ôHidden Secrets:ô

³The Alternate Story ³

Sabrina looked around the large hall before her. Her green eyes noticed the amazing architecture that surrounded her in the vast house she now was to work at. A servant had told her to wait where she was until the Overseer came.

Sabrina was a Kai, an ancient race that lived on a small planet at the very far end of the universe. She stood no more than five feet tall, with deep purple hair that was half pulled up into a pony tail set high on her head, and bright emerald green eyes. Her clothes were simple Kai clothes, made up of semi-baggy white pants, a long sleeveless yellow tunic trimmed in purple and yellow boots. On her ears hung simple blue earrings that were made to resemble those of the Kaioshins.

She had come to this new planet, known as Kaioshin-kai, to work as one of the many servants that served the great gods of the universe. There were four gods that watched over the four quadrants of the universe, and a higher god that oversaw their actions.

“Sabrina,” an older woman said cheerfully. She extended her hand to shake the young girl’s. “Welcome to Kaioshin-kai. I’m Cilla, the head of the servants. I’ll show you around and get you situated into your room.”

Sabrina thanked her and followed the short heavy woman up the stairs ahead of the main entrance. She pointed out the different rooms that there were, confusing Sabrina to no end. But Cilla assured her that she’d learn where everything was quickly.

Cilla opened the door to a small yellow-walled room with two beds off to the side and a small nightstand separating them. “This will be your room. Your roommate is Sashay, who is downstairs serving the Kaioshins their tea.”

Sabrina had almost forgotten about the gods. “When will I have the opportunity to meet them?”

“I’ve put you on the dinner schedule. I’ll have you bring in one of the desert trays with Enroy.” She motioned for Sabrina to put her bags on the floor. “I hate to just have you dumb your belongings here, but I’ve got to tend to the kitchen soon. I’ll bring you around to where you’ll need to go later on. For today, I’ll just leave you to the desert tray, but after I’ll give you a list of things that you’re to do daily.”

Cilla led Sabrina down a short hallway that ended with a large window. “Down there are the rooms of North and East Kaioshin.” She pointed to the hallway to her left. “West and South Kaioshin reside down there. If you ever have to deliver something to their rooms, that’s where they are.”

“Would I ever have to clean their rooms?” Sabrina asked, still looking down the hallway of North and East Kaioshin.

“Not now. The older and more experienced servants take care of that. I’m talking about bringing them food or something. Once and a while they decide to stay in their rooms. The Kaioshins are very quiet and peaceful people who aren’t into partying like the Grand Kai is.”

“Oh,” Sabrina said picking up pace to follow the woman again.

After having finished the tour of the house, Sabrina was left to wonder around the grounds. She went to the back of the house where she found a large garden. Many trees and large flowers surrounded a patio that served as a sort of centerpiece. She noticed there were a few people sitting out there. She didn’t know if they were the gods or not, for she had never seen any of them.

Dinnertime came and the cooks were moving around quickly. Sabrina started to get nervous about her one simple task that Cilla had given her. She was scared that she might drop the tray, or she’d trip and fall over, or worse she’d spill something on one of the great gods.

“Sabrina! Take the tray!” one of the cooks called from across the room.

The young Kai took a deep breath and picked the tray up and held it as she was shown. The other server went before her to lead the way. Sabrina tried to look ahead of the boy in front of her to see what the gods looked like. She could see one large man with a little bit of hair on top of his head sitting at the head of the rectangular shaped table. On one side of the table sat a tall broad-shouldered man with little red hair, and next to him sat a shorter heavier man with a grayish mustache. Across from them sat a young looking woman with long white hair that was separated into locks and next to her was a young looking man with a bushy mohawk.

Sabrina held her breath as she set the tray down on the table, feeling as if the gods were summing her up by watching her every move. A feeling of relief came over her as she let go and backed away. When she turned to leave, she caught the sights of the one with the mohawk on her. She smiled slightly and exited where she had entered.

Later that night, Sabrina had met her roommate Sashay when she returned to her room. Sashay was a taller girl with light blue hair and dark blue eyes. She was extremely nice and helpful to the newcomer.

“So what do you think of the place?” Sashay asked as she pulled down the comforter on her bed.

“Its big,” Sabrina laughed, “but I like it. It’s really nice. How long have you worked here?”

“About three years,” she answered sitting down and taking her hair out of its ponytail so she could brush it.

“Do you regret it?”

“Not really. I mean you have your bad days, but that’s common. Most of the servants are nice and the Kaioshins are good too. Just watch out for some our fellow workers. Some of them have strange ideas and stuff.”

“Oh, ok.” Sabrina sat down after changing into her pajamas. “Hey Sashay, which god is the one with the mohawk?”

“Both East and North Kaioshin have a mohawk. The younger or older guy?”

“Younger.”

She smiled and put her brush back on the table across from her. “That’s East Kaioshin. He’s a cutie, isn’t he?”

“To be honest, yeah he is.”

“Yeah. A lot of us joke that we’ll marry him one day. He’s definitely worth the work I think. He’s extremely polite to anyone, no matter who or what they are. And he’s got the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen on a guy.”

Sabrina slide underneath the covers of her bed and thought about what Sashay had told her. She had noticed his eyes…mostly because they were looking right at her. She wished that she could find someone like him, but now that she was on Kaioshin-kai working as a full time servant, the thought was hard to overcome.

óóó

A few days passed. Cilla had given the Sabrina the chores of making new flower arrangements in the front entry and on the dinning room table, sweeping the kitchen floors twice a day, and bringing the desert trays out during dinner—just to name a few things.

