Hey everyone, thank you all so much for the amazing reviews last chapter! Moving on, we're coming to almost the end of my story, obviously this chapter they are facing Enishi head on. Hope you enjoy!

Mia21

Rose filled Kenshin in on the finer points of the plan as they made their hurried exit from the Black Dragons' administrative building.

"So both of the Enchanters will meet us at the stables?" Kenshin asked.

"Yes. We have to leave as quickly as possible, or my father will lock us all here in Handa."

He nodded. "Very well. I will retrieve Shadow and meet you at the royal stables."

Rose wanted to say something, to thank him or to tell him how grateful she was, but the words wouldn't come. He smiled at her as if he understood her hesitation, and separated, striding for the stables of the Black Dragons. Rose shook her head and returned her focus to the present matter. "I hope we're able to make it out."

Misao chuckled. "Trust in your ladies-in-waiting. We're much more wily than you would think."

They hurried into the stables, both Rose and Misao choosing trustworthy and unlikely-to-panic mounts.

"Your Highness!" Tokio, Tae, and Yumi tumbled into the stable, carrying what looked like table linens. Tae set the bundle down and flipped it open, revealing a plain dress. "We have the distraction."

Rose blinked. "A gown?"

Tae giggled and clasped her hands to her lips. "No, silly! One of us will dress up as you and we'll lead everyone away."

Rose gaped at her ladies-in-waiting, surprised by their devious streak.

Tokio winked. "Don't worry, Your Highness. We'll keep them off your back."

"Which horse do you want then?" Misao asked as she pulled her own choice, a calm, gentle mare, from her stall. "I'll brush him whilst you swap clothes."

"That one." Rose said, pointing to a tall, leggy yellow-colored dun gelding.

Tokio, in Rose's dress and elbow-length cloak that covered her hair and shielded her eyes and face, nudged Rose's usual mare and rode out into the palace lawn.

"Your Highness!" Yumi shrieked, whisking out of the stable in the perfect image of feminine horror. "Princess, please!"

Tokio, the best horsewoman out of Rose's ladies-in-waiting, cued her horse into a canter and rode off in the opposite direction, towards the palace.

"Your Highness, haven't you said enough? The king will be furious." Tae shouted.

While her ladies made a commotion at the front of the barn, Rose and Misao, each leading a horse, slipped out the back, joining both of the Enchanters and Kenshin. Rose, now wearing a plain dress, gaped a bit when she saw the Enchanters strange mounts, but closed her mouth when she realized everyone was present and it was time to leave.

Apparently, Misao read her mind, and asked in an innocent voice as she slung a quiver of arrows over her back. "Our first order of business is to get out of Handa?"

"Yes. Let's go before they shut the gates." Rose said, directing her horse to the great, ornate gate that separated the palace grounds from the rest of Handa.

The Enchanters and their fiery, night-sky mounts pranced through first, then came Rose and Misao, and Kenshin was last. Rose had thought her disguise was pretty good, but realized too late that she had been failing to drop her gaze and shield her unusually colored eyes. Guiltily, she glanced around and hunched her shoulders with worry. The bystanders looked from the Enchanters, to Rose, Misao, and Kenshin, and smiled.

Taking strength in their approval, Rose pushed her shoulders back and rode her gelding with pride as the rode snaked its way between stone buildings and around public fountains. Though Rose sweated with worry that soldiers would come racing after them at any moment, they reached the city gates without a problem. 'Tokio must be leading them on quite a merry chase!' she thought.

Rose gnawed on a hunk of bread and cheese and scooted a little closer to Misao. Gathered in a circle, they were taking a brief break to eat some dinner and decide where they should go. Though sunset was still a few hours away, it would be safer to spend the evening in a village than the countryside.

"Kazuno is the closest village. It's a five or ten minute ride from here. But I believe we could, and probably should, push on to Nikaho." Kenshin said.

Though he had opted to come, and Rose was certain of his friendship, they were still shuffling around each other awkwardly. 'I should probably talk to him about it,' Rose thought. 'But I don't think now, while we're running from my father and towards a vengeful magic user, is the best time.'

"As far as we know, Enishi is north and heading southwest." Lord Enchanter Sanosuke said.

"When did you last hear so?" Rose asked.

