I am soooo glad you guys liked the first two chapters and to my reviewer--s thank you so much.
cheerpandagal: thanks for being the first to review both chapters and I hope I don't disappoint.
"Speaking"
"Singing outloud"
'Singing in head'
Chapter 3 - Once Upon a December
Rogue approached the train station ticket booth where a strict man with a grumpy face was sitting. It had taken some time to find the station, but now she stood in line unsure if there was a train to New York. Still, with full confidence she stood till it was her turn.
"One ticket to New York please," She said, as if it was the simplest thing. The ticket man just laughed at her face. Rogue pouted.
"Id-cards?" He asked, immediately looking rather bored.
"Id-cards?" Rogue replied back, confused.
"No Id-cards? No ticket!!" He yelled, and closed the ticket booth doors with a closed sign in front.
"Hey! Oh come on," Rogue yelled, but the shutters remain closed.
Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see an old woman in a shawl motioning for her to come closer.
"Pst. See Gambit. He can help." She said, in a very secret, quiet voice.
"Where can Ah find him?" Rogue asked, in the same secret voice.
"At the old Xavier Mansion," She said, taking a step back and looking around, "But you didn't hear it from me."
"Oh, okay." Rogue nodded, thinking this woman was being a little superstitious, but she took the advice. "Gambit, at the old Xavier Mansion…"
Elsewhere....
"Nice, very nice." Remy said, through a fake smile. "Okay, uhhh." He mumbled, scratching out the 20th girl name on the list.
"I look like one of the x-men, right?" An actress demanded, clearly not the Ann-Marie they were looking for. "I can fight like a soldier."
"Okay!" Piotr smiled, also scratching her name on the list. "Thank you, next please."
The next actress to play Ann-Marie was wearing a homemade fur coat. The actress took a deep breath, slipping off the coat to reveal a complete disastrous version of Ann-Marie.
"Wolverine, it's me..." She emphasized, "...Ann-Marie."
Remy gave up and banged his head on the table.
"Oh brother..." Piotr mumbled, deeply scratching her name off.
When the day was over, Piotr and Remy left the theater without a worthy actress to be Ann-Marie. Piotr, who was excited before, went back to his usually angst self.
"That is it. Game over." Piotr said, ripping the papers. "We spent nearly all the money we had, and still no girl to be Ann-Marie."
"We'll find her, Piotr. Da girl's probably right under our noses." Remy said, trying to cheer him up. He reached into his bag and pulled out the special jewelry box he had kept for years.
"Hmmm." He sighed through his nose.
"Don't forget, Pete. One look at dis and the X-men will t'ink we brought da real Ann-Marie." Remy smirked.
Piotr looked the box, as Remy was bumped by a woman, and he didn't bother to give her a second look.
"Excuse meh." She said, but he walked off. Rogue shook her head, but continued to talk to the old man she had been talking to before she was interrupted. "Ah'm looking for the old Xavier Mansion; do you know where it is?"
"The Xavier Mansion, no one lives there." The old man said. "It's just outside of town. But no one has been there in years."
Rogue's eyes widen.
"Thank you!" And she walked off in the direction he pointed she looked down at Kurt as he followed, "if no one has been there in years why… that old woman wouldn' lie… would she?"
When she made it to the end of the road, she gasped at the sight. Mansion was old, it was complete abandoned and alone. All the doors and windows were boarded up. Rogue and Kurt made their way down the driveway and approached the mansion trying to find a door that wasn't boarded up.
"Ah can't find a way in, Kurt." Rogue said, waiting for Kurt's reply. But she didn't hear anything.
She turned around just in time to see Kurt's tail sticking out of a space in between two boards in the doorway.
"Kurt?" She tried to push and pull the board, but it was no use. "Come back here..." She mumbled the only response was an echoed bark, "Wait fer me," Rogue rolled her eyes.
She took a few steps back before letting out a little yell and kicking the boards in. Wincing at the loud noise the board made echoing inside, she entered.
"Well, at least Ah'm inside." She walked in and found Kurt waiting for her, "its times like these Ah'm glad Ah know how to do that." She took off her coat, "Hello? Anybody here?"
Kurt Barked happily, and continued to stroll inside the dim mansion.
"Wow," Rogue breathed.