Sashay was right when she had told her later on that the gods mostly kept to themselves, no one ever really seeing them. Sabrina looked forward to seeing East Kaioshin every night during dinner. She had developed a bit of a crush on him, as most of the young servant girls do as far as she heard. However, to her surprise, he’s looked at her every time she’s brought the trays out. But she’s never had the opportunity to talk to him.

That changed one day however. She was told to pick flowers from the west side gardens for the flower arrangements, and that’s when she happened to bump into him. He was walking by with a book in his hand. He stopped when Sabrina quickly turned away out of embarrassment.

“I do enjoy your arrangements that you come up with everyday,” he said in a soft voice. “Much better done than it was before you came.”

“Thank you sir,” Sabrina responded shyly.

He smiled and walked up to her. He stopped only a few feet away. She noticed that he wasn’t much taller than she. He looked at her with soft black eyes, eyes that she could just stare at for hours.

“Do you find Kaioshin-kai to your liking?” he asked, breaking the moment of silence.

“Yes, sir. Its beautiful.”

He smiled and went up right next to her. He kept his head facing forward, but looked at Sabrina through the corner of his eyes. “You don’t have to be so shy around me. I don’t bite.” He smiled, his eyes getting narrow as he did so. He turned and left before Sabrina could realize it.

“So he came up and talked to you,” Sashay confirmed as she carried a basket full of clean laundry.

“I couldn’t believe it. He’s really nice, just like you said.”

“He came up to me when I first came here. I guess he just likes having new girls around.”

“Has anyone ever had the chance to go out with him?” Sabrina asked curiously.

Sashay laughed. “No silly. The Kaioshins rarely leave the planet. So to my knowledge, no one on the outside has ever been with any of them, and none of the servants here have either. But…”

“But what?”

“Well, I have heard that he and West Kaioshin were almost an item way back when.”

“Really?” Sabrina asked, pulling her hair up into a sloppy bun.

“Yeah. Don’t know what happened though. According to rumors around here, they’ve been good friends forever, and they started to get a little closer.”

“How close?”

“We really don’t know. But one day it just stopped. Probably because they came to realization that they could get dismissed if Dai Kaioshin ever found out.”

“What do you mean by dismissed?”

“Their immortality is taken away and they’re sent away somewhere. It’s against the rules to have any sort of romantic relation with anyone, I guess. Oh well.” She sighed. “I have to finish putting away the laundry. I’ll see you later.”

“See ya,” Sabrina replied back.

Sabrina headed towards the kitchen to start her sweeping. She was stopped short when a taller well-built man confronted her. “Sabrina,” he said looking down at her with black eyes.

“Excuse me, Arden,” she said sweetly and moved around him.

He put his hand on her shoulder, stopping her from moving on. “What’s the hurry? I’m going on my break. Why don’t you come and join me?” It was hard to explain, but he didn’t sound so sincere. He had an almost demanding tone of voice; as if he was telling her to do something, not suggesting. He stood about five feet eight inches tall, with short green hair that stood straight up. He was handsome, to say the least, but it was his cocky attitude that turned people away.

“I’m sorry, but I have to do my chores,” Sabrina said reluctantly.

“What a pity.” He turned so he could face her. He pushed a stray strand of purple hair out of her face.

“Please,” she said to him, growing quite annoyed. “I have things to do.” And with that she quickly walked away.

Arden watched after her, making a mental note that she’ll be harder to control that some of the others in the past. If there was one thing for sure, Arden always got what he wanted one way or another.

óóó

Some days later, Sabrina was deciphering over whether she approved of her own work concerning the flower arrangements in the foyer. She stepped back and eyed her work, paying close attention to their appearance.

Just as she decided they were good enough, large hands rested on her shoulders. “A beautiful job I must say,” a deep voice cooed.

“I’ve asked you before, please do not bother me.” She tried to pull away, but the hands twisted her around, grabbing her arms and holding her tight. “Stop it! You’re hurting me!”

“Why do you try to act so noble? You’re a lonely girl who needs a strong man. You should thank the heavens that I’ve chosen you,” Arden said harshly. He leaned down and pressed his mouth against hers.

Sabrina knew she could break free from his grasp, but she could take measures into her own hands. Her only defense was her teeth. Arden jumped away when he felt a cold liquid come from his bottom lip.

“How dare you…” he started. He threw Sabrina to the floor and wiped his mouth. “I am superior to you! You are just a woman—I am the man and I am in charge, do you hear me?” He raised an arm as if he was going to slap her clear across the face.

Sabrina quickly crawled to her feet and dodged around him and ran through the front doors. She ran as fast as she could away from the house. She started crying from the fear that ran through her head. Seeing a tree coming into view, she quickly touched it as if stopping herself from running. As she caught her breath, she let her back slide down the tree trunk and let herself touch the ground.

Sabrina had raised her knees up to her face and let herself calm down from what had just happened. She didn’t like Arden at all, and his persistence to make her his was like a thousand deaths to her.

Through all her thoughts and the darkness of her knees, she didn’t notice that someone had joined her at the tree. The soft sound of a voice asking “Are you okay?” made her head pop up quickly.

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” the soft voice said.

Sabrina looked up to see those jet black eyes embedded in a lavender face looking down at her. She smiled and tried to wipe away the tears that forcefully came down her face.

“I’m fine, really,” she assured him.

“Oh,” he said almost as if he was mocking her. “Well then, I guess you wouldn’t want my company.”

She looked at him. “Well, I wouldn’t mind…”

He laughed ever so slightly and knelt down next to her, shifting his vision to the lake before them. “I actually come to this same spot often,” he told her, knowing he had her full attention. “It’s peaceful, quiet, serene. I feel like I can get away from my life even just for a few moments when I sit where you are. I know that’s what you want right now, isn’t it? To get away from life and just relax.”

