The soft brown furs on the bed were dappled in the rare sunlight that managed to slip through the skeletal thicket of trees, turning the blackness behind the sleeping woman's eyelids into a warm sort of orange. Green eyes flickered open, their depths filled with drowsy bliss. She stretched languidly under the furs, then simply lay still for a bit. Before long, she dragged herself out of the bed and to the sun-filled window, then stared out at the dark of the forest. The trees swayed in a slight wind, their bark creaking as it shifted. Pine needles were shaken from their branches to land on the moss-covered ground as a particularly strong gust of air swept through them.

"How long have ah been here? Fifteen summers? Sixteen?"

The window remained silent as she spoke to it, as windows are wont to do. No one had yet seen a point to enchanting windows into talking. They were far too chatty; mirrors were much better about that sort of thing.

She sighed heavily and turned away from the window. The wooden floor creaked under her feet as she moved to her oaken closet. She pulled heavily on the smooth brass handles, yanking the doors open. The dresses swished slightly at the breeze she'd created and one of heavy green and black brocade caught her eye. She sighed again. There was nothing she wouldn't give for a nice pair of trousers and a simple blouse, but Jean had outright forbidden any such thing. Not that that had stopped her from secretly sewing herself a practical outfit, but after having the fifth painstakingly sewn and hidden pair of trousers made into a skirt and pointedly left in her closet, she'd decided her energy was better put to use doing other things. Like cooking nice dinners and making sure they had ingredients guaranteed to give Jean a rash red enough to match her hair. Petty, maybe, but satisfying.

She slipped into the dress, and reached around her back to pull futilely on the laces, then huffed with frustration. Why couldn't witches curse the people who'd designed such annoying contraptions instead of running around and hurling spells at princesses? It would make everyone much happier.

"Kitty!" She stomped on the floor, her heel smarting a bit at the heavy thud. Feet immediately began to patter up the stair, and her door slammed open a few moments later. A tiny woman hurtled through, brown hair disheveled and chocolate eyes open wide.

"Rogue! What is it?"

"Ah can't get these laces. Again."

She tugged on them again, just to prove her point. Kitty's pink lips twitched into a relieved little grin.

"I thought you'd seen that dragon flying around again."

"Ah wish. That dragon is less annoying than these dresses."

Completely untrue, but not the rogue princess' fault. She hadn't yet met a dragon up close. Not that she ever would. Dragons were extremely rare; there were only two dragons that made their homes anywhere close to the forest, and both demonstrated an almost insulting disinterest in princesses. They were much more likely to steal a kingdom's gold. It was far less flammable and with rare exception, didn't cry.

Kitty moved behind Rogue, carefully pushing her bare hands away from the laces. She pulled the laces tight, and with several unnecessary flourishes, had secured the dress.

"There. All done! Except for your hair. It's like a rat's nest, you know."

Rogue sighed for the third time that morning, but allowed herself to be pushed down onto the chair by the vanity and handed a brush. Kitty would've been responsible for her hair, but they'd quickly learned that it was almost impossible for her to brush it without touching some small amount of skin and subsequently fainting. Rogue tugged the brush through her odd dual-toned auburn hair, allowing it to fall in waves down her shoulder, then pulled the white strands that framed her face away, braiding them back.

"One of these days, Ah'm gonna cut this mess. It's always in mah eyes."

"And then Jean will hide everything sharp so it has to grow. Do you know how hard it is to cook without knives?"

"Not exactly discouraging me, Kitty."

It was true that Kitty couldn't quite cook, but it wasn't her fault. After all, one of her great-grandmothers had some claim to witchery, and everyone knows people with that sort of lineage can't cook proper meals. They're always subconsciously trying to make potions.

Rogue opened the top drawer of the vanity, vaguely listening to Kitty's voice in the background as she fished out a pair of long black gloves and pulled them on.

"Whatever. Jean's not going to be happy if we don't get downstairs soon."

"...Not exactly discouraging me, Kitty."

But she still trudged down the stairs after Kitty. The cottage they lived in was designed to draw the eye; everything about it suggested that a traveling knight should investigate. Weathered tapestries hung from the walls, their faded red threads a bright spot to the strange dreariness of the sparsely decorated room. A blackened pot was still and empty over the cold hearth.

"Jean's not here?"

She was not.

Kitty frowned, her brows crinkling in confusion.

"Maybe she stepped outside?"

Rogue shrugged her shoulders and strode briskly to the door, opening it calmly.

"Might as well take a look. Ah don't know what she'd be doing outside though."

Jean spent most of her time inside, cleaning or sewing or cooking. The rare ventures outside into the forest were generally due to Rogue slipping away. How Jean always seemed to know what she was thinking, she'd never figured out.

A cold wind rushed inside as the doors open, buffeting the girls with brisk air. They shuddered at the chill, but quickly rallied themselves and left the relative warmth of the cottage. The woods were silent, other than the rushing of the wind, but that wasn't unusual; they were rarely loud with any sort of bird song or other animal noises. What was unusual was the trail of pebbles that led away into the depths of the forest, and the strange smell of sulfur that blew by on the wind.

Kitty groaned. She knew the start of adventure when she saw it.

First, a huge thanks to everyone that reviewed and favorited and story alerted and just generally made my day.

Second, I'm not a big fan of this chapter, but I expect I'll get more into the swing of things later on. Haven't written X-Men: Evolution in forever.

Third, another huge thanks to everyone, and I still love reviews and non-subtle hints.