Chapter Eighteen: Death Day Deep within A dream, Clarice felt someone stroking her forehead. A gentle, soft touch, a cool hand upon her own fevered skin. She felt herself smile, enjoying the touch. She sighed and relaxed, wishing for whoever it was to continue forever. Suddenly the the dream shifted, and her forehead wrinkled. The touch was no longer soft and loving, but rough and rasping. No longer cool, but hot, burning her -- She woke up. It took her a second to realize that the silk sheet that she had been lying on had been clawed away and had that she'd been lying facedown on the mattress cover. One of her pillows lay on the floor, while the pillowcase had been torn off in the course of some nightmare and now hung from her chair. Clarice looked around the large chamber, but there were no signs of any other nocturnal damage. Her weapon cupboard of dressed pine was upright, the dull steel latch still closed, and her old practice sword hung in its scabbard on the back of the door. It seemed that every other piece of furniture was where it was supposed to be. It must have been a relatively good night. Sometimes, in her nightmare-laced sleep, Clarice walked, talked, and wreaked havoc. But always only in her room. Her precious room. She closed her eyes again and listened. All was silent, which meant that Avram and the rest of them weren't up and about yet. Clarice scrunched her eyes together more tightly and tried to go back to sleep. She wanted to regain the feel of that hand on her brow. That touch was the only thing she remembered of her mother. Not her face or her voice -- just the touch of her cool hand. She needed that touch desperately today. Today was the day that she had to report her failure to King Vegeta. Once she had thought of that, there was no hope for sleep. As on every other morning, Clarice gave up trying to keep her eyes shut. She let them spring open and stared up at the ceiling for a few minutes. But the stone had not changed overnight. It was still grey and cold, with tiny flecks of pink, the chandelier hanging in the center dully. She suddenly sat up and swung her legs over the side, a strange look upon her face. 'I'm going to die today,' she thought as she bit her lip, as though she had suddenly realized what she'd gotten into. Her eyes slid shut as a tear rolled down her cheek. Why was she doing this? Drpyhus had been right - she could have easily over-powered Vegeta and made him come back to the planet. Why hadn't she? She pulled the covers back around her and rolled herself up into a little ball, hugging her knees tightly to her chest. 'What have I done to deserve this?' she asked herself suddenly. "Well it's your fault," said another voice in the back of her mind. "I know," said the other voice, whining slightly. "But why...?" Both of the voices suddenly went quiet, as though they were thinking, as though each really couldn't figure out what had prompted Clarice to put her life on the line for Vegeta. He'd been terrible to her when they were younger. He owed this to her! She lay that way for nearly half an hour, trying to come up with a reason. What the hell was going on---? Clarice whimpered. Both of the voices suddenly gasped. "No," gasped both of the voices simultaneously. "It couldn't be...that's probably n-not the case, Clarice, I mean, c'mon..." "And what if it is?" said the other voice, sounding slightly scared. "Of course it isn't," said the tougher of the two vioce s defensivley, though it seemed a bit unsure. "Y-you're not goin' soft on me, are ya?" "No, but-" "Then the case is settled. She can't... she doesn't. It's final." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Dryphus sat back in her chair with her feet up on her desk as she filed her nails, chewing Sour-Apple bubble gum (her favorite kind) as she did so. She looked up as the door to her office creaked slowly open, revelaing a pale-faced, sniffly-nosed Mason. "Aww," said Dryphus, frowning with only slight concern. "Poor baby. What's wrong?" "Don't you know what today is?" asked Mason, closing the heavy wooden door behind him as he made his way slowly to a chair and let himself collapse into it. "What..? I --- OH! That, oh well... things happen, Mason. Build a bridge and get over it." Mason stared at Dryphus, absolutely astonished at her reaction. "Things happen?! Dryphus, Clarice is going to die! She's you're best friend, too! I think that you should be a little more concerned about this-!" "Shut up!" cried Dryphus, sitting up and slamming her palm down on the desk. "God, you're acting like a little kid." She exhaled heavily, then leaned back into her swivel chair and put her feet back on the desk, then brought the nail file back to her fingertips to discover, with horror - "God, I broke a nail!" she shrieked. She suddenlly sucked her teeth and sat upright again, swinging her legs beneath the desk and opening a large drawer, full of makeup items. "Damn," she hissed beneath her breath as she rummaged through the drawer, searching for her manicure set. Becoming impatient, she slammed the drawer shut, whimpering slightly. "Just what I fucking needed," muttered Dryphus beneath her breath, glaring at the newly shortened nail. She suddenly looked back up at Mason. "Oh, you still here?" Mason glared at her. "You honestly don't care, do you?" "Well yeah, I care, I mean I'll miss her, I guess, but... friends of mine have died before. It's nothing new..." She paused and tapped her fingers on the desk. She suddenly frowned. If Clarice died... Damn, she would miss her alot. "Hey, who knows, maybe King Vee won't kill her.." "Hmph," uttered Mason quietly, shaking his head slowly and frowning. "That'd be a miracle." "Well," said Dryphus, suddenly getting up and swinging her leather purse over her shoulder, "You know me... I'm the miracle worker!" ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Clarice finally opened her eyes, which had been shut tightly as she lie in the bed, sobbing violently. It couldn't be. It had to be something else. She swallowed thickly and then slowly sat up, the down comforter falling from her face to her stomach. Well at least she wouldn't ever have to face him again. That had to be the best thing about this. Swallowing again, Clarice finally decided to get up and walked slowly to her walk-in closet, taking out a towel from a back shelf. She left her room and walked to the main baths, which anyone living with her could use. She had decided to come to the swimming pool-like bath-tub instead of her own bathroom because she needed to swim around - swimming always helped her to clear her head. Clarice reached the giant room and closed the double-doors behind her, not wanting to be disturbed. After undressing, she dived into the Olympic-sized bath-tub, enjoying the feeling of the cool water against her skin as it ebbed away the plague in her mind. She swam to the opposite side of the "pool", where there was a built-in waterfall which reached about twenty feet high. She sighed as she stood beneath the waterfall, letting it beat down on her, massaging her tense muscles. 'Last day of your life,' thought Clarice miserably. 'Might as well try to make the best of it.' I know, dumb chapter, but who cares. So what's Dryphus up to? Does she have a plan to get Clarice from getting killed? What was the present that Clarice gave to Vegeta & Bulma? (I really CANNOT believe that I still haven't answered that...) What's up with Clarice - what did she discover while she was thinking? (P.S The answer to that question is going to have a HUUUGE effect on the story, but you won't know what it is for a while...) ~Valerie G.