Disclaimer: I don't own them! All I own is Rose.
A/N: Happy Halloween! My first AU fic, a little nervous to be honest. Just to let you know it is centered around like 17th century. Hope you all like it and have a vunderbar Halloween! I know I will. Enjoy.
The teenage girl swung her legs slightly back and forth as she sat on her hand carved string, attached to a branch of their old willow tree by ropes; her blue satin dress billowing in the autumn wind as orange and red leaves fell to the ground around her. She had long, golden hair plaited in the back and round golden eyes that stared up at an 18th century castle curiously. It had been abandoned ten years ago since the last family had come sprinting out of the house saying some kind of "creature" was trying to kill them. But when people went up there with pitchforks an torches, no one, or thing, was there.
Though the case was dismissed and the house dubbed "haunted", the girl knew there was something more to the story then the officials had let on at the time. She had overheard her mother talking to her father the night after the incident when she was 7 years old that the couple who had run away from the house had had a son about 14 years old. The boy was never found making her think the parents were hiding something they didn't want others to know. Maybe this so- called "creature" was in fact their son who, like her, had special powers making the girl all the more curious and want to investigate. Though her parents would never approve, they rarely let her out in public because of her "gift" and were afraid people would hurt their daughter so she stayed home with her parents every day and every night.
Every night except for this night, Halloween, the most anticipated night of the year for her small town. Every year the town elected a couple randomly to host the traditional festival and her parents, despite their 17 years of bribing the officials, were selected to host this year's festival. Meaning she would be home alone, making it the perfect opportunity to sneak up to the "haunted house" and see who truly lived there and if he was like her. The young girl was going over her carefully devised plans once more when she heard a voice calling her name.
"Rose my child, where are you?" her mother called from the front door of their cottage.
"On my swing mother." Rose answered as she turned around in her wooden seat to see her mother coming down the yard from the house. Maggie Silverstone was a slim built woman with chestnut colored hair and beautiful brown eyes. Her face would look like a 40 year old woman, but her forehead was always wrinkled with worried lines and today was no different. She wore a long white dress with a skirt that stretched around her to the ground, completely covering her feet. Rose sighed at the usual worried, exasperated look on her mother's face and knew what she would say, as it was the same every time she came out to her little swing for some time to herself.
"What are you doing out here by yourself? What if you were seen?" Maggie exclaimed, her hands on her hips as she looked at her daughter. "I've told you at least a hundred times to not go out on your own! What if someone saw you and took you away? Do you want to be taken away Rose? Is that what you really want? To get away from us?"
"No! Of course not!" Rose retorted angrily, jumping lightly off the swing to face her mother who was the same height as her. "Why would I want a thing like that? I just wanted some air, that's all. I just hate being stuck in the house all day, I mean I know I have to or I'll be taken away, but it's...hard."
"Look." her mother told her, her face softening at her daughter's pain. "I know you want to be outside with other children, but it's just not possible. Now, I need you to stay in the house tonight while your father and I are hosting the festival. Stay in the house. Do not go anywhere. Alright?"
"Alright." Rose agreed with a smile, but as her mother hugged her she held one hand behind her back with her fingers crossed.
"That's my girl." her mother smiled back and placed a kiss on her daughter's forehead. "Let's get you inside. I promise we'll be home as soon as possible. So just stay here."
"Yes mother. I get it already." Rose told Maggie as they headed up the lawn. "I'll stay home." But not the whole night, I know they won't be home until at least midnight and I'll be gone and back before then. No one will see me since they'll all be at the festival, it's the perfect time. Tonight I'll go up to that old castle and find out what really happened that night 10 years ago.
~Haunted House~
Rose waved goodbye to her reluctant parents leaving in the carriage for the festival as the sun disappeared behind the horizon. Then, as soon as they were gone, she grabbed her black shawl and headed out of the house; her feet crunched on fallen leaves as she headed up the stony path to the castle.
Her breath came out in gasps of air that turned cloudy in the frosty night air. Pulling her shawl tighter around her, Rose knocked on the castle's door with a brass knocker shaped like...a badger maybe?
"Hello? Anyone home?" She called as she opened the door, revealing a grand lobby covered in dust and cobwebs. There was a long staircase across the room that led to the upper floors or so she guessed since she could barely see, None of the candles were lit and the only light in the room came from the waning moon outside peering in through the stain glass window above the door. She stepped inside onto the faded carpet as the doors shut behind her, making her jump as she backed up to the stairs. "H-hello? Is anyone here? I'm..."
"Don't scream." warned a low voice behind her as she felt a large, warm hand come over her mouth. She swallowed back a scream that had begun to rise in the back of her throat and closed her eyes, concentrating on sending vibrations out of her body and into her attacker's arm; making it vibrate so violently that he let her go grasping his arm. "What the hell did you do?"
