Hello! All right, this is going to be my first Dragon Ball fanfic that ISN'T a oneshot!

Reviews are appreciated!

"I can't just get angry when the world doesn't go my way. There's no need for that."

-Kyuhyun, Song: Mr. Simple

Ten long years had passed, and still Pan Son hadn't seen her father, Goku. Her mother, Chi-Chi took care of her well, of course, but still, it wasn't quite the same without her father. Pan didn't have many memories regarding Goku, of course, as she had been nine when she'd last seen him, but she could remember feeling happy and at peace with her father around.

However, Goku was a busy man, as he had been forced to leave their home by orders of the king. Living on Planet Vegeta without him was hard for Chi-Chi; Pan was very aware of that. Trying to take care of three kids without him was like a full-time job for their mother, and Pan respected Chi-Chi a lot for all the hard work the woman did. Gohan, being the eldest by being eight years older than Pan, already had a job of his own, working as a respectable captain in King Vegeta's army. Most of their income came from his efforts; Goten worked as Gohan's first lieutenant, which also added to the income.

Pan sighed. Meanwhile, she wasn't allowed to have a job. At least, that's what the three adults always told her. Goten was only three years older than her, but he sometimes had a habit of being too overprotective of her, much like Gohan.

"You don't need to get a job, sis."

"It's not wise, since you're such a pretty girl. Men would try to take advantage of your kindness."

"But I know how to fight!" she would always proclaim.

Despite having learned martial arts, though, Gohan and Goten never fully trusted their sister to be on her own devices. Instead, they told her that her job was to watch after their mother while they were away.

As if that was an actual job!

But Pan wanted to help with the money. Sure, they got off well; thanks to her older brother's efforts, they were a middle-class family. But she wanted to help out, too. She knew how hard all of her family members worked, and she wanted to help pitch in. Heck, even Goku was helping, despite his absence. He was off on the front lines, and although there was no actual war yet, he was told to remain there until further instructions were received.

It made Pan so angry, knowing that King Vegeta purposefully put the most powerful Saiyans out in danger like that. Chi-Chi never told Pan much about how strong her father was, but over the years Pan had come to suspect that King Vegeta had merely put Goku out there in battle out of fear, to make sure that no one too strong was nearby.

She sighed, resting her head against the leather seats that the carriage provided, headed on her way towards the palace. Someday she would get to meet Goku, but in the meantime she was going to have to find a way to work.

Her brothers and mother didn't want her to be in danger nor be around many males, so Pan had taken that into consideration when she had originally been searching for a job. When she'd heard about an opening at King Vegeta's palace, she couldn't believe her luck; this was exactly what she wanted.

From here on out—she automatically assumed that she would get the job—she would be working as a palace servant. She would start to live there, for a while, though she planned on visiting her mother often. Her goal was to raise at least $7,000. If her calculations were right, she would have to work at the palace for only three to five months, depending on what all they had her do. Even though her family had assured her countless of times that they didn't need the money, Pan knew that it'd probably be good if they had a little extra. Chi-Chi herself wasn't a full blooded Saiyan; she was human, and so Pan knew that they would have to take some precautions. It wasn't uncommon for a half-saiyan these days—even King Vegeta's own children, Prince Trunks and Princess Bulla, were half-bloods—so Pan knew that it wouldn't be too bad if her interrogators asked her if she was a half-blood herself.

In all honesty, the only thing Pan didn't look forward to was being around the royal family. Although she'd heard that King Vegeta was strict and fair, and Queen Bulma extremely kind and caring, she had heard that Prince Trunks was extremely violent and arrogant, and she did not want to be around someone like that. Princess Bulla, on the other hand, was well-known for being the exact opposite of her elder brother, so Pan hoped she'd meet her.

"We're here," the carriage driver said, coming to a gentle stop in front of the palace.

For the first time, Pan felt nervous as she looked out the window. Giving a nice tip to the kind man that had driven her all this way, she made her way towards the castle, coming to a stop when she reached a guard that was blocking the entryway.