“I…I guess so…” Sabrina realized that a god was comforting her. He had come on his own and just started to talk to her out of nowhere. She smiled, feeling as if she was truly getting away from the hassles of life for just a few seconds.

He turned his vision back to the pale face of the girl next to him. “Arden can be quite demanding, but don’t let him get to you.”

Her eyes showed how shock she had become at his statement. “How…how did you…”

He smiled that smile he was noted for. “Your mind is like an open book, Sabrina. Reading your thoughts is easy for someone like me.” He stood up and took a few steps away from her. “I wouldn’t stay out here too long. Cilla even scares me when she gets mad. I wouldn’t want to upset her.” He continued to walk away, leaving Sabrina by herself again.

Totally baffled by what had just occurred, Sabrina looked back at the sparkling aquamarine water of the lake. East Kaioshin had just soothed her nerves, and made her feel completely better. She couldn’t believe it. As she got up to return to the house, she couldn’t help but wonder if any of the other girls had experienced his true kindness.

óóó

Almost every day Sabrina had to practically hide from Arden. But it seemed that every time she got frustrated, East Kaioshin was there to make her feel better. She had actually gotten on a one-name basis with him. He told her that as long as they were alone, she could just call him Kaioshin.

The time they spent together wasn’t too long, but Sabrina felt as if she had a good friend in the god of the east. He seemed to always be there for here lately, and Arden just seemed to be a little fly that wouldn’t go away.

Sashay hadn’t been feeling well almost all day, so Sabrina offered to do her chores for the day. Of course her roommate agreed and said she’d pay her back somehow. Sabrina had finished her set of chores, and told Cilla not to worry about bringing the clean laundry upstairs and that she was on it.

She walked up the large staircase and down the hall adjacent to the hall where East Kaioshin’s room was. She smiled, almost hoping that he’d walk out and come talk to her. But alas, he didn’t.

It only took her a few minutes to put the towels in the closet. She had just closed the doors when someone wrapped their arms around her and pushed her into a nearby room. She stopped herself from falling over when the person pushed her in while they closed the door. She looked up to see the glaring look of Arden’s black eyes.

“If I didn’t know better Sabrina, I’d think you were trying to avoid me for the past few days,” he said with a twisted smile.

“You’re a bright one,” she responded with an almost nasty tone. “Don’t make me scream.”

“If you scream, you’ll regret you rejected me in the first place. This can all go easy on you if you just give in.” He took a few steps towards her, and she took a few steps back. “There’s plenty of time before the dinner is to be served…you have nothing to do until then. And neither do I…”

She saw the look in his eye that spelt trouble. She held her breath as she prepared to run around him and quickly open the door. When she started, he grabbed her by the waist and plopped her onto the bed on the other side of the room. She tried to yell, but he slapped her face.

Arden moved on top of her, struggling to rip her clothes off while she held his face away with her hands. Unfortunately for Sabrina, he was stronger than her and was able to push down hard enough to make her elbows bend.

“Let me go! Someone help!” She yelled as loudly as she could. But she knew that the majority of the servants were downstairs getting the dinner ready for the gods. It was no use; no one was going to hear her and she was going to fall victim to Arden’s terrible desires.

All of the sudden Sabrina felt the pressure of Arden’s body taken away from her own. She looked over to see Arden sliding down a wall after being thrown into it. She hadn’t figured out what had happened until she saw a small figure emerge from the shadows.

“Kai-Kaioshin…sir…” she said with a sigh of relief.

“Your Excellency, this isn’t what it looked…” Arden started.

“Save it,” East Kaioshin snapped at him. “You have hurt this girl for the last time. I hereby banish you from this planet. I want you gone by tomorrow, and if I ever catch you near this girl or any other servant here, you’ll suffer a worse punishment. Do you understand?”

Arden looked at him as he got to his feet. “Do you?!” Kaioshin repeated.

“Yes, sir.” He pushed back a piece of his green hair that had fallen into his face. He noticed Kaioshin still standing in his place and Sabrina sitting up on the bed. “I get it,” he said with a smirk. “You want her for your own, don’t you? Well, of course she’ll bow down to the great god of the east. Won’t you Sabrina?”

“I said leave,” Kaioshin said more calmly.

Arden left, leaving the two alone in the room. “Are you ok Sabrina?” He asked sitting next to her on the bed. He noticed her shirt was torn at the shoulder and her hair had been messed up.

“I am now, sir,” she replied, not being able to look at his face from utter embarrassment.

“I’m sorry, Sabrina,” he apologized. He noticed a tear welding up in her eye. He took a deep breath and wrapped his arm around her, bringing her head to lean against his shoulder. “I should have banished him long ago when I heard that there was foul play. I didn’t expect him to do it again after he had been warned the first time. I never would’ve let harm come to you.”

Sabrina sobbed gently onto his vest, using her left hand to hold onto his other shoulder. “I was just so scared…I didn’t think anyone would be able to stop him, and I just couldn’t…”

“I know,” Kaioshin soothed. “I know.” He pulled her away from him and kissed her forehead. “I don’t want you to do anything more tonight. Just go to your room or wherever and relax, okay?”

She smiled and looked down. “Thank you for rescuing me, Kaioshin.”

“I couldn’t let anything happen to my girl, now could I?” Sabrina looked up. “Who would I have to talk to?” He smiled and stood up. “I’ll have someone bring you your dinner. Just take it easy.”