"Get your hand off my mouth." She replied, turning around to face her attacker, though sh could still not see him because of the glare from the moon off the glass. "Geez, it's dark in here. Ever heard of lighting a candle?"
"Don't try and change the subject." he told her. "What did you do?"
"I would like to tell you, but can't we do it sitting in a more comfortable setting with some light?" Rose asked him as she heard him grumble something and put on her best puppy dog face which worked on everyone except when she asked her parents to go outside. "Please?"
"Fine." he surrendered after a lot of mumbling. He went over to the door and grasped the torch next to it then brought a match from the pocket of his shirt and lit the torch creating a bright light and revealing his features. He was a tall, muscular man with indigo blue hair that was shaped like a W, blue eyes, a white button up shirt with the top button undone, and black slacks and shoes. He walked past her and strode across the now lit vast lobby to a side room and turned back. "Ya coming or not, Goldilocks?"
"Goldilocks?" she repeated confused at first as he sighed and pointed at her hair. "Oh, right. But you know I do have an actual name, Devil-horns."
"Yeah and what may that be?" he asked her as she followed him into the parlor. The once beautiful walls were yellow with age and everything was covered in dust including the furniture. Though the man did not seem to care as he plopped himself on the couch watching her with some amusement as she looked at the chair next to it uncertainly. "You can sit, ya know. Though I wouldn't be surprised if ya were afraid of me. I'm surprised you even came up here since most folks think this old place is haunted. Why did ya come up here?"
"I'm not afraid of you." Rose told him truthfully as she carefully sat down. "My name's Rose, Rose Silverstone. I live in the cottage down the road. I've always wondered what happened here ten years ago and have wanted to come investigate, but I never got the chance until now."
"Why's that?" he asked curiously.
"You know how I made you're arm vibrate a moment ago?" she asked him as he nodded. "Well, I have these special powers. I can run faster than anyone else, almost disappearing all together and I can make things shake especially when I get emotional. But that's not all, I don't look normal either."
"Ya look normal to me." He replied.
"That's because I have my mother's concealer on." Rose explained as he looked at her curiously. She sighed as she took out a handkerchief and wiped at the left side of her face that had been peach and revealed dark, round spots from the crown of her head to the base of her neck. "See? I don't look normal. That's why my parents want me to stay in the house so no one will see me and take me away."
"So yer a prisoner." he grumbled.
"Like you." she murmured as he glanced at her. "You're that boy aren't you? The one they never found. You've been living up here for all this time without anyone noticing. You have a special power too don't you? What's your name anyway?"
"Ya like to ask questions don't ya?" he asked her with a soft smile as she blushed slightly. "Yeah, I'm that boy who got ditched by his parents ten years ago when I got my 'powers'. My name's Logan."
"What's your power?" she asked.
Logan sighed and flexed his left hand, bone claws extended from his knuckles. "My father was drunk ad came home attacking my mother that night like any other night except for this time I felt a red hot anger bubble up inside me until I was standing in between them and had my claws. After that, well...I've been here ever since."
"All by yourself? That must have been hard. " Rose said as she suddenly came up with an idea. "I have an idea. Why don't you come live with me?"
"Yeah, right." He scoffed. "I don't think you're parents would want another problem to deal with so they can put on the face that they're 'normal'."
"They aren't like that." She retorted indignantly as he raised an eyebrow. "They aren't. I know they aren't."
"Ya? If they weren't then why would yer mother have ya put on that concealer when you don't go outside?" Logan asked her as she lowered her eyes. "See? What kind of parents don't accept their own daughter?"
"You're right." she murmured reluctantly. She knew this had been the truth, but didn't want to believe it. Her parents did not love her, they only saw her as a problem. "Then how about we run away together?"
"Where would we go?" He asked.
"How about a place where mutants are accepted and can live in peace?" asked a voice from the doorway making both of them jump. An elderly, bald man with gentle grey eyes in a wheel chair stood there.
"Mutants?" repeated Rose.
"People with incredible gifts due to the X-gene." the man explained.
"Who are ya?" demanded Logan, standing up. "What do ya want?"
Relax Logan, My name is Professor Charles Xavier. I am a mutant like yourselves with the power to read minds and talk to people with my mind. I am merely offering you to stay at my mansion where you can live in peace with other mutants and learn more about your gifts.
"I don't know." muttered Logan.
"I think we should." Rose said as he looked at her. "Look, I'm sick of this place and so are you. I say we take up his offer."
"Alright." he surrendered as he grumbled something that sounded like a threat making her smile. 'Let's go."
A/N: And that's it! Hope you liked it and hope you have a marvelous Halloween! Just as a note to some of my readers Same Old Nightmare is the next to be updated. Happy Halloween! And until next time, read, review, and show the love!