TohruEmber here! I don't know whether I should do review feedback. I'll wait a while probably. I do really appreciate them though! Like I said, and as you know, when you review, you have more of a passion to write – at least I do. I also wanted to add, yes, this is a non-power fanfiction. Except for Tessa … she still has powers of some sort.
Are people excited about Remy? Haha.
I also wanted to tell you that the chapter's title: Don't look into his demon eyes, is a play-on the song 'Don't look into his angel eyes', by one of the greatest band ever: ABBA!
Anywhooo, I'll let you continue with the story!
Blessed
Chapter Two
Don't Look Into Those Demon Eyes
Hello! Mah name is Marie Darkholme an' last month mah Aunt Irene informed me that she was gonna stay with her daughter f'r a while, while she gets some money to buy a new house in Bayville. Ah was determined to stay in Bayville because ah really didn' want to have any time off from high school.
So that's how ah ended up living in a tent in the middle of a forest. What ah didn't know though was that ah was actually camping out on the most well-known family in Bayville, the Xavier's property!
The Prince of mah high school, Joseph Xavier, discovered me in mah tent and kindly offered for me t' stay with him and Hank Xavier, his cousin, while ah got mahself sorted, but ah really couldn' impose like that!
And before ah knew it, ah'd tripped over and transformed Joseph Xavier into a rat! Yes, that's right! A rat! Ah don't know what's goin' on, or what the rat version of Joseph meant by havin' to erase my memories, but something is definitely mysterious about the Xavier's!
~~~~~ Hank Xavier's House ~~~~~
After transforming into a rat, Joseph had asked Marie if he would carry him and take him and his clothes back to Hank's home. Neither said a word to each other the whole way, Joseph afraid to speak, and Marie afraid to ask what he had meant by his comment.
Marie had knocked on the door and soon after Hank had emerged from his house.
When the rat Joseph had scurried off into another room, returning only a few minutes later as his human-self, dressed and red in the face, he explained to Hank what had occurred – Marie accidentally turning him into a rat – and Marie's housing situation, and the older man was silent for a moment before hysterical laughter followed.
'Hank, you don't think you're overdoing it?' Joe asked underneath his laughter.
'Ah'm sorry. A-Ah don' know what exactly ah did … but please, can't ah stay here a little while longer in the tent? It's only for a month then ah'll go! Ah don' have much money but ah can pay you. Please let me stay!' Marie begged.
'These woods aren't too safe, you've wild animals, landslides, the occasional weirdo prowling around, it's not a good idea for a young lady to be living out here alone,' said Hank with a straight face.
'So, you're done laughing?' Joe asked.
'Don' you worry! Ah'm already used to the bugs! An' if ah can stand up to them ah can stand up t' anything!'
Joe peered down to the ground. 'I still think it'd be best if you'd stay here for tonight.'
'But ah—!'
'Marie, Marie,' said Hank. 'It's not just because we're worried about you staying on your own in the dark woods. You've discovered something extremely secret. For the protection of our family, I'm telling you, for tonight, you must stay here.'
Marie gulped. Like a prisoner?
'Please don't be scared, Miss Darkholme,' Joe said, noticing the fear in her eyes. 'Nothing will happen to you here. And we'll explain everything once we're inside.' He gestured for her to enter the house. She wasn't too sure at first, but she did trust the sincere gleam in Joseph's eyes, and she soon found herself doing as he had said.
~~~~~~ 10 minutes later ~~~~~
Marie had made herself comfortable – or rather as comfortable as she could get – in the living room. The house was not very large, but it was definitely larger than any house she had ever lived in.
It has a real Japanese feeling to it. An' everything is antiquey. It's so wonderful.
Hank and Joseph walked, Joe holding a glass of water for Marie. She took is gratefully and took a sip. They sat around the table, Hank appearing to be more confident than Joe. Marie felt terrible. Whatever she had done to him, he had obviously wanted it to be kept a secret. And she just had to go and ruin that.