"We saw him ourselves while on the way to Handa, and haven't gotten any new information."

Rose nodded and separated herself from the group so she could tighten her horse, Sunstorm's, girth.

Lord Enchanter Sanosuke volunteered to ride ahead and do some scouting while the others finished dinner.

"The Enchanters mounts are very…unusual." Misao said, having followed Rose over to where the horses were picketed.

"They're not really mounts so much as they are our friends." Megumi said from behind them.

"I noticed when you two arrived that they move very swiftly." Kenshin stated.

"I would hope so, they are constellations." Megumi told them.

Rose finished adjusting her saddle. "They're what?"

Just then, the ground shook and a rumble crawled through the air. Moments later, Sanosuke, clinging to his steed, streaked across the open field, spraying dirt and tufts of grass as he skidded to a stop.

"It's Enishi," Sanosuke said. "He's here."

Shock and fear squeezed Rose's lungs as Kenshin leaped to his feet. "What?"

"He's attacking a nearby village." Sanosuke said.

"That's Kazuno," Kenshin said, grimly swinging himself up onto Shadow's back. "Do we engage?"

"We can't beat them. He has several magic users working with him, four Shinigami, and, somewhere, he acquired a bunch of goblins. There are too many of them."

"So what do we do?" Misao was already mounted on her horse and nocking an arrow.

"We could keep them distracted and try to evacuate any survivors." Rose said.

"I believe he's coming for you Princess." Sanosuke said, turning towards her.

Rose wanted to snarl. She had set off her curse to end the hold Enishi held over her family, but her father had played directly into his hands with his stubbornness!

"When we encountered him in the north, he was taking his time moving from east to west. To reach Kazuno, he must have started traveling south immediately after we left. I doubt he did so to follow us. As it stands now, he is on a direct path towards Handa."

Kenshin nodded. "Rose has been his target thus far. I doubt he would change tactics, given that he waited years for her to grow up."

Rose scowled as she climbed into the saddle. "I'm still going to help with the evacuation."

"Yes, but you cannot fight." Kenshin said.

Rose scoffed. "Of course not! I might be able to defend myself from any suspicious men in the forest, but I am not so stupid as to think I could face a magic user." Frankly, she was a little insulted he thought she would insist upon it. Rose had a perfectly reasonable sense of self-preservation that matched her courageous streak. Of course she wouldn't go prancing into battle!

"I'll go with Rose. I can pick off anything that might try to attack us," Misao offered. "Besides, our horses are the only ones not used to combat. If we get too close to the fight, we might lose control of them."

"Perfect," Kenshin said. "The rest of us can stand between."

When the group was prepared, they set off for Kazuno, scrambling in hopes that some of the village residents could still be saved.

Rose could smell the stench of the fight before she could see it. The scent of smoke and sulfur hit her like a wall. They reached the crest of a hill, and she could not hold back her cry of dismay.

Kazuno, a prosperous farming town, was in flames. Goblins ran through the streets, shrieking with joy as they stabbed their weapons at fleeing villagers.

Sanosuke heeled his mount and took off like an arrow for the town, shouting words of magic as he went. The hungry, crimson-colored flames turned blue. A woman clothed in dark purple robes, standing near Kazuno, raised her hands and the flames turned crimson again. Apparently Sanosuke was not standing for that, for Rose heard him shout, and the flames turned a white-hot blue and then were snuffed out.

The woman, a sorceress it seemed, pointed at the village. A few flames tried to burn again, but wilted and died under the force of Sanosuke's magic.

Kenshin and Megumi were not far behind him, Kenshin leaping from Shadow to take out goblins with his sword. Megumi and her mount waded through a band of goblins, attempting to reach a small group of magic users. Eventually, she slipped off the animal, raised her fingers towards the sky, then flung her hand down towards the ground, shouting in the language of magic.

The goblins were flung backwards and flopped head over heels when they hit the ground again. Working together, the two good magic users stemmed the flow of green-skinned creatures.

"Ready, Your Highness?" Misao asked.

Rose felt the familiar shape of her knife cinched to her belt. "You're stuck calling me Rose now, you've joined my show of rebellion after all."

When Misao gave her a sour look, she smiled. "Yes, I'm ready. Let's go."

