Author's Note: I've been having this story in my head for four years now. It's a pretty long story, but I'm not sure if I'll write it. So, please tell me what you think (Praise and flame are both welcome as well as advice.). I'm writing the Introduction and Chapter 1, and I'll decide from your comments on whether I should continue or not. ^-~
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from DBZ ... yadda yadda yadda... only the ones I created... blah blah blah... don't sue! ^-^;;;
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Introduction: Aera
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Birds sing sweet ballads to each other, announcing spring's early arrival at last. Their songs float through the clear afternoon sky riding the breeze and dancing off the array of pastel flowers covering a hill. It had only been two days since the last of the snow melted, and already the forest was spotted with delicate pale flowers. Even the sea seemed to enjoy nature's immense beauty by only making calm waves brush against the yellow shore.
Near the shore there sat a small cream-colored cottage which displayed numerous brightly colored blossoms of different shapes and sizes. Walking around the plants and the house was a young woman in her early twenties who had an attractive energy around her. She began to twirl and close her hazel eyes feeling the warm breeze wrap around her like a blanket. She loved the spring, not just because she met her true love last year around this time, but because spring brought new life and new beginnings. Everything always seemed revitalized which had the young woman hoping for a better future and life. She never really liked being on the farm. Her real dream at first was to move to the city and become an actress or at least a weather girl, but this changed after last spring. Her lover inspired her to want something she had never dreamt she would ever want. She wanted to have a family with him on a farm, but she especially wanted a little girl. She even had a name for her with help from her sweetheart.
"Aera," called a female voice from the cottage, "What are you doing?"
"Just dreaming, mother," replied the young woman with a content smile.
"Of what?"
"Of..." Aera looked up into the clear blue sky closing her eyes as she indulged the warmth from the air, "Of flying and soaring with the birds high into the sky and touching the sun and--"
"Oh my!" chuckled a gray-haired woman who peeked her head out a window to watch her spirited daughter. "You have such an imagination, my dear sakura."
"Mother," frowned Aera at the pet name, "I'm getting too old for that nickname. I'm 21 years old and you still call me your 'dear sakura!'"
The woman again laughed, "Okay, I will try and stop, but it's an old habit. Ever since you were baby and you would curl up in my arms looking like a small petal from a cherry blossom tree, I've called you that. Not because I want to embarass you, but because I love you."
"I know," replied a guilty Aera who knelt near the water inspecting her pale pink hair that matched the color of her lips. "Gomen nasai. But, I just want to be treated as an adult and to be able to make my own decisions!"
"Ahmm," nodded her mother as she was reminded of why she needed to talk with her daughter, "I have to speak with you, my de-- Aera."
The pink-haired beauty stared questioningly at her mother who turned away from the window with shame, "What is wrong, mother?"
The older woman's gray-covered head lowered, "You know how your father is about having you married by the time you're 21, ne?"
"Ne, I know..."
"Well because you haven't found a husband, he has chosen one for you..."
A look of complete shock and confusion overcame the young woman face, "Nani? You-- can't-- No! Tell me you're joking! Please."
The mother closed her sad eyes, "He has chosen the farmer Kataite, son of the Kakusuke family. You will be married tomorrow afternoon. I have already packed your bags. Gomen nasai. I tr--"
"No! I can't believe you both decided MY future. I'll never marry him. Never!"
With that Aera ran off into the forest determined to find the one she truly loved and tell him about her fate.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Exhausted, Aera collapsed onto a familiar patch of flower-filled grass next to a cherry blossom tree. She remembered the last time she had sprinted into the forset crying. It was last year when her grandpa had died. Her grandadpa was her best friend, actually her only friend. He had had a heart attack while gardening and died there in the field. She remembered hearing the news and feeling her heart break as she ran through these same trees sobbing to kami. She then tripped on the root of this very same tree whose petals matched her hair, and there she laid mourning for her grandpa to come back. She would have continued to shed useless tears, if she had not felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. She glanced over her shoulder and was at first blinded by the sun, then in awe at a handsome green man in a turban standing above her.
Aera smiled remembering the first time she met him as she sat up leaning against the tree. She closed her hazel eyes feeling the warm breeze once again. It was almost as if he were sitting right next to her... Her eyes opened slowly as she turned her face to her right,
"Piccolo..."
A green man was seated cross-legged next to her with a faint smile. He was a little amused at how the frail human was getting better at feeling his presence, "You're improving, Aera."
The young woman hugged Piccolo tightly with teary eyes, "Oh, Piccolo..."
"What's the matter?" asked Piccolo caught off guard as he held her close to him.
"I..." she said between cries, "I have to get married, tomorrow. And I don't want to, because I love you!"
Piccolo held her tighter for a few minutes before Aera gazed up at him and asked, "Don't you love me, too...?"
"Of course. I love no other but you."
