New Life
By: Marina StormFire
X-Men: Evolution
Disclaimer: Look back at Chapter 1 for the official disclaimer for this story. I'm not repeating again.
Thoughts, dream sequence, flashbacks, or mindscape-speech
"regular speech"
/thoughts in a dream sequence/
Chapter 4: Shopping and Memories
As soon as Anna reached her room, she went directly to her dark cherrywood dresser to get out some fresh clothes to lay on her bed as she got ready for her shower. Suddenly, her cellphone's text message tone went off. Curious, she opened her phone and opened the text. It surprised her to know that it wasn't from Kitty, as she would've thought; but from Jamie. The message read simply: Why'd ya go?
It was a simple enough question, but one that wasn't easy to answer… so she tried to explain. Ah couldn' stay, Hun. An' ya know ah hate bein' coddled an' smothered. An' at this point in tahme, ah NEED help. Ah know the Professor has trahde ta help meh, but it hasn' worked... an' now all ah'm doin' is settin' mahself up ta bein' used ag'in.
She hoped the boy would understand her reason for leaving, as she closed her phone and grabbed her towel and headed to her personal bathroom to clean off the dirt, sweat, and grime that had accumulated while training with Caine and working in Mace's workshop. And as she showered, her thoughts turned to the youngest x-man. That boy was the little brother that she always wanted… and what place he had in her seemingly cold heart, he kept by ensuring that she didn't forget the simplest touch… but only when they were alone. And he was the only one who didn't shy away from hugging her.
Rinsing her hair out, she decided that if Jamie told her that he was no longer comfortable with the X-Men, she'd have her messenger give him the option to come down with them to ensure that the younger boy made it down south safely.
Shutting off the water, she quickly donned her towel and shivered slightly when she opened the door and was hit with cold air. Quickly walking over to her bed- she quickly dressed in a strapless black lace bra and matching black panties, her favorite pair of black skinny jeans with purple and blue jeweled dragonflies on the back pockets, and a spaghetti strap black camisole that left her midriff exposed.
Looking at her hair in the mirror behind her dresser, Anna wondered if she ought to straighten it, even as she idly twisted a lock of hair around her index finger… before her dream from earlier that morning came back to her… an older version of herself with longer hair just passed her shoulders and more so wavy than curly. Taller and wearing less make-up, the older version of herself was beautiful… and breathtaking. The goth girl had to wonder if she'd ever really be breathtakingly beautiful. She would've loved to be that older woman. Then a thought occurred to her: Why couldn't she?
Shaking her head, she decided to just blow dry her hair before pulling it some of her hair back in a half ponytail leaving her stripes down to frame her face. After drying and putting her hair up, she donned a long-sleeved sheer magenta-purple top that had a slit in the sleeves from shoulder to wrist cuffs. She found a pair of comfortable socks and found a shoe box on the chest at the end of her bed and opened it to reveal a new pair of black combat boots that went up to her knees. Putting them on, she found them exactly her size and comfortable too. She found a tag at the bottom of the box.
To: Anna D'Ancanto "Rogue"
From: Shawna Roisin "Jeweler"
Welcome home. Think of this as a welcome home gift. See you soon.
Anna smiled and wondered if she'd see her friend and her twin sister later that evening. Glancing at herself in the mirror, she found that she liked what she saw, and decided to go without make-up for a while and wear it for only special occasions. Grinning to herself, she grabbed a shoulder purse from her pack and put in her wallet, cellphone, a tube of strawberry-melon lip balm, raspberry-scented hand lotion, a small handheld notebook and a pencil and pen to write down ideas and suggestions when she and the girls sat down together to discuss her powers and they WOULD discuss her powers and how they worked. It would take a while, but she wouldn't give up and set herself up to being used again.
Shouldering her purse, she made tracks to meet her foster sisters in the foyer.
Zephyr and Kyra were waiting for Anna, when she came down the stairs with a shoulder purse slung over her head—hanging diagonally across her chest. Zephyr raised an eyebrow at the long-sleeved sheer shirt, as she thought to herself, 'It must be a security issue. But at least she's not wearin' gloves.'
Kyra did a once over of the sister she'd adored as a small child, and piped up, even as she shifted from foot to foot—impatient to get moving. "Not wearin' yo'r gloves, Sissy?" Anna shook her head. "Nope," she replied and held up a bare hand. "not th' one's ah have 'nyway. Prob'ly gon' look fo' a glover some'ere an' see if they have 'ny fingerless gloves."
