Disclaimer: The X-Men aren't mine… unfortunately.
Chapter 5
Jean impatiently tapped her foot against the shiny, pearl tiled floor. It had been almost two hours since all of the injured mutants were brought into the lab. The six unconscious figures hadn't stirred from their deep sleep and made no noticeable signs of improvement. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to contact the professor, the redhead had run out of ideas. She didn't know what to do and was uncomfortable in a leadership position… that was Scott's job.
Jean turned her cool, green gaze to rest on the team leader and nearly jumped in surprise when he began to softly mutter under his breath. She slowly leaned closer to understand his slurred speech. Her eyes nearly popped out in surprise when Scott groaned Fred's name in pleasure. Jean let out a gasp with this newly acquired information; she always thought Scott could be gay… and this confession proved it. However, if word ever got out that she was attracted to a gay guy, her reputation would be ruined. Jean decided then and there that she would take Scott's secret desires to the grave with her. "Hey Red, did Summer's say anything," Lance's rough voice sharply brought her attention back to the remaining mutants in the lab.
"Nothing," she stuttered out guiltily, "it was all gibberish."
Lance let out a sigh of frustration and began pacing the med lab. He was tired of just waiting around for the adults to show up and save the day. He wanted to help his comrades… and maybe even some of the X-geeks; Kitty would like that. His relationship with Kitty had always confused him… they were complete opposites; maybe that's why he liked her. As Lance continued his inner turmoil, Piotr deep voice resonated throughout the room. "We must do something," his accented voice addressed the entire group, "time is wasting, we need to save dem."
Kitty's bright azure eyes lit up in a surprised wonder. She was thinking along the same lines but wasn't ready to voice her opinion quite yet. "I like totally agree with him," she piped up, sending the tall boy a shy smile, "we are wasting time, there has to be something we can do for them."
Lance felt his jaw slightly unhinge in shock. 'Shit,' he mentally muttered and shook his head in disbelief, 'if you had spoke up a little earlier Kitty would have been smiling at you… but no. Instead the Russian gets her gratitude… this bites.' "We can't do anything to help, the professor isn't here to tell us what to do," Jean exclaimed, a tad bit annoyed that others were trying to take away her recently appointed leadership position.
"We've been trained to do this Jean, I like think we'll be okay," Kitty defended the idea.
"Vhat is your plan Keety?" Kurt asked, clearly interested in a way to save his teammates.
"I'm not like, that far yet," she huffed, quickly racking her brain for a plan before turning to her newly acquired Russian friend, "any ideas?"
"I think our best option is to find the mutant dat put them in the trance and see if she knows how to call off her own power," he quietly voiced his opinion, imploringly staring into Kitty's eyes for some type of approval.
"What a like, smart plan," Kitty smiled, leaning towards the tall Russian.
"Well, even if that would work, we still won't be able to find her," Jean snidely remarked, crossing her arms and slouching against the wall.
"Oh give me a break Red, your telepath! Prove it and use your head… for once," Lance trailed off in annoyance, he really didn't know how Kitty could stand it here.
Jean's eyes widened in surprise before clenching her jaw in anger and raising her hands to her head to search for the mutant girl from the warehouse. It took her a few moments to hone in on Penny's mind… but she found her. Jean slumped against the wall, completely drained, she muttered, "She's in the basement of the warehouse… she made a home there."
"Well then, what are we like waiting for… let's go," Kitty cheered, and headed towards the door.
Piotr immediately followed her, he was prepared to offer any type of assistance to help his injured friend as well as spend as much time as possible with the young X-girl. "Vait, I'm coming!" Kurt beamed and ported over to Kitty's side.
"Wait, you can't leave me here all alone, I'll be the only X-Men," Jean protested.
"But Jean, zey'll need all ze help zey can get," Kurt argued, folding his arms across his chest.
"Don't worry about it, I'm going," Lance stated and confidently strode next to Kitty, standing in between her and Piotr.
"You see Jean, now it'll just be you and Toad, I think you can manage that," Kurt reassured the frantic redhead.
