Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction ❯ The Nigh ❯ The Story ( Chapter 2 )

A long time ago, in a far away dimension, there was a beautiful princess named Aeka. Her kingdom was a placed called Jurai. It was filled with many people and wonderful trees. In fact, the trees could fly."

"They could?!"

"Uh huh…

"What else could they do mommy?"

"Well… The wood from these trees was magical, and the logs from it could talk."

"Wow, tell me some more about Aeka."

"Let's see…

She was eldest daughter to the king, so she would be the next in line to rule. All she had to do was get married. However, she didn't want to marry just anyone. She wanted to fall in love with a handsome prince. Someone that would love her and that could share a life together, but her father wanted to choose her spouse. He ordered that the princess must marry someone of royal blood. It had been that way for eons and would not change."

"That's not fair!"

"Heh... That's how Aeka felt. But she knew the law of the land. The heir to the throne would have to marry someone that is from one of the royal families.

Aeka turned down ever person her father sent, but by doing so she only made her father mad. He knew that she didn't want to be forced into getting married, so he tried to give her a chance to pick from the people that he deemed fit. Time was running out and Aeka would have to make a choice soon or her father would do it for her.

Aeka found something wrong with every suitor that was sent. She didn't want to marry any of them, so she went to her mother for help. Aeka's mother smiled and told her a story of a wondrous young prince. He was a skillful swordsman, intelligent, brave, kind, and handsome. The prince is about the same age also. Aeka asked the name of the young prince and her mother replied Yosho. Her mother then told her that Yosho had gone off to fight a monster. Aeka found that she wanted to meet this noble young man that her mother described more and more with each passing word. Her mother could tell this too, so she decided to help her attempt to. It would be difficult to find him. He had been gone on his search for the monster that had attacked their planet for a while now, and all contact had been lost to him. But Aeka was willing to take that chance. Without attempting to get her husbands approval, Aeka's mother ordered a ship and sent Aeka on her way.

The young princess flew throughout the stars and vast reaches of space in search of her possible prince. At times she was afraid, just like you were tonight. But she knew she had to be a big girl and not let her fear beat her. So no matter how scared she got she toughed it out, and seeing that you're my little princess you should be able to do the same thing. Now are you my big little princess?"

"Uh huh..." The small child replied as she let out a little yawn.

"Good…

Aeka's journey was long, but she was not going to quit. Eventually she ran across an unusual occurrence. On a small blue planet, she received and indicator that a criminal wanted by Jurai was on the planet. Even though she was on a quest for her prince, she could not deny her duties as a princess. She went to the planet to further investigate. Upon entering it's atmosphere she located the area that was giving off the reading. It appeared to be near a shrine of some sort. Aeka landed her ship nearby and walked to the shrine. She entered it and followed its long pathway. It was dark and scary inside. There was a bit of a chill from a passing wind and the walls were moist. Yet the princess was intrigued and continued on. She reached an opening that lead to a large room. Inside the center was a raised monument and behind it was a crypt. Aeka walked up to the tomb. She was curious of what was inside it, so she looked around to find something to prop it open with. In front of the monument, there appeared to be a sturdy hinge piece. It wasn't that big and it was covered with a lot of hard clay and cobwebs, but it would do nicely for the task that she intended. She took it in hand and used it as a level to pry open the lid to the crypt. To her surprise, it opened without too much of a hassle.

Aeka pushed back the lid just far enough so she could see inside of it. She found what appeared to be a mummy. She reached down to touch it but jerked back as she heard a voice. Aeka snapped her head around as she tried to hone in on its point of origin, but it was to no avail. The sound seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. The voice echoed off the walls and into here ears, as she searched for the person that spoke. Her eyes flashed from side to side until they were centered back to the crypt. Aeka noticed that the inside had begun to give off a glow. The light being emitted grew brighter and brighter. It had become blinding. In a feigned attempt, she tried to cover her eyes with her arm. She glanced back toward the light to see something stir from within the crypt. It appeared to be the mummified figure, now with glowing red eyes and arms outstretched like lifeless hooks. The blinding light that surrounded it went dim. Aeka completely moved her arm from her eyes and stared directly at the terrifying figure before her. She wanted to turn and run, but her legs were paralyzed with fear. She wanted to scream, but her lungs would not allow it. She stood there and watched, as her heartbeat accelerated. The figure floated out of the tomb and landed only a few feet in front of her. The two of them peered into each other's eyes and then Aeka heard the voice again. "I am the guardian. Why have you disturbed this holy place?" echoed throughout the room. Aeka was surprised by the voice again. The figure did not speak. It was as if the room was speaking for it. Again the voice spoke.

"Why are you here? For eons many a tyrant has come to claim the power here. I exist to judge those that are foolish enough to dare control it. You have now placed your bid upon them. The power that dwells in the place is not to be used for evil. If you're purpose is unjust, you will not live to see the light of day."

Aeka flinched at the words and mustered the strength to choke out the reply, "My name is Aeka, I am the crown princess of Jurai. I have come in search of my love. I have no need for your power. I have come a long way to find the one that I wish to share my life, and I will not stop till I find him." The room stilled as the two froze in place. The mummified figure raised its right arm in the aim of Aeka. Beams of light began to accumulate in the palm of its hand. The voice once again reigned out from the walls, "You have been judged unworthy, all that you claim will be taken from you." Aeka was still paralyzed with fear. She closed her eyes tightly and screamed out, "I don't want your stupid power! All I want is to find Yosho!" With those words the item that Aeka had used as a prop rod sprouted to life and flew in-between Aeka and the figure. At one end of it, a glowing blade shot out to add to its appearance as a sword. The item hovered for a second then began to spin is a circle. The sword gave the impression of a shield, as it spun before her. The mummified figure did not move. It's hand continued to absorb energy from the air, until it had a sizeable amount in the form of a large glowing sphere. At that point it dispersed the ball from its hand in the direction of Aeka. The young princess watched as the ball of light made contact with the sword shielding her. A brilliant flash of light engulfed the entire room. Aeka could feel its warmth surrounding her. Her skin quickly felt as if it was on fire. She struggled to breath, but the air was too hot to inhale. The greatest fear came true as she felt her life slipping away.