To Sail the Spanish Main...
By: Daferge...
"Tenchi Muyo!" and characters were created by Hiroki Hayashi and Masaki Kajishima, and is the property of AIC/Nippon Television, Geneon Entertainment and FUNimation Entertainment.
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Chapter 10... Life and Death...
( The Caribbean, mid 1710s... )
A large barrel sat on the wooden dock, a smaller one behind it...
An old, weathered book rested on top of the larger barrel, open to a page with some writing on it...
To one side was a quill pen and a bottle of red ink...
A rough, weathered sailor sat on the smaller barrel, waiting...
An even rougher looking black male stood to the side, his back to a large post, his arms crossed...
They'd been there for some time and the older one looked up at his companion, who shook his head and nodded at a couple of sailors coming their way...
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Stopping before the barrels, the two sailors looked at the old man and then his guard...
" Be you the one we sees 'bout signin' on?... "
The old man smiled, showing a good number of missing teeth...
" I be! "
The taller of the two looked at his companion, who nodded back...
" I hear ye be headin North?... "
The old man nodded his head...
" Ye hear right... "
" Any word how far?... "
The old man smiled...
" The Colonies... Carolinas I hear tell... "
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The shorter one nodded and stepped forward...
The old man picked up the quill, dabbed it in the bottle of ink before handing it to the young man...
With his other hand he tapped the written page...
" Sign ye name or make ye mark... After ye read the articles... If n' ye can read... "
Both males nodded their heads and took took turns reading what was written, then signing their names...
The old man looked at the names, spelled clearly...
" Owen Roberts?... Trade?... "
The taller spoke up...
" Carpenter, I be... "
Making a notation by the name, the old man spoke again...
" Philip Morton?... "
The shorter one spoke up...
" Gunner's mate... "
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The old man smiled, both trades much needed aboard ship...
" I be Miller, Thomas... The Quartermaster... "
He nodded to his companion...
" This be Caesar... He'll take ye down to the capt'n... "
As Caesar began to lead them down the long dock Morton spoke up...
" And who might the capt'n be?... "
Miller smiled his broken smile...
" That be capt'n Teach... But most call him Blackbeard... "
( Note: Miller, Morton and Roberts died with Blackbeard Nov. 22nd 1718, Caesar was captured and later hung in Williamsburg, Virigina – the next year, 1719...)
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( Aboard The Inquisition...Kingston Harbor... )
Captain Nagi Katsumoro watched as her crew set the sails and prepared to make way...
She'd talked to Captain Hakubi, Washu to those who knew her...
She too had sensed something the night before, as had quite a few others, a feeling of dread...
Washu had agreed that last night would not have been a good time to set sail...
Better in the mid-day, the wind would be in her favor for a quicker get away from port...
Washu had been staring out to sea when she made her last comment...
" There are some things that lurk in the darkness that you best no meet... "
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It had been her near encounter with that phantom ship, Cap'n Van der Decken's ship, called the Flying Dutchman, that had been the straw that finally drove her ashore...
With baby Ryoko in her arms, the Jamaican Demon just managed to lose the Dutchman in the darkness...
It was some thing she didn't talk about...
For it still haunted her...
She and her crew would never forget that feeling of dread they'd had...
A feeling that returned ever so often, like last night...
It was a feeling that Ryoko had also acquired...
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( The Governor's house - Kingston, Jamaica... )
Tenchi was slow to wake, his head still pounded...
All the sunlight coming through the window didn't help...
And as he tried to move he discovered he couldn't, Why?...
As his eyes adjusted, he could see something out of the corners of his eyes...
Something dark to his left, something light to his right...
Turning slightly to his left a very familiar face came into view, Ayeka's...
Something told him he didn't want to look the other way, but he couldn't help himself...
As he suspected, another familiar face, Ryoko's...
He closed his eyes and tried to think, but only one thing came to mind...
That's it, I'm dead...
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" Some one's back with the living!... "
He knew his father's voice any where and some thing told him he wasn't alone...
He was proven right when a female voice answered...
" Yes... And doesn't he look just adorable?... "
Another voice he'd never forget, Washu's...
So much for any chance of going down with his ship...
More like being towed behind the Jamaican Demon with full sails through shark infested waters...
" You can open your eyes, sleepyhead... "
She'd used her serious voice and his eyes opened on their own...
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The first thing he saw was his father's face smiling down at him...
But this was soon replaced by another with lots of red hair, Washu's, smiling...
" From the look on your face, you've discovered your bed companions!... "
It really wasn't a question, so he nodded his head...
He missed the twinkle in her eyes...
" You can let the priest in and we can get this over with... "
At this he wasn't sure if it was for a wedding or for last rites, his eyes closed again...
But a soft hand began stroking his face...
" Just kidding.. . "
He opened his eyes to find a deep sadness on her face and in her eyes...
Now he was concerned, for he'd NEVER seen her that sad before...
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He watched as his father moved over and put his arm around her, holding her close...
" There, there, we're not going to lose him... "
Tenchi was confused now...
" Lose... Who?... "
It was his father that answered...
" You!... "
Tenchi looked back and forth between his father and Washu...
His father went on...
" Seems Kagato holds You responsible for his failed raid... He even hired a cutthroat to slip into town and poison you... "
" Poison me?... "
His father nodded his head...
" However, your grandfather had been studying medicine in Rome and became acquainted with poisons and their treatments... And as it was a slow acting poison, he believed we might have a chance with an old cure... So you were put in this bed and covered with lots of heavy blankets, in order to sweat the poison out of you... And it seems to have worked... "
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Some how that still didn't seem to explain his present condition, his father smiled...
" Besides sweating, you needed to remain still, to prevent the poison spreading through your body... The problem was that the poison tended to cause the body to thrash about... Therefore we considered tying you down, which in it's self could be dangerous... "
As his father paused, it was Washu who continued...
" Ryoko suggested we try something a bit less restrictive... She would lay next to you and hold you down, a much better form of restraint... It was working for several hours, but it began to wear her out, so Ayeka joined her, on the other side and the two, holding onto you, as well as each other, kept you from thrashing about through the night... "
There was a tear in her eye as she stroked a sleeping Ryoko's hair...
" Even after your fever finally broke and you stopped thrashing about, they both refused to leave you... "
His father stood next to her...
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In a sleepy haze, Tenchi watched as Washu began humming a soft lullaby to Ryoko, as she stroked her hair...
Tenchi had an old memory of a shadowy figure rocking him to sleep to that same tune...
A figure that he had always associated with his mother, but his mother had died in child birth...
Slowly a number of different things began to come together, little things that had never make sense to him before, until now, as his father held a crying Washu in his arm...
He was almost asleep when he felt her bend down and kiss him softly on his forehead...
He heard her quietly whisper in his ear...
" Sleep tight, my little prince... "
Tenchi smiled as he replied...
" Yes, mommie... "
He heard a soft gasp as the darkness began to take him...
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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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