When he left, Sabrina put her hand to her forehead and felt the spot where he had kissed her. She felt as light as a feather just then, and wanted to run after him and throw her arms around his neck. Instead, she left for her bedroom to do as Kaioshin had told her.

“That’s super lucky that East Kaioshin was there to help you,” Sashay said when Sabrina had told her friend what happened. “And he kissed you is another miracle. Man, I wish Arden had his sights set on me, for sure.”

“Well, I was scared half to death when Arden tried to rape me. But as usual Kaioshin made it all better. And he called me his girl. What do you think that meant?”

“Dunno,” Sashay said, taking a tissue from the box on the nightstand. “Maybe he likes ya, and is willing to take the big risk again. Hey, you might be the next ‘West Kaioshin’.”

“Well, that’d be super cool, but I doubt it. He probably just thinks of me almost as a friend.”

Sashay leaned back down on her pillows. “Still though; you sure are one lucky girl.”

“Maybe,” Sabrina said to herself as she heard a knock at the door, and a servant entered to bring her dinner.

óóó

Sabrina hadn’t seen Kaioshin at all the next day. Well, except for seeing him walking down the stairs with West Kaioshin in the morning. She was trying to find the courage to ask him what he truly thought of her, but she knew she’d chicken out when the moment came. He’d probably find her crazy for asking and tell her “nothing but a friend.”

“Sabrina,” she heard Cilla call from around the corner. “Take your break now. I’ve got some lemonade made if you want some.”

Sabrina took a glass outside with her when she went down to the tree by the lake. She looked around to see if Kaioshin was anywhere in sight, but to her own disappointment, he wasn’t.

She sat down and let the gentle breeze set her into a state of relaxation. He had half an hour before she had to go back and let Cilla find something else for her to do. She would look up almost every minute and check to see if East Kaioshin was coming to sit with her, but he wasn’t. She looked at her feet and thought that maybe she and Sashay were wrong about him. Maybe he wasn’t going to take that risk again. Maybe he learned his lesson with West Kaioshin.

The half hour went by and Sabrina returned to the house, feeling a little let down because Kaioshin hadn’t come.

Sabrina was wiping the table down after dinner, after the dishes had been cleared. She hummed softly to herself as she worked, trying to let her mind stay clear of all thoughts. When she walked over to the other side of the table, she noticed hands folded behind the back of the owner of a blue vest and orange sash.

“Kaioshin,” she said with a happy surprise.

He turned around and greeted her with a smile. “Sabrina, when you’re finished for the night, go to the lake. I want to talk to you.” He left it at that and walked away.

Sabrina watched him until he turned the corner out of the dinning room. She wondered why he wanted to talk to her. Perhaps he knew that she really liked him. Perhaps he was going to tell her that she has to stop thinking about him.

“Cilla, am I done for tonight?” She asked poking her head through the kitchen door.

“Did you clean the table and sweep the floors?” the old woman asked while drying off a large pan.

“Yes. I did it all.”

“You’re done then.”

“Thank you, Cilla.” Sabrina hurried out of the dinning room, passing a mirror and checking her hair on the way. Even though she was almost convinced that he was going to tell her to leave him alone, she still wanted to look nice.

She saw him sitting on the grass by the water. “Sit down,” he told her when he felt her presence. She did so and waited. “I was beginning to think you were holding off on coming.”

“No, I just had a few things to do.”

“I see.” He smiled and turned to her. “Sabrina, you do know that I’m usually very quiet around everyone. For some reason, I’ve grown comfortable around you and I enjoy your company.” Sabrina looked into his eyes contently. He chuckled to himself. “It is clear to me that you have similar thoughts.” That statement caused the girl’s face to go from a light peach to a bright red.

“I waited for you yesterday…” she got out quickly changing the subject.

“Unfortunately, I had to check out the remains of a planet that had been annihilated by an evil wizard and his creation. They’ve become the biggest threat to the universe recently.”

“Oh…”

He moved closer to her and put his hand on the side of her face. “I hope someone has told you that you’re beautiful,” he said, almost whispering.

“No…except Arden, but I didn’t take him seriously.”

“Well, even the likes of Arden weren’t lying when he said that.” The god’s face moved closer to her own. “I promised myself that I wouldn’t do anything rash, but it’s hard to turn down such a pure heart.”

At that moment he kissed her. Sabrina closed her eyes and fell under his spell of pure bliss. She started to kiss him back, letting him take over completely. A million different thoughts shot through her mind. But one in particular made her stop and think for a moment. He had promised himself that he wouldn’t do anything rash…that meant he was taking the risk again. The last thing Sabrina wanted was for East Kaioshin to be dismissed because of her.

Though she really didn’t want to, Sabrina pulled away and looked at the ground. Kaioshin sat there with confusion present on his face. “I can’t,” she said quietly.

He looked at her eyes which seemed to be avoiding his own. “What do you mean you can’t? I don’t understand.”

“I heard about you and West Kaioshin…”

Kaioshin sat away and looked at the water. “You did…” He knew that she must have been thinking that he still loved his fellow god.

“Sabrina…I have to tell you,” he said.

“You don’t have to East Kaioshin,” she interrupted. “I know what could happen if you were caught hanging around me in a manner more than just to keep you company. I don’t want to be the cause of anything. I’m…I’m really sorry.” She got up and ran back to the house, leaving Kaioshin sitting alone, trying to decipher what had just happened.

“What happened?” Sashay asked. She saw her roommate run up the stairs and into their room. “Hey,” she said sitting down on the bed to comfort her friend. “What’s up?”

Sabrina had her head buried in a pillow. “I denied him.”

“What?”

“Kaioshin…East Kaioshin. He—he kissed me again…and I told him I couldn’t and wouldn’t…” Sabrina cried. “Why? Why did I do something like that?”

