Disclaimer: Dragonball/Z/GT belong to Akira Toriyama. I am using the characters without permission and am making no money from this piece of amateur fiction.

Author's Notes: This thing is so fun to write. Like my other fic Tomorrow Never Knows I originally planned on getting this thing done in just a couple of chapters but now it looks like it's going to be around for a while. I just keep getting more and more ideas.

Also I've recently gone through some of my old fics that I never bothered to post and after reading most of what I've done so far I'm forced to cringe. One or two might be deemed salvageable though. If I decide to revise and finish them you're going to have to wait to read them because I want to finish either this or Tomorrow Never Knows by then. At least that's the plan.

aqua-illusion-Thanks so much for reading my fic! You're the first reviewer! As to who is Marron going to end up with…well… *walks away whistling to herself*

Shadow Phenix-*hands the Chibi Frieza a snow cone* Out of all the characters I seem to be supporting at the moment he is probably the most polite. Should that worry me?

The next chapter is out so you can put away the bat now. *holding a black and blue flame painted hockey stick behind her back* I'm looking forward to the next chapter of Simply Irresistible. Just so you know I decided against the pitchfork.

Marron's Tale

Raidne the Silent Siren

Chapter 2

Marron dropped her books on her bed as she released a tired puff of air. She brushed some blonde hair that had escaped her ponytail back with her fingers as she straightened from dropping the load of books. She stretched and heard more than one or two pops and cracks. 'Damn that feels good,' she thought as she relaxed.

She rocked her head back and forth on her neck as she walked over to her desk. She bent enough at the waist to turn on the power and went downstairs to get a soda while the computer booted up. Now that she seemed to have an idea for her story her writer's block seemed to have completely broken. Between classes she had scribbled notes to herself of any ideas she had gotten while she was supposed to have been taking notes on the lectures.

When Marron came back with a cold root beer in hand the computer was ready and waiting. The pile of books and homework were still there. She tried not to think of those just yet. She wouldn't really be able to concentrate on them anyway if she were still mentally working on her story.

Sitting down in the chair in front of her computer she set down her drink and pulled up what she had typed so far. Hmm. She liked what she had but she needed to get back to her heroine before the entire thing became about the sibling rivalry of the royal family.

…..

Marron was in the kitchen when she thought she heard the approach of horses. She stayed where she was. It was most likely some acquaintance of Chichi's and her stepmother made a habit of letting all of her so called friends know that Marron was 'not hers' and 'just another servant'. Chichi would get the door and most likely complain after they left about her rude manners. The lady of the house should never have to answer her own door after all. 'Technically I'm the lady of the house and not that bitch.' Her eyes narrowed dangerously on the potato she was peeling.

The steady knocking of someone at the door echoed throughout the house. It continued as the door remained unanswered.

"Cindermarron," a voice from upstairs came down the stairs in a singsong manner, "Mother says to get the door!"

Marron frowned to herself as she wiped her hands clean on her apron. She wore the uniform of a servant: plain brown dress that lacked any form of decoration except an apron. She also wore a kerchief on her head to keep hair out of her face while she worked.

She went through the halls and glared at the door that she was approaching. If she had to deal with one more of Chichi's friends looking down their hooked inbred noses at her one more time…well it certainly wouldn't be pretty. She'd most likely have to clean up after it though.

When she reached the door she took a moment to calm herself so she wouldn't be giving the look of a thousand deaths to whoever happened to be on the other side. Marron opened the door and looked inquiringly at the man on the other side. He was youngish with long blond hair and blue eyes. He wore the uniform of a royal messenger. She raised an eyebrow in surprise. 'What would a royal messenger be doing here?' Chichi and Pan were nobility but they weren't that high up!

The man looked at her in distaste. She already didn't like him. Too bad for him since she was standing between him and getting in the house.

"I'm here on behalf of the king and would like to speak with the head of the household," he said in a haughty tone. He had pulled himself up to his full height and must have been trying to intimidate her in some way but she wasn't buying it. He may work for royalty but he wasn't that much higher than the average servant.

"I'll fetch them then," she said politely. He made a move to enter but she closed the door in his face. If she got in trouble she could always claim she didn't recognize the uniform. People tended to underestimate the intelligence of the average servant.

She walked up the stairs, not bothering to hurry her step, and tried to decide if she should go to the office at the end of the hall or go to the bedroom where she knew Chichi was. If she went to the office she could make that snob wait a while longer but if she did that he would most likely start getting in the mood to complain and that would just make things worse for her. Marron knocked on the bedroom door.

"Enter."

Marron walked in and took in the scene in front of her. Chichi had Pan walking across the floor while trying to balance a book on her head. She tried to fight back a chuckle at the intense expression of concentration on the girl's face. The heavy thud of the book on the wooden floor covered up any sounds that Marron could have made. Chichi looked exasperated.

"What is it?" Chichi asked sounding tired.

"There's a messenger at the door," Marron answered, leaving out the rest of his title just in case she was going to have to feign ignorance.

"What does he want?"

"He wouldn't say. He just said that he wanted to speak with the head of the household." Marron watched Pan pick up the book and set on the table quietly, apparently hoping that her mother had forgotten about her.

"All right." Chichi waved both of them out of the room as she left.

Marron led them back down to the entry hall and opened the door once more for the messenger. She watched Chichi's surprise at the sight of the uniform before it was immediately covered up and the flash of annoyance in the messenger's eyes as he saw Marron again. He quickly turned to Chichi and Pan and turned on the charm.