"NO! What if Pyro returns? Kurt, you have to stay here with me, that's a direct command… I'm in control here," Jean hysterically ordered.
"Why don't we all like just go," Kitty mediated between her team members.
"… Someone has to… guard the bodies…" Jean weakly offered, cursing herself for her lame excuse as she stubbornly sank into a chair by Scott's bed.
Not wanting to cause any further trouble, Kurt reluctantly agreed to stay at the mansion… he then quickly ported up to the kitchen; preparing to spend a whole night stuffing his face.
"Will three people, like be enough?" Kitty hesitantly asked, staring at the two boys accompanying her.
"You and me could take them out by ourselves Kitty Cat… I'll always protect you," Lance smugly answered, draping his arm around his ex's shoulders all the while sending a glare in Piotr's direction.
Snorting under her breath, Kitty shrugged out of his embrace and suspiciously glared at him, "Why the sudden change of heart?"
Lance flinched under her scrutiny and nonchalantly shrugged. He was never good at admitting his feelings, especially not with an audience. Kitty silently stood there, waiting for him to say something… anything. His silence unnerved her. The small girl let out a sigh and walked out of the room, she needed some air.
Lance clenched his jaw in annoyance as he felt Piotr's gaze rest on him. Lance sent one last glare at the tall man before stomping out of the room. Piotr watched the whole scene with interest. He had a feeling this mission would be very awkward.
The three mutants silently climbed into the X-van, Kitty slipped into the drivers seat. Lance let out a gulp and hurriedly fastened his seatbelt; he remembered Kitty's driving skills all too well. Piotr on the other hand, had no idea.
Never before in his life had Piotr been so scared. His large hands nervously clutched the dashboard of the van as Kitty swerved in and out of traffic at an alarmingly fast speed. The man fumbled to put his seatbelt on but it was too late and his large frame roughly banged against the door as Kitty made another dangerously fast turn.
She was pissed, in fact, Kitty was beyond pissed… she was livid with rage. What right did he have and try to get back into her life. She had just gotten over him; it wasn't fair. Kitty blinked back the tears threatening to fall; she hated to cry over boys. Rogue told her men are a waste of tears, and maybe she was right, but Kitty's a girl that falls in love hard and fast. And she fell in love with Lance and he broke her heart. Just the thought of him toying with her emotions boiled her blood even more and she pressed harder on the gas pedal.
Her mind barely registered Piotr's taunt figure next to her, she knew she was driving a tad too reckless, and was probably scaring this boy away. After all, he was the first boy to show her interest after Lance. Sighing, Kitty slowly eased her foot off of the gas pedal and brought the van to a slow stop in front of the warehouse. Sending a lopsided grin at the boy next to her quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and hopped out of the car. She couldn't let her mind dwell on her relationship problems, she had to concentrate on the mission; her friends' lives were at stake.
Lance didn't bother to hide his chuckle when Piotr fell out of the van in a shaky heap. He probably should have given the boy a warning, but this man was his competition, he didn't deserve any favors.
Piotr sent a cold glare at Lance's laugh. His gritted his teeth in anger and tried to keep his emotions under check. The small brunette's airy voice brought him out of his angry musings. "I'm like really sorry, are you okay?" Kitty sweetly asked, ignored Lance's abruptly ceased laughter as he watched the two with a critical eye.
"I am fine. Thank you," Piotr warmly smiled at the small girl, he didn't think he'd ever be able to fight against her if Magneto asked him.
Beaming at the tall boy, Kitty turned to approach the house, the mission had officially started.
-----
"Fred, come out come out where ever you are," Scott gleefully chanted as he stalked his prey.
"Keep your distance freak, I told you I don't swing that way," Fred screamed back, his beady eyes searched for a way to escape Scott's clutches.
"How do you know if you've never tried it," Scott reasoned, fervently wishing he had saved some of those yummy tarts for his love, maybe then he wouldn't be denying him.