Sashay put a hand on her shoulder. “Because you love him and that’s your way of protecting him.”

“What if I just really hurt his feelings?”

“East Kaioshin is a god remember. He must know why you did it. He’ll understand.”

Sabrina had a hard time believing what Sashay had told her. Kaioshin barely looked at her. She knew she must have hurt him a lot by doing what she did. He was giving her his heart…something that he doesn’t do to every girl that comes around. And she was a fool and said no.

After a day of him ignoring her, she wouldn’t look at him when she brought out the desert trays. She couldn’t. For the first time that day, he did look at her and saw that she was avoiding eye contact. As he looked down at the table, he had just missed Sabrina glance over to him. She walked away heartbroken.

Sabrina laid in bed that night thinking about East Kaioshin. She wondered what he thought of her now. She wondered if he still wanted to be at least friends after what she did. Finally she couldn’t take it any longer. She wanted to find out right then and there before she spent the entire night driving herself insane.

“Where are you going at this time of night?” Sashay asked sleepily after hearing Sabrina getting up.

“To apologize.” She put her robe and slippers on and carefully opened the door.

“Now? Sabrina, it’s almost one in the morning. Don’t you think he might be sleeping?”

“If he is, then I’ll just wait. But I just need to get it out. I’ll never get to sleep if I don’t try. I’ll be right back.”

Sabrina gingerly walked down the halls in the darkness. Only the moonlight and a few nightlights lit her way. She came to the hallway where his room was located. However, she still didn’t know which door was his. She didn’t want to take a guess and end up confronting North Kaioshin. She knew she’d blurt out some stupid and ridiculous excuse if that happened.

Luckily, the young Kai girl noticed the keyholes under the right doorknob. She took a deep breath and decided to pick the door on the right. She bent over and peered through the small hole with one eye to see if she could see whose room was whose.

So far her luck wasn’t going as well as she thought. She saw North Kaioshin situated in a chair reading a book with a small lamp on next to him.

“Darn,” she said under her breath. She moved over to the other side of the hall and looked through the keyhole to see where East Kaioshin was. She noticed a single light was on, but she didn’t see him anywhere.

A sudden noise startled her and she heard footsteps coming. Panicking, she took drastic measures, opened the door to East Kaioshin’s bedroom, and moved in before someone caught her spying around.

She stood with her back pressed against the door, her eyes wondering around looking for any sign of Kaioshin. However, there wasn’t one. “Kaioshin…” she whisperingly called. “Kaioshin,” she called again. There was no answer. She cautiously took a few more steps in and discovered that he wasn’t in the room at all.

“Where would a god go at one in the morning?” She questioned herself. She couldn’t help but be nosy at some of the objects in his room. Straight ahead of the double doors of the room were two large windows with seats at the base, being separated by a small four-shelved bookcase. To the left was a white-stoned fireplace with gold trip outlining the entire thing. A small table with two chairs stood off to the side of it, and not far from where she stood was a blue cushioned chair with a matching hassock. To the right of the room was a medium sized bed with what seemed like a hand-carved headboard. A nightstand sat on both sides of the bed with a small light hanging from the wall just above them. There were a few doors that Sabrina was unsure of where they led too. Closets and a bathroom she figured.

She stood admiring the room for a few moments when she realized that she shouldn’t be there. She figured that she should just look for him tomorrow morning when things didn’t look so suspicious.

Her hand rested on the gold doorknob when she realized that there was someone outside. Peeking through the keyhole, she noticed Dai Kaioshin talking with North and East Kaioshin. “Great…” she said to herself. But then, East Kaioshin turned to enter his own room.

Sabrina panicked once again and dodged into one of the closed doors. She kept the door opened a crack so she could see what was going on outside. East Kaioshin came into his room, looking exhausted. Now what do I do? Sabrina thought. She discovered that this door led to a small closet. She could feel some kind of material hitting her head and back.

East Kaioshin sat down on his bed and removed his red boots and tossed them across the room. He sat on the bed for a few minutes and thought to himself. So many things were happening at once. First Majin Buu, then Sabrina, and then Majin Buu again. He couldn’t keep up with everything. He felt that he failed being a god, for two planets had been destroyed in his quadrant. He knew very well that he was powerless to stop Majin Buu, but what kind of god sits back and watches? Now, all the young god wanted to do was go to bed and sleep his worries away until morning.

Sabrina waited in anticipation. She watched in almost amazement as Kaioshin untied the orange sash around his waste and laid it on the hassock. He leaned back to stretch his body when he stopped and looked in Sabrina’s direction. All she had done was gasp and move her hand, but she didn’t think he’d notice such little movement.

He must have though. “Who’s there?” He asked moving towards the closet. “Whoever it is, come out.”

Sabrina didn’t have the courage to open the door. She leaned back into the clothes and waited. The door was quickly pulled open, a wide-eyed Kaioshin standing before her. Sabrina slowly looked up at his surprised expression.

“Sabrina?” Kaioshin asked amazed. “What are you doing in here?” At least he didn’t sound cross with her.

“I…uh…” She couldn’t seem to get any words out of her mouth.

“Come out of there,” Kaioshin almost laughed. He motioned for her to sit on the blue chair as he sat down on the hassock. “Now please tell me what business you have sneaking into my bedroom.”

“I’m really sorry, Kaioshin…” she started not being able to look at him. “I couldn’t sleep…and I needed to talk to you. When I came to your door, I heard someone coming and I quickly went in, afraid of being caught by someone other than you. And then I couldn’t get out because you and Dai Kaioshin were out in the hallway.”