Misao and Rose approached Kazuno at a much slower pace than their companions. Misao's horse shied away a little, but Sunstorm trotted into the smoking streets without hesitation. With the smoke thick in the air, Rose listened for cries.

It didn't take her long to hear high-pitched sobs. She turned Sunstorm down a smoldering alleyway, and spotted a young woman crouched behind some barrels.

Rose hopped off Sunstorm and hurried to her. "You can't stay here, come on, I'll get you out."

The scared woman let Rose boost her onto Sunstorm's saddle with wide eyes. Rose climbed up behind her, there was plenty of room on Sunstorm's back, and backed out of the alley.

Misao waited for them in the street and nonchalantly shot a green-skinned goblin. She nocked another arrow. "If you want to save more people, we'll have to move faster than this."

Rose nodded grimly, sucked in a breath, and shouted. "Miyoshi! At arms for Miyoshi!" She chocked on the smoke and paused long enough to recover. Kenshin would likely kill her for drawing attention to herself, but she had to let people know help had arrived. The woman riding in front of her took a rattling breath, then shouted, "Miyoshi! To the south – for Miyoshi!"

When she had to stop, Misao took up the cry. "Miyoshi – evacuate to the south! To the south!" She shot two goblins without so much as blinking while she shouted.

Her respect for Misao's archery skills increasing every moment, Rose swung Sunstorm around in the streets. "Are there any horses we can set loose so people can ride out?"

"There's a stable two streets up." The woman replied.

"I'll drop you off here, you can escape to the south." Rose said.

"No, I want to help." The woman twisted around so she could look Rose in the eyes. "Please!" Though her cheeks were smudged with ash and streaked with tears, determination shone in her gaze.

"Fine, let's go!" Rose cued Sunstorm into a velvet-smooth trot.

The stable was, thankfully, untouched by fire, though the frightened horses flashed the whites of their eyes.

Misao stayed in the street as their guard, still shouting for evacuees, and Rose and the woman threw rope halters and lead ropes on the animals. There was no time for saddles or normal bridles. They tied the lead ropes off to make a poor imitation of reins, then each led two horses outside.

A few villagers had gathered outside by Misao, an older couple, a set of parents and their children, and across the courtyard, a guard dragged an injured man along.

Though the pilfered horses stomped their hooves nervously, they seemed to calm some as people gathered around them.

"Go to the forest south of here," Rose instructed as she helped the soldier heft the injured man onto a horse. One of the children, a young boy whose chin trembled, climbed up in front of the man and took the horse's reins as the injured man could barely stay on the horse. "If you can't get any farther, hide there, but at least one of you must continue east and warn the next village over – and send word to Handa." Rose looked from the injured man and little boy to the older couple who were perched on the back of a placid draft horse.

"Yes, miss." The little boy said.

"Come, child, this way." The older couple smiled at the boy and led the way south while Rose helped the husband and wife mount the remaining two horses, then she passed up their younger children to them.

The wife screamed when two forest goblins popped up at the end of the street. Though her horse shied away and reared, Misao shot the first goblin before it could move, tracking the second goblin as it lumbered down the street towards them and downing it before it could come to close.

At any other time, Rose would have whistled. To shoot two targets, one of them moving, from the back of a spooking horse? Misao must have taken it hard when she learned the Black Dragons didn't take on girls.

Rose forced herself to return her attention to the couple. "Southeast, to the next village." She reminded them.

The guard peered around the street, leaving a trail of ash wherever he walked. "I'll sweep north and tell anyone I can find to come to the stables."

"Should I come with you?" Rose wondered.

He shook his head. "No, get more horses ready."

The woman Rose had saved was already in the stables, preparing another string of mounts. Rose took them from her and led them outside.

"How's the mage fight?" she asked.

Misao wiped sweat from her forehead. "Can't tell, but no magic users have descended on the village, and the flames have stayed down, so they must be holding out."

"More goblins are getting through than I would like." Rose said.

Misao shrugged and downed another one of the green-skinned monsters. "I'd rather face goblins than one of those Shinigami."

Two young boys tore out of a charred building.

"Goblins behind us." The first boy, a tall, lanky lad, said.

"A whole pack of them!" The other boy, who was almost as ashen as the building they had burst out of, shouted.

