Disclaimer: I do not own the X-men or anything associated with them…

A/N: Here's a little Halloween one-shot that wouldn't let me be until I wrote it. This is also my first attempt at anything more mature in nature... This story is roughly based on the French myth of the les dames blanches.

La Dame Blanche

By: Kayleespade

"Her touch has rendered me helpless,

Her trust weakens the chains of the past.

Dare I believe in the love she offers?

Have I found an end to this emptiness at last?

"'Ello?" Remy pulled his horse to a stop and stared out into the dense woods. Maybe it was a trick of the moonlight. Maybe not.

A fraction of a second and a shadow seemed to move between the trees. Quick and silent. It closed in and a tickle ran down the center of his spine. Grasping the reins tighter in his fists, he spurred the horse on at a fast gallop towards the brooding gateway that would lead to Castle Darkholme. His new home.

The black cloak he wore billowed out as he leapt from his mount and ran to the heavy oak doors of the castle, as the wind blew back his hood revealing long auburn hair highlighted by moonlight. Slamming the doors behind him, he leaned back against the damp stones and sighed. Dieu, why am I here?

Why? The answer to that question seemed easy enough. He was abandoned in the desolate French countryside on account of the church. The townspeople feared the castle that loomed over their humble village and had asked the church for help. They wanted it expunged…purified. An evil lurked there in the darkness, hiding in the shadows. Men, hunting amongst the woods and hills, disappeared. Their bodies would be found later, drained of blood and badly mangled, lying on the side of a path or beside the ashes of their campfires.

Pushing himself away from the wall, Remy untied his dark cloak and placed it on the floor. He walked through the narrow hallways of the castle and saw sparse furnishings covered with dust and cobwebs. He lit several torches as he went and listened to his footfalls echoing down the corridors. The only remaining bed was in one of the tower rooms, so Remy prepared it as his own. Hopefully, it would be a short stay.

As he prepared for bed, he removed his priestly collar and placed in on the ornate bedside table. The sheets were new…the only personal items he had brought on this assignment. It had been a long ride from Paris to the remote hamlet, and he quickly drifted off.

She wanted him…no, needed him. They had been apart for so many centuries, but now he returned to her. Anna sat in front of the huge fireplace that dominated her bedroom, hidden in an unknown passage of the castle. She stared into the flames, but it was Remy's image that filled her vision. Vivid eyes tender with love. Long auburn hair. Lips that reminded her of his kiss. A kiss that she hadn't felt in four centuries.

He looked just as he had all those years ago.

Remy…

A whispered voice reverberated through the room. Remy woke with a start, but found nothing but shadows and a chill in the air.

Remy Etienne…

Remy pushed the sheets back and stepped over to the window that overlooked the courtyard below. It was a bright moonlit night and the silvery strands of light fell from the clouds onto the ground some way below. A lantern light was visible and a figure came and went in front of it. It was a woman dancing in the gloom.

Remy looked at her moving shadow in amazement. As his eyes became more accustomed to the darkness, he saw that she was tall and very beautiful. Her long hair stretched down her back and was highlighted by two exotic white strands that framed her delicate face. She was so very pale.

Seeing him standing in the window above, she beckoned to him to come forward and join in her dance, and, almost against his will, Remy leaned farther out the window. The woman moved, and in a ray of moonlight he saw her smile. Long pointed fangs glistened in the light.

In horror, Remy retreated from the window, locked the heavy wooden shutters, and kneeled. Being a good Catholic, he crossed himself and called upon the Name of the Virgin and kissed his crucifix. When he rose to his feet and cracked open the window once more, the lantern light was gone and the woman had vanished, leaving only the faint reek of sulfur behind…a hint of the creature's links with the Infernal Regions.

The next day, Remy spent his time cleaning the castle and erecting a small altar in his bedroom. For added protection against the evil he felt working, he collected iron…nails, tacks, and other small items. Although not supported by his church, iron was a protection from great antiquity, and he was willing to employ everything in his power to complete his mission. As night fell, an eerie chill crept through the stonework of the castle and a shiver ran down his spine. Deciding to seek sanctuary in his room, Remy ascended the stairs, but a sharp breeze swept down the corridor. Silently and unbeknownst to him, his crucifix fell away from his neck, landing on the cold floor.

After completing the prescribed recitations and fortifying his thoughts against the events of the past day and previous night, Remy drifted to sleep…and dreamed. He dreamed of a woman with haunting emerald eyes. She came to him and slowly pulled the sheets away from his body.

In all his years, he had never been tempted by a woman, but she was different. Something pulled him to her like nothing before.

Moving slowly, she straddled him and lifted a lock of his hair. Soft, she mused, so soft. She let the fine strands trickle through her fingers and then, unable to help herself, she stroked his cheek, let her fingertips slide down the length of his neck to rest lightly on the pulse throbbing slow and steady in his throat. Heat rushed through her fingertips.

She leaned down, their lips almost touching. "Sleep, Remy," she whispered. "Dream and remember." She brushed a lock of hair away from his neck, placed her hands lightly on his shoulders. "Rest well."

