note: sorry about that. I hade to cut in half the chapters because I can't access the first chap. so here you go. please leave a comment and enjoy.

IX: Rosette part 2

The wedding was only two nights away, and Meine found herself getting more scared and depressed. Scared because she was getting married, and depressed because of what was going to happen after the marriage.

It was late in the evening, and Meine could not find the will to fall asleep. She decided to do something to pass the time.

Now, Meine stood there in front of her full-sized mirror and she wore her wedding gown.

She looked at her reflection again and she sighed. Seeing herself wearing the wedding dress was like someone choking her. It wasn't because it was tight or anything, but the mixed feelings inside her was the one creating a suffocating chain around her neck.

She was just about to reach for the back and pull down the zipper when there was a soft knock on her door.

"Come in." she said in a soft voice.

The door creaked softly and Fai entered the room. Meine was surprised. These past few days, he has been avoiding her except for that one instance the other day. He wasn't smiling like usual.

"Good evening, Meine-chan." he whispered in a soft voice, but it still echoed slightly. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you." she replied immediately and turned away. She could feel her heart beating loudly against her chest. "Is there something you need?" She took the opportunity to change into something else to hide the blush on her cheeks. She slipped off the dress and returned it to its neat and proper position and she tied a silk, knee-length robe around her waist.

Fai wasn't replying and he stood there watching Meine. She found herself fidgeting slightly under his stare.

"W-what?" Meine stammered and tried to hide behind her hair again. "Why aren't you saying anything?"

"Meine." he said. The girl that he had called out jumped slightly at her name being called without the usual honorific.

"W-what?" she repeated.

Meine hesitantly moved to stand in front of him. Because of the lack of light, she wasn't able to see his face.

"Don't marry Akemi-san." he said softly.

She blinked a couple of times just to check if she was by any chance heard it wrong. "What?" she said for the third time.

"I'm asking you to please, do not marry Akemi-san."

She felt her heart leap in joy, but she knows she wouldn't be able to do that. She turned away and walked towards the window to look at the beautiful full moon. Her heart was thumping loudly in happiness and she felt a jolt inside her but she didn't exactly know what it was.

"Why are telling me this now?" she whispered and she held her chest. "You know that I can't find any reason to do such a thing!"

"Shall I give you a reason then on why you should?"

Before Meine could even react, Fai had grabbed her by the arm. His hand held the small of her back, holding her close to his body and his other hand was on the back of Meine's head.

It all happened in an instant. He had softly placed his lips on top of Meine's and kissed her soft lips and focused all of his passion in to it. All of his emotions for her were in that one single kiss.

Meine didn't try to resist. In fact, she couldn't quite move at all. She slowly raised her arms and she held Fai's shirt.

The mage pulled his lips away and he hugged her, his chin resting on top of her head. "Don't marry Akemi-san." he repeated.

She just stood there, a little bit shocked.

"I love you, Meine."

The girl froze and she did not dare to move a muscle. Tears started to come out of the corners of her eyes involuntarily. Fai noticed this and he pulled away, holding only both of her shoulders.

She tried her best to stop them but they wouldn't listen. She repeatedly hit Fai on his chest with her arms. "Idiot... Idiot. Why are you only saying this now?"

"I'm sorry." he said with a small smile. He reached out and he wiped away her tears with his fingers.

She was silent for a moment, standing there while gripping the fabric of his shirt. "Me too..." she whispered.

"Huh?"

"I feel the same way." she said. "But I won't say those words now. I told you, it's too late. This marriage has been arranged way before we have met. This is my duty as the remaining princess."

Fai was silent and he just stood there holding both of her shoulders. "Then please just come with us and continue the journey. That way we can still be together and I could protect you."

Meine shook her head and she took both of Fai's hands into his. "Fai-san, I know that you know that our emotions are not meant to be. I belong in this world, yet you chose to leave your own and not stay in one dimension for too long."

"Things have changed ever since I have met you."

She smiled. "I am flattered, but... I'm sorry."

Fai pulled her against her chest and he breathed in the sweet scent of her hair. This time Meine hugged back.