"Do you really mean that?"
"You know I do."
"Good," sniffled the young woman, "then I can run away with you. We could elope."
Piccolo paused not expecting her response. He then cleared his muscular throat, "I think you should marry the man they chose... It'd be better for you, and I'm sure your crush on me will fade."
"Piccolo... What are you saying?! I love you. You're the only one I will ever love."
"I love you, too. Kami, I love her!" announced the Namek as he kissed the young woman's pink hair. "But, it would never work... Just go back home, Aera. Your parents are probably worried."
Aera's big chestnut eyes became a mess of heartbroken tears, as she grasped the now standing Piccolo's shoes, "No, Piccolo. Don't do this, don't push me away!"
Piccolo easily shook his foot free from the desperate reach of Aera. She laid on her side hugging herself as she cried hysterically, as Piccolo floated into the sky.
"Piccolo!" called the crying young woman. "Piccolo..."
Aera sobbed into the grass littered with pink petals from the tree. She stayed against the grass so hard, that her tan apron began to be streaked with grass stains. She stayed weeping for what seemed like hours until a familar green hand rested itself on her shoulder turning her over onto her back, "Piccolo--"
Piccolo's index finger landed softly on her lips quieting her as he began to kiss her now blushing cheek, "I love you."
Aera began to plant slow little kisses on the Namek's face as she took off his turban, "I love you too, Piccolo..."
Piccolo flashed her a mischevious smile as he untied her apron, "I'll prove to you, that I will only love you no matter what..."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Aera entered her cottage just as the sun began to set. She danced through the door glowing as she silently closed her front door. She then tried to sneak past the living room when a gruff voice called her name. She drooped her head down and trudged into the living room to face her father who was watching a baseball game on the televison. He waited for a commercial break before speaking again.
"Aera," he narrowed his eyes inspecting her wrinkled dirty clothes assuming she had been rolling on a hill again, "you know the agreement we had about your marriage, ne?"
Her father watched under his gray beard as she nodded quietly before he responded again, "Then you know that your time has expired, so I have chosen the Kakusuke boy for you to be married to."
"I also know that he's 38 years old! He's not a boy! He's an old man... I'm not marrying him, father! I will not d--"
Firmly, her father slapped her insolent face leaving a throbbing dark bruise, "You WILL marry Kataite and that is FINAL! Do I make myself clear?"
Aera again nodded as she held her hurt cheek and ran upstairs to her room, as a green figure drifted from the cottage window unnoticed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Author's Comments: Well that was my attempt at the Introduction. Now, I gotta work on Chapter 1.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from DBZ ... yadda yadda yadda... only the ones I created... blah blah blah... don't sue! ^-^;;;
^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^
Introduction: Aera
v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v
Birds sing sweet ballads to each other, announcing spring's early arrival at last. Their songs float through the clear afternoon sky riding the breeze and dancing off the array of pastel flowers covering a hill. It had only been two days since the last of the snow melted, and already the forest was spotted with delicate pale flowers. Even the sea seemed to enjoy nature's immense beauty by only making calm waves brush against the yellow shore.
Near the shore there sat a small cream-colored cottage which displayed numerous brightly colored blossoms of different shapes and sizes. Walking around the plants and the house was a young woman in her early twenties who had an attractive energy around her. She began to twirl and close her hazel eyes feeling the warm breeze wrap around her like a blanket. She loved the spring, not just because she met her true love last year around this time, but because spring brought new life and new beginnings. Everything always seemed revitalized which had the young woman hoping for a better future and life. She never really liked being on the farm. Her real dream at first was to move to the city and become an actress or at least a weather girl, but this changed after last spring. Her lover inspired her to want something she had never dreamt she would ever want. She wanted to have a family with him on a farm, but she especially wanted a little girl. She even had a name for her with help from her sweetheart.
"Aera," called a female voice from the cottage, "What are you doing?"
"Just dreaming, mother," replied the young woman with a content smile.
"Of what?"
"Of..." Aera looked up into the clear blue sky closing her eyes as she indulged the warmth from the air, "Of flying and soaring with the birds high into the sky and touching the sun and--"
"Oh my!" chuckled a gray-haired woman who peeked her head out a window to watch her spirited daughter. "You have such an imagination, my dear sakura."
"Mother," frowned Aera at the pet name, "I'm getting too old for that nickname. I'm 21 years old and you still call me your 'dear sakura!'"
The woman again laughed, "Okay, I will try and stop, but it's an old habit. Ever since you were baby and you would curl up in my arms looking like a small petal from a cherry blossom tree, I've called you that. Not because I want to embarass you, but because I love you."
"I know," replied a guilty Aera who knelt near the water inspecting her pale pink hair that matched the color of her lips. "Gomen nasai. But, I just want to be treated as an adult and to be able to make my own decisions!"
