8
Rogue was embarrassed. Embarrassed that she'd let her tongue run away with her and annoyed that she didn't even seem to know what it is she was talking about. She wondered around, having no clue what to do with herself now. She just had so much pent up frustration and she didn't know how to get it out.
"Bonjour," came Henri's voice as he went to pass her in a corridor. "Looks like someone be havin' a hard time," he said.
"Honestly, ah just wanna punch somethin' right now," Rogue said in response.
Henri held his hands up in defence. "Well please don't be lookin' at moi for y' target. Didn't Merci get y' some gym clothes?"
"Yeah, they should be back in the guest room," Rogue said, not fully following where Henri was going.
Henri rubbed at his chin, smirking just like all the LeBeau men seemed to do.
"Why don't y' go change an' I'll take y' t' de gym," Henri offered.
"Wouldn't all the thieves in there mind?" Rogue asked.
"Non, they'd probably be more curious than out else," Henri said.
Rogue swallowed down something nasty. The idea of being watched as she attempted to work out wasn't that apealing. But she didn't think it was such a bad idea. She nodded her head in agreement and went back to her room to change.
xxxxx
When she reappeared a few moments later, the jeans and long sleeved purple top Merci had given her had been replaced by some black leggings and a long sleeved top with black and green on it. Henri had been waiting outside her room and led her to the gym. Rogue had been sure he had been talking with someone, but no one was around when she came out of her room.
Henri stayed with her as she used some of the machines.
"So what mon frére do t' piss y' off so much?" Henri asked.
Rogue let out a huff as she dropped the weights. She was surprised at how much she could lift.
"He an' ya father seemed t' have it all mapped out 'bout what ah'm supposed ta do an' where ah'm supposed ta be. Both with their own different oppinions, but neither of em mine," Rogue said, glancing around at some of the thieves.
Some seemed to come in and focus sololy on training and pushing themselves. Others were on the mats, messing about as they grabbed each other in headlocks and scratched the scalpe of the head roughly.
"Dat so?" Henri said. "An' what is it y' want?" He asked.
Rogue shrugged her shoulders.
"Well, thanks ta Merci, ah know ah don't wanna leave anytime soon like Remy wants meh to. But, ya papa, he's tryna get meh ta join yas an' become a thief. Ah ain't sure if that's what ah want. Sure ain't what ya brother wants," she said.
"Those deux be at lock heads since de early days Remy arrived," Henri said.
"What'd ya mean by that?" Rogue asked, figuring there was something a bit strange in the way Henri said that.
"Remy be un orphelin. Mon pére found him on de streets tryna pick his pocket. He say it was Remy's skill dat interested him," he said, putting stress on skill which confused Rogue. "He be 'bout quatre ou cinq when he brought here. Y' ask de others, he fit right in. Moi, I saw him pushin' de boundaries an' testin' out de waters. But he took Jean-Luc by his word. Didn't once question de homme. Dat be till few years in. Somet'in' seemed t' snap inside an' dat trust he had in mon pére be gone. Seemed almost like he didn't want t' be here, but he didn't want t' leave either. It be de same for mon pére. Didn't seem t' want Remy 'round 'cause he began ruinin' his plans intentionly, but also didn't want t' see de back o' him. Since then, they be at each other's throats, playin' a game dat seems t' have no winner. Y' seem t' be fallin' in t' dere newest play. Mon conseil, figure out what it is y' want an' go after it," Henri said.
Rogue stared at Henri, feeling more confused after he explained Remy's and Jean-Luc's relationshop than before he did.
"Wait, so ya knew ah'd end up bein' part of this sick rivalry they got goin' on? An' ya just decided t' drop meh in it? Why? Why'd ya do that?" Rogue demanded to know.
Henri refused to look at her as he spoke.
"Had a feelin' puttin' y' in dere path be way t' stop their rivallery, or, at least, turn de tides," Henri explained.
"Ya not makin' sense!" Rogue snapped.
"From what known 'bout y', y' ain't no pushover," Henri said, now looking into Rogue's eyes with all the seriousness in the world. "An' from what I hearin' now, y' still ain't. Maybe mon pére et mon frére benefit when dey realise there be t'ings outta there reach they can't control. Mon Pére wants y' t' stay, use de potential y' got for his own devices. Mon frére wants y' t' leave so dat our pére don't get what he wants. Y' want t' stay but be owned by no man," Henri said, glancing away from her again.
"But why? Why use meh as a pawn?" Rogue questioned, feeling a little on edge at hearing how she was being used.
"Dat be thieves for y' petite. We lie, steal an' cheat t' get what it is we want. Question be, what y' gonna do next?" Henri said.
"Wait," Rogue said, dropping her head into her hands. "if y'all lie, steal an' cheat, then everythin' ya just told meh-"
"Be true. Y'll find de best lies, they come hand in hand wit' truth. Y'll barely catch a thief tellin' un mensonge dat ain't got some truth 'hind it. Sometimes, de truth, it be a lie in it's self. It be all 'bout perspective an' how it be used t' get what y' truly after," Henri said.
"So, ya told meh the truth," Rogue said, pausing as she began to piece things together, "'cause ya reckon tellin' meh the truth'll make meh not side with either ya papa or ya brother. Ya just want meh ta do what ah want, but be warey Remy an' ya father are tryna manipulate meh ta do what it is they want meh ta do so they can't score points in this stupid game they got goin' on?" Rogue said.
"Dat be de one," Henri said, a smirk on his face.
"But ya've threw meh in ta the lion's den!" Rogue stressed. "How'm ah supposed ta know if ah'm doin' what they want or not? Why should ah even care?"
"Y' don't have t' care 'bout dere game. Just be sure t' do whatever y' wanna do," Henri said.
"Ah t'ink ya missin' the point!" Rogue said, glaring at Henri. "It be all finah an' dandy tellin' meh just ta do as ah please, but ah'm in ya father's house. Ya brother has mah memories so he's at'a advantage. They've kinda got meh backed in ta a corner here. If anythin', they're gonna tear meh ta shreads in this war'a theres!"
"Dat won't happen. We be seein' t' it," Henri said.
"We?" Rogue questioned.
"Oui, moi-même an' Merci. We all be sick'a their wars an' bein' pawns ourselves within dis here game. So, we be watchin' y' back, makin' sure y' stay a float while y' figure out what it is y' want an' go after it," Henri said.
Rogue just stared at Henri for one long minute.
"So, ya sayin' that, even though ya played meh an' set meh up so that Remy an' ya father have'a new toy ta fight over, y'all are gonna make sure ah get whatever ah want an' not be used as a pawn?" Rogue questioned.
"Dat be so," Henri said, his smirk growing.
"But ah'll be ya pawn by not givin' Remy or Jean-Luc what they're after," Rogue said, a disbelieiving smile of her own growing on her face.
"Now y' be t'inkin' like a thief," Henri said, showing teeth.
Rogue actually smiled back in return, shaking her head as she couldn't fully believe what was happening.
"Y' one manipulative son, ya know that?" Rogue asked.
"Well, I be de prince'a thieves, an' someday, de king," he said.
Rogue just shuck her head, wondering what it is she had actually walked into.
"Crazy thieves," she muttered.
xxxxx
French Translations
Bonjour - Hello
Moi - Me
Non - No
Mon frére - My Brother
Deux - Two
Un Orphelin - An Orphan
Pére - Father
Quatre ou Cinq - Four or Five
Homme - Man
Mon conseil -My Advice
Petite - Small One
Un mensonge - A Lie
Moi-même - Myself