STOLEN MOMENTS
by Daria
[Marvel disclosure: All X-Men characters are the property of Marvel Comics; all rights reserved. This is a work of fan-fiction. No permission was granted to use these characters. This story may not be reprinted or published without written permission of the author and may not be used for profit of any kind.]
My Diary
by Bella Donna Boudreaux
March 19, 1994
Dear Diary:
I'm sure tired! The last two days have been exhausting, what with preparing for Cousin Josephina's wedding and then attending it yesterday. By the time I finally got to bed last evening I was bone-tired, but I had trouble to sleep because my cousin done give me a piece of her wedding cake wrapped in linen to put under my pillow, for to see the face of my future husband in my dreams that night. Damn thing made me so uncomfortable that I tossed and turned my head on top of it all night and don't remember dreaming at all. Right then and there I knew I'd spend the whole day sleepwalking.
This is St. Joseph's Day, so there's Italian flags and decoration all over the Piazza D' Italia and other parts of New Orleans. I heard music everywhere while I was walking around after school, but then there's always music in the French Quarter, naturally. That's just the kind of town it is. I'm glad that my grandfather keeps the house in town so that I can go to school and shop in the city, but it ain't half as nice there as it is way out here in Cajun Country along the bayou. There's a lot of violence in the Big Easy sure enough, and I almost ended up being caught in it this afternoon. But then *HE* came along! *kiss*
I was strolling along the patio walkway after stopping for one of them good ol' vanilla creme cones on the Vieux Carre on my way home after leaving St. Francis of Asissi School today. *Go Friars!* I would have been along sooner, but that ol' Sister Anne done made me stay late and dust her dang chalk erasers and clean her board on account of she caught me trading notes with Marie Broussard. She was telling me about how her older sister, Angeline, had two boys fighting to take her to the Cotillion Ball. I can't wait until I make sixteen and my Grandpapa presents me at Cotillion too. I'll get me one of them pretty dresses with a big hoop skirt and four yards of silk frills and have my hair all done up in curls and ribbons. Heck, I'm only eleven; sixteen is like one hundred years from now! *frown*
Now I know that old nun got eyes in the back of her veil, but I did it anyway---I wrote a note asking Marie which boy Angeline picked. I just had to know, seeing as I was surprised she'd get any boys asking after her, her not being the prettiest thing around and all. ANYWAY, forget that now--- this is the good part. Well, the good part is coming up! Some men pulled up behind me in a big black limousine car and jumped out. I was figuring on that they was stopping to pick up something from one of the restaurants--- there's a lot of delivery doors along the alleyway---but one of them tried to grab me and I could see that the other had a gun in a holster around his upper arm because his coat blew up with the wind. I was just about to hit the first guy in his manhood, and then God sent an ANGEL down to me!
I looked up when the sun was suddenly blocked, and yonder came flying downward this ANGEL---serious as a heart attack! He had long, reddish brown hair and red eyes---yeah, RED, I said!---and his big, loose, white shirt was flying up all around him. I thought I saw wings, but I expect it was his shirt tails flying, really. With the sun shining down on him, he looked just like that stained glass window in the church of St. Michael, head full of rock star beautiful flowing hair, coming down out of Heaven with his gleaming sword held high above his head. My angel was SO pretty, just like that, and he was holding a weapon, too, but I think it was a hammer or a crowbar, not a shiny sword. Don't matter---it was just as dreamy!
It all happened so fast! The angel leveled them two bag guys with a couple of swift blows; next thing they knew, they was flat on the ground. Then he grabbed my hand and said, "Run, cherie! I'll cover you!" Well I'll tell you right now that I wasn't running nowhere until I'd made them two mugs sorry they'd messed with me, so I kicked them both good in a place they'll remember for a long time to come. Then I told that angel, "I can take care of myself!" But he took my hand in his and we run as fast as we could. Before we knew it, we was in Jackson Square and hiding behind the oleander bushes.
Aaaaiiiiiieeeeee---I tell you, that's when I got a chance to really LOOK at my angel, yeah! And you know what, Diary? That weren't no St. Michael type angel, no! It was a boy just as flesh and blood as me! The boy said his name is "Remy;" that's a fine and handsome name for a hero. After all, there's a Saint by the name of Remy, and this boy sure looked like he was Heaven-sent when the sun was shining on his pretty hair as he jumped down off of that rooftop to help me!
I expect that if anyone else was to look at Remy, they wouldn't be thinking "angel from Heaven," what with them eyes he's got! More like they'd be thinking that he's the son of the Devil himself. Them eyes are so weird! Red-red-red and black all around. Real strange-looking eyes they are, but for some reason they didn't scare me like you'd figure they would. And once I got used to them and talked to him for a while, I found out that Remy sure is nice and a gentleman, too, in a messy little boy sort of way. Kind of sweet, you know? He ain't got a home or folks or nothing; that's why he knows the alley so well: he lives there. No mama, no papa...and he's real poor. He didn't even have socks on with his shoes, and that shirt of his had holes in it and was about three sizes too big. It was easy to see without looking too hard where he'd been wiping his dirty hands. Child says he gets his clothes out of the church collection barrels, that's when they don't frighten him off because of his eyes. I sure feel sorry for him, and there he was feeling sorry for me and trying to rescue me. 'Course boys think girls can't take care of themselves, but my family is the premier clan of the Guild Of Assassins and I live with my dear Gran'pere, Marius Boudreaux---the Patriarch of the family and of the Guild---so you bet I can protect myself. Always have been able to, since back when I was just a bitsy girl.