He made a sweeping bow to the ground and said in a practiced voice, "Messenger Sharpner at your service. I am here to deliver a message to every noble family and announce that the Prince will be throwing a ball. At the ball he will pick a bride among the prospective ladies." He threw a wink in Pan's direction, "I can see that the other girls will have their work cut out for them." Pan started at the flirting but didn't blush, as he must have expected if the drop in his smile was any indication.

"A bride?!" Chichi exclaimed in surprise. Her eyebrows had soared up to her hairline. She immediately recovered and took on a determined look. "When?"

"The night after next madam," Sharpner said with a flirtatious smile that was once again ignored. He was beginning to look offended.

"Isn't that a little soon?" Marron blurted out in surprise. She was glared back into silence by Chichi and Sharpner.

"Two days doesn't leave us much time," Chichi said as she glared at Sharpner as though this was his fault.

He faltered under her glare and cleared his throat. Obviously this wasn't going the way he had expected it to. "The king set the date milady." He began to slowly edge towards the door. Any fool could see that Chichi was ready to blow. Marron had already eased herself into the background. If Chichi said anything particularly rude about the king it would be viewed as treason and she didn't want it to appear that she was involved when Sharpner squealed. He struck her as a brown noser so he most likely would.

Chichi must have had more control over her temper than she normally did because she had the presence of mind to dismiss Sharpner before she exploded. Sharpner scurried out of the mansion quickly. He was lucky.

"The king obviously has no idea how much work it takes to get ready for a ball under normal circumstances! Pan get upstairs now! We have work to do!" Pan ran back up to her bedroom to start searching for a dress. Chichi was muttering choice words about the king as she left after her daughter. Marron stayed out of sight until they were gone. She didn't want to get roped into helping.

When she was sure she wasn't about to be called upstairs to help Pan into her corset she started back into the kitchen to finish dinner. A knock on the door stopped her immediately. She frowned and went back to the door. What now? Opening the door she saw the Sharpner. He didn't look pleased to be knocking on their door again.

Marron just looked at him and waited for him to state his business.

He cleared his throat for a moment before speaking. "I forgot to give this to the mistress of the house." He handed her an envelope and turned to leave.

Marron closed the door and turned the envelope over in her hands. There wasn't anything written on the outside and she turned the flawless envelope over to open it. Inside was the invitation to the ball. She ran her fingers over the raised gold letters as she read them. It said as much as the messenger had told them already. There was to be a ball to help the prince decide on his future wife and went on to name the time and place. It also said that all single women of the noble families were invited. Marron raised an eyebrow in thought. Technically this applied to her also. Her father had been a noble and she was the last of his line. It wasn't her fault that her stepmother was a bitch.

She sat the invitation on the table next to the door for Chichi to find when she came back down. She went back to the kitchen thinking over this new piece of information.

The next night Marron lay in front of the wood stove in what constituted as her room. Chichi had been on the warpath while trying to get Pan ready for the ball. She was determined to be the mother of the future queen. Marron kept her doubts to herself.

That day they had gone into town to search for a dress for Pan and had barely avoided death by corset to get it. It seemed like every single woman in the country had descended onto the shops and booths at the same time to find the perfect dress or adornment. For once Marron had been glad to be considered no more than a servant for it saved her from having to join in the melee. The mothers had been worse than most of the girls. She was embarrassed on some of the girls' behalves when she had seen Chichi fighting off two other mothers for a jeweled hairpiece.

In Marron's mind Pan didn't stand a chance of winning over the prince but if she were lucky maybe she could snag one of the young nobles that would be there. There probably would be some young men there that had gone to try and defend the honor of their nieces, sisters, or cousins if they were needed. Marron was hoping that Pan would meet someone while she was there. She was already looking forward to the ball as a way of getting the manor to herself for a night so she wouldn't have to clean up after anyone. If Pan got married off it would be like an extended vacation.

She brushed back some of her blonde hair and curled up closer to the warmth that the stove gave off. She was no longer entertaining thoughts of crashing the ball. There was no way she would be able to manage it. First she didn't have a thing to wear. She couldn't take any of Pan's things because none of them would fit and she didn't have the time to make alterations. She also didn't have the money needed to buy something new or even used. She also had no way of getting there. If she tried walking by the time she got there it would have been over and the new queen would already be on her throne. That was also assuming she wasn't attacked on the way there.

'What would I do at a ball anyway?' she asked herself as she pulled her arms up and under her head. She had no designs on the throne and wasn't looking for a husband. It would have been nice though to get out of the house though and for reasons that had nothing to do with running errands. Plus she feared that Chichi's…uh…abrasive personality would scare off potential husbands for Pan. If she was there she could steer men in Pan's direction when her mother wasn't looking. Had she mentioned how much she wanted them out of the house?

She closed her eyes and tried not to let her mind dwell on things for too long. She needed her sleep and it promised to be another hectic day when the sun rose in the morning.

…Marron sat back from her computer and stretched her arms out and over her head. She reached down to save what she had added as she considered proofreading what was already done. A slight turn of her head brought her pile of books and homework back to her attention. She would have to proofread and start editing later. After she closed the writing program she got up and threw away the empty soda can. Her stomach growled. That made sense she had been working for a few hours. She glanced at the pile of work on her bed and for a moment could have sworn that it had grown since the last time she had looked at it. Her stomach growled again. She'd get a quick snack before doing her homework. With that she went downstairs.