12

He watched as gravity seemed to take her, pulling her towards the ground as if the world was moving in slow motion and time stopped altogether. Her pure white dress fanned out enveloping her as her brown honey curls glinted in the sunlight. She was a beautiful fallen angel descending towards the earth and he was frozen in shock, unable to move. Then her head turned towards him and he saw her tearful eyes as she made a split second of eye contact with him and his heart stopped. He could immediately feel all of the pain and emotions she was going through. Her feelings emanated so strongly that he too experienced all of Rogue's voices in her head. It was unbearable and he couldn't fathom how she was able to handle them.

"MARIE!" He screamed in distraught, breaking him out of his trance.

Remy lunged off the building, diving towards Rogue to catch her before she made contact with the ground.

Non she won't die, dis cannot end yet. Not like dis, not before I can tell her everything. I won't let her die. Remy thought.

At the last moment, he was able to grab the falling angel, taking out his bo staff, he channeled kinetic energy through his staff to push them upwards when hitting the ground. This cushioned the impact of their fall but both were still flung to either side. When the dust settled Remy immediately ran to Rogue and saw her still body on the side of a nearby alley.

"Non, please Marie, please don leave me now." Remy said pleading with her while checking her heartbeat. It was faint but still there. Her body was still trying to save her even when her mind was still self-sabotaging. Remy knew that he couldn't leave Rouge but there was only one place where he knew they would be safe.

Merde, I know where I need to take her…


The blackness haunted her as she sat up, wondering where she was she looked around but to no avail. Where am I? Marie thought to herself. Distraught that the surrounding her was unfamiliar. She tried to think of that last event that occurred but that was also lost to her. Suddenly a bright light could be seen in the distance and she began to slowly walk towards it. However, the sides of her surroundings lit up and she saw a story play out in front of her eyes. As if a reel of tape was unfolding in a vintage noir film.

A woman cloaked in black holding a baby in her arms. Her hood fell down revealing luscious curly brown locks and beautiful brown eyes. Fear was etched onto her beautifully carved face as she ran, screaming for help that would not come. A familiar shadow chased her, stalking the night and moving far faster than she was able to. It overcame her but she was able to push it away. She threw her shoes at the figure and continued to run, finally reaching an alleyway she hid the baby in a wooden crate singing a soft lullaby and telling the baby how much she adored him speaking soft french phrases. She then took off a ring and placed it in the baby's small hands, praying that it would be kept safe.

"Mon ange be safe, don be afraid as love will one day set you free" She whispered to the sweet baby.

The perfect lady then ran off into the opposite direction, while bundling her cloak into her arms to create a fake baby. The hooded figure began to gain on her. Finally, she reached a harbor and ran to the end of the dock.

"Give up" the shadow snarled, "you're cornered Celine," He said with a superior tone.

"NON, you'll never have him or moi" The lady screamed, jumping into the deep murky depths.

"NOO" Marie screamed in horror but she couldn't help her or stop the man. She was powerless as the movie or torture continued to roll.

"CELINE" The shadowy figure screamed in distraught as he ran to the end of the doc jumping into the water. But by the time he was able to locate her, she was gone and he assumed the baby was lost in the water. He wept, holding her in his arms, pain laced his voice. "Why?" he asked distraughtly.

Marie was sobbing as she crumpled to her knees, she didn't know why she was receiving this but all she could feel was pain. Waves and waves of pain crashing over her and pulling her under. It was suffocating. Her hands covered her mouth as the sobs could be felt down to her core, shaking her psyches.

"Please stop" she whispered aching and willing her brain to shut down. The film stopped, finally allowing her to breathe. The soft whispers of french endearments lulled her to sleep and her eyes closed as she let out a sigh of relief. She didn't know where they were coming from but she was grateful.


He sat by her bedside as she began to go pale and thrash around screaming and crying. He was horrified, she seemed to be living in an eternal nightmare and he would do anything to stop her pain.

"Mon amour, mon bijou, mon chere, mon ange-" He began to whisper endearments, willing her to come back to him.