“What did you want to talk to me about?” He asked, not seeming to care about her excuse for being in his closet.

“I…I just wanted to apologize to you,” she said softly. “I really didn’t want—mean to run away like I did before.”

Kaioshin listened. She looked up to him slowly and noticed his eyes weren’t showing any sign of anger.

“I’m really sorry…especially now for coming into your room like this. I know I have to be punished…I’m just a low servant and I have no right what so ever to…”

She was silenced by an index finger covering her mouth. “You don’t need to apologize. You told me you knew about West and I, and that told me everything. Well, I’m not what some people refer to as a ‘player.’ I’ve been friends with West Kaioshin my whole life. What you heard was just a rumor. I could never have a romantic relationship with one of my closest friends, Sabrina.”

Sabrina felt relieved that she had heard just a made up rumor. “But I thought…”

“We did kiss just a little bit. But I couldn’t go through with anything. I just want that to be clear to you.” He had a very sincere look on his face that relaxed Sabrina’s nerves, just like it always did.

“I’m…I’m glad. But I really ran away because,” she paused for a moment. “Because I don’t want you to be dismissed from being a god because of me.”

Kaioshin laughed and took her hands in his and leaned forward. “Sabrina, that’s something that you have to let me deal with. I’m almost positive that no one would be able to find out. And besides…it could all be thought of as a rumor; just like West and me.”

Sabrina smiled as he tightened his grip on her hands. He leaned in closer. “Do you trust me?” he asked softly.

“Of course…” She felt his lips touch hers and they engaged in a passionate kiss. Sabrina relaxed completely as the God of the East pushed her back into the chair and he moved over her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and let him kiss her head and neck. “I love you,” she whispered into his ear.

Kaioshin didn’t respond, but Sabrina knew that he had to have feelings for her as well. She shivered as his hands ran down her shoulders pulling her robe off. Eventually, she found her own hands touching his shoulders, the smoothness of his own skin.

Sabrina felt the god pick her up and move her to a different spot. There she would spend the rest of her night, a dream really coming true.

óóó

The next morning, Kaioshin opened his ebony eyes to see a bunch of purple hair just beneath his head. He shifted his weight and found his arms around another body. He smiled as Sabrina moved in her sleep. He hated to wake her, but they’d have to keep all suspicions away. If neither of them emerged until later and at the same time, it wouldn’t take long for rumors to start and someone to find out.

“Sabrina,” he softly sang in her ear. “Wake up.”

He heard his name coming from her mouth. Her eyes fluttered opened and looked up to his face. “It wasn’t a dream, was it?”

“No.”

Kaioshin kissed her cheek and got up. He moved over to the closet and pulled out a blue silk robe to cover him. “I wanted to let you sleep, but you know that things like this can’t last forever.”

“I know.” Sabrina got up and put her own robe on, shivering from the feeling of something against her cold body. “How do I get to my room without getting noticed?”

“Just wait here,” he said. “I’ll go and see if Sashay is there. It’s later in the morning, so she shouldn’t be. I just hope that she doesn’t go around telling everyone that you weren’t in your own bed this morning.”

“I’ll just say I went to take an early shower. And besides, I can trust her.”

“Wait here and I’ll be right back.” Kaioshin went out the doors and went down the hallway towards the servants’ rooms. He concentrated to see if he could feel any kind of presence in Sabrina’s room, but he didn’t. He teleported back to his own room, finding Sabrina waiting for him.

Sabrina was extremely happy for the entire day. She knew she had to be careful though. Sashay had asked what happened, but Sabrina said she’d tell her later.

It was hard to go through the day not seeing him. She just wanted nothing but to be in his arms again. But that was going to prove to be harder than she wanted. She knew that rumors amongst the servants weren’t bad, but if the other gods found out it could pose a threat.

The young Kai girl did her usual chores, seeing Kaioshin once during the entire day. He had stopped only for a quick second to greet her. She wanted so badly to have him kiss her, but there was always someone walking by for whatever reason. He only smiled, said a few words and continued on his way.

Later that night, the god of the east had asked a servant to bring him a snack in ten minutes or so. He knew very well that the servant was busy with other things, and also knew that Sabrina would volunteer to do so instead.

The idea worked as the god expected. He sat on the window seat with Sabrina sitting on his lap and using his chest as a headrest. Words weren’t needed for the moment, both happy with the presence and feel of the other.

Unfortunately for both, Kaioshin had suggested to Sabrina that she not come to him every night like this. “I know Sashay is a good person, but if she slips and says that you haven’t been sleeping in your own room, it could get ugly. We mustn’t let anyone know about us, Sabrina.”

She sighed, knowing quite well that what he said was true. “I just wish somehow things could change and we didn’t have to be so secretive.”

Kaioshin smiled and kissed the top of her head and pulled her body closer to his own. “I know. Someday everything will work out just fine.”

It was almost midnight when Sabrina finally went to her own room. She yawned as she closed the door behind her and searched for her nightclothes with sleepy eyes. She gasped at the sound of rustling sheets, completely forgetting that her roommate was here and already in bed.

“Sabrina, this makes night number two. Will you tell me now what’s going on?” Sashay had a hunch, but didn’t know if something like that was true or not.

Sabrina changed quickly and sat down across from her friend. “You must promise me that you won’t say a word to anyone. And I mean no one, Sashay. It’ll ruin everything that’s for sure.”

Sashay nodded and gave her word. Sabrina took a deep breath, a smile forming from her lips. “Alright,” she started. “I’ve gotten pretty close to East Kaioshin lately.”

Sashay couldn’t help but let out a small squeal. “What’s he like? Is he everything everyone thinks?”

