A/N: Okey doke. Here's Chapter Three. Basically... well... never mind, I'm not gonna give it away. It's not really long, only four pages. I wanted to save the rest for a separate chapter, through I guess they could be combined but the title called for another Chap. Just read, then review, then I'll post Chap Four. :O)
Chapter Three - What's in a Name?
She'd been there for a week now and though she felt comfortable enough she had yet to speak to anyone with her voice. She would ~speak~ with Xavier and Jean but even then it was mostly 'thank you', 'hello', or 'goodnight', never more than that. Barely a day or two had passed though before she had gained the trust of the younger children, Richard exposing her to them the day after he had coaxed her from her room. They were the first ones to pick up on the 'trick' of her eyes. Richard had explained it to the professor as he sat on the desk in his teacher's office, legs pumping and grin splitting his face.
'It's her feeling's pr'f'ssor. Whatever she feels that's what color her eyes are,' he explained. 'If she sad then they're blue or if she's happy they're yellow. White is when she's normal. Oh, and black means she's in pain. We was playin' and she got pushed over and fell on the driveway. I seen her eyes go all black for a minute and then they went back to normal.'
The morning was chilly but she didn't want to miss out on her morning ritual. Throwing the covers off she showered and slipped into a dress, pulling her wet hair up into a bun as she walked down the hallway to the stairway that led up to the roof. Once outside, on the small ledge that was there, she sat down on the ledge and watched as the sun rose in the early morning sky. Letting down her hair she brushed it out, allowing the slight breeze to ruffle through it leaving its fresh scent behind.
Down on the ground another soul was enjoying the morning time. He had come out here to gain some peace before the hectic Monday began. Watching the sunrise he was surprised to hear music coming from the distance. Looking around for its source he was about to give up when he saw her on the roof. Charles knew that, like her eyes, the music was a good indicator of her mood. Listening to it he felt a sense of calm come over him, relaxing him and helping him to forget about the worries the day would bring. He couldn't help but watch, enraptured by the scene as it unfolded before him.
Her hair, down and flowing freely, was longer than he'd imagined. It had to reach to her knees at the least and the dark tawny brown was streaked with red in the rays of the morning sun. So caught up in her he didn't notice at first that the mansion had begun to wake until the din of thoughts flowed over him, overwhelming his own thoughts. Raising his barriers against the population of the mansion he shook his head, disappointed in himself that he had let himself intrude on such a private moment, whether his presence was known or not. Turning his chair he moved into the building and made his way to his office to do some work before breakfast.
She had felt his presence in the morning calm and, while his barriers had been lowered, she'd been able to read his emotions. There was so much love within him, love for his students, his friends, but there was also so much sadness. He was so saddened by the way the world treated mutants and that they couldn't find peace. But his sadness was overweighed by his hope. Hope that one day soon human and mutant would live in peace as one people. For the first time since coming to his school, she had a true understanding of Charles Xavier, who he was and what he wanted from life.
Unsure of what she should do with her newfound knowledge she bit her lip in concentration and made her way downstairs for breakfast. Take her place with the adults, she had began sitting there only a few days ago, she carefully avoided looking at him directly. The meal passed quickly and she found that she had the morning to spend alone. While the children were in class the hallways were empty and she roamed them, still learning which ones led where. Entering an elevator at the end of a new hallway she wondered at the 'down' arrow. Pressing it she waited until the doors opened once more and she was shocked at what lay before her.
A seemingly never-ending hallway, entirely silver in color, loomed out before her. Slowly she left the confines of the elevator and traversed the hallway, looking in doorways that were open and testing the ones that were closed. Getting to the end of the hallway she found the door was locked and turned to head back the way she had come when the locked door suddenly opened and she saw him sitting in his chair, rolling out into the hallway. Beyond him she could see some sort of walkway that led to a control panel supporting something she couldn't quite make out, though the wires that came off it she could see easily enough.
She stared at him for a moment, wondering if she had crossed the line by being down here.
