This is TohruEmber speaking! I was thinking the other day when writing one of the chapters, 'I'm really happy so many people like this.' I honestly thought the plot was so outrageous that I'd not receive any reviews! Feedback is very important. I'm completely astonished! Thank you so much for making me happy!

I know people like Romy, so I do try to put Romy in a lot. But sometimes it gets difficult to put it in, especially with all the characters that you will meet. I will give you a spoiler though (don't read if you don't want to), the last two chapters of this set are literally pure Romy. But it's not what you think, *does evil laugh*… I really shouldn't do that …

This is the longest chapter so far! Please enjoy the next instalment of:

Blessed

Chapter Six

The Frozen Snow

Hello! Mah name is Marie Darkholme an' ah've come t' know a terrible secret! After mah aunt Irene moved back to Mississippi, the Xavier's took me in. Ah soon learned that the Xavier family lives with a curse! Thirteen members (three o' whom ah live with) are each possessed by the vengeful spirit of an animal from the Chinese Zodiac! They transform into their chosen animal whenever a member of the opposite sex embraces them, or when they become weak!

Ah'm really enjoying livin' with Joseph, Remy an' Hank! But there's a lot more to this curse than ah thought. After all, curses aren't known t' be a good thang f'r a reason …

Ah wonder what member of the zodiac ah'll meet this time?!

~~~~~ *x* ~~~~~

Since long ago, whether by Charles or his father before him, I've been called on numerous occasions to suppress the memories of others. I knew the suffering it would cause for Joseph if I erased his friends memories that day, but still, it was required – a job is a job after all.

'Logan, you're as cold as snow.'

The words Charles had spoken that day are truer than even he realised.

Outside ~~~~~

Today's been such a cold day! Marie thought, though she wasn't that bothered by it. Ah wonder if it's gonna snow.

Walking back home along the dark, empty streets, the street lamps being her only comfort, Marie tightened her white scarf around her neck and tucked her hands deep into her coat's pockets. It had been a whole month now since she had been living with the Xavier's, and she was having a lot of fun. Remy and Joseph still argued, however, and whenever you walked into a room you could feel the electric sparks fly between them. It was mostly Remy, Marie realised, who disliked Joseph. She suspected that there was more to Remy's hatred than she had thought.

An' ah jus' can' help but wonder about the curse, Marie thought. There's a lot more to it … But somehow ah have the feelin' ah shouldn' pry into things that aint mah business …

Deep in thought, Marie hardly registered the man she passed on the path home.

'Marie Darkholme?' she heard the man say.

She stopped. He wasn't a tall man, but he appeared strong and muscular. He wore a long, black coat, but even that didn't seem enough to keep him sheltered from the cold – not that he even looked bothered by the weather. The shape of his black hair was unusual, reminding Marie distinctly of a wolf. There was a cigarette hanging from his mouth.

'Y-Yes. How d'ya know mah name?' Marie asked, warily.

'I'm Logan. Logan Xavier.'

'Y-You're an … Xavier?' Marie whispered. Maybe that means he's one of the zodiac! 'Oh! Did you come all this way t' see me?'

'Got it in one,' he said. He didn't shorten the distance between them – he didn't want to get too close to her. 'But don't think yaself as anything special. I came 'coz I gotta warning for ya, so ya better listen closely – I don't like to repeat myself.'

Marie blinked.

'Leave Hank's house, and I mean it,' he said bluntly.

'But ah –'

'Do you understand the nature of this curse?' he asked her.

She looked down. 'Well …'

'I thought not. If you did, you'd have probably left. I gotta proposition for ya.' The way he spoke to her made Marie think he was in a hurry. 'I was planning to use … other methods to get you to leave that house. But since ya only a kid, I don't think I should.'

Marie narrowed her eyes. Who did he think he was?!

'Come to the Xavier house tomorrow at 4.30pm,' he instructed. 'And don't tell anyone about it, either. It'd be a complicated nuisance if ya did.'

'The Xavier house … Do ya mean the main house?' Marie questioned.

'The one and only,' he replied, throwing his cigarette to the floor and putting it out with his foot.

Marie gulped.

'I'm sure you'll find your way there; after all, it's one of the most well known houses in Bayville, right?'

She nodded.

'And don't be late,' he warned as he faded into the night.