"Ahmm," nodded her mother as she was reminded of why she needed to talk with her daughter, "I have to speak with you, my de-- Aera."
The pink-haired beauty stared questioningly at her mother who turned away from the window with shame, "What is wrong, mother?"
The older woman's gray-covered head lowered, "You know how your father is about having you married by the time you're 21, ne?"
"Ne, I know..."
"Well because you haven't found a husband, he has chosen one for you..."
A look of complete shock and confusion overcame the young woman face, "Nani? You-- can't-- No! Tell me you're joking! Please."
The mother closed her sad eyes, "He has chosen the farmer Kataite, son of the Kakusuke family. You will be married tomorrow afternoon. I have already packed your bags. Gomen nasai. I tr--"
"No! I can't believe you both decided MY future. I'll never marry him. Never!"
With that Aera ran off into the forest determined to find the one she truly loved and tell him about her fate.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Exhausted, Aera collapsed onto a familiar patch of flower-filled grass next to a cherry blossom tree. She remembered the last time she had sprinted into the forset crying. It was last year when her grandpa had died. Her grandadpa was her best friend, actually her only friend. He had had a heart attack while gardening and died there in the field. She remembered hearing the news and feeling her heart break as she ran through these same trees sobbing to kami. She then tripped on the root of this very same tree whose petals matched her hair, and there she laid mourning for her grandpa to come back. She would have continued to shed useless tears, if she had not felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. She glanced over her shoulder and was at first blinded by the sun, then in awe at a handsome green man in a turban standing above her.
Aera smiled remembering the first time she met him as she sat up leaning against the tree. She closed her hazel eyes feeling the warm breeze once again. It was almost as if he were sitting right next to her... Her eyes opened slowly as she turned her face to her right,
"Piccolo..."
A green man was seated cross-legged next to her with a faint smile. He was a little amused at how the frail human was getting better at feeling his presence, "You're improving, Aera."
The young woman hugged Piccolo tightly with teary eyes, "Oh, Piccolo..."
"What's the matter?" asked Piccolo caught off guard as he held her close to him.
"I..." she said between cries, "I have to get married, tomorrow. And I don't want to, because I love you!"
Piccolo held her tighter for a few minutes before Aera gazed up at him and asked, "Don't you love me, too...?"
"Of course. I love no other but you."
"Do you really mean that?"
"You know I do."
"Good," sniffled the young woman, "then I can run away with you. We could elope."
Piccolo paused not expecting her response. He then cleared his muscular throat, "I think you should marry the man they chose... It'd be better for you, and I'm sure your crush on me will fade."
"Piccolo... What are you saying?! I love you. You're the only one I will ever love."
"I love you, too. Kami, I love her!" announced the Namek as he kissed the young woman's pink hair. "But, it would never work... Just go back home, Aera. Your parents are probably worried."
Aera's big chestnut eyes became a mess of heartbroken tears, as she grasped the now standing Piccolo's shoes, "No, Piccolo. Don't do this, don't push me away!"
Piccolo easily shook his foot free from the desperate reach of Aera. She laid on her side hugging herself as she cried hysterically, as Piccolo floated into the sky.
"Piccolo!" called the crying young woman. "Piccolo..."
Aera sobbed into the grass littered with pink petals from the tree. She stayed against the grass so hard, that her tan apron began to be streaked with grass stains. She stayed weeping for what seemed like hours until a familar green hand rested itself on her shoulder turning her over onto her back, "Piccolo--"
Piccolo's index finger landed softly on her lips quieting her as he began to kiss her now blushing cheek, "I love you."
Aera began to plant slow little kisses on the Namek's face as she took off his turban, "I love you too, Piccolo..."
Piccolo flashed her a mischevious smile as he untied her apron, "I'll prove to you, that I will only love you no matter what..."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Aera entered her cottage just as the sun began to set. She danced through the door glowing as she silently closed her front door. She then tried to sneak past the living room when a gruff voice called her name. She drooped her head down and trudged into the living room to face her father who was watching a baseball game on the televison. He waited for a commercial break before speaking again.
"Aera," he narrowed his eyes inspecting her wrinkled dirty clothes assuming she had been rolling on a hill again, "you know the agreement we had about your marriage, ne?"
Her father watched under his gray beard as she nodded quietly before he responded again, "Then you know that your time has expired, so I have chosen the Kakusuke boy for you to be married to."
"I also know that he's 38 years old! He's not a boy! He's an old man... I'm not marrying him, father! I will not d--"
Firmly, her father slapped her insolent face leaving a throbbing dark bruise, "You WILL marry Kataite and that is FINAL! Do I make myself clear?"
Aera again nodded as she held her hurt cheek and ran upstairs to her room, as a green figure drifted from the cottage window unnoticed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Author's Comments: Well that was my attempt at the Introduction. Now, I gotta work on Chapter 1.