A/N: I'm rewriting chapters 1-16, sorry.
Declaimer: I do not own anything that isn't mine!
Summary: This is how it all began for her...
Mark of a Rose...
Rozen's POV:
"She's beautiful..." I whispered as I held my beautiful baby girl close for the first time, she was the spitting image of her Mother.
Even though she had light pink hair and cerulean blue eyes, her beauty closely resembles that of her Mother.
Iblis had quickly fallen asleep after childbirth, she was quite exhausted obviously.
I lovingly cuddled my beloved first born in my arms, never have I ever felt so protective towards a single being before.
Well, except for Iblis of course.
I watched as the little angel in my arms began to laugh, the happiness I heard in that single laugh was enough to make me smile.
Since my beloved wife, Iblis, was still sound asleep; I decided to take our daughter out to the garden for some fresh air.
I walked through the garden with our little angel in my arms, the roses were in full bloom that day, I was quite amazed with that fact indeed.
But something strange caught my eye, there, amongst maybe a thousand roses; was a single lily flower.
It seemed so out of place, but it's color was what surprised me the most.
This lily was light shade of pink, as light as my daughter's hair.
I've never seen a lily like this one before, it seems to have stand out from all the roses.
The glow of it's healthy petals, and the lush green leaves on it's sides made it stand out so much from the rest.
I suddenly remembered two very special creations of mine; the Gardener Twins.
The 3rd and 4th Rozen Maiden dolls: Suiseiseki and her twin sister Souseiseki.
Suiseiseki was the eldest yet most shy and timid twin, while Souseiseki was always the strong-minded yet patient one.
Both twins cared deeply about one another, those two were almost never seen apart.
I sighed, as I thought about them. I've never realized how special they and the other dolls really were to me.
"Suigintou...Kanaria...Suiseiseki...Souseiseki...Shinku...Hina Ichigo... Kirakishou..." I whispered each of their names as the gentle breeze tickled my face.
I heard my daughter giggle as I finished whispering the names of the dolls I created so long ago, I giggled along with her as I cuddled her again.
I quickly walked over towards the pink lily and pulled it slowly out of the earth, I then handed the root-less flower to my beloved baby girl.
She held the beautiful flower close, as if it meant something to her.
Just then, an idea came to me.
I just remembered what Iblis and I forgot to do before she fell asleep, the one thing I just came up with.
Our daughter's name!
"Sayuri!" I exclaimed happily as I held her high above my face, she giggled while still holding on to the lily I gave her. "Your name shall be Sayuri!"
"A name as beautiful as she is..." I heard a familiar voice say, I turned around quickly in panic. "Eh, Rozen?"
"Darren!" I exclaimed in relief, "Don't frighten me like that will you?"
"Sorry old friend, but I just wanted to see your beautiful little angel with my own eyes." my hedgehog friend said, he then extended out his arms to me.
I looked at him confusingly, he then sighed.
"Well? Aren't you going to let me hold her?" Darren replied, I laughed a little before handing Sayuri over to my best friend's brother.
She seemed so at ease with Darren, she playfully giggled as he cuddled her.
"She's beautiful Rozen, just like her Mother..." Darren said, Sayuri then handed him the lily she was holding. "For me? Why, thank you little one."
Darren accepted the lily my daughter gave him with a smile, my beloved daughter smiled back at him.
"If only Eliza could see her..." I heard Darren say sadly, as he pulled Sayuri close.
I placed a hand on my friend's shoulder, "We'll find her Darren, then you two will be reunited once more."
Darren gave a sad nod; "I know old friend, I just wish it was sooner rather than later..."
Sayuri must have sense the sadness Darren felt, maybe because she then started playing with his nose.
Darren and I couldn't help but laugh, what she was doing was quite funny!
"Looks like you two are enjoying yourselves!" I heard another familiar voice call out, I turned around happily.
It was none other than my loyal partner (sometimes in crime) Kaze and his wife Sapphire and their three boys: Shadow, Sonic, and Silver.
Shadow and Sonic were twins, while Silver was the youngest out of the three of them.
"Good day Sapphire! Hey Kaze!" I greeted my two friends, they both smiled at me in reply.
"Hey Rozen!" Kaze replied giving me our usual high five greeting, I heard Sapphire giggle in the background.
Just then; two small blurs ran past me and Kaze.
"Dad! Dad! Let's have a race!" Sonic playfully said, Kaze couldn't help but grin.
"Alright boys! Ready, set-" Kaze quickly ran over to Sapphire's side, then gave a her a quick peck on the cheek. "-GO!"
And just like the wind; he was gone in a matter of minutes.
"Hey! No fair!" Sonic complained, "Dad got a head start!"
Shadow quickly placed a comforting hand on his younger twin brother's shoulder, Sonic merely nodded.
After that, the two were off as well. And just like their Dad, they disappeared using their speed.
Sapphire merely giggled before turning back to me, "I hope this isn't a bad time."
"No not at all, but I bet you want to see how your partner is doing right?" I replied, Sapphire merely nodded in response.
"Of course, but not before meeting Shadow's future partner." she said as she slowly walked over to Darren and Sayuri, her Brother-in-law quickly handed Sayuri to Sapphire.
My beloved child felt so at ease with Sapphire as well, she didn't seem to mind being held by someone she just met.
But I wonder; will Sayuri be able to accept who she really is in the future?
My wife, my child and I were what the people here in Cosium called half-immortal; that means we could live forever, but we are still vulnerable to attacks as well.
But, we weren't the only half-immortals here in Cosium, oh no.
