A penny for a princess (Part IV)

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!


	"So as you can see, that was an interesting little romp with dear Princess 
Aeka, hopefully, she would have learned a few things from this experience, maybe 
even have a change of attitude, though one shouldn't ask for too much too soon, 
oh thank you love" Darul thanked the waitress after she handed him a drink.  He 
gave her a quick wink and she simply giggled.  (Nice kid, probably wouldn't know 
what to do if it came up though) He sat back and took in the light coming from 
the two suns above him.  Here he was on a beach, on a resort planet, with a bit 
of spending money too, but something was still bothering him.

	He never saw Sevyn off into custody, that part was something he had hoped 
to have the honor of doing himself, but he had the princess to watch after, at 
least he was paid for his troubles though.  But then there was something else, 
something about the report that Bendin had given him about Sevyn's arrest, 
something that just didn't seem right.  (Hmm, I knew I should have paid more 
attention to his report, probably nothing important, yes nothing at all) He sat 
back into his chair, if it was anything important, it would come back to him.

	Darul was asleep and dreaming, thinking about the time when he and Sevyn 
faced off, and Sevyn had left him for dead.  As he walked off, he tried to think 
of what the tune was he had been humming, something about blowing with the wind, 
and that the wind would blow him back, but what did that mean, what was he 
trying to tell him, what? He woke up with a sweat across his face.  (Oh man, 
that was wild, oh @#$%, that's it!  The report Bendin gave me, I remember now, 
he said the culprit was holding his gun in his left hand and aiming a bit wild, 
Sevyn was right handed and hardly ever missed!) He shot up from his chair 
(Dammit, that was just a decoy, Sevyn used someone to take his place, after 
that, all he would have to do is wait for things to quiet down again and then he 
could.) 

	He started to run to his ship, which was only a hundred yards away.  (I've 
got to get back before) He stopped in his tracks (What am I doing, my contract 
with them is up, she's not a concern of mine anymore, besides, they have plenty 
of security, they don't need me) Darul began to walk back to his chair and 
drink.  From the back of his head, a small voice stopped him again (Do you 
really think you can walk away so easily, so what if you're not getting paid, is 
money really that important, oh well maybe it is, but that's not the point.  The 
point is, you have to go back, you have to stop Sevyn, for good, it's a moral 
imperative!) "Oi, I really need to have my head examined to be doing what I'm 
about to do" Darul grabbed his stuff from the beach, checked back into the hotel 
he was staying in and grabbed all his things.  At the 
desk, he paid his bill and ran off towards his ship.

	As he got on board, the computer came to life "Ah good to see you sir, how 
was your stay, back so soon?" "Stuff it, get this heap into space now!" Darul 
had just about enough of the computers cheery artificial intelligence, after 
this he would personally see to its lobotomy.  The ship began ascending into 
orbit and broke free of the planets gravitational pull while Darul stepped into 
the back of the ship to get changed, he had a party to crash.


	On Jurai, just about every official around who expressed his or her relief 
of her safety had greeted Aeka.  The festival that had been planned was a ball 
where many of both the royal and common class were invited, to display a sense 
of unity and to prevent any further uprisings.  Everyone seemed to be enjoying 
themselves, except for Aeka.  She simply stood staring out the balcony window 
overlooking the city below and sighed.  (Oh, they're all having such a wonderful 
time, and so would I, but, not without Tenchi, it just isn't the same without 
him here.  I just wish I had more time to contact him, but I've been so busy, oh 
Tenchi, I miss you) Aeka was still adrift in thought when Bendin cleared his 
throat to get her attention.  "Princess Aeka, please forgive me, but the others 
are waiting for you at the dinner table, if you would please" He extended an arm 
to walk her back to the table.  

	Many officials were already seated when she 
arrived and as she sat, she realized how different the feeling from having 
dinner back on earth. There, she was surrounded by friends; people close to her, 
even Ryoko.  But here, she was surrounded by people she really didn't know, only 
that they were members of the Jurian Court, and not ones that she would be so 
open with about her feelings.  As she raised her glass to offer a toast, the 
others joined her.  "May this mark a new day of peace for all of Jurai, and may 
this dark cloud of panic and despair never pass over us again, to lasting 
peace!" "To peace!" They all spoke in unity.  

	After dinner, many of the attendees made their way to the dance floor and 
began a rather colorful display of dances.  Aeka watched and imagined herself 
with Tenchi, dancing close together, so close that nothing else around them 
would have any meaning, and he would hold her close to him, and she would feel 
safe in his arms, she sighed.  Bendin saw she was visibly sad and went over to 
her "May lady, may I be honored to have this dance?" "I, I am sorry Bendin, but 
I am not in the mood right now" Bendin persisted "Come, come, the others will 
think you to be rude if you will not join them, please?" "Oh, very well, just 
one dance" Aeka reluctantly joined Bendin on the dance floor and immediately; 
the others parted and formed a circle around the two. Aeka truly wished that 
Tenchi was here, in her arms, and she in his, but tonite, this would not be.