“Sashay!” Sabrina exclaimed at the nosiness of her friend. She smiled and leaned over closer. “He’s perfect.”

“You are so damn lucky, Sabrina! If anyone else found out, they’d be jealous of you in a heartbeat!”

“But don’t tell anyone! You mustn’t. It’s a huge risk to both Kaioshin and me. Remember, you gave me your word.” Sashay nodded and they decided to leave the conversation at that. Sabrina stared at the ceiling for a while before she rolled over to go to sleep. During that time, she felt a large amount of guilt building up inside of her, as if someone was taking her heart out and twisting it. She had betrayed Kaioshin. He had told her not to say anything, and she had promised him. She just hoped that now Sashay kept her own word.

óóó

Days passed, and as far as Sabrina knew, no one knew about her and the god, except for Sashay, of course. The day before had been close, however. Cilla had been waiting at the door for Sabrina to come back from her break, which ended long before her return. The older woman had scolded Sabrina that others needed their time, and that she had been slacking off lately.

“You either straighten up, or you’ll have to leave,” she had said. “Where do you go anyways?”

Sabrina had felt terrible lying like she did. “I…I keep falling asleep when I sit down to rest. I’m sorry; I guess I’ve been staying up too late reading.”

“Well, stop reading and become more focused.”

After that, Kaioshin himself had made sure that she didn’t go over her break limit. He had kept a careful watch on the moons to make sure the time hadn’t been exceeded. “The last thing I need to have happen is lose you,” he had told her. “Majin Buu has been driving me insane lately, but fortunately I have you to make me feel better.”

Sabrina smiled when she remembered his statement. She had never been so happy in her entire life. She and Sashay had been dusting one of the sitting rooms, both quiet and thinking to themselves. The entrance of another servant brought on both of their attention, but Sashay seemed a bit more disturbed by it.

The girl that had entered was a little older and not to mention than Sabrina. She too had purple hair, but many shades lighter. Her eyes were black, and her skin on the tanner side. She had a cocky attitude to go along with a hateful smirk she constantly wore.

“Cilla said that you can go on your break when you’re done, Sabrina,” Miya said. A twisted smile appeared on her face.

“Thank-you,” Sabrina responded politely. “I’ll just finish here first.”

The smile grew on the Miya’s face. “I bet you can’t wait.” She put a hand on her hip as she said her words.

Sashay gave Miya a quick and deadly glare. “Miya, don’t you need to be somewhere?” she asked with a hint.

Miya shrugged her shoulders. “I suppose.” She turned to leave, but stopped short and looked over her shoulder. “You might want to hurry, Sabrina. East Kaioshin is waiting for his daily pleasure boost from you.”

Sabrina looked at her with a stone glare. She tried to hide her thoughts and not let the cat completely out of the bag. “I’m sorry, but I don’t understand…” she said looking at Sashay. The blue-haired girl looked away shamefully.

Miya turned around slightly, knowing that she had Sabrina cornered. “I think you know what I mean. I heard about your little affair with the god of the east.” Sabrina swallowed hard, knowing that if Miya knew, then it wouldn’t be long before the gods knew as well. “What puzzles me is why someone like him would go after a person like you.”

Sabrina wanted nothing but to jump at Miya and pull her perfect hair out. Miya just snickered. “Sorry Sabrina. I’m sure it won’t be long before you’ll lose your boyfriend. It’s a shame, really.”

Sabrina bit her tongue in order to keep herself from becoming angry. She wouldn’t let Miya have the satisfaction knowing that she had gotten under her skin. When the girl left, Sabrina refused to face Sashay.

“Sabrina…” the other started. “I’m really sorry. We were talking about East and then it just slipped when I said that I thought you were so lucky…”

“How could you? I trusted you, Sashay!” Tears welded up in Sabrina’s eyes. “Of all people you had to let it slip out to…”

Just as Sabrina was finishing her sentence, she heard a loud bang coming from a few rooms over. “What was that?” Sashay asked looking up and then at her friend.

Sabrina was at a loss for words when she heard an evil cackle down the hall. She had never heard something so vile in her entire life, and yet she knew exactly who it must be. “Sashay…run…”

Kaioshin had decided to read a book on a grassy hill that morning. Sabrina was busy doing her morning chores, so he would not see her until she was told to take a break. As he flipped a page, he heard the laughter of West Kaioshin as she ran away with a rice ball South Kaioshin wanted so desperately. East Kaioshin could tell that it was going to be a good day by all the happy moods everyone was in. He sat up to watch the event and laughed as South Kaioshin jumped off the cliff to retrieve his falling prize.

East and West Kaioshin looked over the cliff to see South Kaioshin swimming to shore with his rice ball. West started laughing hysterically, but something bothered East Kaioshin.

“What’s wrong?” she asked her companion.

“I fear something terrible has happened…the house…someone’s there.”

“Of course…the servants are…”

“No,” East said. “Buu…”

He was right. It was Majin Buu. The epic battle on Kaioshin-kai started. The five gods didn’t stand a chance against him. Especially when the monster absorbed South Kaioshin after he slaughtered West Kaioshin. Soon North Kaioshin fell victim to the tyrant’s evil rampage.

“This can’t be happening…” East said to himself. Then it dawned on him. “Sabrina…” he started to head back to the mansion, only to be confronted by Buu himself. “You monster…” he said.

The tall, pink, and ugly creature only laughed as he looked down upon the young god of the east. “Now you die!” It only took a few hits to knock the god down. Just as he thought his life was to end at the hands of Buu, Dai Kaioshin himself blocked the attack. Majin Buu absorbed him as well, leaving East Kaioshin the last god alive on Kaioshin-kai.