"We may never see each other again after this." Fai whispered to her ear in a sad voice. Meine couldn't see his face, and she was thankful for that. She would cry again if ever she did. "It pains me to see you walk up those stairs and marry your brother. It's too incestuous."

"Incest doesn't work on our kind."

"I know that... But I don't want to lose you, Meine. I love you."

Meine bit her lower lip, she knew she was going to regret what she was about to do, but she could not care less as of the moment.

She pushed away from Fai's arms and she stood on her toes. Her lips touched his briefly and she pulled her face only to realize that her cheeks were flaming. "For now, this is enough for me to say my feelings."

Fai smiled and held Meine's left hand, not wanting to touch her right where the engagement ring or he might accidentally break it.

"Thank you, Meine-chan. Where ever I may go, I will always treasure that kiss."

"Fai-san..."

"I guess this will be the last time that we could hold hands like this... I'll miss you, Meine-chan."

Fai let go of Meine's hand and he walked towards the door. She stood there with her hand against her chest and a sad smile on her face. "Thank you for everything, Fai-san."

He smiled back and left her room.

"Meine-chan, I will not lose to anyone just to be with you!"

Akemi sat inside the chair inside his room, his eyes were closed and he emitted this odd white glow from his body. His legs were crossed and draped over them was a mink wrap.

His eyes opened and the odd glowing stopped. "Come in."

The door opened and there the blond mage stood. "Good evening, Akemi-san."

"Fai-san, hello. Please have a seat."

Fai closed the door and took Akemi's offer of sitting on the chair across him. He smiled and the crown prince smiled back.

"Please pull off your wedding with Meine." Fai thought.

"I'm sorry." Akemi suddenly said. "I don't think I won't be able to do that."

The mage froze and he looked at the prince in front of him. He was sure that he had not said that out loud. "How...?"

"Only a handful of vampires have the ability to be able to read the minds of others. I am one of them." Akemi explained.

"Does Meine have that ability?" Fai asked. He found himself wondering why he was even speaking even though Akemi could read his mind.

"It's not exactly sure." he said, his fingers joining together. "I am sure a powerful mage such as yourself have noticed the seals inside of her."

Fai nodded.

"My father and I have watched Meine from the moment she was born. We knew that she had extraordinary powers inside of her that she would not be able to control at such a young age. We had placed a seal on her when she was born, so she wouldn't be bothered by it as she grows. But that seal was temporary.

"My mother, a dream seer such as myself, saw that the seal will eventually weaken and break and that stored power would be enough to destroy the whole city.

"My father and I searched for different ways on making powerful seals. We went on journeys to neighboring lands and we found the answer that we needed. It was a long-time seal that was proven to be quite effective. We hurried home of course, but on the way we have received a message.

"Father used some kind of teleportation spell and the two of us stood in front of this door in the castle. I have never seen the door like that in my life. It was thick and heavy and I knew the moment I saw it that magic protected it.

"My father pushed the door open and there we saw Meine being controlled by her own power. It was simply too late when we had arrived. Her hand was already impaled in my mother's chest. Blood came out of mother's mouth and Meine pulled her hand away. Blood sprayed all over her and she didn't seem to care. My mother fell to her knees and she slowly raised her hands to wrap them around Meine. She was losing blood quickly. Even though we have regeneration abilities, it won't work when our heart, the source of our power, was taken out of our body.

"I wasn't able to do anything. My mother was dying and all I could do was stare and watch as I cried. But my father was quicker to act. He pushed inside the barrier and he ordered me to stay outside. Of course I followed, I couldn't move even if I had wanted to. My eyes were fixated on the thing inside Meine's hand. It was moving and blood oozed from it. I felt like I was going to vomit, seeing my mother's heart was something I never dreamed of seeing.

"Then my mother started to speak, her voice was almost merely a whisper. "Meine, do not lose yourself to the demons inside of you. Believe in yourself and your abilities and you will surely overcome it." Meine heard this and she regained control. She looked confused and scared. She didn't know why there was blood on the walls and on her clothes.