~~~~~ Home Sweet Home ~~~~~

'Ah met Logan t'day,' said Marie as soon as she had entered the house.

Hank and Joseph were sat in the living room, watching television.

'Logan came to visit you?' repeated Hank, a little shocked.

'Yes …' She didn't mention about him wanting her to visit the main house.

'What did he say?' Joseph asked.

'Oh … he jus' wanted t' see who ah was, is all,' she lied, sitting herself next to Joseph.

'You know, Logan is blind in his left eye,' said Hank.

'Really?' asked Marie. She had not even noticed.

'Mhm. Don't mention him I told you this, but Logan used to have a girlfriend. She lived in the Xavier house for a while when her mother married into the family,' explained Hank. 'As all Xavier's inside the house must have a duty to fulfil, she was chosen to be Logan's assistant.'

'Assistant?' Marie asked.

'Logan's a doctor,' said Joseph. 'But he only treats people belonging to the Xavier family. Especially Charles – he suffers from illness a lot, you see.'

Poor Charles … Marie thought.

'Anyway,' Hank continued, 'she was a very lively person, and kind. Even when she found out about the zodiac curse she laughed and said she didn't care.'

So that means Logan is one of the Chinese Zodiacs! thought Marie.

'They were engaged to be married, but then Charles found out,' said Hank. 'And he was mad. In fact, he went into a rage and hurt Logan's left eye. But still … Logan didn't blame Charles. His girlfriend blamed herself though. And soon she became sick. Logan, not wanting to see her in such a state, erased her memories.'

Marie put her hand over her mouth.

'She acted as though she had never met him the next day, and slowly recovered. Logan watched her leave the main house. And still – he never blamed Charles.'

'Why?'

'Because that's part of the curse,' Joseph said irritably. 'We can't disobey Charles.'

Marie wanted to ask more, but by the way Joseph said that, she held back her questions.

~~~~~ Bayville High School ~~~~

The following day, Marie, Joseph and Remy walked to school together – Remy bickering with Joseph the entire time. Marie was frightened in case their arguments escalated into more physical action. Luckily, it had not.

As soon as Joseph had stepped into the school building, all the girls had circled him – Marie and Remy having sneaked off another way. The fan club girls had made sure that these other ordinary students left him alone in the end. He deserved only their attention.

But Joseph was apparently not the only one receiving all of the interest. The moment Remy had taken his place in the classroom before the lesson had started, once again, most of the girls and some of the boys in the classroom bombarded him with questions, much to his annoyance.

Marie, Betsy and Tessa watched from the back of the classroom.

'You woulda thought the Cajun would like all that attention,' smirked Betsy.

Ah guess Joseph was right, Marie thought with a chuckle, Remy is the type o' person that draws people in like a magnet.

'Le condamner; le séjour loin de moi vous, les filles stupides!' shouted Remy as loud as he could – which turned out to be very loud.

'Oooo!' squealed one of the girls. 'He even speaks French!'

'Sooo cooool!' another girl said.

Remy growled and rose from his chair, stomping over to the door before Marie said to him, 'It seems like you're quite popular!'

Seeing her smile only irritated Remy more. 'I don' want t' b' popular, damn it!'

'What's your problem anyway, Cajun?' asked Betsy, placing her hands on her hips. 'Most people would love to be in your position. I don't think I've seen the boys in our class this desperate before.'

Looking at them now, Marie had to admit that a lot of the boys were imitating Remy: the way they sat all agitated, the way they had begun to talk with more of an accent and adding some French words, some even pulled funny faces in an attempt to look like him. She laughed, realising it was very true what Joseph had said.

'Indeed,' agreed Tessa. 'It just so happens that the boys have the same passion for Joseph as the girls do, and now it appears to be the same for Remy.'

'I reckon they won't like Cajun for much longer,' laughed Betsy. 'He's not exactly a good role model.'

'What is dat suppose t' mean, Brit?!'

'But Remy has already made a few boy-friends!' pointed out Marie happily.

'Don' say it like dat, idiot!' yelled Remy. 'People will get de wrong idea.'

As Remy continued to give her a lecture, Betsy cutting in now and again to shout back at him, the girls who had been surrounding Remy earlier watched with resentment.

'Look at her over there, seducing Remy like a piece of meat,' growled one of the girls.

'It's bad enough she took our precious prince Joseph!'

'He hasn't been taken!' an another girl disagreed. 'He's just been tricked it all.'

'We should definitely follow through with our plan.'

'What plan? The plan?'

'No, no – the Prince Joseph Club President said now is not the time to take down Marie Darkholme,' complained one of the girls. 'But I think we should confront little miss slut.'

'Yeah! Make her know her place!'