For some odd reason, Kaioshin’s life was spared. Perhaps it was because it was thought that he was already dead, or would die because he was so badly wounded. Kaioshin lay in the rubble for a few seconds, thinking of giving up his fight to stay alive. But then he again remembered Sabrina. He picked himself up and tried to teleport to back to the mansion, but he was too weak to do so. He stumbled around on his feet, making his way back to her.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of walking, he came upon the house…still smoking from the attack. Tears filled his eyes, knowing that there was little chance she was still alive. He used every ounce of strength he had left to get to the front door.

“Sabrina!” He called as he charged through the doors. “Sabrina! Where are you?!” But it was no use. No one answered. He was determined to find her and refused to give up.

He went down the hall to the left. Not far from the entrance of one of the sitting rooms, he saw Miya lying on the floor. Her eyes stared blankly up at him, not even a twitch came from her body. Kaioshin shut his eyes when he figured out she was dead. Hope seemed to be fading, seeing that all there was on the ground was the rubble formed from a blast through the ceiling, and now he found one of the victims.

“Sabrina! Please answer me!” The tears in his eyes started to blind him. He found her in the sitting room. She lay under a piece of marble that had fallen from the ceiling. Using his good arm, he lifted it off her and pulled her onto his lap. “Sabrina, please say you’re still with me.”

For a moment there was no response. Then her eyes slowly opened. “Kai…Kaioshin…you came for me.”

“Of course…I wouldn’t leave you.”

“You’re hurt…”

“I’ll be fine.”

“No…you’re bleeding…badly.”

“All I care about is you. I’ll find someone to heal you, an-and you’ll be safe.”

“Find someone to heal you, Kaioshin. You must continue to protect the universe.”

“I don’t care about the universe right now. I just care about you.”

“I’m glad I came here, Kaioshin. You’ve made my life worth living. I only wish it wasn’t over so soon…”

Kaioshin shifted her in his arms, causing her to wince in pain. “Sabrina, I love you…please don’t leave me now.”

“Kaioshin…” She brought her hand to his face. She felt his soft white hair in her bloodstained hands, and then brought it down to his cheek. He brought his hand to hers and kissed it. “Promise me Kaioshin…you won’t give up yet. Don’t blame yourself. There are others that will still need your help.”

“Sabrina…” He leaned down and kissed her lips gently. He could feel that he was losing her, for her kiss was weakening as it went on for those few seconds.

When he stopped the contact of their kiss, she looked up with him with tear filled green eyes. “Don’t forget me, okay?” She smiled, her eyes shedding their tears. Soon, those tears stopped flowing, and her head grew heavy in Kaioshin’s arms. Her hand started slipping from his face.

“No…. Sabrina you can’t leave me like this. Don’t leave me here all alone…please…” Kaioshin brought her face up to his, and kissed her again, hoping her eyes would open. But they didn’t. He knew that she was dead, but he didn’t want to face the truth. The first person he truly loved now lay lifeless in his arms.

Kaioshin laid Sabrina down on the ground, lying himself down next to her. He held her hand, and closed his eyes. There was no point of going on now. He was badly wounded, blood coming from all over his body, his arm was broken, his body ached with pain; but most of all his heart ached. The one person he loved in his entire life was gone. And now he wanted to go too.

Kaioshin’s life flashed before him: his life as a god, the other Kaioshins, and then Sabrina. The love they shared for each other, and how they had to keep it a secret. The next thing he saw was Majin Buu and the mocking Bibidi. They had killed the greatest gods in less than ten minutes. “Promise me Kaioshin…you won’t give up yet,” she told him. “There are others that will still need your help.”

Kaioshin opened his eyes. “Sabrina…I won’t let you down. I’ll avenge your death if it’s the last thing I do.” He pushed himself up, trying to ignore the immense pain that shot through his body. He looked over at the beautiful creature that lay next to him. “Good bye, my love.” He gave her one last kiss and then got to his feet. He didn’t turn back. He made it as far as the front yard when he saw someone running towards him. A large pink man with long white hair came up to him. Kaioshin looked at the man, hardly knowing who he was, but he could no longer hold himself up. He fell to the ground, and shortly after was healed back to full strength.

The god of the east was relived that Kibito had been sent from Grand Kai’s planet to help out here. If only he had been a few minutes earlier, he could’ve healed Sabrina as well.

Kaioshin couldn’t bear to go back into the house again. He immediately used his powers to restore the structure to its original state. However, it was several years before he could comfortably return to the room where he had lost her…

Many centuries passed, and the young god never letting the young girl pass from his mind for a moment. Majin Buu had been destroyed now. Kaioshin had taken care of Bibidi long ago, and hoped that Buu would no longer pose a threat. However, after his revival by Bibidi’s son Babidi, Kaioshin started to lose all hope once again. Then he remembered the promise he made to Sabrina so long ago. Her words kept him going, until Buu was finally gone.

Now Kaioshin, who had become known as the Supreme Kai and had been through so many changes physically and emotionally, was finally able to put Sabrina to rest. The day Majin Buu was destroyed Kaioshin had gone to the lake on Kaioshin-kai by himself. He looked at his reflection in the water. He broke a half smile and a red rose appeared in his hand. He looked at it, kissed a petal, and gently tossed it into the water. He promised to the sky that he’d never forget her and would keep her in his heart for eternity. No one ever knew about Sabrina, not even Kibito who had become Kaioshin’s best friend since the massacre on Kaioshin-kai. Sabrina only lives in his heart now, and to this day a constant thought to the god’s mind. Hopefully someday, they will be together again.

ôThe End…ô