"State your name and business, ma'am," the guard said.

"My name is Pan Son, and I was here to try for a servant job."

The guard eyed her for a moment. Deciding that she was telling the truth, he stepped to the side. "Your power level is low enough, so go on in. As soon as you reach the Greeting Room, take a left and go straight down that hallway. You'll meet a woman, the Head Maid, named Julie. She will interrogate you for the job properly."

Pan smiled sweetly on the outside, sincerely grateful for his detailed instructions. She felt sort of bad that she had lowered her Ki levels purposefully, but she knew that it was necessary for her getting the job. "Thank you for your help," she said, beaming. The guard seemed flustered and assured her it was no trouble at all, and she headed on inside.

The Greeting Room, as the guard had dubbed it, was spectacular. The roof was easily two stories higher than her house. Oil paintings which must have cost a pretty penny lined up the walls on every side; a large window was directly in front of her, with silky curtains swept aside to allow the sunlight to come in, as it was early noon at this point.

Knowing that she should keep moving, Pan followed the guard's directions and went down the left hallway, which was also decorated with many paintings, only this time the paintings were of people that were warriors. A few faces she recognized from her history books.

A woman was sitting down on a comfortable looking loveseat, reading through a book that she seemed thoroughly engrossed in. Only when Pan's shadow blocked her light did the woman look up.

"Oh! Finally, someone is applying for the job…you are applying, right?" she added hesitantly.

"That's what I came here for," said Pan, eyeing the woman oddly before she gave a polite smile. "Are you Julie?"

The Head Maid nodded her head jollily. "That's correct, young lady! What's your name?"

"My name is Pan," Pan said, still smiling. "What all do you need to know? I have no references, as I've never had a job before, but I work really hard—"

"—and that's more than enough for me to know," the woman interrupted, beaming at Pan. "Not many people are willing to be servants; so far you're the first one to apply today. We've only had five people come in trying to get the job. Everyone is so intimidated by being so close to the royal family, you see."

Pan nodded her head. If it weren't for the fact that she wanted extra money, she, too, wouldn't want to be in the same area as Prince Trunks. Though she normally didn't believe rumors about people, Gohan had absolutely forbade Pan from ever going near Trunks. "I've met him, Pan, and let me tell you: Prince Trunks is cold and hateful. He gets angry from the simplest of things, and he won't hesitate to harm a woman. If he should ever come to visit the city, make sure he doesn't see you." Her elder brother had been absolutely shocked earlier that day when Pan had innocently asked what their future ruler was like; afterwards, she never spoke of Prince Trunks again in front of either of her brothers.

Inwardly glad that she had written a letter for her mother, assuring Chi-Chi of her whereabouts, Pan listened half-heartedly to what the older woman was saying. Gohan would be furious when he found out, but it would be just odd if he stormed into the castle and demanded for his younger sibling. Surely he had more tact than that. Also, Goten would probably be angry with her, too, though Pan knew that he could never hold a grudge against her for too long. She hoped that Chi-Chi would follow her letter's instructions and not tell her brothers of her new job. Her older brothers wouldn't return for a visit for at least two months, so in the meantime Pan didn't have much to worry about.

After a while, Julie gave Pan a tour of the castle. Pan tried to commit the hallways to her memory, but the castle was practically a labyrinth, and she knew that if she didn't have someone with her for the first few days she would get lost often. As if reading her mind, Julie said, "There's another servant here, a few years older than you, and she will be your guide for a while. I'm sure you and Emma will get along swimmingly."

"That's good to know," Pan said, rubbing the back of her neck with an impish grin. "I'm afraid I might get lost."

"It happens to the best of us," Julie said good-naturedly, a booming laugh escaping from her lips, and Pan couldn't help but join in.

Perhaps she would end up liking her job more than she thought.

To be continued…

And this concludes the first chapter!