Circumstances Beyond Control IV
(NOTE: I wasn't planning on writing this one yet, but I guess it doesn't matter. All the stories will be written eventually. At any rate, this here is the story of Theoren Marceaux, one of the older members of the Thieves Guild. You will notice some changes, as I have learned more about the Guild members since I wrote the first three stories. I don't own any of the characters, those lucky ducks at Marvel do. Please don't sue, it wouldn't be any good anyway, as I don't have any money.)
***
Claude Potier awoke to the sound of someone screaming. Considering only two people lived in the apartment, him and his best friend Theoren Marceaux, and he wasn't screaming himself, he figured out pretty quickly that the person who was doing the screaming was Theoren. He frowned as he swung his legs out of bed and grabbed his bathrobe. Theo was having nightmares more and more frequently these days, and it bothered them both.
Claude walked down the hall to his friend's bedroom and opened the door quietly. He sighed as he saw Theoren tossing and turning on the bed, mumbling incoherently, the sheets twisted around his body. The only thing Claude could think of was that something in Theoren's subconscious mind was trying to tell him something. He sat down on the side of the bed and reached over, taking Theo's arms in his hands.
"Theoren!" he said sharply, shaking his friend gently. "Theo, wake up. C'mon, man, wake up."
Theoren awoke with a start, breathing heavily and shaking, his dark eyes wide with fear. "Dis has to stop."
"Tell me 'bout it. You ain' de only one not getting any sleep 'round here," Claude said, trying to joke with his friend to calm him down.
Theo cracked a small smile and managed to control his breathing. "You ever feel like you're goin' crazy?" he asked.
Claude tilted his head to one side and crossed his eyes, which made Theo laugh. "Um, in case you didn' realize it, dis whole Guild is crazy. I t'ink one of de prerequisites of joinin' is dat all potential members have to be at least half-crazy. An' it's only gotten worse since de unification."
"I s'pose you're right. I mean how else could anyone explain Gris Gris, Fifolet and Questa?" Theoren grinned.
"Do you feel like you're goin' nuts?" Claude asked.
"Yeah. Ever since dese dreams started, I do. I wish I knew why I'm havin' dem, what dey mean." Theoren sighed. "De t'ing is, I keep dreamin' 'bout somet'ing dat happened in my past, like I relive it over an' over in dese dreams. An' I don' know why."
Claude looked thoughtful. "Maybe you should talk to Tante Mattie 'bout it. She might be able to help you figure it out. Or you could always tell me what dey're all 'bout. I know you never did b'fore, but I also didn' ask. If you'd like to tell me, you can, you know. I'd be glad to listen, if it'll help you."
"T'anks…um…you feel up to startin' now?" Theoren asked, casting a sideways glance at his alarm clock. It said 2:17 a.m.
"Sure. I got no place else to be."
"Okay. Well, may as well start wit' tonight. Tonight's was de worst of de bunch anyways…" Theoren began.
***
"Okay, de coast is clear. Go on in guys, but be careful." Emil Lapin said into his headset. The twenty-one year old red-haired thief was the resident hacker of the Thieves Guild. His main specialty was bypassing security systems. Emil was the youngest member of the Guild, but he was by far the most qualified to get the thieves into the places they wanted to go.
This particular job was more surveillance than anything. The Guild was scoping out some houses in the New Orleans Garden District. They were looking for places to rob at later dates. They called this job tilling.
Standing by Emil by the computer system was Theoren. He was the Guild's other computer specialist, but his gig was more along the lines of getting information. Once Emil got past security systems, no piece of information on any computer was safe from Theo's eyes. The two often worked as a team and were friends of a sort, even though there was a large difference in their ages, and their personalities clashed frequently.
There was always a certain amount of danger involved when the Guild was doing anything, and tilling was no exception. Jean-Luc LeBeau, the Guild patriarch, was with Emil and Theoren; they were the only three who weren't out scouting houses. This particular house had all six of the remaining Guild members in it: Henri LeBeau, his wife Mercy (Jean-Luc's son and daughter-in-law) and Claude Potier were on the main floor. Remy LeBeau (Jean-Luc's younger son and Emil's best friend), Genard Alouette and Theoren's younger brother Etienne were on the second floor.
Things were moving smoothly for the six thieves, until Remy, Genard and Etienne triggered a silent alarm. They didn't realize it, of course, but Emil did.
"What de hell did you hit, guys?" he demanded, pointing at the screen so Jean-Luc and Theoren would know what was going on.
"Remy hit dat desk, 'Mil. Alarm goin' off?" Etienne replied shortly.
Emil rolled his eyes at the computer screen. "Du-uh! You guys gotta get outta dere, now. I'll make sure de others know." He said, changing frequencies so he could talk to Henri on the main floor of the house.
Henri clicked on his headset. "What's up, Emil?"
"Rem accidentally hit a silent alarm. You guys gotta scram, an' fast." Emil replied.
