Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin©.

Crimson Rose

By DemonicShdAngel

            Shadow Kingdom was a land filled with darkness and blood shed.  The lands were created from the bones of those that had died, the soil soaking with blood, its occupants never smiling, and the only light was from the moon that barely came out from the gray clouds that seemed to never leave the sky.  There was no sun to give hope to the people, no true leader that would help them conquer the present Lords that had enslaved the creatures of the Shadow Kingdom, forcing them to work days after days without food or water, even the children were forced to work.  If one wasn't born into a family with power, then they would soon be working in the fields and if they were lucky, for the Leaders in their homes and not on the hot lands picking Black Seeds for their Rulers.

            This was the same all around the world; there was not a single place that accepted people for what they really were, but instead for the money and power that they had.  You were dirt if you weren't born into the right family; kicked, abused, punched, disciplined with whips if you were considered a slave.  There were a total of three levels that one could be, you were either the Dark Lord that controlled the world, the Lords that were his Majesty's advisors, or slaves; there was no in between.  There was no justice, if a lord wanted to kill you then you were as good as dead and he needed no reason whatsoever to order his guards to come and take you away.  The Shadow Kingdom is the only place in the known Universe that's so dark and cruel; there was no sense of real justice on that planet, and if anyone had anything to say about it then they might as well be considered the living dead.

            But this world was not always like that, it was once a beautiful land, a place where humans came to have fun and relax.  The world was once considered the most peaceful and loved place in the galaxy.  In fact it use to be called the Kingdom of Hope for what the planet stood for; life, hope, and equality.  Even if the kingdom had a royal family to help control it and keep it at peace, they were a very kind and understanding family.  Everyone loved the royal family because they understood the hardships of some of the people and always did their best to help them whenever their duties didn't need them.  They were people with warm hearts, and believed in second chances.

How the once promising world became so dark, only one person knows, but that person has never been asked.  You're probably all wondering how this once gorgeous world had changed for the worst, I'll try my best to answer you, but because I don't know all the details you're going to have to find out from the one person that lived through it.  Though I can answer you this, it all began with the promise on a single crimson rose….

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            The night was gorgeous, the full moon lighting the way as a couple walked side by side holding hands, their eyes showing their love for one another as they both looked around the rose garden.  They were to wed in a week and admit their love to the whole land on their wedding, their hearts beating with happiness as they melted into each other's arms and looked up into the glistening stars that twinkled like their own eyes.

            "Don't you think that it would be wonderful if our children could grow up and live a life without pain or any hardships anata?" asked the girl as she turned to face the man with sparkling sapphire orbs.

            "Of course koishii, anything you want will be yours.  I cannot deny you anything, and I promise that our children will see only what we see," said the man, his own amethyst eyes meeting hers as the two rubbed noses.

            "I wish we could stay like this forever," whispered the girl as she laid her head on the male's chest, her lavender hair tangling with his scarlet locks that was moved to his shoulder from the breeze.

            "As do I," said the man as he wrapped his arms around the girl's waist, taking in her lovely rosy scent.

            "Isn't it lovely?" asked the girl as she showed him the red rose that she had picked.

            "Yes, but never will it be as lovely as you," said the man as he pulled the girl in for a passionate kiss.

            A shout ruined the moment as the royal guards raced towards the garden, shocking the couple that quickly pulled apart embarrassed.

            "Prince Kenshin, your Highness and Lady Kamiya must get back to the castle.  There's a madman on the loose and he wants to kill you!" said a guard as he bowed to the two, his other soldiers following suit.

            "Stand, and make sure that you get the man, but don't kill him," warned Prince Kenshin as he motioned them to stand.

            "Yes your Majesty," said the General as he stood.

            But before any of the warriors had a chance to go looking for the man, he came to them.  His anguished cry echoing through the air as the dagger in his hand was thrown straight towards the young Prince.

            "NO!" shouted Kenshin as the body of his love fell down before him, his arms instinctively catching the lithe body to him as he dropped to his knees.

            "Hold that man!" shouted the General as his guards captured the insane man that was laughing crazily at the sadness that he had created.

            "Kaoru…." said Kenshin as he held the body to him, cradling the girl's head in his arms.

            "K-Kenshin…" began the girl as she lifted the rose, his hands quickly holding her hand and the rose.

            "Shush…  Don't talk, you're going to be alright," said the Prince as he wiped away the blood that was coming from the right corner of her mouth, trying to suppress the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes.

            "Promise me Kenshin," whispered Kaoru, as she held her bleeding wound.

            "Anything, just don't leave me," said Kenshin as he moved his head to her lips.

