The Broken Crown
Chapter Five: The House of Magnus
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Anna
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Earlier that morning, Erik had left before dawn. He had a lot of meetings and details to hash out for their Mutant Exodus, scheduled in two days time. He was also working with various mutants with backgrounds in engineering and architecture. While Rogue was a pretty decent mechanic, thanks to spending a lot of her free time with Logan in the garage fixing cars and bikes, she knew nothing about construction.
It was tedious work and Rogue hadn't really wanted to sit through strategic planning for the next several hours with the Professor staring at her accusingly. It was frustrating that so many of her X-men teammates hadn't come to Genosha. It had been only her, Nightcrawler, and Gambit. And well….now it was just her and Nightcrawler. It was hard to think of Magneto as an X-men. He was never a teammate, but always a leader in Rogue's experience. And she'd follow him to the ends of the Earth this time — literally.
So with an agenda of meetings, Erik had suggested Rogue to sleep in, rest after she'd spent the last several days going through the wreckage of their broken dreams. Yesterday had been particularly hard. Almost all the citizens of Genosha has been accounted for, but yesterday, Rogue and the rest of the rescue team had only found bodies, no living souls amongst the debris. There were only three people unaccounted for and it was possible given their mutant abilities that there might not be any thing left to find.
She'd cried most of the previous night, wrapped up in Magneto's strong embrace. There were no words of comfort. What could one say with such an experience? Considering Erik had survived the Holocaust, he wasn't about to give empty words of platitude. The warmth of his solid body against hers had been all the comfort she needed.
Which was why now she and her brother were holed up in her apartments, playing a game of Chess and sipping iced tea. For years, her German brother claimed hot tea was best, Rogue's Southern heritage insisted on sweet iced tea. Kurt claimed it was way too sweet for his taste, but the wagging of his tail seemed to betray his true feelings.
Regardless of the argument of hot tea over sweet tea, it was better than discussing the depressing scenes of carnage they'd both witnessed on the rescue team throughout the week. The mass candlelight memorial service for all the victims was scheduled for that evening. The rest of the X-men were supposed to arrive later that day to offer their condolences. Both Wakanda and Atlantis intended to have armed forces around the islands perimeter and in the air to keep uninvited guests from attending. The offer had stunned Magneto into silence and it had warmed Rogue's heart to see. The only thing that was missing was the presence of his grown children. While Quick Silver and the Scarlet Witch were both members of the Avengers, their absence was keenly felt during the rescue efforts. Perhaps they were off world? It was hard to say, but their absence had certainly been a painful barb to Erik.
The two siblings, Anna and Kurt, both focused on their next moves in the chess game. Erik absolutely loved the game so it hadn't taken long to find the game in his rooms. As Rogue studied the board, she realized she could capture Kurt's King in two moves, but she'd have to use her Queen to do so. Wasn't that the Queen's job? Do whatever was in her power to protect her King?
Before Rogue had a chance to play her move, there was a brisk knock at the door.
"I'll get it," Kurt offered, giving the board one last look of consternation. His tail flicked behind him in frustration. Likely, he'd seen the move as well. The best tactic on his side of the board would take three moves to complete. Nightcrawler was a kind, patient man, but he also didn't take well to losing.
Rogue gathered their empty glasses and took them to the kitchen to rinse. She just turned off the tap when she saw just who was at the door. It shouldn't have been too much of a surprise, and yet anytime she saw any of Erik's grown children it was like a sucker punch to the gut. She's always gotten along best with Pietro, but then again Rogue always seemed to get along better with males than females.
Wanda didn't seem to like Rogue at all, probably because of her friendship with Danvers. However, Lorna and Rogue had only crossed paths a few times — back when she'd been with Scott's brother Alex. That relationship apparently had fizzled. Today was the first day she'd seen the green-haired beauty in nearly three years. She smiled faintly, glad for Erik's sake that his youngest daughter had come.
"Oh," Lorna said blinking in surprise at the occupants — first Kurt, then Rogue. "I think maybe I'm at the wrong apartment. I was looking for my father — Magneto?"
As if anyone didn't know the Mistress of Magnetism was the daughter of the Lord of Magnetism! "Guten Morgen," Kurt greeted with a bright, friendly smile. "You're at the right place. Anna and I were just finishing a glass of tea and you're more than welcome—-," he trailed off. That tail of his flickered in agitation before it went ramrod straight and Kurt crouched to peer behind Polaris. "Um, hello little one."
