You're Not Alone

Chapter 12

 

I’m back again, with more fun to entertain you with! Isn’t that wonderful? ^.^ Okay... since I’ve got other stuff to do, this chapter is gonna be short, kay? And sorry for the delay...

Oh yeah... I don’t own DBZ or it’s story line, or (unfortunately), it’s characters. Yes, it’s quite sad that I don’t own Trunks... but I DO own this story line because it is original and NOT from the show. I also own any characters outside of DBZ in this fic (ex. Kiara, Marron - who is NOT Krillin/18’s daughter). Please do not steal my idea... if you want to use one of my characters, just state so in the review box and I will most likely say yes (leave ur e-mail). If you do use my characters, give me at least some credit... And the characters in my story are ALL ORIGINAL, okay?

“blah” speech

~blah~ telepathic speech (b/t bonded Saiyans)

::blah:: thoughts

(blah) A/N... miniature authors note

Before I forget... I would like to dedicate this chapter to the following reviewers, who reviewed my story SEVEN times!!! Yay!

~~~~~~*Jade071*~~~~~~

The following have reviewed my story two or more times:

*Bunny (6)

*ills (4)

*Pannychan (4)

*jade (4)

Chrisy (3)

Dragon_Chick (3)

Dark*Princess*Pan (3)

maniac (2)

hotaru420 (2)

silver (2)

Starlight (2)

megpan (2)

Brandon B. (2)

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dreamer (2)

jewels (2)

Avezinzi (2)

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Z (2)

The Imperial Saiyan (2)

Thank you for reviewing! You guys really inspire me! ^.^ I will continue to add to the list as the story progresses, k? Thanx for the reviews! ^.^


To Z: Yes, I do have Dragonballs in this fic, I just haven’t decided whether or not to use them yet. And on the whole engagement thing, Kiara really set the whole thing up... so when Pan found out that it wasn’t really Trunks’ fault, she wasn’t as mad at Trunks anymore. See! It all works out! ^.^

To Jade071: I drew a picture of Pan in that dress I described, but our scanner is down... gomen.

Guess what?! I already have GREAT ideas for the sequel... ^.^

~*~

Trunks walked down the hall and stopped at a door. “This is your new room, Pan. It’s one of the guest rooms, but you may stay here until things are sorted out.” he stated.

She nodded and he opened the door, holding it open as she walked in. She curtsied, continuing their little game. “Thank you, sire. I trust I shall see you again in the time which is to come?” she asked, holding her hand out daintily for him to kiss.

“But of course, m’ lady.” he said, bending down to kiss her hand. He bowed and she nodded, shutting the door, a big Son grin spread across her face.

Trunks sighed and walked down the hall towards his the meeting room. Once in the meeting room, he called over one of the scientists. “Sir, do you have a ki detector which can scan for a certain ki within a certain radius?”

“Well, their ki signatures would have to be registered on file, but yes.” he said, pulling out an electronic planner. “It has the ability to search for a ki on a 100,000 mile radius. We are still working on it to improve the radius. Is there someone you are searching for?”

“Yes. I want you to find a certain someone...”

~*~

Pan sighed as she slid down the door to the floor. Closing her eyes, she smiled. Just thinking about him made her insides flutter. She felt herself growing really attached to the man. She thought back to the scene in the Royal Bedroom. Too bad we didn’t continue...

Frowning, she shook the thought out of her head. What is wrong with me? I could’ve fought the first influences of that candle... so why didn’t I? Why did I let it continue to burn? I knew as soon as it clouded my thoughts what the thing was doing to me... Ugh! What is wrong with me? Am I starting to feel lust for him? she thought to herself.

~*~

Trunks headed to the barracks, walking into the training room, where the officers and some soldiers were sparring. Walking over to Goten (no, this is NOT the same Goten, but I didn’t want to leave him out... ^.~), Trunks’ personal body guard (even though he never used him), and said, “Goten, can I see you for a minute?”

Goten nodded his head respectfully. “What is it, Prince Trunks?”

“I need you to escort a certain someone to the main hall, next to the throne room. Her name is Son Pan, and she is staying in the room five doors down from my sister’s. My sister is the only one allowed in her room. If you find anyone else in there, send them away, understood?”

Goten bowed. “Of course, sire. May I ask one question?”

Trunks nodded. “Yes, you may.”

Goten cleared his throat. “Well, with all do respect sir, isn’t that the slave who was supposed to be executed?”

“Yes, she is.” Hearing this, a nearby soldier pricked up his ears to better hear the conversation.

Goten became nervous as he timidly continued the question. “Why is she to be brought to the throne room, sir?”

