A great big thanks to both Akira Gown and Deidra!
This fic was acting up, the word count said it was something like 21000, but the last two chapters only consisted of 11817 words, I think it's pretty long for two chapters, but not THAT long … anyway, that's why I must thank Akira Gown & Deidra, for helping me fix the problem.
Now, it's only a friendly relationship between Trunks and Pan ... but you all know that that's not going to last . . . too long, eh? ^~
I am not eating a pickle right now, actually, I for once am not eating anything!
Chapter 2: Of Unexpected Expectations
Ever seen a beautiful sunset? Or been in a meadow full of blooming flowers? Or just sat down somewhere listening to the peaceful singing of birds, the croaking of frogs, the hooting of owls, or the call of the nature? Ever stood in front of a furious waterfall, splashing into a crystal clear lake? Ever seen a whole lake of vibrant lily pads, every single one glittering and wet with the drops of water a little frog might have caused by jumping on them? Ever walked down a deserted beach holding hands with a loved one? Or been into outer space gazing at the countless constellations? Or been walking in a forest admiring every single creature that has ever come into existence?
Well, basically, this was what Prince Trunks was feeling right at the moment, except he was a prince, a prince who had to attend daily meetings on how to manage a whole country, a prince who had to live with people constantly trying to assassinate him. A prince who always had a horde of girls begging for him to notice her. A prince who had to attend wars and direct the entire military force. A prince who had to make decisions that would not only affect his life, but the lives of everyone in the country.
Being so used to being in control of everything and everyone, and always having the weight of an entire kingdom resting on his shoulders, it was rare for him to have even a single moment of peace, and it was even rarer for him to actually enjoy it.
Trunks had seen quite a few splendid sights in his life, and this was one of them.
The so-called secret garden was not what he had expected, he expected a garden with blooming flowers, bunny rabbits with abnormally large heads and small bodies, and a pink sky, fluffy clouds with unicorns prancing about.-
At least, that what he expected of a girl's secret garden.
But then again, Pan was not the average girl, and he knew that, so perhaps he was expecting an unexpected garden, which was also expected, because, Pan was already unexpected, but if it was already expected, how could the garden be unexpected?
And did he actually expect to understand what he was thinking?
So, as Trunks' mind tittered away about whether the garden was expected or unexpected, Pan asked in her impatient way, "What do you think?"
Trunks fumbled for an answer, "It's a very unexpected garden from an unexpected girl, which would also be expected, since two negatives expectantly make a positive, but it wasn't expected, and yet it also was, in an unexpected way. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Pan shook her head, "I do not expect I do, and I expect that you probably didn't expect that I understood either, then we both expected that our understanding was unexpected, which means that we expected to be unexpected, thus, making our unexpected expectations to be expectedly unexpected."
Trunks frowned, running a hand through his hair, "I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about."
"Me neither."
They both paused for a second before bursting with laughter. Trunks' was his prince-like laugh with the slightest implement that his brain hurt from all the unexpected expectations, and Pan's was of her genuine laugh that just expressed her happiness with no implement whatsoever.
Once they have stopped laughing, which took a while, to tell you the truth, Trunks took a second look at the unexpectedly expected garden, which was more beautiful then he'd first seen it, since the sun was setting and a beautiful magenta colour mixed with the rich blue colour, thus making a shade of unexpected gorgeousness.
How does one describe paradise? How did Trunks expect to describe the garden? Words could not express what he had seen.
The garden lay on the north face of the castle, hidden by the mountainous regions around the western and eastern edges, above the hillside, sivery spindle-grass threaded up through the pavement. The dirt paths, of which looked like grains of gold from the luxurious sun rays, had snaked sinewy creepers, their long, twining tendrils dotted by wine-scented blossoms with petals of gold. All trees of which he had never seen before surrounded the garden, each with a different fruit, the ground was off a beautiful jade green grass, with the tiniest wildflowers growing here and there. The garden slowly curved up, thus forming a cliff, and beyond the cliff, was all of the Son Kingdom, with all it's beauties and splendors, the rushing water indicated that they were not on top of a waterfall, but behind it, thus making the secret garden hidden. And when one looked through it, the splashing water seemed to inflict a magnificent rainbow towards them.
An oval shaped lake filled with not blue water, but a water that seemed golden from the setting sun's rays with the slightest of ripples brushing from the edges was in the middle of the garden.
But the most wonderful of all, was not in the garden, but above it, the sky seemed surprisingly clear and the rich, colours seemed to add sparkle to the garden. Trunks the eagle soar triumphantly overhead, and the cricking of the crickets just seemed to make everything even calmer.