Slowly, she bent her head toward him, her tongue stroking the warmth of his skin. Remy moaned softly as her teeth grazed his throat. "Sleep, darlin'," she murmured. "You have nothin' to fear. It's only a dream…"

Remy did dream that night. He dreamed of a castle and a beautiful woman. He was there, but instead of his priestly robes, he wore a knightly suit of armor. In his heart, he knew he loved the woman of the castle.

His dream was full of love and tender moments, each seemed as real as the next.

In the morning, Remy woke feeling oddly lethargic after a good night's sleep. Sitting up, he felt faintly dizzy. The strange dreams haunted him, and he became determined to learn more about the history of the castle and this woman who called out to his soul.

Searching through the dust covered volumes housed in the castle's library, he finally found what he was searching for. In a large leather-bound manuscript, Remy read a short account of events that took place years ago involving a young woman and her knight. Anna Marie was the youngest daughter of a wealthy French lord. Noted for her beauty, she was sought after by all the young nobles of the land, but she only had eyes for her protector, a knight under the service of her family. Forbidden to be together, they had a secret affair, but the walls of the castle couldn't be silenced. Her father learned of their love and forced Anna to choose a husband from her class.

Anna refused, but her father chose a husband for her and banished the knight from his land. On the way to her wedding, Anna's caravan was attacked by highwaymen. Her knight rode from the woods and came to her aid as he had always sworn to do. While protecting his love, he was impaled through the heart by one of her father's own knights. As he slipped from this life to the next, Anna held him in her arms, swearing her eternal love.

Remy dreamed of Anna that night, dreamed that she was there, in his room, sitting beside him on the bed, her long hair floating over them like a shroud as she bent her head toward him. In the uncertain light of his room, her eyes seemed to glow. He felt her hands grip his shoulders, felt her lips at his throat, felt a lassitude steal over him as her teeth grazed the skin of his neck. Sensual pleasure mingled with pain. He moaned softly as her hands tightened on his arms. And then her voice, whispering in his ear.

"Only a dream, Remy," she murmured, her voice hypnotizing him with its power. "Only a dream…"

His eyelids fluttered down, but not before he saw her rise from his bed like a dark mist. He blinked once, and she was gone, as if she'd never been there.

But, of course, it was only a dream.

As the days passed, Remy continued his recitations throughout the castle and practiced the procedures prescribed to him by the church. With each night and each visit, however, he felt his will weaken. He was a priest and had sworn his vows. He was a man of his word, but the woman that visited his dreams at night threatened those sacred oaths.

Anna knew this would be the night she would be with her knight once again. After all the centuries apart, she couldn't wait any longer and the time had finally come. She and Remy could be together…forever.

She stripped out of her clothes and then, wrapped only in a shawl, she appeared in Remy's tower room.

Remy drew in a deep breath. He had known she would seek him out, had sensed her presence long before she stepped into view. But he had not been prepared for the sight that greeted his eyes. Silver moonlight danced in her hair like fairy dust, caressed her face, her long slender legs. A lacy white shawl that revealed more than it hid, covered her from her shoulders to her knees.

He sat up on the bed, his breath trapped in his throat.

She took a step toward him.

For the first time, hunger and desire rose up within him, hotter than the flames of an endless, fiery hell.

She was Venus rising from the sea, Eve before she tasted the apple.

"Anna?" Her name whispered past his lips, soft as a sigh. The last desperate prayer of a dying man.

He wrapped the blanket more tightly around him.

"Good evenin', Remy," she said, and let go of the shawl.

It slid to the floor, pooling around her feet like star dust, and he was tempted to do the same, to drop to his knees and worship her beauty, to beg her forgiveness. Surely such a goddess could absolve him of his sinful thoughts.

"Leave." It was not a demand, but an urgent plea for salvation.

Slowly she walked toward him, and it seemed as if the moonlight followed her.

"Anna…"

"Ah love you," she said softly.

"Don't." He tried to draw his gaze from her face, from the sheer beauty and perfection of her slender figure. Her breasts were high and firm, her belly flat, her waist so narrow he was sure he could span it with his hands.

She was the first completely naked woman he had ever seen, the first woman who had professed to love him. The first who had begged for his touch.

He waged a silent inner battle, the last vestiges of honor at war with his rising lust.

"Darlin'?" Her voice was soft and sweetly entreating as she reached a tentative hand toward him. "Remy?"

The sound of his name on her lips was like music to his ears.

"Anna, please." He forced the words past a throat gone dry. "Please don't do dis t' me. I'm afraid…"

Slowly, she lowered her arm. "You, my knight? Afraid?" Disbelief flickered in her emerald eyes.

"I can't." He pulled the blanket around him, as if to shield him from harm. "I'm not who you want me t' be. I can't"

He wanted to run away, to leave her before it was too late, but the yearning in her eyes held him spellbound. No woman had ever looked at him with such longing, such tender regard.

Anna stared at him. A breeze blew through the room, ruffling the curtains, and she smiled slyly. The next thing Remy knew, she appeared above him out of the shadows. She held herself above him as she stared down at her lips. She ran one cold finger down his cheek. "Yes, you can. You're mine and Ah'm yours."