"Got it. T'anks." Henri replied. He, Mercy and Claude got out very quickly and waited in the bushes outside the house. But as the police cars showed up, and as the police headed into the house, Remy, Genard and Etienne were nowhere to be found, and the others had to leave to avoid being caught.
"Why aren' dey out yet?" Jean-Luc asked from his spot behind Emil. Theoren was standing beside him, the concerned look on Jean-Luc's face mirrored in his own.
"What do I look like, a magic eight ball?" Emil snapped, switching the frequency again and saying "Etienne, you wan' tell me what's keep ya in dere?"
"We're kinda trapped, Emil, lighten up." Etienne said sharply in return.
Emil blew air out through his teeth in frustration. "Okay, okay. Anyt'ing we can do?"
"Make de cops go 'way?" Etienne asked.
"Ehhh…no can do, mon ami. I guess you'll jus' have to get out on your own. Sorry." Emil replied.
"Dey out yet?" Claude asked, leading the way into the room, with Mercy and Henri right behind him.
Emil shook his head silently, watching the screens as the police started going through the house, guns drawn, looking for the intruders.
"Dey're trapped." Theoren said softly, answering his friend's question.
"Damn." Emil said suddenly, switching on the headset again. "Dey're comin' up de stairs, Etienne. Jump out a window! Hide! Don' jus' stand dere!"
Etienne didn't have time to reply as he, Genard and Remy found themselves trapped in the hallway of the second story of the house. The police were blocking them from the staircase, their only means of escape.
The three thieves looked at each other. "What now?" Genard asked.
Remy shrugged, then his red and black eyes lit up with an idea. Pulling two cards out of his pocket, he charged them with kinetic energy and let them fly. "Etienne, you take left, Genard an' I'll take right…an' run fast!"
As the cards exploded, momentarily blinding the police officers, they raced for the stairs. They ran down the steps as fast as they could, Remy still tossing charged cards back upstairs to keep the police away from them. At the bottom of the stairs, they ran into their next problem: more police officers with bigger guns.
"Dey jus' can' make dis easy on us once, can dey?" Remy sighed.
Back at the LeBeau mansion, the rest of the Guild was crowded around the computer screens, watching the drama unfold before them, worried expressions on their faces.
"I can' b'lieve we have to jus' stand here an' do not'ing…" Theoren commented in a low voice. He was worried about his brother more than he would let on. He and Etienne were very close, the only members of their family left.
"Dey'll be okay, Theo. As long as Remy doesn' run out of cards, dey'll be okay." Jean-Luc said in as confident and comforting voice as he could muster.
Theoren gave him an I-don'-b'lieve-you look, but managed a brief smile before concentrating on the computer screens again.
Back at the house, the police didn't give the two thieves a chance to come up with a workable plan. Before any of the three thieves could do anything, the police open-fired. Remy was able to leap out of the way, and land behind them, tossing cards left, right and center, creating a path for Genard to get through, but Etienne was trapped. Once Remy realized he was out of cards, there was nothing he and Genard could do but stand there and watch, just as they knew the rest of the Guild was watching back at the LeBeau mansion.
"NOOOOO!" Theoren screamed, his eyes glued to the screen. He had lost count of the number of bullets somewhere around eleven, but he knew most of them were now in his brother's dying body.
Emil, his blue eyes wide with horror, took off he headset and handed it silently to Theoren in case Theo wanted to say anything to Etienne before he didn't have a chance.
Theoren cast Emil a grateful glance. "Is it on?"
Emil nodded. "Oui," he whispered.
As Theoren put the headset on, Jean-Luc motioned for the others to join him at the back of the room, to give Theo some privacy.
"Etienne?" Theo said into the headset, praying that his brother still had his own headset turned on.
"Theo…" Etienne replied, his voice barely audible.
"Shhhh, don' talk. Jus' listen to me. Everyone's always been real proud of you, I guess for puttin' up wit' havin' me for a big brother. I wish I could help you, I wish I was dere, but I'm not, an' even Remy can' do anyt'ing an' he is dere." Theoren said, fighting back his tears. He'd lost so many people in his life, but none of those deaths had hurt him quite as much as this one was hurting. Seeing that his brother was fading fast, he continued quickly. "Etienne, I'm sorry for bein' a bully an' for not bein' wit' you right now. I love you, mon petit frere."
"I…love you…too…Theo…" Etienne struggled to say as the last breath of life drained from his body and he fell back on the floor of the hallway, silent and still.
Theoren bent his head, covering his face in his hands, unable to control his sobs. The rest of the Guild moved around to give him the support they knew he'd need, but they also knew it would be a long while before Theoren got over what had just happened.
***
"Whoa…" was all Claude could say as Theoren's voice drifted off into silence.
"I don' need to keep relivin' dat, you know?" Theo commented wryly.
Claude nodded. "How many times have you had dat one recently?"