Pan interrupted Trunks' thoughts by leading him to the very top of the cliff, and indicated for Trunks to look down, and he smiled as he looked at the villages and the streams and the mountains and all the wonderful sights below.
He felt like he was on top of the world.
Yet, he should have always felt that way, whether if he was leading the army, running his soon-to-be country, or just been a prince.
But when he was doing those things, he received his pleasure from having power, taking charge over others' lives, knowing that at the blink of an eye, he can destroy an entire village.
But at the moment, as he was starting right there, on top of the cliff, looking down at the world, his mind didn't switch to him taking charge of others, he was glad that he could see the world in such a way that others couldn't, he felt fortunate to be there, at the moment.
So instead of feeling that the world owed him for being there, he was thanking the world for a glimpse of the beautiful scenery.
"So, I take it that you like it?" Asked Pan, looking up at him with those large, innocent yet mischievous eyes of hers.
"I take it that I do." Answered Trunks, smiling at her, and not a smile that of a prince's, but of a friend's.
"So, this is where you will meet me tonight at exactly one hour from midnight." Pan nodded.
"How will I get here?" Asked Trunks, unsure that he wanted to find all those keys.
Pan bit the edge of her lip and thought out loud, "Gee . . . well, maybe you should meet me in my balcony after all, then we can both come here at the same time."
"That makes sense." Trunks took one last glimpse at the
spectacle below him before turning around, "But I have one question."
"Shoot."
"Pardon me?"
Pan sighed and shook her head, "Never mind, go ahead and ask."
"If this is your secret garden, and you haven't shown any of your sisters or parents, why are you showing me all this?" Trunks wanted to know.
Pan sighed once more and tapped him on the shoulder, "Well, duh! Because you're my friend!"
"I see." Said Trunks, "But aren't your sisters your friends?"
Pan turned around, rewrapping her stole around her neck, "No, they're not, they're just my sisters, and I've never had a friend within the palace before, the royals are all snobby, and the servants are always too afraid of doing anything wrong. Although I do have my friends in the village, they are not here when I need them, they cannot be here, and I can't even be seen with them. So, I dunno, it's just, you're my brother-to-be, and I've never had a brother before ... so ..." She trailed off, fidgeting with her stole.
"You tried making friends with servants?" Trunks smirked, "They must have been frightened."
Pan grinned, "They were, they thought that they were doing something wrong and I was going to punish them."
"Which was probably unexpectedly expected of you."
Pan punched him on the shoulder, "Don't get that started again!"
Trunks placed a hand on his shoulder, "That wasn't too ladylike of you, you realize. But then again, you are not really a lady yet."
"Oh" A murderous smirk appeared on Pan's lips, "Since I'm not a lady, I guess I am qualified to do ... this!"
She pushed Trunks backwards, not too much, but just enough for him to lose his balance at fall headfirst into the lake, causing a huge wave to splash towards Pan, who was completely drenched, "Look what you did!" She screeched, holding up her cape, which was soaking wet.
"I am very sorry." Trunks spat out some water and glared at the complaining girl, "I did not know that you were going to push me into a lake."
"You better be sorry!" Wailed Pan, "You should've been on your guard or something, now look at my cape!"
Trunks muttered to himself as he smoothened out his wet hair, "You are the only one that has ever dared to push me into a lake . . . twice!"
Pan snatched off her cape, "Oh, what's the point! It's ruined!"
"My hair, you mean!" Trunks yelled.
"My cape is more important than your hair any day!" Pan screamed back.
"If this is what friends are like, I think I would rather not have any." Sighed Trunks as he climbed out of the lake.
"But wasn't that unexpectedly expected of me?" Asked Pan while giggling at her own question.
"Shut up."
"Oooo, touchy prince."
~*~
"And where, may I ask, were you?" Gohan's voice was directed at Pan, but his eyes were fixed on Trunks.
"I was just showing him around." Shrugged Pan casually, "Just so he didn't get lost."
It wasn't a total lie, she showed him around, just not within the palace. But then again, maybe the secret garden was actually a part of the palace.
"Was it raining outside?" Asked Gohan, one eyebrow arched as he sat in his golden chair attending some paperwork.
"No, of course not." Pan replied without thinking, "Why would you think that?"
"Your hair."
Trunks swore that Gohan was glaring at him, but he couldn't be sure, after all, it was Pan who had pushed him in the lake, but the looks that the king was giving him were making him nervous.
"I um . . . took a bath?" Suggested Pan meekly.