"I was wondering how long it would take you to find the lover levels, though I must admit you found them sooner than I had thought. Would you like a tour?" he offered, trying to put her at ease.
She nodded and off they went. Xavier told her all about the X-Men, who they were, what they did, and what was held within the lover levels. He knew he was taking a big risk telling her everything like he was, but after watching her over the past week in her dealing with the children and with the other residents of the mansion, his instinct told him she could be trusted. When they made their way down Hallway Three he could feel her confusion by all the open doors and empty rooms.
"These are the training rooms. This is where the X-Men train for whatever battles that may come. They use their powers as well as their own physical strength. Perhaps you would like to try a simulation when you're feeling up to it."
Though her eyes were still taking in the rooms she shook her head no. Fighting was not her style. She preferred the peaceful way of things and, though she could defend herself somewhat, knew she was powerless against that which the X-Men fought. The tour continued until they were back at the elevators. Committing the hallways and rooms to memory she rode back up to the main floor. The duo continued in silence until they reached Xavier's office.
"Well I must get back to work. I'm glad we got to spend some time together. Now that you know everything about the X-Men I'm sure you have a lot to think about," he said smiling up at her.
Nodding she moved off and he rolled into his office and over to his desk to prepare for his afternoon classes. A small noise from the doorway caught his attention and he looked up to see her watching him, her bottom lip clenched within her teeth, her eyes, a swirling mixture of blue and purple, wide open with indecision.
"Did you need something?" he called out kindly.
His words jolted her out of her reverie and she fled from the doorway only to return a few minutes later. This time he stayed silent, watching as she tried to make up her mind about something, something he sensed was a big decision for her to make. The bell rang out announcing the class change and she jumped, startled by the sudden noise, but stayed where she was. Charles kept silent, not pushing her to make her decision. Her fingers clenched the doorframe, their tips turning white from the pressure, as she continued to chew her lips. With a slight exhale she reached her decision and met his stare.
"My name is Tranquillity."
No sooner were the words out of her mouth than the second door to the large office opened and several children streamed in for their class with the Professor. Diverting his eyes to them for a moment he looked back to the doorway only to find it empty, she had fled. The flicker of annoyance at the disruption was swallowed by the joy he felt that she had finally spoken aloud to him, a sure sign that she trusted him. Waiting for the children he pondered over her name. 'Tranquillity,' he thought to himself. 'Peace, a fitting name. She's already brought peace to many of the hearts in my school.'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Her heart pounding she leaned against the door to her room as she shut it behind her. She'd done it. She'd spoken to him, told him her name. Even though she was frustrated by the interruption Tranquillity was glad, it gave her a chance to think before she would see him again. She'd taken a big chance by telling him her name, one of the names she had been given by her dear friend Briggeet.
Tranquillity could still remember the day she had been 'named'. It was soon after she became aware of her gift. She had been forced to hide from the people in her small hometown, their hatred of any mutant so strong that it didn't matter she was a peaceful one. But Briggeet had found her and had promised to help her as much as she could, bringing food and clothing to the abandoned shack she was hiding in. They had been chatting over a fire, her family thinking she was spending the night camping in the woods, when she had made her announcement.
'Tranquillity. That's what you should call yourself.'
'Tranquillity? Why Tranquillity?'
'Because that's what you do. You bring peacefulness to a person. Like when I was sad after my cat died, you made me happy by pulling my happy memories of him to my mind. Yes, you should call yourself Tranquillity. Of course I'll still call you Meadow Lark, no one can sing like you can.'
They'd laughed; one of the few times since she had fled her home that she'd had reason to feel such joy. It wasn't long until Briggeet was unable to make it out to the shack regularly. After missing her best friend for almost a year Tranquillity snuck back into town, intent of making sure she was okay. Under the cover of night she went first to the home her friend had grown up in and found it occupied by another family. Traipsing through the small town she didn't know where to look next. A light caught her attention and Tranquillity made her way towards it, passing through the gate of the cemetery until she reached it. It was a lamp, held by a woman who was sobbing over a grave.