So we were sitting in the park under a big old tree, and do you know that boy started holding my hand without so much as a by your leave?! Fresh! I let him do it, though, because he was trying to be nice, and he sure was brave to help me out like that. Then he tried to kiss me too, you know---so I whacked him on the head with my Geography book and told him if he didn't put those lips away I'd feed them to him! He got all bashful and begged me to forgive him, though, so I told him it was all right. After all, what red- blooded son of Acadie wouldn't want to kiss a "jolie blond" blue eyed girl like me? Must be a million Cajun waltzes written about just that subject. Besides, I kind of thought it was kind of cute...but I wasn't telling Monsieur Lips that or he'd have crossed the line and gotten too bold!
I'm going to meet Remy in Jackson Square again tomorrow afternoon, and I'm figuring on trying to save him some of my lunch; he sure don't look like he gets much to eat, no. I could hear his stomach growling, but I tried politely to pretend I didn't. Ain't no use of embarrassing somebody who can't help his stomach asking to be fed.
Well, I have to go to bed now before Gran'pere finds out I'm writing under the covers with the flashlight again. Julien, that old big-mouthed snake of a brother of mine, probably done told him already that I got a light on, on account of I can hear the old man coming up the stairs now. Julien makes me SICK! Blaaaaaaahhhhhhh! Bon nuit, mon chere Diary!
May 10
I've been seeing that Remy boy on the sly for weeks and weeks now. He's just as kind and sweet as he was the day he done helped me escape from them kidnappers. I've been asking Alida, our maid, to put two sandwiches in my sack for lunch. She was so funny, asking me, "Where you puttin' all dat food, li'l one?!" I tell her, "I'm a growing girl, so them sandwiches will help me to shoot up real tall real fast." Really, I eat half of one sandwich and save the whole of the other one for Remy; then I eat my other half with him when we meet down to the park in the afternoon. He didn't want to take food from me at first; I think it made him feel bad to be taking stuff off a girl. But that's just stupid, you know? When you're hungry and your belly's roaring like a tiger, you should take what's offered to you. Anyway, he finally agreed to accept the sandwiches from me, but he all the time saves one half for later that evening. It wouldn't surprise me if he's saving it for one of the other orphans he knows back in those alleys.
Remy's just one of a bunch of homeless kids who hide out in the back alleys of the Warehouse District and the French Quarter, among other places. From what he tells me, though, most all the street folks he sees back there shun him on account of those eyes of his. I don't get why he'd bother to help people who don't even like him. He hides up on the rooftops, mostly, and tries to keep out of sight during the day. Like a vampire, Remy says that he only likes to come out into public at night; I guess it's just safer for him, rather than him getting into trouble because people fear his eyes. But Remy couldn't be less like a vampire if he tried: I ain't never met someone so alive with joy, fun and kindheartedness. When he's telling one of them yarns of his, he throws his whole body into it, and he tickles himself so much when he's telling a whopper that he sometimes laughs too hard to finish the tale! I don't know how he can feel lighthearted knowing that nobody wants him, but I'm glad that it don't seem to bother him too much. I don't know what I'd do if nobody took care of me or loved me like my family does. Gran'pere and my aunties always tell me how much they love me and they look after me good, yeah. Too bad Remy can't find him somebody like that, but then I figure that if his real family didn't want him, who else would? Poor thing.
Oh yeah---and get this! That ol' dumb face Felice at school was shooting off her mouth again today, like she's ever got anything else to do, the old busy body! She thinks she's better than us Cajuns, talking about how her French roots go back to the 1600s in Louisiana and that her family was favored by the King Of France, unlike our people who came along in the 1750s as exiles and slaves. Merde. Got the nerve to tell me that she's got more pretty dresses than I got, too. Pah! I'm going to get Old Papa to take me shopping this weekend and buy me an even prettier frock than I've already got for Eloise Oiseau's birthday party---and that should fix her up just fine! Some nerve! Everyone knows I'm the prettiest girl in the school and got the nicest clothes, just like the grand-daughter of the Patriarch should. Some people just don't know their place.
June 1
I figured I'd wait awhile until I had me something really juicy to tell you, Diary! You know that little orphan boy I done told you all about--- Remy? He's gone and got himself adopted! I feel good and bad about it, though, mean as that sounds. It's good he found someone to take him in off of the streets, especially since it's so hot that you could cook an egg on the sidewalk right about now. He ain't been getting much food or water and has been looking really tired; some days I worried that he wouldn't live to show up for our next rendezvous at the park. I'm glad someone is going to be responsible for putting some decent clothes on his back and food in his belly. But he went and got adopted by the enemies of my people, the clan LeBeau of the Guild Of Thieves! In fact, he's now the son of the King Of The Thieves, Jean-Luc LeBeau! My Gran'pere all the time hated that man, and his papa, Jacques LeBeau, before him. I ain't never heard a good word for him out of Gran'papa; he says the man is only fit to destroy everything the Guilds have built up over the years. Remy sure makes his new papa sound nice, but I'd bet that a lot of that talk is down to that boy's charm; he don't like to talk bad about folks, even the ones who have hurt him.