"Hi," a small voice answered shyly. A little girl giggled. "You look like me."
Rogue stared in shock as a tiny little girl — likely around three years old stepped out from behind Lorna's legs and held her three fingered blue furry hand out towards Kurt. A tiny tail flickered excitedly. Rogue met Lorna's flushed features. "Ah think y'all should come inside."
With a sigh, Lorna ushered in the small child that looked remarkably like Kurt. She closed the door behind them and leaned against the frame while the child danced excitedly around Kurt —pointing out their similarities.
"So, I had hoped to speak with Father first and get his advice, but I suppose it is just better to rip off the bandage," Lorna said with a grimace. "Kurt, this is your daughter — Talia."
"You two?" Rogue asked, gesturing between Kurt and Lorna, in shock. She knew Kurt wasn't a monk, even if he had been raised by them, but this was completely unexpected.
"No! Of course not!" Lorna said quickly, too quickly.
Rogue narrowed her eyes. Her brother was quite the catch and didn't deserve to be discounted quite so fast. "Okay," she drawled. "Maybe start from the top? Y'all want something to drink?"
"Just water, please," Lorna said gratefully, running her fingers through her bright green hair. "I was talking to Wanda about coming here. I'm planning to go to Planet M. She plans to stay because she values her role as an Avenger — her husband Vision is here and their boys…" she trailed off. She cleared her throat. "Apparently, there was a short period of time when she and Vision were on a break."
"Mein Gott! We were only together that one night!" Kurt exclaimed, quickly covering his own mouth, his eyes wide in panic at the girl who was currently comparing their tails.
"She got teleported to another realm, just got back about three months ago, wasn't sure how to tell you and then —yeah," Lorna explained. She gratefully accepted the cool glass of water from Rogue and guzzled the liquid greedily. "Talia wants to go to Planet M and live with our kind. So, I figured either me or Father would care for her."
"Sie ist meine Tochter," Kurt stated. "She's my daughter." He crouched at Talia's level and smiled at her. "I know we are just meeting, my Sweet, but I love you and will protect you and provide for you."
"Okay!" Talia swept past Kurt and began to explore the apartment. "You and Auntie Lorna can take care of me." She paused in front of a framed photograph of Erik with the X-men taken only a month prior. Rogue had been standing at his side in the picture. She picked up the picture with her tail. "Is this Opa?" She looked over at Rogue with the same molten gold eyes that Kurt had. "Are you my Oma then? I saw you and Opa on the television together."
"Anna is my sister," Kurt explained. "So, she's your Tante." He scratched his head, looking overwhelmed and excited at once. "Though, I suppose before too long she might become your Oma as well. She and your Opa are very close — they're the King and Queen of our people."
Lorna scoffed into her water glass and then attempted to hide her disdain by finishing off the drink.
Rogue smiled charmingly, ignoring the anger burning in her gut. It wasn't like Erik needed Lorna's approval for his relationship with Rogue. And frankly, Rogue wasn't about to ask for anyone's approval either. She took the empty glass and returned it to the kitchen. "Kurt and I were just about to make some pimento cheese sandwiches — would you like one, Talia?"
The little girl nodded eagerly and then took a sip from her glass of water. "I love cheese!"
The smile that spread across Kurt's face was so precious. "Me too, mein Liebling."
With a sigh, Lorna pulled out the chair that Kurt had abandoned earlier. "Black wins with the Queen in two," she observed.
Rogue smiled and sat across from her. Lorna really was Erik's daughter. She nodded. "That was the plan. I'm sure Kurt is glad for the interruption in more ways than one." Her gaze drifted towards her brother and his new found daughter. "He'll be a great dad."
"I'm sure he will be," Lorna agreed, watching the two for a moment. Then she folded her arms over her chest and stared at Rogue. "I really made an ass of myself didn't I?"
Rogue smiled sweetly, trying to channel every bit of her Southern Charm. "Just a bit," she agreed, before tacking on the ultimate Southern lady's insult, "Bless your heart."
