Of Thieves and Martyrs

Chapter Eleven: Insecurities

Previously...

"That was it, son, you're truly a Thief now," Jean Luc said proudly as he watched John slip the ring on his right ring finger.

X~X~X

"Where are we going?" Rogue asked Gambit as he led her out of their hotel room. It didn't take long for the charismatic young man to convince the already intrigued Rogue to pack up her things and change because they were going places. He was going places and taking her with him. As nomadic and lonely as his life is in New York, it would be nice to have someone around to keep him company, someone who understood him and did not have any ties to the world that they would miss.

He was lucky, he thought as he stared at the wide eyed girl, to have found her and to know that she was willing to let him be her guide as she explored the many layers of her mutation.

"Just follow Gambit, he know the way," he said coyly and stopped suddenly before she even had a chance to close the door to the hotel room behind her. She noticed that he kept his large body in front of her so hide her from the street. Was there danger? She thought to herself and stayed hidden behind him as a precautionary measure.

"Back into the room, petite, there something here that I need to handle," he said swung his hand behind her to open the door, not breaking his position in front of her. She obeyed and stepped into the room, noticing that he closed it behind her.

Quietly walking to the window, she pushed the curtains open to take a small peek at what he could deem as so harmful that he would want to keep her away from it.

She noticed him walking up to a blonde and very hysterical woman. Regardless of her smeared makeup and mascara running down her face, it didn't hide her gorgeous face structure and stunning physique. Rogue wasn't sure why but she felt a little self conscious after seeing this obviously beautiful woman and the interacting she was sharing with Gambit.

He had walked up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders with both of his hands to calm her down. While Marie couldn't hear what they were saying, the expressions on their face spoke volumes. She was angry and hysterical and he, coy and not concerned.

The exchange between Gambit and the distraught woman ended with the swiftness of her hand as she slapped him in the face before returning to her room. Remy held his face for a bit to try to soothe the sting before making his way back to the room that Rogue secretly watched from.

"Angry girlfriend," it was the first thing that escaped Marie's lips before she even thought about it and thought about how ridiculous of a question it was for her to even ask him. She who had only encountered him twice in her lifetime, who barely even know him at all; it was absurd to think that he would owe her a response to such an intrusive question.

"Girlfriend," he laughed as though the world girlfriend was foreign to him, "Please, Gambit is too much of a scoundrel to have one."

"She didn't look happy," Rogue said it as more of a way to break the awkwardness of the exchange that she just witnessed.

"Here's a secret Cher, consider it lesson number one," he said and grabbed her bags effortlessly as he opened the door, gesturing for them to leave, "Most people aren't happy, at least not until they figure out what they want. Even if they ultimately don't get what they want, knowing what it is gives them the courage and freedom to keep going at it."

She followed behind him and couldn't help but ask, "What do you want?"

"Did I say I was happy?" He gave her his trademark smirk and closed the hotel door behind her as the slight wind billowed across the streets. He took off his long brown duster without even thinking and placed it on her, protecting her from the cold. As much as he wanted people to believe that he was a scoundrel, a playboy, an inconsiderate bastard, she felt in her hearts of hearts that he wasn't like that. Someone who was a scoundrel would not try to save and protect her on multiple occasions while risking his anonymity as a mutant.

X~X~X

"Here's to you John," Jean Luc said proudly as he poured the slightly intoxicated mutant another glass of bourbon.

"You maybe lazy but I always knew you had it in you," Henri gave him a brotherly shove as they tipped their glasses back. It didn't take long for word to spread that the Guild's second heir apparent has transitioned from just a novice into a fully fledged member. If anyone knew how to celebrate it was the people of New Orleans and within hours all members of the Guild were received with welcome into the house of Lebeau as alcohol and celebration poured and poured until every single member was either drunk on the dark liquor or drunk on the success of John.

No one could have been more proud then Henri and Jean Luc. He was their protégé and while he sort of fell into their laps, his success was in large part due to their relentless teachings and lessons.

"I learn from the best," John complimented Henri. Never in his life had Henri heard those words from any of his disciples and it made him even more proud that above all, John was humble.

"I can't believe THAT was the test, it was a piece of cake," John said with such arrogance and confidence that Jean Luc felt reassured in knowing that he was finally coming around and feeling like he was a member of the Guild.

John, Jean Luc, and Henri were in such celebratory bliss that they didn't notice the fading laughter and various conversations slowly fading as the sound of a single clap grew louder and louder. A tall slender figure approached them that was the source of the clapping.

"Congratulations, John," the smooth voice female voice spoke with a stern and serious look that refused to leave her face. John wasn't sure whether or not the crowd in the room was silenced by her beauty or by her mere presence. She radiated a strong sense of power like she commanded the attention of everyone in any room that she walked in.

"It's not every day that one of Jean Luc's proves himself," she emphasized his name and stole a quick glance at him. John wasn't sure whether or not he was imagining it but he almost saw his father cower slightly at the sight of the woman.

"I'm sorry," John said, trying to find the courage to be around her. There was something about her that made him uncomfortable, untrusting. He wasn't sure what it was but she possessed a vibe around him that screamed maliciousness. "I don't think I know you…."

"Why shame on you," she directed it towards Jean Luc again as she walked over to him and circled him in an amusing manner. "How could you not tell John that I was the one that took care of him while he was in a coma? I was the one that nursed him back to health."

While John did not suspect that what she said untrue, he felt that she was not the maternal, nursing type.

"Thank you," the young mutant said, "but I don't think…."

"You don't remember me? I'm Emma, your father and I are close friends. In fact we have some things to discuss." She gestured towards the other room and for the first time in his life John saw his father following instead of leading and it did not sit right with him that the person he was following was Emma Frost.

X~X~X

Just a little sample until the next installment