Yosho's Tales...
Author: Daferge
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Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo! is a copyright of AIC/Pioneer Ltd.
All respective characters are property of their original owners. All original characters and ideas are the property of the author...
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Yosho's Tales...
Chapter 26... A knight's tale - part.08...
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( Castle Battlements... )
His Lordship's man-at-arms returned to his Lord and quietly reported that all the other guards and such had been informed of their 'guests'...
He'd heard the strange light haired female make a comment about making sure every thing was ready when their 'guests' arrived...
The enemy had planned to sneak up and surprise them, causing panic and confusion, perhaps even scaring them into surrendering without a fight...
And if the defenders still managed to put up a fight, they would be out numbered as much as 5 to 1, especially with 2 of the knights, a number of men-at-arms and quite a few Archers were gone...
At least that was how the three Lords had planned it...
He had awaken every one who had been able to put on armor and carry a weapon...
As soon as they got some armor and a weapon, they were to quietly making their way up to the battlements...
Once there, they would sit with their backs against the wall and wait, only the few on guard would continue to be seen, as if nothing was wrong...
Some of the small children, who couldn't be seen from the outside would bring up wooden bowls and spoons, as well as small buckets of cooked food...
They would also carry up skins of water, so those waiting would have a hot meal and drink...
When the time came the defenders would be fed, fresh and ready to go...
The man-at-arms smiled, if their luck held, it was now looking as ifgoing to be the attackers that got the surprise...
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Several of the older males were getting ready too...
It took some mixing and matching with the armor to get most of them looking like warriors...
They, as well as some of the older females ( also in armor ) would be on the other sections of wall, watching for any one trying to sneak in those ways...
This would allow every real, able-bodied person to man the front battlement and the more the better...
If they could present a much larger number of defenders than the attackers were expecting, they just might have second thoughts...
If not the Lords themselves, then perhaps their men, who'd been told it was going to be very easy pickings...
For 'loyalty' tended to take second place to 'survival' these days...
Since 'the end of days', just trying to stay alive was hard enough on a day-to-day basis...
Getting into fights tended to lessen your chances of making to the next day...
Especially with the little 'surprise' that had some how found it's way into the castle the other night...
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( Earlier... )
While inspecting the castle grounds for any last minute problems, his Lordship had come upon an old, large tent set up against the back wall, in a little used area of the castle...
It had been what he discovered when he entered the tent that had startled him...
The first thing he saw as he entered had been the young girl with light spiky hair holding a wooden plank over her head...
The plank was about a foot square and about 9 feet long...
A knight in full armour would weigh less...
His mouth must have fallen open, for he next felt a finger slip under his jaw and lift it, closing his mouth...
Turning, he discovered the dark haired female shaking her head and trying to hide a smile...
" You've spoiled our surprise!... "
He turned back around, but the female and plank were gone and the young boy was standing there...
As his eyes searched around, the boy smiled and spoke up...
" Ryoko had some thing to take care of... I hope she didn't startle you... "
The Lord looked down as he tried to think of a way to ask some thing...
The boy chuckled...
" You may have noticed that she's stronger than she looks... She gets that from her mother's side of the family... "
The Lord didn't see Ayeka smile on hearing the chuckling that both her and Tenchi heard...
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Looking back up, he saw the golden haired female, dressed in male clothing approach with a small pot on her head?...
Seeing the Lord, she smiled and waved at him as she whispered something to the boy...
She giggled and sighed as he quickly kissed her on the cheek...
He then turned back to the Lord...
" It seems you are just in time... It seems our little surprise is finished... "
He turned and pulled back a portion of the tent behind him, exposing another area...
As the boy lead the Lord into the next area, the Lord took it to be a wood working area of some sort, with all the bits and pieces of wood laying around...
The golden haired female was standing next to a device that the Lord hadn't payed much attention to in some time, not needing it...
It was a very long, thick pole, held off the ground, by two tall post on ether side at about where a mounted knight's helmet would be...
The post were mounted and supported on a frame which now had wheels...
Making it easier to move around, than just dragging it...
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A rope was usually attached to one end and a basket to the other...
By pulling down on the rope the other end would go up and any thing in the basket could be delivered to any high point, like the battlements...
Besides lifting heavy stones to repair the walls and slates for the roof, it helped deliver other things needed up there, but difficult to get up the stairs...
His man-at-arms had last used it to move bundles of arrows and other weapons up on the battlement, to various areas where they would be close at hand when the time came...
With it, he had used the young children to move the bundles and other heavy items instead of adults, who were needed else where...
There were also wooden barrels up there, holding extra swords, axes, even a few old ball and chain weapons, just about ever weapon in the castle...
Not only were they there incase they were heeded, he knew they helped those who were scared, which wasn't just those new to all this...
Those who'd been through this before knew what to expect and like himself, were scared...
But it was up to them to put aside their fears and encourage the others...