Reaching out she touched the woman's shoulder to comfort her. The woman jumped and turned to look up at Tranquillity.
'You! We'd thought you'd left town! If they find you they'll kill you!' The woman was Briggeet's mother, Sandra. Looking past her she saw the headstone and read the writing only to fall to her knees, tears streaming from her now black eyes. 'She was in a car accident. She died right away, never felt any pain.' Gasping sharply at the voices in the distance she crouched down low next to her daughters best friend. Dropping her voice to a whisper she shoved the sobbing girl with a forceful shove. 'I ain't no Mutie lover but I know you and my girl were good to each other. Get out of here; go now! If they find you they'll kill you. Go! Leave here and never come back! Get out of here!'
And she ran. For over a month she walked the roads at night, getting rides where she could, until she found herself in another small town. Passing off her eyes as being blind she got a job and lived a quiet life, never telling anyone what she really was. Her boss, Jacob Lenright of the Lenright General Store, was a kind man, always seeing her to and from home for work and quickly became a good friend. Until the day he turned on her along with everyone else in the small town of Glenshire. When she saw him emerge from his car she'd felt some relief, knowing that her friend would help her control the crowd that had gathered around her, and her now dead mutant friend.
But she was wrong, and it almost cost Tranquillity her life. Allowing Jacob to get close she smiled a watery smile at him, hoping he would comfort her like the friend she knew him to be. Instead he had shoved her to the ground and yelled, riling the crowd into another frenzy, intent on killing the mutant he had been 'deceived into employing'. Tranquillity ran; she ran for her life, and had felt in her heart that she would die that day.
In a way she had. One man had destroyed her faith in people, just as one man had built it up again. Professor Charles Xavier had managed to rekindle, in one week, what she had given up on entirely. Shaking her head she sat down in the window seat and stared out at the lake. He hadn't given up, hadn't allowed her to give up. Smiling, her eyes shifted from the blue and purple swirls to a light shade of pink as her view of the man who had saved her changed as well.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter Three - What's in a Name?
She'd been there for a week now and though she felt comfortable enough she had yet to speak to anyone with her voice. She would ~speak~ with Xavier and Jean but even then it was mostly 'thank you', 'hello', or 'goodnight', never more than that. Barely a day or two had passed though before she had gained the trust of the younger children, Richard exposing her to them the day after he had coaxed her from her room. They were the first ones to pick up on the 'trick' of her eyes. Richard had explained it to the professor as he sat on the desk in his teacher's office, legs pumping and grin splitting his face.
'It's her feeling's pr'f'ssor. Whatever she feels that's what color her eyes are,' he explained. 'If she sad then they're blue or if she's happy they're yellow. White is when she's normal. Oh, and black means she's in pain. We was playin' and she got pushed over and fell on the driveway. I seen her eyes go all black for a minute and then they went back to normal.'
The morning was chilly but she didn't want to miss out on her morning ritual. Throwing the covers off she showered and slipped into a dress, pulling her wet hair up into a bun as she walked down the hallway to the stairway that led up to the roof. Once outside, on the small ledge that was there, she sat down on the ledge and watched as the sun rose in the early morning sky. Letting down her hair she brushed it out, allowing the slight breeze to ruffle through it leaving its fresh scent behind.
Down on the ground another soul was enjoying the morning time. He had come out here to gain some peace before the hectic Monday began. Watching the sunrise he was surprised to hear music coming from the distance. Looking around for its source he was about to give up when he saw her on the roof. Charles knew that, like her eyes, the music was a good indicator of her mood. Listening to it he felt a sense of calm come over him, relaxing him and helping him to forget about the worries the day would bring. He couldn't help but watch, enraptured by the scene as it unfolded before him.