The inside was spacious. The ceiling rose as high as a treetop where the dome formed. Rogue craned her head up, looking at the faded paintings on the walls. The stands and tables were mostly empty, but there were white cloths covering what was there.
Kurt disappeared under a table, chasing a little critter crawling around the floor. As Kurt enjoyed a new game of chase, Rogue slowly pulled away one of the covers. A thick cloud of dust puffed in her face. She coughed and fanned the dust away to reveal a collection of things.
"Oh, my..." Rogue awed, "Kurt look at this."
But Kurt was too busy munching.
There on the table was a collection of weapons the X-men used, to household objects like plates and books. However, Rogue was more interested in a communicator head set encased in a see-through box.
"This is incredible," she whispered to no one in particular.
She moved to a bigger object that wasn't on a table. She pulled the covered and gasped. A wheelchair sat with quite a bit of rust covering the frame, she couldn't help herself but to touch it.
"It's so strange...it's like a memory from a dream." Rogue mumbled. Kurt ran over jumping up on the chair.
"Look at this Kurt." Rogue continued to walk around the room looking at things.
"Spinning wheels, Angel wings Things Ah almost remember..."
She walked pass an entrance and entered a new room, just as big. It could've been the size of a ballroom, with elegant paintings of the X-men, and staircases leading to the main floor.
"I don't know, Kurt." Rogue said, looking around.
"Someone holds me safe and warm, People running through the storm, children laughing gracelessly, across my memories"
"It's like a song stuck in my head, only I can't quite remember the lyrics." She quickly walked down the stairs, humming and singing to herself, as she glanced at the large paintings, as if they were alive. Kurt prancing around with her.
"Far away, long ago
Glowing dim as an ember
Things my heart used to know
Things it yearns to remember"
Rogue stopped spinning. "But why can't Ah remember?"
She sighed and sank to her knees, facing the painting with Xavier and his first team. Rogue couldn't help but think how familiar it all looked, but she felt her heart sink looking at the picture...
"HEY!!" Someone shouted in the quiet mansion.
She gasped jumping up and turning around.
"What you doin' here?!" A man called, as she turned and ran the other way.
"Hey!" Remy yelled chasing after her. "Stop! Stop!"
Rogue barely made it to the second flight of stairs when she knew he was right behind her. She gave up and slowly turned around.
"Now how'd you get in h-h-here...?" Remy asked, but his mind was racing on something else.
A beam of light shone across Rogue's eyes as well as a little girl's in the painting behind her. Remy could immediately see the resemblance in the eyes. Stunningly green. He couldn't help but gape until he heard Piotr catching up with them.
"Excuse me, young lady." Piotr huffed.
"Pete," Remy interrupted and whispered to him, "you see what I see?"
Piotr was still catching his breath, so Remy grabbed his neck turning it to face Rogue.
"Yes...Yes!" Piotr beamed. Rogue raised an eyebrow at the two crazy men staring at her.
"Are ya Gambit?" She asked.
Kurt rushed between them sniffing at Remy's feet before jumping up at him.
"Hey!" Remy yanked Kurt off and dropping him into Piotr's arms. Before quickly smiling at Rogue as if it never happened.
"Well, dat depends who's lookin' for 'im, ha." Remy laughed at his inner joke. But Rogue just continued.
"My name is Rogue. Ah need Id-cards," Rogue said, but then whispered, "they say you're the man to see even though Ah can't tell-"
"Hmmm." Remy ignored her and started to walk around her. "Hmmm."
"Hey, what are ya doin'? What were ya a vulture in a past life?!" Rogue glared.
"I'm sorry. Sorry, Chere." Remy said. Rogue frowned.
"It's Rogue."
"What?"
"R-o-gue!" She said slowly.
"Rogue, it's just ya look a lot like..." Remy glanced at the picture, but shook his head, "Never mind. Now, you say you want Id-cards."
"Yes..." Rogue said, starting to feel bashful. "Ah wanna go to New York."
"Ya wanna go ta New York?!" Remy asked, excited. He glanced at Piotr.
"Who is this?" Piotr played with Kurt. "Oh, he likes me! He's so cute."
"Yeah…" Remy rolled his eyes at his friend and went back to Rogue. "Now let me ask you...Rogue, was it? you got a last name ta go wit dat?"
"Actually...this is gonna sound crazy but, Ah don't know mah last name. All Ah remember is bein' found wondering around when I was 8-"
"And before dat? Before you were 8?" Remy asked, hastily.