"What about Jean, I thought you had a major crush on her," Fred yelled as his steps grew shorter and shorter, he was getting tired.
"It was all an act, I really am gay!" Scott proudly announced it to the world… or the entire carnival.
"But why me, you can't possibly be attracted to me… no one is," Fred sighed and collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.
"Looks don't matter to me Fred my love," Scott reassured him, laying a cool palm on Fred's cheek, "well, they used to… but now I look at what people are like on the inside… Jean had nothing on the inside."
"But I'm evil… I hate you, the X-men, humans, I honestly want to destroy you," Fred admitted, not meeting Scott's frantic gaze.
"Are you purposely making this difficult for me, I'm trying to seduce you," Scott huffed in annoyance and using all his strength he pulled Fred to his feet.
"This is really sick and twisted, if I had my strength I would crush you," Fred explained.
"Yeah, well you don't. So stop denying your attraction to me, come on, lets find you some food and then we'll ride the tunnel of love," Scott bargained.
"Food," Fred drooled, his one-track mind ignoring everything else Scott had said.
Scott slowly led Fred past the boarded up fun house, not having the slightest idea that they weren't the only ones stuck in this bizarre, fantasy world.
-----
"Wanda wait," Pietro shouted and ran to catch up with his sister, "maybe we can help each other."
"I don't work well with others," Wanda sneered and pushed past him, angrily stomping down the hall, she wanted out of this "fun" house.
"Come on Wanda, lets give it a try," Pietro pleaded, grabbing her hands in a firm grip.
"Hands off," Wanda ordered, wrenching her hands from his grip, slightly uncomfortable with such close contact.
She was the Scarlet Witch who'd hex anyone that came too close. However, now with the loss of her powers, she felt helpless, in a way. And no one ever made to move to get close to her… well, except for Toad, but that didn't count. "All I'm saying is that we could unite temporarily to get out of here," Pietro reasoned, blocking her only exit.
"You do realize that after this, nothing changes. I will still hate you and will always fight against you," Wanda replied, roughly pushing him out of her way.
"I realize that," Pietro retorted, crossing his arms in indifference and leaning against the wall.
"Fine, then lets get out of here," Wanda ordered and set a brisk pace down the gloomy hallway.
"Any ideas," Pietro asked hopefully, "cause I can't think of anything."
"Why doesn't that surprise me," Wanda remarked dryly began putting pressure on the walls, "I think we should start searching for hidden passages. That last one saved our lives, maybe there's one out of here."
"Sounds like a plan sis," Pietro cheekily smiled and began testing the other walls.
"Don't call me sis," she growled, pinning him against the wall.
"Sure thing sis," Pietro grunted out from his pinned position.
Letting out an annoyed scream, Wanda angrily stalked down the hall, determined to leave her brother to whatever horrible fate might befall him. "Ah come on Wanda, don't be a spoil sport," he shouted after her, jogging to catch up.
He was pleasantly surprised to see she had stopped and waited for him. But upon joining her side, he realized she wasn't waiting for him. "Run," she softly muttered to her brother as she cautiously watched the demonic clown's shadow creep across the walls.
It seemed the clown was no longer in a physical shape, but could morph himself into a shadow and blend into any shaded area. The eerie, thin silhouette swiftly gained momentum and approach the siblings at an alarmingly fast rate.
"What the hell," Pietro mumbled before Wanda roughly grabbed his shirt collar and dragged him down the shadowy corridor, "now we're running away from a shadow demon. This is fucking ridiculous!"
"Just shut up and keep running," Wanda ordered and quickly dove in a brightly lit room, if she had to face this monster she wanted to be able to see it.
Upon entering the large, well-lit room, the door immediately shut by some unknown force. And no matter how hard Wanda or Pietro pulled on the handle they couldn't open it.
Pietro gazed at what seemed like a giant playroom. Toys and stuffed animals were scattered around the room, and the walls were lined with circus themed wallpaper. There were no other doors or windows… they were trapped.
