Little Lord Tenchi...
Author: Daferge
The characters in this story and the events of all the Tenchi Muyo shows are property of AIC and Pioneer. I have neither created them, nor do I own them.
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Chapter - 01... It begins...
( London, 1895... )
Tenchi Masaki, tall, slim with short black hair, tried to not look too excited in his new outfit...
The 15 year old boy stood at the steamer's metal railings looking at the people on the pier below, along with all the other passengers on deck...
Unlike the older sailing ship, the deck of the steamer was higher above the water, allowed them a much better view...
But to Tenchi this pier looked a lot like the pier that they had left behind them less than a week before...
The noise of the horses, the wagons, the crowd and then there was the smell...
It was hard to believe they had just crossed a wide ocean and were now in a whole new country...
He had to smile at that thought, NEW...
He had just left America, which was just a little over a hundred years old, to come to the home of the British Empire, London, which was countless hundreds of years old...
He'd imagined it being better, cleaner, but it looked just like the Boston docks as they were leaving...
So much for his nanny's many stories...
And THIS was where he was to start a whole new life...
He was tempted to stay on board and take the steamer back to Boston...
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A hand came to rest on his left shoulder and he looked back, to find his older sister standing there, smiling at him...
As a hand found his right shoulder, he turned the other way and there was his nanny, also smiling...
" Where we're headed it's a lot nicer... "
She'd kept saying that from the very beginning, but she had never said why she believed that...
But he knew that like his sister and father, he trusted her and believed her...
He wasn't surprised to see his older cousin was also standing there, trying to see every thing, as this was her 1st time out of Boston...
They were all wearing their best traveling clothes, to look their best...
He wasn't surprised that his father wasn't there, he had mentioned he was going to check on their luggage as they were getting ready to come up on deck...
But he had three of the most wonderful females in the world here with him, to support his new life...
He only wished there'd been a fourth, his mother...
A soft voice, his sister's, whispered in his ear...
" Don't worry... She's here with you, just as she always has been... "
He reached up and put his hand on hers and smiled...
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( Several weeks earlier... )
He'd been playing with his good friend, Amagasaki, when his older sister, Tennyo, had found him...
He never could figure out how she seem to always know where he was...
But their father, Nobuyuki, had sent for him...
However, for some reason, he HAD to clean up before presenting himself...
Both she and their nanny, Minaho had helped him, even thou he said he didn't need it...
They did have to help him with the new clothes they had him put on...
Had they been males, he'd have actually put up a fight, he didn't like them, they were too tight...
Had he know earlier, he'd have taken his chances on the street in his long johns...
But he lost his chance to run as soon as his older cousin, Mayuka joined the 'get Tenchi ready' party...
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Feeling as if the whole outfit had been over starched, he was guided into the family living room to see his father...
It had been Tennyo who had commented about cooking the egg on his forehead due to how red it was...
With every thing else, it seem that his father wasn't alone, preventing him from making any comments about the new outfit...
Their guest was an elderly gentleman who appeared to be as uncomfortable as Tenchi...
For some reason both men stood when Tenchi entered the room and both seem nervous?...
It was his father who had spoken...
" Tenchi... This is lord Manchester, a lawyer who has come all the way from London, England to talk to you... "
He gestured to the third chair before the other two...
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Once they were all seated, their guest spoke...
" Tenchi... I understand you have little or no knowledge of your late mother's family?... "
Tenchi thought for a moment before replying...
" No, sir... She never spoke of them and any mention of them seem to make her sad... "
The lawyer nodded his head...
" Ahh... I see... "
He looked at Tenchi's father...
" However... You did know that she was born and raise in England!... "
Tenchi smiled and pointed to a picture, an old style daguerreotype, of a small cottage with trees...
" She said that that was the cottage she was born in... "
Examining the picture, the lawyer hid a smile...
True - to a point...
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Seeing he wasn't going to get any help from the father, the lawyer continued...
" It seems some things can be misleading... "
He looked at the picture of the cottage again...
" Although she was indeed born in that cottage, she was raised elsewhere... "
He removed an image from the small leather case on his lap and showed it to Tenchi...
It was a small black and white photo mounted on cardboard, a cabinet card, of a very large manor house...
His father carried a smaller one of his mother...
" This is where she was raised and where her family still resides... "
Confused, Tenchi looked at the picture, the lawyer, his father and then back at the picture...
" Her family?... "
The lawyer managed not to smile...
" Yes, her family... Your mother was the second daughter of lord Yosho Katsuhito Masaki Jurai, the 15th Earl of Jurai... Your Grandfather... "
Tenchi swore his jaw hit the ground...
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( A while later... )
It took some time for Tenchi to calm down...
" But... But... The cottage?... "
The lawyer, who had been with the family for decades, for better or worst, smiled...
" Lady Airi had a love for riding in an open carriage on the estate... Her ladyship was out with his lordship one day when she went into early labor... They stopped at the cottage in question, that is on the estate and that is where your mother was born... "
Tenchi kept looking at the picture...
" And her family?... "
Now the hard part...
" The Earl had two fine sons and two wonderful daughters... Your mother being the youngest... "
Some thing told Tenchi there was more coming...
" Both of his sons followed in their family's long history of military service and thus serving both Queen and country... "
No one replied...
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" His 2nd son, Kamidake, was an army captain and he was often mentioned in dispatches while serving as the aide to famed General Gordon... However, he was also at Gordon's side at Khartoum, Sudan in 1885 when the city fell and Gordon was killed... "
Tenchi looked at his father, who seen to be hearing this for the first time...
" Then, earlier this past March, while serving in India, Captain Azuka, the Earl's 1st son and his heir, was killed during the Siege and Relief of Chitral in the India territories... "
Tenchi wasn't too sure where this was going...