It's hard to describe, but Remy can just talk to you and make you feel so good and peaceful inside and all that it's hard to be mean to him, even for me, and I'm an Assassin! Like with Monsieur LeBeau: Remy was stealing the man's wallet when he got caught by him! Oh that boy be SO stupid sometimes! He said Monsieur LeBeau was real mad at first, but then they started in to talking and the man asked him why he was stealing, so he told him about Fagan's Mob. See, these men got them a rundown old building in the Warehouse District that's marked for storage as a cover, but their real stock in trade is that they take in orphans...so long as them kids steal stuff for them. They train them to pick pockets, shoplift and swipe anything of value they can get; in exchange, they let them sleep on the floor on mats or old blankets in the warehouse. Remy says they give them one meal a day most of the time---just a cup of some watered-down Cajun Stew and stale bread at best---and they are happy to get it, too. If the orphans don't bring back enough goods, they get thrown out until they get enough to buy their way back in, plus some rough treatment to boot. Remy won't ever admit to where they come from, but I've been seeing bruises on him all the time since I met him. The way he drops his head anytime I look at them tells me all I need to know.
Anyway, Monsieur LeBeau done took pity on him and took him in, even legally adopted him and gave him his name. If you ask me, I think that man just wants him because Remy's such a clever thief already; he just wants to use him like them other men did. The Thieves are all out of their minds! They steal, but they give away all of their riches! They believe in living in poverty and are all the time praying, praying, praying...when they ain't cooking, eating, dancing, playing music and stealing the gold fillings out of your head, that is. It's more than just about religion; most folks who know about the Thieves say they're a cult of crazy people. Guess they think my family's Guild is like that too, although no one's stupid enough to say it out loud. We ain't assassins for nothing, neh? I guess all the crazy talk is one thing that fuels the feud between the Guilds. It all goes back almost 300 years---the rituals, the weird powers, the hate, the killing and the tithing to the External, the god-like being who grants those powerful "gifts" that Old Papa won't tell me all about yet. My insane, sword- wielding brother is going to be the head of our Guild when Gran'pere dies, sorry as that is to say. Julien is planning to put a hit on all of the Thieves and wipe out every last one of them when he's the leader. I don't like to think about what's going to happen when he comes up against Remy. He'll probably kill him on sight...but I don't need no brother no way and won't miss him much.
Without Julien in the picture, that would make me the Matriarch and the future of the Guilds will all be up to me. I think I'll kill all of the Thieves except for Remy's papa and his brother, Henri, but that's only because Henri got himself a real pretty Harley-Davidson with flames painted on the gas tank, and does that man ever look fine in that long brown coat of his! O' ye-ya-yais, cherie!!! I'm figuring on getting him to take me for rides...once his girlfriend Mercy is dead and won't be taking up his precious time no more, that is. Lordy, I'm gonna be a caution when I get older! Ya Ya!
September 7
First day of school! Yuck---I hate it more and more every year! The nuns made all of us girls line up in the hallway for to measure our skirts. They took rulers in hand and swatted our backsides if the hemline was above our knees. I had to take out the roll at my waist and drop my skirt down low to avoid the penguin attack. All of them boys was laughing at us, but they got swatted on the hand if the Sisters caught them at it. Some of the boys got swatted so often that their hands looked like they'd been picking bushels of boysenberries and couldn't avoid the prickles. It was Remy's first day at school. I saw him leaning against a wall watching the nuns rip out our skirt hems while he rated our legs by flashing his notebook, Olympic style scores written in big numbers in blue ink. Before the morning was out, his hands looked like he'd been trying to climb over barbed wire.
This afternoon when we caught up with each other, Remy admitted that he'd been pretty nervous all day and that he's never been so scared in his whole life. He so brave that I didn't think anything could scare him! Them nuns sure got him spooked, yeah---but then, he's got them spooked too. They made him wear dark glasses so his eyes wouldn't scare anyone; I think they were more afraid than any kid would be. Some of the smart-allecky boys were making fun of Remy all day for those glasses, as well as because he's taking some classes with the younger kids on account of he ain't had much book learning, except for what he was able to read while hiding out in the library at night. He'd tried hard to teach himself things that he figured he'd need to know about, but there's not much call for antique art and jewelry appraisal in middle school.
It was bad enough that the other boys were making cracks about Remy all day, but my stupid brother caught us walking past Commander's Palace after school together and Remy just HAD to be holding my hand at the time! Julien came up and started yelling in Remy's face, like, "You stay away from my sister, thief! You ain' good enough to lick her shoes, you freak!" and all like that. Remy stayed calm and talked to him nice---like trying to charm him---but he ended up having to block some punches from Julien before long. I tried to make my brother stop, but in the end I had to beg Remy to leave me with Julien and run off for home. The last thing I remember was Julien yelling back at Remy, telling him "I'm gonna kill you if I see you 'round my sister again, chien!" Something tells me he's going straight to Gran'pere about this...and that can't be good.
