Disclaimer: I do not own Tenchi, nor any of it's characters. However, Bryn, Drake, Dylan and Castalia, I do own. I hope you enjoy the story . oh! And please review, if I don't get enough reviews for this one, I will not be updating. About five for the first chapter would be kick ass, but I'll take three.....I sound desperate, don't I?
Chapter One
A man with long dark blue hair and piercing light blue eyes stood outside looking across the sea. In a few hours, the life he knew would be over. As soon as his father had died, he and his brothers had been ordered to wed women from warring planets to bring about peace.
The man scoffed at the idea. There would never be peace for long. It was humanoid nature to fight, to kill, to survive. But he and his brothers were obligated to do what was 'best' for their people. At one time, he had believed in not killing the enemy unless necessary, but no longer.
"Bryn, are you still moping about out here? The princesses are going to be here any minute."
"Tenchi, how can you act as though nothing is wrong? Our lives have been torn apart by --"
"I wouldn't say torn apart exactly, things are just going to be a little different for us now. But here's the way I see it. No matter what, we will all always be brothers and we will always have one another. What else could we ask for?"
"A choice in who we wed, for one!"
Tenchi smiled slightly, resting one of his tanned hands on his older brother's shoulder. His dark brown eyes light with mirth. "We never would have had a choice Bryn. If father were still alive, you, Drake, Dylan, and I would be in the same situation. This is the way of royalty."
"And I despise it."
"it has it's moments. Come on, admit it. What would the ladies of court want with you without your money?"
A grin finally stretched the corners of Bryn's mouth. "My dear, naive little brother. The women of the court are only drawn to me because of my wealth. They stay with me, because of what I can do for them in the bedroom."
"And now that you are to be wed?"
"Just means I'll be going to their homes rather then my own."
"Gee Bryan, I can see your new wife is going to love you....."
"Shut up twerp. All women love me. Can it be helped that your charm isn't as strong as mine?"
"What charm? They only thing women seem to want with you is money and sex. No charm required -- unless, of course, you actually plan on talking to the women you bed...."
"Bite your tong! Once you get a woman to start talking to you, she will never stop. And by the time they finally decide to stop, it's too late! Your mood has already shriveled up and died."
"And here I was worried about you having no charm! Well, you've certainly proved me wrong with that little speech. Good luck with telling your soon to be wife that she's to stay on her back and keep her mouth shut for the duration of her marriage. I'm sure she'll fall head over heels in love with you. Really! Head over heels...."
Bryan merely grunted and waved off his brothers sarcasm. He could already see the ship that contained his and his brother's future in the distance. No point in beating his little brother up yet. He might scare his intended. On the other hand....
"Hey, Crazy? I was crazy once. These men in white cloths took me and locked me in a little tiny room. I died in that room. Worms started eating my brain. Worms drive me crazy. Hey, Crazy?! I was crazy once! These....."
"ENOUGH!! If only your people had you two fighting their war, they would have won for sure! The enemy would have went running in the opposite direction as soon as you both had opened your vial mouths!" A woman with dark purple hair screamed, her red brown eyes flashing dangerously. At her out burst, the two women before her stopped singing. The one with silver blue hair lifted her chin a notch, while the red haired one stuck out her tong.
"No need to shout princess. We can all here you very well. And need I remind you that your side lost as well -- actually, it lost twice, didn't it? Once to us, and then another time to --"
"Shut your filthy barbarian mouth! You Ryoko, are the most foul person I have ever had the misfortune to meet!"
Ryoko grinned and flipped some of her silvery hair over her shoulder. It wasn't her fault the princess got so upset over nothing. How was she to help it if Ayeka was so high strung? Or that she would get so much enjoyment from seeing that vain in the princesses's forehead pulse?
"But princess, I just brushed my teeth last year! How can you say they are dirty already?"
The red haired girl next to Ryoko laughed while the little blue haired girl next to her giggled into her hand, mindful of her elder sister's wrath. Ayeka's face turned bright red and she glared at the blue haired child.
Castalia, the red head with midnight blue eyes, was from Ryoko's world. Everyone who owned large portions of land was considered the ruling family of that section. Which caused many territorial wars on their plant, earning them the name of barbarians. It also made the human's request a very hard one to decide. Since there was no monarch, they had not known who to send. Eventually, they had settled with sending the poorest 'nobility' they could find. Massive portions of land no longer meant large porions of wealth in there world.
Ayeka's world had been the complete opposite of Ryoko's. They were considered so be one of the most refined people in the galaxy. Which did not help them at all when it came to warfare.
They're government consisted of one ruling family who kept the thrown until the line died out. So when the request came about for them to send their princesses, they had no choice in who was sent. Much to the anger and humiliation of their planet. When they found that their princesses would be traveling with 'barbarian miscreants', they had been very close to starting a riot.
"You disgust me."
"Oh! And here I thought we were best of friends! didn't you think so too Asta?" Ryoko asked with an air of pure innocence. Castalia raised an eyebrow at the nicknamed given to her. A smile soon formed on her lips however, lighting her deep blue eyes with humor.
"What ever you say Ryo."
Before Ryoko could reply, the ship doors opened and four men strolled into the room. Ayeka and the blue haired Sasami stood and bowed respectfully. Asta and Ryoko continued to stay seated and waved slightly.
"Your majesties, it is a pleaser to finally meat you all."
The clapping and hooting coming from behind her stopped Ayeka from finishing her speech and turned her face a bright shade of red.
"Way to suck up princess!" all heads turned to Ryoko, who, for the first time in her life, was thinking that she might have been better off keeping her mouth shut. "Sorry, that was uncalled for...."
"Oh come now Ryo! Where has your back bone gone?"
"Asta, did you not see the looks they gave me?! I don't know about you, but I would very much like to keep my head attached to my body!"
"They wouldn't have killed you! And even if they had I would have avenged you soon after. Well, until they killed me as well.....but hey, I've had a good life!"
"You can't be a day over 17!"
"Okay, first off, I'm 19. Second off, I said good, never said anything about long!"
"Well aren't you an odd one?"
"I try..."
"Well, you have seceded admirably! You have --"
All conversation stopped as one of the men put his fist through the ship's wall. The man's midnight blue hair was shoulder length and pulled back into a ponytail at the base of his neck. His light blue eyes were narrowed and shot out contempt when ever he looked at any of the women. "Follow me. We will have Washu conduct some tests so we will know who will be wedding who. As soon as that is done, the weddings will commence and the documents for peace will be signed."
Both Ryoko and Asta shot up out of their seats and shouted the exact same thing. "What do you mean 'wedding'? No one said anything about a wedding!"