"Look, Ah know it's strange, but Ah have very few memories of mah past." Rogue said, gloomy. She started to fiddle with her necklace.
"Oh..." Remy said, getting the picture.
"But Ah do have one clue and that is New York." Rogue said, trying to be cheerful. "So, can ya'll help meh or not?"
"Pete, tickets." Remy whispered. "Well, actually...we be going ta New York ourselves." Remy said while Piotr handed three train tickets.
Rogue eyes widen and she smiled.
"And I have three tickets 'ere," Remy waved in front of her, and Rogue tried to grab one. "But da third one is for her...Ann-Marie." Remy said, pointing to the girl in the painting.
"Oh," Rogue said, a little shocked. Piotr and Remy both pulled her arms, leading up the stairs.
"We are planning to reunite the X-men's missing student, Ann-Marie...with her Family."
"You do resemble her, though." Remy mentioned.
"The same hair," Piotr added.
"Wit da same white stripes," Remy nodded.
"The pale skin," Piotr said. Remy turned Rogue's face.
"Da green eyes," Remy stated. Rogue pulled her face away and tried to push Piotr, but he quickly held her hand as if she was a lady.
"Oh...she even has the mother's hands." Piotr played smoothly.
"She's de same age. Same physical type," Remy said, getting into too much detail. Rogue laughed.
"Ya'll are trying to tell meh that Ah'm Ann-Marie?" Rogue smiled, but Remy stared at her seriously.
"All I'm trying to tell ya is that we've seen t'ousands a girls in dis city and not ONE o' dem..." He smiled, "look as much like da girl as you. I mean, look at da portrait." Remy said, pointing at a picture of child.
"Ah thought you were crazy when Ah saw ya, but now Ah know ya'll are both mad." Rogue said and walked off.
"Why?" Remy followed her. "You don' member what happened ta you."
"No one knows what happened to her." Piotr commented.
"You're looking for family in New York " Remy said.
"And her only family is in New York." Piotr ended.
"Have you ever thought-" Remy started.
"That Ah could be one of the X-men?" Rogue finished his question.
Kurt tilted his head.
"Well, Ah don't know!" Rogue said. "It's hard to think yerself as a part of powerful mutant team when you're sleeping on a cold floor and bein told yer kind are monsters...but yeah. Ah think any lonely girl deserves ta dream big." Rogue admitted, looking up at the painting.
Piotr put an arm over the girl's shoulders, "Somewhere one little girl wasn't dreaming--"
"Really wish we could help, but...da t'ird ticket is fo' Ann-Marie. Good luck." Remy ended and forced Piotr to leave her alone.
"Why don't we tell her our plan?" Piotr asked when they were a good distance away.
"All she wants is ta go ta New York. Why give away a t'ird of da reward money." Remy said, brilliantly.
"I'm telling you, we're walking away too soon." Piotr shook his finger.
"Relax. It's all under control. Walk a little slower" Remy smirked. He held out his fingers. "Three...Two...One..."
"Gambit!" Rogue called. Piotr and Remy snickered.
"We have her in the palm of our hands." Piotr smirked also.
"Gambit, wait!" Rogue called again.
"You called chere?" Remy said, innocently.
"If Ah don't remember who ah am, then who's to say Ah'm an X-man or whatever, right?"
"Mmm Hmm. Go on." Remy said.
"Yeah, and if Ah'm not the Ann-Marie, these people will know right away and it's all just an honest mistake." Rogue said, satisfied.
"Sounds fair." Remy agreed.
"But," Piotr added, "if you are Ann-Marie, you'll finally you know who you are and have your family back."
"You know he's right." Remy said. "Either way, it gets you to New York." He held out his hand.
"Right!" Rogue shook his hand, maybe a little too firmly.
"Ow!" Remy yelped, "Mesdames et messieurs I introduce to you Ann-Marie!"
"Kurt, we're going to New York." Rogue said, spinning with Kurt.
"The dog stays." Remy stated.
"What are ya talking about? The dog's going," Rogue glared.
"No he's not." Remy glared back.
"Ah say he's going."
"I'm allergic to dogs."
"We have a train to catch my friends"
Piotr couldn't help but think this will be a wonderful trip. But none of them knew that a certain sliver haired man was watching them...