'Marie, I guess it's impossible to hide the truth from you now. You see … we – me, Joey and another ten members of our family – are cursed,' Hank explained.
'C-Cursed?' said Marie.
'Basically,' began Joseph, 'there are twelve of us in the Xavier family who transform into the animals of the Chinese Zodiac every time someone of the opposite sex embraces us, or when we grow weak. Like Hank said – it's a curse.'
'Wow …' breathed Marie. A curse? That doesn't sound good. But at least Joseph turning into a rat makes sense to me now! All this time ah was worrying about being homeless, when the Xavier family had to put up with such a dreadful predicament!
'We must seem very odd to you, huh?' asked Joseph, his eyes narrowing. Marie could tell he was angry at himself.
'It's not exactly everyday, but it's not your fault your family is cursed,' said Marie, thinking carefully.
It does explain why Joseph seems so distant with the girls – especially the fan club girls – at school. He jus' doesn' wan' anyone t' find out his secret!
'Miss Darkholme! I'm sorry, I didn't realise how mucky your clothes were!' exclaimed Joseph.
Marie examined herself quickly: mud and leaves covered and stuck to her school uniform. She felt her cheeks flushed as she thought about appearing so filthy in front of Joseph.
'Come with me,' he said, raising himself from his chair and walking towards the door. 'I can show you to the spare room and you can change your clothes in there.'
Marie nodded, too embarrassed to say anything, and grabbed her bag crammed full of clothes, following Joseph to a plain room. He shut the door behind him and left Marie alone with her thoughts.
~~~~~~ The Next Morning ~~~~~
Having slept without interruption from any bugs, and having the most rest she had had in a whole month, Marie awoke in a brilliantly happy mood, even after remembering all that had occurred.
What ah've found out about the Xavier family is strange, but at the same time, Joseph and Hank both seem to be such lovely people. Ah don' think this curse is so bad after all.
Using the bathroom in the spare room, Marie changed herself into a clean uniform, tied her hair up, leaving her white streaks to frame her face, and trotted down the stairs. Joseph was waiting at the bottom for her, smiling awkwardly, his eyes telling her he was unsure on how she would react to him. She had never really appreciated his appearance before. His white hair was longer than most boy's hair, and his blue eyes, she had noticed, always seemed to sparkle.
'Good mornin', Joseph!' she said happily as she reached the bottom of the stairs.
'G-Good morning,' he said.
'Ah had such a great sleep last night! Ah'm so grateful f'r ya lettin' me stay 'ere f'r one night. Thank ya so much.'
'It's … not a problem.' He was still unsure of her, she noticed.
'An' ah want you to know that ah won' tell anyone about ya secret!'
'So you do remember?' he said.
'Your memory will have to be erased.' His words echoed throughout her head.
'S-Should ah not remember?' she asked, anxiously.
'Well, I thought maybe you'd pretend nothing happened,' Joseph admitted. 'But it wouldn't have changed anything.' Before she could ask what he meant, he said, 'Do you want to walk to school together again?'
'O' course!' she replied instantly with a smile. For some reason, she didn't feel as nervous in his presence today. Maybe it was because of her knowledge of the secret, or that she had stayed in his house, but she would have liked to think it was because they were becoming friends.
As they came out of the house, Marie stopped abruptly as someone landed in front of them – as though they had descended from the Heavens – his hands clenched, and back turned to her and Joseph.
She heard Joe sigh. 'Not him again.'
'Bonjour, time to pay the piper, rat boy. I'm 'ere to collect,' the boy said, Marie detecting a Southern accent. A Cajun?
'Funny, I'd have thought he'd send somebody bigger,' Joe mocked, folding his arms, appearing disinterested by this aggressive stranger.
The boy swirled round, throwing his brown trench coat to the grass, and glared at Joseph with a cocky grin. Marie hardly noticed his expression though; she was absolutely taken by his eyes. She had never seen anything like it. His irises were black, his pupils were red, and the rest black again.
They're beautiful, she thought, utterly amazed by them.