            "Promise me that you'll live Kenshin; don't forget me…" said the girl, her teeth stained with blood as a blood soaked hand moved to touch his cheek, leaving behind a red trail on his left cheek, her fingers tracing the two lines there that made a cross shape on his cheek

            "I'll never forget you, and I promise you that I will live, for you and me," said Kenshin as tears fell from his cheeks, smearing the blood from his face as he wiped away her hair so that he could see her beautiful pale face clearly.

            "I love you…" whispered the girl as her hand dropped, the rose falling to the ground with her.

            "Kaoru!" yelled the Prince as he rocked her body back and forth with his own, not believing that he had lost his only happiness.

            "That's what you get!  You and your stupid family deserved to suffer, just like the rest of us!" shouted the man that was punched in the stomach by a guard to shut up.

            Kenshin stopped and carefully placed the body on the ground, taking the dagger that was embedded into it out and delicately picked up the rose.

            "You don't know what suffering is, your people are treated just like I am, and they too will feel the pain that I've felt, beginning with you," said Prince as he lifted his head, his bangs blown aside by the wind revealing deadly golden eyes.

            "Your Majesty," began a General, confused by his Prince's words, but stopped when his Lord gave him a cold glare.

            "You don't have the guts to kill me, you're known for your kind heart.  You'll just warn me and then let me go, and then ruin my life by getting all of the praise of everyone else in the galaxy," spat the man as he threw back his head and laughed but was cut short when the blade was moved into his heart.  His eyes grew wide as he met amber ones.

            "Wrong….  I'll make them all suffer, everyone one of your class will suffer until the end of time.  Anyone who goes against me will die," said Kenshin as he walked over his lover's body, the rose held tightly in his hands as his guards all bowed to him and took the man's body away

            "I will avenge you until the end of time," vowed Kenshin as he bent down and touched her cold cheeks.

            "What do you want us to do?" asked the General quietly.

            "Begin by announcing my rule over this world; then kill as many people as you see but allow their blood to soak in the ground until there's not a single place that is not red.  By the promise of this crimson rose, I swear that in the name of Kamiya Kaoru, I will avenge her death to the fullest."

            For this very reason, the Prince created the new world in her name, made it so that the class that had ruined his life would forever suffer the pain that he feels inside.  But the prophecy states that once his love returns to him there shall once again be hope in the Shadow Kingdom.

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            "Grandpa Genzai!  You know that that old fairy tale shouldn't be read to Ayame and Suzumi!  They're just children," scolded a girl with long dark violet hair and azure eyes dressed in her blue and white sailor uniform for school.

            The 17-year-old narrowed her eyes at her grandpa who was telling the old story to her younger siblings of eight and six in their room.

            "But we love that story Kaoru!" said Ayame as she jumped up and down on their bed, her little sister chorusing her.

            "It'll give you nightmares, and then I'll have to stay in here with you and not be able to do my homework.  Grandpa, it's nine o'clock, you should be in bed by now.  You're a doctor after all; you should that a man or your age needs rest!  Now you take your tea and go to bed," said Kaoru

            Dr. Genzai only chuckled before nodding and following his granddaughter's orders, but not before winking at the younger ones.

            "You two should know better than to ask for that story," said Kaoru once her father left the small apartment room, it was the best they could get in the big city of Tokyo; three small rooms, two bathrooms, a dining area, and a petite kitchen.  It wasn't much, but they preferred to live simple.

            "But it's our favorite," said Suzumi as she puckered her lips.

            "I know, but it isn't true.  There's no place called Shadow Kingdom," said Kaoru as she picked up the small girl in her pajamas, and placed her on her lap.

            "It's called the Kingdom of Hope…" began Ayame.

            "But turned into the Shadow Kingdom," finished Kaoru, she had memorized the story since she was young; it too had been her favorite.

            "And oneesan is the one that Prince Kenshin loves!" said Ayame with a big smile, which caused Kaoru to sigh in exasperation.

            "Ojiisan has been telling you that version of the story again, hasn't he?" asked Kaoru annoyed, her grandfather had a tendency to place her name in the story, he had always done that to make her smile with glee, though upon growing older it just became irritating.

            "Grandpa always tells us the same story though!  Did Ojiisan tell you another story?" asked Suzumi as she looked up at her sister.

            "No, but…" began Kaoru, but her sisters cut her off.

            "So that means that oneesan is the one in the story!" squealed Ayame.

            Kaoru only shook her head; not wanting to bring their hopes down, she only smiled at their innocence and played along.

            "Oneesan will go to the Shadow Kingdom and restore the hope!" said Suzumi as she hopped off her sister's lap and stood on her bed.