September 8
Ain't got much to say today. I've been grounded, thanks to that low-life creep, Julien, telling Gran'pere about me and Remy. I've never seen Old Papa so mad! You know that vein that stands out on his head when he's talking about how much he hates the Thieves Guild? I swear that the vein was talking instead of Gran'pere! It got big and blue and throbbed real bad while he was yelling, and he told Julien to walk me home everyday after school to make sure I couldn't see Remy no more. *sniff* That's ok, though, because the payback is that Julien can't play football and show off for the girls no more after school, and boy is he pissed! See? Stupid people ought to keep their mouths shut, but they're too stupid to know that before showing out. Fool!
September 21
It's my birthday! Vive por moi! Tres bien! I was beginning to think that the day was never coming, and now it's already almost over! I got SO much to tell you, Diary!
It was such a pretty day---and a good thing, too---'cause my party was out in the garden. Alida was busy all morning with hanging Japanese lanterns on the patio and cooking in the kitchen. I could smell the mirepoix for the etoufee being sauteed not long after lunch, with all the yummy chopped celery and cilantro and garlic melting away in that creamy butter from Mr. Fontaineaux' dairy. Ain't nothing smell better than that stuff, I tell you that! When I'm away and I think about home, that's what I smell in my head. We was up late shelling crawfish last night; Alida said I could help her if I wanted to. I like twisting off their heads! It's kind of gross, I guess, but it's fun! Sure takes a lot of them little mudbugs to make up a good meal, though!
I had me a long, lazy bath before breakfast and planned on a big meal because I had a lot to do today all over New Orleans, yeah. By 11am, I was down to the hairdresser with Auntie Lisette, there to get my hair curled again; them sausage curls sure take forever to do. Gran'pere bought me a big, pretty blue bow to put in my hair for my party, so I took it with me to see how it would look. Very nice, I must say! From the salon, we went to have lunch at Commander's Palace and had a fancy time of it; that was Tante Lisette's big birthday surprise for me! It sure was good food, but the best part was the Bananas Foster I had for dessert! It was a wonderful treat; I'm never going to forget it. After we did that, Tantie took me to Voorhees department store so I could pick out some new dresses...AND A TRAINING BRA!!! My Annette Funicellos---that's what Tantie calls them---they've finally started to come on! I guess Gran'pere feels kind of uncomfortable about taking me for that kind of shopping, so it was fun to go with a lady to take care of me and fuss over me. I still don't think I'm going to bother with that training bra under my overalls when I'm out shooting at opossums with my slingshot, though I tried on a few bras that would make better slingshot bands than the one I've got, to be sure!
The other girls started arriving at my party about 5 o'clock and filled the foyer closet with one pretty coat after another and another. We used the hall table for my gifts, and boxes of every color and size were piled high to the ceiling before long. I couldn't wait to start tearing into them, but just as I'd started pulling at a very expensive-looking bow, Alida called me and everyone else to the dining room for our supper. Dang if that woman doesn't have the worst timing!
Everything was going nicely when I noticed my brother glaring at me from the verandah; then I saw him turn real fast and run off. There was some shouting and I heard other boys yelling, but Gran'pere told me to ignore it and have a good time, saying that it was probably just my brother and cousins acting crazy, as usual.
Anyway, when the party was over I went upstairs and flopped on my bed, tired from all the day's goings on. Nice as it was to have all of my friends here to make me happy on my birthday, I just wanted some peace and quiet and to think about Remy, the one person I wish could have been here to help me celebrate my day. He's got a way of making me feel so special just by smiling at me; it would have really made my day just to have that smile shine on me. Suddenly, I noticed that there was something so shimmery and shiny next to my head that I almost jumped out of my bed for fear of it! And then my eyes focused on the glittering form and my heart jumped! It was a present from Remy: a beautiful jeweled necklace! Next to it was a "Happy Birthday" note written on a little piece of paper in his bad handwriting; poor thing, he never did take too good to using a pen, starting school so late and all. The note said, "Joyeux Anniversaire, mon cherie, mon amour, mon ami, mon coeur... Remy." It even had little hearts drawn on it...not drawn very well, but still, ain't that the sweetest thing? And there was the most beautiful orange rose attached to the note by a blue ribbon lined with lace. It smells so pretty that when I close my eyes and hold it to my nose I swear I could float off to Heaven on its scent. I'm going to press it between two pages here before I go to sleep and keep it forever!
Everything was going fine until I showed the necklace to Gran'pere and told him that Remy gave it to me; I even told him about the day Remy and I met and how he'd protected me. I thought he'd be happy that my friend thought so much of me to have given me something that was obviously pretty expensive, plus I'd figured that Remy's gallant rescue tale would make up for whatever trash Julien had said about him. Instead, Gran'pere started screaming at me to stay away from "that no-good, thieving little freak" and said to give my necklace to him so that he would "deal with it!" Well I wouldn't do it and I ain't never going to! It's mine---Remy done give it to me---and I ain't letting anything happen to it! He give me this because he loves me. I know he stole it, and I know his papa will probably wail the heck out of him for giving it away, but it means that he really loves me, just like I love him. I got sent to my room and bought a month of extra chores for defying Old Papa, but I don't care. I hid the necklace real good and I'm not even telling you where, Diary, lest my ol' no-neck brother steal you and read about this. I'm going to wear that necklace on my wedding day, the day I marry Remy LeBeau. I'm putting the rose here now; you please to take care of it for me.
by Daria
[Marvel disclosure: All X-Men characters are the property of Marvel Comics; all rights reserved. This is a work of fan-fiction. No permission was granted to use these characters. This story may not be reprinted or published without written permission of the author and may not be used for profit of any kind.]
