Disclaimer: Don't own Tenchi Muyo! and I'm not sure if I own this story yet, have to see how good it is first. ;)
The palace was gorgeous on the inside. There were trees and different varieties of shrubbery everywhere. The interior was a garden with beautiful flowers in every direction, and people who roamed its halls matched their surroundings. Ryoko felt out of place as she walked with Tenchi, Ayeka, Washu, Mihoshi, and Sasami through the grand hall of the palace of Jurai. She felt she was the only one who was stared at and whispered about as they all made their way toward the living quarters with their luggage.
Even Tenchi seemed to be at home for the most part, smiling at the Juraians that passed, Mihoshi was too blonde to notice she was on a different planet, and Ayeka and Sasami were the princesses, of course they had no problem with their home planet. It was only Ryoko who felt uneasy. The cyan-haired space pirate felt she was alone in this massive building even though it was filled with people, she felt her only comrades were the butterflies fluttering about in her stomach.
This place made her so nervous. She hated it here, and she never would have come if Tenchi hadn't wanted her to. She knew all the Juraians hated her. She knew they thought that she had taken their prince from them. They knew nothing. Any other time their ignorance would make her laugh uncontrollably, but their lack of knowledge created a growing insecurity that threatened to eat her alive. It followed her everywhere, or so it seemed, ever since she had gotten off Ryo-Ohki.
The doors to the living quarters were so tall you could fall over trying to see the top. The light purple hue painting them was engraved with Juraian words that Ryoko didn't understand. She heard Ayeka translating to Tenchi, but couldn't make out the specifics of what she said. She just wanted to make it to her room.
Each room was as big as an apartment, and the sounds of Ayeka's information spouting resonated like the loneliness echoing in Ryoko's worried heart. She was so concerned about this summer and what the coming months were going to bring. Maybe this disapproving planet would finally gain some acceptance. That was all the pirate wished for, really.
With her bag of clothes seated at the foot of her bed and the others gone to unpack, Ryoko flopped face up onto the big king-sized bed. She thought of all of the scowls on the faces of the people in the grand hall coming into the palace. They wouldn't leave her and it bothered the cyan-haired woman that their opinions mattered so much. What were they to her?
Still, she couldn't get the negativity out of her mind. She pulled a pillow to her chest and hugged it close. Her eyes stung as in her mind the image of a young Juraian girl started to whisper behind her palm. Ryoko wiped at her eyes but water still flowed out of them like the regret that seemed to seep from the pirate's pores. She wished she had never come to this stupid place. She wished she didn't care so much what other people thought.
A creak was heard as the door opened swiftly, and an astonished and tear-stained Ryoko then began to wish she had locked the door.