He shivered even though a part of him found her weight strangely enticing.

Anna cocked her head as she studied him. She moved her hand from his face to the cloth laces that fell from the neck of his priestly robes. She took one in her hands and rubbed it between her fingers. "Why do you not want meh?"

"Anna, if I could have but one wish, it would be t' make love t' y' here and now. But I can't." He saw the questions in her eyes. "It has nothing t' do with y'. Believe me when I say I want y' as I've wanted no other woman, but I've taken my vows."

Anna just stared at him. Those green eyes of hers taunted and defied him still.

"Kiss meh, Remy."

"No." But even as the word escaped his lips, he leaned up toward her against his will as if enchanted.

His heart racing, his head lifted up ever so slightly to place his lips to hers.

Anna fisted her hand in the blankets of his bed as Remy's hesitant tongue swept against her lips. Cradling his head in her left hand, she laid her body down so that she could feel every inch of his body pressed against her.

Yes, this is what she wanted. Her knight.

Remy.

Closing her eyes, she savored the rich sent of spice and man as he sank his hand into her hair. He stroked her with a gentle, caring touch.

Remy's robes melted from his body as Anna moved from his mouth to bury her lips against his throat where his dark whiskers tickled her skin. The coldness of her naked flesh sent chills over him even as desire heated his body. It was such a strange sensation…hot and cold clashing inside and out of him.

He should be afraid of this, yet he wasn't. Anna had been right, he was changing his destiny by being with her. The church would never again want him. They would throw him out. There was no way to return to the life he'd known. The life he'd intended to live. It had ended the moment he'd walked through the doors of Castle Darkholme.

Anna bit into his neck. In that instant, all reality faded away and they were once again as they had been four centuries before. Remy was no longer a priest, but her knight. He returned her embrace with fervor. "Anna…"

"Remember, Remy…" She lifted her lips to his. "Remember us."

And he did. Reaching up, he cupped her face in his hands. She was so beautiful in the moonlight. His heart softening, he brushed the hair back from her face an instant before he kissed her. She moaned at the taste of him. He pulled back to give her a look so tender that it brought an ache to her chest. "Je t'aime, chere."

Her eyes were dark and hungry as she dipped her head toward his and captured his lips with her own. Remy sighed into the kiss. How could've he forgotten such a woman? She pressed her body closer to his as her tongue swept against his. Nothing had ever tasted better than her knight.

Instinctively, she pressed herself against him, wanting to be closer. Wanting to hold him for fear of losing him again. She caressed the smooth lines of his chest, and felt as if she were on fire. His breathing was harsh and erratic, his hands restless as they slid up and down her sides, his fingers brushing against the curve of her breast.

His hand cupped her buttocks, drawing her close against him, letting her feel the visible evidence of his desire. It had been four hundred years since she had felt passion like this, known such longing, such need.

She whispered his name, wanting him to touch her everywhere at once. A low growl rose in his throat as her hand boldly caressed his thigh. Hunger and desire pounded through her, and with them the knowledge that the waiting of four hundred years was about to come to an end.

She was warm wine and honey in his arms, intoxicating and sweet, and he knew that if he lived a thousand years, he would never forget this night.

Anna cried out his name as all thought, all reason, was swept aside in a whirlpool of sensation. She felt loved, cherished, protected, but it was more than that and she knew…knew…that what she shared with Remy was far beyond what she would have ever experienced in the arms of another man.

Love and longing and flesh merged together. She sensed he was holding back, knew he was afraid of hurting her. Closing her eyes, she felt her soul blend with his, and as her passion bloomed, she let her heart speak to his, assuring him of her love, promising that he would never be alone again.

For a moment, they were overwhelmed by their shared feelings…the loneliness of four centuries, the constant yearning for that which was forbidden, and then, swept up in an ocean of need, Anna plunged over the abyss into ecstasy, Remy's name a cry on her lips as she convulsed beneath him.

Second's later, Remy felt the quick sharp bite of her teeth at his throat, felt a wave of heat surge through him that blended with the shudders of pleasure rippling through every fiber of his being. Never had he felt such exquisite rapture. Warmth spread through him. He was drifting, floating in a hazy world of sensation, drowning in a sea of crimson silk…

"Remy? Remy?"

Her voice drew him back to reality. He shook his head, wanting to sink deeper into the scarlet cocoon.

"Are you alright?" Anna asked, stroking his cheek.

Slowly, his eyelids fluttered open and he smiled up at her, his ruby eyes glowing with pleasure. "I've never been more alright in all my life, mon chere."

Gently, tenderly, she ran her tongue over the tiny wounds in his neck. They would be gone soon. "Now, we can be together always, love," she whispered. "After all these long years…finally together."

"Je t'aime, chere," he whispered, his voice raw with emotion. "Y'll never know how much y' mean t' me."

"You could show me, darlin'," she said with a beguiling smile.

"I'll do my best," he murmured, brushing his lips across hers. "So long as we live."

A/N: I hope you enjoyed! Please let me know what you thought!