	Near the planet Jurai, Darul's ship came to a slow, then a complete stop.  
On board, Darul was putting the final touches on his outfit (ugh, these stuffy 
royal parties, I can hardly breathe in this monkey suit!) The ship shortly 
arrived at the security post outside Jurai, which tonite was exceptionally tight 
considering the event.  A face came up on the screen as Darul was addressed by 
one of the heads of security.  "Please identify yourself" Darul stood in front 
of the screen in a sleek suit, which was actually of very good taste, but not 
his.  "Darul D'amond here for the royal ball, as per an invitation by the Jurian 
Royal Court" He showed the scroll that had stated exactly as he had said.  After 
they were satisfied, the particular head of security nodded and allowed passage 
to the planets surface.

	As he landed, he was met by a royal valet who attempted to assist him off 
the ship.  "Here, be kind to it, park it someplace safe" He took off as the 
valet had the unenviable task of parking the rather unsightly looking ship next 
to the other luxury cruisers.  Many of the owners were insulted to have such a 
ship parked next to theirs.  Darul ran to the front gates and was met by 
security.  He flashed the scroll in front of them, and they parted aside as he 
ran in.  He made his way to the main ballroom (Hmm, now where would she be, 
there's just so many people here, I never thought I'd feel so surrounded by 
stiffs) Darul made his way to the floor and was met by several young women who 
were asking him for a dance.  "My apologies ladies, but right now I've got a bit 
of work to finish up" He kissed one on the cheek and continued his way through 
the crowd.

	By some coincidence, he happened to make his way to the banquet table.  
Darul helped himself to a few drinks and a few snacks.  As he ate, Darul scanned 
the crowd, looking for Aeka, and also Sevyn, he knew he was lurking around here 
somewhere.  (Sevyn, I can't let you go this time, you have to be stopped, why 
did you have to turn out like this?) Finally, out of the corner of his eye, he 
saw her.  She was surrounded by many court officials who were discussing some 
things with her, but she seemed rather bored.  He began to make his way to her 
when he was met by Bendin.  "Ah, I see you managed to make it here after all, so 
good to see you, have you had anything to eat?  Come, let me show you around" 

	"Sorry, but my job isn't finished yet, I have to get to the princess" 
Bendin looked rather confused "What do you mean, we apprehended the individual 
responsible and now the threat is over" Darul shook his head "You don't get it, 
the person you apprehended was a decoy to lure the princess out into the open, 
the real threat is 
out there on the floor, look I don't have time to explain, watch out" He pushed 
past Bendin who was still with a look of shock on his face.

	As Darul made his way closer to Aeka, he kept looking around for Sevyn, or 
anyone resembling him.  Aeka looked up and saw Darul approaching and was glad to 
see him.  (Oh, he did manage to come; maybe he might be a bit better 
conversation 	than these people) She started waving to him and began making 
her way through the crowd.  At the same time, one of the servants who was 
working near the banquet table put down his plate.  He began walking towards the 
princess when a hand fell on his shoulder; it was the headmaster of the party.  
"Where do you think you're going, we still have several more." Before he could 
finish, two sharp blows to his face had left him laid out, looking up at the 
lights.  The servant continued on his way without any further interruptions, all 
the while taking off the servant gloves he had on, and starting to reach for his 
weapon.  

	Darul made his way to the princess who greeted him with a smile "Darul, so 
good you could make it, has Bendin had a chance to show you around?" As Aeka 
spoke, Darul kept scanning the crowd, looking for something, anything, he was 
getting desperate, and he knew time was short.  (He has to be here, I know it, 
he's on a suicide mission, there's no way he'll make it out of here after he 
takes his shot, but maybe that was his plan all the time!) "Um, Darul, are you 
listening to me?" Aeka looked a bit puzzled.  "Yeah, sure, look, let's dance, 
okay?" Aeka nodded still confused as he took her by the arm, and they made their 
way to the dance floor.  

	There was a quiet sonata playing, and Darul took Aeka's hands and held her 
rather close, giving her enough room though.  Aeka felt a blush come on (My, he 
is rather forward, and he does dance rather well) As they danced, Darul did his 
best not to arouse too much concern on Aeka's part as he continued to scan the 
crowd, but still nothing.  (Dammit Sevyn, show yourself already, this is getting 
irritating!) Finally the music ended and they both bowed to each other as the 
crowd applauded their effort to an excellent duet.  