            Laughing out loud, she only grabbed her two sisters by the waist and pulled them down on the bed with her, tickling them until they surrendered.

            "And you tell me not to play around with them," said Dr. Genzai as he entered the room in his night clothes, smiling at the scene before him.

            "Well at least I don't go putting bad images into their minds.  Time for bed you two, you have school tomorrow remember?  Now stop playing around and let me tuck you into bed," said Kaoru as she got off the bed and watched the two scramble to get under the blanket so that she could tuck them in.

            "Good night you three," said their grandfather as he smiled to them all before going into his own room.

            Kaoru only kissed the two on their foreheads before sighing and getting up.  Looking at the pictures of the Kingdom of Hope drawn by her siblings, she only smiled at them before turning off the lights and walking to her own room to finish her homework after she got dressed.

            Closing the door silently behind her, she quickly went towards her closet and changed into her favorite blue night clothes, her school work piled her bed in a huge pile.

            Her eyes suddenly fell on a picture that stood on a small wooden table, her eyes moistening as she saw the picture.  She remembered the day that she and her siblings were at the park with her parents, her dad carrying her on his shoulder as her mother held the younger two in her arms as they all smiled at the camera on that sunny day.

            "I wish you two were here," said Kaoru as she caressed the picture with the tips of her fingers, unconscious tears falling down her cheeks and landing on the picture.

            Wiping the tears from her eyes, she looked closer to the picture and noted that the tear drop that fell on the picture had landed on her red diamond shaped pendant with a golden heart shape in the center.  Her hand instinctively went to the pendant around her neck that was on a silver chain; she could feel the love that was within it for the pendant had come from her ancestors and was passed down from her mother to her.

            "I love you," whispered Kaoru as she kissed the pendant and then placed the photo back on its normal stand.

            Sighing, she lied back down on her bed and got to work on her homework.

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            "Hey Kaoru, what are you doing today?" asked a girl with long black hair in a ponytail as she skipped to catch up with her school friend.

            "Not today Sakura, I need to rest and get some homework done.  Plus I need to study for the test we have tomorrow," said Kaoru as she held her books to her chest and walked along the hallway once the bell rang to signal the end of the day.

            "Don't you have track today?" asked Sakura as she frowned at the overworked girl.

            "I almost forgot about that!  The coach is going to be so mad at me if I'm late again!" realized Kaoru as she picked up her pace and raced towards the track field.

            "You need to relax Kaoru!  No one can do everything," shouted Sakura as she watched her friend scurry away in another direction to try and make it on time.

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            "I'm so sorry sensei!  I completely forgot about today!" said Kaoru as she bowed to the man, hoping that he wouldn't punish her that badly for being late for the third time that week.

            "Just complete one more lap around the track before you go home, and that should be it," said the coach.

            "Yes sensei!" said Kaoru with another bow.

            "Now get back to the rest of the group and finish your warm ups," cried the man as Kaoru nodded and quickly raced to her other team mates, all apologizing for having them wait for her again.

            "Kamiya, try not to be late next time before you get us all in trouble," snapped another girl as the team began to stretch their legs and arms.

            Kaoru only blushed as she finished her warm ups.

            "Next week is the tournament, so I want you all in good shape and on time," said the coach, his eyes looking at Kaoru who looked at the ground.

            "Three laps around the mile track and you guys can go home.  I want it less than 25 minutes," shouted the couch as the students quickly raced towards the track.

            Kaoru ran the fastest so that she could quickly do her last lap and get home, and since she was doing four of them instead of three, she obviously was the last one to return.

            "Last one cleans up," said the coach as he threw the key to the locker rooms at her, where everyone else had already finished dressing and headed home.

            Sighing, she quickly got into the locker room and changed.

            The ringing sound of something dropping caught her attention, her eyes quickly went to the source and she realized that her pendant had dropped from her locker.  She never wore it as she ran just in case it'd fall off.

            "Might as well wear you before I forget you here," said Kaoru to herself as she placed it on and closed her locker, and skipped out of the locker room before locking.

            Placing the key in the coach's mailbox and adjusting her backpack, she moved to go home.

            "That's odd….  The moon's red, I didn't notice that before," said Kaoru as she watched the sun set and saw the outline of the moon in the sky, her head cocking to the side so that the moon's rays hit her pendant perfectly.

            Suddenly a bright red light enveloped her entire body, the air escaping her as she felt herself being lifted from the ground and thrown forward until she felt like she was about to hit a stone wall.