"She then looked down at mother who was being held up by my father. She looked at her hands and she looked at the hole in her mother's chest and the blood surrounding it. For that one moment, she looked like she was about to cry.

""Father..." she said. "What's happening? Did I... Did I?" She looked scared and she took a step back. She screamed loudly and she fell to her knees. Meine was crying and she gave off this weird aura that was so powerful that it was frightening.

"I got blown away by the force of the magic and I was able to see Meine in the middle of this vacuum inside the room. I was frightened and concerned at the same time. My mother's death has just sunk in my mind and I finally found the will to stand. I ran to my father's side and he laid my mother's body on the ground behind us.

"I was ordered by my father to calm Meine down even a little so that we could start the sealing process. Even though his wife has been killed by her own daughter, she didn't seem to be affected. I did as I was told, trying my best to talk Meine out of it. But nothing was working.

"We were forced to use magic just to calm her down. She fell to the ground with a thud, unconscious and all, but she was still whispering our mother's name.

"Father and I decided to seal two things inside Meine: half of her powers, and her memory of our mother's death. The spells were complicated, but my father performed them well."

"I see.." Fai said and he crossed her legs. "That explains the powerful seals placed on her."

"That's why I will have to apologize. I cannot do what you have come to ask me to do. You see, I don't want to see her cry anymore. I knew from the moment I have seen her that she had matured in more ways than one. She isn't the slightly childish little sister that I loved and cared for."

"Then why are you doing this? Meine is obviously unhappy!"

"Soon, my friend. You will understand soon enough."

"Akemi-san..." Fai whispered.

The prince stood up and he took Fai's hand and placed it on his chest. Fai didn't quite understand but he knew what he had to do.

He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment.

"No... That can't be!"

The day of the wedding... Meine sat in front of her dresser and her hair was being fixed by a professional hair dresser. Sakura and Mokona were also inside her room with her, wearing her own dress for the wedding.

"Meine's getting married today." Mokona said.

Meine smiled slightly. She wasn't allowed to move her head since her hair was being pinned up. She already had light make up on, since she hated having too much product on her face.

"Your not happy." the creature continued to say.

The hairdresser eventually left and Meine was able to stand from her chair.

"Thank you for everything." she said and she hugged the two of them. "After this, I won't be able to go with you and look for Sakura's feathers."

"It will be different without you, Meine-san." Sakura said and she hugged back, trying her best not to cry.

Meine changed into her wedding gown, careful not to ruin her hair. She felt her heart thump louder and louder with each minute passing. She actually felt like hyperventilating as the three of them stepped out of the room.

The three of them walked to the throne room, meeting the others on their way there. Meine and Fai didn't speak to each other except for the smile that they gave each other when their eyes met.

Meine took a deep breath as the five of them, and Mokona arrived in front of the throne room. She found it weird that she didn't find anyone on the way there.

"Something doesn't feel right." she said. Even the others have noticed it too. It was way too quiet.

Kurogane and Syaoran pushed the door open and they found the throne room nearly empty. It looked the same as always, except for the flower decorations.

There were guards standing by the windows and Akemi sat on his throne, wearing a white suit and he had the sword that had been passed from generation to generation of the royal family.

"Hello." he said. Meine could tell just from his voice that something was going to happen.

"Akemi! What's the meaning of this?"

The group stepped inside the room and the door suddenly closed and they heard the lock do its job. Guards blocked every path they could take to go outside, all except the hidden passage that Meine knew when she was a kid, which is behind the throne.

Akemi stood up, bringing the sword with him. "The wedding's off."

"What?" Meine handed her bouquet to Sakura and walked towards Akemi.

The two of them met in the middle of the hall. The look on his eyes was different from usual. His eyes looked sharp and determined but Meine couldn't understand why.

"Akemi, what are you doing?"

The crown prince smirked and he pulled the sword out of its sheath.

Syaoran, Kurogane, and Fai tried to run and protect Meine but the guards stopped them.

She didn't try to move away or anything like that as Akemi raised his sword and he did a fast cutting motion that even Meine couldn't see, but she was able to feel it. The skirt below her knee fell down to the floor , exposing her legs and the petticoat shredded to pieces.

