X-Men: The Movie

Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, own X-Men. It belongs to Marvel.

Title: Love Tale of the Past

Setting: Before Storm's time; before the meeting of her parents.

Genre: Comic/Romance/Drama

Author's Note: I actually wrote this chapter out on paper during school hours, but then decided it was crap because I knew I could come up with something better if I just typed it out. I feel better typing out stories then just writing them out on paper. I'm weird like that. Go me.

Haha. Yeah, I had this whole chapter written out, but I didn't like the way it was going, so I threw it out and decided to write it all over again from the beginning. Yay, go me, right?

Summary: David Munroe's photography job takes him to a tribe in Kenya where he finds the High Priestess, N'Dare. The two fall into a forbidden love which is frowned upon the tribe. (R&R)

Chapter Three

Broken Traditions

River Bank

Softly, the crickets chirped from their hiding places within the grassy sandy beach near the river side. It was the only sound that kept things from doing totally silent between David and N'Dare. What was there really to say? He wasn't from their land, nor did he want to insult the High Priestess in anyway. This culture was just so different from what he was use to back home. His mouth opened slightly, but he quickly closed it. Nope, he definitely had nothing to say and for some odd reason, this caused N'Dare to smile.

Her smile…

It was as if someone had placed a spell over his body. His legs were reduced to nothing but jell-o. It was amazing that he was still standing. There was something about this woman… She gave off that extra vibe. She held a strong ranking in a village, but she really didn't seem all that tough considering what Cyni had informed them about on the boat ride here. Honestly, he was expecting some sort of warrior woman, not this petite sized lady with white hair and shocking blue eyes; an odd combination for her complexion, but one she pulled off with no trouble.

"I use to speak Swahili." David stated, trying to sound a least a tiny bit interesting. "My Granddad used to live in Kenya before he migrated to the States. I learned the language from him… But ever since he died years ago, I've really had no one to practice with… So, I have kind of forgotten."

"That's a shame…" N'Dare said softly, her eyes falling to the water she was standing in. She took a few steps out of the water, the bottom of her skirt was dripping wet, but it didn't seem to bother her at all.

God, he had barely spoken with this woman for hardly five minutes and he was already wishing Kendra could be more like her and that probably wasn't a good sign in his relationship with his so called girl friend. This was a flag; a warning flag. Hell, he probably was going to call it off with Kendra anyways when he got back. He didn't need to put up with this extra stress.

She tilted her head to the side. Obliviously, she knew right off the bat that he was thinking about something; something that bothered him. "Something disturbs you." N'Dare pointed out matter-o-factly. "An unbalance perhaps?"

It sure was an unbalance alright. David snorted, "I guess you can say that." He murmured under his breath before clearing his throat. "Yeah, but it's nothing really." There was no need to be spilling his guts out about his problems; especially to someone he didn't know at all.

"Sun rise will be quickly upon us." N'Dare kindly pointed out, staring back towards the sky's horizon. "I know that you have not slept so well during this night due to the time difference of your home land. This will take a day or so to get use to, I'm afraid."

"Yeah, I know." David replied, folding his arms over his chest. His eyelids were heavy with sleep. "I'll probably catch another couple of hours or so, I guess…"

N'Dare nodded slightly, "You'll need it. Cyni wishes to take you out in the wilderness tomorrow morning before the sun reaches its highest point in the sky."

She was right. Cyni had planned out a little tour for Robert and him for the morning. He wanted them to just get to know the wild of which this tribe was surrounded with. Robert also wanted some history, of course, and a few photographs here and there. They had two weeks to spend here, but Rob wanted to get started right away. He figured once they quickly wrap up this project, they could spend the rest of their time just relaxing and enjoying this place. "Then I should be on my way back." He murmured, bowing his head slightly. "I hope you even the rest of your evening, Priestess."

N'Dare bowed her own head in return as David turned around and shuffled his feet back to the huts. She brushed back her long pure white hair behind her ear as she folded her arms over her chest. The smile on her face grew slightly larger. He was a nice man, this David Munroe; one who would most certainly make a good husband and care for a sturdy family back in his own homeland… if he ever worked out his problems with his partner to begin with. Yes, she could tell that it was a relationship problem right off the bat… from the way he felt so discomfortable talking to her and the way he kept fidgeting during their small conversation.

She watched him disappear into the hut he was assigned to stay in. Her arms lowered back down as she then started off for her own hunt. Getting a few more hours of sleep would do her some good also, no doubt.

Jungle

Sweat drenched all three men as they sat up against a large tree trunk. They had been waking on foot for the last hour since just after sunrise and boy was the heat getting to them. Robert brought up his already empty water bottle to his dry lips, shoulders skinning in defeat. David gazed over at him and sighed. He shook his head as he handed over his own water bottle to his friend. He wasn't so thirsty anyways. He had already taken a few decent shoots and that was good enough for him.

Cyni stood back up, stretching his back, "This is as far as we go. We barely have enough water to head back as it is."

Both foreigners looked at each other and nodded. There was no way they could possible go on anyways. Heading back now was a good idea, but they needed a rest. Their feet never ached so much in their lives. Robert cleared his throat after setting the water bottle down on the murky ground, "So, Cyni… What can you tell me about this High Priestess. What is she really like?"

"Her name is N'Dare for starters." Cyni began. "I have known her personally for about… ten years now… since we were teenagers. Our friendship didn't last long. Her mother made her become an apprentice to learn how to use their magic when she was fourteen. She was robbed of her teenage years in order to master these skills. It was only recently that she became High Priestess. Her mother past away only two or three years ago."

Rob gazed down at his tape recorder, make sure he was getting all this.

"What happened to her father?" David asked.