Zephyr's eyes widened in delight. "Ooh! I know the PERFECT place, and it's not too far from here either." She exclaimed, as she tugged the two younger girls after her through the front door and toward a navy blue jeep, and asked what seemed like an afterthought, "wanna stop there on our way into town?" Kyra laughed as Anna smiled and replied, as she hopped into the passenger's side. "Perfetto! What're we waitin' fo'?
After fastening themselves in, they headed off toward the glovers and town to shop and have fun.
/Meanwhile at the Assassin's Guild Manor/
Julien was sulking in Marius Bourdreaux's study as the older man berated him for losing the Thieves' Patriarch's adopted devil-eyed son.
'If it hadna bin fo' dat stripe fille aux cheveux, den dat fils d'un démon woulda bin skinned alive et mort.' The Prince of Assassin's thought to himself, until a glimmer of memory took him off guard. Back when he and Bella were small, they used to play with a stripe haired girl… who was also their cousin.
Thinking about the girl from the night before, he compared her to the chubby little girl that he and his sister had played with as children. True, not many girls had auburn-brown hair with snow white stripes framing their faces… but still, the resemblance was uncanny. Her hair though, wasn't the only memorable thing about his cousin. There were also her eyes; Bright, sparkling emeralds that shone brightly with mischief and fun. He didn't remember what color eyes the girl from last night had, but had the distinct impression that they were in fact, the very same bright emerald green eyes that his cousin had. The revelation was startling.
Keeping his emotions from changing outwardly, he couldn't help but wonder incredulously to himself. 'Was it really mon cousin dat attacked us las' night? An' wit' dat no good maudit fils d'un voleur t' boot?' For some reason, the thought brought a bout of not just bile to his throat, but also a sense of strong denial. There was no WAY, his cousin would turn on them. Given that he and BellaDonna had rarely seen their cousins growing up, he supposed that was due to his pere et son oncle ex- being on the outs with each other since well before they were born. He barely even remembered their cousin's names. Maybe his sister remembered. He'd ask her later.
BellaDonna wasn't paying much attention as her father berated Julien for failing to rid the world of the devil-eyed Cajun thief. But were the truth be told she had eyes for another thief, she'd never hear the end of the complaints from her fellow assassins. Though she couldn't deny the certainty she felt for one Remy LeBeau, she knew she wasn't for him. The man had a suave charm that no man ought to have; and that he was handsome to boot was only a bonus for whatever gal managed to tame him. Silently, Bella gave a silent blessing to the gal who could steal the thief's heart and tame his wild ways.
Heaving out a sigh of exasperation at her father and older brother's stupidity, she really wished that she could visit their cousins in Mississippi, or HELL even the downtown part of New Orleans, where she knew at least ONE of their cousins lived. But at the moment, she wondered what was going on in her older brother's head.
Studying him, she realized that he wasn't paying overly much attention to what their father was yelling at him about… but rather thinking of something else altogether. She'd ask him about it later, AFTER they'd been dismissed from their father's study.
Nearly twenty minutes of berating Julien for not succeeding in getting rid of the demon-eyed scumbag that posed as the Prince of Thieves the Patriarch of the Assassin's Guild, Marius Bourdreaux, dismissed both of his children, frustrated. He was NOT about to have his only daughter wed to a demon-eyed playboy. Like any protective father, he wanted only what was best for his only little girl. But the rumours that swirled around her said that she was already seeing someone… but what he didn't know, was who that someone was, but he'd find out soon.
As soon as the Bourdreaux siblings left Marius Bourdreaux's study, the two of them were silent, until Bella broke the silence. "What's goin' on in dat head o' yo's, mon frère?"
Julien glanced at his sister and motioned for her to walk with him. After a few minutes of trying to put together his thoughts, he finally asked, "'Member when we were petite, we used to play wit' a petite stripe-haired fille?" Bella nodded slowly.
"Oui. What 'bout 'er?"
Julien stopped and stared out a window that overlooked a lake and several climbable trees, seeing images of the three of them playing in and around the lake… and that chubby little girl climbing trees just because she could, much to his own dismay. He could hear her laughter ringing out.
Bella watched her brother look out the window and guessed that he was remembering the times they had played together near that lake and the trees. And the times they'd had a small picnic with just the three of them or sometimes it was with all of them. The little girl, her older brothers and sister, herself, and Julien; the six of them had lots of fun together. But that was before their mother, her Tante Maria sent them away to stay with members of her side of the family.
