AN: *sigh* silence…finally. The voices are gone for the moment so I felt that I should update, especially as I was so cruel last time and left you with that terrible cliff hanger. But first you must listen to by rambling, as per usual and I have some things to say to you guys. First, thank you for my over 400 reviews, a personal record, you are all by far my favourite fans, my other work doesn't get nearly as much praise. Secondly, unfortunately this fic is almost over and in order to end it I need to know whether you would like a sequel or not. I rather like it as a stand alone piece but I would like to know so I'm putting a poll together and you need to vote! Troisième I have a friend who has set up a forum and they have asked me to spread the word therefore if you can, I'd like y'all to check out .net it discusses general fan-culture such as fiction and art instead of focusing on specific works. It's really great and I hope you check it out and enjoy it. Enfin we need some comedy because that's all boring admin stuff therefore…drumroll please…two muffin's are in an oven, one muffin says to the other "Phew, it's hot in here" the other says "Holy Crap! A talking muffin!" *Bu dum tsh*
DISCLAIMER: Dude did you know that The Walt Disney Company now owns Marvel Comics? I found out while I was looking up the owner so I could make some witty joke about me being the owner and then the really owner coming to beat me to a pulp because I really don't. Anyway do you know how much they paid for it?...no? well I'm gonna tell you, $4.24 billion! Do I look like I'm someone with that kind of cash, heck no! Course I don't bloody own the X-Men, who do you think I am? Bill Gates? X-Men and all its affiliated characters belong to well…The Walt Disney Company now, so I guess that's…actually who owns Disney, it's not Walt cause he's dead and frozen, hmm… *wikipedia-ing* oh! Its some guy called Robert Iger. Ok…so…in summary that Iger guy owns X-men and not me.
Reviews: Thanks for all your favourite words to those that answer my question, I especially loved Mayachan2007 with inconspicuous that is a truly amazing word. Thank you all for supporting this fic and I hope you continue to review until the end.
Hehe hope you enjoy the show
~Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worst kind of suffering."~
~ Paulo Coelho, Brazilian novelist, 1947 – present)
Remy LeBeau was speeding through the French Quarter on his recently acquired motorcycle. A little something to make himself feel closer to Rogue after remembering one of there conversations in which she had told him that she loved the feeling of freedom whenever she stole Logan's bike back at the mansion.
But the closeness that the bike brought didn't fill the emptiness that now consumed him. It felt as though someone had ripped away part of his very soul, all that was left was hollowness, no pain, just numbness. But he could feel the emotion coming, a calm before the storm of despair and anguish. So in the meantime all he could do was wait for news, of anything and everything about his beloved that he had been forced to leave.
But now he was on his way to a meeting with his pere, they had a job for him, it was a welcome back to the fold and he was scared, not of the job of course, it was simple, he was scared of getting caught again, he wouldn't survive this time, going back to that place. He had prayed so many times for death but instead he was granted an angel that had kept him together and sane and with that he was captivated by the beauty of her spirit and the richness of her voice. But once again his ange had been ripped from him and all he was left with were reminders of his love for her.
They were everywhere, loving couples embracing on the streets mocked his separation from his chere, the gardens of the houses he passed were her clear, sparkling eyes, children laughing forced him to recall the sound that he had so craved while locked away in the pit of despair where they had met. Even the sound of the people around him breathing forced him back to the times he had been so beaten and in so much pain that he couldn't sleep that all he could do was listen to the sound of Rogue sleeping to help him remember that there was beauty in the world and that he needed to keep going and survive for her.
He finally reached the rundown old building in which the meeting was being held, it was very different to lavish grand halls in which these types of meeting were usually held but the constant attacks from The Assassins meant that secrecy was of even greater importance. At least it was something more to distract himself from his self pitying thoughts, if only for a little while.
Upon reaching the heavy steel door the familiar voice of Jules, a fellow thief who was used more for intimidation than skill, called out the first part of the pass code "It is the hour of departure, Oh abandoned one!" Remy winced as he replied with his own part "Yes but stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage"
A booming laugh echoed from the other side of the door and once it had been heaved open Remy deftly slipped inside, greeted by a bear hug and a clap on the back.