Wanda frantically searched the room for any type of object she could use as a weapon. Grabbing a water gun and a building block she prepared for a fight. An unusual painting located in the farthest corner of the room, on the other hand, distracted Pietro from searching for weapons. He squinted up to get a better look at the intricate watercolor depicting a fairytale castle. The painting seemed surprisingly out of place in the whole carnival theme of the playroom.
Pietro was snapped out of his thoughts by his sister's urgent shouts to find a weapon. He paused his search when a soft cackling began to echo throughout the room. His knees began to shake as the laughter grew louder and although he couldn't see the clown, it sounded like he was right next to him. Pietro slowly made his way over to his sister's tense form. Even though he was scared shitless, he was determined to look out for his family.
Wanda's eyes widened in disbelief when the door swung open to reveal the disturbing clown with his demonic smile. The clown flashed his sharp, yellow teeth at the siblings and slammed the door shut. "Ready to have fun," it's high pitched voice resonated throughout the room.
"I hate clowns," Wanda gritted out through her teeth and raised her makeshift weapons in preparation to fight, "I really, really, really, fucking hate clowns."
"Then lets kick his ass," Pietro offered and clenched his hands into tight fists.
-----
Her hand slowly drifted to the empty spot next to her bed and she immediately sat up with a start. Her heart began hammering in her chest as a feeling of abandonment flooded her entire being. Rogue's jade eyes quickly swept the room and confirmed that the room was empty. "The damn Cajun left without saying goodbye," Rogue muttered under her breath, stringing a long list of curses to his name.
She spotted a playing card resting on the pillow he used the night before. "How touching," she bitterly sighed, "a calling card."
Rogue picked up the Queen of Hearts card and flipped it over to read in Remy's scrawled writing,
Morning chere, you looked too peaceful when you slept, Remy didn't have the heart to wake you. Remy look forward to our lessons tonight.
A goofy grin suddenly spread across Rogue's lips as the thought of even more lessons brought a tirade of butterflies to her stomach. All bad thoughts about the missing Cajun disappeared as she gracefully leapt off the bed and did a giddy spin in front of her mirror, covering her mouth to stop the girly giggle from escaping. "Dear God, Ah'm turning into Kitty," Rogue smiled and nearly jumped in surprise when her maid, Jeanine, flung her door open.
Rogue discreetly hid the card in the palm of her hand as the maid rushed over to her side. "I'm so glad you're awake my lady. We have no time to waste, everything must be finished by tonight," the servant sighed, scurrying towards Rogue's wardrobe closets and yanking them open, searching for an appropriate gown.
"Why, what's happening tonight?" Rogue casually asked, quietly stowing the card in the pages of a book on her vanity.
"The ball of course, your highness," Jeanine tsked, whipping a long flowing dark green gown from the closet.
"Oh the ball… of course, what's the occasion?" Rogue questioned taking a seat in front of her vanity and began brushing her hair.
"Why, to announce your engagement to the Duke of Salem of course," Jeanine replied.
Rogue felt her fingers go numb and lost her grip on the brush, dropping it to the floor. "Engagement," she dryly whispered, fearing this bizarre dream world was about to take a turn for the worse.
Meanwhile…
Remy tried to hide his labored breaths as he kept up with the short hairy man in front of him. 'Mon dieu,' he thought to himself, 'how much further is dis camp?'
"Getting tired boss," the man questioned, his dark eyebrows arched inquisitively.
"Non," Remy evenly replied, now more determined than ever to keep up with his guide.
"Good, cause we still have a way to go," the man replied and quickened his pace.
Remy bit back a groan and struggled to keep up with his guide. Two miles later Remy felt like his lungs were about to burst. He smiled in relief when his guide slowed down to a stop outside of a thick grove of trees. He was led into a small campground littered with makeshift tents, campfires, and thieves. Remy felt his eyes widen in shock as he took in the camp. He had expected something more elaborate, maybe houses in the trees… like Robin Hood. His camp looked more like a slum than a fairytale camp. His entrance to the camp caused quite a stir amongst his fellow thieves who greeted him in a friendly manner. 'Looks like dey all like Remy here,' he smirked and waved to his band of thieves, before he was ushered into a large tent in the center of camp.
