A penny for a princess (Part III) Disclaimer: Any Tenchi characters in this fic belong to AIC and Pioneer. If there are any characters that you have not heard of, they are mine! Any legal letters sent to claim money will be filled under "I" for important.right in the pail! Morning came on a distant planet, far off from planet Jurai. For one of its inhabitants, mornings were never welcomed, only shut out by dense blinders, which were programmed to open around afternoon. In one of the rooms of this home in particular, one of its inhabitants was slightly stirring in bed, still refusing to accept morning in as a guest. "Go away, you're still too early, dammit!" Darul whispered to himself as he turned over again and knocked a bottle of liquor out of his bed. (Oh crap, that's right, I gotta go to work) Slowly, but surely, Darul managed to crawl himself out of bed. Walking to the door he stopped as his hand began to turn the knob of the door. He suddenly realized that he was barely dressed and his client was outside, not a good way to get a referral. Darul threw on a robe that was least likely to get up and run off on its own. He made his way to the kitchen only to find Aeka already up and sipping some tea. (Well, I guess she managed to find my secret stash of imported Bevidian tea, that was expensive, maybe I should add that to the bill) "Good morning Princess, I hope your sleep was well" He spoke while letting off a yawn. Aeka looked slightly disgusted over the sight of her would be bodyguard. (He managed to sleep the entire morning away and I had to get some tea myself, humph. Perhaps this should be docked from his pay) "Yes, good morning to you Darul" She spoke in her usual air of indifference to him. As Darul staggered over to the counter, he began to prepare himself something to help with his hangover "I see you managed to get some tea for yourself, I hope its to your liking" He tried to smile at her but the room was still moving a bit too much for him. "It will suffice for now" Aeka spoke from the rim of her cup. (My goodness, this tea is excellent, I simply must find out what kind it is) She tried to glance over Darul to see the box label from which she had found the tea. "If you want to know, its Bevidian tea, and it's very difficult to come by, specially round these parts " Aeka felt a bit embarrassed that he could guess her thoughts so clearly. "What is that you're making?" Darul looked over his shoulder and for a moment thought he saw four Aeka's sitting at the table. (Ack, too many of them, not enough money for this gig, oh wait, I'm still spinning, phew) "Oh this, this will help with the buzz I still got, want some?" He gave her a mischievous smile as he showed her a glass full of unmentionable things; Aeka thought she saw something move in the glass. A bead of sweat ran across the back of her head "Uh, no thank you really" He smiled "As you wish, well bottoms up then" He swallowed the entire contents while holding his breath. After he was finished, he threw his glass into the sink and walked off to the living room. Darul began to watch some programs on his holo-screen in hopes of catching any news regarding the events that went down the other day. No programs so much as mentioned any assassination attempt on Aeka, only that there were some slight scuffles on Jurai that were dealt with quickly. (They're keeping this one quiet, good move. Maybe this might get Sevyn to turn up, sooner the better) After a few minutes of watching and finding out nothing new, he turned off the holo-screen and headed back to his room. "Um, excuse me Darul, where are you going?" Aeka spoke as she began to get up from her chair. "Back to bed, not much for me to do in the meantime, sides, my heads still spinning" He was still staggering back to his room when Aeka got up. "Now just a minute, you're supposed to be watching over me, what kind of a protector are you, what if something happens to me, what, what, what if." He turned to face her as he stood in front of his room, door wide opened. "Easy your worship, no one followed us here, no one knows you're here, and no one can get in here, and if they did, don't sweat it, I sleep light so it shouldn't be too dangerous for you" Darul smiled, held a hand over his forehead and fell into his room. He door closed behind him and Aeka heard him crawl back into bed. "I simply don't believe this, how could Bendin hire such a sorry excuse of, oh what's the use" Aeka let out a sigh and placed her glass in the sink. She walked over to the living room and sat down in front of the holo-screen hoping to help pass the time by. She sat back as the holo-screen gave her image after image of soap operas that didn't seem to interest her. Aeka looked down on the pendant that she was wearing, the one that Tenchi had given her, the one that unbeknownst to her had saved her life. (I wonder how Tenchi is doing now; that sneaky Ryoko is probably trying to seduce him right now, oh!) She began to get a bit angry but took a deep breath and realized that eventually Tenchi would chose, and that she could not spend the rest of her life chasing after him if he was not to accept her in his life. She hoped that he would chose her, more than anything else she hoped for that, but she was a princess, not a silly little school girl with a crush. She had responsibilities, and they came before her feelings. Aeka let out a sigh, and couldn't help but think about