Her hair, down and flowing freely, was longer than he'd imagined. It had to reach to her knees at the least and the dark tawny brown was streaked with red in the rays of the morning sun. So caught up in her he didn't notice at first that the mansion had begun to wake until the din of thoughts flowed over him, overwhelming his own thoughts. Raising his barriers against the population of the mansion he shook his head, disappointed in himself that he had let himself intrude on such a private moment, whether his presence was known or not. Turning his chair he moved into the building and made his way to his office to do some work before breakfast.
She had felt his presence in the morning calm and, while his barriers had been lowered, she'd been able to read his emotions. There was so much love within him, love for his students, his friends, but there was also so much sadness. He was so saddened by the way the world treated mutants and that they couldn't find peace. But his sadness was overweighed by his hope. Hope that one day soon human and mutant would live in peace as one people. For the first time since coming to his school, she had a true understanding of Charles Xavier, who he was and what he wanted from life.
Unsure of what she should do with her newfound knowledge she bit her lip in concentration and made her way downstairs for breakfast. Take her place with the adults, she had began sitting there only a few days ago, she carefully avoided looking at him directly. The meal passed quickly and she found that she had the morning to spend alone. While the children were in class the hallways were empty and she roamed them, still learning which ones led where. Entering an elevator at the end of a new hallway she wondered at the 'down' arrow. Pressing it she waited until the doors opened once more and she was shocked at what lay before her.
A seemingly never-ending hallway, entirely silver in color, loomed out before her. Slowly she left the confines of the elevator and traversed the hallway, looking in doorways that were open and testing the ones that were closed. Getting to the end of the hallway she found the door was locked and turned to head back the way she had come when the locked door suddenly opened and she saw him sitting in his chair, rolling out into the hallway. Beyond him she could see some sort of walkway that led to a control panel supporting something she couldn't quite make out, though the wires that came off it she could see easily enough.
She stared at him for a moment, wondering if she had crossed the line by being down here.
"I was wondering how long it would take you to find the lover levels, though I must admit you found them sooner than I had thought. Would you like a tour?" he offered, trying to put her at ease.
She nodded and off they went. Xavier told her all about the X-Men, who they were, what they did, and what was held within the lover levels. He knew he was taking a big risk telling her everything like he was, but after watching her over the past week in her dealing with the children and with the other residents of the mansion, his instinct told him she could be trusted. When they made their way down Hallway Three he could feel her confusion by all the open doors and empty rooms.
"These are the training rooms. This is where the X-Men train for whatever battles that may come. They use their powers as well as their own physical strength. Perhaps you would like to try a simulation when you're feeling up to it."
Though her eyes were still taking in the rooms she shook her head no. Fighting was not her style. She preferred the peaceful way of things and, though she could defend herself somewhat, knew she was powerless against that which the X-Men fought. The tour continued until they were back at the elevators. Committing the hallways and rooms to memory she rode back up to the main floor. The duo continued in silence until they reached Xavier's office.
"Well I must get back to work. I'm glad we got to spend some time together. Now that you know everything about the X-Men I'm sure you have a lot to think about," he said smiling up at her.
Nodding she moved off and he rolled into his office and over to his desk to prepare for his afternoon classes. A small noise from the doorway caught his attention and he looked up to see her watching him, her bottom lip clenched within her teeth, her eyes, a swirling mixture of blue and purple, wide open with indecision.
"Did you need something?" he called out kindly.
His words jolted her out of her reverie and she fled from the doorway only to return a few minutes later. This time he stayed silent, watching as she tried to make up her mind about something, something he sensed was a big decision for her to make. The bell rang out announcing the class change and she jumped, startled by the sudden noise, but stayed where she was. Charles kept silent, not pushing her to make her decision. Her fingers clenched the doorframe, their tips turning white from the pressure, as she continued to chew her lips. With a slight exhale she reached her decision and met his stare.
"My name is Tranquillity."