He seemed to be crashing an important meeting; although why his presence was needed he had no idea. "Glad you made it Remy," a dirty, toothless man clapped him on the back, "we were just going over the plan."
"How far did y' get?" he asked, his gaze traveling over the five ugly men crowding around him, wondering what type of mission this group was planning.
"While the engagement ball is going on, we will sneak into the royal treasury and steal enough to get ourselves settled for the rest of our lives. The guards won't be as alert, if they're even to be found at their posts. We already went over our positions and places, except for yours, where do you want to be?" the dirty man asked him.
"Engagement ball?" Remy slowly questioned, "who's getting engaged?"
The five men gazed at their leader in shock, how could he not know who was getting engaged. "You're going to have to excuse the boy fellows, he got hit pretty hard yesterday and apparently it knocked a couple things loose," Remy's guide smoothly replied.
"Well then you tell him Logan, we all remember what happened the last time we told him the news," another man replied, as the rest of the thieves began filing out of the tent.
Remy felt a panicky feeling start to grow in his stomach as Logan's somber eyes turned to him. "It's the princess Remy," Logan began, getting straight to the point, "she's engaged to some Duke who's old enough to be her father. I thought you knew last night was your last night together?"
"Engaged… mon chere, unbelievable," Remy muttered, dropping his head into his hands.
"Well, I must admit, you're taking the news this time a lot better than before. Last time you tore down an entire tent in frustration," Logan admitted, awkwardly patting Remy's slumped back.
"That's cause, mon amie, Remy not frustrated, he has a plan," Remy explained, raising his steadfast stare to his friend's face.
"Ah shit, I was afraid something like this was going to happen," Logan admitted, slumping to a sitting position next to Remy and raising a flask of liquor to his lips.
"Remy will be causing a distraction in the ballroom with his chere while you and the boys make an easy steal," Remy started as he abruptly stood up and began to pace throughout the tent.
"What type of distraction?" Logan slowly asked, afraid of the answer he was going to receive.
"Remy gonna kidnap her again, with a whole ballroom of witnesses," he smirked as his eyes darkened dangerously; he wasn't going to let anything happen to his Rogue.
The ballroom was packed, every inch of space was taken up by nobles from all across the land. The theme for this dance was a masquerade, forcing all to hide their faces behind the masks of their choosing. Elegantly dressed couples waltzed around the center of the room. An elaborate symphony began playing the royal entrance song, causing a general hush to descend amongst the crowd as the main door was opened for the royal family. The royals were the only exception to the masquerade; they weren't required to hide their features since their crowns gave them away. The King made a grand entrance into the ballroom, an ornamented crown rested on his head, proudly displaying his status in society. However, the attention of the court was not on the king, but was focused on the young woman at his side. An elegant dark green gown molded to her upper torso like a second skin, the color bringing out her vivid emerald eyes. The thin sleeves of the gown accented her slender arms and ended in wide cuff, causing them to gracefully rest against her body. The soft silk-like material hugged her breasts, swooping into a teasing arc to show hints of her cleavage. The back of the dress draped across her entire lower back, baring her smooth, pale back to the crowd's eyes. The dress flowed out from her hips, accented their pleasant curves. And to top it all off, a small, sparkling crown rested on top of her swept up hair, baring her swanlike neck.
Rogue felt their eyes and it took all of her willpower not to turn around and run. The chant, 'Ah hate dresses, ah hate dresses,' repeated over and over in her mind. Rogue was escorted by the king to the throne and gracefully sunk into her ordained chair. Her jade eyes swept through the occupants of the ballroom, she anxiously wondered if Remy had heard the news and snuck into the ball… or what if he hadn't and was waiting for her up in her room. The mere thought of not seeing him, caused her to get a fidgety and she wondered why his absence was having such an effect on her. It was at that moment that she realized she truly liked Remy; it was no longer a simple crush or even just lust, she simply liked Remy. Her thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of an old, portly man in her line of vision. "Ah, my dear Duke of Salem, welcome," the king warmly greeted the man in front of her.