But the boy did not seem to even notice Marie as he grabbed Joseph's shoulder with a tight grip that made even Marie yelp. However, Joseph did not even seem to be in pain: on the contrary, he appeared to be more hassled than hurt in anyway. He sighed once more and closed his eyes as if to suggest he couldn't stand to look into the boy's eyes – the boy didn't like that.
'Dat's right, you better get ya tough talk out o' de way, 'cuz 'm about t' wipe dat stupid look right off your face!' the boy yelled, then he lunged at Joseph.
'Wait, stop, don' fight!' Marie shouted, not intending to trip over her own feet, grabbing the boy from behind, and making him …
POOF!
'Joey, what was all that shouting I heard outside: Remy's not here again is he?' Hank asked from the doorway. 'What's ––'
A … A cat? thought Marie. In her hand, she held a brown cat dotted with black spots, who hissed at her.
'Is this … Is this the same boy who …' Marie glanced to the floor to see the boy's black top and tracksuit he had been wearing. It's like what happened when ah hugged Joseph.
'LET GO O' ME, STUPIDE FILLE!'
Shocked by a talking cat – though she should have expected it – she dropped him immediately onto the floor – where, unlike other cats would have done, he landed flat on the ground – and apologised repeatedly to him. She stood up and gathered his clothes together in a complete rush, panicking as she continued to apologise, and turned around only to bump into Joseph who – POOF! – transformed once again into a rat. Engulfed in a cloud of smoke, Marie failed to notice Hank coming towards her to help her, and crashed into him – POOF!
Marie felt as though she would faint. Dizzy with all the smoke, she could have sworn she saw the figure of a dog with a rat on its head sitting in front of her as she was knelt down on the grass. The smoke soon disappeared, and indeed, there was a black haired dog – with a tint of blue – with a white rat on his head.
'Ah – Ah – Ah …' was all Marie could say. She had never felt more befuddled in her life. 'Ah need to call a vet! Doctor! Vet! Doctor??!' she finally managed to say.
'Calm down, Marie,' said the dog in Hank's voice.
'But ah have t' do something! You've all transformed! A-Ah have to change you back, b-b-but how?!'
The dog did an unusual motion with his lips, Marie assuming it was meant to be a grin of some kind.
She looked to the rat and then to the cat who had his back turned to her.
'There's no need to panic, Marie,' reassured the dog. 'We don't need a doctor or a vet to change us back or anything.' Marie raised her eyebrow questionably. 'There is one slight hitch I forgot to mention though,' said Hank, Joseph jumping off his head. 'When we transform back after a little while …'
POOF! POOF! POOF!
'We're naked.'
Marie squealed as she closed her eyes and ran into the house.
~~~~~~ 5 minutes later ~~~~~~
Once again Marie found herself in the living room. She had calmed down a lot now, slowly getting used to this unusual families secret.
Joe stood near the window, peering outside; Hank and Marie sat opposite each other at the table, whilst Remy sat on the floor near the television, sulking.
'So, Marie, have you heard about the cat in the zodiac?' asked Hank.
'Yes!' smiled Marie. 'Mom told me the story when ah was little! An' ah felt so sorry f'r the cat!'
Ah remember the story so well now, as though Mom had only tol' me yesterday. A long, long time ago, the Cat an' the Rat were the best of friends. They accompanied each other everywhere they went an' they shared their food. One day, the Cat learnt that God was going t' elect twelve animals t' represent the twelve calendar years, an' invited all animals t' a party. The Cat suggested t' the Rat that both o' them should make a presence.
When the day finally arrived, the Cat told the Rat, 'Ah am going t' take a nap so that ah will be in mah top form. Can you please wake me up when it's time t' go t' the party?' 'No problem.' the Rat replied, 'Just relax an' rest. Ah will wake you up when the time comes.'
After the Cat fell asleep, the Rat thought to himself, 'Ah am among the smallest of all animals an' ah don' stand a chance in makin' one of the twelve if the Cat will go.' So when the time came, the Rat left on his own without waking up the Cat, an' was elected as one of the twelve Zodiac Animals.
