Angelraised 7 Week

"I'm almost completely positive. Her eyes, Week, they looked exactly like Rose's whenever she was a bit happier than normal. Her features match her too, the only true difference that throws me off is her hair. We couldn't dye Rose's hair, let alone cut it off, so how did she manage to get shorter brown hair?" It felt like minutes pa.s.sed rather than hours before I was in front of all those people, offering my gift to Rosalina. Her eyes flashed silver, a familiar silver that I remembered, as she slowly started walking towards me. She had almost reached me before her father grabbed her wrist.

"Rosalina, enough of your rebellion tonight. You will not accept the gift of this boy, understand me?" He said, his voice laced with venom, but another hand grabbed his and pulled it away from her. I looked into eyes that held a soft silver color as well as she looked over at me, causing me to recognize her almost immediately.

Grace.

"Honey, let her accept this one, please. It's her choice in the end and what if it turns out right in the end?" She started, lifting his hand to her face. He cupped her cheek with it as she continued, "It could mark the end of our centuries long war against the demon race."

Michael turned his gaze back to his daughter, his eyes softening and he gave her a nod of encouragement. I felt her take the Rose from me and turned to watch her pull it to her nose to smell.

"I, Princess Rosalina of the court of archangel Michael, hereby," a pause shook the crown in antic.i.p.ation. It wasn't uncommon for males to be rejected for a challenge if the girl felt strongly for them as it was, and I could almost feel her emotions when I was around her. "I hereby accept your challenge, Prince Week of Asladon. You will fight along side the other archangel boys fairly and fight to gain the crown upon your head."

The room burst into a mix of applause and outrage. The mixed feelings clouded the room in doubt and felt almost completely suffocating. I joined the rest along the wall and stood next to Kai. He and I fist-b.u.mped and we both turned to her. If Kai was right, and she was our Rose, then I wanted to be the one to find out. The main reason we joined this battle was to find out who she was and how she got here if she was Rose, but it could take a while.

The demon inside me seemed to purr in satisfaction of the fact we would be with her for so long and the face we could be alone with her more often. I pushed that away and thought of my sister and Rose's past. They were soulmates, I could feel their bond while I had the majority of Rose's powers inside me, yet it couldn't be Rose if I felt that bond too.

I watched her walk next to her father and she had a bright smile on her lips and I felt heat rush to my cheeks.

"That now concludes the challenges collected for my daughter's hand and the potential to rule over the main court!" The cheers from each court seemed deafening as they rang throughout the room. "Now, boys, comes the rules of this tournament. There are twenty-two of you currently, only one shall prevail. We will begin with myself and Queen Graceline sending the males home if they do not meet our expectations to what should be someone willing to fight for my daughter. Once we get down to the top fifteen candidates, then Princess Rosalina will take over as the one to choose who goes home. She will decide by going to one-on-one dates that each of you will prepare. You will get to have alone time with the princess and you will get to see beyond her veil to see her true beauty beneath. This will continue until we have our top four. Does anyone have any questions?"

The collective "no" from all of us put a smile on his face. "What happens after we hit four will be seen as we get to it. Each of you has a room prepared for you, supplied with clothes and maids to help you get settled into living here. Princess Rosalina, any words to our guests before you remove your veil and we bring out the big surprise?" He asked her, and I practically felt the eye roll from across the room.

"Challengers, this battle will be tough, since I have history with each of you," I could feel her eyes on me from under that veil. It felt so off putting and awkward that we could all only see part of her face. "Thank you all for doing this without ever having seen what I truly look like, it means a lot to see each of you here, but only one shall rein victorious, will it be you?" She asked, and I chuckled. Rose had always been one for the dramatic, and I was seeing Rose in her more and more by the day, yet I knew deep in my soul that it wasn't her, but I couldn't admit that to Kai and Levi who were both hoping we could find the truth by getting close to her.

"With her words, it's time for her unveiling. Rosalina, will you do that honors?" He asked, turning to his daughter. She smiled lightly and we all watched her pull of the light blue veil. Her dress was a mix of blues that opened up in the front at around her mid-thigh and flowed down like a waterfall. As she pulled it off I noticed her makeup was light, yet it only accented her features, not changed their appearance. Her eyes were their normal sapphire color and they shined in the lights that accented her features. I felt the energy in all the boys change, from normal to aroused in just seconds. I felt a growl working its way up my throat, but I choked it back down as I stared at her.

"Now, for the surprise of the evening. Open the doors!" We all turned towards the main doors and my eyes widened as I saw her. Her brown hair was wavy and thrown over her shoulder. Her dress was the same style as Rosalina's but it was in reds instead of blues. Her makeup was lighter and the heels were bright scarlet that were opposite of the other girl's, but her facial features were what truly threw me into a freak out.

"Angel?"