Willing her to wake up so he could finally tell her how he felt, how he would move mountains and cross the world for her. It was almost funny how quickly she had wiggled her way into his cold heart and flipped his life upside down. Yet he could only feel grateful. In the span of a few days, he had fallen for this complicated, pained woman.

"One day love will set you free"

His head was suddenly aching. A wave of nostalgia came over him but he could not tell where the source of it was coming from.

"Child, are you ok?"

Remy whirled around to see the only women who he had ever seen as a mother. Tante Mattie walked up to him and took his head into her arms. Stroking the hair out of his face and beaming down towards him.

"Merci tante" He spoke, grateful she was there for him.

"Of course child, don't worry physically the femme is ok. Mais mentally she is fighting 'er own battle. All we can do is wait" she responded as silence elapsed between the two.

She noticed his head slump and from all these years she knew exactly what the boy was feeling. In her eyes, he was still the nine-year-old Remy bringing her stolen flowers and hugging her when she made his favorite meal.

"You love her dontcha?" She said in a knowing voice.

"How?" He was shocked at his own transparency.

"I'm not daft child, you wouldn't have come back for just anyone. You know exactly what's going to happen now that you've finally returned." She said with a somber tone.

"I had to help her." He said as a matter of fact.

"I know Remy," She said to him, while reaching into her pocket. She pulled out a small red velvet pouch with a gold drawstring. She pulled the drawstring open and a gold ring tumbled into his hands.

It was a simple design, but he could tell it was a wedding band as it held a small emerald green oval-shaped diamond in the middle. It was encircled by a few small white diamonds, modest yet elegant.

"Tante?" He questioned, wanting to know why she was giving this to him.

"Child, I've wanted to give this to you for a while." She softly spoke with a sorrowful expression lining her face. He could see the small wrinkles on her chocolate-coloured skin as she continued to speak while pursing her lips.

"Where did you get this from?" He asked, certainly it had not been from him, he had grown up on the streets until the age of nine when the LeBeau's had finally adopted him. If he had possessed a diamond ring as a child, it surely would've been stolen from him as so many other possessions were during the time he lived on the streets.

"When Jean first adopted you it hadn't been the first time he had met you." She said finally, as the words tumbled out of her mouth.

"What?!" He asked in confusion.

"Jean Luc met you when you were but a babe. He had encountered you in an alley and spotted this ring. He had taken of course but instantly regretted leaving you behind. You were a poor defenseless babe and he had just left you. But by the time he went back you were gone."

Remy's jaw dropped, they had met him before and left him behind?

"He searched fer days looking for you, it was only on that fateful day he saw those red eyes he decided it was finally time to make amendments for his past mistakes. The ring was forgotten of course, how could he ever proudly keep it knowing he stole from a babe? But I kept it fer all these years and I think it was yer mere's."

He stayed silent for a while, many different expressions and scenarios running through his head. It always came down to his eyes. In the very end his eyes were what saved him from a life on the streets. Still, the fact that he and Jean Luc were more intertwined than he previously thought didn't sit well with him.

"Why now? Why tell me all of dis now?" He finally asked, looking up to Tante.

"Because cher, you need to know that all he wanted was to give you a happy life. Ah know that for many years you thought Jean Luc kept you fer yer powers but at his core, he really just wanted the best fer you even if his intentions seemed very ill at times." She told him taking his hands into hers.

"As fer the ring, Remy LeBeau you deserve to be able to love freely and Ah I have a feeling your mother would attest to that." She told him in a knowing tone.

And for the first time, Remy LeBeau did something he hadn't done for years. He hoped.

"Remy it's time"

He looked up to see Henri in the doorway, the bearer of bad news and Tante shot him a withering gaze.

"We'll leave you fer now child." She said ushering Henri out of the room.

Remy knelt down by Marie's sleeping figure.

"Hello Cherie, it's Remy," He took a deep breath, lost for words.

This shouldn't be so difficult but somehow feeling a void of emotions unsettled him. He was used to the waves of conflicting energy that bounced off of her and onto him but now the lack of them made him feel like she wasn't there. Cutting off his empathic abilities he continued.