"Oh, really? And did Prince Trunks take a bath too?" Gohan demanded rather than asked.
"You mean, with me?" Pan asked, not quite sure what her father meant.
Trunks gulped, did she really want
him killed? Was she so naïve that she couldn't see the daggers that King Gohan
was throwing at him?
"Heh
. . . heh . . . what a witty sense of humour you have, Pan." Laughed Trunks
weakly.
Gohan stood up from his seat and walked slowly towards the two of them, "Yes, Pan, hilarious."
Pan tilted her head, confused at why everyone was calling her witty, and hilarious, "But I didn't say anything funny . . . unless, you want a joke?"
"No, Pan, that's quite alright." Gohan shook his head, his arms folded across his chest.
"It's really funny!" Pan yelled happily, "Really! Okay . . . here it is! What goes black and white and black and white and black and white and black and white . . .?"
"Pan, I really don't think-" Gohan started but was cut off by his grinning daughter.
"A penguin rolling down a hill!"
Nobody except Pan laughed, and she began to talk again, "What is grey and has four legs and a trunk?"
"Pan, I am aware of the fact that you can tell a joke, but-" Once again, Gohan was cut off.
"A mouse going on vacation!" Pan screamed as she laughed furiously.
"Pan, stop it this instant!" Gohan yelled.
Unfortunately, the girl paid to attention to her father whatsoever, she raised a hand and giggled, "Oooh! Oooh! I got another one! What is hairy and coughs?"
This time, before Gohan even had a chance to say anything, Pan blurted out, "A coconut with a cold!"
Trunks silently questioned himself if coconuts could even have colds, but Pan quickly said again, " And I have doctor jokes also!" She cleared her throat and cried out, "Doctor, doctor! I've only got fifty-nine seconds to live."
"Wait a minute, please . . ." She howled with laughter at her own joke.
Gohan shook his head, "Pan, listen, I've paperwork to do, you can tell me your jokes another time."
"Doctor, doctor! I can't stop telling lies!" Pan, once again, ignored her father.
"I don't believe you!"
"Doctor, doctor! I feel like an apple!" She laughed.
"We must get to the core of this."
"Doctor, doctor! I feel like a sheep!" Pan seemed to not care about the two men staring at her strangely and continued on with her jokes, "That's baaaaaad!"
"Pan!" Gohan bellowed.
Pan stopped laughing and glanced up and her dad, "Er . . .yes?"
"I'd like to have a word with you." Gohan voice was dangerously deep, "Prince Trunks? Can you please excuse us?"
"Of course." Trunks shot a look at Pan and left, closing the door gently.
Pan looked back at her father and grinned sheepishly, "Would you like another doctor joke, dad?"
Gohan did not answer his daughter, instead, he walked closer to her and said sternly, "Pan, I will not have this behaviour with you, and especially in front of Prince Trunks, who is our guest."
Pan blinked a few times, not quite sure of what her father was talking about.
"It is good that you are friendly with Prince Trunks, but you must remember, he is here to visit Seiya, who he will marry." Gohan lectured.
"Aw, I know all that." Pan waved her hand impatiently, "Jeez, I was just trying to make him welcome, he is going to be my big brother, anyhow."
"Going to be." Gohan locked eyes with his daughter, "Does not mean that he is your brother at the moment, 'going to be', does not mean that you can do whatever you want in his presence, 'going to be', does not mean that you can include him in those experiments of yours, understand?"
Pan nodded, her eyes fixed on the marble floor that she was standing on.
Gohan placed a hand on her head, "I know that you desperately want a friend in the palace, but I think it would be more appropriate if you associated with people of your own age, Princess Margaret and Princess Anne are both within your age group, you may visit them when you wish."
"But, dad! They hate me! Really!" Pan moaned.
"They do not hate you." Gohan sighed exasperatedly, "Why is it that you cannot accept people? Why is it that you cannot let your guard down? Although your steel walls might be a good thing, you will never be a true lady the way you are acting now, take Seiya, she is beautiful, graceful and amiable, all the qualities of a true princess, why-"
"That's right, I can't accept people, I can't let my guard down, so what if I'm not a true lady?" Pan cried, "I don't care! All I know is that everyone hates me! Even you hate me!"
"Pan, I do not hate you." Gohan said softly, "I love you the way you are, for you will always be a daughter of mine, but all I'm trying to say is that it might be easier on yourself if you tried to make friends, you might be able to-"
"I have friends!" Pan yelled, "I have friends that are better than any royal! I don't need other friends!"