When the Cat found out what the Rat had done, he was furious. The two became worst enemies. An' that was the reason why cats are not one of the twelve animals.
When Mom tol' me that, ah felt so sorry f'r the cat. Ah didn' hate the rat f'r what he did, but the poor cat missed out. So from them on, ah became a dedicated member of the zodiac cat society – if they had such a thing. But if they did ah'd surely join in!
'Yes, it's hard to believe that Remy of all people is the cat,' continued Hank, earning a glare from Remy. 'I know and I agree the phrase "cat like reflexes" doesn't really apply to him, the way he let you fall on him like that.' Remy snarled. 'But he is a cat, clumsier then most. Surprising really, considering the amount of martial arts training he's had with Bishop. I'm sure he'd tell you the same thing himself, if he wasn't so busy brooding like a child.'
'You should learn t' shut up, bête!' yelled Remy as he rose from the floor. 'It's not my fault! 'F ya want t' blame someone, blame her!' He pointed mercilessly at Marie who flinched. 'She shouldn' even b' here!'
'Keep her out of this,' said Joseph, standing beside Marie. 'Who we choose to allow into this house is really none of your concern. You're the one that doesn't belong here.'
Remy growled, his fists clenching. And with a blink of an eye, Remy was fighting – hands, fists, legs, elbows – Joseph who dodged all of his attacks. It wasn't until he almost hurt Marie that Joseph began to fight back.
'S-S-Shouldn't we do something?!' said Marie, alarmed.
'Don't worry; this goes back a lot farther then just today,' said Hank standing with Marie away from harms way. 'Those two do nothing but fight whenever they see each other. It'll all be over in a second.'
Marie watched in horror as the two boys broke ornaments and smashed a window even.
'Joey, Remy, try not to destroy the house, okay?' asked Hank incredibly casually, like he was accustomed to this, as he wiped his glasses.
But Hank was right. All of a sudden, Joe rocketed his fist into Remy's face, throwing him into a wall and left him lying almost unconscious on the floor. Marie instinctively went over to him to help him, but he glared at her with those stunning eyes and pushed her away gently. Narrowing his eyes at the impassive Joseph, Remy dashed out of the house.
Poor Remy, Marie thought sadly. Hank and Joseph said there were only twelve cursed Xavier's, but ah guess like most people, they forgot all about the cat … Remy.
'You two should get to school,' said Hank, breaking the silence.
~~~~~ Bayville High Break Time ~~~~~
'It's all your fault!'
Marie and Joseph who happened to be the only ones in the classroom turned their heads to the door where a fuming Betsy stood, and an emotionless Tessa behind her.
'Who's fault?' asked Marie, puzzled.
'His,' Betsy began scorning in the direction of Joseph, 'group of fan girls were planning to do something to you!'
'M – Me?' stuttered Marie, her face dropping and slowly turning even more pale.
'You,' Tessa confirmed, sitting beside Marie. Her dark eyes fell upon the Southern girl's, and, unlike most people, they did not frighten her.
'They said you were walking with him to school today again,' said Betsy. 'Is that true?'
'Well … erm … yeah; ah sorta went to his house by accident.'
'By accident?'
'I don't think that's any of your business,' interrupted Joseph, who was now standing over them. 'I and Miss Darkholme don't need your permission to walk together.'
Betsy growled. 'Don't give me that lip, Xavier! It's my business when my best friend might be tormented by a group of your crazed fan girls!' she bellowed.
'They're not my fan girls! And I wouldn't let them hurt her!'
'Oh how noble of you! What are you some Prince here to protect the Princess?!'
They continued to fight – despite Marie's pleas to stop – until other students entered the classroom, then their teacher.
Throughout the class, Marie couldn't help but contemplate what the fan girls would do to her. She had not seen them today, but perhaps they were waiting for Joseph and spotted her walking with him instead. Or maybe she had done something wrong to offend them – like spending the night in Joseph Xavier's house.