It was the only way they were going to get through this...
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He noticed that the lifter looked different some how...
The end with the basket was shorter and a smaller, wooden box had been attached at the end...
Stones in the box caused the other end to stick almost straight up in the air...
Looking at the other end, he could see what looked like a small net?, besides the usual long rope...
A soft chuckling caused him to turn, finding the young boy standing there...
" I know it looks a bit strange, but it should do what we need it to do... "
The boy smiled at the Lord's confused look...
" It still lifts things, but now it throws them too... "
The boy chuckled as the Lords mouth opened, but nothing came out...
" You use it as you did before, just in a different way... You pull down on one end and the other, with the box, is lifted into the air... The box now acts as a counterweight and pulls on the other end... When you release your end, it is lifted quickly upward, carrying any objects in the small net with it... When the box reaches the bottom, it slows down... However, the object in the net is released to continue in the direction it was pointed... "
He paused...
" Or at-least that's what we hope... "
The Lord looked at the boy, then the device and back at the boy...
" In other words... It should work like me picking up a stone and tossing it, only a much larger stone and much further?... "
Tenchi smiled as he heard Washu's comment...
Brains as well as brawns...
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( The present... )
The Lord had to smile when he saw the look on the faces of his knights and men-at-arms as the 'Trebuchet', as the young boy called it, was moved into the main court yard behind the front wall...
It had been done quietly and then other loose timbers and pieces of wood quickly put around it, as if it were to be a large fire of some sort...
The boy had said it was to hide it from eyes who might find it of interest...
Most who saw it, accepted the fire answer...
But he noticed a few raised eyebrows among the older folks...
As for objects for it to throw, old jars, with the oil used for lighting lamps, had been set aside...
The jar's mouths had been sealed closed using some of the wax candles from the temple...
He had seen a lamp dropped once and it's contents catch fire, it had caused quite a mess...
He smiled at the thought of what those at the other end would think...
Hopefully that fighting today was a bad idea...
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( Another section of the battlement... )
It was the tiniest of sounds which caused her ladyship to turn around suddenly, not easy in all this armour...
She was surprised to find the dark haired female standing there...
What surprised her more, was that the female had stopped her heavy pike's swing with her bare hand and with very little effort...
Looking at the pike and then her ladyship, the female smiled...
" I didn't mean to startle you... "
Calming down, her ladyship raised the heavy pike and set it against the inner wall...
" It's dangerous, wandering around at night... "
She didn't see the smile form on the other female's lips...
Wearing the normal garb of the locals, her ability to hear and see in the dark was much better than those wearing armour...
The helmet protected the head, but not only cut down on the field of view, but the ability to hear clearly...
She smiled as a voice in her ear suggest a reply...
" As I recall, it's just as dangerous to wander around in the daylight!... "
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Her ladyship recalled how close she'd come to putting an arrow into a a wandering knight a number of years before in broad daylight...
The knight who had become her lordship...
As she looked at the other shadow in the darkness, there was something she was curious about...
" Just HOW is the young boy related to you?... "
The other female smiled as a voice told her to go ahead and tell her, who would she tell who would believe it?...
" He is our beloved lord!... "
Her ladyship was confused...
" You are his servants?... "
Ayeka told Washu to stop laughing, as she leaned closed and whispered...
" Of course not... He's our beloved husband!... "
Turning, she disappeared into the darkness, a slight chuckling floating behind her...
Her ladyship just stood there, her mouth open...
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( In the main hall... )
His lordship was standing before the king's armour...
If only he'd been there that day...
He touched the burned spot...
So he was startled when a voice spoke up...
" For want of a nail, a shoe was lost... For want of a shoe, a horse was lost... For want of a horse, a rider was lost... For want of a rider, a weapon was lost... For want of a weapon, a battle was lost... For want of a battle, a kingdom was lost... "
The two were looking into each other's eyes...
The young boy smiled as he continued...
" A nail, a nail, my kingdom for a nail... "
His lordship just stared at him...
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" One more nail... One more rider,,, One more weapon... The battle was lost the instant the king confronted Kagato... The kingdom was lost with the king's death, with all his men... "
His lordship managed to find his voice...
" How would you know?... You couldn't have been old enough to walk when it happen!... "
That was when the golden haired female appeared...
" Because my beloved was the one who took him down... "
Wrapping her arms around him she began to hug him and nibble on his ear as he started to turn blue...
At which time the light haired female appeared and began to pry the other female off the boy...
" Mihoshi... loosen up... He's turning blue again... "
Seeing the his lordship, she smiled...
" Sorry... She gets this way sometimes... You'll have to excuse her... "
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It was then that she saw his hand had gone to his sword and she smiled...
" If you can't wait til tomorrow for a fight, I can offer you one now... "
Her eyes narrowed as she formed a light sword on her hand...