Trunks sighed. “She is to be brought to the throne room because I am going to relieve her and her mother of the charges pressed against them, because whoever put them against her were mistaken. She has done nothing wrong. I intend to keep justice on this planet.”

Goten bowed once more. “Of course, sire. I shall do as you ask and escort Lady Pan to the Main Hall.”

“Thank you, Goten. And please don’t mention anything to my anyone about this, even my parents. Do not worry, all will reveal itself in due time.” he said quietly. Trunks dismissed Goten and walked out of the room.

The soldier walked off the training stage grabbed a black cloak. Smirking, he exited the training room.

~*~

Pan strode into the bathroom, turning on the shower. Pulling off her dress, she stepped into the shower, turning it cold. She shivered under the freezing cold water, but dealt with it. At least it did what she wanted it to... it took her thoughts off of Trunks, but it carried onto another subject: revenge.

According to Bra, her mother was still in the dungeon, and the execution was tomorrow at noon, unless she and Trunks could stop it... well, no... if Trunks could stop it... She rubbed soap over her body, trying to forget about it. I’ll think about it in the morning... she thought to herself. And Trunks... said a voice in the back of her head. “Damn it!” she yelled to no one in particular. “Why is he always on my thoughts?!” She was falling for him... he had her practically wrapped around his finger.

She knew she loved him, so why didn’t she just tell him? Because she was so scared of rejection, that he wouldn’t return her feelings. The annoying voice popped up in the back of her head again. ::You know... if he didn’t like you, he wouldn’t have saved you from bleeding to death out there. Why would he save you if he didn’t have any attraction to you? Besides, didn’t Kiara say that he liked you more than her? That he thought you might be the one he was going to bond to?:: Pan shook her head, trying to put the thoughts in the back of her head, but it didn’t work. Could it have been true? Was Kiara just bluffing, or did Trunks really want to bond with her?

She stepped out of the shower and dried herself off. Turning to the mirror, she stared at herself. She looked a lot better than usual, none of the usual bruises that normally dotted her body, no rashes, and her skin wasn’t as pale. The regeneration tank sure did a lot. Shaking her head, she flared her ki to dry her hair, and walked into the closet to get changed.

She walked out wearing a very comfortable silk nightgown, and a warm robe over it. Sighing, she sunk into the satin sheets of her bed and stared up at the ceiling. A vision of Trunks popped up in her head, and she sighed. Thinking of what happened earlier, her cheeks began to heat up, and she felt a strange ache between her thighs. ::When will I ever stop thinking about him?::

Snuggling into the covers, she closed her eyes, hoping that sleep would bring her back to normal again, somewhat dreading that she would wake to find it was all a dream.

~*~

Trunks sat on a chair in his robe, staring out the large window in his room. He saw the people slowly getting into their beds. He smiled as he saw two small children running in circles, shooting tiny ki blasts at each other. ::So carefree:: he thought. ::I wish I were still like that::

Sighing, he continued to look out the window in silence, as if waiting for day to come.

~*~

The morning slowly came, the sun creeping over the hills one more, as a man approached someone’s door. “Come in.” called a woman from inside the room.

A short, shadowy figure slid into the room and slowly shut the door. His face was covered by the shadow of his hood as he smirked, bowing. “Lady Kiara, I have some news for you...”

Kiara spun around and looked at the man, still sitting down at her vanity dresser. “Well? What is it? Spit it out already!”

“I have two pieces of information for you. One is good, but the other is slightly bad...”

“What is it?!”

“Well...” he began, “... the good news is that Prince Trunks is fine and has gotten out of the regeneration tank. He seems well. The slave’s mother is still in her cell, and well protected. And the bad news is, well...”

Kiara formed a ki blast in frustration. “If you don’t tell me this second...” she said through clenched teeth.

The man shuddered and took a small step back. “Of course, m’ lady. The bad news is that... the slave... she’s... still alive, Your Majesty.”

“She’s ALIVE?! If you are lying to me...” she said, standing and glaring the man down.

“I’m not, Lady Kiara. I over heard Trunks speaking to someone about bringing her in front of the King and Queen to cancel the charges against her and her mother.” said a man in a black cloak.

She threw her brush across the room, and it smashed into the wall. “Fine, then... I guess I’ll just have to resort to my last plan.” Kiara said, grinding her teeth in frustration.