"I t'ink I may've seen 'er… las' night." Julien's voice cut through her own memories of their cousins. Bella's eyes were as wide as dinner plates, out of surprise.
"Y' mean t' say dat y' saw Anna? Li'l Anna D'Ancanto?" Bella asked, as she stepped up next her brother. Julien guessed that that was the girl's name and nodded silently.
Bella shook her head vehemently in denial. "Dat's jus' not possible… Anna D'Ancanto a disparu il ya près de dix ans… how is dis possible?"
Julien shook his head, unsure. "Je ne sais pas, Bella. Mais if dat was 'er I saw las' night den she jus' might be bunkin' down wit' th' t'ieves or somet'in'. "
Bella 'hmm'ed noncomittedly, thinking then walked on, throwing over her shoulder, "'M gonna do some shoppin' in town an' see if'n I can't spot 'er. IF she's out an' about." With that said, she disappeared around the corner, leaving her older brother open mouthed and gaping at her sudden departure.
/With Remy/
It had been 2 hours since the meeting with Jean-Luc in his study and Remy was taking a break from looking over the file of information for his next heist and was currently walking along the streets of New Orleans when he saw a familiar head of auburn and white-striped hair and was rendered speechless when he saw what she wore… and was carrying a few shopping bags and laughing.
Seeing her on the streets after last night's adventure made his heart fill with relief and the worry for her seemed to fall off his shoulders. Looking her over from top to bottom, he quickly realized that she wasn't wearing gloves. Silently, he wondered just what happened overnight.
He watched her laugh as she carried a few shopping bags. Watching her he also saw two girls—one dark haired and slightly older and the other with short honey-blond with caramel streaks in her hair and also looked to be a few years younger than Rogue.
Watching the three girls talk and laugh, his curiosity peaked about Rogue and these people that she associated herself with. However, that curiosity changed from her associates to the rich southern laughter of the southern belle that he'd set his eyes on… which were currently on her hair. He'd known for a while that she straightened her hair, but had often wondered what her hair would look like if she didn't straighten it at all. Now her hair was wavy with slight curls here and there, and wondered what her hair would feel like between his fingers… if he ever got the chance to touch those curls. Shaking his head, he followed them, watching the three girls enter a clothing store.
"So dat's 'er, hahn?" a feminine voice asked from right next to his shoulder and Remy toward the speaker in surprise. "Belle!"
The blond-haired blue-eyed beauty nodded at New Orleans resident Prince of Thieves then turned her attention toward the clothing store that Rogue and the two other girls had entered moments before. "She de one dat y' wan', Remy?" She finally asked, her blue eyes locking on his red-on-black.
The devil-eyed cajun wasn't quite sure how to answer the deadly beautiful Assassin. Give her the wrong answer, and she'd kill you where you stand without a second thought; on the other hand, give her the answer she's looking for, and she'd STILL do one of two things. 1) She'd give you her blessing, or 2) she'd STILL fly off the proverbial panhandle and kill you.
"Don' know w'at y' mean, Belle." The cajun thief finally replied, much to the Assassin's consternation as she shook her head.
"Y' know w'at I mean, LeBeau. I wan' know if'n y' wan' mon cousin more den y' wan' me."
Remy narrowed his devil-like eyes dangerously, glaring at the Princess of Assassins. "An' if'n I do, Bella? W'at den? Are y' willin' t' kill 'er?" he asked, an edge to his tone that was sharp as sheet metal, even as he wracked his brain for possible ways in protecting Rogue if Bella answered that, yes, she would kill her. He turned away from the blond woman, his eyes swinging toward the store and coincidentally catching Rogue's green eyes as she came out of the store several minutes later. Rogue paused when she saw him, nodded, then looked away when something seemed to have caught her attention in the form of her phone. A few minutes later, she'd closed it and her her two companions came out and continued on their way, walking away down the street, laughing.
Unknown to him, Bella smiled. She'd been watching her little cousin, Anna, for the better part of the last half hour, since she'd stepped out of a quaint little coffee shop with a café latte and seen Anna walking backward, until the older girl with her pointed behind Anna, making her spin around and sidestep a lamp post before she crashed into it. Bella remembered chuckling to herself, also remembering that Anna had done much the same thing when they were small; and had continued to watch her until she'd seen one Remy LeBeau right in front of her and also watching Anna. From the softened look on his face, she guessed that he truly did care for her younger cousin.
Gently, she reached out to touch his arm, and saw the startled look on his eyes, when she said, "'M not gon' do anyt'in' t' 'er, Remy. Mais are y' gon' talk t' 'er soon?"