"What are you doing?" she repeated calmly.

"I'm calling off the wedding."

"Why? Did something happen?"

He leaned forward towards her. "Fight me. I need you to kill me."

Meine actually slapped his cheek and took a step back. "What the hell is going on with you? Calling of the wedding, now you're telling me to kill you?"

Akemi just smiled and grabbed her by the wrist. "I'm not fooling around, Meine. I want you to kill me."

She took her hand back and turned away from him. "I refuse to do it then."

"You don't understand, Meine. I'm not asking you nicely... I'm ordering you to be the one to put an end to me."

"You're crazy. I'm going to my room then." Meine walked towards the entrance again, pulling on her veil and throwing it to the ground.

Meine wasn't able to even see him move. All she knew is that all of a sudden, she was unable to move since Akemi had his sword held up against her neck at a dangerous angle.

"Meine-chan!" Fai shouted

"I'm serious, Meine. I'm not kidding around. If you won't do it by asking you nicely, I'll just have to fight you till one of us drops dead."

She clicked her tongue loudly. He was dead serious, even his voice showed it. His eyes were sharper than his blade and nothing can go through it. "You're crazy... Why are you even doing this!"

Akemi stood up and pointed his sword at her. "Don't you understand, my adorable sister? This was the way things had to go."

He lunged at Meine, holding the sword with his right hand and the other extended towards her.

She quickly evaded, she can tell that he was going easy on her. Akemi who was really serious wouldn't use any weapons whatsoever. The real weapon of a vampire is their claws.

"Akemi stop this!"

He continued attacking, and Meine kept on evading. He wasn't stopping. Meine had no weapons in hand, and she didn't want to use her own hands.

Akemi stopped. "If you're not going to even attack back and just keep on defending, maybe I should use another method to make you attack me..."

"What are you planning?" Meine growled.

He was gone in an instant. Meine was only able to follow his after-image because of his fast movement. she heard Sakura scream and she knew that Akemi had done something that the normal him wouldn't do.

She looked at the group and saw that Sakura was gone, only to find her at the other side of the hall. Akemi was holding her tightly by the hand and his sword was placed near her neck. Sakura was scared, that was obvious enough to say.

"Princess Sakura!" Syaoran screamed and tried to go through the guards that blocked his way towards her.

He jumped up in the air and knocked out the two guards with one kick. He started to run towards Sakura.

"Stop!" Akemi said. Syaoran came to a halt. "If you take a step closer, this Princess of yours will really die."

"Syaoran-kun..." Sakura whimpered.

"Only Meine would be able to help her now."

Meine sighed. "Why are you doing this?"

"I don't want to see you cry because of me." he said.

Meine suddenly wanted to whack him on the head with a stick. Her hand shook in annoyance and anger. "Idiot." she muttered.

Her eyes glowed gold and her nails grew into long talons. She saw that frightened look in Sakura's face and she heard Syaoran gasp in the back, but for now she didn't care. If he really wanted to be killed, so be it.

Akemi smirked and he let go of Sakura, even giving her a light push towards Syaoran. "It's time to get serious then."

"You were never serious to begin with." she said.

He smiled and he brought his sword to his face. "Shall we begin?"

Meine took a deep breath and she flexed both her hands. It's been a while since she has used them, but she was not worried that he might be rusty.

"Yes..."

They waited for Sakura and Syaoran to get to the other end before their real fight began. Akemi smiled, holding his sword in front of his face. None of them were moving.

Even though Meine grew up being taught by Akemi, she does not exactly know his style of fighting. He was what you can call a genius in fighting. He changes his style every so often so no one would be able to read his moves.

She acquired a couple of cuts and bruises just fighting with her brother and he only got a small cut on his cheek, which had regenerate seconds after she had cut him.

"You're going to have to be much more serious than that to kill me!" he said.

"Then stay put if you really want to be killed!"

Meine lunged and she aimed to hit Akemi's throat. She didn't want to really kill him. Probably just a few cuts and bruises or disable him for a moment so that he can hurt him repeatedly without doing any harm since he regenerated fast.