~~~~ Later ~~~~
'Hello Miss Darkholme.' Marie swivelled round in the empty hallway to see a despondent-looking Joseph. She beamed his way and went over to him.
'Hello, Joseph!' she greeted him happily.
'So, did you tell them, your friends, about this morning?'
'Oh! Your secret?! No, no ah didn't! Ah promise ah won' tell a soul. Ah always thought it wasn't right to gossip. Oh, but you don't know me that well yet.'
'No, it's not that, it's just …'
'Ah swear! Ah'll write it in blood if ya want! Cross my heart and hope to die. What ever it takes for you to believe me; I'll swallow a thousand ….'
'That's not what I meant!' yelled Joseph, disquieting Marie. 'I'm sorry. I do believe you when you say you'll keep our secret. But it doesn't matter; we still might have to erase your memory. It won't harm you, it's something like hypnotism. You'll simply forget everything you saw this morning. I know this because this isn't the first time someone has learned about us.'
Joseph looked to the floor, Marie understanding he was recalling a distant memory.
'Joseph, are you alright?' she asked him.
His head snapped back up, a frown still remaining on his face. 'But I … I can't go against … against his decision, whatever it is. I can't stop him no matter how much I might want to. That's why … I'm sorry.'
Him? Thought Marie. Whoever it was, Joseph certainly sounded afraid of him.
It was a while before Marie said, 'What ah wanted to say was thank you f'r being concerned about me. But really, it's okay. Ah'm fine, ah'm not scared, so don' worry. Ah mean ah completely understand if you and your family don' want anyone t' know about your secret. That's why it's called a secret, right? So whatever you decide is fine with me. Ah want you to do whatever makes you feel most comfortable.'
Joseph stared at her: her glittering green eyes that could be mistaking for emeralds shone with genuine kindness.
'You can erase mah memory, but afterwards, promise you'll still be mah friend,' she said, smiling.
Joseph blinked at her words. No one … No one has ever said that to me before … When I was seven-years-old. I was playing with some other children in the garden behind our house. A girl hugged me. After that, we had to erase every one of those children's memories. And not one of them, not even my best friend, still asked to be friends with me.
'Charles, am I really that strange. Am I so strange that we have to hide it from everyone?' Joseph remembered asking Charles when he was younger.
'Yes, you are that strange. A human that turns into a rat, what do you think they would do if they knew really? You're a freak, they wouldn't come near you. They'd hate you.'
'Promise…'
'They'd hate you.'
'Promise you'll still be mah friend.'
'Miss Darkholme …' began Joseph, looking away from her, slightly red.
'Yes?'
'Is it alright if we walk home together? You have to come back to Hank's anyway so that … you know … memories and all … But … I'd like us to walk back together.'
Marie laughed kindly. 'O' course!'
He was still amazed by how undaunted she was about the concept of her memories being erased and about the curse in general, but he could tell she was honest about her feelings.
~~~~~ Hank's House ~~~~
'I'm back!' called out Joseph.
'Hello, we're home from school!' Marie said.
'Welcome hoooome!' Hank sang to them as he greeted them at the door. For some unknown reason he was wearing his pyjamas. He wasted no time in saying to Marie, 'I have no doubt that Joey filled you in about Charles? Which reminds me, I will have to tell him about everything that's happened.'
'You have to tell who?' asked Marie.
'Oh sorry, I guess he didn't tell you.' Hank tutted at Joseph who rolled his eyes. 'Charles Xavier – he's the head of the family.'
'Oh … So then ah guess this Charles must be someone really important, huh?' said Marie.
'Well he is to us at least; and after all, we did just give away the big Xavier family secret.'
Marie felt a twinge of guilt.
'Um … Should I … ask her?' said Joe to Hank.
'Hm? Ask me what?'
'Well … me and Hank were discussing it early this morning … That is … I know the place isn't exactly the best place to live. And the idea of living with two strange guys who transform into animals might seem a little awkward, but we have enough room for at least five more people, and you're welcome to stay in the spare room if you like,' Joseph went on.