"He was crazed with anger." Cyni replied. "He was not a normal man. He was put to death after her birth because he had slain our midwife. However, he had no love for N'Dare nor her mother."

"Why's that?" Robert questioned.

"Her mother was the High Priestess. We were all expecting a daughter to take her place, but to make sure the child would have supreme power and control over her magic skills, the High Priestess must take the bravest; the strongest warrior male in the tribe as a husband. This male is determined by battle after battle; challenge after challenge." Cyni explained. "Of course, this has already occurred and N'Dare husband as been decided, but she refuses to allow this man to look upon her. She is placing our village in jeopardy."

"Wait a minute, this is crazy." David interrupted. "The people of the village have decided which person N'Dare will end up with because of brute strength? That doesn't seem right at all. It makes no sense."

"But it is the way of our people. It has been for generations." Cyni pointed out.

Meanwhile – High Priestess' Hut

" N'Dare, Hugan wishes to see you. " Ramla stated as she stood at the entrance of the hut.

Her statement caused N'Dare to sit up from her bed. Shivers ran up and down her spine. The very thought of that man disgusted her beyond belief. " That man will never lay eyes upon me, Ramla. " N'Dare hissed. " My mother may have sold herself off to some brute, but I refuse to follow in her foot steps any longer. "

" Wench, doesn't this tribe mean anything to you? " Ramla snapped. " You are endangering our people; our way of life. "

" I am endangering none of my people. " N'Dare quickly replied. " This is nonsense! This tradition did not occur until after the Goddess herself. She had a daughter whose father was not of brute strength, but mere intelligence- "

" That was when the blood of the Goddess rode strong within our vines! "

" That blood runs just as strong in my own. " N'Dare spoke barely over a whisper. " I will not lower myself to the likes of him, not after what my 'father' had done to this village. Now, leave me. "

" N'Dar- "

" Leave me. "

Jungle

"She strongly believes in the Goddess and is trying to revert the tribe back to the old traditions by refusing the new." Cyni went on. "But times have changed and the people in the village had too. They do not agree to some of the old traditions, which is why they have created the new to begin with."

"I see…" Rob murmured as he stopped the tape recorder. "That's pretty interesting."

Cyni nodded. "We should be heading back now… before the sun casts us even more heat." He noted as he began on the path which they had came from.

Rob held out his hand towards David, who took it and pulled himself up. "Right, so this story is going to be cake. I take it I got the information I needed to get and if I need more, I'll just pick out a few in the next two weeks. Free vacation… What more can you ask for?"

David smiled slightly, but it quickly disappeared as soon as Robert took off after Cyni. Slowly, he walked behind the two men, running the facts over and over in his head. N'Dare was forced into this role. For all he knew, and from what it sounded like, it was something she didn't want to be part of any longer, but it was for the greater good of her people. Her time would come to an end and her daughter would have to take over from there. It really wasn't a life that he would enjoy living. There were too many rules; too many boundaries for his personal taste.

He barely even knew the woman, but he still wanted to help her… He wanted to talk to her again, just to make sure she was alright; to see if there was anything that he could do to help her in anyway that seemed fit.

He shook his head, trying to clear himself from these thoughts as he continued forth. This was going to be a pretty long hike back, that's for sure. He needed a shower too. All this humidity was causing him to sweat like a hog, which lead to massive amounts of body odor, none-the-less.

High Priestess' Hut – That Night

Frustrated, N'Dare sat up from her bed. An anger filled sigh escaped her as she stood up and paced around the hut, her arms folded across her chest. No, she wasn't going to do it. Hungan was the same type of man her father was. He couldn't be trusted. She wasn't going to trust him. She shook her head lightly and instantly froze.

Her bright blue colored eyes narrowed as the gazed towards the entrance of the hut. Even if it was covered with cloth, she could still see a shadowed figure standing behind it. She felt her body tense as she walked towards it. A fist formed at her side as electric current crackled between her fingers. A milky white color covered her bright eyes as she pulled the cloth aside and struck a bolt of lightning from her palm towards the figure.

" You have to do better than that, Wind Rider. " Hugan stated. He had easily side stepped her attack and grabbed her wrist tightly.

" Unhand me at once. " N'Dare demanded, swinging her free hand forward to slap him across the face, but Hungan instantly caught that one also, smirking dangerously; a smirk she did not find very pleasing at all. She felt her stomach turn as he pulled her close to his chest and a hand over her mouth. He began to drag her away from the hut.

This was proven to be a very easy task. N'Dare wasn't exactly what you could call strong. She could be easily pushed around psychically. However, there were times when she did step up to the plate; this was one of those times. Grey clouds quickly rolled in, covering the night sky; thunder grumbled softly as a bolt of lightning hurled itself down, striking a couple of feet away from them, which took Hungan by surprise. He released his grasp on N'Dare.

Of course, she was immuned to her own magic, but Hungan was not. It would be a while before he could properly regain his vision and for the ringing in his ears to stop. N'Dare kicked up sand from beneath her feet and ran.

David's and Robert's Hut

Hearing the sudden storm, David instantly awoke. He gazed over towards his friend, who was still sleeping. Then again, Robert could sleep through anything. Hell, when his first apartment brunt down, he nearly slept through the fire alarm. David snorted at the memory as he stood up and peeked outside to take a look at this storm, but the High Priestess stole his attention. He could see the look for fear on her face. He watched as she leapt in the air… but she never came down.

N'Dare was flying.

He blinked a couple of times to make sure he wasn't seeing things. She was actually flying. He stepped out of the hut, dumbfound. It took him a couple of moments to realize that he was hearing the groaning and grunting of a man. He narrowed his eyebrow as he turned his head in the direction of the sound. Sure enough, there was a man huddled on the ground.

Had N'Dare done something?

He frowned lightly as he followed after the woman on foot.

To Be Continued