The Tenju Estate
Roughly two hours had passed since Jerren and Ami, along with the other captives, had progressed to their destination. As the outside got further and further away what they saw next stunned them.
"What the heck….is that…A Giant Tree? It's massive! I can barely see the top," Jerren shouted in amazement at the sight before him, a displayed mirrored by many of the other passengers.
Ami in particular looked on in awe at the titanic tree, that towered over the clouds. "It's actually reaching up into the sky and clouds above. How is that even possible, and why?"
Little did the two know about how significant that tree truly was. Massive was an understatement of its description, easily reaching a height of over 5000 meters high. However, what was more important to note was that it was the home of the Royal Palace of Jurai, housing the current Emperor and his family, as well as the main homes of all of the Imperial Houses, the Royal Arboretum and much more. Needless to say, it being massive was merely scratching the surface of its significance
As they entered the massive tree, Jerren and Ami were shocked to see intricate, metal-stone walls and floors, shining a mixture of silver and beige, throughout the inside. Sadly they couldn't admire it for long, as two Jurian guards split the captives into two groups, prodding and striking them with their weapons if they failed to cooperate. The men were forced to one side and the woman the other, before being guided on separate paths in the giant tree like palace.
Jerren, along with the rest of the male exiles, found themselves in a large room where the emperor strode out, his steps long and smooth as he looked upon his captives.
The captives gazed upon the Emperor, Jerren taking in all of his features and was awestruck by the regality he carried. He stood at 6 feet tall, with long, dark purple hair and an equally long beard, fair colored skin, match by a pair of sharp, wine red eyes. His clothing matched his appearance, being dressed in long, elegant-looking robes with shades of brown and purple, matched with a dark blue, ankle-length cape.
Truly he looked the part of an emperor, and his walk seemed to match it, a stride indicating a fair amount of pride and arrogance one would expect of a ruler. All together these traits were those of the most feared ruler in the galaxy, Azuza Masaki Jurai. A man of immense power an asteem, whose name was known throughout the galaxy, including Jerren.
The sight of the emperor sent a mass chill down Jerren's spine, as he watched each captive appear before the Emperor, his unease and fast heart beat effectively drowning out whatever dialogue was being exchanged between them.
As he finally arrived before the emperor, the boy did what he could to maintain what little composure he could, yet he could not muster the courage to meet the emperor's gaze, despite feeling it's weight against him.
"What is your name and age, boy?"
Jerren shook slightly upon hearing the emperor's voice, yet was able to manage a response. "My name's Jerren, I'm 19 years of age." The emperor nodded and spoke again.
"Correction that was your name, here however, you have no name. Here you are a slave, thus no longer worthy of a name. Instead you will be known as number 9631151."
Outrage quickly became etched across Jerren's face, his previous fear replaced with burning anger. "What!? You can't do that! Who the crud gave you the right to just take away a person's name?" He exclaimed loudly, causing the emperor to frown.
"It is my right as Emperor, boy! I have every right to do with you as I see fit. And if you continue to show me such disrespect, then you will contend with my guards or your slave overseer, who I promise will take away far more than just your name."
The Emperor's voice, boomed throughout the halls, causing many of the other men to quiver in terror, while Jerren remained rooted to the spot he remained at. The Emperor's shadow hanging over him, making the boy feel even smaller than before.
"Do we have an understanding?"
Jerren fear returned as his face quickly returned to face the ground beneath his feet, again seeing the shadow the Emperor cast over him. The grim feeling of what was happening was sinking in, as he almost robotically nodded to the Emperor's words, residing himself to his fate.
"It's fine..." He gulped, all but defeated.
However, Azuza's serious demeanor shifted almost instantly, his harsh gazed replaced with a bright grin, as he patted the boy on the head.
"Now that's what I like to hear from a good, submissive slave or Jurai. Now go on ahead to the scanner at the gate." He waved him off, turning his attention back to the holoscreen.
Jerren walked forward to the scanner, walking into its field of operation.
"Scanning." It said in a low, computerized voice. "Age: 19. Skin Tone: Dark. Hair Color: Black. Eye Color: Black. Gender: Male. Welcome to Jurai, Newcomer." Jerren wordlessly moved forward, following the other slaves wordlessly, trying to retain what little hope he could.
Meanwhile on the other side Ami, after waiting for almost an hour, was next to enter the huge processing station room. Once she entered, her eyes quickly locked onto the Empress, currently seated at her desk, waiting to process the remaining captives.
While not as imposing as Azuza, she was still tall for a Jurian female, standing at 5 foot 7. Her appearance, conversely was equally as regal to her husband, with dark blue hair tied up in a long ponytail style, red eyes, while having a lighter skin tone compared to the Emperor. Her attire was a slew of red, pink and brown. Overall she certainly had the appearance of someone in power.