Gohan stared at his daughter
intensely, "Pan, those village boys are not your friends, they are third
class, you are a royal, they may be nice and friendly, but as far as I am
concerned, you are a royal, and royals cannot associate with commoners."
"Well, what if I don't want to be a royal? Was I given a choice? No!" Pan
glared at her father.
"I do not want to hear such things coming from you." Gohan all but yelled at his daughter, "As I have said many times before, it is not a matter of wanting, it is a matter of doing, and since you were born a royal, you will stay a royal, which also means that you will not be allowed off palace grounds from now on."
Pan opened her mouth to argue, but
her father shushed her by raising his hand, "You may also not see Prince
Trunks, unless it is a family affair, or if it is because of Seiya, he is
wishing to return to his country as quick as possible, and you must not hinder
him."
"Great! Just great! Go and ruin the one friend I had in this crummy place,
won't you? And while you're at it, why don't you paint my room white and pink,
and make me wear puffy skirts and turn your so-called daughter into some
snobby, stuck-up princess? Obviously, you don't care who I am, or what I am, or
about me at all!" Pan stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
Gohan sighed softly at the closed door, "I do care, and that's why I cannot bare it if something bad happened to you ..."
~*~
"Of course." Answered Trunks, his arms still folded across his chest, "I do agree."
The gentle raven-haired girl set down her cup of tea, "The political government of our countries are completely different, yet the way that both of our countries prosper the same way, through war and trade, although, I do not think that war is the solution to everything."
Trunks rolled his eyes, that was the thing with girls, can't bear to see a drop of blood, can't bear to see people dying, can't bear to see violence. That was also the reason why they could never survive on their own, their so-called kindness enfeebled their bodies and minds.
She trained? Trunks laughed mentally recalling Pan's comment on how her older sisters both use to train, he eyed Seiya again and wondered if she could stand up on her own, it doesn't look like she's got a single muscle on her body, sure, she may be thin and pretty, and that was most princes liked, but Trunks wasn't like most princes, and pale, skinny girls disgusted him, they were pretty to look at, but that was it. There is hardly any other use for them. He preferred girls that actually had an opinion of some sort, instead of sitting around all day, smiling and looking pretty.
Too bad that kind of girl didn't exist.
All he cared about was going home, once he gets married, he'll be able to take over the throne. Then he'll be in charge of everything and everyone. But, the strict king Gohan wasn't allowing him to take his princess with him until he had proven that he actually loved Seiya.
How was he going to do that? He never loved anyone in his life? Was he to pretend that he loved the princess? But how could he when he didn't know what he was supposed to pretend?
What is love, anyways?
Love was an emotion, he was sure of that, but what did it feel like? Was it warm? Was it cold? Was it tickly? Was it fluffy? He wasn't sure, and probably never will be sure, since love was for the weak …
He was anything but weak …
He was strong …
"Prince Trunks?" Seiya asked, since his mind had wandered off into space
"Oh, I am very sorry." Trunks snapped back to reality to face his fiancée, was there any way that he could fall in love with her? Could he bring himself to love her?
She was very pretty, and beauty was definitely a factor of love.
Or was it?
He shook his head, since he didn't want to think such confusing thoughts, all he wanted to know now, is how to get out of the so-called gathering that night.
But really, how could he marry her if Gohan had to make sure that he loved her? And how was he supposed to love her when he didn't know how? He'd gladly pretend, except he'd need to know what love was first.
He had a serious problem, and if he wanted to return to his country anytime soon, he'd need to ask someone about it.
He usually did not like running to others about his problems.
But this was quite serious, and thus, it brings up a new question, who could he ask?
Well, obviously none of his servants, they'd be frightened to know that their prince was asking them what love was.
He could ask the kind queen, Videl, he was pretty sure that she wouldn't mind telling him. But he didn't want her to tell Gohan that he had never loved before, what if he broke the engagement?
Maybe he could ask Pan? Although he seriously doubt that she, as a teen, would know. But it was worth a try, right? Since she was one of the few that actually were kind to him, and weren't afraid of him.
After all, she did threaten to squash him like a bug …
He shook his head once more and told himself that the situation wasn't that desperate yet, he'd take it easy, and see how it goes. As he looked at the smiling princess sitting across from him, he didn't think he felt any difference.
Maybe that'll change. He certainly hoped so, because he needed to return to his country soon.
And this time, he was to return … with a bride.
What goes black and white and black and white and black and white?
A little voice suddenly popped up in Trunks' head, and while he didn't understand the crude meaning of Pan's jokes before, somehow, his brain had managed to retrieve them for his cranium was swelling up at the thought of him having to love Seiya.