Tenchi, she truly cared about him, but did he feel the same for her she wondered. Back on Earth, Tenchi was having his share of thoughts about Aeka. It had been over two weeks now and still no word from her. At first, he feared the worst, that he would never see her again, but Sasami assured him that she was still alive, that she would know if anything had happened to her. He felt a little better knowing that, but still, it just wasn't the same without her there. At every meal, there would be an empty seat where she would sit. Sometimes though, either Washu or his Grandfather would take it, but still, it just wasn't the same without her there. He realized that he truly cared about her and wondered if she felt the same about him. "Hey Tenchi, what are you thinking about?" Ryoko asked over dinner, she noticed he hadn't had too much of an appetite since Aeka had left. "Uh nothing Ryoko really" Tenchi tried his best, but he knew he couldn't fool her for long. He just wasn't sure what to do, he knew they all really cared about him, but this time, things were different. He was finally beginning to see what it would be like without one of the girls around, and realized that this would be the case of all of them soon if he didn't make a choice soon. Tenchi stood up from the table and decided to make an announcement. "I think we should go and visit Aeka, isn't anyone else worried about her other than myself?" He looked around the table and saw most of them looking at him still chewing their food. Washu was the first to speak "Of course we do Tenchi, but she needs some time to take care of things back home, really just give her some time, besides, now that she's gone, its gotten quiet around here. Without her to fight with Ryoko, I can actually get my experiments done around here" Tenchi sighed and turned to Sasami "Well of course I miss her, but Washu is right, she'll let us know when things are back to normal" Again Tenchi sighed, and he turned to Ryoko "What, look that prissy little brat isn't around now, this is the most peace we've had, why ruin it?" Tenchi sat back down, feeling defeated, he tried his best to get back to his dinner, but he just couldn't, not with Aeka out there. A few hours had passed, and Darul had managed to pull himself out of bed. For a while he sat there cleaning out his guns, thinking about Sevyn, he was a good partner, but he got too greedy and too reckless, it was the right choice to walk away from him. He flashed back to the last time they saw each other, and Sevyn had promised him that eventually, it would come down to either him or Darul, that there wasn't enough room for the two of them, and then he shot him. As Darul lay there in his own blood, though not mortally wounded, he saw Sevyn walk off humming a tune he did not recall. He came to in a cold sweat, and put down his guns, they weren't the only things that need cleaning, so did his soul. Aeka was sitting quietly reading a book she had found in Daruls' library, and for a moment she felt a bit of respect for him. (To think that he actually reads, and some rather good taste if I do say so myself) Darul walked into the living room "I got an idea, chances are we both got cabin fever by now, least I know I do, why don't we step out for a while, I know this nice little restaurant, serves some good food" He leaned against the wall casually with a jacket in hand waiting for her response. "Well, I do suppose it would be a good idea to get out for a little while" "Good, here, put these on" He passed her a sweater and a pair of loose fitting jeans, a cap and some flat walking shoes. "Do you honestly expect me to wear these? And furthermore, where did you get these from?" Darul thought for a moment (Damn, it always has to be an issue with her) "Firstly, I don't want you to draw any attention to yourself, you walk around in your royal attire and we're bound to attract trouble. Secondly, if you must know, those clothes were supposed to be a gift to a, well a friend" Aeka got up and walked over to the bedroom and closed the door behind her. A few minutes later, she came out and looked rather uncomfortable with her disguise. She had put the cap on just enough to cover a good portion of her hair and stood in front of Darul rather sarcastically waiting for his approval. "Good, let's go" He tried his best not to over complement her (Whoa, now that is more to my liking, she looks much better this way, too bad that, wait, mind on business guy!) They shortly arrived at a nearby restaurant that was a personal favorite of Darul. As he looked over the menu to see what would get his interest, he noticed that Aeka was looking rather uncomfortable. "Something the matter Aeka?" She looked around the restaurant and then looked at him "I'll say, this place is disgusting, and the characters here certainly don't look like they have much in the form of manners" He shook his head and leaned a little closer to her so no one would hear what he would next say. "Let me tell you something princess, these people here, they're hard working people, and yes they may not appear to be the cleanest or most mannered, but they're good people. Seriously, you've been living in an ivory tower for so long, its no wonder someone put a hit on you, for the right price I might even consider taking the job" "You're not serious are you?" He smiled "Oh I most certainly am, you see, any life can be bought and sold, if the price is