Akemi grabbed her hand and he hugged her. "You know that I'm deliberately giving openings, but you're not doing your best..."

She sighed. "I didn't notice."

"You were trained under me. You wouldn't miss holes that big..."

Meine looked away. She did notice those holes, but she never has the chance to get near them. She was not trying her best.

He leaned forward to whisper something in her ear. "Meine, if you don't take this fight seriously, I'm just going to have to kill him instead."

She looked at him with wide eyes.

"I'm serious, Meine. If you don't kill me soon, something might happen to a certain blond magician."

She suddenly felt like she wanted to cry. Her hands were moving on their own. she was blinded by her own fright.

She pushed away from him slightly and used her talons to impale his heart. By the time she knew what she had done, she found herself frozen stiff and her hand was stuck to his chest. Her nails could feel the soft and delicate walls of his heart and Meine felt her own beat faster.

Akemi placed his hands on her shoulder and the other on the arm. He had this content look on his face and his eyes were once again gentle. He smiled at Meine and he pushed her away, his blood spurting out of the wounds on his chest.

Meine caught Akemi in her arms before he can even touch the ground.

He was coughing up blood and the blood continued to stain his clothes. Her hand shook in fright and she laid his head on her lap. "Akemi? Akemi!"

She felt the usual wave of power from inside his body but it felt much greater than usual. Suddenly, two feathers started to emerged from his chest.

"So these were the reason you came back to life..." she whispered. "Akemi you idiot! Why didn't you tell me?"

He gave a shaky laugh and he brought his hand to touch hers. His hold was starting to get weaker and the color of his skin was getting paler. "I'm sorry. Fierra said that killing me was the only way of me to disappear. I wanted to be killed by someone I love, and that was you..."

Meine gripped his jacket with her hand covered in his blood. "You're so mean..." she whispered. "Of all people who could kill you, you have to choose me... Seeing you be killed in front of my eyes once is enough."

"I'm sorry..." he whispered.

His feet started to slowly disappear and Meine started to panic. She didn't know what to do. She looked at her companions who now stood behind her for help.

"It's alright Meine. This is how things were supposed to go..."

"It's not fair..." she wept.

He raised his shaky hand and he wiped away her tears. "I said I didn't want to see you cry anymore, but what I'm doing is causing you more pain."

He looked at Syaoran. "Follow this advice, only give Sakura-san her feather after she recovers from the first one. Having two at a time inside her might not lead to good effects."

Syaoran nodded and he took the two feathers that floated on top of Akemi's chest. He gave this to Sakura, who then collapsed in his arms.

Akemi turned to Meine again. He noticed the glint of the amethyst necklace that she wore. He decided to cast the last of his magic on it.

The necklace emitted this pink light when he had touched it. "Meine, be happy and follow what your heart is telling you. You'll be protected by the spell I placed on the necklace given by my other self in another world."

"Akemi, don't leave me..." she sobbed.

"I'm sorry, Meine. Now, this will really be goodbye. We'll see each other again, perhaps in another world."

His body slowly disappeared and turned into dust. She felt like her heart was breaking in two. He was smiling until the last speck of dust was seen. He was happy.

Fai knelt down beside Meine and he wrapped his arms comfortingly around her. It was then he had heard his last message to him.

"I leave Meine in your hands. Please take care of her." Akemi whispered to Fai.

The blond mage wrapped his arms tighter around her as she leaned her head against his chest. "I will..."

Fai, Kurogane, Syaoran, and Mokona sat on the comfy chairs in the library. It has been two days since the incident and Sakura hasn't opened her eyes yet since they had given her the second feather from Akemi. Meine on the other hand, hasn't come out of her room and had requested not to be bothered.

Syaoran closed this book that he tried to read but he cannot find the will to concentrate on it. He looked at Fai who was looking out the window in a daze and to Kurogane who just sat there, his arms crossed.

"What are we going to do now?" Syaoran asked.

Mokona, who sat on the low coffee table between them looked sad as well. "Will Meine still be coming with us?"