"Tonight was de second time. Dere are others too. It's like I said, I keep relivin' t'ings dat happened in my past. I jus' don' know why."
Claude tilted his head. "You feel like sharin' another one, or would you rather wait until some other time?"
Theoren was silent for a few minutes, considering his friend's question. Then he finally sighed and replied,
"You're not fallin' asleep, are you? I mean if you're getting tired again, we can finish dis later."
"Non, I'm good. As long as you wan' talk, I'm here." Claude assured his friend.
"Hey do you 'member de trip to Florida we made a long time ago…?" Theoren asked suddenly.
Claude's eyes widened. "Non! Man, I haven' t'ought 'bout dat in forever! Dat was, what, twenty years ago now? Holy…!"
"Twenty-one dis year, actually. Time flies." Theo replied. "So you wan' make like a Survivor castaway an' go back to de island?"
"Sure."
***
The year was 1980. Jean-Luc decided to take some of the Thieves Guild to Florida for a vacation. Joining him in the Sunshine State were Henri, Mercy, Theoren, Etienne, Claude and the Guild's two youngest members, nine-year-old Genard and four-year-old Emil. The two children got to go with permission of their fathers, who decided to stay with the rest of the Guild back in New Orleans.
It was only natural that the two little ones had to go to Disney World. That was the main reason they had begged their fathers to let them go. However, not all of the others wished to take them, so the group ended up splitting up for most of the trip. Jean-Luc, Mercy and Etienne did the theme park tours with the boys while Henri, Theoren and Claude went to the coast and took sailing lessons.
The day before they were due to fly back home, the three sailors rented a boat. They were planning on taking a picnic lunch and going for one last sail before they were back to being swamp rats in Louisiana. Mercy and Jean-Luc passed up the chance to go with them, but Etienne agreed to go. As the four were getting ready to go, Jean-Luc was having a hard time trying to convince the two small boys that they didn't want to go.
He eventually gave up, and approached the others.
"You guys feel up to takin' dese two wit' you?"
The four men looked at the two little boys and smiled. Henri grabbed two spare life jackets and went over to the boys. "Rule number one: you put these on and never take them off unless we're on land. And rule number two: if we tell you do to something, you do it. You two understand dat?"
The two boys nodded their heads vigorously and Henri strapped them into the life jackets. Genard had no problem joining the others on the boat, but Emil was too small to get on by himself. He looked at Henri, who was right behind him, and with an innocent, almost pitiful expression on his small face, said,
"Help."
Henri chuckled. "You are too cute for words, you know dat?" he asked, lifting Emil up and into the boat.
As they got ready to shove off, Jean-Luc, standing on the dock with Mercy, said,
"You boys be careful, an' look after dose two, okay? When will you be back?"
"By six at de latest." Theo told him. Jean-Luc nodded and the sailboat drifted away from the dock with ease.
"How far are we gon' go?" Emil asked as he and Genard tried to make sense of the map Claude was looking at.
Claude smiled at the two little boys. "Well, go look out back an' tell me if you can see land anymore."
They raced back to the end of the boat and then came back, reporting to Claude that the land had disappeared. Claude then told them,
"We're goin' pretty far, but not far enough so dat we can' get back by de time we told Jean-Luc we'd be back."
The trip went smoothly, although eating lunch on a boat wasn't the easiest thing they had ever done. The two boys got a huge kick out of the whole experience as the boat drifted along and the waves kept knocking over the cans of pop.
As they put their picnic stuff away, the boys noticed something was wrong. Genard went over and tugged on Theoren's shirt, pointing at the ominous black storm clouds that were coming up very quickly. So quickly, in fact, that Theo had doubts as to whether they would get back to land before they got hit with the worst of it.
"It's gon' storm, guys! We should head back." He called to the others, who joined them on deck. As he said it, a huge clap of thunder sounded, causing Emil to let out a piercing scream and hide underneath one of the two chairs on the deck of the boat.
"It's only t'under, Emil." Genard scoffed as Henri knelt down by the chair and looked at the terrified little boy.
Emil glared at Genard from his spot under the chair. "I'm only four…I'm 'lowed to be scared of t'under."
"You certainly are!" Henri smiled, reaching under the chair and ruffling Emil's red hair playfully. He was very fond of the child and was secretly worried about what was going to happen before they got back to Florida.
"Henri, can we go home now?" Emil asked in a quiet voice as more thunder sounded around them and lightning flashed across the darkening sky.
"We're tryin' to do dat, kiddo, I promise. But I need you to come out from under dere, an' go inside with Genard an' Etienne, okay? It's safer in dere, we don' know how rough de sea is goin' to get."
Emil crawled out from under the chair. "'Kay."
"Well guys, dis is de test. We took de lessons, an' now we have to figure out how to get dis boat, not to mention ourselves, back to where we started, in once piece. I jus' hope we know what we're doin…" Theo commented.