Rogue felt a shudder of disgust course through her body as the man's beady eyes bore into her chest through the darkly colored mask he wore. The fat, little man deeply bowed in front of her and grasped her hand, placing a wet kiss on it. Rogue grimaced and snatched her hand back; glaring at the man while wiping the salvia off her hand with the handkerchief her assistant offered her.
The king saw her rude actions and began making profuse apologies to the Duke. "It's alright your Majesty," the Duke of Salem eerily smiled as his lecherous gaze returned to Rogue's glaring form, "I like a woman with passion."
"Why don't you dance with the Duke darling," the king prompted, sending a meaningful look at Rogue.
"I really don't care to dance with him father, to be frank, he disgusts me," Rogue tartly replied in her Yankee accent, crossing her arms in defiance.
The king bristled at her reply and leaned over to whisper in her ear, "You will dance with the Duke, you're engaged to him rather you like him or not. Dance with him know or else."
"Or else what," Rogue challenged back, curling her fingers into fists.
"You need to be firm with young girls," the Duke snottily replied, roughly grabbing Rogue's arm and dragging her onto the dance floor.
Rogue angrily swung a punch at him and was faintly surprised that he avoided her accurate aim. She hid the wince of pain he was causing her as his thick fingers dug painfully into her skin. The Duke pulled her into the waltzing circle and roughly placed one hand around her waist while the other hand gripped her right hand painfully, keeping her at a respectful distance before leading her into the waltz. "Get your hands off of me," Rogue demanded and purposely began digging her heels onto his feet with every dance step they took.
"My dear princess," the duke snarled, his rank smelling breath nauseated her as he leaned in close, "you remind me of my late wife. She too had passion and defied me, however, her will was soon broken after a few weeks into our marriage, I do not doubt you will be the same."
She was about to shoot back a retort when a strange, pleasant sensation traveled down her spine. She didn't know how to explain it, but she just knew Remy was here, watching her. She needed to get away from the Duke, time to put her nonexistent acting skills to the test.
The last notes of the dance slowed to a stop and Rogue forced the anger out of her eyes, bowing her head meekly in front of the Duke. "I'm truly sorry for being so cross with you before sir. You intimidated me," Rogue began, innocently pleading at the Duke with her eyes, she carefully masked her smirk as a smug smile fluttered across his pudgy face before continuing, "I would like to start anew, could you please get me some wine my dear fiancé."
"I'm glad to see you're finally accepted your fate my pet," the Duke chuckled into her face, pressing a quick kiss to her lips, "I will gladly get you a refreshment my lady."
Rogue watched his retreating form and discreetly began wiping his disgusting kiss off of her lips. Her jade eyes quickly scanned the room for Remy; she knew he was here. Rogue nearly jumped in surprise when a warm hand rested against her lower bare back, gently tracing his fingers against her spine. A small smile spread across her lush lips as she slowly turned around to meet the amused stare of Remy through a simple black mask that only covered his eyes. His lean fingers gently reached for her hand, raising it to his lips and placed a soft kiss across her knuckles. Rogue felt her knees slightly tremble as she imagined him kissing other places than her hand with that type of kiss. "Would d' Lady like t' dance," Remy whispered, gesturing to the dance floor.
"As long as its with you Sugah," Rogue whispered, letting her Southern accent creep back into her words.
Remy grinned at her and led her into the middle of the dance floor. Ignoring the respectful distance the other couples demonstrated, Remy pulled her into a close embrace resting his hand against the small of her back and slowly intertwining their fingers as he led her into a dance.
Rogue let out a soft sigh of pleasure as she relaxed into his embrace and let him lead her around the dance floor. "Wait a minute, how do yah know how ta waltz?" Rogue hissed in surprise.
