Beauty of Rose

Prologue

Prologue

The tall man in the black trench coat swept past slow paced pedestrians, unnoticed in the shadows of night. The tall buildings lining the traffic ridden roads towered over everything in their wake, glittering skyscrapers reaching for the stars. Honking car horns blared and shouts echoed all around. But he ignored all of this, trying his best to be truly invisible. But once or twice, he would bump into a passersby and scowl furiously at the unfortunate soul.

Frustration resided in his scrawny chest as he headed toward an abandoned warehouse that had an intimidating air about it. The rotting walls and broken windows had suffered the worst of many storms  and time. He shoved the heavy metal door open, and the hinges squealed in protest with a rain of rust. Darkness was his only salutation, the silence pressing on his hunched shoulders.

But he could see through the pitch black easily, his eyes piercing and unwavering.

"Where is she?" he yelled into the cloak of shadow. His deep voice resounded and echoed back to his own ears, unwelcome. He shouted it again, and suddenly red paint -at least he thought it was paint- appeared in a delicate scrawl, writing itself on the opposite wall from him.

CURRENTLY IN LABOR.SHE IS ON THE ROOF.

He knew immediately what it meant as his senses went on high alert. He hurried back outside and ran on the sidewalk to one particular skyscraper. It stood there like an unwanted giant, thirty floors high. He entered the richly decorated entryway, unimpressed by the polished marble floor and overstuffed couches. He ignored the confused receptionist who sat at her gleaming desk answering phone calls left and right. The metal doors of the big elevator opened on his approach and he pressed the glowing button to the roof.

The small chandelier swayed slightly when the elevator finally stopped at the top of the building. His foot tapped impatiently as the doors opened. Stars twinkled down at him, as if every one of them held a secret with him. He heard cries and moans and quickly headed toward the corner where it came from. A small woman lay there, her stomach extended with pregnancy. She let out another moan and cried in pain.

He knelt down next to her and repeatedly said," Shhh... I am here now, you are no longer alone. Shhhh...relax."

The baby came quickly and painfully, but when it was over, he handed the infant to its mother. "It is a girl," she croaked aloud. " I shall name her Richelle. Richelle Ann. She is my first and last, conceived under the stars. A Red Rose by blood, always Red. The other Roses may try to claim her as their own, but she will always be Red," the new mother nearly sang. Her pale face almost glowed with delight.

"Yes, the other Roses will fight for her," the man finally said. He had seen many births of the Roses, and seen many of them die. The Roses were a beautiful people, naturally. There were the Red, Black, and Blue Roses. They were divided houses of the Court.

"Edward, if something unfortunate shall happen to me,you will take guardianship of my dearest Richelle?" The desperation in her green-gray eyes softened Edward's heart, so he nodded in agreement. She let out a relieved breath and fell asleep, The baby girl sat silently, watching everything around her in facsination. Such a strange creature, no crying or squealing. Especially since she was just a new born, just come out of her mother's womb. The beginnings of chestnut hair blew in the soft breeze. Yes, mostly a strange child.

He recalled the prophecy he had overheard from some old scholars. He had been evesdropping behind a corner, back when King Edward still ruled. Yes, he was that old, immortal. The scholars had read from a forbidden leatherbound book, unraveling secrets that no man should ever know.

The girl born under a sea of stars,

Shall be a Chosen one of sorts,

With beauty unlike others,

Will befall unearthly dangers and sorrows,

Fighting a war of the worlds battle,

That will one day end many innocent lives

He still remembered it, burned into his memories forever. He also knew he would never forget it, knowing one day it really would come true. He gazed down at the newborn and smiled softly, wondering if it could possibly be this child or one in the future. His mind soared in clouds so thick he didn't notice that the baby was staring at something over his shoulder.

When he did, he turned and stepped back quickly. What stood there was a Black Rose, clad in black from head to toe. The warrior wore armor that glistened in the faint light of dawn, his cloak a billowing cape around him. His eyes seemed to glow from an inner light, so strikingly blue it startled everyone who looked upon him.

"Give me the child. She belongs to the Black Rose. And none other." The man's voice was thick with an English accent and rumbled gravelly. But his voice was not as startling as his words. They seemed to slap Edward in the face.

"Of course she does not belong to the Black Rose! She is rightfully Red, by blood," his voice cracked on the last word, his breath rattling in his chest. He quickly glance behind him to make sure the mother and child were still there and was met with the doe eyes of the baby girl. This wasn't right. The Black Rose couldn't have already found out about the birth of the Princess. Impossible. But did they know she was the Princess...?

His enemy stepped forward and actually did slap him across his cheek. Edward flew at least five feet backwards, hitting the cement floor with a thud. He groaned and stood up again, determined.

He sent a bolt of lightning arcing from his right palm into the air. The fregrance of ozone surrounded them. The electricity struck squarely in the chest of the Black Rose knight and killed him instantly. Usually it wasn't so easy to kill a Rose, especially a knight. But that bolt of lightning had held enough power to kill ten elephants easy.

He quickly checked that the man was dead and grabbed up the mother and her child. He ran to the edge of the building and jumped. He landed in a low crouch on the sidewalk below, no human eyes able to see his speed. He ran, and only stopped at an orphanage. He wrapped the silent baby in a silk wrap and wrote a note:

Her name is Richelle Ann. She is right now a newborn.

He rapped the door loudly and put the baby on the porch gently. Her unconcious mother still slumbered soundly, though how, he didn't know. He hid in the shadows quietly, watching as a kindly old woman answered the door. She gasped audibly when she saw the baby at her feet. She quickly, but gently, got the baby and went back in, shutting the door and hopefully the seal to a good life.