“Lady Kiara! No! You said you wouldn’t! That’s against the law!” the man shouted.

“Shut up! It doesn’t matter whether it’s against the law, this damn bitch is getting in my way! Get my dagger, brother.” she said, storming into the dressing room.

She came out wearing a fancy pink dress, which matched her eyes. Snatching the dagger from her brother, she tied it (in it’s sheath) to her inner thigh, making sure it was concealed by her dress. Throwing her hair up and wrapping her tail around her waist, she stormed out the door, her brother close on her heels.

~*~

Bra came up to Pan, pushing her off the bed. “Get up! Hurry up and get dressed so you can go meet my brother!” she said, shoving a dress in her face. “Hurry!”

Pan slowly walked towards the bathroom, dragging her feet and mumbling in protest.

Bra shoved a dress in after her and waited patiently. She heard the shower turn on and sighed, sinking down in one of the chairs. As she drummed her fingers on the arm of the comfy chair, she heard a soft knock on the door. She pulled herself out of the comforts of the recliner and walked over to the door. Opening it slowly, she cocked an eyebrow at the man before her. He had black hair which stuck out every which way, making her giggle a bit (just like Goku ^.^). His olive skin and finely toned muscles were nothing to scoff at. Seeing the mark on his armor, she knew exactly who he was, and smiled at him.

Seeing Princess Bra, he immediately took a knee. “Your majesty...” said Goten timidly. He had never really met her in person before, because Trunks wasn’t around his sister as often.

Bra smiled at the man. She knew who he was. He was Trunks’ body guard, the one he never used... “You may rise, Goten. And you need not inform me as royalty, you are high enough in rank to refer to me as Bra.” she said.

“Y-yes ma’am-- I mean, Bra...” he said. He wasn’t used to referring to woman like this, especially if he didn’t know them.

She smiled at his timidness. He was so cute when he did that. “Goten, you are Trunks’ body guard, are you not?”

“Yes, Ma-- er, Bra, I am.” he said, slowly rising. He felt his cheeks getting warm.

“Then why is my brother not with you?” she asked, trying to begin a conversation, even if it wasn’t a comfortable atmosphere.

“H-he asked me to escort Lady Pan to the throne room this morning.” he replied.

Bra blinked her large blue eyes in wonderment. ::I wonder why my brother would ask someone to do that?::

Goten held himself from blushing. ::She looks so beautiful when she does that, her crystal blue eyes are so breathtaking... wait a minute! Goten, stop thinking of the Princess in such a manner!:: he reprimanded. “Goten...”

His head shot out of his thoughts as she spoke. “Yes, Bra?” he still wasn’t accustomed to speaking to her so formally.

“What is that in your hand?” she asked, pointing to his right hand, which clutched something red.

“Prince Trunks--”

“Trunks.” she said, then motioned him to go on.

“Uh, Trunks gave this to me before I departed from my quarters this morning and gave me this strange flower to give to Lady Pan. he said, holding up a red flower with thorns.

Bra leaned closer to it, examining it. ::Hmm... I wonder why he wanted to give Pan a rose...:: she pondered. “Okay. What does he want her in the throne room for...?”

Goten paused. “I don’t know, he never told me...”

As Bra was about to answer, she heard the shower go off. “Ah, the lady in waiting is finally finished. Come in, you can wait for her here.” she said.

Goten nodded, slowly entering. Bra smiled. “You can sit down if you want, you don’t have to stand there.” she said, motioning to a couch near the door. Goten nervously sat dow and smiled weakly.

Bra chuckled to herself at his shyness. ::He’ll come around...:: she thought to herself. Knocking on the door of the bathroom, Pan opened it enough to let Bra squeeze through. (hey, she had to have someone do her make-up...)

In a short amount of time, the two stepped out of the bathroom. Pan was wearing a flowing silk dress. The spaghetti strapped dress dipped a bit low in the front, but suited her well. It didn’t cling to her body as much, which Pan was very thankful for. She liked the soft blue color of the dress, and the indigo embroidery around her waist and near the neckline. Pan was insistent on leaving her hair down, because she didn’t like her shoulders bare.

Bra introduced her to Goten. “Pan, this is Goten, my brother’s body guard.” She leaned closer and whispered to Pan, “Even if her never uses him...”

Pan smiled and curtsied to Goten. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Goten.” He returned the smile and bowed to her.

“As is my pleasure to meet you Lady Pan.” he said. Holding out the flower, he added, “A gift from Trunks, ma’am. He was very eager to give this to you.”