The two of them sighed. Even Kurogane sighed with them. Fai just sat there, thinking.

Suddenly he stood up, startling Mokona. He didn't say anything but he just left the library.

Fai stood outside of Meine's room and he knocked twice. He waited for a few moments and he knocked again. No one was answering.

He opened the door and peeked inside to see Meine inside the room. She was in her bed and her hair was a mess. There were strand sticking out everywhere. He liked that look of hers. It was so unlike her.

"Meine-chan." he said and he sat on the bed beside her. "Are you okay?"

She didn't reply. Her eyes were in a daze.

He took her hand and he held it tightly. "Meine, please snap out of it."

"I'm okay, Fai-san. I just need time..." she whispered.

"Meine... Please. I understand that you are depressed, but this has got to end. You haven't eaten in two days."

"You don't understand! I killed him!" she said, tears flowing out of her eyes. "I killed him..."

"Believe me, I understand pretty well." he replied darkly.

"No you don't!"

Fai pulled Meine out from under the covers and he pushed her down. If someone who didn't know the situation saw their position, they would think that Fai had another motive in mind.

He trapped Meine under him by placing on knee between her legs and the other outside it. Both of his hands were on either side of her head.

Meine gasped her cheeks flamed in embarrassment. The look in his eyes looked mad and there was that fire in his eyes.

"Meine, believe me." he said. "I understand."

She was then silent and she brought her arm to cover her eyes. "I killed Akemi..." she muttered.

"You know that is what your older brother has asked for. Please do not put the blame solely on yourself. This is what he wanted."

"I know but-!"

"Meine! Listen to me. Do you remember when Akemi disappeared with a smile on his face? He was happy. He was finally free. And you gave him that freedom that he wanted."

"Akemi..." she continued to mutter. It was like she's forgotten that Fai was even there on top of her and she got caught up in her little crying session for the nth time.

He pulled her arm away and he placed his lips over hers.

Meine's eyes opened in shock as she is forced to come back to reality. She could see the blond locks on his head as it cascaded down to her face. The warmth from his lips enveloped her and she stopped crying.

He pulled away and he wiped away the tear at the corner of her eyes. "I finally got you to stop crying." he said with a sigh.

He helped her up to a sitting position and he held her shoulders. "Meine, even though Akemi is gone it doesn't mean that it's the end of the world."

"Thank you... I'm sorry."

"Where do you plan to go now?"

She was silent and she leaned her head on his chest. "I don't know... He knew that I loved someone else even though I had agreed to marry him."

"Meine, please don't be like this. Don't be all down on yourself... "

"I'm sorry." she whispered. "Please give me a little more time to think."

"I understand."

Meine brushed her hair. There were no signs whatsoever of her ever crying. She wore new clothes and she decided to part her fringe on the side as a start of a new beginning.

She had made her decision the day before when Fai left her alone to think it more clearly. She realized that she was being an idiot, being all depressed and all. Akemi who is somewhere watching her wouldn't like that.

She went to the garden, where Fai had told her where they will be waiting for an answer.

There they were, sitting on the grass and Kurogane leaning against one of the pillars.

"What are you guys doing?" she said. Everyone turned to her. "Why aren't you guys getting ready yet? When are we planning to move to the next dimension to find Sakura's feathers?"

"Meine-san..." Syaoran said with a smile.

"Is Meine-chan still coming with us?" Sakura asked.

Meine nodded. "Of course I'm coming. I may not be looking for anything now, but I do have other reasons to go." For a moment, her eyes met with Fai and he smiled.

Mokona jumped off of Kurogane's shoulder and it twirled around Meine. "Yay! Meine's coming!"

The group prepared the necessary materials that they needed for their remaining journey. Meine offered that they bring money with them, even though they are not of the same currency; it was always good enough to exchange it for something in a market place in whatever world.

After a few hours of taking what they had needed, particularly money and Meine's small suitcase filled with clothes that she believed that they needed, they stored it inside Mokona's mouth. The group now stood in the same garden where they had fallen when they first came to the dimension.