"It's been too long, mon ami"
"Apologies Jules, Remy's been previously engaged," deadpanned the Prince of Thieves, purposely creating the barrier between himself and the others. This was no longer his home, he may still crave the busy streets and the familiarity of its diversity that welcomed him like a mother would welcome their son, but he had learned that his only home, his one true home was wherever his amore was.
***
Darkness was everywhere, permeating the very air as the lithe thief slipped through the shadows like a ghost, unseen and unheard, searching for his prize. The silence was oppressing in the huge hallways of the museum with the ever staring eyes of the portraits that lined the walls following him as he made his way through the gallery area.
So many treasures, so many riches arranged around him but as usual he was searching for one thing in particular. A ring. One of the most sough after and expensive pieces of jewellery in the entire world. Not because of the size or qualities of the jewels, but because of who had worn it.
A white emeralds with green emeralds set on either side apparently it had been worn on the hand of the Egyptian Goddess Isis herself as a gift from Osiris and that it bound those who gifted to each other together for eternity. However the Guild cared nothing for this, all they understood was that they could sell it for a good $2 million if they wanted, thus Remy LeBeau, Prince of Thieves was currently hanging above the case that held the ring from a wire that was keeping him attached to the ceiling.
Pressure sensitive alarm system, elementary, simple, almost insultin'
All it took was a quick switch, replacing the ring with a broach that carried the insignia of the Thieves' Guild, a small token to "play" with the authorities. With movements almost too quick for the human eye the Cajun slipped from the building the same way he went in, third floor, second window from the left.
Leaving the bike in the parking lot of a small liquor store Remy opted to walk back to the checkpoint. After a couple of blocks he fished in his trench coat for the ring, it sparkled in the light given off from a streetlamp and he sighed, another reminder, another crushing tug at his heart.
He rounded a corner and drunken laughing exploded from the building on his left.
"frère! Tu change d'avis? (Brother! Change your mind?) Henri slurred as he stumbled out of the bar
"Non, Remy's just out for a walk" sighed the despondent younger brother
"Ready fah ton cambriolage tomorrow?" (your heist) This teased a smirk out of Remy.
"Remy's always ready frère plus âgé," (Older brother)
"You kno-" Henri attempted to reply before he almost tripped over his own feet, Remy catching him before he landed on his arse.
Both men chuckled as the demon eyed man patted his brother on the shoulder
"en la matin frère, en la matin" (In the mourning brother, in the mourning)
"In a w'ile crocodile!" Called the inebriated Cajun thief after the retreating figure who was still chuckling at his brother's antics.
He reached the safe house quickly after that, although he had gone off timetable he still adhered to protocol, after every job, no matter small, you always return to a safe house for the night to make sure that you haven't been made. Once he was inside he finally able to fully relax, there was no way anyone but a thief could get in, smirking at the irony of the situation he threw himself onto the small bed tucked away in the corner of the threadbare room. He had successfully completed yet another heist, but the usual thrill of triumph and accomplishment was somehow muted, the same as everything else ever since he had been parted from his chere.
The heartbroken man removed his signature trench coat while taking the newly acquired ring from one of its many hidden pockets. Once again he looked at it and contemplated the eyes that its jewels were so similar to, that they so strived to be and yet failed, they were too cold, too dead, his love's yeux (eyes) were warm, loving, alive and sparkled with their own light, the light of the fire in her soul. After while of this continued self torture Remy yawned and his unique eyes fluttered closed as he fell asleep still clutching the priceless ring in his clenched fist.
He stood in a dark, barren landscape, wisps of smoke and mist swirling around him at times coming together as though they were attempting to take a defined shape and form but then they would disperse, leaving no trace that they were their in the first place. The sense of a presence made itself known and Remy whipped round to find it but it was nowhere to be seen. There was just the nothingness that surrounded him but the presence, this sense of raw, twisted power still oppressed his senses. It crushed down on him with such force that it felt as though his chest was going to collapse forcing the Cajun to his knees while attempting to scream at the pain that was clenching at his heart, his eyes screwed shut he willed himself to wake up. He continued to scream but no noise was leaving his mouth. Everything began to spin around him, faster and faster until a small, gentle hand touched his shoulder and he whirled round to face the new threat.
