AN: And this is for Maya-chan2007 who requested Beauty and the Beast.

Chapter One: Rogue's version

There was once a merchant, Charles, who had three daughters, Jean, Kitty and Anna. Unfortunately, the merchant had fallen on hard times after his ships had disappeared at sea. Many months after they disappeared, Charles received word that one of his ships had survived after all, and he made plans to meet with it. Before he left, he asked his three daughters what they would like for him to bring back.

"Jewels," said Jean.

"Clothes," said Kitty.

"A red rose," said Anna.

"Typical," the Professor muttered. "Once again I'm not King, and the students still think I'm made of money."

"I see, so we're materialistic sisters this time, huh?" Jean commented dryly.

"... But I like pretty clothes," Kitty said.

"Why am I asking for flowers?" Rogue asked.

"I like flowers too."

"And where's Remy?"

Oh he's around.

"I distrust that smug tone."

Thus Charles took off for port. Unfortunately when he got there he discovered that the ship had been seized to pay off his debts.

"I have debts?" the Professor questioned and then coughed. "Oh yes, I have debts. Do you have any idea how much it costs to keep the mansion running and looking after all those students and teachers and operating the danger room? I know I got this inheritance, but seriously people!"

"Charles, I think you're confusing the fairy tale with real life," Magneto said dryly.

As a result, he was unable to buy his daughters the gifts they'd asked for.

On his way home, however, Charles became lost in the forest. As Charles sort urgently to find his way, he stumbled upon a castle. Seeing no resistance, Charles entered the castle. Inside he found food and drink, and a roaring fire. He sat down by the fire to warm himself, all the while growing increasingly hungry. He eventually gave into temptation and helped himself to the food before settling down for a night's sleep.

In the morning Charles found breakfast waiting for him when he woke. This he ate and then finally prepared to leave the castle. As he went outside, however, he noticed many red roses growing in the gardens. Remembering that Rogue had asked for one, he sought out the most beautiful rose he could find. No sooner than has Charles plucked it, however, than a hideously ugly beast -

"Oooh I've never heard Remy described as a 'hideously ugly beast' before," Rogue giggled.

Ahem, as I was saying.

No sooner than has Charles plucked it, however, than a hideously ugly beast came running towards him and roared fiercely.

"You! How dare you! I give you food and shelter and you steal from me!" shouted Sabretooth.

"Sabretooth!" was the combined exclamation of pretty much everyone in the viewing room.

Sabretooth chuckled and grinned at Rogue.

"You and me, baby."

"Nooooooo!" Rogue wailed.

"It's your own fault," Jean said once she recovered from the shock. "You're the one who kept rejecting Remy all the time."

"Yeah, where is Remy?" Kurt asked.

"Chellerbelle probably had to lock him up when he found out that Sabretooth was playing the Beast," Scott snickered.

"How do you lock up a thief?" asked Evan. "Especially a thief who can blow stuff up?"

"Now let's see," Sabretooth smirked. "How does the Cajun usually do this?"

"Ohhhh noooo," Rogue said, backing off and shaking her head vigorously. "You're not coming anywhere near me."

"I most humbly apologise," said Charles. "It is only... my youngest daughter asked for a rose -"

"Oh you have a daughter do you? You shall leave here and send her to me!" Sabretooth decided.

"No -"

"Or I will kill you. You have three months. Either the daughter comes back here, or you do."

Sabretooth chuckled maliciously.

"Ohhhh Roguey..."

"I swear, if you come anywhere near me, I'll absorb you!"

Snikt.

"First he has to come through me," Logan said with a low growl.

"My pleasure," replied Sabretooth. "A fight with Wolverine, a roll in the hay with Rogue - "

"Ewwww," Kitty winced.

"Should turn out to be a good day."

Sabretooth sit down. Logan retract those claws. And Rogue? Remember to breathe, okay girl?

