Ok, this is a take off of A Mid Summer Night's Dream (with a twist). ^_~ I'm just taking the idea and running away with it. ^_^  (Oh yeah…some people might be a little OOC and couples/parents totally off…but I'm doing something different for once!!)

"….." is talking

'italic' is thinking

(added story notes)

[author notes if I feel the need to explain something]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 1 – The setting of the stage

Not that long ago-----actually, it was last week-----there was a Duke and Duchess, respectively called Krillin and Andriod 18 (she insisted on people calling her Eighteen). They were set to get married to join their two nations in peace and harmony.

Most people thought it was weird for them to get married, considering Eighteen tried to kill Krillin a few months ago in a sparring competition. (It was an annual event, and she beat him every year.)

But she some how found love in her heart for Duke Krillian and demanded that he marry her, or else she'd beat him up again. Krillin agreed; he didn't want another headache, and the marriage would make both of their nations stronger with the alliance.

Duke Krillin had a daughter named Rini. Rini came from a previous marriage (the one that no one talked about).  She was very headstrong, but you expect it of a 12 year old who gets whatever she wants.

Rini actually liked Eighteen and thought the marriage was a good idea. Her father had found someone he loved, that loved him in return, and he was happy.  What more could a girl want than a semi-normal family?

So our story begins the week before the marriage. The whole nation was preparing for the huge event. New clothes and dresses and flowers and food had been ordered for the many guests that would arrive for the celebration next Saturday. Maids are singing, butlers are tap dancing…and among the happy gala Eighteen can be heard arguing with them at the top of her lungs.

"No!! I told you to put the flowers next to the organ, NOT the benches! No no no, not those flowers! The other ones! The roses go here!" Eighteen threw her hands down. "Aggh! I can't get anything done around here. What can you expect from mortals? Just as dense and stupid as—"

"Hello my love," Krillin said in a cheery voice, entering the church just at that moment. "How are the preparations for the wedding coming along?"

Eighteen gave him a dirty glare and stomped out, huffing all the way. Krillin watched her go, confused. "What? What did I say? Love? Are you mad at me?"

When he didn't get any answer he followed after her, worried that she was upset. Weddings were supposed to be happy times. He had first suggested they just elope to Las Vegas, but Eighteen wanted a big wedding with every important official there to watch it. Things like that didn't matter to Krillin, but if it made Eighteen happy he was more than willing to do it for her. (If you couldn't tell, he really loved her)

Besides, the rich, important people gave really good presents. ^_^

Eighteen wasn't to be found inside the huge house, so Krillin went outside to the garden to see if she had wandered out here. Sometimes when she was angry and needed to vent her anger she'd come out here to blow up trees or make holes in the ground.  Saved money on the house bills.

There was no sign of Eighteen among the orchids so he went near the rose bushes.

The red, pink, yellow, and white roses were in full bloom at this time of year. Sitting on one of the benches, a pink-haired girl was gazing at one of the white rose buds, sighing loudly. Krillin caught sight of her and walked over to her.

"What's the matter sweetie?" he asked his daughter, taking the seat next to her.

Rini glanced up at her father, a distant look in her eyes. "Dad, who's my mother?"

Krillin cleared his throat, turning a little red. "Um…Why do you ask?"

"I dunno," she shrugged, looking at the rose again. "I was just sitting here, thinking about you and Eighteen getting married next weekend, and I started to think about…stuff."

"Like…?"

"Like why do I have pink hair, how come I can do things no one else can? Most of all I was wondering who my mother was, and if I didn't have a mother would Eighteen adopt me?"

"Oh." Krillin wasn't sure how to answer her question. Explaining to Rini about her mother was sort of…well…weird. He only smiled and patted her soft hair, changing the subject quickly. "Your birthday is soon, isn't it?"

"Don't you remember?" Rini replied a little dryly. 'Dad always has a way to change the fricken' subject when it comes my real mother!' her mind yelled.

"Heh, of course I remembered!" Krillin said quickly, trying to hide the face that he did forget (again). "I've been very busy lately, planning the wedding and all. And you know how my memory is with dates. After next week I'll have forgotten what day I got married! Hehe! Ooh…that might make Eighteen angry next year on our anniversary, won't it? Don't worry. We'll have a special day planned out for you!"

"Yeah, sure…"

"Ah, cheer up! We'll have a big party for you! It'll be fun! There will be music and food and dancing—"

"Dad!"

"Yes?"

Rini couldn't help but grin slightly. He was trying so hard to cheer her up. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine. It's that 'turning-into-a-teenager' thing. I am going to be 13 after all."

"Oh." Krillin turned red again, a look of panic crossing his face. "Uh…um…y-you don't want to have that…um…father-daughter talk…r-right now…d-do you?"

Rini's face looked totally confused. "Talk about what?"

"Um…s-stuff." Krillin looked like a bright red tomato.

"Stuff?" Whether Rini really didn't know about "stuff" or she was pretending to fluster Krillin was anyone's guess.

Before he had to explain himself, one of the servants came up to him with a phone call that needed to be taken.

Krillin visibly let out a sigh of relief to have gotten out of the dreaded father-daughter talk today. "I'll take it in my office," he told the servant, before turning to ruffle Rini's hair again. "Rini sweetie, be good." And he went into the house.

Rini watched him leave then turned back to the rose that was still in her hand. It was so white and perfect, each petal and leaf in perfect formation with the other. Why couldn't her life be like that? She was the daughter of a powerful Duke for crying out loud! Her life was supposed to be perfect!

But it was far from it. She didn't know who her real mother was, let alone anything else about the world.

It was pretty sad to be turning 13 and not really know all the facts about 'stuff' as her father so plainly put it. Sure, she knew where babies came from, but it was that other part. The part where people have to fall in love before they do the "stuff" to make babies.

"I know what I'll do," she said out loud to herself. "I'll find my mother, and maybe she could tell me about stuff! But where am I going to find her? How am I going to find my answers about love?" Rini looked at the flower between her hands and closed her eyes.

"I wish someone could show me the answers to my questions, because there are so many things I want to know!"

Somewhere, not far off and invisible right now to human eyes, a sprit heard this wish. With a mischievous grin he whispered out loud, "Granted," and he disappeared into the afternoon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So? What do you think? Reviews would be welcome!

=P Thanks for reading this far!