"Oui. Demain."
"Take care o' 'er den, tout va bien?" And without hearing his reply, walked away with a genuine smile on her lips and continued her own little shopping spree.
Remy watched BellaDonna walk away and scratched his head, thoroughly confused, but shook off the worry and turned back to watch the back of the girl of his dreams.
/With Anna/
For the better part of the last half hour or so, she'd felt as if someone were watching her… but whoever it was, they didn't feel like they were a threat… yet. But still, it felt more like curiosity than anything else. Right up until she felt the hair at the back of her neck rise. 'Remy… not cool, y' stalker.' she thought to herself ruefully, as she laughed at a joke that Zephyr had told and opened the door to a clothing store, and starting to browse around the clothing racks.
"Hey, Anna!" Zephyr called out in a singsong voice, and getting the younger girl's attention, held up a silk piece of lingerie. Black silk with thin black straps that crossed in the back and dark green lace that lined the hem at the bottom and across the deep square neckline across the chest. In all, it looked like it would fall about mid-thigh.
Anna's mouth formed an 'o' and slowly walked over to where Zephyr stood, and reached out to finger the material gently; running her fingers along the lacy hem and silky smooth material. She looked up her older foster sister. "This'll do nahcely, Zeph." She said taking it from the older girl and draping it over her arm, and turning to browse other racks of nighttime lingerie. After a while of browsing through different racks, she sighed. It looked like the only piece she was getting from this particular store was the black silk mid-thigh nightie.
"Hey Zephyr, Kyra!" she called to the two girls who were still browsing clothing racks. "Ah'm gonna get outta here and see if'n ah c'n get somethin' t' eat. Ya'll comin'?" Zephyr and Kyra looked at each other, then back at Anna. "Sure. We can hit the plaza and catch th' discount sale while we're out." Kyra said, as she bounced slightly on the balls of her feet. Anna chuckled and headed to the checkout to pay for the lingerie and wait for her foster sisters, as they continued to browse the racks for any last minute items that might've caught their eye before they had to get to the checkout.
Feeling shivers go down her spine, she felt like someone was talking about her behind her back. Anna shook herself mentally, and wondered about little Jamie Madrox, back at the Institute, and hoped that he was doing well.
As if her thoughts conjured him up, her cellphone's text message tone rang out. Opening the new text, she found it was from Multiple, himself. 'Will you b comin' home soon?'
She thought for a moment and sadly shook her head as she text messaged the boy back. 'No. Ah'm made arrangements fo' ya t' come down south...'
Not even a minute passed before she got a reply back. 'If the professor can't find you to bring you home, I'll come to you- via your arrangements.'
Anna smiled at the thought of her surrogate little brother coming down south. She text back saying: 'Then ah'll c u soon. Btw, tell Kurt that the offer is open to him too, kay?'
Another text from the boy. 'Will do. C u soon, Anna.'
Closing her phone, she saw her sisters walk up to her with their own purchases. "Who's hungry?" Kyra asked, laughter in her voice. Both Zephyr and Anna joined in the laughter. "Ah think we're all a tad bit hungry, Sugah."
/With BellaDonna/
After Bella left Remy to continue her shopping spree, she decided to head downtown to visit her cousin, Damien, and let him know his youngest sister was in town. Shifting her purchases slightly, she remembered how nearly ten years ago, she and Julien had found out that their cousin had just up and disappeared without a trace. The shock at the news still lingered even after 10 years, but now that little Anna was back, things were about to heat up or cool down... either way, something was gonna happen and happen REALLY fast. She shook her head to rid the uncertainty she suddenly felt about the future and concentrated instead, on finding the address she was looking for.
Several minutes later, she was on the doorstep of a modern 2-story Victorian Era home. Ringing the doorbell once, she waited for someone to answer the door. An answer came in the form of a couple barking dogs and scratching on the door, and moments later, the sound of someone yelling at the dogs to "get down" and "go home; a minute later the sound of the deadbolt being unlocked, and yet another moment later, the cloudy-grey door swung open revealing a young man of roughly 20 years in age, with a horizontal scar running just under his left turquois-blue colored eye. "Bella!" The young man exclaimed, opening the door wider. "Come in, come in. What brings ya down 'ere, Bell? It's no' of'en ya visit 'nymo'e."
