The pull of conscience against consciousness is always unbearable. That's why we have to sleep. We sleep because it's the only way we can bear the truth. The truth about everything...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Tenchi died, Ryoko and Aeka decided it best that they sleep in separate rooms instead of sharing a large bed with the king like they did when he was alive. Ryoko tangled herself in the sheets, sweating heavily, a victim to her own realities. The guilt engulfing her whole. She regretted sleeping, and often fought it till the bitter end, collapsing wherever she found it comfortable and sleeping until an attendant escorted her to bed. Ryoko's dreams were always full of torment. A nagging to find out the truth, but a longing to never know the reasons why Tenchi died.
On the day their son was born, Tenchi and Ryoko celebrated. The welcomed addition would rule over Earth. The planet that Tenchi had so faithfully gaurded all these years. Now a greater planet even more so than Jurai, they could only look to Tenchi for guidance. He became their king, Ryoko and Aeka their queens. Aeka could only bear daughters, but Ryoko's many miscarriages brought her one ounce of luck in her humility, and she bore Tenchi's greatest accomplishment. The man carried his son on his shoulders like a prized trophy, always claiming that his son would be a greater king than he.
Ryoten grew to resent the throne, though. It denied him a childhood, a normal life. He couldn't run outside like the boys, he was escorted to the bathroom. Who would kill a demigod anyway? One heated night, while his father boasted about how Ryoten would take the throne on his eighteenth birthday, the boy slammed his food onto the dinner table, shaking his elder sisters out of their envious daydreaming.
"I won't! I will not become king of this or any other planet! Let one of the girls become queen!"
Aeka's three sat at attention. The second queen, herself, slid lower into her chair.
It wouldn't be the first time Ryoten and Tenchi had fought so violently. He had the fire of his mother and the speed to match. Times like those, Ryoko often threw herself in front of her son, who was still no match for Tenchi's Juraian strength.
"Well forget it! There's no way I'm becoming king! I renounce the throne and I renounce this family!"
Ryoko clutched the table, sitting quietly as her son stormed out of the palace and out of her life. From them on, she could only blame Tenchi for pushing the boy too hard and not letting him live. Inside, she wished he would die for all the pain he had caused her. She wouldn't dare raise a hand to strike him dead, but if the opportunity arose for him to die, she wouldn't do a thing to help him.
One day, he just died. As simple as that. He had gone on a walk, and they found him dead not so soon after he left the palace. When he died, Aeka was grief-stricken, but quickly recovered. Ryoko could never show any expression of pain and misery of loss, instead she only shut herself inside her room, realizing that she had lost her son, and her husband's death turned out to be no consolation.
Since then, her dreams were painful daggers to her aching heart. Aching more with the worries and regrets of her past decisions. Why had she agreed to marry Tenchi even though she knew he would turn around and marry Aeka not so soon after? Perhaps because she was simply there first? When did he become so arrogant? Tenchi always had this annoying knack for being naive and not picking up on emotions right away, but he was never such an aggressive and boisterous man until he became King.
The girl clenched her silken sheets tighter, trying to transfer pain and misery into the sheets that covered her body. Droplets of sweat collected on her furrowed brow, she buried her face in her pillow to keep from screaming out loud. Had life been this hard when she was Kagato's slave? She couldn't even remember.
In a corner of a white room, a young boy crouch down crying. His hair was matted to his forehead, he stared up at his watcher with amber eyes. Shivering, he took the hand extended to him. The boy had been crying in the rain. The white room faded into an elegant maze of hedges. Now the boy was crying in one of the dead ends, the rain pouring down upon his frail body like lashes from a wet bamboo stick. And the one who watched him? That was Ryoko.
Ryoko extended her hand to the crying boy. "Ryoten, come to me." She silently pleaded. His father had punished him once again for touching Tenchi-ken. "Don't cross your father anymore."
"It came to me..." Ryoten extended his arm to take his mother's hand, but his body started to sink into a pool of blood.
"Ryoten!! Take my hand!!!" Ryoko called out desperately.
The boy struggled to grab at his mother's hands, but he was being pulled back by a pair of hands. Tokimi's image appeared before Ryoko, drawing her son back and into her dwelling. Two shilouettes remained behind the woman, but only Tsunami's was lit. The goddess of Jurai only stared off into the distance, with a look of worry on her face.
"NO!" Ryoko felt like she was falling. "Nooooo!"
She hit the floor and opened her eyes. She realized she was staring up at the ceiling of her bedroom. Placing her hand against her brow, Ryoko wiped the sweat off her face and walked into the bathroom.
"The same dream every night..." The first queen of Earth washed her face and sat out on the terrace, hoping to calm her nerves before attempting to sleep again. Stretching like a cat, Ryoko yawned big and turned to her left. On the opposite terrace, Aeka was gazing into Ryoko's eyes.
"You couldn't sleep either?" Aeka cradled a cup of tea in her long, graceful fingers.
Ryoko sighed. "No. Couldn't sleep..." She ran her fingers through her hair.
Aeka breathed deep before she attempted to say anything more. "Ryoko, I really think we should find out about Tenchi's death. I think if we lay the mystery to rest, we both can sleep better at night."
"What would it solve, Aeka?"
"The riddles of our dreams, Ryoko." Aeka looked painfully serious.
Ryoko's hands dropped at her sides. "You've been having strange dreams too?"
"Ever since he died..."
The pirate shook her head. "If you think solving the reason why Tenchi died would put our minds to rest, I'd do it. I'd do anything to get a good night's sleep right about now."
"Well..." Aeka pushed back the door to her bedroom. "Come on..."
Ryoko laughed to herself before she lept from her terrace to Aeka's "This is sad, I remember when we couldn't even stand the sight of each other, now I need you to sleep..."