	As they made their way through the crowd heading back to the main table, 
Aeka stopped Darul.  "Is something the matter, I am glad that you showed up, 
but." As she continued talking, Darul saw him.  Out of the corner of his eye, he 
noticed one of the servants coming towards their way.  He noticed he wasn't 
carrying any plates and was slowly taking off his gloves.  He was no more that a 
few yards away from them.  Suddenly everything began to move very slowly.  Darul 
saw Sevyn reach into his coat pocket and draw out his weapon.  Sevyn took aim 
directly at Aeka; he would not miss, not this time, not this close.  

	Instinctively, Darul pushed Aeka out of the way and reached into his 
jacket and pulled out his gun as well.  Sevyn looked straight into Daruls eyes 
and smiled as he pulled the trigger.  Darul returned fire at the same time.  
Aeka barely missed being hit by two projectiles as their blasters went off.  
Darul felt a sharp pain as Sevyns shot hit him in his side and he fell to one 
knee.  Sevyn however was not as fortunate.  Daruls shot made its mark and hit 
him in the chest, and he went down, and didn't get back up.

	Immediately, security flooded the ballroom as people were beginning to run 
for the exits in panic.  The guards surrounded Sevyn's body and checked him for 
a pulse, there was none though.  Bendin was soon on the announcement system 
trying to calm everyone down, and had succeeded in doing so.  As Darul picked 
himself up, he reached over to Aeka, to help her up.  "Sorry for the scare 
princess, are you all right?" Aeka got to her feet with his assistance.  She was 
crying as she grabbed him and held him close, she was still shaking.  "Oh thank 
you Darul, thank you, oh, you're hurt!" She noticed as she pulled away from him 
and looked at the blood on her hands.  "Its nothing, really.  I'm just glad that 
he wasn't successful" Both Aeka and Darul looked over to where Sevyn was lying.  
Security had already begun to place him in a case to carry off to be examined.  

	"Princess, are you all right?" Bendin shouted as he came running over to 
Aeka.  "Yes, I am fine now Bendin, thanks to Darul" They both looked to Darul 
who had already begun to leave.  "Hey, like I said, it was nothing" Aeka started 
to run towards him "Wait, let us get you some medics to look at you.  At least 
let us pay you for your troubles, at the very least" He simply waved a hand "No, 
my job is done, and my fight with Sevyn is over, that in itself is payment 
enough" He continued walking off until they could no longer see him.


	An hour later and all had gotten back to a state of calm.  Security 
finished escorting all the guests back to their transport vehicles, and the 
cleaning crews were tending to their duties.  Aeka walked through the hall 
overseeing the work, she thought about the last few weeks and the events that 
had unfolded during that time.  As she was still in thought, Bendin entered and 
announced his presence.  "Princess, excuse me, but there is a group of 
individuals who are requesting permission to land.  Given the circumstances, I 
would not clear them, but they insist on landing.  There is a rather rude young 
lady on board who, said she knows you.  I even believe I saw Princess Sasami on 
board, though I may be mistaken, it has been some time since I had last seen 
her" 

	"Bendin, please allow them passage through the security post and prepare 
for guests" Bendin bowed and took his leave.  She knew the rude person must have 
been Ryoko, but if she was here, then that would mean that...Tenchi would be on 
board as well.  Her pulse suddenly shot up as she thought of how it would be to 
see him again after the time away and after all that she had been through.  She 
smiled and felt better knowing that he would be here shortly.      

	As Aeka continued to walk down the hall, there was something she couldn't 
quite shake, a feeling that just wouldn't go away.  She made her way to a nearby 
balcony where she noticed Ryo-ohki landing at a nearby port.  "Oh, they'll be 
here soon, and Lord Tenchi, I need to talk to him, without Ryoko around though" 
Aeka continued to stare out into the distance.  (Why would anyone want to try to 
kill me, who would be that angry with me?  We maintain a peaceful relationship 
with just about every culture in the universe, who could it be?) "Well, somehow, 
I have this feeling that this is the worst of it, yes, I'm sure of it" She 
smiled and let out a sigh of relief as she began to make her way to the port to 
meet the gang.


	"Oh, my dear princess, it is far from over, yes far indeed!" The 
Directorate smiled and stared out at one of his monitors, which had been 
relaying most of the events to him up to this point.  He had been watching with 
much anticipation and was understandably upset when his plan had failed, but 
this was not the end.  He touched a button on the arm of his throne chair "Well, 
is it ready yet?" A moment passed and then a voice crackled, "Yes my liege, all 
is ready" The Directorate continued to watch from his throne as he saw the 
princess meet with the others.  "No matter, be it one or one hundred, none shall 
keep her safe for long, for if I cannot have Jurai, then no one shall.. 
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He continued to laugh as two more characters appeared 
from the shadows below and waited for their turn to serve their 
master.  


					TO BE CONTINUED.........
					

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