Ami continued to keep her eyes locked on the Empress, as she made her way closer, only to stop and avoid jumping in fright, when the Empress's red eyes zeroed in on her. The girl grew more nervous when a large smile spread across the women's face.
"Hello, captive of Jurai. What is your name and age?" She said cheerfully, looking over at her.
"My name is Ami Mizuno, and I come from Earth. My age is 22 years, Ma'am." Ami managed to get out, maintaining what composure she could.
"I see. Well, your new name is..." She trailed off while looking over the holoscreen, momentarily pausing. "Where did you say you were from again?" She asked.
"Earth, Ma'am. I also came here with my friend Jerren who is with the male slave. He is also from there." Ami replied respectfully.
"Interesting... Well, the new name you will be addressed by is Number 0254. Make sure to remember this, as you'll need it for the slave auctions tomorrow. Now head to the scanner at the gate." She said smiling.
"I accept my new name, thank you Ma'am." She finished and walked to the gate. "Scanning." The computer said.
Age: 22. Skin Tone: Light. Hair Color: Blue. Eye Color: blue. Gender: Female. Welcome to Jurai, Newcomer." And she stepped through the gate.
It took several more days before the entire group of captives had been properly processed and now we awaiting the auctions to decide their future. In the midst of this, Misaki made her way towards the processing room were where her husband was, currently at the computer hub, searching through the holoscreen.
"I have some very interesting news for you, my dear." She beamed.
"What is it? I'm quite busy right now." He didn't look up.
"While I was processing the female captives earlier I came upon an interesting discovery."
Asuza, now intrigued, pulled himself away from the screen, giving his wife his full attention. "Oh, what kind of discovery?" Azuza inquired, causing his wife's grin to grow.
"Well one of the captives told me that she's not really from Mercury but from the planet Earth." Azuza's eyes shot open at the revelation. "Earth, are you sure?"
Misaka looked almost insulted by the insinuation, "Have you ever known me to lie about something like this?"
Azuza only grew more worried at this, "What did you say her name was?" He quickly turned to the holoscreen.
"She calls herself Ami Mizuno, though now she goes by the number 0254. She also mentioned a boy named Jerren came with her, he's from earth as well."
"Interesting, I spoke with a boy by the name of Jerren not to long ago. He was certainly more defiant than the others."
He promptly stood up from his chair, "Once the other slaves have been cleared, bring them here. We'll resolve this matter immediately."
"It will be done my dear," Misaki replied, bowing to her husband before heading out.
Outside of the palace an hour of wading through crowds and searching, Jerren found Ami picking what resembled roses.
"Ami! I Finally Found You." He said with relief, running up to her. She looked up at him with a face of sadness.
"Apparently my name is not Ami any more. It's Number 0254'." She sniffed at the flower's sweet smell. He sighed and sat down with her.
"So, they changed yours too, huh? Well, I'm Slave Number 9631151, and it's a pleasure to meet you." He held out his hand to shake. They both laughed a little at this. The moment of mirth was broken though as two Jurian guards approached them. Jerren and Ami both grimaced.
"You two, are you numbers 0254 and 9631151?" The guard on the left asked. Ami nodded at this.
"Yes we are, why do you ask?" The guards nodded at each other and brought out pairs of handcuffs.
"You are to be escorted by us, willingly or otherwise." The guard on the right said as they were grabbed and cuffed.
"Wait! Why are we being taken?! Where are you taking us!?" He yelled as they were dragged off.
Before Azuza and Misaki
The guards, after seizing the two captured teens, proceeded to drag both Jerren and Ami back into the great tree. Though it took another half an hour, to get through the multiple hallways and passages, before finally reaching the throne room, where Azuza and Misaki were waiting for them.
The "escort" upon reaching the throne room, promptly shoved the two captives, causing them to fall flat on their faces, while the guards promptly dropped into a kneeling position before their two leaders.
"How unnecessary..." Jerren muttered, managing to stand up along with Ami. The guards sprang up, before harshly pushing the captives faces back into the carpet, barking in unison.
"You KNEEL before your superiors!"
Neither teen attempted to put up any resistance, having since agreed it was a pointless effort and did as told. The guards then promptly returned to their kneeling as well.
"How do we get in these predicaments Ami?" Jerren asked her in hushed, exasperated tone.
"We were just in the wrong place in the wrong time. Or maybe this is just a nightmare, and the both of us are still at home, in our beds."
Sadly both promptly shook off any hope of that being a reality, since the pain alone from being shoved to the ground felt plenty real to both of them.