'No, no, no, no that's out of the question!' Marie shook her head furiously.
'We're not that strange!' Joseph laughed. 'Or maybe we are.'
'No! Ah didn' mean it like that!" she said shaking her head some more.
'Of course, it won't be free,' said Hank, 'I intend to pay you for your services.'
'For mah...services?'
'As our brand new cook!' Hank exclaimed, spreading his arms out as though to embrace the whole room. 'I and Joey aren't that good at cooking, and we tend to eat out a lot. But with a cook, we don't have to waste all that money on unhealthy junk food. Oh, but you do know how to cook, don't you?'
'Yuh-huh! Aunt Irene taught me how t' cook when ah was thirteen!' Marie said.
'Then it's settled!' said Hank with a grin. 'We'll just take these things to your room now, and Joey will go back to your tend later to get the rest of your belongings.'
'W-Wait!' Marie yelled. Ah can' let you do this! After all the trouble you've gone trough already – it's too much!' Marie rambled off quickly.
'Miss Darkholme, we're doing this because we want to. You don't have to worry because it's causing us any trouble and besides, where else can you go?' Joseph asked.
'B-But what about my memories?'
'Well if it turns out Charles wants your memories to be erased, then we can just kick you out like nothing happened and you can just go back to living in your tent before we get you off the property,' chuckled Hank.
'That's just cruel how you say it,' muttered Joe.
Marie wavered, then said, 'Well, if ah'm going t' stay here, ah'll work for room and board and that's it, ah don' want any money and ah want to know what your favourite meals are, an' what the rules o' the house are, an'––'
'Relax, it's alright,' said Joseph, gently resting his hand on her shoulder. 'You can do things your own way here. The only thing you have to do is be yourself, fair enough?' he asked with a smile.
Marie slowly smiled back at him, a warm feeling blossoming in her heart.
So …ah guess suddenly the Xavier home became mah home too! F'r the time being that is …
'End 2/22 ~
I'm really enjoying writing this! The beginning (because I'm still more or less introducing the story), is much like Fruits Basket, but once I'm onto chapter four, it'll be taking a different turn.
I know it says 2/22 but I really plan to do 50 or even more! It depends on the reviews. I really count on reviews. I am a review monster … I'm not a funny person. Trust me; British humour is not funny to other people usually.
I don't know if people will be saying, 'More Remy! And more Romy!' haha. I can imagine it. I know Remy doesn't appear much in this, but it's only because I'm trying to introduce it all. He will be in the next chapter, and from then on, all the time. Love triangle anyone? Haha.
Also, again, I don't describe a lot. I prefer dialogue. I guess I leave it to your imagination as to what things look like, as long as I give you some clues to base your ideas on. I hope it's not a bother – if it is please feel free to tell me. I'm not just writing this for me, I'm writing it for you, so I want you to like it – I can hear John saying 'Obviously.' (I'm in the part of the story where John is involved (Pyro), so he's in my head a lot … that probably is scary.
Hank is a comedian I feel. I think he was in the comics and the television series anyway. But I think his character in this story will become a lot darker. I plan that for all the characters. Do I sound evil?
PLEASE REVIEW so that I know I should continue posting or not!!! =D
Next Chapter!!! Marie: Living in the Xavier house really is a strange experience! But ah really am enjoyin' it! An' not only that, but it seems that Remy-san might be livin' here too!
Remy: Vous condamner, Hank! I rather die than live wit' dat rat, an' some pathetic fille!
Hank: *Laughs* So amusing.
Remy: Don' laugh at me!
Marie: But something tells me that Remy-san doesn' like me much … Ah don' know what ah can do – ah don' even know why he hates me so much …
Remy: STAY AWAY FROM ME, DAMN IT!
Marie: Ah have t' let him know mah true feelings f'r him!
Remy: You … like me?
Marie: Join me, Marie, in the next chapter to find out what happens next!