~~~~ Lunch break ~~~~

I hate them all, was all Remy could think of. It was almost over; his horrible ordeal of school was almost done with! Until tomorrow! he reminded himself. He had never despised Hank and Charles more for putting him in this wretched school. What was with all the girls anyway? And even the boys! It's as though dey never seen a real man b'f'r. He smirked. Lookin' at all de guys in dis place though, I can' really blame 'em with likin' me so much.

Remy rounded the corner to see Marie and a group of girls huddled round her. He thought nothing of it until he saw one of the girl's livid expressions.

'… Come on, Skunk Head, there's obviously something you're not telling us!' shouted a girl.

'Why are both Xavier guys all over you? What did you do to them?!'

'Nothin',' Marie said indifferently.

'Don't lie to us; we know what you've been up to with them! You're always with them!'

'Ya overreactin' f'r starters,' commented Marie, distancing herself from them, which was a difficult attempt as they were all crowded so near to her, blocking any escape route. 'An' secondly, it's none o' ya business who Joseph or Remy choose t' spend there time with.'

'You little bitch!' One of the girls grabbed her hair.

'Gigolette.' Remy came behind them, causing the group of girls to gasp. 'You better take ya hands off o' 'er bef'r ya regret it.' His voice was grim, deep, and dangerous – he meant what he was saying.

The girl holding Marie's hair – Marie mortified that she was being seen as a victim right now – was hesitant.

Remy narrowed his eyes. ''M not foolin' 'round – I said let go,' he growled.

She did so, and before Remy could say anything more, the group started to walk away, but not before one of the girls snarled at her saying, 'See you around, Skunk head.'

Great, ah can' wait, Marie thought sarcastically as she combed through her hair with her hand.

'You were handlin' yaself pretty well there,' commented Remy, his expression hinting a bit of admiration. 'I never t'ought ya had a fightin' side t' ya.'

Marie went a little pink. 'Ah have Mama's fightin' spirit ah guess. Ah only use it when ah need it. Oh an' thank you.'

'Huh?'

She lifted her chin up and smiled – a smile of gratitude that no one had ever shown to him before. It was probably just a simple gesture, but his heart beat faster. 'Thank ya very much, Remy,' she repeated.

He didn't know whether it was because of how she was looking at him, or the warm sensation spreading throughout his body, or because of the fact that no one – especially not a girl – had thanked him before, but Remy had the abrupt need to run, to run as fast as he could, away from this bizarre girl he had come to know.

'R-Remy?!' she called to him as he darted down the corridor and out of sight. That was strange …

A bell rang once, echoing throughout the hallway.

It'll b' end o' school soon … an' ah gotta prepare mahself t' go t' see Logan.

She began to walk down the corridor, not paying attention to where she was going – drifting like a ghost with no clear purpose.