The dark, angry sea swelled around the small boat, making it impossible for the three thieves to stand properly, let alone keep the boat from collapsing. Inside, where it was safer, but not dryer, Etienne kept the two small children close to him, half-realizing that his brother and friends were more scared than they were letting on.
"Y'know, I don' t'ink we get storms dis bad in Nawlins!" Claude yelled over the sound of the roaring ocean. As the waves gushed around them, he pitched forward, slamming into Henri, who pointed at the sail. It was ripped and coming off the mast.
"We're in trouble." Was all Henri got to say before the entire sail went flying away into the storm. There was a loud crack as the mast broke and nearly took off Theoren's head as it, too, blew away. The three friends gathered together to discuss the situation.
"D'you t'ink we should abandon ship?" Henri asked. "We don' know how far from any land mass we are; de map blew away ages ago."
"We're not 'xactly outta shape, Henri. We could swim a pretty far distance, even Etienne could." Claude commented.
Theoren shrugged. "But how would we hold onto de boys? It's dem I'm worried 'bout, not us. We can get out of dis situation. Dey can', not without our help."
As they continued discussing their options, the storm raged around them. Inside with Etienne, the two boys were crying from fear. All they wanted to do was go home and that was looking more and more impossible with every passing second. Etienne tried comforting them as best he could, but even he was starting to wonder if they were going to make it.
Suddenly there was a loud smash as the waves tossed the boat into something very solid. Henri was thrown from the boat, and when he hit the sharp rocks, his shoulder seared with pain.
"Aaaahhhh!" he yelled. "Land!" He got up in spite of his bleeding shoulder and got back on the boat, telling Etienne to help Theo and Claude get as much supplies as they could carry. He picked up Emil in his good arm and took Genard's hand with his free one.
"What happened?" Genard asked in a quiet voice as a terrified Emil buried his face against Henri's neck.
"We hit land, c'mon. Anyt'ing's better den stayin' on de boat, ne c'est pas?" Henri replied, taking the two boys off the boat.
Once on the land, they moved up away from the shoreline before Henri let the boys go. Claude was nowhere to be found.
"Where's Claude?" Henri demanded. He didn't like the fact that they'd only been stranded for thirty seconds and already one of them was missing.
"Gone to look for a cave or somet'ing. Relax." Theo replied. Sure enough, two minutes later, Claude came back and told them there was a cave about thirty feet up the beach that they could use for shelter.
"Hey Genard, can you help us carry some of dis stuff?" Etienne asked the nine-year-old, who nodded and helped them move the supplies into the cave. Henri turned to Emil and said, reaching out to take the boy's hand,
"C'mon, kiddo. Let's get out of de rain, huh?"
Emil looked up at Henri, his big blue eyes filled with frightened tears. He was just a little boy, and the whole experience was a lot for him to deal with. He reached up both arms to Henri in a silent plea to be held. Henri smiled and took the hint, taking the child into his arms and carrying him into the cave.
Inside the cave, Theoren was trying to start a fire while Genard held a flashlight so he could see what he was doing. The wood he was using was damp, though, and it was rough going. Henri put Emil down, and the little boy joined them, watching in silence, while Claude bandaged up Henri's injured shoulder.
Theoren paused what he was doing and looked at Emil. "You see how Genard's helping me?" Emil nodded, still silent. "Well, I could use another helper. Would you like to help too?" Another nod, this one more vigorous. Emil was still scared, but he also wanted to help. "Could you go get dat blue duffel bag over dere an' see if you can find a small box of waterproof matches in it? I t'ink we're gon' need dem if dis fire is ever gon' start."
Emil went over and opened the duffel bag, rooting around until he finally found the box of matches Theo was looking for. Then he dutifully carried them over and gave them to his friend.
"T'ank you." Theoren smiled. Emil half-smiled back and continued to stand there, watching as Theoren started the fire with ease. The matches did help quite a bit, and soon they had a big warm fire to sit around and dry off with. Before anyone realized it, both Emil and Genard were sound asleep, one leaning against Theoren, the other against Etienne.
Claude laughed softly so he wouldn't wake them. "Y'know, I t'ink dey have de right idea. I'm exhausted."
"Oui, I t'ink maybe we should all get some sleep." Henri replied. "Maybe when we wake up, de storm will be over."
Theoren woke up the next morning to the feel of someone wriggling beside him. He opened his eyes and smiled at Emil, who was trying, rather unsuccessfully to get out from under Theo's arm.
"Good mornin'." Theoren whispered, not wanting to wake the others.
"Hi," the red-haired four-year-old replied, speaking for the first time since they got off the boat. Theoren didn't really blame Emil for being scared; he was too, but that wasn't something he was willing to admit to the little boy.
"You wan' go exploring a bit b'fore we get de others up an' have breakfast?" Theoren asked.
