"Killing My Soul"
By Pixie
Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or any of it's characters…
Pixie: Ok, I know I told you this chapter would be out long ago, but, I have been so sick, you wouldn't believe. By the way, I no longer have the screen name PixieCat035. Now, if you want to IM me, or be instantly notified of updates, it's PixieCat0035. Note the difference. And I love talking to people, so if you're ever bored, or think my writing is brilliant/horrible/needs_your_great_ideas, let me know ok?
Chapter 10
Pan's POV
Bra gently brushed my hair for what felt like the 1000th time. Tonight, Queen Bulma had decided would be the night for the great ball in honor of Trunks and I. It was to be a masquerade, no one would know each other's identities. Bra's slender finger's continued to shape and mold my hair as I sat in silence, thinking of the night that lay ahead. Marron applied some shimmery eye shadow, and strawberry lipstick. I looked at the unfamiliar beauty goddess in the mirror, her black eyes shimmering softly, and endlessly dark and deep, her hair, curled in all the right places, and piled elegantly on her head. Perfectly manicured nails smoothed out a periwinkle dress of glitter that revealed curves she didn't know she had. Was that goddess in the mirror really myself? I looked over at Bra, her hair in soft blue curls caressing her shoulders, pulled back on one side with a dark read flower, matching her long, slightly low-cut dress. Marron finished applying her lipstick then glanced over at me, her stunning blond hair shining in soft waves that fell loosely around her face. Her dress was a soft violet, almost matching Trunks' hair color. Marron's make-up was expertly done, a light angel's kiss of blush on her cheeks, a flutter of silver intensified the blue of her eyes, and soft pink lips curled into a smile. We looked into our mirror's face one more time, then we each put on a mask, cloaking our identities in secrecy. The dance was about to begin.
Bra's POV
I stepped onto the dance floor, watching unfamiliar faces whirl by in a confused music. The world I knew became lost in the fantasy of music and dance. Did a prince hide behind one of these masks, or was it merely my imagination? I gazed around me, noticing Pan and Marron lost in the same wonder I was. I spotted Trunks, standing off in the corner, aloof, and scowling. His tail flickered behind him, showing off his annoyance. I silently pointed him out to Pan. I could see the fear behind her mask, but I found the courage to smile anyway. I wished her good luck, and she turned slowly, and started off towards Trunks, her body moving slowly in rhythm to the music around us. She disappeared in the crowd, and I would not see her until the end of the dance.
I could feel Marron's sapphire eyes staring at me, and I turned to face her. "I'm going to go off. See what I can find out, meet some of the people here, you know, stuff like that." Her raspberry lips parted into a smile and she too faded off into the crowd, leaving me feeling profoundly alone. I wrapped my tail around my waist and began to walk away from the crowd and the music. I jumped up suddenly, when a hand brushed my arm. I turned and saw a young man in armor and a black mask facing me. By the way he was dressed, I figured he was one of the guards here. His hair fell in somewhat messy dark spikes, and he didn't look that strong. But then again, my father never looked very strong either.
"Who are you? You smell nice…like the berries my mom used to put in my dessert," he asked. I stared at him. I had no idea what to make of this strange Saiyan.
"You…You're not supposed to tell your identities…" I said lamely. Even the mask could not hide his bewilderment.
"Why not? Do you cook as nice as you smell?" I blinked. What a one-track mind. Most Saiyans thought only of fighting, food, and woman. I had met plenty who only thought of woman, and plenty who only thought of fighting, but never have I met one who only thought of food. I smiled, amused by his charm.
"You have to tell me your name so I can cook for you," I said trying to be sly, but knowing he'd never fall for it. You'd have to be pretty dumb to fall for-
"My name is Go….er wait a sec! My name is Raditz." He put his hand on the back of his head, and laughed out loud. I frowned. Why on Earth had he told me his name, and why did he not seem to know it? Suddenly I remembered! This was the guy my mother had called Go-something, but everyone else had called him Raditz. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at him. Sure, he was cute, and he was charming, but that did not mean I could trust him.
"Your name isn't Raditz. It's Go-something…I heard my mother call you it too." He took a step back, and stared at me.
"Princess Bra?" He sighed, "You're right. I'm Goten, son of Kakkarott. I'm Pan's uncle, and I'm here to keep and eye on her. And it's a good thing I'm here. To make a long story short, Trunks wants to kill Pan. Tonight he was supposed to hire an assassin. But you can't tell anyone." He took off his mask, and eyes so much like Pan's stared out and grabbed me. I tried to find the strength inside of me, but the shock of everything drained me of everything inside. I glanced up at him. A minute ago, he had been laughing, and now his face held such a grim expression that I knew, must match my own. He slipped his mask back on, and moved my arms so they were wrapped around him, and he put his arms around me.
"We're attracting too much attention. Look natural." And with that, we began to dance.