Fierra, the High Priest of Rosette stood in front of them to bid them goodbye when all of a sudden, Mokona's eyes opened wide and it went "Mekkyo!"

The gem on its forehead glowed and the red light appeared to show Yuuko.

"Hello." she said.

"Yuuko!" Mokona said and bounced up and down. "How have you been?"

Yuuko had this sly smile on her lips and she crossed her arms. "I'm alright. I've been waiting for quite some time for the other three white day presents I haven't received."

Syaoran gave a shaky laugh and Fai and Kurogane both just averted their eyes away from hers.

"I am not here today to ask for my White Day gift, my business today is something else...

"Meine." Yuuko called. Meine stepped forward. "There's someone who wants to see you."

"Eh? Who?" Meine asked.

Yuuko stepped aside and revealed a man. He held liquor in a glass and he had this smile on his face.

Meine gasped and brought her hands to cover her mouth. The man had dark hair and amethyst eyes, similar to Meine's.

"Hello, Meine."

"Father!" she whispered.

"Have you been well?"

She smiled and nodded her head. "I'm okay..."

"I've heard about Akemi."

"Yes..." she whispered.

"Meine," her father said in a more cheerful tone. Meine looked up. "I have something to give you..."

He held out something to the Mokona in their side and they heard the usual swallowing sound of the black counterpart of the Mokona with them.

Mokona opened its mouth and something shot out of it only to land on Meine's palm. It was a red velvet box which held a silver ring with a small diamond jewel on it. It shined brightly under the sun's light.

"What is this?" she asked, taking the ring out of the box and examining it.

Her father smiled. "That ring once belonged to your mother. It was a ring passed down to every princess of Rosette. It holds special attributes that may help you one day in your journey."

"Thank you." Meine said and slipped it into her right middle ring. The engagement ring that Akemi had given to her was safely hidden inside the secret safe in her room. Only she knew the code to it and it can only be opened by someone else during emergencies.

"I miss you, Meine."

"When will I be able to see you again?"

"In due time, my dear. We will meet again in a much happier occasion. By that time, you would've already found what you have been searching for."

"Father…"

Her father looked at the others behind her. He smiled at them and he bowed his head. "Please take care of my daughter. She may be a little stubborn, but please bear with it."

Fai smiled when he noticed that he winked at his direction. Was that message meant for him only? He didn't know, but he would like to think that it was only for him.

"I'll see you soon again, Meine."

And with that, the light from Mokona's red gem faded. She felt a little bit better, but she knew that she will heal in due time.

"Meine-chan." Fai called. "It's time for us to go."

Meine took a deep breath, the last of the atmosphere that she will be getting from this world in a while. She may not have a mission to look for the Eglantine Rose anymore, but she had other objectives that she would like to do.

She stood beside Fai and she shyly took hold of his hand. He jumped at her touch and then he smiled, even squeezing it a little.

"Please take care of everything for me while I'm gone." Meine said to the High Priest who stood in front of them.

"Take care, princess." he said.

Mokona let out its wings and the magic circle appeared from beneath its feet. Fai pulled Meine closer to him and he held her close to his body by holding his waist. "Now, will you say those words to me?" he whispered.

Her face turned red, but she didn't try to push away. She caught sight of Kurogane watching them, but for now she didn't care. She was together with the person she loved, and together they would be travelling to other worlds.

She stood on her toes and she whispered to his ear.

"…I love you"

-chapter owari-

heyzelle: only now do I realize after scrolling down, because I don't read the stuff I write, that I have used the words "I'm sorry" too much and I italicized almost every last sentence per division. hehehe. anyway, please leave a review of what you thought about it. thanks

Meine's dress (proposal): s6 (dot) thisnext (dot) com (slash) media (slash) largest (underscore) dimension (slash) CFB9E2B2 (dot) jpg

Sakura's dress (proposal): media (dot) photobucket (dot) com (slash) image (slash) simple%20lolita (slash) vampire fairyjediknight (dot) Web%2520project (slash) Web%2520project (slash) 2240192011 (underscore) 52999b67f8 (dot) jpg