Misao grimly prepared arrows. "Get on Sunstorm, Rose."

The ash-covered boy shouted and toppled over, a goblin arrow poking out of his shoulder.

"Hiro!" his friend yelled.

"Rose, no!" Misao shouted too late.

Rose ran down the street, reaching the boy as the first of the goblins burst out of the barn. They could only file out one by one due to the small door, but there had to be at least ten of them.

The taller boy had not left his fallen friend, but his eyes were clouded with tears.

"Help me carry him." Rose said as she hefted the boy up by his pants.

Misao dropped the first two goblins. "Rose!" she shouted.

The tall boy grabbed his friend's uninjured shoulder, and together they dragged him down the street. A goblin squirmed in between his pack mates, which were dropping like flies under Misao's onslaught, and made it past. He ran towards Rose and the boys, darting out of Misao's range.

The goblin smiled, revealing razor-shaped teeth smeared with red, and hefted a rusted, rudimentary sword above its head.

"Rose!" Misao screamed.

Bracing herself, Rose reached for her dagger, but a dark shape appeared behind the goblin, grabbed it by its scrawny neck, and threw it into the wall of a building. Rose gaped up at Sunstorm in shock. The even-tempered horse snorted and circled Rose. Though he did not chase after the goblins clustered at the barn door, as any warhorse would have, Rose could sense his intent clearly enough. He would attack anything that came close to them.

Lightheaded with relief, Rose dragged the injured boy the remaining distance to the stables. She and the woman carefully hefted him onto a horse and his friend clambered up behind him.

"You'll have to go with them," Rose told the woman. "That arrow will need to be taken care of."

"It's just as well, these are the last of the horses." The woman said, gesturing to the four mounts she had brought out in Rose's absence.

"Thank you." Rose said as she helped her onto her horse.

She shook her head. "No, thank you, Your Highness. Come, boys!" The woman led the pair down the street, disappearing quickly into the swirl of ash and smoke.

Misao shot the last of the goblins from the swarm that had chased the boys. "I'll need more arrows if we keep this up."

"Can you retrieve them?" Rose took a drink from the water skin Misao had attached to Sunstorm's saddle for her.

Misao shook her head. "Too dangerous in these conditions."

"Miyoshi! For Miyoshi!" The guard ran down the street, a small cluster of people trailing behind him. He coughed and slowed down when he reached Rose and Misao. "North is clear." He rasped.

Rose offered him her water. He took a grateful slug. "Found two other guards from my squad, they're moving south and clearing out parallel streets."

"These are the last of the horses." Rose told him.

"Are the goblins still coming?" Misao asked.

"Yes," one of the evacuees, a man wielding a pitchfork, said. "Though there's a Black Dragon holding most of them back."

Rose exhaled tightly. "Kenshin." She swallowed sharply. "What else can we do to help?"

"Check the next street over. Ryota is searching that street and could use the help. I'll organize these folks."

Rose nodded and hopped onto Sunstorm's back. "Good luck." She said.

"To you as well." The soldier pointed to the path that would connect to the next street.

Rose and Misao urged their horses down the road.

"How many arrows do you have left?" Rose asked.

"About a dozen," Misao said as they careened into the next street, almost skidding. "Look out!"

The sorceress in the purple robes was positioned at the top of the street, riding a sickly-looking horse. She smiled and threw a fireball at them.

Misao dragged her horse back into the connecting road, and Rose kneed Sunstorm so he shot across the street, avoiding the fireball.

"Prin-" Misao cut herself off with a panicked look at the sorceress.

"My, oh my. It seems I am in the presence of royalty. How lucky for me!" Her hair and black eyes seemed to pull in any light that touched them, giving her an empty look.

"Rose!" Misao shouted.

Rose immediately squeezed Sunstorm, who leaped into a canter. She continued down the road she and Misao had been riding, leading the sorceress away from her friend. Rose risked a glance over her shoulder to make sure the magic user was following and almost got her hair scorched when the woman threw another fireball at her.

They loped up and down streets, steadily moving west. 'If I can't shake her, I can at least drag her out by Sanosuke and Megumi, they'll pull her off me.' She thought.

