An End to Longing

From Homecomings: Jurai

By William Benjamin Grilliette

Special Thanks to: Literary Eagle, Kai Kerrigan, Jocko Megane, and Kale-dono

(The starlight shines down upon the grand gardens of the Jurai Royal Family, the pristine silence of the environment only broken by the rustle of nearby nesting birds or the chirp of insect calls. Eternal water babbles as it flows by, setting the pace for the humming sounds orchestrated by the native fauna. Into this quiet melody of night, the steps of two people pass, altering the tapestry of resonance.)

(Next to one another, Tenchi and Ayeka walk through the passages of cultivation. Ayeka's eyes are lowered, watching the cobblestones along the path come and leave beneath her feet. Tenchi gazes around the area idly, disconcert shown even through the smile of admiration for the garden. However, the appreciation for the garden fades, and the young man turns his attention to the smooth stones and soft lawn below his feet. While his words rise from his lips, the smile fades, turning his attentions to his companion.)

Tenchi: It's still beautiful here...

(She nods and agrees.)

Ayeka: It always has been this way... even when I was girl...

(His eyes close, a hesitation heard in his speech.)

Tenchi: I wish all good things didn't change...

(She raises her head and glances to Tenchi, somber thoughts and memories running through her mind. The regal princess recalls her first afternoon on Earth, when she came to know this simple young man, Tenchi Masaki. Then, he was only a boy of sixteen, three years her junior. Under orders from Tenchi's grandfather, he escorted her about the meadows and forests of their home. Although Ayeka had seen autumn on other worlds before, these Terran groves seemed so peaceful. However, the scenery was only that to her time with this boy. His natural speech and lack of pretense seemed so kind and charming. When she slipped at Funaho's resting place, he caught her, but in his eyes, she could see his concern, his kind-heartedness. Those qualities were so foreign to her then, as royals sought so valiantly to see her married.)

(Yet, he also had a naive mystique about him. In the falling snow, Tenchi would train with his grandfather, the bokkens cracking in the winter silence of the Japanese highlands. Once, Ayeka stumbled across their practice, but her shock was in the style of swordplay. She had seen men perform kata and compete in tournaments on numerous worlds, but this style was a secret that only her kin knew, unique to Jurai's royal family. However, Tenchi had simply practiced under his grandfather's instruction as a loyal grandson would. In speaking with him, the princess's ears could hear no deception in his words, at least no form that she knew. She laughed, that only such a pure young man could be found in such a remote and virgin world.)

(She loved him. Her affections grew while they were on Earth and seemed to give her some strength when the coup d'etat lead by Kagato came. When his true lineage and purpose came to pass on Jurai, she saw his courage, both when Tenchi took a simple stick to challenge the corrupted Juraian as well as when he came armed with the lost Tenchiken Key and defeated Kagato the usurper. Again and again, she has seen his courage tested and proven, alongside his strength of character and quiet kindness. All through these three years from their first meeting, her love was directed at this young man, so much so that she left permanently to live within his home and denied her right of succession.)

(Now in this garden alongside him, she shakes her head.)

Ayeka: Nothing is truly forever, Tenchi.

(His eyes close while a conflicted frown crosses his lips.)

Tenchi: I know that, Ayeka, but that doesn't make what happened right.

(He turns his face away from her, a shame heard in his words.)

Tenchi: I really... thought you wouldn't want to see either of us...

(Ayeka's crimson eyes take a glance at the ground before she sighs with her answer.)

Ayeka: Part of me doesn't... but avoiding the issue will solve nothing...

(He nods while she starts to speak, emotion welling in her voice, but still controlled.)

Ayeka: I did love you, Tenchi. When you chose to marry Ryoko...

(She pauses, closing her eyes to continue her calm state though a hurt does filter into her words.)

Ayeka: Part of me did break. I can't deny that I felt ignored, betrayed on some level.

(Tenchi tenses hearing her feelings flow true.)

Tenchi: I'm sorry, Ayeka. I never wanted to hurt you... and neither did Ryoko...

(The princess nods.)

Ayeka: I know.

(He sighs hard, his troubled gaze turning back to her.)

Tenchi: What'd we do wrong, Ayeka? What broke up the family we had on Earth?

(The two walk in silence before she closes her eyes and stops with her answer for him, her left hand gripping tightly at her side.)

Ayeka: Before, I would have blamed Fate for this... but no.

(He stops with her looks back into her eyes, which dance with the true feelings within her: regret, anger, and above all, love. A longing gaze goes back to him as she steps forward and speaks to him.)

Ayeka: Your kindness... your loyalty... your courage... Tenchi, you embodied so many aspects of life I never really knew before coming to Earth.

(She lowers her head now, her own self-guilt shown.)

Ayeka: I am shamed to say that I envied your life. I wanted to be a part of your life, but I also remembered that I had responsibilities from my birth to Jurai... and I was silent...

(Tenchi listens, hearing the pain that slips into her voice and expression.)

Ayeka: I never spoke directly of my affections for you. I had these romantic hopes of the perfect moment to express my feelings toward you... but it never came... and I was silent... Before the coup and during the Reunion, I tried to force myself... but I could only speak of thrones and the past... I never could say what I should have...

(He turns away, shame still burdening him.)

Tenchi: I'm sorry, Ayeka...

(The violet-haired woman turns to him and shakes her head.)

Ayeka: No, Tenchi. If blame is to be weighed, it should be equal.

(He turns to her, and she reaches and touches his cheek gently with her hand. The princess's gentle gaze seems stronger than before, more at peace as she speaks to him.)

Ayeka: I had opportunities to tell you of my love for you... but I didn't...

(He nods slightly.)

Tenchi: I didn't do anything about what I did see...

(She smiles softly for him.)

Ayeka: Tenchi, part of me will always love you... and it's in that love that I say this...

(Eyes locked in the stillness around them, the weight carried by Tenchi lifts slightly with the wind of her voice.)

Ayeka: I forgive you for any part you might have played in the breaking of my heart.

(Still concerned, Tenchi questions her.)

Tenchi: What can I do to make up for this...?

(Leaning into him, she whispers while he becomes uneasy at her proximity, the wedding band seeming to burn on his hand.)

Ayeka: Live a good life with Ryoko... and raise your child well... as I'm sure you will, true prince of Jurai...

(She closes her eyes and angles her head when her silken lips touch his. Firm and passionate, Ayeka boldly expresses herself while Tenchi is taken aback. Easing away, the violet princess takes a breath and gazes back at him, the smile gone but amiable nonetheless. Dumbfounded, Tenchi's eyes seek an answer which she gives openly, without regret.)

Ayeka: Here ends my longing for you, Masaki Tenchi.

(Bowing, she turns away and leaves him alone in the gardens, considering what happened here this night. Yet, in the shadows, a tear rolls down Ayeka's cheek, but no more follow it as she steels herself with a calming breath.)