*Chapter 5*
~Ebb and Flow~
The next few weeks were something of a blur for everyone. While the Lord sought a starting point for the search those chosen prepared, planned, and packed. They made agreements with friends to take over chores for however long they would be gone and made vague plans for a small feast in the groups honor. Jean found two part-time baby-sitters in Ororo and Rogue and left a long list of instructions for her husband. Piotr aided Logan in acquiring supplies, making Bobby their errand boy. Kitty made it her job to prepare the groups horses, making sure that they were all healthy and that their riding gear was in good shape, still finding time to help Amara with her new horse as promised. When all was completed at the end of the third week the planned mini-feast was held and the group left to board their boat.
Now here they were, on a boat crossing the English Channel, headed for the French coast. The Channel was narrow here so the ship voyage would be no longer than a day at most. But that was too long for Bobby, however, who at this moment was suffering from a violent bout of sea-sickness. He had never been on a sea-faring vessel before, being a carpenter's son, and, needless to say, was not enjoying himself. No one else aboard was enjoying either, giving him a wide berth if they needed to walk near him. If he was this bad on a calm day, they couldn't image what it would be like if a storm were to appear, and they didn't want to either.
Kitty sat alone near the bow of the ship, on the side opposite from Bobby. Logan was at the stern, smoking a pipe while half-listening to Jean trying some of her poetry on him. Piotr was below-decks watching the horses. He said that he was making sure that the horses weren't afraid; Kitty suspected that the idea of being over very deep water was the real reason. If he didn't see it, it wasn't so, or at least that was the idea. Shadowcat was amused by this, but it faded as her thoughts drifted to other things. She gazed sightlessly out over the gentle swells of saltwater as memories moved through her mind like the ebb and flow of the tides. As gulls wheeled effortlessly through the air, Katharine's mind traveled through her past.
Her thoughts began with recent events, like how things had gone so far with Amara's horse and how Bobby slipped up on his own ice while running some errands for Logan. But her thoughts took a turn towards the past and she remembered times when she didn't live with her friends in Lord Xavier's mansion. Back to when she was younger, when things were simple, when she had no powers, when her parents still loved her. Snippets of memories flowed through her mind's eye, never lingering on one image or event. Then, for some odd reason, one memory in particular moved to the front of her mind. This memory was of a person that she had not thought of in a long, long time and at first she tried once again to forget. But this memory was a not a painful or sad one, and eventually she gave in, immersing herself in the past.
~ ~ ~
Little Katharine was not a happy girl. Today was the first day of December and the beginning of the feasting season. Nearly everyday in this month is the feast day of some saint or another, and this was also the start of the Christmas holiday. Little Katharine should be happy, excited, joyous, not upset like she was. But her day had not been going well, and it showed no signs of improving.
First, her mother had placed her in charge of the younger cousins who had recently arrived for the holidays. Katharine's older cousins, Mary Ann and Theresa, were supposed to be helping her, but they found the older boys of neighboring residences far more interesting than their assigned duties. This left little Katharine to watch a dozen of her younger relations, some of whom were nearly her age, all by herself. They proved to be too much for the eight-year-old Katharine and, within the hour, the children were running amok through the feast preparations. For this, little Katharine was severely scolded. Her older cousins, however, somehow manage to escape any punishment.
Second, after being yelled at, she was drafted to run errands for the adults. The adults demanded everything be done right and be done now. Little Katharine tried her very best to be helpful, to do things the way the grown-ups wanted, but she was only eight and nowhere near capable of meeting such expectations. She could only move so fast and her memory could not handle multiple errands or complex messages. As a result, she messed up her tasks more often than doing them right. This angered her grown relatives who were only concerned with making this month of feasts and celebrations work. They yelled at her for hr mistakes and belittled her for her clumsiness. This lasted several hours until they relieved her of her duties.
And third, as if her earlier troubles weren't enough, her older cousins Phillip, George, and Thomas decided to "play" with her. They began by teasing her with her many failures, which they had been witness to. Then, they mocked her protests to their teasing, enjoying every moment of little Katharine's torment. And then Thomas attacked her weakness, a worn rag-doll dragon by the name of Lockheed. Thomas at some point had slipped away to Katharine's bedchamber and found the stuffed creature resting on her bed. He took it and brought it to the attention of his cohorts. Now her torment escalated to the level of the Spanish Inquisition. The cruel elder cousins taunted little Katharine by denying her the comforting presence of her stuffed companion. This unbearable torture, combined with the stressful events of the day, was too much for the eight-year-old girl-child to bear. She fled the scene in tears, chased by the cruel laughter of her teen-aged male cousins.
So now little Katharine was running down the halls of her grandfather's mansion, nearly blinded by her tears. Today was supposed to be a good day, a happy day, full of food, family, and good cheer. But no, today had transformed into a living nightmare, and, like all nightmares, it would only get worse. This day was in a downward spiral, and the hope that it would improve in any way was non-existent. Little Katharine was so wrapped up in her thoughts and tears that she didn't see what was directly in her path.
There was a soft thud as Katharine collided with some boy who had been standing in the middle of the corridor, looking out of a window. He couldn't have been much older than she was, and since he hadn't seen her coming, was caught by surprise. They both ended up on the cold, stone floor in a tangled heap, Katharine still sobbing. She didn't know who she had run into, and was far beyond caring. It was when the boy said something to her that she looked up, confused. Little Katharine hadn't understood a word the boy had said to her. It was then that she realized that she didn't know who the boy was; she'd never seen him before in all her eight years of life.
He was small, not much taller than she was, and somewhat scrawny looking. He had jet black hair, dark brown eyes, and a strangely pale complexion. And as Katharine studied the strange boy, she realized that she was sprawled awkwardly on top of him and he wasn't happy about it. She hastily scrambled off of him with a whispered; her eyes fell to the floor and stayed there. Little Katharine slowly stood, straightening her dress, sniffling, eyes never leaving the one section of stone flooring. She softly apologized a second time, curtsied, and turned to leave, but was stopped by a small hand gripping her shoulder.
The mystery boy slowly turned the frozen Katharine to face him and used his other to gently force her chin up so he could look into her bright blue eyes. When their gazes locked Katharine felt paralyzed. His brown eyes were unusually intense and expressive and the stare he gave her was unnerving. After a long moment he said something to her, in thickly accented English this time, instead of whatever strange language he had spoken before. It took a minute for her to understand what he just said. He wanted to know why she was crying. Little Katharine simply told him that she had a bad day, once more apologized for her actions, and fled from the strange boy's presence before he could ask anymore questions. She left the poor boy alone and confused in the empty corridor and sought the safety and solitude of her room. It was later that she learned the boy's identity, and it seemed that she would be seeing more of him in the near future.
~ ~ ~
Kitty was jolted from her reminiscing by a jubilant shout. She looked up to see what was cause for such a cry, and was met with the sight of the approaching French coastline. It seemed that Bobby had had enough of sea-travel and was ready to return to shore and still ground. But it would be half an hour at least till they docked and there was much to be done before then. Shadowcat rose from her seat and headed below-decks to inform Piotr of this new development, avoiding the still sea-sick Iceman as she went.
Why did I remember that of all things? She wondered. She hadn't thought of home for years now, not since she left. And she hadn't thought of him either. Not until today, maybe that meant something and maybe it didn't. But now was not the time to think of such things, she had more important items to worry about. Like making sure the supplies, horses, and people got off the boat safely. And how were they going to get through to Paris in one piece without "losing" anything. And, most importantly of all, accomplishing their task successfully and as soon as possible. No time left for thinking about him, none at all.