Emil nodded, and they got up as quietly as they could. When they left the cave, they were delighted to find a calm sea and a blue sky with a bright sun shining down on them. Not as delightful was the knowledge that the boat was smashed up pretty bad.
'We're not gon' be usin' dat anytime soon…' Theoren thought as he examined the boat while keeping an eye on Emil, who was looking at shells and rocks along the shoreline. He joined the boy after a few minutes, and was teaching him how to skip rocks when Claude came over.
"So dis is where you too ran off to!" he exclaimed, shielding the sun from his eyes with one had. He ruffled Emil's hair with his other one. "You hungry, kid?"
Emil nodded and dropped the rock he'd been holding. He had been so caught up in skipping stones that he didn't realize how empty his stomach was until Claude mentioned it.
"Well, c'mon den. Let's go eat. De others are up too." Claude told them.
After breakfast, the six set out to explore the island. The two boys had great fun playing on the sandy beaches and among the tropical trees, while the four adults discussed the situation. It was decided that they had to ration their food as much as they could, and find more when the stuff they had ran out. They also had to face the idea that it might be a long time before they'd be rescued. But they didn't tell the children that. No need to scare them again when they were starting to feel more relaxed.
On the third day they were on the island, Theoren and Etienne were out collecting coconuts when Genard joined them.
"Are we gon' be rescued?" he asked point blank, shoving his glasses up on his nose.
"I don' know, kiddo," Theoren replied, kneeling down to the level of the nine-year-old. "I wish I could tell you somet'ing better, but I really don' know."
Genard looked thoughtful for a minute before speaking again. "What're we gon' to do if we're stuck here?"
"I don' know dat either. We'll t'ink of somet'ing. But don' give up hope. I'm sure someone will come for us. Dey jus' have to find us."
When Genard left, Etienne looked at his brother. "D'you really b'lieve what you jus' told him, Theo?"
Theoren sighed. "I hope it's true. Dat's all I can do at dis point. Hope."
***
"An' de very next day, Jean-Luc showed up on a big boat wit' Mercy an' de Coast Guard. Never t'ought it would happen dat soon." Theoren finished.
"Dat was a weird few days, for sure." Claude agreed. "We all got sunburned…'member, poor Emil looked like a little lobster!"
Theoren laughed. "Oui…we were all pretty miserable for awhile after dat. Burns hurt!"
"Yeah…don' t'ink we ever forgot our sunblock when we went anywhere after dat." Claude joked.
"Hey, do you 'member Stephanie?" Theo asked suddenly, changing the topic.
Claude looked at him. "You dreamin' 'bout her too? I'm sorry, mon ami."
"Yeah, well, what can I do? I don' have much of a say in what I'm dreamin' dese days."
"You really wan' talk 'bout her? I mean you were pretty upset 'bout it at de time."
Theoren smiled gratefully. "It was a long time ago. B'sides you're de one who offered to listen to my crazy ramblin'."
"Well, if you wan' tell me, den I'm listenin'. It's up to you."
"I t'ink I have to talk 'bout dese t'ings. Maybe I'll stop havin' de dreams if I do."
***
"Theoren! Wait up!" the girl called.
Theoren paused and waited for her to catch up to him, half wondering what she wanted. The other half was marvelling at how beautiful she was. She had thick, curly brown hair that hung almost down to her waist and piercing green eyes.
"You sure are a hard person to keep track of, Theoren Marceaux," the girl laughed, falling into step beside him. Her name was Stephanie Samson; she was an acquaintance of Theoren's from high school. He saw her around from time to time, but they never really spoke much.
"I'm usually pretty busy." Theoren replied. "What's up?"
"I can' b'lieve you don' remember! Our ten-year high school reunion is coming up in a few weeks. I was wondering if you were going or not. No one on de committee has been able to get in touch wit' you."
"Oh! I…um…I don' t'ink so, Stephanie. I don' really have anyone I want to see. Dere's no real point to me goin'."
Stephanie's face fell although she tried to hide her disappointment. "Oh. Okay den. Sorry I bothered you."
"I'm getting de impression you want me to go…" Theoren commented quietly before she could move away from him.
Stephanie blushed and tried to make an escape. "It's not'ing. Forget it. Forget I even mentioned it."
Theoren reached out and grabbed her arm, trying not to think about how attracted to her he was suddenly finding himself. "Stephanie, non. What is it?"
"It's silly…I feel like we're back in school…I shouldn' have brought anyt'ing up. I should've known you weren' goin' to go. I'm sorry." Stephanie faltered. "I jus'…"
"You jus' what?" Theoren asked softly.
Stephanie sighed. "Dis is so embarrassing…oui, I want you to go, mais, not jus' b'cause de committee wants as many of us to go as possible. De t'ing is, ever since high school, I've had dis huge crush on you, but you were always so elusive, I didn' t'ink I'd stand a chance…"
Theoren blinked a couple of times, as the information he'd just heard registered in his head. Then he started laughing, much to Stephanie's alarm.