Ah wish ah could tell Joseph or Remy, but Logan said not too. Ah don' wanna get on his bad side when we only just met …

~~~~~~ The Main Xavier House ~~~~~

Marie – wrapped up in her scarf, and wearing her gloves and coat – stood before two giant, iron gates, attached to a long, brick wall that seemed to go on forever. Behind it was where the Xavier mansion stood: it looked like it had been there for centuries as it had an old look to it, yet it was in perfect condition.

I-It's so big! Ya mus' b' able t' fit at least a thousand people inside! Ah guess the Xavier's mus' b' such a large family.

Marie stared at the big, golden button on the wall beside her. Her hand slowly reached up to it, shaking furiously.

C-Courage, Marie! Mama called ya Rogue f'r a reason!

'That won't be necessary.'

Marie jumped, holding back a gasp as Logan came into sight from outside the gate. He didn't have a cigarette, but still wore the same coat as he had done the other night. His face was stern as always.

'L-Logan.'

'If you did that, everyone would know you're here,' he told her. He began to walk away and she assumed he wanted her to follow.

'S-So mah visit here is a secret?' she asked nervously, catching up to him, but barely able to keep up with his pace.

'Yup,' was all he said as he continued to go round the walls.

So that means the head of the Xavier family doesn' know ah'm here either …Marie thought with trepidation.

They finally made it to the back, coming under an archway that led to a humongous garden, winter flowers of all kinds dotted around.

The back garden is as big as the house! An' it's so quiet! It's like a ghost town! An' ah think ah'm only makin' mahself more nervous …

'W-Who exactly lives here apart from you an' Charles?' Marie asked, not sure if she would receive a reply.

'People who live inside,' Logan began, 'that is, inside this building and its land, are mostly Xavier's who know about the secret, except the odd few who don't – I'd say about twenty families live here. Outside this house, there must be over fifty Xavier's living around. Some know of the Xavier curse. Most don't.'

'F-Fifty?' said Marie astonished. She had never known it was such a big family.

'Hank and Joseph used to live on the inside, too once,' Logan said.

Marie recalled what Joseph had said to her about living here once.

'Let's just say … enough was enough.'

'But being the cat, Remy has never lived on the inside, and his family were booted outta here in disgrace,' Logan explained.

Marie frowned. Remy …

~~~~~~ Xavier Lake ~~~~~

To avoid being seen by anyone who lived here, Logan took Marie to a secluded part of the Xavier estate. It was a beautiful lake, benches dotted around, and a small deck where you could put your feet in the water and splash about.

There was also another deck attached to a small pent house. This is where Marie and Logan stood, sheltered only a little from the cold.

'Logan …' started Marie. 'Ah was wonderin' … about the curse that is … How does it happen? Ah mean … How to the Xavier's become Zodiacs.'

'Heh. Well, outta the whole Xavier family, twelve Zodiacs have to exist. When one dies, someone has to replace them. But ya can't become a Zodiac if you're already born. Someone gets pregnant – with a family as big as ours it happens a lot – and the replacement of the Zodiac is born.'

'Are they always boys?' Marie asked.

'No,' Logan replied.

So there are girls too, thought Marie. 'So does that mean when a Zodiac boy is born an' there mama goes t' hug them they …?'

'They transform,' Logan said quietly. 'What you have to understand about the parents of the Zodiac, is that either they will be overprotective, or they'll reject the child altogether. In the past, it's mostly been rejection. But the current twelve Zodiacs – thirteen if you include the cat – most have parents who are protective.'

'Ah … Ah see … So what happens to the members of the Zodiac? Can' they get married? Have children?'

Logan laughed bitterly. 'Some have in the past as far as I know. But … not really. It's impossible. But it doesn't matter – this is a part of the curse that we have to bear.'

So the Zodiac can' have children, an' can' get married, but because the Xavier family is so large, an' most are unaware that their child could b' the next Zodiac … the curse continues.

'Let me get straight to it,' Logan said, Marie paying him her full attention. 'Even within the Xavier family itself, there are few who know its secret in regard to the Zodiac. It's rare that a complete outsider like you should come to learn of it. Normally, this would've been corrected quickly – but apparently Charles's made an exception in your case. Tell me, d'ya enjoy livin' there? At Hank's house?

'Yes,' she replied instantly. 'Very much.'

Logan smirked. 'All the more reason ya should leave. It would be best for ya if ya had nothin' more to do with the Xavier's. Leave Hank's house and return to ya own family. Isn't that reasonable?'

Marie wrapped her arms around herself unhappily. She didn't like what Logan was saying at all, yet she also respected his warning, knowing that he was more aware of things than her. Ah should take his warnings into consideration …

'Knowing Hank,' said Logan, 'he wouldn't say anything to ya; but there are many dark secrets within the house of Xavier. Life with us isn't as pleasant as ya seem to believe. An evil shadow looms over this family – that is the nature of our curse.'