My Diary
by Bella Donna Boudreaux
March 19, 1994
Dear Diary:
I'm sure tired! The last two days have been exhausting, what with preparing for Cousin Josephina's wedding and then attending it yesterday. By the time I finally got to bed last evening I was bone-tired, but I had trouble to sleep because my cousin done give me a piece of her wedding cake wrapped in linen to put under my pillow, for to see the face of my future husband in my dreams that night. Damn thing made me so uncomfortable that I tossed and turned my head on top of it all night and don't remember dreaming at all. Right then and there I knew I'd spend the whole day sleepwalking.
This is St. Joseph's Day, so there's Italian flags and decoration all over the Piazza D' Italia and other parts of New Orleans. I heard music everywhere while I was walking around after school, but then there's always music in the French Quarter, naturally. That's just the kind of town it is. I'm glad that my grandfather keeps the house in town so that I can go to school and shop in the city, but it ain't half as nice there as it is way out here in Cajun Country along the bayou. There's a lot of violence in the Big Easy sure enough, and I almost ended up being caught in it this afternoon. But then *HE* came along! *kiss*
I was strolling along the patio walkway after stopping for one of them good ol' vanilla creme cones on the Vieux Carre on my way home after leaving St. Francis of Asissi School today. *Go Friars!* I would have been along sooner, but that ol' Sister Anne done made me stay late and dust her dang chalk erasers and clean her board on account of she caught me trading notes with Marie Broussard. She was telling me about how her older sister, Angeline, had two boys fighting to take her to the Cotillion Ball. I can't wait until I make sixteen and my Grandpapa presents me at Cotillion too. I'll get me one of them pretty dresses with a big hoop skirt and four yards of silk frills and have my hair all done up in curls and ribbons. Heck, I'm only eleven; sixteen is like one hundred years from now! *frown*
Now I know that old nun got eyes in the back of her veil, but I did it anyway---I wrote a note asking Marie which boy Angeline picked. I just had to know, seeing as I was surprised she'd get any boys asking after her, her not being the prettiest thing around and all. ANYWAY, forget that now--- this is the good part. Well, the good part is coming up! Some men pulled up behind me in a big black limousine car and jumped out. I was figuring on that they was stopping to pick up something from one of the restaurants--- there's a lot of delivery doors along the alleyway---but one of them tried to grab me and I could see that the other had a gun in a holster around his upper arm because his coat blew up with the wind. I was just about to hit the first guy in his manhood, and then God sent an ANGEL down to me!
I looked up when the sun was suddenly blocked, and yonder came flying downward this ANGEL---serious as a heart attack! He had long, reddish brown hair and red eyes---yeah, RED, I said!---and his big, loose, white shirt was flying up all around him. I thought I saw wings, but I expect it was his shirt tails flying, really. With the sun shining down on him, he looked just like that stained glass window in the church of St. Michael, head full of rock star beautiful flowing hair, coming down out of Heaven with his gleaming sword held high above his head. My angel was SO pretty, just like that, and he was holding a weapon, too, but I think it was a hammer or a crowbar, not a shiny sword. Don't matter---it was just as dreamy!
It all happened so fast! The angel leveled them two bag guys with a couple of swift blows; next thing they knew, they was flat on the ground. Then he grabbed my hand and said, "Run, cherie! I'll cover you!" Well I'll tell you right now that I wasn't running nowhere until I'd made them two mugs sorry they'd messed with me, so I kicked them both good in a place they'll remember for a long time to come. Then I told that angel, "I can take care of myself!" But he took my hand in his and we run as fast as we could. Before we knew it, we was in Jackson Square and hiding behind the oleander bushes.
Aaaaiiiiiieeeeee---I tell you, that's when I got a chance to really LOOK at my angel, yeah! And you know what, Diary? That weren't no St. Michael type angel, no! It was a boy just as flesh and blood as me! The boy said his name is "Remy;" that's a fine and handsome name for a hero. After all, there's a Saint by the name of Remy, and this boy sure looked like he was Heaven-sent when the sun was shining on his pretty hair as he jumped down off of that rooftop to help me!
I expect that if anyone else was to look at Remy, they wouldn't be thinking "angel from Heaven," what with them eyes he's got! More like they'd be thinking that he's the son of the Devil himself. Them eyes are so weird! Red-red-red and black all around. Real strange-looking eyes they are, but for some reason they didn't scare me like you'd figure they would. And once I got used to them and talked to him for a while, I found out that Remy sure is nice and a gentleman, too, in a messy little boy sort of way. Kind of sweet, you know? He ain't got a home or folks or nothing; that's why he knows the alley so well: he lives there. No mama, no papa...and he's real poor. He didn't even have socks on with his shoes, and that shirt of his had holes in it and was about three sizes too big. It was easy to see without looking too hard where he'd been wiping his dirty hands. Child says he gets his clothes out of the church collection barrels, that's when they don't frighten him off because of his eyes. I sure feel sorry for him, and there he was feeling sorry for me and trying to rescue me. 'Course boys think girls can't take care of themselves, but my family is the premier clan of the Guild Of Assassins and I live with my dear Gran'pere, Marius Boudreaux---the Patriarch of the family and of the Guild---so you bet I can protect myself. Always have been able to, since back when I was just a bitsy girl.