No sooner were the words out of her mouth than the second door to the large office opened and several children streamed in for their class with the Professor. Diverting his eyes to them for a moment he looked back to the doorway only to find it empty, she had fled. The flicker of annoyance at the disruption was swallowed by the joy he felt that she had finally spoken aloud to him, a sure sign that she trusted him. Waiting for the children he pondered over her name. 'Tranquillity,' he thought to himself. 'Peace, a fitting name. She's already brought peace to many of the hearts in my school.'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Her heart pounding she leaned against the door to her room as she shut it behind her. She'd done it. She'd spoken to him, told him her name. Even though she was frustrated by the interruption Tranquillity was glad, it gave her a chance to think before she would see him again. She'd taken a big chance by telling him her name, one of the names she had been given by her dear friend Briggeet.
Tranquillity could still remember the day she had been 'named'. It was soon after she became aware of her gift. She had been forced to hide from the people in her small hometown, their hatred of any mutant so strong that it didn't matter she was a peaceful one. But Briggeet had found her and had promised to help her as much as she could, bringing food and clothing to the abandoned shack she was hiding in. They had been chatting over a fire, her family thinking she was spending the night camping in the woods, when she had made her announcement.
'Tranquillity. That's what you should call yourself.'
'Tranquillity? Why Tranquillity?'
'Because that's what you do. You bring peacefulness to a person. Like when I was sad after my cat died, you made me happy by pulling my happy memories of him to my mind. Yes, you should call yourself Tranquillity. Of course I'll still call you Meadow Lark, no one can sing like you can.'
They'd laughed; one of the few times since she had fled her home that she'd had reason to feel such joy. It wasn't long until Briggeet was unable to make it out to the shack regularly. After missing her best friend for almost a year Tranquillity snuck back into town, intent of making sure she was okay. Under the cover of night she went first to the home her friend had grown up in and found it occupied by another family. Traipsing through the small town she didn't know where to look next. A light caught her attention and Tranquillity made her way towards it, passing through the gate of the cemetery until she reached it. It was a lamp, held by a woman who was sobbing over a grave.
Reaching out she touched the woman's shoulder to comfort her. The woman jumped and turned to look up at Tranquillity.
'You! We'd thought you'd left town! If they find you they'll kill you!' The woman was Briggeet's mother, Sandra. Looking past her she saw the headstone and read the writing only to fall to her knees, tears streaming from her now black eyes. 'She was in a car accident. She died right away, never felt any pain.' Gasping sharply at the voices in the distance she crouched down low next to her daughters best friend. Dropping her voice to a whisper she shoved the sobbing girl with a forceful shove. 'I ain't no Mutie lover but I know you and my girl were good to each other. Get out of here; go now! If they find you they'll kill you. Go! Leave here and never come back! Get out of here!'
And she ran. For over a month she walked the roads at night, getting rides where she could, until she found herself in another small town. Passing off her eyes as being blind she got a job and lived a quiet life, never telling anyone what she really was. Her boss, Jacob Lenright of the Lenright General Store, was a kind man, always seeing her to and from home for work and quickly became a good friend. Until the day he turned on her along with everyone else in the small town of Glenshire. When she saw him emerge from his car she'd felt some relief, knowing that her friend would help her control the crowd that had gathered around her, and her now dead mutant friend.
But she was wrong, and it almost cost Tranquillity her life. Allowing Jacob to get close she smiled a watery smile at him, hoping he would comfort her like the friend she knew him to be. Instead he had shoved her to the ground and yelled, riling the crowd into another frenzy, intent on killing the mutant he had been 'deceived into employing'. Tranquillity ran; she ran for her life, and had felt in her heart that she would die that day.
In a way she had. One man had destroyed her faith in people, just as one man had built it up again. Professor Charles Xavier had managed to rekindle, in one week, what she had given up on entirely. Shaking her head she sat down in the window seat and stared out at the lake. He hadn't given up, hadn't allowed her to give up. Smiling, her eyes shifted from the blue and purple swirls to a light shade of pink as her view of the man who had saved her changed as well.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*