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            Her body ached as she tried to move, her breaths coming to her rigidly as she tried to stand but her body was paralyzed, she couldn't even move her fingertips.  A cold feeling went through her body, her skin prickling as she felt a darkness sweep through her body, could feel herself grow scared for some reason.  Suddenly voices began to run through her head, the words pounding in her ear as her mind tried to register just who was talking to her.

            "Do you think she's alive?" asked a hyper voice as someone touched her shoulder but quickly jumped away.

            "Of course she is weasel girl, otherwise she wouldn't be breathing," snapped a foxy voice.

            "The names Makimachi Misao fox!" snapped back the girl.

            "Well then call me by my real name!" hissed back the other woman.

            "Fine Takani Megumi!" shouted the girl.

            "Please stop arguing you two, we need to get her into the hut before the royal guards come!" said a small girl's voice.

            "Tsubame's right, we better get her in before she gets marked as well," said the one named Megumi.

            "HEY!  She is marked!  Look at her left wrist, it's a red rose!  She's the Dark Lord's slave," said Misao in shock, but was silenced by the other two girls.

            "Shush!  Do you want the whole field hands to know?  We need to wake her up," said Megumi as Kaoru felt pairs of hand grab her limp body and drag her into a shed where she was placed on what felt like a small uncomfortable futon.

            "Do you think that she's paralyzed?" asked Tsubame.

            "She must be….  Misao, get me the jasmine perfume bottle," said Megumi.

            "But we're almost out!  We won't be able to get another bottle until next year!" cried Misao.

            "We need to get her to wake up!" snapped Megumi.

            Kaoru cringed as she felt the thumping of the girl stomping to get the bottle angrily, her body shaking when the girl stomped back with the bottle.  Her noise twitched as she felt a scent go straight into her nostrils sneezing, she suddenly found herself sitting up inside an old hut with three futons, a small table, a few shelves on the wall, and saw that there was hardly any food in the place; it was smaller than her siblings' room.

            "Hello, I'm Megumi," said a woman in a violet kimono that was losing its color, showing that it had been washed over and over again many times; though her ebony locks and red lips made her look beautiful.

            "I'm Misao," said a girl in a green kimono, her braided hair and childlike face making her look energetic.

            "And I'm Tsubame," said the smallest in a yellow kimono, she looked no more than 11 with her polite smile.

            "Who are you, and why were you just lying on the Black Seed Fields?" asked Megumi.

            "I-I…." began Kaoru, but she couldn't quite figure out what to say or what the heck Black Seeds were.  Suddenly, she looked down at herself and nearly fainted again when she realized that she was in a beautiful red silk kimono with gorgeous golden flowers imprinted on it.

            "Are you okay?" asked Tsubame worried as she knelt down beside her.

            "I'm Kamiya Kaoru, and to tell you the truth I don't know how I got here," said Kaoru truthfully as she looked at the old run down cabin.

            "You must have amnesia….  But you're clearly one of the red rose slaves, so therefore you should be in the palace," said Misao as she sat down on the futon next to her.

            "What?" asked Kaoru perplexed; her mind pounding from the thoughts that were going through her head, she could have sworn that she was on her way home just a few minutes ago.

            "Look at your left wrist, you have the symbol of a red rose slave," said Misao.

            Confused and bewildered, Kaoru looked at her wrist and gasped as she saw what looked like a burn mark of a red rose on her left wrist like the girl said, but there was a golden dot in the center shaped like a heart.  Her hand quickly went to her neck, and she sighed in relief as she felt the pendant under her kimono dress.

            "ROLL CALL!" boomed a loud voice from outside, causing all four heads to turn towards the door.

            "Blue violet slaves!" shouted another masculine voice from outside.

            "That's us, you better stay here," said Megumi as she rolled up her sleeves of her left wrist to reveal a blue flower mark, the others doing the same.

            "They're brands," explained Tsubame as she stood up and walked towards the door.

            "So we can never escape, and if we do they'll know who we belong to by looking at our wrists.  You better hide, if they find you you're going to be in deep trouble with his Majesty.  He doesn't like it when his slaves disobey him and run away," warned Misao as she stood and followed the girls out of the hut.

            Kaoru confused by what was happening so quickly, only nodded and only got into the futon and lied as still as she could as her mind went in circles.  She didn't know how the heck she got here, why she was in such a nice kimono, how she got the mark on her wrist, and why they called her a red rose slave….  Holding her head from the pounding thoughts she took in a deep breath and closed her eyes.  But the sound from outside made her hold her breath.

            "Everyone is here sir," said a small yet powerful voice from outside.

            "Which one of you slaves are holding the red rose slave here?  Speak up before we raid your homes!  If we find her in your hut you're spend the rest of your lives in the mines finding crystals and coal!" threatened another deeper voice.

