought home a good slave. I thank you."

Chi-Chi wanted to writhe, to scorn with contempt, scream her protests, admit her love.! But she merely turned away, and slipped behind the curtains once more.

Goku sadly looked up. The last he saw was a morose Chi-Chi recede, and his heart sank. How could this happen? He thought.

To be continued.

Chapter Two: Chi-Chi's Ambition