A quest for truth. Are dreams for those who seek the truth?
end of ch. 4
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Tenchi died, Ryoko and Aeka decided it best that they sleep in separate rooms instead of sharing a large bed with the king like they did when he was alive. Ryoko tangled herself in the sheets, sweating heavily, a victim to her own realities. The guilt engulfing her whole. She regretted sleeping, and often fought it till the bitter end, collapsing wherever she found it comfortable and sleeping until an attendant escorted her to bed. Ryoko's dreams were always full of torment. A nagging to find out the truth, but a longing to never know the reasons why Tenchi died.
On the day their son was born, Tenchi and Ryoko celebrated. The welcomed addition would rule over Earth. The planet that Tenchi had so faithfully gaurded all these years. Now a greater planet even more so than Jurai, they could only look to Tenchi for guidance. He became their king, Ryoko and Aeka their queens. Aeka could only bear daughters, but Ryoko's many miscarriages brought her one ounce of luck in her humility, and she bore Tenchi's greatest accomplishment. The man carried his son on his shoulders like a prized trophy, always claiming that his son would be a greater king than he.
Ryoten grew to resent the throne, though. It denied him a childhood, a normal life. He couldn't run outside like the boys, he was escorted to the bathroom. Who would kill a demigod anyway? One heated night, while his father boasted about how Ryoten would take the throne on his eighteenth birthday, the boy slammed his food onto the dinner table, shaking his elder sisters out of their envious daydreaming.
"I won't! I will not become king of this or any other planet! Let one of the girls become queen!"
Aeka's three sat at attention. The second queen, herself, slid lower into her chair.
It wouldn't be the first time Ryoten and Tenchi had fought so violently. He had the fire of his mother and the speed to match. Times like those, Ryoko often threw herself in front of her son, who was still no match for Tenchi's Juraian strength.
"Well forget it! There's no way I'm becoming king! I renounce the throne and I renounce this family!"
Ryoko clutched the table, sitting quietly as her son stormed out of the palace and out of her life. From them on, she could only blame Tenchi for pushing the boy too hard and not letting him live. Inside, she wished he would die for all the pain he had caused her. She wouldn't dare raise a hand to strike him dead, but if the opportunity arose for him to die, she wouldn't do a thing to help him.
One day, he just died. As simple as that. He had gone on a walk, and they found him dead not so soon after he left the palace. When he died, Aeka was grief-stricken, but quickly recovered. Ryoko could never show any expression of pain and misery of loss, instead she only shut herself inside her room, realizing that she had lost her son, and her husband's death turned out to be no consolation.
Since then, her dreams were painful daggers to her aching heart. Aching more with the worries and regrets of her past decisions. Why had she agreed to marry Tenchi even though she knew he would turn around and marry Aeka not so soon after? Perhaps because she was simply there first? When did he become so arrogant? Tenchi always had this annoying knack for being naive and not picking up on emotions right away, but he was never such an aggressive and boisterous man until he became King.
The girl clenched her silken sheets tighter, trying to transfer pain and misery into the sheets that covered her body. Droplets of sweat collected on her furrowed brow, she buried her face in her pillow to keep from screaming out loud. Had life been this hard when she was Kagato's slave? She couldn't even remember.
In a corner of a white room, a young boy crouch down crying. His hair was matted to his forehead, he stared up at his watcher with amber eyes. Shivering, he took the hand extended to him. The boy had been crying in the rain. The white room faded into an elegant maze of hedges. Now the boy was crying in one of the dead ends, the rain pouring down upon his frail body like lashes from a wet bamboo stick. And the one who watched him? That was Ryoko.
Ryoko extended her hand to the crying boy. "Ryoten, come to me." She silently pleaded. His father had punished him once again for touching Tenchi-ken. "Don't cross your father anymore."
"It came to me..." Ryoten extended his arm to take his mother's hand, but his body started to sink into a pool of blood.
"Ryoten!! Take my hand!!!" Ryoko called out desperately.
The boy struggled to grab at his mother's hands, but he was being pulled back by a pair of hands. Tokimi's image appeared before Ryoko, drawing her son back and into her dwelling. Two shilouettes remained behind the woman, but only Tsunami's was lit. The goddess of Jurai only stared off into the distance, with a look of worry on her face.
"NO!" Ryoko felt like she was falling. "Nooooo!"
She hit the floor and opened her eyes. She realized she was staring up at the ceiling of her bedroom. Placing her hand against her brow, Ryoko wiped the sweat off her face and walked into the bathroom.
"The same dream every night..." The first queen of Earth washed her face and sat out on the terrace, hoping to calm her nerves before attempting to sleep again. Stretching like a cat, Ryoko yawned big and turned to her left. On the opposite terrace, Aeka was gazing into Ryoko's eyes.
"You couldn't sleep either?" Aeka cradled a cup of tea in her long, graceful fingers.
Ryoko sighed. "No. Couldn't sleep..." She ran her fingers through her hair.
Aeka breathed deep before she attempted to say anything more. "Ryoko, I really think we should find out about Tenchi's death. I think if we lay the mystery to rest, we both can sleep better at night."
"What would it solve, Aeka?"
"The riddles of our dreams, Ryoko." Aeka looked painfully serious.
Ryoko's hands dropped at her sides. "You've been having strange dreams too?"
"Ever since he died..."
The pirate shook her head. "If you think solving the reason why Tenchi died would put our minds to rest, I'd do it. I'd do anything to get a good night's sleep right about now."
"Well..." Aeka pushed back the door to her bedroom. "Come on..."
Ryoko laughed to herself before she lept from her terrace to Aeka's "This is sad, I remember when we couldn't even stand the sight of each other, now I need you to sleep..."
A quest for truth. Are dreams for those who seek the truth?
end of ch. 4