Author's Note: My apologies for not updating for a while, but my computer decided to die and I have been studying nonstop for Finals. I just got back my computer for a week now and I haven't been able to get on Internet until now, and during that week I've been writing for you guys. I really do hope that you all like this, and my sincere apologies to my Online Sisters for not being able to write you guys anything but this for a while.

Note: I redid Chapter Two since I placed that Kenshin had two scars in the first chapter but accidentally placed only one in the second one; it's also been reedited too.

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.

Crimson Rose

Written By DemonicShdAngel

Chapter Three

He couldn't believe it. After years of mourning over her death and creating a world in her name, she was once again before him. His fiancée was right here; living and breathing before his very eyes. Nevertheless he couldn't bring himself to fully believe that she was alive; he'd witness her die yet here she was. For once, the Ruler of the Shadow Kingdom couldn't find the words to describe how he felt, let alone explain the emotions that were slowing returning to him at the mere sight of his Crimson Rose.

Finally, after just staring at the familiar maiden before him, Lord Battousai stepped out from the shadows and allowed himself to be seen through the red moonlight.

The Dark Lord couldn't help but smirk as he saw innocent sapphire orbs widen from shock as they laid eyes on his features.

He wasn't the tallest man in his kingdom, but his dark aura and piercing eyes made up for that. With his blood-like hair and cross shaped scar on his left cheek, he was quite the person to look at, but certainly not someone to mess with.

"Welcome back, Crimson Rose," was all that was needed to snap the lavender-haired beauty from her thoughts.

He almost chuckled when he saw her jump from surprise at how deep his voice had gotten; he himself was surprised at how soft he had sounded when he greeted her again.

"Welcome home, Kamiya Kaoru."

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"What happened to the Crimson Rose?" asked the Leader once his second in command stepped out of the huge castle; he'd been eager to find out if what his other soldiers had said was true.

"Lord Battousai ordered me to leave the room," answered the other truthfully.

"Did he snap out at her before you left?" asked the taller of the two soldiers that had been sent to give the message to their King earlier.

"Of course not, why would he? She is his Crimson Rose after all," said the co-leader of the group.

The other three exchanged glances before falling deep into thought.

"What's going on?" asked the deputy confused.

"Well…these two said that Lord Battousai told them that he didn't give the Crimson Rose mark to anyone…" began the Leader of one of the many Royal Guards.

"That's absurd! We saw the marking with our own eyes!" defended the man that had led Kaoru to see their Dark Lord.

"I know, but what if she's going to get…well…. Impersonating a person such as Lady Kamiya will most certainly not go passed the King. You know how His Majesty cherished her," reminded the Leader.

The second in command frowned at his superior's words and looked back at the castle in which he just left one last time before he followed his Commander back to their duties of counting all the slaves in the area that they looked after.

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Pacing across the small hut, the 16-year-old began to bite her fingernails as the red moon disappeared from the sky to allow the black clouds to take over and cover their half of the planet in complete darkness.

Due to the lack of light, all of the servants were sent in from the fields for their break until chosen slaves had lit the torches that were placed along the rows of Black Flowers. They wouldn't get a chance to sleep or rest again until at least 1,000 large baskets of Black Seeds were filled.

"Will you stop pacing around, Misao? You're giving me a headache," complained Megumi as she worked on placing her newly made medicine into small bottles for later use.

"I can't help it! I just feel…" began the blue violet slave as she sat down cross legged next to Megumi in the center of their small home.

"Guilty?" finished Tsubame for her as she handed them each their daily piece of bread and a cup of water that she'd just gotten from the soldiers that patrolled the area.

Misao glared at her friend as Tsubame entered the hut with their food, but nodded in thanks when she was handed the small slice of wheat bread and the tiny cup of water.

"Well I'm glad that you feel that way," began Megumi and continued before Megumi could question her, "You did think that she would betray us by staying inside our hut until the guards found her. In the end she proved you wrong, and you didn't want to help her when she was helpless!"

"You can't blame me! She's a rose slave after all. How was I supposed to know that she was the Crimson Rose? Plus, we saved her and she saved us, so therefore we're even," said Misao as she looked down at her bread and began taking little bites of it.

"But for some reason…I really don't think that she was His Majesty's Mistress…." Tsubame whispered as she kept her gaze on the dirtied cup of water in her hands.

"Why would you say that, Tsubame-chan?" asked Megumi as she looked up from her work to stare at the 11-year-old.

"Well… She just didn't seem to fit the part. I mean…Kaoru-san looked really…really innocent. I don't think that she's ever really done anything hard; her hands weren't as calloused as ours and…why haven't we heard of a Crimson Rose until now? I mean, if she were once a red rose slave, her hands would have to show some sign of doing hard labor," stated Tsubame as she looked up at her older peers.

Megumi and Misao looked at one another before falling into complete silence.

"I'm just as confused as you are, Tsubame-chan. There has not been a single mention of a Crimson Rose for ages. The last one died centuries ago," said Misao as she looked at Megumi to explain the rest.

"There has only been mention of one Crimson Rose and even then she died as a virgin," added the female doctor as she bottled up the last of her medicine and stood up to place them on one of the shelves in their home.