A penguin rolling down a hill, since penguins were black and white, and its body would twirl from the actions of rolling down the hill, it would be black and white and black and white …
Trunks snickered, it was such an ignorant joke, that it was too dumb to be funny, yet he still found it slightly amusing.
What is grey and has four legs and a trunk?
Elephants were grey, they had four legs, and a long trunk, but that would've been the obvious solution, instead, Pan's answer was a mouse going on vacation, so, mice were grey also, had four legs, and one would naturally bring a trunk along on a vacation.
Again, Trunks chuckled, where did she get these incredibly lame jokes? And why would he laugh at them?
"Oh, Prince Trunks." Seiya exclaimed, "Forgive me for not noticing, you must be weary from the traveling, perhaps I should leave you to rest for the night."
Trunks was too busy laughing to take note of what she said, all he noticed was that she had stood up and left the room, oh great, now what would he do until eleven o'clock that night?
He leaned back in the large throne-like seat and sighed while glancing out the window. Trunks had never held interest at looking at stars, for he constantly had meetings to attend, armies to lead, and women to fend off. But now, nothing was expected nor required from him, he felt the burden of a whole country slowly lifting off of his chest.
Was this how ordinary citizens felt? Could they relax on a summer night without worrying about invading armies? Tax requirements? Weddings?
There was something required from him, Trunks suddenly realized, he needed a bride, soon.
And slowly, the heavy burden returned to him, but even so, he was glad that he could escape it all, if only for a second.
He was satisfied, it was not everyday that he was able to have a moment of serene peacefulness.
But the prince did not know what he was missing, and he didn't know that deep down, he wasn't satisfied.
For he wanted more …
Much more …
~*~
Why? Why did everyone despise her so much? What had she done to deserve this? Both of her sisters were perfect in every single way, her father was the ruler of an entire country, and her mother was referred to the descended angel from heaven to the villagers for her kindness and generosity, and what was she? She was nothing, she was a nobody, a princess gone wrong? For goodness sakes, she didn't even look like her parents!
The teenage princess sat quietly on her bed, she was never one to cry, even when it was the hardest of times, but she really did hate the way everyone treated her, like a kid, a kid who hadn't a care in the world.
Especially her father, her father who claimed that he cared about her, who was also the same father who was forcing her to marry a man ten years her elder, who was also the same father who forbade her to see her very best friends just because they weren't first class citizens, and who also was the same father who forbade her to have keep the one friend that she had in this crummy place.
She sighed and wished that she was never born in this dreadful prison, that she had no royal blood running through her veins, that she didn't need to spend one more second in this hellhole. She should just run away or something.
"But you're a princess," Pan mimicked her father in the tone that she heard all too often, "And you must behave like a lady."
Not that she hadn't thought of running away before, and she would've too, but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't leave the one person whom she admired, the one person that she had ever loved, the one person that showered her with gentleness and affection, the one person who was more like a mother than a sister, she just couldn't leave Seiya, and no matter how much she claimed that she hated the angelic princess, her sister would always be her idol. And sometimes, she wished that she was more like her sister rather than being herself.
Prince Trunks was probably the luckiest guy in the world to marry her. It was funny, but Pan could never imagine herself married, she often fantasized about a gorgeous girl who had her dream man, but she could never fit herself into that perfect picture. After all, who would want to marry her? And why in the world would she want a husband anyways?
She wondered if her friends had such problems, they probably would never be forced into marriage, and everyone says that the royals had it easy, they had no idea …
As the ebony-haired girl glanced out the window, she realized that it was probably near midnight, and that she still needed to get ready for the gathering, not that she was in the mood anyways, she didn't really want to go outside when she was feeling depressed, but she wanted to prove that she was good for something, she still remembered that dreadful smile on Emmie's lips from the previous year when she had informed her best friend that she couldn't see anything at all.
"Now where is that assistant of mine?" Pan muttered while slinging her black shawl around her shoulders, "He better not be late …"
As if on cue, three knocks on the door was heard, and Pan cursed the prince's stupidity as she flung the door open, "Didn't I tell you to meet me in my balcony?"
"Good evening to you too, princess." A violet eyebrow was raised.
"Don't call me that!" Snapped Pan, "And somebody could've seen you knocking!" She eyed his outfit and added, "Not that it would be hard to spot you or anything."
Trunks glanced down at his own shimmering gold silk tunic and his fine silver velvet cape and then switched his glance to her black stola-like dress and ebon shawl, topped off with shiny brunet boots, "It seems that I have wrongly chosen my outfit for this occasion."