So we were sitting in the park under a big old tree, and do you know that boy started holding my hand without so much as a by your leave?! Fresh! I let him do it, though, because he was trying to be nice, and he sure was brave to help me out like that. Then he tried to kiss me too, you know---so I whacked him on the head with my Geography book and told him if he didn't put those lips away I'd feed them to him! He got all bashful and begged me to forgive him, though, so I told him it was all right. After all, what red- blooded son of Acadie wouldn't want to kiss a "jolie blond" blue eyed girl like me? Must be a million Cajun waltzes written about just that subject. Besides, I kind of thought it was kind of cute...but I wasn't telling Monsieur Lips that or he'd have crossed the line and gotten too bold!
I'm going to meet Remy in Jackson Square again tomorrow afternoon, and I'm figuring on trying to save him some of my lunch; he sure don't look like he gets much to eat, no. I could hear his stomach growling, but I tried politely to pretend I didn't. Ain't no use of embarrassing somebody who can't help his stomach asking to be fed.
Well, I have to go to bed now before Gran'pere finds out I'm writing under the covers with the flashlight again. Julien, that old big-mouthed snake of a brother of mine, probably done told him already that I got a light on, on account of I can hear the old man coming up the stairs now. Julien makes me SICK! Blaaaaaaahhhhhhh! Bon nuit, mon chere Diary!
May 10
I've been seeing that Remy boy on the sly for weeks and weeks now. He's just as kind and sweet as he was the day he done helped me escape from them kidnappers. I've been asking Alida, our maid, to put two sandwiches in my sack for lunch. She was so funny, asking me, "Where you puttin' all dat food, li'l one?!" I tell her, "I'm a growing girl, so them sandwiches will help me to shoot up real tall real fast." Really, I eat half of one sandwich and save the whole of the other one for Remy; then I eat my other half with him when we meet down to the park in the afternoon. He didn't want to take food from me at first; I think it made him feel bad to be taking stuff off a girl. But that's just stupid, you know? When you're hungry and your belly's roaring like a tiger, you should take what's offered to you. Anyway, he finally agreed to accept the sandwiches from me, but he all the time saves one half for later that evening. It wouldn't surprise me if he's saving it for one of the other orphans he knows back in those alleys.
Remy's just one of a bunch of homeless kids who hide out in the back alleys of the Warehouse District and the French Quarter, among other places. From what he tells me, though, most all the street folks he sees back there shun him on account of those eyes of his. I don't get why he'd bother to help people who don't even like him. He hides up on the rooftops, mostly, and tries to keep out of sight during the day. Like a vampire, Remy says that he only likes to come out into public at night; I guess it's just safer for him, rather than him getting into trouble because people fear his eyes. But Remy couldn't be less like a vampire if he tried: I ain't never met someone so alive with joy, fun and kindheartedness. When he's telling one of them yarns of his, he throws his whole body into it, and he tickles himself so much when he's telling a whopper that he sometimes laughs too hard to finish the tale! I don't know how he can feel lighthearted knowing that nobody wants him, but I'm glad that it don't seem to bother him too much. I don't know what I'd do if nobody took care of me or loved me like my family does. Gran'pere and my aunties always tell me how much they love me and they look after me good, yeah. Too bad Remy can't find him somebody like that, but then I figure that if his real family didn't want him, who else would? Poor thing.
Oh yeah---and get this! That ol' dumb face Felice at school was shooting off her mouth again today, like she's ever got anything else to do, the old busy body! She thinks she's better than us Cajuns, talking about how her French roots go back to the 1600s in Louisiana and that her family was favored by the King Of France, unlike our people who came along in the 1750s as exiles and slaves. Merde. Got the nerve to tell me that she's got more pretty dresses than I got, too. Pah! I'm going to get Old Papa to take me shopping this weekend and buy me an even prettier frock than I've already got for Eloise Oiseau's birthday party---and that should fix her up just fine! Some nerve! Everyone knows I'm the prettiest girl in the school and got the nicest clothes, just like the grand-daughter of the Patriarch should. Some people just don't know their place.
June 1
I figured I'd wait awhile until I had me something really juicy to tell you, Diary! You know that little orphan boy I done told you all about--- Remy? He's gone and got himself adopted! I feel good and bad about it, though, mean as that sounds. It's good he found someone to take him in off of the streets, especially since it's so hot that you could cook an egg on the sidewalk right about now. He ain't been getting much food or water and has been looking really tired; some days I worried that he wouldn't live to show up for our next rendezvous at the park. I'm glad someone is going to be responsible for putting some decent clothes on his back and food in his belly. But he went and got adopted by the enemies of my people, the clan LeBeau of the Guild Of Thieves! In fact, he's now the son of the King Of The Thieves, Jean-Luc LeBeau! My Gran'pere all the time hated that man, and his papa, Jacques LeBeau, before him. I ain't never heard a good word for him out of Gran'papa; he says the man is only fit to destroy everything the Guilds have built up over the years. Remy sure makes his new papa sound nice, but I'd bet that a lot of that talk is down to that boy's charm; he don't like to talk bad about folks, even the ones who have hurt him.