"Wait…wouldn't that mean that Lord Battousai would be well of a hundred years old? Or is he the descendent of the past King?" asked Tsubame confused as she cocked her head.

A dreadful quiet surrounded the hut as Misao bit her lower lip and pondered if they should tell the child the truth about their Ruler.

"Tsubame-chan… Lord Battousai has been the Ruler of the Shadow Kingdom for the past five centuries; our King is trapped in the age of 28 for the rest of eternity until the curse is broken." Megumi watched as Tsubame's eyes grew wide from the new information that she had required.

"What? How? I don't understand," said Tsubame once her mind registered just what she had been told.

"Lord Battousai was cursed by a witch that he killed, but before she died she placed a spell on him that would keep at the same age as well as forbid him from ever dying; to make sure that he never went on to the after life to join his beloved in the Realm of the Dead. The witch made his lives, and ours, a living Hell," snarled Misao darkly as she clenched her fists in her lap. If the witch hadn't cursed their King, then they probably wouldn't be treated lower than animals.

"But then again, our Lord will also forever have to suffer with the thought of never being able to see his love again," stated Megumi as she sat back down besides her fellow blue violet slaves.

"Not anymore," said Tsubame with a frown, "another Crimson Rose has been made. So that means that he has moved on; he won't be suffering anymore; only us."

The other two woman gasped as realization hit them.

"Maybe this Crimson Rose will be able to make the King nice again, and break the curse," said Misao hopefully as she gave the others a weak smile.

"But no one knows what needs to be done for the curse to break, not even Lord Battousai himself," reminded Megumi.

Before the others could reply to that, a large gong was heard, indicating that their break was over. Groaning, the girls left their hut and conversation behind as they went back to work.

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Kaoru could only stare at the man before her as he spoke her name so familiarly. Her breathing began to go rigid as she shook her head and took a step back in disbelief. There was no way that she was going to be this man's Mistress. From the stories that she had heard and from what she had just experience earlier, the being before her was ruthless as well as merciless. She could not bring herself to serving a man such as him.

"I'm not your Crimson Rose," said Kaoru as she looked at Battousai straight in the eyes.

"But you're Kamiya Kaoru, are you not?" asked Battousai, his voice steady and all too confident.

The teenager shook her head frantically as she took a step back for every single one that he took forward.

"That might be my name, but we both know that I'm not who you think I am; I'm not the one that you lost all those years ago. I'm not your fiancée," Kaoru whispered as she felt a shiver run down her spine from the dark eyes that stared at her.

"You are…you're Kamiya Kaoru, you're one of a kind, you're my Crimson Rose; my Mistress," whispered Battousai as he stared at her with blank eyes and stopped when he realized that the closer he got the further she went out of his reach.

"No I'm not!" Kaoru practically shouted as she balled her fists to stop herself from shaking; she couldn't understand why he wouldn't admit that his love was dead and that she was someone else? Especially when he had all the proof?

Battousai froze in his tracks and captured sapphire eyes with his own honey colored ones before turning around and looking out of the window that revealed the red moon setting. He knew that she was right, but in his heart he didn't want her to be. The one thing that he wanted to come true could never be, and for that reason alone he became like a spoiled brat and didn't allow anyone to be happy because he himself wasn't.

"Please understand that you've got to move on, Your Highness. I know that you loved her very much and her death caused your great despair, but you didn't need to make the others, whom once looked up to you with trust and loyalty, suffer with you," whispered Kaoru as she stared at Battousai's back almost pleadingly.

Kaoru almost dreaded the response that she would receive and knew that by saying what she had, she was risking her very life, but for some reason she knew that the man before her would never hurt her. It was amazing how much trust she had given this man even though they've barely known each other for a few minutes. Then again, this was the same man that had remained loyal to someone that he dearly loved, and in her mind anyone that could love couldn't be that evil.

"They were the ones that killed her, so therefore I have the right to make them suffer the consequences for what they did," defended Battousai as he turned around to face her with glowing amber eyes that seemed to be lit by an inner fire.

Kaoru glared back at the older man defiantly as her own anger began to spark from the way that he was thinking.

"Do you really think that she would want you to honor her death by killing people in her name; having them suffer because of her death that was caused by her wanting to save you due to her love for you?" demanded Kaoru as she kept her eyes locked with the redhead.

Before she could continue, her words were cut off when she felt her lungs being crushed against something warm and solid. Kaoru gasped as she realized that she was being pulled into a hug by the Ruler of the Shadow Kingdom. She stopped her struggle to get free when she felt him shivering against her as he shook his head in her hair that had somehow become loose and had fallen down her back in a cascade of black.

"Kaoru," was all that she heard before she noticed that his one of his arms was wrapped around her waist and the other around her neck. Slowly she felt her world growing dark as she felt pressure on her neck and could feel herself collapse on the golden eyed King of the kingdom that was once known as the Kingdom of Hope.

A/N: A longer chapter than usual and I hope that you all enjoyed it. If you guys really don't like it, then just tell me and I'll delete it. There's no point in me writing something that people don't like.