" The body and thus confirmation of his death, were confirmed only two weeks ago when it was returned to England and his family... "
He looked at Tenchi with sad eyes...
" As the Earl's 1st daughter had no children, the son of his 2nd daughter becomes the heir... And upon his lordship's death, the 16th Earl of Jurai... You... Lord Tenchi... "
Tenchi had sat there for a lifetime before it all began to sink in...
Why me?... Why me?...
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( The present... )
For the past two weeks he had been walking around in a daze, trying to convince himself it was all just a dream or was that nightmare...
His quiet, simple life in Boston disappeared...
Learning to design home with his father, gone...
The political career his friend Amagasaki had suggested was unlikely, for who would vote for a future English Earl?...
And what was it that Earls did any way...
No one he asked seem to have a clue...
Perhaps when he finally met his grandfather, he would be able to ask him...
After all, HE had been an Earl for 40-50 years...
He should know what an Earl did...
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( Jurai Manor... )
The butler opened the doors to the library...
" Me Lord... Mr. Manchester... "
Standing aside he allowed the lawyer to enter before closing the doors behind him...
It was early in the morning and his lordship was in one of his moods...
Which meant that it was best NOT to be around...
Besides there was still a few last minute things to pack for the move to the London Manor...
All but a skeleton staff had already gone ahead the night before and would even now be preparing for the Earl's arrival...
It had been a sudden, last minute thing the day before...
Ever since the death of the Earl's heir it seem that vultures were beginning to circle the estate...
And from the comments the Earl had made about certain members of the house of Lords, not only here...
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( The library... )
The Earl was sitting in his favorite chair before the blazing fire...
Manchester couldn't imaging what the Earl was seeing in the roaring fire, but he could guess...
The estates of certain members of the house of lords, with them still in them...
The Earl had made an off handed comment to that effect once and then chuckled...
At-least he could still have dreams...
He gestured to the other chair facing the fire...
Sitting, Manchester could feel the heat of the fire...
Could he get a sunburn if he sat there too long?...
The Earl took a sip of his drink and set it back on the small table next to the chair...
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It was a while before the Earl broke the silence...
" Your message said the steamer had arrived and our guest had been put up for the night in London, before coming out in the morning... "
The lawyer nodded his head...
" As we arranged... "
He suddenly found the Earl looking right at him...
" Will he do?... "
Manchester wasn't sure how to answer that...
" Do, My lord?... "
The Earl's eyes moved from the lawyer to the flames...
" Yes... Will he do or should just I send him back and then sit here waiting for the end?... "
Manchester's eyebrow went up...
AAhhh...
" In my opinion?... He'll do... "
The Earl's eyebrow went up...
" Because?... "
Manchester smiled...
" Family... A father, a sister and a female cousin... "
The Earl tilted his head slightly, as if saying "And?"...
" While he's looking ahead, his father is watching his back and the females, his sides... "
After a while the Earl nodded his head...
They would all be leaving for London later, it was going to be a very long night...
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( An Estate just outside London... )
The room was dimly lite by the few candles, but those there didn't mind...
They'd been in darker places...
" So... It's official... The Earl's heir is dead... Such a tragedy... "
A pause...
" For him... "
There was some chuckling from the others at the joke...
Few here cared, one way or the other...
A low voice in the dark spoke up...
" What about his daughter in the new world?... "
Silence...
" She may be dead, but didn't she have a son?... "
More silence...
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After an eternity...
" A young brat from the colonies?... He shouldn't be any trouble... "
Another pause...
" And if he is!... Accidents happen all the time... "
There was quite a bit of chuckle at that...
" The Jurai estate has untouched coal deposits under it... A fortune waiting to be strip mined... "
" What about the Earl's lady?... "
More chuckling...
" They haven't even communicated since the youngest daughter's death a decade ago... "
Even more chuckling...
" Oh, yes... I see brighter days ahead... Very bright days... "
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( After the lawyer left... )
The room was quiet, except for the soft crackling of the fire...
" You heard?... "
A quiet female voice answered from the shadows...
" You agree?... "
The Earl just continued to stare into the fire...
" Doesn't matter if I agree or not... He's our only hope at the moment... "
" So, you're still headed into London?... Not even going to be here when they come?... "
The Earl smiled, something he rarely did any more...
" There is blood in the water and so I have to be there at the moment... "
There was a pause before he continued...
" Will you be able to handle things here?... "
A soft chuckling was the only reply...
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There was a knock on the door...
" Yes?... "
The butler stuck his head in...
" Me Lord... The little one has ask if you could tuck her in?... "
His lordship sighed...
" Tell her I shall be up there as soon as I can... "
After the door shut a soft chuckling floated in the air...
" My, my... The things you have to do for the females in your life... "
His lordship chuckled too...
Getting up, he slowly walked towards the door...
When he got there, he stopped...
" Of all things, I believe this is what I shall miss the most while in London... "
With that he opened the door and left the quiet room behind as he closed it...
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A female figure stepped from the shadows and walked over to the chair...
Picking up the glass she sniff the contents and sighed...
Walking over to the fireplace, she tossed the contents into the flames to be consumed...
Such a waste of good scotch...
She cleaned it with a cloth from her apron and put it back on the table...
One of the staff would return it to the kitchen later...
Looking around to check out the room, she walked over to a table next to the wall where there was a candle and holder...
Striking a match she lite the candle and turned to the wall...
Touching a decoration on the wall, a section of the panel opened with a slight squeak...
Smiling, she shook her red hair...
" Have to remember to get to that... "
After entering the wall, while holding the lite candle, she tapped some thing and the panel slid closed...
The only sound in the room was the crackling of the dying fire...
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To be continued...
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Please feel free to comment and review for any errors...
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