"How do y' know how t' waltz chere?" Remy responded, grinning wickedly and pulling her body flush against his, teasing her with brief brushes against his lean, muscular body, "Remy just be going wit de flow, he merely assumed he knew how t' dance in dis dream."
Rogue let out a light laugh in surprise at his sincerity, she should have known. Remy felt his pulse increase as her laughter washed over him. He had never heard her laugh like this before; it was so carefree and happy, he only hoped he'd always be able to make her laugh like that. "Remy must be honest wit y' chere, his fellow thieves are robbing y' daddy's treasury at dis very moment," Remy smirked and proceeded to twirl her in his arms.
Rogue let out another laugh at his comment as she once more twirled into his comforting embrace. "So Ah guess we're the distraction," she smirked, leaning her body even closer to him.
'Actually chere, de real distraction is when we leave," Remy began and smirked at her confused look, "y' see chere, Remy be kidnapping y'… again."
Smiling, Rogue threw her arms around him in a tight hug as the song ended; she was hoping he had some type of plan to get her out of here. "I must admit my pet, you're never that happy around me," a sniveling voice angrily spat from behind her.
Rogue immediately stiffened and slowly turned around to face her fiancé. "You never gave me any reason to be happy," she retorted angrily and went back towards the dance floor with Remy as another song started.
The Duke angrily made a grab for her arm but was intercepted when Remy stepped in front of him. "Hands off homme," he muttered threateningly, glaring at the pudgy man in front of him.
"How dare you," the Duke sputtered in anger, "that's my fiancée you're dancing with."
"Dat may be homme, but she be wit me now," he darkly whispered, tapping a hidden dagger against the Duke's crotch in warning, "don't bother us."
The Duke nervously gulped and took cautious steps away from them. Remy nonchalantly slid the weapon back up his sleeve as he turned towards Rogue and pulled her into an even tighter embrace. "Remy, sugah…are yah okay?" Rogue worriedly asked as he strong arms possessively clamped around her.
"Remy felt like killin' dat man when he kissed y'," Remy admitted, his dark eyes watching the Duke make his way to the throne.
"Why Remy, were yah getting jealous over little ole' meh?" Rogue sweetly replied, exaggerating by batting her eyes up at him.
Remy let out a small laugh at her antics and brought his lips close to her ear. "Look around y' chere, every single man here wants y," Remy darkly whispered as he thumb slowly traveled over her smooth back.
Rogue raised her eyes to glance at the other masked men in the ballroom, surprised to see some of them shooting lustful glances in her direction. She nervously gulped and pressed closer to Remy. "Dey want t' know what it feels like t' kiss you," he continued, playfully brushing his lips against hers, smirking when she tried to kiss him back.
Rogue continued glancing around her, realizing that her and Remy were the center of attention, causing some couples to stop dancing and stare as they became more intimate on the dance floor. She didn't notice when Remy spun her around once more, only stopping midway and guided her back to rest against his chest. "What it's like t' taste y'," he whispered in her ear, gently nipping at her lobe.
"Remy," she began warningly as heated blush spread over her face as the king quickly stood up from his throne after sharing a few words with the Duke and proceeded to watch her actions.
"What kind of noise y' make when y're in pleasure," he smugly stated, pressing a heated kiss against the soft column of her neck.
Rogue bit back the moan threatening to escape and watched with wide eyes as the king and his guards began making his way towards them.
"But dey will never know, cause you're mine," he whispered in her ear, wrapping his arms tightly around her hips and pulling her flush against his body.
Rogue felt a warmth settle over her stomach, quenching the butterflies threatening to burst as this new type of heady sensation filled her. She felt strong, powerful, sexy… she felt like a woman who was loved. "Remy, is this part of the distraction?" she questioned, softly tugging out of his embrace and turning around to face him.
"Maybe," he grinned, stepping closer to her in order to shorten the distance between their bodies.
"Good, cause it's working. Ah'm very distracted," Rogue grinned seductively and watched him under hooded lids as she roughly pulled his hips against her own and smugly smiled at him when she felt his arousal pressing against her.