Shoving those thoughts aside, both parties' eyes shifted slightly to get a better look at the throne room, while they awaited their fate. The sight left the pair in awe of its design and glory, resembling an organic floor not unlike the outside of the tree, supplemented with a carpet colored with red and blue. "Wow..." Jerren muttered.
The Emperor padded his fingers rhythmically against the armrest of his throne, rather impatiently at that. Jerren gulped, recalling the Emperor's previous outburst, but managed to speak coherently enough.
"Sir, why is it that your guards... Escorted us here? Have we done something wrong? I apologize in advance." Azuza stopped tapping now, sitting forward in his seat, his gaze sending a shiver down both teens spines.
"You both are in a lot of trouble," He turned to Ami now. "You told my wife that you are both from Earth, not Mercury. Is that correct?" Ami nodded and rose a little to speak to him.
"That is entirely correct, your grace. But, what does that have to do with the two of us being in trouble?" She said as politely as respectfully as possible.
"According to Galactic Law, any underdeveloped and advanced worlds are prohibited from making any kind of contact with each other. What that means in more simple terms is, since you two humans are on an advanced planets soil, particularly royal territory, we have no choice but to dispose of you and erase any evidence of your existence, lest we face the wrath of the Galactic Federation."
"WHAT!" Jerren and Ami shouted in unison, completely floored by the Emperor's words.
"However..." He trailed off, giving them hope. "I've chosen to overrule this. Mostly because you can be used quite efficiently for labor, or personal service because you are human. Any Jurian would pay good amount of money for two human servants."
They were relieved simply being able to live. "Of course until then, you will be watched—closely—by two of my best guards. For all we know, you could conspire with former citizens of Mercury or even run off." He waved his hands and his guards once again stood to grab them.
"Wait! We may be your captives, and we may have unwittingly trespassed, but we're honest and law abiding people! Please!" Azuza banged his fist on the armrest.
"Enough out of you, girl. My word is absolute and final. You will not argue any longer, you will go and listen to what you're told. Do you understand?" They stopped struggling an nodded.
"Yes, sir." They said in unison.
"It's not "Sir", it's "Your Grace" or "Your Highness"." He growled.
"Yes... Your Highness." They said again, in unison. He waved his arm in an away motion and they were dragged out of the room once more, the large doors shutting behind them
Misaki let out a sigh, turning to her husband next to her.
"Now... Why is it that they needed escorts?"
"They may be the ones." he stated, watching the doors shut.
"The ones?" she asked, now curious.
"Come with me. I have something I must show you."
The two rules made their way to a door behind the thrones, hidden by a curtain. Azuza pulled an old, golden key from her pocket and unlocked the door, stepping in a rather musty and dark room. Inside was an ancient, almost decrepit looking projection unit in the center of the room. Misaki was quite amazed by what she saw.
"What... Is this a relic?" she asked while studying it, fascinated. Azuza pressed a small button on the machine and a hologram projected all around them. It was a large wall of text that was unreadable to Misaki, though Azuza was able to translate it.
"What it says, in short, is that a day will come when a prince and princess will come and take the kingdom by storm, and the oppressed shall be freed and the oppressors destroyed." Misaki still seemed confused.
"I don't understand. How does this ancient text relate to us?" Azuza sighed at this, turning to her.
"My wife, I love you, but sometimes you are incredibly dense. Obviously, the oppressed in this case are the people of Mercury, and we are the oppressors." Misaki gasped, taking it in.
"So... What you're saying is... This is our doomsday prophecy?" he shook her head in disbelief.
"Precisely."
"How do you know they're the "ones." Isn't it possible they could be some other people," Misaki inquired, still confused by all that was happening. "And even if they really are the ones destined to overthrow us, why let them live? If I knew they were dangerous I would of killed them on the spot!"
Azuza sighed. "It's more complicated than you think Misaki. I was going to erase their memories then and there. However, something or someone prevented me, and then I received flashes of of random events regarding those two, appeared before me in a split second. It went so fast, I could barely make out what I saw. I felt it was in our best interest not to take immediate action, for fear of what might happen. Also the presence felt strangely familiar to me."
"Strange, seems we have a little mystery on our hands don't we dear?" Misaki as she chuckled slightly. However, a fearful thought quickly entered her mind. "But we are the most powerful empire in the galaxy! We have countless alliances, and most important of all, we have Tsunami, the protector of Jurai."
"I honestly don't understand it myself Misaki. It could all be just one giant hoax and we are worrying for nothing. However, I didn't become emperor by taking unnecessary risks and we cannot simply ignore this. For now, the best thing to do is observe those two and prevent this before it happens."
