Laurette James (j_laurette@hotmail.com)
Regular
Bastard of Jurai, Part 5

Disclaimer:
Tenchi Muyo characters belong to AIC and Pioneer, elements from the book
“The Woman Who Loved Reindeer” belong to Meredith Ann Pierce and Tor books,
and I’m not in this to make money.

Part Five

Tenchi had several decisions to make.

There were many people to give gifts to, many people to mention in speeches,
many people to invite to the Startika festivities that were almost certainly
going to decline the invitations.  Tenchi had to remember so many other
people’s names that he was as likely as not to forget his own.

There was always a grand ball on the palace grounds for Startika, lasting
all eight days.  Refreshments had to be bought and prepared.  The courtyards
had to be decorated.  Servers had to be hired and uniforms coordinated.
Entertainment had to be arranged.

Sasami was a huge help in all this.  Her immaculate organizational skills
and impeccable taste, not to mention her knowledge of the holiday’s
traditions, made her all but indispensable.  Tenchi was relieved not to have
to take care of it himself.

Ryoko was, of course, all but useless.  She spent all her time taking
“walks” with Sayuri, in order to be “out of the way” ...meaning, of course,
that she didn’t want to be around if someone had a job for her to do.  She
hadn’t changed much in the past five years.

Tenchi didn’t blame her.  Sometimes he wished he could hide, too.

Sayuri didn’t like being inside the palace during the day anymore.  Sayuri
was getting big.  She was running around by herself now, and it was all
Ryoko could do to keep up with her.  Joy filled the days.

Strange things started to happen, too.  For instance, though the days were
cold, Ryoko couldn’t get Sayuri to keep her cloak or her shoes on.  Sayuri
was always warm, as if her body accounted for the climate and made
adjustments accordingly.  Another thing was that while Sayuri often got cuts
and scrapes when she was out playing, she didn’t seem very interested in
them when they happened, as if they caused her no more discomfort than a
momentary itch; and they were never there the next day.

Ryoko didn’t make too big a fuss over things like that when she was around
Sayuri, because the last thing she wanted was to make her feel like she was
weird or strange.  But sometimes she wondered about them late at night,
wondered what powers Sayuri would have when she was a woman; and, more
importantly, how she would choose to use them.  Ryoko had once said she had
never regretted anything she had ever done.  That was still true; but she
didn’t want Sayuri to follow in her bloody footsteps.

The first day of Startika was always the busiest.  People showed up in twos
and threes hours before the festival was scheduled to begin; most of them
reporters, to get photos of the decorations going up, and the costumes of
the servants.  Sasami, who had planned for this, insisted that Ryoko and
Sayuri get out of bed and dress for the occasion.

“But it’s so early, Sasami!” Ryoko protested.

“It’s almost eight, Ryoko!  You really shouldn’t be so lazy.”

“EIGHT?  In the MORNING?  Go away, Sasami.”

“Get up, Ryoko!  You’re a member of the royal family too, now, at least in
the public eye.  You have to get up.”

So Ryoko got up, and so did Sayuri, albeit reluctantly, and Ryoko got Sayuri
washed up while Sasami picked out their clothes for the day.

“You’ll wear this dress for the morning, and after lunch you’ll change into
this one; and when it gets dark you’ll put this on over it.”

“Two changes of clothes?”

“It’s only one change of clothes.”

“I want to wear this one.”

“Ryoko!  That’s way too revealing!”

“It’s appropriate, isn’t it?  For a king’s mistress.”

“Don’t say that where people can hear you, for Gods’ sake!  At this rate the
rumors will never stop.  Now, you get dressed, and I’ll get Sayuri dressed.”

“You’re going to put her in that?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I am.”

“She’ll be uncomfortable all day.”

“It’s ten degrees outside, Ryoko.”

“She’ll be hot, I’m telling you.”

“That’s beside the point.  The point is people will see a three-year-old
wearing a sundress in ten-degree cold if we let her wear what she wants to
wear.  And that’ll be in the papers, too.  The last thing we need is more
stuff in the paper about the royal family.”

“You look really tense, Sasami.”

She sighed.  “I just get so mad, you know?  We can’t get a moment to
ourselves.  Also...”  She trailed off.

“What?”

“Well, also, people have been calling me the First Princess of Jurai.  I
never wanted to be First Princess, and I think it dishonors Aeka’s memory to
call me that. Everyone is wondering if Tenchi is going to abdicate in favor
of me when I finish school; and I think that goes against Aeka’s wishes.
She wanted Tenchi to be King.

“And he’s a good king, too.  Maybe he overdoes it a little sometimes, and
stresses about small things.  But he cares about Jurai.  He’s a Japanese kid
from Earth and he really cares what happens to his people here on Jurai.
His people.  He’s a unifying force, and we are all his people.”  Sasami
picked at a sloppy seam on the dress she was going to put on Sayuri.  “And
it makes me mad that people automatically expect him to abdicate just
because Aeka’s dead.”

