Rule Of Rose

Rule Of Rose - Prologue

                                                                       Rule of Rose

                                                                          Prologue

Author's note: This story is a novelisation of the video game Rule of Rose which was developed by Punchline and released in 2006. This story contains spoilers

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"Once upon a time, there was a precious little girl. Her friend, the Princess of the Red Rose, was always at her side. Then one day, her Mummy and Daddy died suddenly, and the poor little girl was sent away to a strange house."

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Our story begins in an old, dimly lit bus driving through the silent streets of the countryside of 1930's England. Other than the young girl who sat asleep at the back, a boy intently reading a book, sitting at the front and a moth trying to dance with one of the lights that lined the wooden ceiling, the bus is empty.

             The young girl was around the age of nineteen, her hair was a light auburn, almost blonde colour. She was dressed in a longsleeved, grey school dress that had the slightest colouring of green in it, the white collar of the dress had a rather large red brooch covering the buttons. Her stockings were pulled up to their usual height just below her knees and her outfit was finished with a rather old, beat up pair of brown leather strap shoes.

             "Jennifer? Jennifer!" The boy had moved from his seat and had slowly, carefully made his way beside the bench where the young girl slept. "Play with me, Jennifer!" His persistence and repetition of her name slowly woke the girl and as she turned to face him, the boy continued with his demands; "Read the story, please read the story!" The boy kept his head facing the ground, never meeting Jennifer's eyes. He was wearing a white buttonup school shirt with a string neck tie and dark grey shorts, and despite being unable to see his face, from his small size and attire, Jennifer was able to pin his age at around ten or eleven years old.

             Amidst her thoughts, the boy thrust the book he was reading towards Jennifer. It was plain to see that the book was handmade. It was just a stack of papers bound at the spine with string. The cover was titled with a handwritten and off-centred "The Little Princess". There was an image below which was a crude and handdrawn image of what appeared to be a tower with a few randomly drawn lines she only assumed could represent a picket fence surrounding the tower. Still, the boy never faced her. Subconsciously, Jennifer had taken hold of the book and the boy had began turning the pages, skipping the first five or so which were similarly designed with a sentence and a picture per page. "What's this?" She questioned, confused at noticing the final page the boy had turned to was blank, save for a few stains and browning of the page.

             As the bus continued on it's route, it rocked more violently, it's frame groaning at the sudden change of earth beneathe it, from a paved and frequently used road to what seemed like a rarely used dirt track. This part of the road, even in the darkness, could easily be identified as being lined with miles and miles of overgrown, beautiful and yet, slightly eerie trees and fauna. Even as the was approaching the only bus stop for what seemed like hours, the driver said nothing. Did nothing. The bus stop they were approaching was comprised of a sign, signalling that it was actually a bus stop, a single bench and a single street light which, aside from the upcoming bus, provided the only the only light.

            The driver finally began to pull over as they closed in on the stop. The boy then turned, leaving the book in Jennifer's hands and ran down the aisle of the bus. Jennifer scrambled up to try and catch the boy. The doors opened, letting in the chill of the night air and the smell of all the wildlife soon spread like fire through the bus. The boy had already sprinted from the bus when the young girl had reached the center set of benches, where she kneeled on the seat to peer out of the window. "Wait, please!" She called out through the stiffly stuck open window. Whether the boy heard her or not, she did not know, as he continued running past her. Frantically she stood again, turned to run down the aisle of the bus and stepped off of the bus, still clutching "The Little Princess".

             She peered through the darkness, following where she'd seen the boy run, however she dared not move any further "Where are you going?" She questioned and was, again, ignored. Jennifer gasped as the sound of the door closing sounded behind her. As she turned, the bus had already set off and after a vain attempt to try and catch the bus she gave up. Watching the bus roll off into the night, Jennifer took a moment to catch her breath in short, deep gasps.