BellaDonna walked through the entryway and into a side room that was a living room, making herself comfortable on the plush black L-shaped sofa, after setting her purchases on the floor to her left, as the young man took a seat next to her. Taking a deep breath, she looked into her cousin's turquois-blue eyes. "I saw Anna t'day, Damien." she said, and waited for his reply, noting that his eyes had widened in surprise and was currently doing his best impression of a guppy. Inwardly, Bella cringed. She knew there were better ways of dropping a bomb like this, but the words were already out, and now she'd have to wait for it to sink in.
Slowly, the words started to sink in. I saw Anna t'day… his beautiful emerald-eyed mischief-maker of a baby sister was finally here? In N'Orleans at last? He closed his eyes and forced his jaw to close. It seemed like yesterday and not 10 years ago, when he found out from his Uncle Val and Aunt Heather that his baby sister- Anna, had disappeared and was nowhere to be found. When he found out, it was like a solid punch to the stomach… a punch filled with fear and worry for his baby sister. He remembered being afraid of never seeing her again, of never hearing her mischievous laughter, or catching her in the act of some kind of mischief or another. Damien remembered feeling guilty and angry and feeling that as the eldest child, HE was the one that was SUPPOSED to look after his little sister. He was supposed to PROTECT her. He had nearly drowned in the guilt back then… and so had his twin brother- Tyler. Both had taken the disappearance of their sister hard. Not to mention Zoey-his younger sister too, had taken Anna's disappearance hard, and had been seen crying in her room at all hours out of worry and fear of never seeing her again.
He slowly opened his eyes to meet Bella's sapphire blue eyes, mentally pushing away the feelings of guilt and anger that built up in the back of his throat and wanting a way out. "Where?" he rasped, wondering just how to go about revealing himself to his little sister.
"I don' 'member what street, mais it looked like she was headin' toward Jackson Square." Bella answered, carefully watching her older cousin's expression… one filled with hope—either because he wished that this was not a dream or because he wanted his sister to be real and in New Orleans—either way, he would soon find out that his baby sister was too real to be a dream.
Damien closed his eyes and reached out with his ability to speak with his dogs. "What do ya both think?"
Both dogs, a German shepherd and a rottweiler, had lifted their heads when he spoke to them telepathically.
"Watch… wait… keep your distance until you feel the time is right." The German shepherd replied, then put his head down again. The rottweiler gave a dog-like shrug and replied, "Track her down… then decide when you want to tell her that you're there." Damien silently considered his dog's advice, then slowly opened his eyes.
"T'night, Bella. I'm gon' go out t'night. If I see 'er, I'll watch—but I won' tell 'er I'm 'round fo' 'm ready t' tell 'er."
Bella nodded slowly, for she too, had known how hard it had hit Damien, Tyler, and Zoey way back then… Anna's disappearance was a sore spot—but they held out hope that one day she would come home to them. "What 'bout ya famille? Will y' tell dem?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.
Damien nodded. "Si. Gonna have t', Bella. Ty and Z are a'so in town, visitin' an' are gonna have t' be tol' t' keep their distance 'til we're ready t' tell 'er that we're here an' more 'n ready fo' 'er t' come home." Bella nodded, until a thought occurred to her. "What 'bout y' mère et père?" she wanted to know, shifting slightly in her chosen spot on the couch. Damien was torn between scoffing at the mention of his father, and frowning in concern at the mention of his mother. Instead he shook his head as he spoke leaning over to rest his elbows on his knees while his hands were clasped in front of him.
"Bella, I haven' got a clue as t' what happened after that bastard was sent t' prison 6 years ago, an' frankly I could really care less. As fo' mah mama—absolutely. She's comin' int' town firs' thin' in th' mornin', t' visit our Zio e la zia. I'll tell 'er then." Bella nodded once more, knowing what little she did of Marcus Rembrandt Adrian—he was an abusive husband and father. Not to mention estranged from the Bourdreaux side of the famille… and also that he was a mean piece of work and didn't deserve being married to a good woman (who was NOT an assassin) and also didn't deserve being a father to two handsome boys and two beautiful little girls.
Bella scooted closer to Damien and pulled him into a hug. "Je suis désole, Damien. None o' th' four o' y' deserved anyt'ing dat man dished out." The young woman murmured. The young man nodded silently and awkwardly shifted his right arm to curl around his cousin's waist to return her hug. "Grazie, Bella. But 'm done lookin' over m' shoulder. I's time t' move on." He said, as he turned his head slightly to kiss his cousin's head of golden tresses. Releasing Bella from their familial hug, he stood and waited for her to do the same.