But instead of the terrifying image of a night creature there was the smiling face of his amore.
"Whatcha doin'? yah silly swamp rat" she teased.
"Not'ing ma chere" a bewildered Remy choked out.
"Good cause, tag, yah're it!" with a small peck on the lips she ran off laughing, her hair shining in the afternoon sun. Remy watched her for a while before running after her.
The landscape had completely changed, where before it had been a barren landscape, with the only things visible being smoke and dust, now it was a lush green garden with a fountain in the centre. The grounds were huge and they were not the only ones there in fact, and they were all mutants, bursts and flashes of powers being used could be seen every so often. He was at the mansion. But he didn't care for that right now, he just took off running after the Southern Belle that had stolen his heart.
She had kept on running right off into the trees, disappearing from his view, a feeling of dread settled in his stomach, he had had this part of the dream before. He knew the inevitable end where he would run after her until "something" came after him and he would wake up drenched in sweat. But he still took off after her, just because he knew that he was doomed to fail, didn't meant that he was going to admit it, he would find her.
He hadn't been in the woods long before he realised that something was off, usually there was screaming now, but everything was quiet, eerily so. He decided to keep running, obviously his mind had come up with a new scenario for once, it was starting to get a bit clichéd.
But once again the landscape was starting to change, the trees were beginning to thin and the dirt on the ground was starting to shift beneath his feet, becoming grainier with every step. A desert. He was now battling his way through a desert, and Rogue was nowhere to be seen. Instead there was a small ten year-old friend boy with jarringly blue eyes.
"The monarchs were separated so the queen has died and the hearts will break" said the boy in a monotone voice
"Monaques? What monarc's? W'ere's Rogue?" Remy was panicked, he had no idea what was going on, but he had the feeling that the boy wasn't supposed to be in his dream, he wasn't from his mind at all.
"The Rose of the South, such beauty but untouchable with such deadly thorns, the red queen, the queen of hearts, the queen has gone." A slight melancholy tone crept into the boy's voice, but his haunting eyes stayed staring, unmoved straight ahead.
"W'at! Rogue's dead! W'at? 'ow? Why?" Horror gripped him, it had finally happened, he knew that she would be ripped from him he just hoped that he'd left before that could happen.
"The monarchs were separated" said the boy matter of factly.
"Who are t'e monarc's?" repeated Remy, frustrated by the boy's riddles.
"The ruler's of the hearts" the meaning of his words suddenly popped into the Cajun's mind, how many times had he called himself the king of hearts and Rogue his queen?
"Moi? S'e died...because Ah left? No! Rogue! Mon amor!" anguish once again gripped his heart.
"The foretold has been broken; it must be rectified if the one will rise" the boys eyes started to become unfocused, staring straight over the thief's shoulder.
"Ah can get 'er back! 'ow? Tell me! Ah'll do anyt'ing!" a strange emotion had taken hold of Remy, he was buzzing, ready to run to the ends of the earth and back, ready to sell his soul if he had to, anything to bring back the one that he love and who loved him back.
"Isis raised Osiris, so then she can grow the rose through her green power" something flickered in the eyes of the boy, as though something was fighting to resurface, but Remy shook it off.
"Green power? Isis?...wait Isis....t'e ring....t'e ring can brin' 'er back" He would never dismiss a myth ever again. If the ring brought his river rat back he would tattoo Isis's name all over his body in worship and thanks.
The boy smiled "yes the ring can grow the rose" If it was possible the boy's eyes began to glow, a cold, dead blue emanating from what seemed a cold, dead soul. But he could be all that bad could he? He was just a garcon and he had given him a way to bring back Rogue.
He then reached forwards to touch Remy on the shoulder, as soon as the boy's hand touched his arm Remy woke with a start, the boys cold, blue eyes, almost glowing, were burned into his eyes.
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Quotes: Pablo Neruda and Richard Lovelace (both poets)