And thus it was with a heavy heart that Charles returned home. He told his daughters of the trouble with the ship and of the rose, and the deal made with the beast. Charles told them that he would return, but he wanted a chance to say good bye. Anna would hear none of it.

"It is for me that you took the rose," she said. "Therefore it is I who should go to the castle."

Charles argued with her about it, but in the end Anna had her way. It was with a heavy heart that Charles took her to the castle, and although he still tried to talk her out of it at the last minute, Anna was insistent.

"Question," Rogue said. "He let the Professor go, right? So what guarrentee does he have that either of us will come back?"

Umm, y'know the story doesn't actually say, so we're just assume that the beast threatened to hunt them down and kill them or something.

"Figures."

"Oh good you've arrived," said Sabretooth. "Come, I shall show you to your room."

"You will?" asked Anna, having figured that he was just going to eat her. "Okay."

"Oh I'll eat you all right," Sabretooth smirked.

"Is it just me," Rogue said thoughtfully as she ignored his comment. "Or does Sabretooth's voice sound funny?"

"My voice does not sound funny."

"Of course you do. This is your home now, so you may go anywhere you want, but you may not leave," Sabretooth went on.

"Like, Rogue, I think you might be right," Kitty said.

"It does sound different," Jean nodded.

"Dinner will be served in the dining room in an hour," he said finally as he opened up her bedroom door.

Anna stepped inside the bedroom, far more elegant and majestic than even the room she had while her father was still wealthy. She took a moment to survey the room, but when she turned to the beast to thank him, he was gone.

At dinner that night, Anna joined Sabretooth at the dinner table. As the meal progressed the beast looked to her and said:

"Will you marry me?"

"Ah ha!" Rogue yelled. "That's why Sabretooth's voice sounds funny! It's not his voice at all - it's Remy's!"

"Omigod! You're right," Kitty giggled.

"Noooo! Sabretooth has eaten Remy!" Jamie wailed.

"No I haven't," Sabretooth growled. "But I will once I get my hands on that saboteur. How dare he ruin my performance!"

Don't worry Jamie, Remy's safely tucked away in the sound booth doing a live dub. Sabretooth, I know this might be hard for you to do, but calm down. You may not kill or otherwise injure Remy. I need him to play the prince.

"But... but I'm the prince!"

No, you're the beast.

Wanda laughed.

"I so saw this coming," she giggled. "It's just like the Frog Prince all over again."

"And you didn't tell me?" Rogue demanded.

"It was much more fun watching you agonise over the prospect of being paired up with Sabretooth."

"Uhh, no," Anna replied.

The meal felt somewhat awkward after that.

"No kidding!" Rogue replied. "I wouldn't marry that hairball if he were the last 'man' on earth."

"So given a choice between Remy and Sabretooth?" Jean asked in a mocking tone.

"Shut up Jean."

The following day, Anna explored the castle. It was huge, and although it was filled with many rich furnishings, fine clothes, elegant works of art and other such things, it was terribly empty. Not once did Anna lay eyes on any of the servants who cleaned up after her or prepared the food or anything else.

That night at dinner, the beast once again asked Anna if she would marry him. Again she refused.

"Got that right," Rogue nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, rub it in," sulked Sabretooth.

As the months passed Anna and the beast became closer as they got to know each other better. Still every night the beast would ask her to marry him, and every night Anna would refuse.

"Why not?" he asked one night.

"Because I don't love you," she replied. "I do wish you'd stop asking me, or that I would love you, so that I didn't have to refuse you all the time. I shall gladly be your friend, though."

"Oh wow!" giggled Kitty. "Sabretooth has a friend."

"Shut up," Rogue said.

The beast seemed to think this over for a time and finally said:

"Well then, will you promise never to leave me?"

Anna might have agreed, but in amongst the things the beast had given her was a magic mirror. Through this mirror Anna could see anything she wanted, and she used it frequently to see her family. She had seen that her father was worried sick about her, quite literally.