" But I can't promise that you'll survive it... "
His lordship was surprised as the young boy sighed as he reached over and touched her hand, causing her sword to go out...
Shaking his head, he smiled as the two female lowered their eyes, not able to look him in the eyes...
" You two go to our room and wait there... I'll deal with you two when I get there... "
Peeking up at him, they both smiled before Ryoko took Mihoshi's hand and they both disappeared...
Something told him that they had heard what THEY wanted to hear and there would be little or no sleep for him...
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As he turned, he noted the other male still had his hand on his sword, his eyes still narrowed...
" What are you?... A wizard or a demon?... "
Tenchi smiled at him and scratched the back of his head and sighed...
" Nether... Just a simple male with three very demanding wives... "
Taking the tenchi-ken he tossed it to the startled lord, who caught it, causing Tenchi to smile...
He could hear Washu making some comments in his ear...
The lord examined the carved wooden object...
It was like the hand grip of a sword or knife, it even had gems, but with no blade...
He didn't notice Tenchi move over and stand beside him...
He was returned to reality when Tenchi reached over and touched his hand...
Tenchi smiled when a light blade appeared and remained on, even after he removed his hand...
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The lord stared at the glowing blade...
" Are you -... "
Tenchi smiled and shook his head...
" I may have turned it on, but you're the one's keeping it on... "
A voice from the empty hall caught their attention...
" Now this is indeed interesting!... "
They turn to find the dark-haired female standing there...
Smiling, Tenchi stepped closed, again and touched the lord's arm, turning the blade off...
It was easy to recover it after that...
" You're just in time, my dear... Mihoshi has -... "
" Been Mihoshi, as usual... "
As she stepped next to him he leaned close and kissed her on the cheek...
She turned and looked at him...
" That's not how your Frenchies do it?... "
She hide a smile as he blushed and they both could hear Washu chuckling...
Seeing the lord staring at they, Tenchi managed to make a soft comment..
" Don't ask... You really don't want to know... "
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It took a while, but Tenchi was able to calm down and then he spoke into the air...
" Ryoko... "
At which time, the light haired female reappeared, wearing very little...
" Are you ready sweety?... "
However seeing Ayeka's eyes narrow and the lord's eyes widen, a robe quickly appeared...
Sighing Tenchi quickly spoke...
" You two go ahead.. I need to discuss a few things before dawn comes... "
Batting her eyes, Ryoko reached over to touch Ayeka and they both disappeared, leaving behind a few last words...
" Hurry up, sweety... "
Turning, he found that the lord was sitting on a stool...
" Sorry about that... "
Taking a few deep breaths, his lordship was able to calm himself...
He noticed the lord looking at the tenchi-kin...
" It's not magical, just a device like the trebuchet that is just not easy to explain... It does a number of things besides creating the blade... As protection, it can only be used by certain people... To prevent the wrong people using it... In this case, people related to me and my family... "
The lord's eyes widened...
" Yes, it detects that you are of the same bloodline as myself and Ayeka, the dark haired female... It also seems that you were related to the king... "
Tenchi noted that this comment did not come as a surprise...
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( A short time later... )
" I've known for some time, as few members of the royal line survived the attack... Even if I told every one, there is no way of proving it... My uncle's children survived, but they would not be accepted ether... Even as the priestess for the goddess Tsunami, it would not matter... Every one has lost hope... "
Tenchi had been sitting on another stool, looking at the King's armour...
He noticed the bent sword hanging from the belt and an idea was slowly began to form, as did a smile...
" Every one knows this is the Great King's armour!... "
The lord looked at him, before nodding his head...
" Would that happen to be his sword?... "
Another nod and a very confused look...
Tenchi closed his eyes and concentrated hard, mentally visualizing his basic idea, something he'd never done before...
After a few quiet minutes, he asked a question, also in his head...
What do you think?...
Tenchi could hear Washu chuckling in the background...
I say that it's up to you, you're the one 'on site'...
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Smiling, he turned back to the lord...
" I've got an idea that could settle every thing and might just, maybe, return peace... "
He looked at the armour and smiled...
" But you're going to need to trust me... "
He sighed softly as he continued...
" And let me borrow some things... "
His lordship didn't know why, but he didn't have any ideas of his own and he wasn't too happy about the coming dawn, he nodded his head...
Smiling, Tenchi took a deep breath and headed towards the stairs...
" I'm afraid we'll need the priestess... Would you be so kind as to get her?... "
At the foot of the stairs he paused and took a deep breath, smiling...
" If you'll excuse me, I need to walk into the lion's den and wake some VERY grumpy females... "
He started up the stairs...
" SO!... If you see me running down the stairs, get the drawbridge lowered fast and I'll try to make to the enemy camp... That way any damage they might cause will help our side... "
With that he continued up the stairs, humming Frédéric Chopin's Funeral March...
It didn't help, hearing Washu's hysterical laughing, in his ear...
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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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