"That's for sure …" Mumbled the ebony-eyed girl, she pulled the prince roughly into her room, "Why are you still standing in the hallway? You really are mindless, aren't you?"
"I do not consider myself mindless, thank you very much." Trunks smoothened out his sleeve, "And it wasn't very ladylike of you to pull me so roughly into your room."
"Did I hurt the poor prince?" Pan spat sarcastically, "Quit dawdling, we're going to be late."
"My dearest apologies, princess, but I was not hurt by your dainty movements." Trunks smirked.
"Don't call me that!" Pan yelled and spun around, causing her ponytail to flip about, missing the prince's face by mere inches.
"Well, well, looks like I've hit a nerve, eh, princess?"
"You know what you are?" Pan stomped her foot.
"Incredibly charming in all visible aspects?" Suggested the prince, a visible grin on his enchanting face.
"Incredibly annoying in all possible ways." Nodded Pan firmly.
"You wound me deeply, princess, I do not think I will ever recover from such a insulting assault, oh, woe is me, and to think, coming from such a kind princess such as you. I shall never be the same, and-"
"Save the dramatics, okay?" Pan rolled her eyes and muttered, "You want to accompany me in the gathering or not?"
"I would prefer not too, but since it seems like you need me so desperately, I shall be a gentleman and accompany you in your little expedition, you should really thank me, princess." The prince smiled teasingly at his little sister.
Pan headed towards the door, and as she passed by the prince, as quick as lightning, she raised her foot and kicked the unsuspecting prince in the shins, "Thank you, prince, your help is greatly appreciated."
"How very ladylike of you, princess."
"Call me princess one more time and I'll rip your ignorant head off of that neck of yours and stick it on a stick to roast."
"I have acquired another comment for my book of threats from you, princess."
"I wonder if I have some salt in my room, heads do taste terrible without the right amount of spices on it." Pan opened the door, glanced around to make sure her father isn't coming round the corner and waved to Trunks that the coast was clear.
"Somehow, princess, that was quite unexpectedly expected of you."
"Don't start, please."
"I'm very sorry, princess, I shall have to watch what I say with you from now on, I wouldn't want that pretty little head of yours to become baffled, would I?"
"I'm very sorry, prince, I shall have to take care of my actions from now on, I wouldn't want every purple hair on your head to be plucked out, would I?"
"Violet, princess, violet." Corrected the prince, mildly smirking at the annoyed girl.
"Whatever."
~*~
"My king, as you have wished, I have arranged a meeting with Prince Theseus approximately in one week from now." The ambassador bowed.
"One week? Why so soon?" Asked Gohan, "I specifically requested for the visit to be after Prince Trunks and Seiya's marriage."
"A war is being held between Beijita and Logozar, Prince Theseus needs to be with his country in the time of the war."
King Gohan drew in a sharp breath, "I do not believe I have heard you correctly, was this the kingdom of Beijita that you have mentioned?"
"Yes, my king, King Vegeta claims that King Solourius sent spies in his country to observe the latest developments of his army, and he also claims that it was Prince Theseus himself who slain four of his elites to acquire his country's valued treasure, the Blood Sword."
"But, that cannot be, King Solourius wouldn't be as foolish enough as to send his own son to steal the legendary sword, would he?" Gohan staggered.
"We do not know." Answered the ebony-haired man, "But it is certain that both countries would want our assistance in battle."
Gohan seemed to panic, "B-but, we have already agreed that Prince Trunks was to marry Seiya, and most of our country's oils and grains are imported from Logozar."
"Which means there is only one thing to do." The man spoke firmly.
"We must acquire back the Blood Sword from Logozar and return it to Beijita." The King stood up and nodded, "I'm entrusting you to do so."
"I will not fail you, my king." Bowed the ambassador. He turned around and left the room.
King Gohan sighed , trouble was brewing … and he didn't like it one bit …
What would happen if the Blood Sword was not retained? And the two countries would go to war? After all, the three countries were only separated by a single sea … and whose side would he assist on? Surely if he assisted neither, he would have two enemies instead of one … but if it really came down to it … he would have to assist Logozar in war for his own country would succumb without its trades, which would mean … going to war with … the king shook his head, he could not allow himself to think such negative thoughts, but for his sake, his daughter's sake, and his country's sake, he hoped that his brother can retrieve the sword successfully.
~*~
"What must I do?" Asked Trunks, as he stepped into the garden alongside with Pan.
"You must hold up the three projectiles while I light the fuses." Pan pointed to a little island within the lake, "There's where you will do it."