"Marie, I'm sorry. I am sorry I didn't tell you about Bella Donna but I promise you I don't and will never love her. This is an arranged marriage mais, somehow through all the miscommunication I never told you what happened. Never got a chance to explain."

He looked down at her, wishing she would miraculously wake up but she remained still the only indication of life being the soft inhales and exhales from her form.

"Moi famille are a famille of thieves. I was orphaned at a young age when the mon famille's head of the patriarchy Jean Luc found me."

Another glance down towards her, he made the choice to withhold the information Tante had given him about Jean Luc meeting him beforehand. He had yet to fully process that event and wanted to steer clear of it for now.

"Mon famille has a rivalry with an opposing gang of assassins causing generational wars and murders. To prevent further carnage mon pere got together with the head of assassins with the intent to merge the guilds. However, per ancient law, it must be a marriage to seal the deal. So they volunteered the assassin's daughter, Bella Donna, et moi."

His heart clenched as he finally let out the truth he had been holding in for months since the announcement.

"At first I didn't care. Living in a loveless marriage would be hard, mais I could still escape. Stealing, drinking and gambling were still options to me. If this was a way to finally pay my debt off to mon pere then I would do it for him and the guild. Afterall I didn't expect to ever fall in love so it was pas problem." He told her, attempting to laugh it off.

But he could feel tears threaten to spill over and he finally allowed them to. Pulling off his sunglasses he could see the world without the familiar dark tint clouding his vision. He could finally see her, past her beautiful appearance he could see her laughter and the smiles she gave him. The warmth he would feel blooming in his chest when she would make eye contact. Her feisty fighting nature and her strong sense of morals where she would argue for what she believed was right.

"Marie you'll never know this but you cherie. You saved moi. The first time I saw you, you were a vision and the more I knew about you the more you shared about ton vie the deeper I fell. "

She had been a rainbow to his colourless life, bringing in vibrancy and emotions he hadn't felt for years. She was complicated and difficult to understand and even now he didn't fully understand her mutation but he didn't care.

"Je ne peux jamais te dire ça en face parce que je ne voudrais jamais te quitter si tu te réveilles. Mais Marie you are my destiny and will always be so."

A strangled sob could be heard from him as he fought back the urge to jump out the window and disappear forever. But he needed to finally take responsibility. No more running, no more escaping.

"Je t'aime plus que la vie elle-même." He finally admitted to her.

"I love you more than life Marie." He translated to her, hoping that she would hear him.

He gingerly picked up her hand and gently kissed it. Strangely he felt a small pull but it felt like a magnet towards his kinetic energy. Shrugging it off her finally left her sleeping form.

"Au revoir mon amour" He whispered leaving her forever.


*Je ne peux jamais te dire ça en face parce que je ne voudrai jamais te quitter si tu te réveilles:

I can never say this to your face because I will never want to leave you if you wake up

French Vocab Translation:

-Mon chérie:My Darling

-Mon amis: My friend

-Mon bijou: My gem

-Mon dieu:My goodness

-La dame: Lady

-Petite:Small or little

-Cracheur de feu: Spitfire

-Maison:House

-Mon coeur:My sweetheart

-Mon trésor: My treasure

-Famille:Family

-Madame:Mrs.

-Moi:Me

-Oui: Yes

-Bonne: Good

-Nuit:Night

-D'accord:Ok

-Merde:Shit

-Très:Very

-Femme: Woman

-Homme: Man

-Un/Une: A

-Belle/Beau: Beautiful

-Frère: Brother

-Mon dieu: My god

-Désolé/Désolée: Sorry

-Pardon: Excuse me

-Ecoutez: Listen

-Fils de pute: Son of a bitch

-Beaucoup: Very much

-Mais:But

-Amour: Love

-Tante:Aunt

-Au revoir: Goodbye

-Pere: Father

-Mere: Mother

-Moi: Me

-Babe:Baby

-Ton Vie: Your Life