Rose and Sunstorm shot past the edge of town, reaching the open fields that surrounded the city. Her heart beating faster with a combination of adrenaline and fear, Rose almost whooped. 'I made it!' She looked north, where the fields were spattered with everything from lightening to fire to the barely discernable blur that was Sanosuke.

She was so intent on searching for the Enchanters, she didn't notice the sorceress charging a new spell until it was too late.

A ball of orange lightening hit Rose and Sunstorm dead on. Rose was tossed from his back, and Sunstorm fell with a thump.

Her ears rang, and her spine jolted as leftover bits of the shock jumped up and down her back. Everything hurt. Rose groaned and tried to sit up, but the breath had been knocked out of her. "Sunstorm." She muttered, knowing she had to get to him, the sorceress would soon be on her.

Rose managed to prop herself up to her elbows. Sunstorm was some distance away, also struggling to stand.

She tried to crawl towards him, but the sorceress's cruel laughter pinned her in place like a spell. She peered over her shoulder, her heart in her throat as the sorceress dismounted and approached her, a malicious smile folding her lips.

The sorceress raised her hand encased with black magic and laughed. She flung her arm at Rose, throwing the magic at her.

Kenshin stepped between them and thrust his shield up, bracing himself.

The bolt of magic hit his shield and spit sparks. The shield glowed white-hot, but its anti-magic spells tore the attack to shreds.

The sorceress grit her teeth and spoke, not the light and powerful words of magic that Sanosuke and Megumi used, but black, tarry words that smelled like blood. She shot bolt after bolt of magic at Kenshin.

His shield repelled them one by one, but Rose could see in the taut line of his body the exertion it cost him to keep his shield steady. She crawled to her feet and looked wildly around for Sunstorm but couldn't find him.

"Go!" Kenshin yelled. "I can't hold her back much longer!"

"I'm not leaving you!" Rose shouted over the hungry roar of the sorceress's attacks.

"I'll be fine." Kenshin told her.

'Liar.' She thought. The Black Dragons were meant to work as a team. Alone, Kenshin's anti-magic armor and shield wouldn't hold up under the onslaught of a sorceress.

Rose shielded her eyes and looked for one of the Enchanters. The field to the north was a blast of noise and colors as the magic users fought. She couldn't make out anyone.

Kenshin grunted, and his body jolted. The sorceress had cracked a corner of his shield and struck him in the shoulder.

Rose moved to run towards the main fight, and the sorceress blasted a fireball at her.

Kenshin lunged in front of Rose and grabbed her with his free arm, pulling her to his chest. His shield was hot from the strain, though it kept blocking the spells, but she could feel his body shake as he tried to hold out. Rose knew the shield would give soon, and neither of them would survive.

'Someone help us!' She thought frantically.

As if summoned by her thoughts, two men in elaborate armor appeared on either side of them. Each lifted a massive shield from their back and thrust it into the ground. The shields glowed white, and a strand of light shot from their shields to Kenshin's, forming a line of three.

Instantly, the strain on Kenshin's shield dissipated, strengthened by the others.

Rose whirled around. Coming up behind them, mounted on warhorses covered in gleaming armor, was a band of at least twenty Black Dragons. One of them blew a horn five times, and off in the distance Rose could see another group of knights galloping over a hill to the west.

The sorceress cursed and ran back to her horse, fleeing to the other battle line.

Sir Saito and Sir Hiko rode at the front. Hiko lifted his sword and shouted, "Form your lines!"

Rose cried with joy as the Black Dragons thundered past them in a tight, organized formation. The runes on their armor and weapons glowed as they activated the spells.

Sir Saito pulled out ahead of the group and flung a kunai at a pack of goblins. The dagger struck the ground and flooded the area with an explosion of light. The goblins shrieked and grabbed their eyes, stumbling blindly into one another as the light faded and the knights descended upon them.

The other squad, led by Sir Aritomo and Sir Okubo, pushed in from the west. They fell upon the Shinigami, awful creatures that were basically death spirits.

Sir Okubo's naginata glowed gold as he lowered it and thundered towards one of the Shinigami. The creature tried to launch itself at his horse, but Okubo thrust his naginata forward, and a shield of white light appeared in front of him. The Shinigami smacked into it and was thrown backwards.