"I don't know if I can do that," Anna replied. "I want to see my father and if you don't let me it would break my heart."

"On the count of three, one two, awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww," Kitty giggled.

"You just can't help yourself, can you Kitty?" Rogue said.

"Nope."

"Then go," the beast replied. "But you must promise me you'll come back in a week's time, else I will die of sorrow."

"Of course," Anna agreed.

Thus it was that Anna was given the mirror and a ring that would transport her back to the castle. With great joy she returned home, with presents for all the family.

Charles, of course, was greatly happy to see his daughter again and to know that she was all right. He could scarcely believe that she and the beast had become friends but was grateful nonetheless. Her sisters, on the other hand, were bitterly jealous of how beautiful and happy Anna was while they had been living so poorly. Thus they conspired together to persuade her to stay an extra day in the hope that when she returned to the castle the beast would be so angry with her for breaking her promise that he would eat her.

"Vindictive much?" Jean asked.

Don't complain to me. You're lucky I'm not adopting the version where Beauty's sisters marry men that don't appreciate them.

So it was that Anna was persuaded to stay and extra day, but on that save eve she sought him out in the mirror only to find him dying in the gardens. Greatly frightened, Rogue said goodbye to her family, then used the ring to transport herself back immediately. She ran out into the gardens to find him. The gardens were large and the sky getting darker but she did eventually find him. She knelt down beside him.

"I thought... you had... forgotten your... promise..." he said.

"I'm sorry," she replied. "I'm so, so, so sorry. Please don't die."

"It is... too late."

"No! No, you can't die," Anna wept. "I love you."

"Ewwwww," Jubilee said.

"Rogue loves Sabretooth!" sang Jamie. "Rogue loves Sabretooth!"

"I do not!" Rogue objected.

Her tears fell onto the beast's body and before her very eyes he transformed into a handsome prince.

"Because princes look so much different from guys who aren't princes," Jean joked.

"Remy!" Rogue yelled.

She ran across the room to where Gambit stood at the doorway and jumped into his arms.

"I'm guessing you missed me, cherie," he grinned at her.

"Shut up and kiss me."

"But.. but how?" asked Anna. "Where's the beast?"

"I was the beast," Prince Remy replied. "I once refused to give shelter from the rain to a fairy, and in return for my selfishness she transformed me into a beast. Only by finding true love could the spell be broken."

"Aww," Kitty said. "That's like, sooooo sweet."

"Would you two get a room?" Scott said in disgust as he looked at Rogue and Gambit.

"Well," Gambit replied, pulling away from Rogue for only a moment. "If you insist..."

Hey, you need to hang around for the end of the story first!

And as the castle and its servants were returned to their former glory, the prince asked her one more time:

"Will you marry me?"

"Yes, I will," she replied.

Thus Anna and Prince Remy were married, and all her family joined them for the celebrations. And they lived happily ever after.

"And that's the fourth time they've gotten married. Although I think this is the first time we've actually gotten a proposal," Jean mused.

"Hey Chellerbelle, do you have this unnatural fascination with the word 'thus'? Because you seem to use it a lot," Evan nodded.

I like the word 'thus'. Thus. Thus. Thus. Just rolls off the tongue.

"Speaking of tongue," Kitty giggled. "It's nice to see you two finally got together. Like, didn't know what you had 'til it was gone, Rogue?"

"Later, I'm busy," Rogue replied.

"Say Roguey," said Gambit. "Wanna see the sound room?"

"Why would I want to... oh. Oh! Suuuuure I'd love to see where you've been hanging out all show."

"Can I see too?" asked Jamie.

"Umm, no," Storm cut in, putting her hand on Jamie's shoulder as Rogue and Gambit left the room. "I don't believe there's enough room for three in there."

"But I'm only little. And I promise not to duplicate myself."

"Tell you what, you and I can have a look later. Much later."