Chapter 2 (Louisiana, ten miles east of Baton Rouge, February 1861)
She watched in a heartrending silence as her home, her sanctuary - disappeared behind the tall black walnut and magnolia trees. The cooler weather of late February making them appear starker and more austere than what one would normally think of them. She did not look behind her though, she dared not and instead let the familiar surroundings pass the corner of her eye - she sighed softly and tensed her jaw to withdraw the water in her eyes. Memories of herself as a little girl, running through the large hallways and corridors in the house, climbing her favorite tree, losing herself in far-away dreams and fantasies as she sat on the riverbank, her feet dipped in the cool waters of the lazy Mississippi - it was breaking her heart to leave this place and it hurt - it hurt a lot.
It was apparent that she was not the only one feeling this way though - she spared a quick glance about the rocking carriage, the distant looks on the rest of her traveling companions faces told of their own heartache - her mother sat on the other side, staring blankly out at the passing landscape, a slight glaze evident in her eyes as the disdainfully dazzling, midday sun made them glitter precariously. Ororo was sat opposite her, poised elegantly as always though she looked wistfully out at the passing scenery, her eyes closing every once in a while as though she were attempting to become one with nature. Finally, her gaze ended upon Kurt beside her - his elbow rested on the side of the carriage, fist against his chin. She could not see his face, but she had a good idea of what it would be conveying.
Gently, her head turned back to her own side and out to the passing scenery - instantly remembering the proverbial route they were following. She had been here before, nearly ten years ago if she recalled correctly - though notably it had been under much happier circumstances. The sweet humidity that she had grown up to love, soon gave way to the more pungent smell of the bayou, shocking her senses at first before eventually becoming accustomed to it. The magnificent, leafed trees, tall grasses and flourishing fields of her home state gave way to the more spindly, winding growth of the swamplands and despite the seemingly little distance they had traveled, the humidity rose intensely considering the time of year.
Hours passed and she found herself thankful for the quiet journey, it couldn't have been called a comfortable silence more an accidental occurrence in respect of others feelings. Her eyes trailed the low, winter afternoon sun as it peaked hazily above the jagged and twisted trees of the more tropical climate. The carriage suddenly turning from the main road and into a long, tree-lined driveway - the unexpected movement jolting her back into reality.
"Oh at last . . . Kurt dear, straighten your collar and jacket. Anna, sit yourself up and remove that scowl!" Raven reprimanded, preparing herself as they approached the house. Rogue huffed silently and pushed herself up in the seat a little more, her eyes widening as the impressive, colonial estate revealed itself from behind the foliage. The stark white of the building against the more natural setting was eye-catching, tall Romanesque columns lined the front of the house, long sash windows surrounding the walls - it was impressive to say the least.
The carriage pulled up outside the grand steps leading up to the open porch as a well-dressed man and woman stepped out onto it. No quicker had the carriage drawn to a halt and the driver opened the door and helped out Raven, had she and the lady of the house gone rushing unto each others embrace, weeps of joy spilling from them ardently. Rogue, Kurt and Ororo watched quietly as the two women greeted one another, unsure as to what to do next. After a few more minutes, the two women finally pulled apart and Raven immediately approached the man, who had descended the steps and shared a few words with him - soon after, turning about to introduce the man and woman beside her.
"Anna, Kurt - you both remember Owen and Priscilla Pryde?" She pressed rhetorically for a response. The two youngsters smiled and bowed their heads respectively to their hosts.
"And of course Ororo" Raven finished in that order. Priscilla smiled warmly and approached the two siblings and looked back and forth between them, dark blue eyes flitting over them earnestly.
"It's been a long while and I must say you have both grown handsomely since the last time we met. It is good to have you all here though" The woman narrated politely.
"I hope it is not an inconvenience . . ." Raven began, but was soon cut off by Priscilla.
"Not at all! We do have some more guests staying with us, so we are a little crowded - Anna dear, you will be sharing with our daughter Katherine, I hope you do not mind?" Priscilla apologized, to which Raven replied that it was not.
"Well now that we've all been introduced, I think it's time we prepared for supper" The man, Owen - hinted graciously.
