Man was it dark in this place, was the first thing Rogue noticed. She was standing in what appeared to be a small waiting room in the front of the shop. A just a few lanterns hanging from the rafters above her head illuminated the room. In the little light they provided she could see a counter and a chair by the window, everything else though was cast in shadows. For a brief second she started to reconsider her idea, but quickly shook it off, after all they probably kept it like this to set the right mystical atmosphere for the tourists.

"Hello," she called for she couldn't see anybody waiting behind the counter.

Rogue waited, impatiently tapping her foot, but there was no response. A little irritated, she shrugged her shoulders and turned to leave but was stopped when she almost collided with a girl who had been standing behind her.

Rogue couldn't help the startled yelp that escaped her lips, as she demanded, "Where did ya come from?"

The girl merely gave a small rise of her shoulders as if to say "Been there the whole time should have seen me" and without a word walked around to the other side of the counter.

Though it was hard, Rouge could see that the girl had skin the color of bronze that glowed in the light from above. Rogue had the idea that this girl reminded her of the gypsies she had read about in stories. Her long brown hair was loose and fell in cascading waves down to the small of her back. In the reflecting light Rogue could just make out the hazel colored eyes that looked her up and down in question.

"Ah'd like to have mah fortune told," Rogue said a bit harshly. Now that she had recovered from her shock she was annoyed the girl hadn't apologized.

The girl lifted her head as if hearing something then once again returned to looking at Rogue, as if she didn't know what to make of her. Then very slowly she lifted one hand and held it in front of her palm up. Rogue was debating on whether or not she was supposed to take it when the other hand also went up. In the palm of this hand rested a deck of cards. Confused it took Rogue a moment to realize the girl was asking if she wanted a palm or tarot reading. Still annoyed at the girl not speaking, though know she was now more apt to believe that the girl couldn't, she pointed to the deck.

"Ah'll take cards."

The girl nodded and motioned for her to follow as she disappeared through a door that Rogue hadn't noticed in the wall behind the counter. A small frown creased Rogue's brow but she figured she'd already come this far might as well go on. This place was defiantly starting to give her the creep vibe though.

The room the girl motioned her into was a lot different from the first. It was lit with candles of all shapes and sizes that were spread across every available surface. Rogue couldn't help but note the fire hazard as she studied the various dried plants and herbs that hung upside down from the rafters giving the room its perfumed scent. Along the back wall sat an old antique bookcase with each shelf full of jars of different shapes. Some she could tell were newer because they had clearly marked labels that gleamed in the candlelight. The older ones had labels that time and constant use had worn away or lost completely so that you couldn't tell what they contained. By the looks of some of the contents of the jars Rogue wasn't sure if she ever wanted to know what was in them. Over all the effect was quite impressive and it was everything she expected to see in a place like this. "At least ya gettin your money's worth" she thought to herself. Finally her gaze fell to the middle of the room where a simple wooden table sat, covered in what looked to be an old scarf, and two rickety chairs one of which was occupied by an old woman.

The woman gestured to Rogue to take a seat in the chair opposite her. As Rogue slowly approached the table she took the opportunity to study her. The woman's skin was the color of mocha and remarkably unwrinkled, making it hard for Rogue to determine her exact age. Her only clue was the woman's beautiful silver gray hair that was pulled back into an intricately braided knot at the back of her head. The woman smiled, a smile that seem to soften her features even more and lit up her eyes with an inner fire. Her eyes would have even made Remy gasp because they had pupils as white as a new fallen snow and scaleras of a pale powder blue.

"I've been wondering when you'd finally get here Rogue," she said her voice sounding like the tinkling of tiny bells.

"How did ya know mah name?" Rogue asked startled

"I know a lot of things such as I knew you would be coming I just didn't know when. I believe you have come to have your fortune read, am I right?" She handed Rogue back the deck of cards she had chosen, " I need you to shuffle these please and cut them into three piles." Rogue took them and began to do as she was told.

"So may ah ask what your name is and ah don't recognized your accent are ya not from around here?" she asked as she shuffled hoping to fight her unease with mindless small talk.

"You are very perceptive, I am not from around New Orleans. I come from many places and the way I speak is a mix of them all. I also have many names but you may address me as S'ayapo," the woman replied as she took the stacks one by one from Rogue's hand and placed them on the table in front of them. "Now I need you to pick one of the stacks."

Looking at each of them carefully she went with her gut and chose the stack to he left, this was all getting really weird. S'ayapo took the stack and began placing the cards face up. Rogue noticed something wrong though and was quick to point it out.

"Hey those ain't tarot cards, they're just regular playin' cards ah thought ah was gettin mah fortune read?"

"You are and yes they are regular playing cards," she answered calmly still laying down cards, " I see you did not know that playing cards could also be used to tell fortunes, I don't use them often but I get the felling these suit you better." As she said this she looked at Rogue as if testing her reaction, which Rogue didn't understand.

"No ah didn't," was all she could think to say a she looked down at the Queen of Hearts that stood before her.

"That is you," S'ayapo explained, studying the layout before her, " You have a great future in front of you Rogue. I see you achieving wonderful goals others found impossible and being important in many people's lives. There is one thing though that I see you are afraid of…" Here she paused and Rogue found herself leaning forward captivated.

"You have the possibility for great love Rogue, but you push it away, you always have."

Rogue reeled back as if she had been burned or slapped, " Well ya'll would too lady if your very touch was poison that could kill somebody," she spat.

"No it is your fear that keeps you prisoner, not your skin. You will always be able to touch the one you love in many ways," once again she stopped and looked deeply into Rogue's eyes, "This is not the first time this has happened, you have lived many lives before this one, I can see it, but somewhere your soul has forgotten something you learned in one of them. From what I can see only once before has this problem occurred and you must learn the lesson again, go back to move forward."

She stood and went to the bookcase at the back of the room. Looking at the jars carefully she selected a small blue jar with a faded label and brought it down. Rogue saw her reach one slender hand into the top and pull out looked to be a handful of rust colored dirt, then replacing the jar she returned to the table.

"You must go back and learn," she repeated then began to chant over the pile in her hand.

"Learn what?"

The woman stopped chanting and her white eyes focused on something beyond Rogues shoulder though when the young girl turned she could see nothing there.

"Your destiny," was all S'ayapo said simply.

"What destiny," Rogue stammered she was now well and truly frightened, maybe Remy had been right about this, "Look ah gotta go."

She rose from her seat but before she could turn to leave S'ayapo tossed the powder into the air above Rogue's head. Rogue tried to shield herself since she had no idea what was going on , but the powder simply settled around her. She began to feel light headed and panicking tried to move but found she couldn't. Fearful green eyes meet with vibrant, all-knowing white ones across the table as the old woman flipped over the last card. The last thing Rogue could remember seeing was the King of Hearts before the darkness took over.

A/N: well there is chapter three, man Rogue is really not good at reading the signs, and can she really recognize what she has to learn? I hope to get chapter four up soon but am still rough drafting it. Please feel free to review I appreciate the feedback. : )