Rose Bud
Volume 1 Chapter 1: Curse
"How long has it been?" a girl sits on a rock looking up at the sky. She's wearing a short skirt and a sweater. As she looks up the wind does a mighty blow and her hair flows along with it. She hears the wind blow through the trees and all around her. "How long has it been?" she mumbles. "How long has it been since I've been alone?"
A small round rabbit comes hopping out from the bushes and stops in front of her, without her even noticing.
"I would say it's been seven years now, since my tragedy has all began."
"Chu!" The rabbit yells.
"What's this?" Rose looks down at it. "A rabbit?" The rabbit runs up and begins rubbing against her leg. "How cute!" she picks it up in the air and looks at it. "You're a cute little guy."
"Chu! Chu!" The rabbit smiles in happiness.
"But I'm sorry." Rose sets it back down and she stands up. "If you stay with me you'll end up dead. Just like the rest of them. It's best if you just stay here and live your happy life." Rose begins walking down the meadow without looking back at it.
"Chu?" the rabbit looks at her in confusion as it watches her walk away. "Chu!" It smiles and begins hopping after her.
"Another day being alone I guess." Rose smiles as she skips through the meadow. "What should I do today?" she stops and looks around at the trees. "I could just be lazy all day and sleep again like I did yesterday. Or maybe I should go get something to eat."
"Chu!" The rabbit hops up to her and begins rubbing her leg again.
"Huh?" Rose looks down and sees it. "You can't be still that same rabbit?" she bends down to him.
"Chu!" the rabbit smiles and hops up and down in happiness.
"You're a cute little fella." Rose giggles. "You're so full of energy. I'm sorry though," she pats him on the head. "But I don't have any food for you. Now, be a good rabbit and stay right here." She stands up and begins to continue to walk.
"Chu!" The rabbit hops after her. "Chu! Chu!" It then trips over a rock.
"Oh my." Rose immediately turns around and picks it up. "Are you ok?"
"Chu!" the rabbit smiles in happiness.
"I'm glad to see that. Now, you have to stay here little guy. It's for the best. That trip was no accident and I assure you if you stay around me it'll be worse next time." She sets him back down and walks away.
"Chu…?" the rabbit looks down on the ground in depression.
"Rose!" She hears her name being called as a gust of wind passes her. She stops at a nearby tree and looks up.
"Mother?" she mumbles. "That can't be because my mother's, dead. Just like the rest of my family."
"Look out from below!" Rose hears someone yell. She looks up and sees someone jumping out of the tree. The boy lands on top of her. Rose lies on the ground with the boy sitting on her back.
"Chu!" The rabbit sees her fall to the ground and immediately begins hopping after her.
"Will you get off me?" Rose mumbles with her face in the dirt.
"Oh, I'm so very sorry. I didn't mean to land on you. I did warn you though before I jumped." The boy laughs. "I hope that you're not hurt or anything."
"JUST GET OFF MEEEE!" Rose yells.
"Hmm. Very well." The boy stands up and Rose stands up after him without looking at his face. She brushes the dirt off her pants.
"What is the big idea!?" Rose looks up at him. "Huh?" she begins to stare and think to herself. "He looks really cute." She begins blushing. She sees him shirtless and the muscles that he has. "How old is he exactly?"
"Is there something wrong?" the boy asks. "You've been staring at me strangely ever since you looked at me."
"Wha-what!?" Rose turns around and takes a deep breath. "I'm not staring at you!"
"And your face was really red too."
"No it wasn't!" she yells.
"Sheesh. You're beginning to sound a lot like my sister. So, what is your name?" he asks.
"M-My name?" Rose looks into his eyes and begins to blush again. "It's um… Well it's um…" the boy looks at her eyes and she turns her eyes towards the ground and begins to think. "What am I doing? I can't get close to him or anyone."
"Hey wait!" the boy says as Rose begins to walk off. "Where are you going?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't stay here." Rose begins to run and the boy turns around and looks at her as she runs away.
"Chu!" The rabbit follows after her.
"Did I just see a tear drop?" he mumbles to himself. "Who was that girl exactly?"
In a different world a person is wearing a black cloak and is wearing their hoody. The face is pitch black and can't see her face. "Your heartaches…" She says as she bends over in a field of flowers. "I can feel your pain." She wraps her hand around the most beautiful rose in the field. "It's like a rose that will never bloom in the Sun." she picks it from the ground and holds it in her hand as she stands up. "You're trapped in a nightmare that seems to never end." She begins to walk to a table that has a vase on it. "The curse that has troubled you since you were young has prevented you from getting close to others." She sits the rose in the vase and looks at it. "This rose is your heart; your heart is this rose."