Evil? Marie thought.

'Before you regret coming to live with the Xavier's – leave them.'

Marie bit her lip. She couldn't say anything; she didn't know what to say except stare mindlessly at him.

Logan turned away, his back to her, and took a cigarette from a packet inside his pocket. In another pocket, he took out a lighter. As he lit up his cigarette, there was a sudden breeze.

'It's snowing!' exclaimed Marie.

Logan's eyes opened wide.

'I knew it would snow today!'

His heart ached as he remembered her voice. Turning back round, Marie's back was facing him as she peered up to the clouds, snow descending from them slowly. Even to him it was peaceful.

'Ah guess ah don' know that much about the Xavier's,' said Marie sadly.

'And no one expects you too – it's best that way,' Logan said coming beside her, also looking to the skies. 'You remember the way out?'

'Yes,' she said.

'Good. I'll be goin' then,' he said, walking away from her.

'Oh! But please wait!' Marie called as she ran on the deck. 'You shouldn' leave on mah accoun–'

Somehow, her foot slipped on what would have appeared to be melted snow, and before she knew it, she was falling.

Logan, just having noticed, quickly lunged for her, wrapping his arms around her as she fell, and landed with a loud thud onto the snow-strewn ground, Marie atop of him.

She gasped, realising what this meant.

POOF!!!

Marie rolled over, afraid that she would be squashing whatever animal he had transformed into.

'Logan?!' She could not see him through the smoke that accompanied the transformation.

Ah wonder what Zodiac animal he is, she thought, ashamed to admit she was a little excited. The tiger? The horse? The dragon?

The smoke finally disappeared, and Marie laid her eyes on Logan …

A … rabbit …!

And indeed, there, sprawled out before her, was a black rabbit. It was a few moments before Marie's mind registered with what just happened.

W-Wait … he's not movin'! A-Ah think ah knocked him out!

'L-Logan?! Logan, Logan?!'

The rabbit's eyes suddenly opened, and he hopped up onto his feet.

'Look away!' he ordered harshly – secretly self-conscious of his zodiac form.

'Ah! Okay!' Marie did so immediately, not wanting to disrespect him. After all, she wasn't even supposed to know about the curse. She was still knelt on the wooden floor, uncomfortable in the long silence. It was after a while Logan spoke.

'It happened a while ago,' he said.

Marie perked her head up, not facing him.

The rabbit's head hung down solemnly.

'Hello in there,' sang a cheerful voice. 'I'm Jubilee, it's great to meetcha! I've just moved into the Xavier house and was told by one of the people to come to you. This is a little strange, huh?! I guess we're part of the same family now but we've never even met before! Oh but now I think about it that's probably because Mom married my step-dad a year ago! Do you know him? He's an Xavier.'

'This here will be your room,' said Logan, ignoring her. 'Don't expect to be able to lounge around all day. Everyone in this house has a job to do – yours will be to assist me in my job, looking after Charles Xavier. It's no fun an' games, and –'

'Oh look it's snowing!' Jubilee exclaimed. 'I knew it would snow today! Say, here's a question for ya: when the snow melts, what does it become?'

'Water of course,' replied Logan.

'BUZZZ!' Jubilee yelled. He remembered the way she had stuck her tongue out and put her thumbs pointed downwards. 'It becomes spring! I think spring is my favourite time of year.'

'I didn't know what it was, but when she had said that something strange happened to me,' the rabbit continued. 'Despite pretending she didn't have an affect on me, I knew from that moment, and the many days that followed – she was my spring.

'They say that being with another person makes ya feel so much more alive. I realised then what those people had meant. Yeah, as if Charles said I'd become the frozen snow in the dark, secret world of the Xavier's, then she was the fresh, vibrant spring, full of live, and light. It seems inevitable now that we would fall in love. It was the beginning of a dream, ya might say.

'And then …'

POOF!!!

'She found out.'

'A… rabbit?'