Getting the hint, Bella gathered her shopping bags and followed Damien to the door. Just as Damien was reaching for the doorknob, it flew open to reveal Damien's carbon-copy twin, Tyler—minus the horizontal scar under his left eye… he DID though, have a scar that ran straight up and down through his right eyebrow.
Tyler Logan D'Ancanto wore an open short-sleeved green and blue plaid button down shirt over a plain black t-shirt, that even with the dark coloring—looked to be stained with dirt and grease… his worn light blue jeans were in something of the same condition as his shirt. His dark hair in the same style as his twin's, was more fly-away. His turquois-blue eyes of the same shade as his brother's widened in surprise. "BelBel! Cosa ti porta qui?"
Bella shook her head, as she looked at Damien's twin. "I'll let y' frere tell y'. Mais, I need t' be headin' home." She looked slightly passed Tyler to Damien. "Give my regards t' votre mère et sa famile pour moi, vous voulez?" Damien nodded in acknowledgement. "Si, will do, Bella."
She walked out the door and down the porch steps when another thought occurred to her. She turned and found two pairs of turquois-blue eyes staring at her, as if they were expecting something else. "Do y' wan' me t' tell mon père 'bout dis li'l development?" She asked, directing the question at Damien, who knew what she was hinting at—unlike his younger twin.
At that thought, Damien paled a nasty shade of pasty white. He figured if his birth father (God forbid him from calling the s.o.b. "dad") was a mean piece of work—his estranged uncle Marius would be a HELLISH piece of work. He shook his head vehemently even as he spoke his reply in Bella's native cajun French.
"Non, absolument pas. Pas de nous au moins."
Bella noticed the pale pasty white that Damien had become and somehow knew that if their father was bad, her father would probably be much worse -if not more so- than her own father. When she heard the pale young man's response, she could only nod her head in understanding his worry. "Ce n'est rien. Je comprends. Bonne chance alors." And with that, left for her own home and leaving her male cousins staring after her.
/Damien, Tyler, and Zoey/ {N/A: There's an Italian conversation that takes place here}
Tyler watched Bella walk down the street until she'd turned a corner and disappeared. Turning to his elder twin, he asked, "Che cosa era che circa?"
"Schiena di Anna." Damien replied simply, unaware of someone else's presence, until he and Tyler heard another voice belonging to a young woman exclaiming in Italian.
"Che cosa?! Venire di nuovo?
Both young men looked at the young woman at the bottom of the porch steps, with one foot on the bottom-most step, as if about to climb them.
The young woman looked to be almost 19 years old with dark chocolate colored hair that was up in a braided ponytail and her bangs parted to the side, and clipped back by a barrette. She wore a cream-gold colored halter-top, low cut capris with a silk bamboo printed hemming, and thick-soled black converse boots. Any accessories she wore were silver hoops in her double-pierced ears, a magenta wristband on her right wrist and a single black woven leather bracelet on her left. Rather it wasn't her clothing or accessories that caught the twins' attention. Rather it was the young woman's eyes—a soft dark green that resembled peridots than the bright emeralds that were more their baby sister's eyes, which were wide with surprise and glimmering with hope.
"Zoey…" Damien tried, but was cut off, when "Zoey" ran up the porch steps and grasped two fistfuls of his shirt in her small hands.
"Per favore… la prego di dirmi che eri serio, e che Anna e veramente a casa."
Damien sighed and and gently set his hands atop his younger sister's. Glancing quickly at Tyler told him that he was as surprised as Zoey, in regards to Anna. Quickly he told them both, "Non riesco a scherzare su una cosa seria come la nostra sorellina."
At those words, Zoey buried her face in Damien's shirt, crying openly. While Tyler was holding back his own tears. Damien wrapped an arm around his younger sister, and set his free hand firmly on his twin's shoulder—briefly squeezing it, but kept it there. "Why don' we talk inside, si?"
Tyler silently nooded, and Damien removed his hand from his brother's shoulder to guide their younger sister inside.
"Quendo? Come?" Zoey stammered out, as she sniffed and tried to wipe away the tears that continued to spill down her cheeks. Damien shook his head, he himself was STILL trying to wrap his head around the words that Bella had delivered. He gently guided her to sit on his couch while Tyler chose to lean against the stairway banister leading up the stairs.
"Bella came by a while ago an' jus' tol' me tha' she saw Anna t'day. She didn' mention anythin' else aside fr'm tha' eit'er."
Tyler seemed to be eager to go out and look for Anna, until Damien stopped him. "Ty, remember i's been 10 years since she went missing… we need to step back and wait until we can find the words to tell her we missed her and are more than willing to welcome her home."