"Projectiles?" Asked a slightly worried Prince, "As in … a bomb?"
"Bomb, explosive, grenade, missile, rocket, shell, ticker, torpedo, call it whatever you want. It makes no difference." Pan started to fly slowly towards the tiny island.
"I still am not used to the whole theory of a female flying …" Muttered Trunks, while realizing what Pan had just said, "What will we do with the … er … projectiles?"
"What else can we do with them?" Pan rolled her eyes, "Eat them? No, we throw them."
"Throw them?" Repeated Trunks, "You're not planning to destroy the castle … are you?"
"I'm not stupid, I made these projectiles, they shoot straight up." Pan sighed as she landed on the island, "Do you have to ask so many questions? Just hold them still while I light the fuses."
"Are you planning to hit some distant planet?" Questioned Trunks, "I will not aid you in this mad-"
"What's the matter? Is the prince scared?" Pan took out three small walnut like spheres from her pouch hanging around her wrist, "Of course, you know you do not have to help me with this."
"Oh I will, just as long as you will not attempt something ignorant and destructive." Trunks extended an outstretched palm.
Pan smiled and handed the projectiles to the prince, "Now, hold 'em up."
Trunks held up his arm with no particular interest in the matter and Pan pulled out three matches from her pouch, "Okay, make sure that the fuses are pointing up, we wouldn't want the projectiles to shoot the wrong way and blow you up instead."
The prince glanced nervously at the three deadly spheres in his outstretched hand, he switched the second sphere so that its fuse pointed to the dark sky instead of pointing at his head.
Pan hovered in the air, "Make sure you don't move, I'll get in a lot of trouble if you get blown up."
"I would suspect as much." Muttered the prince.
Pan slowly lit the matches with a tap of her finger, she held the blue flickering flames in front of the first fuse and grinned deviously, "Now, you have to be absolute certain that you won't move."
With the prince's consent, she arranged the matches in her hand and held the three fire points directly above the fuses, she tapped the fuses ever so gently with the matches and watch the fuse shorten.
The princess descended to the ground, and when she saw that the Prince wasn't moving, she yelled in frustration, "Throw them!"
"Pardon me?"
"Throw them before they blow up!"
"Throw them?" Questioned the prince, "Throw them where?"
"YOU IDIOT! THROW THEM UP!"
Trunks seemed to get the message, and tossed the projectiles into the sky, "I thought you said that they ascended by themselves."
"When did I say that?" Pan eyed the sky and growled, "You were an inch away from being blown to bits, you idiot, and this better work."
"So you really are trying to destroy a distant planet, aren't you?"
"Shut up and watch."
"You should thank me for my assistance." Scowled Trunks, his arms folded.
Pan didn't throw him another comment, instead, she pointed to the sky, "Look! It's starting!"
Trunks stared to where she was pointing, little shimmers of light began to come into his vision, "The remains of an unfortunate star …"
But it was hardly that, the shimmers in the sky began to grow more frequent, and larger, brighter rays of light dashed across the night sky, lighting up the surrounding regions in a shimmer of glistening gold, a rainbow of silver light followed some others, the larger lights seemed to fly slower, giving the pair a clear look at the auriferous light.
Pan squealed and jumped up in joy, "Yay! It worked! It actually worked!" The teen gave the prince a huge hug, "It actually worked!!"
Trunks smiled, "That wasn't very appropriate of you, as a lady, you shouldn't be able to have bodily contact with males, especially one such as splendid as I."
"Oh, well, sorry." Pan kicked Trunks' shin instead, "There, better?"
"Must you constantly attempt to injure me? You know there is no way that a female can hurt me in any way." Trunks glanced back up at the sky, where the rays of shooting light filled up almost the entire sky, "What are those?"
"They're shooting stars." Replied Pan, "See, the atmosphere here has always been very thick, so we can never see anything of the sort, but there's one hour in a year where the atmosphere tends to be thinner than the rest, and with the help of my super-duper projectiles, which release a kind of chemical reaction to make the atmosphere even thinner, they give us a clear view of the stars. Of course, you can only see the stars when you're standing here, in this garden, although it may look like the stars are filling up the entire sky, you cannot see it from the plains below, or even from a window in the palace. I'm guessing that the atmosphere above this garden is different than the rest, or something like that."