"I knew I shouldn' have said anyt'ing…" she groaned, hiding her face in her hands.
"Oh, no Stephanie, I'm not laughin' at you. I'm sorry. It's jus' ironic, dat's all. You didn' t'ink you'd stand a chance wit' me? I was a loner who had no life. You were a cheerleader. If anyone didn' stand a chance, it was me!"
Stephanie frowned. "What are you sayin', Theoren?"
"I'm sayin' I'll go to de reunion if you'll be my date." Theoren replied, deciding to just go for it. He didn't think he had anything to lose, and he also didn't think he'd get another chance like the one he was getting right then.
"I…uh…I don' know what to say…" Stephanie replied.
"How 'bout yes?"
Stephanie smiled. "Okay. De answer's yes," she said, pulling a business card out of her purse. "Here's my card. Give me a call later in de week an' I'll give you all de details."
Theoren took the card. "Okay."
Fifteen minutes later, Theoren walked into the living room of the LeBeau mansion, still shaking his head over what had happened with Stephanie. The only other members of the Guild in the room were Jean-Luc, Henri, Claude and Pierre.
"How did dis happen?" he asked.
The other four thieves looked at him. "How did what happen, Theo?" Pierre asked. Pierre Alouette was one of the older members of the Guild, and one of Jean-Luc LeBeau's closest friends.
"I'm goin' to my high school reunion. Again, how de hell did dis happen?" Theoren replied.
Henri laughed. "Okay, what pretty girl roped ya into dat?"
Theoren sighed and blushed slightly. "Never mind."
"So it was a girl! What's her name?" Claude asked.
"Her name is Stephanie. I knew her when we were in school. She was a cheerleader. An' now she an' I are goin' to de reunion together. Okay?"
"Whoa…Theo's got a date! Will wonders ever cease?" Claude joked. "I wish I had a date. Even jus' for a movie or somet'ing. You're lucky, mon ami."
The high school reunion was only the beginning of a relationship between Theoren and Stephanie. After the reunion, they went on numerous other dates, to movies, dinner, even dancing. They were very attracted to each other and their relationship grew very quickly, however Stephanie had a few questions for Theoren that she didn't like the answers to.
"Where do you go? When you're not wit' me an' you're not at your house, where do you go?"
Theoren looked at her. He was bound by his allegiance to the Guild to keep it a secret from the outside world and as much as he was realizing he was in love with Stephanie, he couldn't tell her. "Around."
"C'mon. You get phone messages in code an' you never explain what's goin' on, even when you have to cut a date short. I'd like to know why."
"Stephanie, I care 'bout you. I can' tell you, you're better off not knowin'. I'm sorry." Theoren told her.
"Theo, tell me. Please. All dis secrecy worries me."
Theoren sighed. He knew he was going to regret telling her the truth, but he had to. She wanted to know. There wasn't much he could do. Saying no wasn't going to work anymore.
"Stephanie, sit down, please. De reason for all de secrecy, de reason you haven' met any of my friends…I shouldn' be tellin' you dis, I could get in trouble…" Theoren's voice trailed off.
Stephanie reached over and took Theoren's hand. "Please. If you get in trouble, tell dem it's my fault."
Theoren smiled slightly before continuing. "I'm not ashamed of who I am, or what I do, but others look down on it. Can' say I blame dem…. Stephanie, I'm…in a word, a criminal. My fam'ly b'longs to de New Orleans T'ieves Guild. I'm a t'ief. De Guild's been 'round for over a century, it's always been part of my life, even when we were in high school. Dat's why I kept to myself, why no one knew much 'bout me. De biggest part of my life couldn' be talked 'bout. It still can'."
Stephanie was silent. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally spoke, her voice laden with tears. "Theo, I'm sorry…I can' deal wit' dat. I can'…I don' t'ink we can see each other anymore. Dere's too much involved."
Theoren closed his eyes and sighed softly. "Je sais. I'm sorry. Are you gon' tell de cops?"
Stephanie leaned up and kissed him lightly. "Non. Who am I to screw 'round wit' a Guild dat's been around for dat long? You take care of yourself, okay? An' if you guys ever get arrested, I wasn' de one who said anyt'ing. You have my word."
"T'anks."
Theoren wandered around in the dark shadows of the city for a long time after that conversation. He felt like someone had taken his heart and ripped it out of his chest with their bare hands. Surprisingly, he ran into Tante Mattie while he was in Jackson Square.
"Theoren. Come sit wit' me for a moment, Chil'." She said. He did as he was told and sat beside her. "You're unhappy." She commented.
"Oui." Theoren sighed. "Stephanie jus' broke up wit' me."
"She did? Pourquoi?" Mattie asked, her astonishment showing in her eyes.
"She wanted to know de truth, so I told her. An' she couldn't deal wit' it. She couldn' handle datin' a t'ief."
