Disclaimer: I do not now nor have I ever owned Chrno Crusade or the characters of Chrno Crusade.

A/N: This is my first Chrno Crusade fic. It is based mostly on the anime but might have a little bit of the manga in there, too. The prologue is a different POV from the rest of the story.

A Promise to Keep

Prologue

It had been fifty two years since their deaths when I saw him again. Aion. I knew then that it wasn't over. I knew that in some way, history was going to repeat itself. Even knowing that, I wasn't prepared for what I would find thirteen years later. Nothing could have prepared me. Not even an angel can be prepared to come face to face with someone they lost a lifetime ago, especially not on earth. But now I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me start at the beginning.

My name is Ewan Remington. I am not unlike an angel. Many years ago I was part of the Magdalene Order, a quasi-religious group assembled to fight devils and prevent the destruction of the world. That probably sounds pretty dramatic to you but it's all true. Amongst this group was a very unusual pair, a young female exorcist, named Rosette Christopher and her devil partner, Chrono. Rosette's reason for joining the order was to help her in her search for her brother who was stolen away by the devil Aion. You would think such an event would truly turn her against all devils, yet she bound herself to Chrono, who also bore a grudge against Aion, and she and Chrono were closer than an two living beings I have ever known. And I have lived a long, long time.

After the final battle with Aion, Rosette and Chrono disappeared and my guilt led me to leave the order to look after Rosette's brother, who had been left with the mind of a child. Six months later Rosette and Chrono were found together at a small cabin they had been living in. Their lives had ended. The year was 1929.

In the year 1981 I discovered that Aion had not perished in that fight as everyone believed. I discovered this when I caught a glimpse of him at the Vatican. In the years between Rosette and Chrono's deaths and the return of Aion I had not returned to the Magdalene Order but I had kept in touch with those who were still training. At this point, however, nobody was ready to believe that Aion was still alive.

Also within those fifty two years I had begun, in tribute to Rosette, begun to make regular visits to several orphanages to bring gifts or tell stories to the children. It is because of this that in the year 1994 I received the biggest shock of my long and eventful life.

I June of that year, I was visiting a small orphanage in Michigan when a young girl caught my eye. My first glimpse of her was from afar and I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Then I began to notice some very familiar mannerisms as well. This intrigued me and I approached the girl. It was then that I realized this was no trick of the eyes. This young girl was in fact the spitting image of the girl I had once known, Rosette Christopher.

When I asked the proprietress about the girl I was told she was a five year old named Rosette with a younger brother at the orphanage. I also learned that she had been born sixty years to the day after I learned of Rosette Christopher's death. I decided at that moment that I would watch over this Rosette and her brother as I had been unable to watch over the Christophers. I decided to end my wandering and adopt this young brother and sister. The proprietress then introduced me to young Rosette. As I reached down to shake her hand, the girl looked up at my face. Her eyes grew wide and she spoke, "Father?"

It was a title I had not used in years and didn't feel I deserved any longer. It shocked me to the core. Therefore, I told her that even though I hoped to adopt her and her brother, I had no wish to be called father again. I asked her to simply call me Ewan, as Joshua Christopher had so long ago. This young girl gave me a quizzical look but complied with my wishes. I let myself believe that she was simply longing for a family and latched on to me as a father figure.

As the years moved on, Rosie (I couldn't bear to call her Rosette any more than I could bear to have her call me Father) gave signs to those around her that she was more than just the girl I discovered in the orphanage. She had what most people would have called a vivid imagination, describing monsters that I myself could picture all too well. Often she would have dreams that she felt were like fragments of memories. Still, most people shrugged it off, so I did as well.

Though I had taken myself away from the Magdalene Order, I felt that it might be the proper place for Rosie to receive her education. This, brought about some unforeseen complications. While studying history, she came across the story of Rosette and Chrono. It fascinated her. She wanted to learn more. She sought out people who had known Rosette Christopher and questioned them. She wanted to know what had happened to Joshua Christopher, to Azmaria Hendricks, to Sisters Kate, Mary, Anne, and Claire. Despite all this though, she never, to my knowledge, asked about either her namesake or the devil, Chrono.

I never really thought to question this, it was an amazing story, until one day when Rosie was about ten years old. I took her to visit the now aged Azmaria. The old woman was also given quite a shock at Rosie's resemblance to the woman she had once known. She still, however, spent an afternoon patiently answering questions and telling her life story. When we left, Rosie remarked to me, "She doesn't look like the picture I have in my head." Even then, I only had the briefest inkling that something unusual was happening.

No, the picture didn't really begin to fall into place until about two years ago. Strange and terrifying things began to occur throughout the world. In the midst of all the turmoil, Rosie's brother went missing. Then I finally began to realize that what I feared that day I saw Aion was coming true. History was repeating itself. But, there was still a bigger surprise yet to come.