After a quick tour of the exquisitely decorated ground floor, Rogue found herself being led along with her Mother and Kurt, into a large open dining room. A long dark, table covered in the finest tablecloth and cutlery layed out to perfection upon it - sat centrally to the room. Strange faces stood around it talking to each other, waiting for a cue that dinner was to be served - the seemingly sea of faces instantly turned and quieted down when the rooms new inhabitants entered. Rogue felt like it was some sort of line-up, an impending Spanish inquisition of some sorts as she came to a stand still beside Kurt - instantly scanning the faces. A petite brown haired girl stood to one side, her azure eyes and similar features made Rogue immediately conceive that she was Katherine, Owen and Priscilla's daughter - she idly remembered meeting the younger girl years ago on their last visit, though obviously since then she had changed dramatically. Beside her, a taller blonde with an iridescent glow to her face, one hand rested gently on her slightly protruding stomach, a soft, knowing smile on her mouth. Two pubescent boys raced around the table and between the poised elders, eventually winding their way out of the room through an open doorway, beside which stood two younger dark-haired men. The first, stood straight and had a small beard on his chin, the beginnings of a warm smile tugging at his mouth - the second, a few inches taller, his hair a little longer and with the darkest eyes she had ever seen.
"Well, where to begin . . . um, the young lady over there is my daughter Katherine, then we have my brother-in-law's son's Henri and Remy LeBeau . . ." Priscilla gestured over to the young men, the latter adorning what Rogue immediately denigrated as the most irritatingly, conceited, handsome smirk ever witnessed. Despite herself, she found her eyes trailing his face until she met his eyes making her breath rasp - her mind going into overdrive, she instantly glanced away with a hint of embarrassment.
". . . Mercy, Henri's wife . . ." Priscilla continued, nodding towards the glowing blonde beside Katherine.
" . . . and my twin nephews, Theodon and Etienne . . ." She trailed off as she looked around for the identical boys, who had not yet returned from their rampage. The group politely bowed their heads respectively in acknowledgement before taking their various seats around the table. The two twins automatically came racing back into the room and took their seats as several house servants entered through another doorway, placing plates of food before the diners, another pouring a richly colored red wine into the glasses at their setting.
"Oh isn't this so great, meeting again like this!" Rogue looked over to the person emitting the over-zealous greeting, realizing it was the pretty brunette, the daughter of the house. A half smile tugging at her lips at the girl's friendly disposition.
"Yeah, ah guess it is Katherine" She replied politely, the younger girl instantly giggling at the name.
"You can call me Kitty. This is going to be so much fun - it'll be like having a sister or something" Rogue merely nodded as Kitty continued to ramble on conversationally, of course she listened politely - after all, she had been raised this way. Being rude to her hosts was not going to get her anywhere. As Kitty continued, she found her eyes drifting around the table as its range of occupants divulged in private conversations and such - her Mother, gossiped frenziedly with Priscilla - evidently catching up on the others tittle-tattle they had been missing for years - The twins laughed as they flicked peas at each other, her eyes instantly following one as it went further across the table than it was supposed to and hit Henri in the side of the face - the action making her smile as the older man gave them a scolding glare and turned away, ignoring them to go back to his conversation with Owen. Her gaze slipped over to the last conversational group consisting of her brother Kurt, Mercy and Remy - her heart skipping a beat as she suddenly realized that the attractive stranger she had caught the eye of before was indeed looking back at her. After recovering from her instantaneous shock, she proceeded to narrow her eyes slightly at his intent stare -
"Anna?" The use of her name making her instantly turn back to Kitty wide-eyed.
"Call meh Rogue" She let slip out unwittingly making the younger girl beside her look at her questionably.
"Don't ask . . .its jus' a nickname ah picked up," She explained. The other girl smiled at the privilege and continued to rattle on. The rest of the evening, Rogue managed to keep her focus at her end of the table - the last thing she needed was to embarrass herself with another awkward staring match.
The moment that the dinner was apparently over she allowed herself to be dragged from the table by Kitty to the room they would be sharing. She never thought she would welcome the sight of a bed so much as she did then. It was a large open bedroom, lightly decorated with pale powdery colors - a large bed sat center stage surrounded by white wash furnishings and collectable dolls, floral paintings decorated the walls and another slightly smaller bed that had obviously been erected for her purpose sat opposite the other. After talking a little with Kitty and unpacking her clothes and belongings, she soon settled herself into bed - her eyes instantly dropping shut to welcome sleep.
Big thankyou's to Rogue181, Musagirl15, Ishandahalf, Ramalot4 and Enchantedlight for your reviews. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!