"Haa… Haa… Haa…" Rose takes a deep breath after she stopped running. That was a close one. I almost told him my name." she falls to her knees. "Damn it!" she punches the ground with her fists. "Why does this have to be like this for me? Why!? Why!? Why!?"
"Chu?" the rabbit looks at her with a sad look.
"You're still following me?" Rose looks over at the rabbit. He hops over to her arm and begins to rub it.
"Chu! Chu!" the rabbit says with a smile.
"Alright then." Rose stands straight up. You can follow me. But only for a while." Rose walks over and sits down against a tree. "Now, what should I name you?"
"Chu!" the rabbit hops to her.
"How about I name you Chu? Do you like that name?"
"Chu!" The rabbit smiles.
"I guess you do." Chu jumps to her lap and falls asleep. "You're lucky you're a cute little guy or else I would have made you go right away. However…" she looks far in the distance. I wish I didn't have this stupid curse."
"You're finally home brother." The boy's sister says. "Huh?" she notices him not wearing a shirt. "Why the hell aren't you wearing a shirt?!"
"Who exactly was that girl?" the boy walks past her without even noticing her there.
"Hey!" his sister yells. "Are you even listening to me? What if some random girl saw you like this? We're then going to be crawling with unwanted girls at the house! Hey! Are you still ignoring me!?"
"She was cute." He continues to mumble as he walks away. "I hope we meet again soon. I still haven't gotten her name yet."
"What is with him?" she turns around and looks at the well. "I swear at times he's a lost cause." She walks to it and begins pulling up the pale. "I just don't want to lose my brother yet to some girl. We just lost our parents; it's too soon for us to be splitting up like this. I just hope he gets that through his thick head of his. What?" she pulls out a bucket full of dirt. "Don't tell me the well is dry again! Great," she stomps her foot and grumbles to the house. "I have to fix everything around her myself."
"It's getting pretty dark out now." Rose looks up at the starry sky. "I'm just glad it's still summer, even though it's near the end of it." She looks over and sees Chu sleeping next to her. "Hm." She chuckles. "I guess I'll be going to sleep myself too." She lies down and closes her eyes.
"It looks like it's going to be another beautiful night." The boy looks up at the sky that is leaning against a tree by his house. "I wonder if that girl is looking at the same stars as I am right now."
"You can't escape your destiny." Rose begins to dream about a guy that she can't see the face of. "You will always get close to people no matter what you try."
"No, you're wrong!" Rose yells. The man walks into the shadows and Rose chases after him. "You're completely wrong! I won't allow anyone to get close to me!" she approaches a coffin. "What is this?"
"Even if you try not to you'll always end up in the same situation as always."
"Where am I now?" she looks around and finds herself in a graveyard. "These, look like my family graves." She looks over and sees a grave stone with a boy's name on it. "No!" she drops to her knees. "I'm so very sorry! I'm sorry that I got close to you! Please forgive me!"
"You're afraid. It's very natural for you to feel scared, my child." Rose hears a female voice."
"Who are you?" She turns around and sees someone wearing a black cloak. "What do you want with me?"
"Don't be afraid. My child, the pain you bear shall be great if you stay here. Give me your hand," she pulls her hand out. "Give it to me before the red rose shrivels." Rose looks at a table that floats in the air with a rose in a vase on top. "This rose is your heart; and your heart is this rose. When this rose dies your time will be up. Make a choice now, come with me or live a life of misery."
"This rose is my heart?" she looks at it and then the lady's hand. "And my heart is this rose?"
"Take my hand." Her hand reaches closer to Rose and she begins to pull out her hand towards her. "That's right. Grab ahold of my hand and I'll end your suffering for you."
"Don't do it Rose!" She hears someone else yell. Rose stops her hand from moving towards the stranger and pulls it back to her side.
"Whose voice is that just now?" Rose looks around to see if she can see anyone else.
"You mustn't give up yet!" she hears the voice say again.
"Why mustn't I give up yet?"
"Because I have seen the future!"
"NOOOO! Rose!" The stranger in the black cloak yells. She begins to move backwards into the shadows. "You're making a foolish decision!" She then vanishes into the dark. "I'll be waiting for you to return to me, Rose." was the lady's last words.
"AAAAHH!" Rose wakes up screaming.
"Chu!" he wakes up scared from Rose's scream.
"Oh good." She sighs. "It was only a dream." She leans up against the tree again. "Just one of those nightmares I guess. Although… it didn't feel like a dream. This rose is my heart; my heart is this rose? It feels too real to me. Whose voice did I hear? No, I'm over thinking this. It was only a dream."
"Rose." A girl mumbles as she wakes up in her bed. "What a beautiful name. I will help direct you to the right path even if it kills me."