Pan slowly reached out to grasp the stem of the plant softly, and slowly brought it back to her. She stared at the beauty of the small, delicate thing. It was quite beautiful, for an Earth flower. Of course, it was her culture... The many red petals still glistened with tiny drops of the morning dew, making the crimson petals shimmer in the light of her room. Remembering the first time she saw it, her cheeks began to burn.

~*~

“Which one is that? It’s beautiful. . .” she said, looking at a red flower.

“That’s another Earth flower, called the rose. They come in many colors.’ he said.

“What is it used for?”

“Well, they are usually used for decoration, or for giving to friends and loved ones. You can have one, if you like it so much.” he said, smiling.

She returned the smile and reached down to pick one, but cut her finger on one of it’s thorns. She pulled her hand back, to look at her finger, which had small drops of blood where the thorn had touched her delicate skin.

“Are you okay?” he asked, clasping her hand and rubbing it gently with his own.

“Yes, I’m fine. I just . . .” she seemed to forget was she was going to say as she looked up at him and blushed.

“Sorry, I forgot to tell you, roses have thorns . . .” he said, smiling, still holding her hand, amazed by how soft it was . . .

“Yeah . . .” she said, staring deep into his blue eyes. Neither of them realized that the space between them was slowly closing. Before Trunks could wake up from his trance, his lips had met passionately with Pan’s. She was the first to realize what was happening. She broke away from the kiss, and backed away, blushing furiously. “I - uh . . .” she stuttered, immense spaces in-between each word. Trunks had turned a crimson red, adjusting his collar, which seemed to be tightening every second.

~*~

Pan’s blush deepened, a smile creeping across her lips. “Thank you. I am most grateful of his gift...” she said, wondering where the etiquette-ness in her speech had come from. Silently walking over to a thin vase by her bedside table, she pulled out the pink flowers in there and replaced them with the single rose. Walking back over to Bra, she handed them to her. “Here.” she joked. “They go with your dress.”

Bra smiled and put them in another vase by the door as they exited, Goten leading.

~*~

Trunks was waiting patiently by the throne, trying to ignore his parents’ complaints and bickering.

“Boy, why the hell did you drag us in here for?! First of all, I hate sitting here, and second of all, I was TRAINING!!” Vegeta yelled.

“Vegeta! Shut up! I’m sure that if Trunks called us in here, then it’s important!” Bulma said, slapping his arm.

“I don’t care! I’m going to leave!” he hollared, beginning to rise from his chair.

Bulma grabbed him and pulled him back into his throne. “Oh no you don’t! You are staying right here!” she said, giving him that “if-you-don’t-then- no-sex” look (sorry, just HAD to put that in there O.o).

Vegeta grunted and complied, and sat down, mumbling something about stupid women.

Bulma, satisfied with herself, turned to her son. “Now dear, what exactly is it that you wanted to talk to us about?”

Trunks sighed. “Well, mother, it’s about my engagment to Kiara...”

“What about it?” his mother asked.

“I want it to be cancelled.” he said, flatly.

Bulma stared at her son wide-eyed. “And why would you want that? It’s already been anounced to the kingdom! Besides, you even said that you loved her! What is making you come to the conclusion that you suddenly don’t want to marry her?!”

“That’s the promblem, kaa-san. I don’t love, I only thought I did...” he said quietly. “I... I love someone else...”

Vegeta became slightly interested in the conversation. “What do you mean, you love someone else?”

“Kiara really doesn’t love me anyway, she’s just--”

“You’re not answering my question, brat.” he said sternly.

Trunks crossed his arms over his chest in a defiant manner. “I already told you... I love someone else!”

Bulma could tell by hr son’s eyes that he was not lying. “Then, son, who do you love?”

He paused a moment. ::Should I tell them? What will father’s reaction be if I tell him that I’m in love with a slave? And a DEAD slave at that...:: “Well...”

Before he could answer, Kiara burst into the room. Bulma was shocked by her sudden showing of anger, but she immediately covered it with a smile. “Kiara, dear, what is it you want?”

Kiara posed a hurt expression on her face. “Oh, Trunks-kun! I have the worst of news!”

“Huh?”

“That treacherous slave, the one who tried to kill you, she’s--”

“Alive?” said someone from behind.

Pan stepped into the throne room, Bra right beside her, Goten in tow. “Long time, no see, eh?” she said, trying to supress ehrself from blasting the snake into oblivion.

Vegeta shot up in seeing Pan. “What the--”

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

Bwahahahaha! Cliff hanger! (I love doing that...) What will there reaction be? How will Pan handle the situation? More importantly, how will Trunks act? Wait a minute, what am I asking you for? I’m the one writing it! ^.^ Owari! R&R!