'I had no choice but to explain to her …'

'I guess now I finally know the reason ...' said Jubilee. Her warm presence beside him still remained in his heart even now; the way she had softly rested her head on his shoulders, and took his hand supportively. 'I was wondering why it was you never wanted to hold me. It's because you were afraid, wasn't it? You afraid of what would happen if I found out? That's why you keep your distance from people. Especially the ones you love. But you don't have to be afraid. Not anymore. Not of me.' The warm touch of her hand on his face still lingered. The sparkle in her magnificent blue eyes – the sincerity in them that filled him with love. 'Logan … I'm so happy to have met you. And I'm even happier to have fallen in love with you. I wanna stay with you.'

I wept. 'For the first time in my life, I felt as though I'd been allowed something. As though I'd been saved. I couldn't stop the tears – they were the frozen snow melted by the first warm breath of spring. I lost myself in the dream. And I laughed like never before, like all those years of pain were a distant memory belonging to a different person.

'But then he found out …

And all dreams must end …'

'No! I won't allow it!'

Logan recalled the agonizing pain in his eye as Charles threw a broken vase at him. Blood. Everywhere. The excruciating stinging. But his only concern was for her safety.

'Logan!' shouted Jubilee.

'Logan what's wrong? Why are you bleeding?!' yelled Charles. He turned to Jubilee, who Logan could remember was knelt on the floor behind him, her hands covering her mouth. 'YOU did this! This is your fault! If Logan looses his sight it's your fault!' He recalled how terrified she had looked. 'It's your fault!'

'Logan?' said Hank in alarm as he came into the room.

'Do you think you can lift the Xavier curse?!' Charles shrieked. 'Do you?!

'Jubilee, hurry; get Logan out of here!' said Hank, holding Charles back with all his might.

'But she couldn't move. She froze,' whispered Logan.

'You can't defeat the curse! We don't need you!'

'She covered her ears, but she could still hear.'

'You're worthless to us! It's your fault!'

'Her eyes were wide with fear.'

'It's your fault! It's your fault! It's all your fault!'

'No matter what I said, no matter what I did, each time I tried to console her she'd collapse into tears. Until eventually, her grief began to consume her.

'I hadn't blamed Charles … Not for what he did. I didn't blame anyone but myself,' Logan said, his rabbit ears twitching. 'I'd gone to him one night at his request. He stood, his back facing me.'

'It's especially at times like this,' began Charles, 'that your abilities become useful, don't you agree? We both know her memories should be erased. And now I doubt you will even hesitate. At this moment it's her memories of you, her feelings for you, that cause her to suffer. You're the only one who can save her. You can put an end to her suffering. The truth is she wants you to release her. The truth is she wants to forget. It will be your final act of love.'

'That day, I had gone to her room in the Xavier house,' said Logan. 'She was on the floor, dressed in her old clothes, sobbing.'

'It would've been better if we'd never met,' cried Jubilee.

'The truth is she wants you to release her.'

'…been better if we'd never met.'

'The truth is, she wants to forget.'

'It would've been better if we'd never met.'

'In the past, even if I knew the sadness and pain it would have caused, it was a burden I was forced to bear. I had no choice but to erase a person's memory once the order had been given. How would I know that the person dearest to me would also have her memories erased by my hand? The very memories we shared together.'

'Thank you, Jubes … everything … it all be okay now,' he remembered saying. 'You won't have to be troubled by me any longer. I hope one day you can meet someone who can truly make you happy.'

Her hand had slowly reached out to him, and he entwined their fingers.

'It's my wish that ya do.' He had placed his hands over her eyes – the usual procedure in erasing someone's memories.

'Logan …' Jubilee whispered tears strolling down her cheeks from behind Logan's hand. 'I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry that I couldn't protect you. Forgive me.'

'I was shocked … I … I closed my eyes tight … and I did what I had to do. There was a flash of light, and then it was over.

'As I looked at her unconscious face, I cried. I was the one who should've apologised. I was the one who couldn't protect her… But despite that she thought of me till the very end. If that was the depth of her love for me, if that was why she became so sick, then it wasn't right for her to suffer. Was this my punishment? Even though it hurt people and made them cry, if it was an order I would destroy people's memories without remorse. Was Jubilee my punishment?'

'Logan, I'm so happy to have met you. And I'm even happier to have fallen in love with you.'