"Mon dieu chere," Remy murmured, clenching his jaw in frustration, "lets get out of here, we have some business t' take care of."
"Not without a distraction," she smirked and lifted the mask from his face unveiling his face to the gathering audience, causing shocked gasps from the crowd who recognized the thief, "yah need ta drag me out of here."
Smirking at her, he quickly revealed his dagger and yanked her roughly against his body, turning her so they both faced her approaching father. "Remy always wondered if y' liked it rough chere," he whispered darkly in her ear as he gently pressed the knife against her pale throat.
"Unhand my daughter at once thief," the king demanded.
"Non," Remy smirked and began backing away from the crowd as he headed to the balcony.
Rogue began to put up a "struggle" against his hold as he dragged her. Her struggles ceased when his rough palm slid across her breasts to pull her even tighter against his body. Rogue gasped in astonishment when he playfully pinched her nipple and chuckled in her ear. She tried to bite back the smile threatening to burst at his antics as they stepped onto the balcony. "Jump chere," Remy commanded motioning to the moat below.
"Are yah insane," Rogue screeched and looked up in panic as the king, the Duke, and the guards all crowded onto the balcony to stop them.
Sighing at her reluctance, he quickly grabbed her hand and yanked her over the balcony with him. The couple gained momentum during their fall, the wind whipped roughly against their faces. Rogue let out a high-pitched scream as the moat got closer and closer, her scream faintly sounded along the lines of "Remy LeBeau Ah'm gonna kill you."
The water was cold, extremely cold. Rogue let out a gasp of air when she broke the surface and muttered a curse under her breath when she realized the Cajun was already out of the water. She dragged her exhausted body out of the moat, collapsing in an ungraceful heap upon the grass. Her gown was soaked, she had lost her crown, her make up had smeared and her hair was in a knotted mess. She no longer felt beautiful and it was all Remy's fault, some plan...
She pushed herself to a standing position as Remy led a horse over to her stationary figure. "Remy tied de horse up over by de bridge for easy access…" he began but his words faltered when he saw the livid expression on her face.
Rogue let out what strangely sounded like a growl Wolverine would make and lunged at the boy. She roughly flipped him onto the ground, pinning him with her muddy heels. "Yah threw meh off of a balcony," she angrily spat.
"Dere was a moat," Remy replied.
"Ah hate water," she hissed, pressing her boot against his throat.
"And Remy hate scary guards with swords," he retorted in anger.
"Yah didn't know how deep the water was!" she shouted as her body shook with rage.
"Remy checked dat to make sure it was safe," he bellowed back, pushing her boot off of him and jumping to his feet.
"Yah left me in the moat!" she screamed.
"Remy needed t' get de horse!" he screamed back.
"Yah care more for the horse than mah well-being?" Rogue angrily questioned.
Remy let out a groan of disbelief and quickly hooked his hands behind her neck and pulling her into a heated kiss. Rogue let out a moan of satisfaction against his lips, running her hands through his hair to pull his head even closer to her own. Remy abruptly broke away from the kiss and pulled her towards the horse. "As much as Remy enjoys fighting wit y' chere, we have t' leave before de guards come," he explained and gracefully pulled himself onto the horse.
He held out his hand to pull her onto the horse in the space in front of him but faltered mid-pull and slowly lowered her back to the ground. "What are yah doing?" Rogue demanded, placing her hands against her hips.
"Remy just realized, he wouldn't be able t' last de ride with dat tempting bottom of yours bouncing up and down on him. Y're riding behind Remy," he ordered and once more pulled her onto the horse, only this time, in the spot behind him.
Remy clicked the reigns and sent the horse into a steady gallop away from the palace. "Don't yah think ah can tempt yah from this position Cajun?" Rogue slyly questioned, pulling her body flush against his back, as her hands toyed with the waistband of his pants, her legs slowly rubbing against his own.
"LeBeau," he muttered to himself as he felt her soft lips tease his neck with slow kisses, "y've created a monster."
A/N: Another chapter up and posted, thanks again for the great reviews!