"But, Damien—" Tyler tried, but was cut off by his twin.
"'m not sayin' we're NOT goin' t' tell 'er we're here. 'm jus' sayin' WE, as a famiglia, need time t' adjust."
The young man fell silent, even though everything in him SCREAMED at him to go out and find his missing sister and bring her home. But some very small and very DISTANT part of him told him that Damien was right. They needed time to step back and let their minds wrap around the sudden information of knowing their little sister was alive, and well, and safe. Suddenly feeling exhausted, Ty shakily made his way to the couch and let his knees buckle under him—collapsing onto the couch next to Zoey, and heaved an enormous sigh, even as he closed his eyes—trying with futile effort to wrap around the current reality, as he was sure his siblings too, were trying to do as well: Anna was back.
He wondered what she looked like now. Pulling out a small plain black rectangular photo case with gold edging on an adjustable water-resistant chain from under his shirt, he opened it to see the three photos within and no picture in the fourth space.
The top picture on the left side of the photo case had a favorite picture of their mother during a picnic about 8 years ago when they had driven out to the Mississippi River. She still had her vibrant strawberry-auburn hair and vivid hazel-blue eyes that sometimes lightened to a very light teal-blue color whenever she had a vision. It was taken on a clear sunny afternoon on the banks of the Mississippi River, with a river boat passing by in the background and the city of New Orleans glowing brightly in the coming twilight.
The picture below it was a family picture—taken without that s.o.b. of a birth father. He knew his mother's friend, Jean-Luc, had a copy of this same picture. Damien and himself behind their mother's back with a hand on each other's shoulder and a hand on their mother's, even as she had wrapped both of her girls in an arm each.
'Anna…' Tyler thought thinking of his little sister and what she'd look like now. She was sure to have changed after 10 long years away from home. His gaze was drawn to the top of the right side of the photo case.
It had been the last picture that had been taken with her and himself, before she disappeared.
Her auburn hair and white stripes had been curled and trimmed to where they were just brushing past her shoulders. She wore a crimson-red with black cherries patterned off-shoulder styled dress that had been handmade by Zoey with their mother's help, paired with a sheer black jacket with red cherries stitched on it, and red leather ankle boots with one and a half inch heels. As for himself, his hair had been greased back and wore a long sleeved black shirt under a short-sleeved maroon button-down shirt that was tucked into a pair of black slacks that was held up by a simple black belt with a mirror-like silver buckle. Wearing black slip on penny loafers, he had finished off his look off with a thin leather jacket.
The picture had been taken by Zoey, while he had an arm around Anna's shoulders-just before the start of the Jackson County Talent Show, where Anna had signed herself and him to dance to a fast-paced jive that suited their 50's rockabilly costumes.
Tyler remembered how hard they had practiced the steps to their chosen piece of music-a specific piece from a favorite movie. "Footloose" by Kenny Loggins. Practicing until they could perform the dance flawlessly. He remembered how her green eyes lit up, as she brought her love for dance to the fore; remembered how she'd almost bolted from the stage just before it was their turn to perform due to sudden stage fright- how he managed to calm her down and just perform for their family (minus their father), and the moment they were on stage and the music blared through the talent show speakers- even with her stage fright... how they had both leapt into action.
A shadow of a small smile crossed his face and an ever-faint chuckle barely escaped his lips as he remembered too, how when the music came to a resounding end, the audience had shot to their feet clapping and cheering wildly for the 10-year old boy and his 7-year old sister, who were both panting for breath. But she was blushing madly, even as she smiled, her eyes dancing with excitement and sheer happiness shining through.
It was the first and last time they performed together... but the night had been eventful and both the audience and the contestants had held their breath as the judges deliberated as who the winner/s and runner-up/s would be; until after five full minutes of suspense, it was finally announced: the runner-ups were first and then the winners-them, the D'Ancanto siblings.
Tyler remembered the looks on twin's face and on Zoey's too... how happy both were that their siblings had won the talent show, and the proud look on their mother's face.
He and Anna had stood on stage, him holding the winner's trophy between them and Anna holding a bouquet of flowers, for a picture at the request of a journalist for the *Jackson NewsWeek's community news column.
Slowly breaking out of his thoughts, he asked, "How're we gonna break the news to mama?"
"Leave tha' t' me. If mama doesn't already know, I'll tell 'er 'bout Anna. Then hopefully, we, as a famiglia, c'n wait til we're certain we're ready t' let Anna know we're here an' ready fo' 'er t' come home." Damien said, as he leaned down to scratch behind the ear of his German shepherd, who'd decided to lay down at his feet.
