Forbidden

A Bitter Season

*****
16- A Bitter Season

Late Winter

Pan's eyes were lulling to a close. Her head bobbed, and she gasped as she straightened her back against her bed and stared at her balcony door. She almost hoped that if she stared hard enough, Trunks would come walking through it.

It had been thirty days since she had last seen Trunks. The first few days when he didn't show up, Pan tried not to let it worry her. Even though Trunks had started to visit daily, she knew he had a life on Vegeta-Sei and thought that maybe he was just busy. But days turned into a week and then two, and now a whole month had gone by without hearing from him. She had thought that maybe he was on a raid and would turn up eventually, but he hadn't yet.

A frightfully chilly breeze swept through, making the balcony doors creak open. Pan shivered and wrapped a blanket around herself. She knew it was foolish to leave her balcony doors open, but if Trunks happened to come by, she wanted him to see that he was still welcomed.

Pan's eyes grew unbearably heavy. Despite her shivering, she felt slightly warm, like a fire was in the pit of her stomach. Slowly, her body fell to the ground, and she curled the blanket around herself tighter. Pan let out a heavy breath, and she could have sworn she smelled the ocean as her eyes closed.

XxXxX

Trunks broke through salty water with a loud gasp. He was soaked as the chilling blue water roared around him. He had never felt so cold, and his teeth chattered uncontrollably. His eyes glanced around, hoping to see some nearby land, but all he saw was endless waves.

Where was he? It couldn't be Vegeta-Sei. There wasn't a body of water this big anywhere on the planet.

A huge wave crashed down on top of Trunks and pulled him under. His nose burned, and he thrashed wildly against the waves. His eyes burned as he opened them. He could barely see! He strained his eyes as he turned around, trying his best to find out exactly where he was and what he could do to survive.

In the distance, Trunks could see a pale figure floating in the water with her back to him, and he froze. The figure wasn't struggling like he was. She was just floating, wholly submerged. The pale dress she wore blew around her like there was a breeze underwater. Her dark hair floated around her, and Trunks felt himself growing sick as he swam over to the figure.

He touched her cold shoulder and turned her around to face him slowly. As soon as he saw her face, he let out a silent scream.

XxXxX

Trunks sat up in his bed, drenched with so much sweat that he did look like he just came out of the ocean. He stumbled off his bed and almost fell on the floor before he caught himself on the wall nearby. He couldn't find his breath, and he closed his eyes.

Pan's lifeless face flashed before him, and he remembered his her skin was a dark paste-like color, and he gasped out a choke. Trunks shook as he slowly slid down the wall.

Every night for the last several weeks, Trunks had had nothing but nightmares. The nightmares were always different in their settings, but the conclusion was still the same. He always found Pan dead, and it was always because he hadn't found her quick enough. He hadn't been able to save her in any of his dreams.

Trunks shuddered as he blinked his warm eyes and choked back a sob. He knew it would take weeks to get over Pan, he had expected it, but having nightmares about her was unbearable. It made his stomach feel like a bottomless pit, and sleep had become rare. Sometimes he would stay up for days at a time so that he could crash and sleep dreamless for a few hours.