            Kaoru closed her eyes and swore that they'd be able to hear her breathe if not hear her heartbeat.  She hadn't wanted to cause any trouble, and she could have sworn that she wasn't here but on the track field.  Praying that the royal guards wouldn't find her and punish her saviors, she moved a hand over her pendant wishing that some god out there would help her.

            "YOU GIRL, tell me where the disobedient slave is!" snapped the man that Kaoru could on presume was the leader of the royal guard.

            "I don't know sir," said Tsubame's quiet voice.

            "Speak up wench!" yelled the man as a loud slap was heard.

            "I DON'T KNOW SIR!" shouted Tsubame.

            "That's better, now do any of you other worthless slaves have anything to tell us?" asked the smaller voice from before.

            "No sir!" chorused the group of what seemed like hundreds of people.

            "No?  Then search the huts until that wench is found!  If you're in there girl, then come out before the ones that are protecting you get tortured," shouted the leader of the royal guards.

            Shivering from the thought, Kaoru slowly got out from under the futon.  Trembling fingers moved away the blanket as she got out of the futon.

            "So be it!  Search the huts!" cried the man.

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            "We're going to be in for it if they find her," whispered Misao as she stood up straight in the second row with Tsubame and Megumi to either side of her.

            "SHHH!" hissed Megumi as she nudged her friend; they had to have hope even if she knew that the royal guards would find Kaoru, a futon never hid anyone.

            "This is going to be our last time being able to see the moon," said Tsubame as unconscious tears fell down her cheeks; her face lifted towards the red moon that was quickly setting.

            "Don't think like that, maybe she'll come forward herself," said Misao, although she highly doubted it, the girl seemed more like the kind to bring others down with her.  Those red rose slaves were all cruel to other slaves, for they considered themselves in a higher position than other slaves.

            Megumi scanned the land that she had been born on, her eyes moistening as she realized that today might be the last day that she would ever be able to step foot on the red soil, feel the heat on her skin, see the sky grow dark, or watch the red moon set beautifully.  Her eyes fell on the rows and rows of Black Seeds that grew within the center of black flowers that they had planted from regular brown seeds.  Even if her life was cruel, hard, and treated her unfairly, she still loved the land before her, for it was also the place where all her loved memories came from.  Here was the place that she had held hope in her heart, where she had seen her parents die for their rights, and where she had learned the art of medicine and helped so many other slaves like her.

            Looking at the younger two, she felt sorry for them, they still haven't had a long enough life.  If only they hadn't brought the red rose slave into their hut, but she knew that her parents would be disappointed if she hadn't.  In the end she would never regret anything that she had ever done, she wasn't content, but she was glad that she had at least lived a better life than the yellow daisy slaves and the green clover slaves.  All in all she had a life that was cruel and precious.

            "You don't have to look anymore, I surrender," said a loud voice from behind her, snapping the three girls out of their thoughts and turn around to see the sapphire eyed girl standing behind them a weak smile at them.

            "So, you've finally decided to come out eh?  Stop the search!  Who was hiding you?" asked the leader with his black mustache and beard in a black and red gi and hakama, a sword hanging to his left as he looked at the girl.

            "I was hiding myself, and I demand to be brought back to his Majesty," said Kaoru with her chin sticking out as she watched the man look her over with a cocked eyebrow.

            "Who do you think you are slave?  You should learn your place!" snapped a shorter and skinnier man in the same outfit as the leader.

            Kaoru was about to answer the question when the leader grabbed her left wrist tightly so that she couldn't struggle her way out of his firm hold.

            "Let go of me!" shouted Kaoru as she tried to twist her arm but to no use.

            The leader did as he was told, and stepped back from the girl a bit shocked as Kaoru held her pained wrist in her right hand.

            "What's the matter?" asked the smaller man as he looked towards his leader for an answer.

            "She's not an ordinary red rose slave," said the man as he backed away from the girl.

            All the servants turned from their straight rows and faced the girl and the leader of that particular royal guard party.

            "What do you mean sir?" asked the other guard.

            "She's the Crimson Rose of his Highness, she has the golden heart in the center of her mark," said the leader as she bowed to the girl lightly.

            The others quickly caught on and the guards all bowed as the slaves got to their knees and bowed to the new girl, Tsubame, Misao, and Megumi giving each other looks before following suit.

            "Crimson Rose?" questioned Kaoru, her mind swirling with confusion as she felt nauseas.

            "Get her!" was the last thing that she heard before she fell unconscious again.

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A/N: Thank you all for reading; I'd really appreciate all of your advices on how to make this story better.