It's hard to describe, but Remy can just talk to you and make you feel so good and peaceful inside and all that it's hard to be mean to him, even for me, and I'm an Assassin! Like with Monsieur LeBeau: Remy was stealing the man's wallet when he got caught by him! Oh that boy be SO stupid sometimes! He said Monsieur LeBeau was real mad at first, but then they started in to talking and the man asked him why he was stealing, so he told him about Fagan's Mob. See, these men got them a rundown old building in the Warehouse District that's marked for storage as a cover, but their real stock in trade is that they take in orphans...so long as them kids steal stuff for them. They train them to pick pockets, shoplift and swipe anything of value they can get; in exchange, they let them sleep on the floor on mats or old blankets in the warehouse. Remy says they give them one meal a day most of the time---just a cup of some watered-down Cajun Stew and stale bread at best---and they are happy to get it, too. If the orphans don't bring back enough goods, they get thrown out until they get enough to buy their way back in, plus some rough treatment to boot. Remy won't ever admit to where they come from, but I've been seeing bruises on him all the time since I met him. The way he drops his head anytime I look at them tells me all I need to know.
Anyway, Monsieur LeBeau done took pity on him and took him in, even legally adopted him and gave him his name. If you ask me, I think that man just wants him because Remy's such a clever thief already; he just wants to use him like them other men did. The Thieves are all out of their minds! They steal, but they give away all of their riches! They believe in living in poverty and are all the time praying, praying, praying...when they ain't cooking, eating, dancing, playing music and stealing the gold fillings out of your head, that is. It's more than just about religion; most folks who know about the Thieves say they're a cult of crazy people. Guess they think my family's Guild is like that too, although no one's stupid enough to say it out loud. We ain't assassins for nothing, neh? I guess all the crazy talk is one thing that fuels the feud between the Guilds. It all goes back almost 300 years---the rituals, the weird powers, the hate, the killing and the tithing to the External, the god-like being who grants those powerful "gifts" that Old Papa won't tell me all about yet. My insane, sword- wielding brother is going to be the head of our Guild when Gran'pere dies, sorry as that is to say. Julien is planning to put a hit on all of the Thieves and wipe out every last one of them when he's the leader. I don't like to think about what's going to happen when he comes up against Remy. He'll probably kill him on sight...but I don't need no brother no way and won't miss him much.
Without Julien in the picture, that would make me the Matriarch and the future of the Guilds will all be up to me. I think I'll kill all of the Thieves except for Remy's papa and his brother, Henri, but that's only because Henri got himself a real pretty Harley-Davidson with flames painted on the gas tank, and does that man ever look fine in that long brown coat of his! O' ye-ya-yais, cherie!!! I'm figuring on getting him to take me for rides...once his girlfriend Mercy is dead and won't be taking up his precious time no more, that is. Lordy, I'm gonna be a caution when I get older! Ya Ya!
September 7
First day of school! Yuck---I hate it more and more every year! The nuns made all of us girls line up in the hallway for to measure our skirts. They took rulers in hand and swatted our backsides if the hemline was above our knees. I had to take out the roll at my waist and drop my skirt down low to avoid the penguin attack. All of them boys was laughing at us, but they got swatted on the hand if the Sisters caught them at it. Some of the boys got swatted so often that their hands looked like they'd been picking bushels of boysenberries and couldn't avoid the prickles. It was Remy's first day at school. I saw him leaning against a wall watching the nuns rip out our skirt hems while he rated our legs by flashing his notebook, Olympic style scores written in big numbers in blue ink. Before the morning was out, his hands looked like he'd been trying to climb over barbed wire.
This afternoon when we caught up with each other, Remy admitted that he'd been pretty nervous all day and that he's never been so scared in his whole life. He so brave that I didn't think anything could scare him! Them nuns sure got him spooked, yeah---but then, he's got them spooked too. They made him wear dark glasses so his eyes wouldn't scare anyone; I think they were more afraid than any kid would be. Some of the smart-allecky boys were making fun of Remy all day for those glasses, as well as because he's taking some classes with the younger kids on account of he ain't had much book learning, except for what he was able to read while hiding out in the library at night. He'd tried hard to teach himself things that he figured he'd need to know about, but there's not much call for antique art and jewelry appraisal in middle school.
It was bad enough that the other boys were making cracks about Remy all day, but my stupid brother caught us walking past Commander's Palace after school together and Remy just HAD to be holding my hand at the time! Julien came up and started yelling in Remy's face, like, "You stay away from my sister, thief! You ain' good enough to lick her shoes, you freak!" and all like that. Remy stayed calm and talked to him nice---like trying to charm him---but he ended up having to block some punches from Julien before long. I tried to make my brother stop, but in the end I had to beg Remy to leave me with Julien and run off for home. The last thing I remember was Julien yelling back at Remy, telling him "I'm gonna kill you if I see you 'round my sister again, chien!" Something tells me he's going straight to Gran'pere about this...and that can't be good.