"Fascinating." Nodded Trunks, neither of them spoke again as they tilted their heads upwards to enjoy a moment of blissful silence, the prince smiled in spite of himself, there was something about the princess that made him … content, even when she argued and yelled at him, it was always satisfying in a strange sort of way, if anything, he was glad to have a little sister like her, he does have another sister back in his homeland, but when his own sister yelled at him, he would feel annoyed. Like here, as he was standing in the garden with her, he felt a strange feeling of happiness, like he belonged here, like he was destined to be looking up at the stars with her … Trunks laughed, it had to be some sort of effect of the projectiles, maybe the chemical reaction rubbed off on him since he was holding them, why else would he think such strange thoughts?
"Have you gone crazy?" Asked Pan, an eyebrow raised at the prince's strange behaviour.
"I do not believe so."
"Well, sane people do not burst out laughing without a reason." Corrected Pan, after a brief moment of musing, she blurted out, "You were thinking of my sister, weren't you?"
Trunks shook his head, he hadn't thought of his fiancée in the entire night.
"Yes, you were!" Laughed Pan, "Oh, come on, you can tell me, were you having some sort of fantasy about her?"
"No, I was not." Trunks frowned.
"I won't tell her!" Pleaded the princess, "Really! You can trust me! I'm your sister, after all!"
"Honest, I was not thinking about your sister." Sighed the slightly exasperated prince.
"Please?" Pan whined, while proceeding to pout, "Oh, pretty please?"
Trunks sighed and rolled his eyes, "Alright, fine, I was thinking about your sister, are you satisfied now?"
"Yes! I knew it! What kind of fantasy?" The girl asked with gleaming bright eyes.
"I was not having a fantasy about your sister!" Trunks sighed once more as he glanced into the girl's pleading eyes, "Oh, all right, I was thinking of …" Trunks bit his lip, furiously pondering about what to make up, "How she would look in her wedding gown."
Pan seemed to accept that, and she smiled, "I hope she'll wear a black wedding gown, white gowns are so … traditional."
The prince chuckled, "I highly doubt that anyone but you would wear a black wedding gown."
"What's wrong with them?" Demanded Pan.
"Nothing, nothing's wrong with … black wedding gowns." Laughed Trunks as he tried to picture the princess in a black wedding gown, along with black shoes, and a black bouquet of roses, strangely, the image did come to his head, and it wasn't half-bad for that matter.
"Anyways, thanks for …" Pan said with a grin, "Helping me blow up half of the atmosphere of this country."
"Anytime, princess." Trunks paused, "The atmosphere will eventually return to normal, right?"
"Oh, yes, in a couple of weeks?" Mused Pan, "A month at the top."
"That's good news, I wouldn't be surprised if the atmosphere never returns to normal again."
"What? Are you accusing me of endangering my country?" Pan cried.
"Yes, I am."
"Oh, all right then." Pan grinned at the prince, and to her great surprise, he smiled in return.
"Shall we go in now?" Trunks asked, holding out his hand.
Pan nodded and took his hand and spoke in an old ladylike voice, "Yes, my deah, we certainly shall."
They both laughed at started to fly back to the other side of the lake, as they landed, the two began to walk back to the castle, Trunks spun around and gave Pan a small shove, just enough to make her fall backwards into the lake.
"You jerk!" Screamed Pan as she floated to the surface.
"Now we're even, well, not exactly, because you pushed me into the lake … twice, but because I am such a gentleman, I will accept our differences and call us equals," He held his hand out at Pan, "Here, I'll help you out, princess."
Pan grinned and held on to his hand, "Thanks a lot, Trunks." She smiled angelically at him and pulled him into the lake also.
After much spluttering and cursing from the prince, he frowned, a hurt look on his perfect features, "Now, princess, why did you go and do that?"
"The same reason why you pushed me into this lake." Pan giggled at him, "Anyways, wasn't that unexpectedly expected of me?"
She then smiled at the violet-haired prince, and for the second time in a day, he smiled back.
End of Chapter 2
Hey, hey! That was an extra long chapter on my part! Thank me! *bows* Anyways, this story is going much more successfully than I thought, on both my part and your part, mine because it's quite fun to write, and the ideas just come to me out of nowhere, and you seem to be giving me some excellent feedback … and a whole lot of it at that!
Thanks so much! I'm beginning to think that this story might be finished even before The Apple Tree! ^^;; But I promise to work on The Apple Tree as much as I can …
More of your excellent feedback and comments would be greatly appreciated.
Oh yeah! No cliffy! Now that I think about it … there hasn't been a single cliffie in this entire story! (the last chapter wasn't really a cliffie)
One more thing, about Guiding Light, give the author a break here! She is the one changing the fic to suit the plot better, therefore, making the story easier to understand, and easier to write.
Some understanding would be appreciated on the author's part.
-Juunanagou4ever