Marron's POV
Not seeing Bra or Pan around, I sat delicately in a chair, not wanting abandon those two, I began to wait the night out. Years of lessons drilled in to my mind came into play. Sit up straight, look delicate, refined. I crossed my legs and placed my hands upon them, not moving them, except to occasionally flip my hair. There's a great sensation in knowing you look beautiful. I saw the way men stared at me, and that made me feel pretty. Some people think it's shallow to want to look pretty all the time, but someone who can make you feel pretty inside and out, feeling that way is not shallow at all. But for as beautiful and charming as I had a reputation for being, I was only asked by one man to dance that night. But I didn't care, because he made me feel so beautiful.
"You're just sitting here. Why do all the men avoid you? You are very beautiful." I turned and saw a man sitting there. His disguise was very good, even I didn't know his identity. But there was something so familiar about sitting next to him. "You must be like a rare ad beautiful flower, no one wants to pick you, in fear that you are too beautiful. But I am a brave man and I choose to pick you little flower." It was so funny, how practiced his speech sounded, as if years off work had been made into those few words. Through any other mouth, the words would have sounded corny ad dumb; I probably would have laughed in the man's face. But the way he said it, whispering softly in my ear, it made the words sound as elegant and refined as I was feeling. He took my hand, and we danced together, falling into each other's arms as though we had been there all of our lives. The eerie feeling of déjà vu crept up my spine again, but I ignored it. The night passed on, but I stayed with my mystery man throughout the whole night. I had come her to find some info on Pan, and her fate. I had come her to find out the history of her family, their triumphs, and their mistakes. Instead, I had spent the night dancing with a mystery man. Was I a horrible person? The final song ended with a close, and the man started to sneak away.
"Wait!" I rushed over to him, accidentally knocking off my mask in the process. I fluttered over to him, grabbing his arm to prevent him from leaving. "You have to tell me who you are." I stared up at him, caught up in the moment of breathless wonder.
"I think you already know who I am Marron." It was true, I had known all along, but had doubted in myself. I nodded, and looked up locking my eyes with his. He smiled softly, and leaned in close. Ubuu then removed his mask, kissed me once, and for the second time, vanished from my life.
Pan's POV
Nervousness filled up my body as I glanced around the room. I was so nervous about meeting Trunks. Though we wouldn't be alone, it sure felt that way to me. I took a deep breath, taking in the world around me. Trunks was casually leaning against the wall, his tail swinging behind him, back and forth. His armor was the most superior in the room, second only to the King's. I felt the eyes of other people watching me as I walked up to Trunks. A young redheaded Saiyan was talking to him, in a flirty way, and my heart lifted to see Trunks completely ignore her. He turned his blue eyes to me, and walked away from the redhead, who glared at me, then stormed off. The inside of me trembled, shaking my nerves up like a bracelet of charms, and I could swear Trunks smelled the fear over the soft rose perfume I was wearing. I watched Trunks with an intense curiosity as I saw an inner battle rage behind his eyes. His princely duties demanded he dance with me, but his personal feelings wanted him to run away. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of internal torment for the two of us, Trunks surrendered his hand to me, like a general defeated in battle. I placed my hand on his, surprised by warm and soft his hand was. I had expected it to be cold and rough, the way I figured his heart was. But on the outside, Trunks wasn't as cold and heartless as the inside of him was. The way he held me, the gentle way his arms slid around me, the way he glided around the dance floor with me, everything was so gentle, and peaceful. If it weren't for the coldness in his eyes, I could of sworn to all of the gods I know of, that this wasn't Trunks.
Boldness that would have made Bra proud came up inside of me. "Trunks," I asked, soft enough that only he could her, but loud enough to be heard over the music. He glanced down at me, a puzzled look on his face. I guessed that to be an invitation to continue, "Why do you hate me so much Trunks?" My heart pounded in my chest loud enough I could hardly hear the music.
"You were an insult to my pride Pan. A woman stronger than me. It hurt me inside. But…I could have dealt with that. I could have learned from your strengths and we could have been wonderful together. Yes, I could have dealt with that. But Pan, you are very young, so you may not understand all of this. My heart was too broken to love anyone else. Including you, Pan." I felt very young indeed, and naïve as well, listening to him talk I such ways. In a way, I felt better, knowing there was a reason behind his hatred for me, but I felt worse thinking of what those reasons were. The final song ended, and Trunks looked a surprised as I felt. Had the two of us really just spent the whole night dancing together? We pulled away from each other quickly, like young lovers caught kissing by their parents. Whispering a quick good-bye, I hurried off to find Bra and Marron. But what was strange was, my heart was pounding from fear earlier. And now, even though I have nothing to fear with Trunks gone, it continues to pound with a fierce intensity. But something this time, something is different.
Pixie: Sage! Quite complaining. We're pretending to be on a date here.
Sage: I'm sorry Pixie, but I know for a fact you've been sick recently, and I don't want to catch what you've got.
Pixie: Gohan is spying on us. At least TRY and look like you're being funny, romantic, and charming. Not that you're any of those things…
Sage: Very funny….
Gohan: Trunks he just smiled! What on Earth is he smiling about?
Trunks: Can I have my binoculars back?
Gohan: Give me 15 more minutes, ad I'll buy you another ice cream…
FYI: This is the longest chapter I've ever typed for a story! Yea me!