Azuza sighed once more, gazing at the prophecy that threated to destroy all he had built.
"I just hope that I'm making the right decision."
Parting ways
Early the next day, Jurian guards rousted the Mercurians from the tents that they were assigned to, before dragging them away for the slave auctions. Two guards stepped into Jerren and Ami's tent.
"Get up!" a guard commanded, punctuating his order with a swift blow to Jerren's stomach with his pike. "You are coming with us!" Jerren and Ami woke up alarmed and frightened as they looked at the two guards.
"What!? Where's the fire at?" Jerren asked in surprised and pain, "What happened?"
"Did something happen?" Ami said in alarm, "Who's in trouble?"
"Emperor Azuza and Empress Misaki have ordered your presence immediately!" said the second guard.
"Them again?" said Jerren yawning. "Did we break another one of their rules we didn't know about?"
"You will know who will be bought by at the auctions which is today!"
The guards cuffed the pair and marched them to a transport, to which thankfully resulted in an otherwise uneventful travel back to the throne room.
After about a half an hour, the pair founds themselves once again in the throne room and under the gaze of the two Jurian rules.
"You may leave us now!" Azuza said snapping his fingers at the guards. They bowed their heads in respect and left the room leaving Jerren and Ami at the mercy of Emperor Azuza and Empress Misaki
"Today you will know who you will be serving!" Azuza intoned his eye on Jerren then turning to Ami.
"For you human girl, you will be serving my daughter, Princess Ayeka. I believe that you will be of good use to her especially. In particular she has important assignment tomorrow, of which you will be involved."
"Oh, that's good," said Ami, "I thought I was going to be sent to a cruel, harsh master."
'That was the original plan," said Misaki, who cocked out a cruel smile that made Ami wince.
"Oh, do not look so dejected," said Misaki chipping in. "It is better than a cruel male master. Besides, my daughter is very just and lenient, so you'll be in good hands." Misaki placed her hand over her mouth to hide her grin.
"Now for you human boy…." said Azuza, you will be serving my other daughter, Ayeka's younger sister princess Sasami. She asked me for an assistant to help her with a task we gave her, thus you seem like a perfect fit
"What….your younger daughter?" Jerren exclaimed in surprise, "Look, I know I'm a slave and everything, but I'm not going to play babysitter. I already had a bad experience once with my younger sister when my parents..."
"This is not up for debate!" Azuza responded in a stern voice "You WILL serve my daughter, unless you'd prefer a harsher assignment instead!"
"Alright," said Jerren lowering his head. "I'll serve her….like I have a choice!"
The Emperor nodded, "Glad to hear it, oh and before I forget. Don't even think about trying to escape, as you'll be watched around the clock by the royal guards while your with her. Who I've give the order to use any necessary force to detain you."
"Seriously, bad enough I gotta play babysitter, but also have your thugs watching…." Jerren spoke in outrage, though quickly clammed up when the Emperor practically jumped up.
"SILENCE," Azuza roared in fury. "I AM THE EMPEROR, YOU ARE MY PROPERTY AND YOU WILL DO AS I SEE FIT, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!"
His voice reverberated throughout the halls, actually shaking all of Jerren's insides, promptly any defiance to promptly die, as he wordlessly nodded.
"Good, oh and one last thing," said Azuza wrinkling his nose, "Those rags you are wearing must go!"
"You mean our clothes?" said Jerren and Ami in unison, surprised at the royal decree.
"Yes!" replied Azuza, "Those pitiful rags are not fit for any working member of the Misaki Household. From now on, you will wear what we give you to wear!"
"But we like our clothes," Ami protested, "We..."
"I said you will wear what we give you and that is final!" Azuza stated. "Report to the changing rooms down the hall to the left, after that you will report to your designated masters, do I make myself clear?"
"Yes sir….!" they sighed in unison, lowering their heads.
It is 'your highnesses!" said Misaki, "Call us 'your highnesses'!"
"Yes your highnesses!" they sighed, then walked out the door down the hall.
Separating to change clothes the pair reunited shortly thereafter, looking at each other in their new attire. Jerren had traded his black shirt and pants for a green shirt and pants with brown boots, while Ami had swapped her white shirt, blue vest and blue skirt for a pink and blue dress with sandals.
"You...You look nice!" Jerren said as he blushed at ami.
"You look nice yourself…." Ami replied shyly back, "For a slave I guess. So I guess this is goodbye…."
"I guess so…."
said Jerren, "But don't be sad, we'll see each other again when the time is right."
"Yes we will, and who knows, maybe we'll have some interesting adventures along the way."
They parted ways in opposite directions and left each other for what lay ahead.
to be continued...