Zoey had watched Tyler silently. She wondered what kind of thoughts surrounding their baby sister were going around in his head. When she saw him pull out his photo-locket, she unconsciously grasped her own much smaller cream-colored heart-shaped locket. She had a very strong feeling that he was remembering the talent show, when she saw the picture of them in their 50's rockabilly costumes, and saw a ghost of a smile cross his face briefly. She too, remembered how much their Anna loved dancing, and how much she dreamed of being a dancer when she got older. Now Zoey wondered if that dream had changed over the last decade.
Like her older brothers, she'd missed and worried about their baby sister. Wondering what happened and fearing the worst. But now that Anna was back, she- like Tyler, couldn't wait to see her.
She saw Tyler pull out of his thoughts and heard his question, and Damien's reply. She asked a question of her own, in a near whisper. "What do we do in the meantime, Damien?"
Damien looked between his siblings and told them what he'd told Bella earlier. "'m goin' out in a li'l bit. Bot' o' ya are welcome t' come wit' me."
Tyler's eyes widened when he heard the invitation, and Zoey seemed to read his mind and jumped on it. "Are y' kiddin', Damien? We might no' get t' approach her IF we see 'er, but at least we'd get t' SEE 'er." she said, and saw Tyler nodding his head in agreement, as he closed his photo-locket.
Damien smiled. He knew his younger siblings wouldn't pass up what might be the only chance at seeing their missing baby sister. Closing his eyes, he almost felt a weight fall off his shoulders. Yes, he'd take them with him when he went out to his usual hangout at a club where they could grab some dinner and maybe have some fun playing pool, while keeping an eye out for their sister... IF she was going to show.
"Alright then. Go on upstairs and get cleaned up and dressed. We're gonna get outta here in..." Damien trailed off, as he looked at his watch. "'bout an hour. So make it quick."
Both his siblings, as if renewed with energy, quickly got up and raced for the stairs, Zoey slipping right passed Tyler, who was about to get up the first stair, and scowled, with Zoey laughing. "Hurry up, Slow poke!" she exclaimed, laughter in her voice. "We're gon' go see Anna t'night! An' y'r no' even up here t' get ready!"
Tyler growled, and ran up the stairs, to hear Zoey's squeal of laughter and a slamming of doors. His younger sister's laughter muffled by the door, she was now behind.
Damien laughed. It felt like the old days. And what Zoey said, sounded an awful lot like what Anna would have said. He got up and slowly made his way up the stairs, still chuckling. It was going to be an eventful night.
A/N: Bonjour! Yay! I finally updated and brought in Rogue's aka Anna's famiglia—family! ^_^
Hope everyone has enjoyed the story thus far. More is being written and typed up even as we speak, so plz stay with for the remainder of the story.
A chapter for the x-men is next.
* means it's not real, another figment of my imagination.
Language Translations:
French-English:
Stripe fille aux cheveux- striped-haired girl
fils d'un démon- son of a demon
mort-dead
mon cousin- my cousin
maudit fils d'un voleur- damn son of a thief
père et son oncle ex- - father and his estranged uncle
mon frère- my brother
petite- little
fille-girl
Oui. Quoi?- Yes. Why?
Tante- Aunt
tout va bien- alright
… mais Anna D'Ancanto a disparu il ya près de dix ans…- … but, Anna D'Ancanto went missing nearly ten years ago…
Je ne sais pas- I don't know
Demain- Tomorrow
Famille- family
mère et père- mother and father
Je suis désole- I'm sorry
votre mère et sa famile pour moi, vous voulez?- your mother and her family for me, will you?
mon père- my father
Non, absolument pas. Pas de nous au moins.- No, absolutely not. Not from us as least.
Ce n'est rien. Je comprends. Bonne chance alors- Never mind. I understand. Good luck then.
Italian-English:
Perfetto- Perfect
Si- yes
Zio e la zia- Uncle and aunt
Cosa ti porta qui?- What brings you here?
Che cosa era che circa ?- What was that about ?
Schiena di Anna- Anna's back.
Che cosa?! Venire di nuovo?- What?! Come again?
Per favore… la prego di dirmi che eri serio, e che Anna e veramente a casa- Please… please tell me that you were serious, and that Anna is truly home
Non riesco a scherzare su una cosa seria come la nostra sorellina- I can't joke about something as serious as our baby sister
Quendo? Come?- When? How?