Ryoko was abashed, but she patted Sasami on the back comfortingly.  “I know,
and I feel the same way.  But really, Tenchi doesn’t have to step down just
because people expect him to.  He’s still the king.”

“You’re right,” Sasami said.  “Thanks.  I’m sorry to dump all this in your
lap.”

“That’s all right.  Can I go back to bed?”

“No.”

“You were a lot nicer before you hit puberty, you know.”

“Just get dressed.”

They dressed, and Ryoko had Sayuri on her hip when they opened the door.
Before they could step across the threshold, two cameras flashed in their
faces.  Sayuri was so startled she began to cry.  Ryoko was almost sure
Sasami was going to blow a gasket.

As the cameramen began to talk rapidly, holding out tiny microphones, Ryoko
pressed a panic button on the wall, and four armed guards were summoned.
Sasami exercised admirable constraint as the guards hauled the newsmen away.

As Ryoko calmed Sayuri, Sasami cleared her throat and said quietly, “It only
gets worse.  Be prepared.”

But it wasn’t much worse.  For the most part, the press were well-dressed
women whose main interest was the fabrics used in the table cloths, livery,
and the draperies on the walls, and what the ladies were planning to wear to
the evening festivities.  Ryoko didn’t bother to hide her impatience, and
Sayuri squirmed in her arms, worrying at her long-sleeved dress, but Sasami
was polite to a fault.

Sasami was growing more and more like her older sister every day; graceful,
dignified, and regal, caustic when the spirit moved her, but always genteel.
  And very soon, Sasami would merge with the ship Tsunami.  Ryoko suspected
that Sasami identified with Ryo-Ohki because they were both created to
transform into ships.  Speaking of whom...

Where was Ryo-Ohki?  Ryoko looked around, but the brown fuzzball was nowhere
to be seen.  Come to think of it, Ryoko hadn’t seen the cabbit all morning,
though she had fallen asleep right beside her, like she did every night.

Ryoko sent out a mental command to Ryo-Ohki, just to locate her.

Ryo-Ohki responded faintly, as if still asleep.

Ryoko summoned Ryo-Ohki silently.  Ryo-Ohki responded, again faintly, with
some small amount of fear.  Ryo-Ohki didn’t know where she was.  But it was
a small, dark place and the smell was a musty one, of canvas and stale
cabbit perspiration.  And of film.  Like film in a camera.

Ryoko smirked and sent a suggestion.  Ryo-Ohki responded enthusiastically.

“Meow-OOOOOOOOOOOW!”  A cabbit changing into a spaceship, shreds of canvas
camera bag still clinging to her hull.  A surprised shout from a tabloid
photographer.  And Ryoko laughed out loud, to the surprise of both Sasami
and the woman with the tape recorder who was asking what shoes she planned
to wear that night.

Ryo-Ohki soon hovered low above the high-walled courtyard in ship form. She
changed into her cabbit form and dropped into Sayuri’s arms, mewing a
cheerful greeting, and Ryoko described her shoes to the reporter without
missing a beat.

Sasami was impressed.

After lunch, Ryoko wondered how Tenchi was faring with the reporters as she
discarded the outfit Sasami had picked out for Sayuri to change into.  She
dressed the child in a thin cotton jumpsuit, and redid her long blue-silver
hair in braids, thinking as well about the problems Sasami had discussed
with her earlier.  Afterwards, Sayuri sat on the silken carpet and played
with her toys while Ryoko deliberated over what to wear.  The outfit Sasami
had picked out for her was very demure.  It made her look like a governess.

Matter-of-factly, Ryoko put the outfit back in the closet and picked out
something else.  What she picked out didn’t cover very much of her, and she
didn’t like the cold at all; but if she got chilly, she’d have warm little
Sayuri to cling to.

It was dark by the time Ryoko was through getting herself and Sayuri ready,
and Tenchi’s speech had already started.  He was stalling until Ryoko walked
into the room, hemming and hawing a bit.  A relieved expression came over
his face...his beautiful face...when he saw her walk in with Sayuri, and he
continued speaking.

“Many of you have expected me to descend the throne of Holy Jurai when my
late wife’s younger sister finishes school.  The truth is that my
sister-in-law, Sasami, has no desire to ascend the throne in her sister’s
place, or mine.

“There is someone whose place is here, however; or it will be when she
reaches a suitable age.  Her place on the throne is more appropriate than
any of you can know.  The sole offspring of the former space pirate Ryoko
Hakubi is closely related to the late queen Aeka, and her upbringing will be
that of a princess.”

A roar passed through the crowd like a ripple, shocked and angry.  Tenchi
raised his voice to be heard over them as he continued.

“Lords and Ladies, I give you your first princess, Sayuri Aeka Ryoko Hakubi
of Jurai.”

End pt 5

((Gensao...you have my series in the listing under Bastard of Jurai, Part 2.
  Maybe you ought to change it to just Bastard of Jurai.  I appreciate all
your hard work and your talent, you are an artist among webmasters.

((Thanks,

((-L.))