Jumon no Murasaki Bara

Chapter One

In this world of indescribable, unnatural beauty, there is one above all others. She is known as the purple rose. And today, I am going to meet her.

"Would you mind telling me again why you're going to meet this woman?" My closest friend, Kamijo, asked me.

The two of us are nobles, living in the castle of Bordeaux, and today, we are headed to Versailles.

"She's not just a woman. She's the most beautiful person to ever grace this earth, or so I've been told." I corrected him. "And besides, she's the sister of the Princess."

"Royalty or not, what makes you think she'll like you? Let alone let you in her castle."

I was getting rather tired of his pessimism.

"Many visitors come to see her; she gives them their fortune as well."

Kamijo sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair. "Who knows, Yuki, she could be a horrible person, and her castle could be a wreck, and all that you've heard about her could have been a lie."

I drank the last sip of my wine, and angrily pulled my cloak over my shoulders. "Well, I guess we'll just have to go and find out." I grabbed Kamijo by the arm, and dragged him outside to the awaiting carriage.

My name is Yuki. Kamijo and I are nobles, and aristocrats, or at least we hope to be.

I couldn't describe why I wanted to meet this woman so badly; many said she was the most beautiful woman alive, and that she was smart, clever and elegant. However, I don't know her true name yet. Kamijo thinks that I'm mainly going to get my fortune told, but I am really going, because I have a feeling, that meeting her will give me a chance to change the person I've been for so long.

"What do you think she'll be like, Kamijo?" I asked him, trying to hide the excitement in my voice.

"I don't know… what have you heard about her?"

"Everything! Well….nothing negative. I've heard that she's more beautiful than a rose." I muttered to myself. Kamijo was very understanding, most of the time. But I don't think that he understood my motive for wanting to meet this woman so badly. Something was compelling me to do this, and Kamijo just didn't get it quite yet.

"Oh, Yuki… I hope you're right, or else we would have made this trip for nothing…"

The carriage arrived at a beautiful gate, surrounded by flowers and vines. As they approached, the gates opened without any guards.

The house was a beauty itself. The castle walls which would have been thought to be old and wearing away, were beautifully built, and surrounding every corner of the castle were roses of every color. Kamijo and I both marveled in amazement at its beauty.

I turned to him with a smug grin. "What was that comment you made about this place not being beautiful?"

He sighed, and stepped out of the carriage.

We approached the large white doors at the entrance, and I took in a deep breath. Kamijo had asked me many times why I wanted to do this; I and I asked myself as well. Plainly, I couldn't think of a logical answer for that, besides that I just felt like I had to, and that I would benefit from it.

"Well?! Are you going to stand there or open the doors?" Kamijo mocked me, as I constantly had my head in the clouds.

"Hmph." I said, and opened the large doors.

Inside was equally as beautiful as the exterior. Everything was made of white porcelain, and there were scattered vases of different colored roses and flowers all around, at least one on every surface. There were two large staircases carpeted in red, which stretched on the border of the room, and met in the middle. It was quiet, and peaceful. But suddenly, there appeared a figure at the top of the stairs.

There stood a small boy, in a black hat with feathers, and on his hat there was a small golden crest in the form of a rose, signaling that he was of the royal family, the Descendants of the Rose.

Before either of us could bow and introduce ourselves, the young prince ran off screaming into the next room.

"Sisters!!!!! There are intruders at the entrance!!" he cried, and suddenly we heard the sound of a woman's voice. Then, on the staircase a girl, older than the small boy, stepped out. Clad in a long pink dress, with her long blonde hair falling over her shoulders, stood the princess.

Immediately, I dropped to one knee and bowed in respect, but out of the corner of my eye I saw Kamijo, staring in complete captivation at her, and elbowed him in the side to signal that he show respect.

"Dear Princess, forgive us. We do not mean to intrude on such short notice; we're merely here to meet the woman known as the 'Murasaki Bara.'" I said, ignoring Kamijo's protest of 'Maybe you are.'

Her face brightened, it wasn't even angry to begin with. "Of course. I'm Princess Hizaki." She smiled and began to take steps down the staircase. "Please forgive my brother, Teru. He's rather paranoid about our visitors."

We stood up, "It's no problem, Princess. I'm Yuki, and--" I said, and Kamijo, who had suddenly seemed to become much more interested in being here, spoke next.

"I'm Kamijo. We're both nobles from Bordeaux. It's an honor to meet you." He took her hand, and kissed it. The Princess blushed and smiled, pulling her hand back embarrassedly.

"Well, Kamijo, and Yuki, it's very nice to meet you. Which one of you would like to meet my sister?" She asked.

"That would be me, Princess." I spoke up, and she nodded.

"I believe she's outside in the gardens, she always spends time there when the days are nice like today." The Princess smiled. I bowed in respect.

"Thank you, Princess. Kamijo, I hope you don't mind keeping the Princess company while I'm away." I grinned at Kamijo, hinting that I knew exactly why he was so eager to be here with the Princess now. But after my silent teasing, I walked down the hall that led to the gardens outside.

The gardens were beautiful beyond words, filled with roses of every color imaginable. They were grown in rows somewhat like a maze, with fountains and lovely angel statues pointing arrows of love. I could understand why she would want to spend her time out here. I could get lost forever in place like this…

Suddenly, I heard a woman sigh, and turned to see, with her back facing me, a woman staring out into the sky, sitting calmly on a stone bench by a rose bush. From where I stood, I could see that she had very long dark hair, and it was held high on her head and also fell down her shoulders in long curls.

There was no one else in the garden, but me and her, so it had to be the woman I was looking for.

I took in a deep breath, and stepped closer, appearing in front of her silently.

"Excuse me…My Lady, my name is Yuki. Would you happen to be the one that they call the, 'Purple Rose?'?"

She turned to me, looking up, and smiled, a few streaks of light hair revealing one of her eyes. Long eyelashes surrounded by golden makeup and jewels on her pale cheeks, and her long dress in pink, red, gold and black ruffles and feathers. Her hair was held up with a headdress of feathers and a rose. She was even more beautiful than I had ever imagined, and when she spoke, my heart skipped two beats.

"I am. But please, call me Jasmine."