There are just as much of our kind, as there is of Sapphire and Kaze's kind.
And that's where the "Covenant" comes in.
The Covenant is a bond formed between beings like myself with beings like Kaze, we sometimes refer to it as an Everlasting Friendship.
When a Covenant is formed, the two "partners" are connected with one another.
And by connected; I mean that whatever one partner feels, the other feels it as well.
Although it seems that way, there are disadvantages as well.
Like death; when one partner dies, the other dies as well.
Just because we're half-immortal, doesn't mean we can cheat death.
Luckily; after the Wrath of Magic War ended, no more lives have been claimed.
Not only that; but new friendships and romances have blossomed after all the pain and suffering everyone had went through during the war.
And now; Cosium and Atlantis were allied kingdoms as well.
Kaze was now the King of both kingdoms, and Sapphire was his beloved queen.
And of course, who could forget their 3 young Princes?
Yes, everything was peaceful...
Perfect...
But the one question still haunts me;
Just how long will this last?
{14 Years later}
"Try and beat me this time Big Bro!" Sonic shouted cockily as he and Shadow had another one of their races, 14 whole years have passed and they're still trying to beat each other through their speed.
"Boys will be boys, am I right, my sweet?" Iblis said teasingly as she handed me a cup of tea, I blushed as crimson as Shinku's dress from my memory.
"Sonic! Shadow! Please go get Silver and Sayuri, it's time for Tea!" Iblis commanded the two eldest Princes.
Shadow and Sonic gave a quick nod before saying in unison: "On it!"
And just like that, they were gone faster than the speed of sound.
Iblis and I laughed, those two will never change.
We didn't have to wait long for them to return, maybe because just as fast as they had left; they had return just as quickly.
Sayuri was in Shadow's arms, giggling as she was holding on to him.
Silver on the other hand; was completely shaken up.
I guess he's still not use to riding on his brother's back while Sonic was running in his usual speed, either that or Sonic must have gone faster than usual.
"Silver, are you okay?" Sayuri said in between laughs, Shadow quickly but gently placed her down. "Thank you, Shadow."
"N-No! And I still don't get how you can handle their speed without getting dizzy Sayuri!" Silver exclaimed as he climbed off of Sonic's back, unfortunately for him; he was still a bit dizzy from the ride, he fell onto the soft grass with a Thump!
"Sorry little Bro!" Sonic apologized as he pulled his younger brother back to his feet, Silver quickly dusted himself off.
"Now, now, enough of this nonsense! All four of you go upstairs and wash up, it's time for afternoon tea." Iblis scolded, the four teenagers merely laughed before replying.
"Okay Aunt Iblis!" Sonic, Shadow, and Silver said in unison.
The three of them quickly made their way upstairs, Iblis then turned towards our daughter.
"You too, young lady!" my beloved wife said to Sayuri, our daughter giggled.
"Yes Mother!" she replied making her way downstairs.
After the four of them had finished washing up, we all had tea and sandwiches together.
Sonic and Shadow were still arguing about beating each other in another race, while Silver was talking to Sayuri about a song she's been practicing for her birthday celebration in the palace.
"What's it called again Sayuri?" Silver asked before taking another sip of his tea, Sayuri then flashed a smile at my direction.
"Midori no Yubi, Silver! It roughly translates into Green Fingers." she replied, "My Dad wrote it, remember?"
"I wanna listen to it!" Sonic exclaimed happily, his brothers nodded in agreement.
"Okay, okay. I'll try my best okay?" Sayuri said as she stood up and walked over to the tree stump a few steps away, she quickly sat down.
Though it did look like she was having a hard time, I guess I shouldn't have made her dress that long.
Sonic, Shadow, and Silver quickly followed suit; they jumped out of their chairs and ran over to Sayuri's direction.
They squatted down in front of her, but Iblis and I stayed in place. We could her from where we are.
Sayuri took in a deep breath before she started, the gentle wind playfully blew as she sang.
"Midori no hikari yureteru
Kokoro no mori no naka wo aruku
Mimi wo sumasu
Anata no koe ga kikoeru
Fukai fukai ne de tsunagatte
Chiisana ki tadoritsuita
Ima inoru you ni todokeyou inochi no mizu wo
Demo sore wa ude wo tsukamu ibara no tsuru wo
Torinozokenai no
Sukoshi dake nobita eda ga kanashiku hohoenda
Takusan no kotobatachi ga
Kokoro no umi ni afure dashite
Kono kodoku tsutaerarezu
Kakete shimatta hitori wa kowai
Dareka kono te wo totte...
Aa tada massugu todoketai sunao na kimochi
Sono yubi ga mune wo tsukamu ibara no tsuru wo
Tokihogushite yuku
Yasashiku anata no koe mimi ni hibiite
Sukoshi dake kono jikan ni yasuragi wo mitsuketa"
"That was beautiful my Angel!" Iblis complemented while clapping her hands proudly, I noticed a tear falling from her right eye.
"I can't wait for you to sing it at the Palace!" Sonic complemented, "You'll be awesome!"
Sayuri blushed madly, "T-Thank you Sonic..."
"I'm very proud of you, that was quite extraordinary!" Shadow said happily, he then gave his partner a hug.
"Beautiful, my darling! Simply beautiful!" I exclaimed proudly, Sayuri smiled as she ran over to me.
I was tackled in one of her hugs; I felt her tears fall on my shirt.
"Thank you, Father." she whispered, "Thank you for everything."
I hugged her back of course, "You are always welcome."
{End of POV}
Phew! There! Done at last!
Hope you liked it!