'I knew that day that I'd live the rest of my life as the frozen snow, so that the dream we shared together would never melt away.'

'So it turns out things didn't work out,' said Jubilee optimistically. 'Mom didn't really like living here so … I'll be leaving. But I'm glad I got the chance to have met you!'

'And then she left. I never saw her ever again …' Logan finished. 'This curse … it's not just a burden to the Zodiac's … but to others who involve themselves too. So now do you –' As he had lifted his head up to look at her, he was stunned to see her not only facing him, but with tears falling down her pale cheeks.

'All this time,' sobbed Marie, 'you were jus' tryin' t' protectin' me … Ya didn' wan' me to get hurt like Jubilee!' Ah was so worried about comin' ere … an' this whole time he jus' wanted t' help me! He was jus' bein' kind. But after what he's been through, he's the one who deserves t' b' shown kindness, not me.

Marie wiped away her tears quickly. 'Ah know that ah'm glad t' have met the Xavier's … Ah don' regret it. Ah can' even imagine anymore what mah life would b' like without them. Ah know now that ya have my interests at heart … but … but ah won' go.'

The rabbit watched her, and then turned away to look at the snow.

'Say, here's a question for you…'

'Tell me, when the snow melts, what does it become?' Logan asked Marie.

'Huh?' Surprised by the sudden change of subject, she said, 'Oh erm … It becomes spring, right?'

Now the rabbit seemed surprised.

'So when it's cold like this, ah always remember spring is on its way,' she said beaming, holding out her hand so that the snow would drop on to it. 'No matter how cold it gets or how much snow falls, spring will melt away the snow without fail …Ah think Spring is mah favourite time o' year.'

A strange and familiar warmth filled Logan's heart. He went to speak –

POOF!!!

'Ahh!' Marie squealed, rising from the ground and turning away. 'Ah didn' look ah swear!'

A minute or two passed. 'I'm dressed, kid.'

They stared at each other – Marie sceptically and Logan impassively. Soon, a smile crept onto Logan's face.

Marie smiled back. Ah know that ah wanna keep livin' at Hank's with Joseph and Remy. An' ah don' know what to expect. Bad things may happen. But … ah'm goin' t' stay.

Marie looked up to the sky, the snow still falling from the white clouds.

There are a lot o' things ah don' know yet. An' maybe ah won' ever know. Still … ah wonder if ah should b' doin' something ah'm not. Ah wonder what the curse is exactly …

'Hey, Stripes,' Logan said.

'Hm?' She wasn't sure if he meant her at first.

'I can't make ya leave, and I won't keep pestering ya … but …' He saw Jubilee's face in his mind's eye. 'I'll try to make sure things don't repeat themselves.'

Marie blinked, and then smiled once more.

As he and Marie watched the snow in silence, he couldn't help but feel an odd sense of hope.

'No matter how cold it gets or how much snow falls, spring will melt away the snow without fail …'

'Without fail,' he whispered.

'End 6/22 ~

The curse may seem all fun and games, but really it's dark and terrible!

Remy is still a little bizarre around Rogue, eh? In future chapters, in waaaay future chapters when an event happens ( I won't say, I won't, I won't!), he will become much, much more confident in a 'Remy way', with Rogue. For now, he's a little shy.

I was going to make the Xavier house a whole village inside a wall, but then I thought I might as well use the Xavier house to give it an X men feeling. I hope it worked!

Also, I'm no good at French! I apologise.

And to WandaW! Thank you, and you were close! It's actually Scott's rival (or at least in the movies and comics). But … I don't know why I told you that since you've just read it haha (hopefully).

PLEASE REVIEW so that I know I should continue posting or not!!! =D

Next Chapter!!! Marie: Ah decided enough was enough! Ah have t' tell Betsy and Tessa where ah'm livin' now! But … ah wonder how they'll take it …?

Tessa: I propose a sleepover …

Hank: Hmm … I suppose they can stay for just one night. Though we're going to have to be extra careful. After all, they are females.

Remy: If dey find out our secret … she'll have t' leave.

Joseph: Miss Darkholme isn't the type to see her glass half empty.

Marie: Join me, Marie, in the next chapter to find out what happens next!