Rose had thought the thirty or so Black Dragons would easily be able to mow over Enishi, the sorceress, and the two dark mages with them, but that wasn't so. Even with the knights, it was still a difficult battle.

'We might still lose,'

"Oh, Princess Kaoru, I almost forgot." Lady Enchantress Megumi said, riding towards her and stopping to unstrap the hijacked white-gold Katana from her saddle.

Rose took it carefully when Megumi handed it to her, shivering when she felt its whispery magic brush the back of her mind with its name, Ryuketsu.

"Kenshin!" She called.

He turned and saw what she held, then took a step back. "No. Rose, Princess Kaoru, you can't!"

"Too bad, my blood says that I can." Rose stubbornly walked towards him.

"Rose, please. I'm not worthy, it won't accept me."

She wanted to wring his neck. Again he didn't believe her! But as the sword warmed her hands, it occurred to her. 'Is it me, or himself he's doubting?'

"Kenshin, you told me once I would be the perfect queen, the queen Miyoshi needs. Do you still think that?"

"Of course." Kenshin said

"Then you have to believe me when I say this sword is yours. I'm not giving it to you because I love you. I'm giving it to you because you are what a Black Dragon of Miyoshi is supposed to be. The sword recognizes you. I recognize you. The only way this ends badly is if you don't recognize it in yourself."

Kenshin's forehead wrinkled as he stared at the sword.

Rose offered it to him, hilt first. "Do you trust me?" She asked.

"Always."

"Then take the sword."

Kenshin yanked his amethyst eyes up to meet her gaze. He swallowed sharply, and Rose could see the fear in his eyes, but he reached out in trust and gingerly touched the hilt with a finger. When nothing happened, he wrapped his entire palm around the hilt.

Rose smiled. "Thank you". She looked down at the sword. 'Now, how do I do this?' she wondered.

The magic in the sword tickled her mind, and Rose placed her left hand on the blade and lightly squeezed. The edge bit into her fingers, dotting the blade with her blood.

"Blaze…Ryuketsu!" Rose shouted.

She and Kenshin were encircled in a column of light. Tufts of grass and rocks began to float around them, and Rose couldn't shake the feeling that someone was looking at her, inspecting her soul. Something clicked into place, and the sword sucked up the light and burned white hot.

Kenshin turned toward the magical battle, his eyes almost pure gold, and swung the sword which produced a white light that sliced through the earth as it sped towards the sorceress, hitting her straight on.

She screamed as the attack flung her backwards. When she collapsed, she lay there, smoldering and racked with spasms. The ground between her and Kenshin was gouged as if a giant had dragged a sword and made a ditch.

"Well," Rose blinked at the deep ridge. "That worked nicely."

Kenshin raised the sword and stared at it. "Stay here." He ordered Rose, then swung up on Shadow and galloped towards the battle.

Rose sagged with relief. With three, now four, legendary knights fighting on the field today, there was no way they would lose. Rose scanned the area, looking for Sunstorm, and thought she saw him trot back into Kazuno.

Every muscle in her ached, but Rose forced herself to jog after her misplaced mount. "Sunstorm," she called as she reached the edge of town. "Sunstorm!" She didn't see him, so she climbed through the wreckage, walking two streets into the empty town.

"Hello, Princess." A voice behind her said.

Rose whirled around.

Enishi had walked out of her nightmares and stood between her and the way she had come, the way back to the knights and Enchanters.

"I've been waiting for you." He might have been handsome with his light hair, fine robes, and clean complexion, if not for the wrongness that enveloped him like a cloud. His disturbing black eyes were empty, any humanity in him had long ago been broken. He was worse in reality than in her dreams, for the nightmares hadn't conveyed the depth of the darkness in which he was content to dwell.

Rose swallowed. "Enishi."

He smiled. "What great luck. Here I thought I would have to introduce myself, and that would be terribly awkward," He tilted his head. "You've been a pest, you know. You're worse than a spider. You should have gone down with Jin-e, down with the curse, down so many times, but you just keep living. Terribly impertinent of you."

"Why are you so fixated on me? I can't do anything, I'm not a threat." Rose backed away, wondering if she dared to turn her back to him and run. 'Could I scream for help before he kills me? Maybe Misao is still here.' She wondered.