"Oh Theoren, I'm sorry. Are you alright?"
"Non, but I will be, I suppose. Eventually."
***
"It took you a long time to get over her…" Claude commented.
Theoren got up and went over to the window, looking out into the yard, with a sigh. He remained there for a few minutes, not speaking. Claude went and joined him, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"You still miss her, don' you?"
Theoren gave a sad chuckle. "I still love her, Claude. I t'ink I always will."
"Well, I'd go find her an' bring her back for you, but I don' t'ink dat would really work, an' I have a feelin' she hasn' changed her mind 'bout datin' t'ieves. Sorry." Claude joked.
"I still miss her, an' I still love her, but I have gotten it over her, to an extent. T'anks for de t'ought t'ough."
"No problem. So what now? Any more stories to tell?"
"Yeah…one more. If you're still awake for it."
"I'm awake. Go for it."
***
"I've asked you two to come here for a reason." Jean-Luc said in a solemn voice.
Theoren looked at his companion with a slight sigh. His look was returned by a glare of contempt from Gris-Gris. The thieves and assassins had agreed to a truce, to a unification of the Guilds. The unification had been foreseen many years ago, but had not come to pass, even when Jean-Luc and Marius arranged the marriage of their children.
Gris-Gris turned his glare to Jean-Luc. "What do you want, LeBeau?"
"I have a job for de two of you. It's not somet'ing I'm proud of, I don' want it to be done, personally, mais de prophecies told me it must be done, so I don' have a choice."
"What do you need us to do, Jean-Luc?" Theoren asked, ignoring Gris-Gris as pointedly as he could.
"You have to take de contents out of de Casket of All Tomorrows b'fore it's opened by de rest of de Guild. Can you do it?"
"Yeah…" Theoren replied.
"No problem." Gris-Gris agreed.
When Gris left, Theoren and Jean-Luc looked at each other. "I don' want it to go dis way, Theo." Jean-Luc said quietly.
"Why? Because it will ruin Remy's leadership? You know dat when it's revealed de casket is empty, we have to call a vote of confidence. It could very easily lead to him being kicked out."
Jean-Luc looked at Theoren and sighed. "You don' seem to mind de idea too much."
"I'm sorry, Jean-Luc. I don' mind it. I don' b'lieve de prophecies are right, I don' t'ink Remy is de one who's best suited to lead de Guild. Where are you gon' go?"
"Prob'ly Paris. I don' really know. You'll make sure de job gets done?"
"Oui. You have my word.
Two nights later, after Jean-Luc left New Orleans, Gris-Gris and Theoren found the Casket of All Tomorrows and opened it. Theoren was feeling slightly weird about the whole thing, because the only people who were actually supposed to open it were the two Guild ministers, Tome and Hoard. However, as they dragged the casket out and started opening it, he pushed his doubts aside and went on with his job.
They removed the documents and closed up the casket, putting it back where it was, in the exact position, so no one would be suspicious.
"What do we do wit' dese, did he say?" Gris asked, holding up the documents. Theoren shrugged.
"Your guess is as good as mine, Gris. We can' destroy dem…maybe we should hide dem somewhere."
Gris-Gris handed the documents to Theoren. "You're de t'ief, I'm sure you can find a suitable place to put dem."
"Uh…yeah." Theoren took the documents and followed Gris-Gris out of the room with a sigh.
A week later, Gris-Gris and Theoren took part in the Guild ceremony to open the casket. Neither of the two men would look at each other as they sat around the fire with Tante Mattie and Bella Donna, while Minister Tome and Minister Hoard brought out the casket and opened it. Everyone in the room was shocked, except of course for Theo and Gris, who played their parts very well. None of the others suspected the two had already know what the outcome of the opening would be.
Later that night, the two men approached Bella Donna. As viceroy of the Unified Guilds, Bel was the one who took care of things when Remy wasn't around. Or, as in this case, when Remy couldn't take care of it.
"You know what dis means, don' you, Bel?" Theoren said seriously.
"Do we have to?" Bella Donna sighed. She wasn't the biggest fan of Remy, but she also didn't feel like instigating a vote of confidence, something that hadn't been done within the Guilds in a hundred years.
"Oui, Bel, we do. Marceaux and I are calling it right now." Gris said. "We can' waste time."
"Okay den. I'll make de arrangements."
Two nights later, as Remy was out battling the Neo on the streets of New Orleans, the thieves and assassins met at the Boudreaux mansion for the vote. Remy knew what was going on, and even though it bothered him, he couldn't blame them for what they were doing. He knew they didn't have a choice.
One by one, the thieves and assassins cast their votes, with Bella Donna herself going last.