September 8
Ain't got much to say today. I've been grounded, thanks to that low-life creep, Julien, telling Gran'pere about me and Remy. I've never seen Old Papa so mad! You know that vein that stands out on his head when he's talking about how much he hates the Thieves Guild? I swear that the vein was talking instead of Gran'pere! It got big and blue and throbbed real bad while he was yelling, and he told Julien to walk me home everyday after school to make sure I couldn't see Remy no more. *sniff* That's ok, though, because the payback is that Julien can't play football and show off for the girls no more after school, and boy is he pissed! See? Stupid people ought to keep their mouths shut, but they're too stupid to know that before showing out. Fool!
September 21
It's my birthday! Vive por moi! Tres bien! I was beginning to think that the day was never coming, and now it's already almost over! I got SO much to tell you, Diary!
It was such a pretty day---and a good thing, too---'cause my party was out in the garden. Alida was busy all morning with hanging Japanese lanterns on the patio and cooking in the kitchen. I could smell the mirepoix for the etoufee being sauteed not long after lunch, with all the yummy chopped celery and cilantro and garlic melting away in that creamy butter from Mr. Fontaineaux' dairy. Ain't nothing smell better than that stuff, I tell you that! When I'm away and I think about home, that's what I smell in my head. We was up late shelling crawfish last night; Alida said I could help her if I wanted to. I like twisting off their heads! It's kind of gross, I guess, but it's fun! Sure takes a lot of them little mudbugs to make up a good meal, though!
I had me a long, lazy bath before breakfast and planned on a big meal because I had a lot to do today all over New Orleans, yeah. By 11am, I was down to the hairdresser with Auntie Lisette, there to get my hair curled again; them sausage curls sure take forever to do. Gran'pere bought me a big, pretty blue bow to put in my hair for my party, so I took it with me to see how it would look. Very nice, I must say! From the salon, we went to have lunch at Commander's Palace and had a fancy time of it; that was Tante Lisette's big birthday surprise for me! It sure was good food, but the best part was the Bananas Foster I had for dessert! It was a wonderful treat; I'm never going to forget it. After we did that, Tantie took me to Voorhees department store so I could pick out some new dresses...AND A TRAINING BRA!!! My Annette Funicellos---that's what Tantie calls them---they've finally started to come on! I guess Gran'pere feels kind of uncomfortable about taking me for that kind of shopping, so it was fun to go with a lady to take care of me and fuss over me. I still don't think I'm going to bother with that training bra under my overalls when I'm out shooting at opossums with my slingshot, though I tried on a few bras that would make better slingshot bands than the one I've got, to be sure!
The other girls started arriving at my party about 5 o'clock and filled the foyer closet with one pretty coat after another and another. We used the hall table for my gifts, and boxes of every color and size were piled high to the ceiling before long. I couldn't wait to start tearing into them, but just as I'd started pulling at a very expensive-looking bow, Alida called me and everyone else to the dining room for our supper. Dang if that woman doesn't have the worst timing!
Everything was going nicely when I noticed my brother glaring at me from the verandah; then I saw him turn real fast and run off. There was some shouting and I heard other boys yelling, but Gran'pere told me to ignore it and have a good time, saying that it was probably just my brother and cousins acting crazy, as usual.
Anyway, when the party was over I went upstairs and flopped on my bed, tired from all the day's goings on. Nice as it was to have all of my friends here to make me happy on my birthday, I just wanted some peace and quiet and to think about Remy, the one person I wish could have been here to help me celebrate my day. He's got a way of making me feel so special just by smiling at me; it would have really made my day just to have that smile shine on me. Suddenly, I noticed that there was something so shimmery and shiny next to my head that I almost jumped out of my bed for fear of it! And then my eyes focused on the glittering form and my heart jumped! It was a present from Remy: a beautiful jeweled necklace! Next to it was a "Happy Birthday" note written on a little piece of paper in his bad handwriting; poor thing, he never did take too good to using a pen, starting school so late and all. The note said, "Joyeux Anniversaire, mon cherie, mon amour, mon ami, mon coeur... Remy." It even had little hearts drawn on it...not drawn very well, but still, ain't that the sweetest thing? And there was the most beautiful orange rose attached to the note by a blue ribbon lined with lace. It smells so pretty that when I close my eyes and hold it to my nose I swear I could float off to Heaven on its scent. I'm going to press it between two pages here before I go to sleep and keep it forever!
Everything was going fine until I showed the necklace to Gran'pere and told him that Remy gave it to me; I even told him about the day Remy and I met and how he'd protected me. I thought he'd be happy that my friend thought so much of me to have given me something that was obviously pretty expensive, plus I'd figured that Remy's gallant rescue tale would make up for whatever trash Julien had said about him. Instead, Gran'pere started screaming at me to stay away from "that no-good, thieving little freak" and said to give my necklace to him so that he would "deal with it!" Well I wouldn't do it and I ain't never going to! It's mine---Remy done give it to me---and I ain't letting anything happen to it! He give me this because he loves me. I know he stole it, and I know his papa will probably wail the heck out of him for giving it away, but it means that he really loves me, just like I love him. I got sent to my room and bought a month of extra chores for defying Old Papa, but I don't care. I hid the necklace real good and I'm not even telling you where, Diary, lest my ol' no-neck brother steal you and read about this. I'm going to wear that necklace on my wedding day, the day I marry Remy LeBeau. I'm putting the rose here now; you please to take care of it for me.