"Correct. You are nothing, little more than a speck of dust in the scheme of things. But I thought maybe I could use you to turn Miyoshi on its heels. Worked pretty well up until recently when you decided to involve yourself in trying to stop me. How come you simply couldn't do what you were supposed to?" Enishi rolled his eyes.

Rose took a step back, yelling. "Sunstorm! Misao!"

"Oh, no you don't." Enishi snapped his fingers and murmured dark words under his breath. Red strands of magic rose up from the ground and grabbed Rose like a bear trap. They wrapped around her arms and legs and held her in place, burning wherever they touched.

"You can't really do anything to defeat me, Princess Kaoru Akira Kamiya." Enishi circled her like a hungry wolf. "You are powerless. Though you may claim royal blood, you're not royal at all."

Pain made Rose's vision swim, but she could feel her knife cinched to her belt. Could she…? If she lured him in close enough…she grit her teeth and forced herself to speak, even though the burning of his red magic was so bad she could barely form words. "You seem to think I find all my worth in being a princess. I don't."

"Are you certain?" Enishi laughed. "Because if you're not a princess, what are you? A mere girl who can't do a thing to save the country she loves."

Rose laughed, then sucked in air from the pain her display had cost her. "If you think it is only princesses who can do anything, you are solely mistaken." She shifted. The pain increased, but she could still move.

Enishi strolled towards her so he could lean close enough that his breath touched her. "Then show me, Princess. What can you, one who is disliked and rejected, do as a mere girl?"

"This." Bracing against the pain, Rose snatched the knife from her belt and stabbed Enishi in the shoulder.

He cried out with pain, but Rose wasn't done. Though his burning magic wrapped around her, the endless drilling with Kenshin kicked in. She reached up and jabbed her thumbs in his eyes, wrapped her hands around his forehead and yanked his head so his nose smashed into her skull.

Stabbed, blinded, and most likely sporting a broken nose based on the crunch it had made, Enishi shouted with pain. He spat a word of dark magic, and Rose felt the tendrils of his magic start to cut into her skin.

Frantic, she kneed him in the gut then pushed him away. He collapsed with a groan…but Rose couldn't run. The pain was so intense she could barely breathe, and she fell to the ground, perilously close to blacking out.

Enishi sat up and wrenched Rose's knife from his shoulder. "You wretch!" He tried to stand but fell again, his eyes watering from her jab.

Once again, he sat up, but an arrow hit him exactly where Rose had nailed him, and he toppled over, screaming.

Misao appeared with a whirl of skirts. "Leave her alone!" She yanked Enishi up by his shoulders then slammed him into the ground again and again as she continued to scream. "Leave the princess alone!"

Rose could tell the moment he lost consciousness, for his red magic dissipated and she could breathe again. "Misao." She said, and grimaced. Even speaking hurt.

Misao dropped Enishi, who flopped over, and scrambled to her side. "P-Princess? Rose? Can you hear me?"

Rose shakily raised her hand and gave Misao a thumbs up. "Good job."

Misao abruptly sat. "I thought I was too late."

"Nope. Ugh. Perfect timing." Rose groaned as she tried to move without much success. "You haven't happened to see my horse around, have you?"

Whether it was the long day, the sheer relief, or the dissipating adrenaline, both of the girls started laughing.

When the Enchanters found them, they were still laughing, and the handsome Enishi-banged up, bruised, and bleeding-was still unconscious.

Sanosuke whistled. "Remind me not to pick a fight with the two of you."

Rose, still having a hard time breathing without pain, laughed. "Idiot magic user didn't bother to learn any self-defense."

"Magic," Misao solemnly said. "It can be a crutch."

The girls erupted into laughter again, and Sanosuke scratched the back of his neck. "Meg, I think you'd better have a look at her."

Megumi nodded and came forward as Rose leaned against Misao and closed her eyes.

Okay, the end of this chapter, what did you guys think? And just so you are aware, then legendary knight who didn't come is Katsu, guess he couldn't be persuaded it was the right thing to do. And I'm sorry to those of you who were looking forward to an Enishi/Kenshin showdown, but I thought as this story was about Rose and his obsession with her, I would let her have the last laugh. Please review and let me know what you thought!

Mia21