'How even can dis get?' Theoren thought as the votes were cast. Personally, he voted no, but when everyone had voted except for Bel, they were as good as tied. Tante Mattie, Mercy, Genard and Emil had all voted yes, which didn't surprise Theoren in the least, even though he knew Genard had only voted that way because he felt it was for the good of the Guild. Two of the assassins had also voted yes, Singer and Questa. Theoren had no ideas why they did that, but decided not to question. Aside from himself, the others, Claude, the two ministers, Gris-Gris and Fifolet, had all voted no. They were tied.
With Bella Donna as the deciding vote, she found herself in a tight spot. But even though she was the once-matriarch of the Assassins Guild, she took her job as viceroy of the Unified Guilds very seriously, and decided to follow the example of one of the thieves. She thought it was in the best interest of the Guild to have Remy as the patriarch, so she voted yes.
"How do you feel? You inspired Bel to actually t'ink of someone other den herself for once." Theoren joked to Genard as the Guild went to help Remy battle the Neo.
Genard smiled grimly. "I did what I t'ought was best for de Guild. I can' help it if she felt de same way…D'you t'ink dis whole t'ing is gon' work?"
"De unification? I don' know. I hope so, after all de work we've been puttin' into it. But if it doesn', each Guild can still survive apart from de other, so not'ing will really be lost."
"Makes sense. D'you want it to work? I mean personally, not t'inkin' of de Guild as a whole. Jus' you."
Theoren sighed and thought about his friend's question as they walked. Finally, he said,
"I'm not sure. I guess a part of me does, b'cause it's what de others fought deir whole lives for. Jean-Luc included. I'd like to see deir dream come true, even if dey can' see it demselves. Mais, on de other hand, I don' like change. An' I don' like de Assassins all dat much either. So I don' know, really, what I want to see happen. What 'bout you?"
"I don' like it either, but if it will benefit de Guild in de long run, I s'pose I want it to work, oui."
Remy was shocked when the Guild showed up to defend him against the Neo. He had figured dey'd vote him out of the leadership. He'd actually been hoping they would, so he could go back to being an X-Man and not have to worry about the Guild anymore. Pulling double leadership duty was giving him a permanent headache, especially considering he also had to deal with the New Son at the same time. He was, however, glad to see the Guild members there and was also happy they had arrived to help him. There was a time, not all that long ago, when half of the people present in the Guild would have rather killed him than look at him. Bella Donna was one of those people.
Theoren caught the look of surprise in Remy's face and almost laughed. He wasn't that fond of Remy, but he had to admit, the kid would probably do a good job if given the chance. Theoren wasn't sorry for voting the way he did; deep down he sort of blamed Remy for his brother Etienne's death. His logic was, if Remy hadn't triggered the silent alarm, Etienne might not have died that day during the tilling. He missed his brother a lot more than he would let on to anyone.
But even though he felt sore towards Remy for the most part, he also found himself hoping that Remy would get the chance to prove himself as Guild leader. 'Irony is a funny t'ing, mais even Remy d'serves a chance. Maybe dat's why Genard, Bel, Questa an' Singer voted de way dey did. Guess dey saw de need b'fore de rest of us.'
***
Claude stared at Theoren for a few minutes before saying anything, digesting what he had just heard his friend say. He had not known who was responsible for the documents disappearing from the Casket of All Tomorrows. None of them had. It was a shock to him that Theoren had taken part in it.
"Did Remy know?" he asked finally, sitting back down.
"Did Remy know 'bout what?" Theoren replied.
"'Bout de documents. 'Bout de fact dat you an' Gris were de ones who took dem."
"Ah. Oui, he knows. He's not a stupid kid. He called us on it de next day." Theoren explained. He crossed the room and opened his closet door. Reaching up onto the shelf, he pulled out a box. He set it on the bed beside Claude and opened it, taking out a file folder filled with papers. "It's not like I destroyed dem or put dem someplace where dey couldn' be found 'gain."
"Whoa…was he mad?"
"Non. I t'ink he understands de reasons b'hind it, even if he doesn' understand why his father was de one who got us to do it."
Claude tried to stifle a yawn but didn't quite keep it from Theoren. "So! What now? Any more dreams to tell me?"
Theoren smiled and threw a pillow at his friend. "You're fallin' asleep on me!"
"Hey, I resent dat! It's late! Or early! Oh, I don' know…" Claude exclaimed, dodging the pillow and laughing.
"Dere are more dreams, mais, I t'ink dey're best saved for Tante Mattie's ears, if dat's okay wit' you." Theoren replied. "An' b'sides, I t'ink we should both try an' get some sleep, ne c'est pas?"
"Hey, dey're your dreams. An' oui, dat might be a good idea."
When Claude got to the door and was about to leave to go back to his room, Theoren called him back.
"Claude?"
Claude turned back. "Oui?"
"T'anks. For listenin'."
"Dat's what I'm here for, among other t'ings, mon ami. See you in de morning." Claude replied with a smile and another stifled yawn as he closed the door behind himself and walked back to his room, feeling tired, but glad that maybe, just maybe, they had started on the road to getting Theoren's dreams to stop.