right, that's my take on things" He leaned back just in time as the waitress came to take their orders. Aeka was in such shock from what she had just heard, so much in fact that Darul went ahead and ordered for her. (Can he be right, has my attitude brought this on me, oh what would he know, but then again, Tenchi had at times told me that I shouldn't be so arrogant, perhaps, perhaps I should chose more carefully how I behave towards others) Their dinners arrived and Darul immediately dug in after ordering a few drinks. Aeka eyed the plate; it was noodles and what appeared to be some form of vegetables. At first she almost passed, but then remembered what she had just thought about. She tried some and before long she was helping herself to the rest. Darul smiled (Well, at least she's beginning to lighten up a bit, maybe this wasn't such a bad gig after all) "This is delicious, thank you Darul, perhaps I have been a bit, well" Darul quickly chimed in "Snooty, arrogant, ungrateful, oh well, no ones perfect" Aeka stopped eating for a moment and shot a bit of a look at Darul, but realized that he was right. "Yes, I suppose you're right, but being a princess does require you to have a certain air about yourself, sometimes, I guess we just don't know when to draw the line" Darul sat back and smiled a bit "Well, I'm glad that you understand now, shall we head back?" Aeka nodded and he paid the bill giving the waitress the usual tip. As soon as they arrived back at his place, he noticed a flashing light coming from his message board. He activated it and was given the message. It was from Bendin, as he took off his jacket and Aeka took a seat in the living room, he listened as Bendin announced that the individual responsible for the assassination attempt had been apprehended. He also announced that there would be a ship arriving in the morning to pick up Aeka and to pay him the remaining amount of his fees. The message ended and Aeka was visibly happy, she would soon be home with family and friends. She would also be able to contact Tenchi and invite him, as well as the others, to Jurai; she wanted to speak with Tenchi. Darul went to the kitchen to fix himself a drink "So, you're going home soon, bet you're happy to finally be out of here eh?" "Of course, I have missed my home, why I'm so excited, I may not be able to get to sleep" He laughed to himself as he downed a drink and began to head for his room. "Try not to stay up too late now, well good nite, princess" He closed the door behind him, and the light soon went out. Aeka soon decided to get to bed, tomorrow was going to be a great day, and Darul had done a decent job after all. That morning, Darul was up unusually early; he wanted to see his client off, but also to get paid. A Jurian Imperial cruiser remained hovering above his home, the ship was too big for any of the docks to park in. Inside, two officials, along with Bendin, were thanking Darul for protecting Aeka all this time. They disclosed to him all the information about the suspect they had caught, but he didn't seem very interested though. Deep down he was going to miss Aeka, yes she was prissy and arrogant, but he knew that she had a good heart, just didn't show it enough though. Bendin escorted Aeka back to the ship to be beamed up. Before leaving though, Aeka walked over to Darul "I want to thank you on behalf of the people of Jurai for all that you have done" Darul shrugged "Don't mention it, that's what I get paid for, that's what I do" Aeka stood there for a moment, and then extended her hand to shake his, he didn't refuse. "Good day to you, Princess, take care of yourself" "And you as well, Darul" At that, she and Bendin left his home and outside were beamed aboard their cruiser. The two officials left behind discussed the transaction for his payment and after all the paperwork was taken care of, they took their leave. "Oh, by the way" one of the officials spoke and handed Darul a scroll "You are invited to attend a royal festival in light of the peace that has returned to Jurai, please honor us with your presence won't you?" Darul accepted the scroll "I'll think about, stuffy royal banquets aren't my specialty" The door closed behind as the officials left his home and were too beamed aboard the cruiser. He watched as the ship left the atmosphere "Phew, well now that that is finally over with" He walked over to his small computer terminal and checked his expense account, the money had been deposited and his account was looking quite healthy now. About an hour later, Darul emerged from his home with several bags in hand. After activating all his security systems, he walked down to the dock where his ship was parked. On board, he activated the main computer "Ah, good to see you sir" Darul often disliked how cheerful it sounded to him, but that was artificial intelligence for you. "Yeah, just great, look get this tinker going, I need a vacation" "Where to sir?" "Set a heading for the planet Hueshin in the Cthera System, they got a great little beach I've been meaning to get to, might be some hot chicks there too" He smiled as he sat back and left the rest to his computer, he sipped a bit of Tikki brew he had stashed away and took a nap afterward. His ship tore across space heading for its destination. (Take care Princess, remember what I told you) Please email all questions, comments and complaints to yours truly at: despairisu@aol.com.