Lorna snorted in amusement. "I deserved that. You're good for Father. I won't pretend to know him that well, certainly not as well as you do, but I do hope to improve our relationship. It's part of the reason I will be going to Planet M. I don't know if I could have made a difference for Genosha if I'd been here, or if I'd have just gotten myself killed in the attack." Her gaze drifted towards the single bedroom and the large king-sized bed. "So you're Queen of Genosha."
"I was," Rogue agreed. "For about fifteen minutes. I don't know if we're going to call our civilization Genosha on Planet M? Erik is partial to Utopia. I also don't quite know what our title will be called."
Polaris' green lips spread into a genuine smile. "Welcome to the House of Magnus, Anna. For what it's worth, I would be honored to consider you my step-mother." Her eyes crinkled at the corners. "And my Queen."
Rogue scratched the back of her neck and chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah, being that we're only two years apart, that feels a little odd. But, I will stand by Erik's side and support him."
"You love him?" Lorna asked, her voice a whisper.
Rogue sucked in a breath. She hadn't even truly confessed to Erik yet. "Ah never stopped loving him, Lorna. Ever since I met him nearly a decade ago. Loving him has never been the problem. We had different priorities."
"But now those priorities align," Lorna said.
"Yeah," Rogue nodded biting her lower lip. "Now that those priorities align, Ah'll support him any way Ah can."
Lorna pursed her lips and then leaned back in her chair with a laugh. "You're good for him, you know? I saw the live-feed of the waltz you two shared before the attack." She closed her eyes and sighed. "I've never seen him look so at peace."
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Erik
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The name Genosha would stay on Earth, be commemorated for those whom lost their lives to such a heinous and violent act of terrorism. Planet M would be a fresh start. He was partial to the name of Utopia for their future civilization. Erik had an interest in architecture, a hobby he nourished whenever he wasn't trying to keep the humans from destroying mutant-kind. Growing up in Europe, he'd seen countless examples of architecture that had survived the centuries — castles, cathedrals and synagogs particularly. He'd also been lucky enough to travel the world — his ability to fly making it simply a matter of effort to visit the ancient stone temples of the East in India and Thailand or the ruins of the Aztecs or Incas in the West.
He already envisioned concentrating the mutant populace into a single kingdom. Maybe over the generations those kingdoms might multiply, but they would need to maintain the same objectives — clean energy and not disrupting the local wildlife too much.
And when not only Anna, but his daughter Lorna, had shown up for the meeting wearing complimentary emerald green and silver gowns appropriate for a queen and princess rather than their usual style of uniforms, he felt something in his belly twist. The woman he loved and the estranged daughter her felt such kinship towards were at his side. Of all his prodigy, Lorna took after him the most — even inheriting his same gift towards magnetism. Pietro had inherited his silver hair and blue eyes, but with the difference in their powers and aging — his son looked older than Erik. It wasn't like Erik was the oldest mutant — both Mystique and Wolverine were over two hundred years old.
Seeing the two women walking together, amiably just the ember of hope Erik was nurturing in his heart started to grow into a steady flame. Could he truly be so lucky that they would get along?
"So, will you and Rogue marry? If you're the king shouldn't you be married to the queen?" Foolishly, they'd allowed a reporter to interview him and the council after their meeting had adjourned and they'd finished discussing sensitive information. Mostly, he suspected this was Hank McCoy's attempt to earn points with his human girlfriend. Since Beast would be one of the mutants staying on Earth, it was important that he cultivate such relationships.
Magneto on the other hand, didn't much care for the intrusive questions on his personal life — especially when he was trying to figure it all out himself. Rogue sat in the empty chair to his left, but said nothing, only smiled sweetly for the reporter. He could sense her anger and it took all his resolve not to take her hand in front of such a nosy journalist.
"Hello, I'm Lorna, the daughter of King Magnus," Polaris said, slipping into the empty chair on his right. "I suspect the wedding of King Magnus and Queen Rogue will be the first major event on Planet M. It will give us settlers an opportunity to create our first independent holiday as a society." She cast an adoring look upon both him and Rogue before staring back at the journalist. "It will be a private event for our kingdom and the House of M. Next question?"
"Will there be a broadcast of tonight's memorial?" Trish asked, glancing down at her notes briefly and flashing them her practiced journalist smile.
Erik's muscles tensed. Did the humans really think the Homo Superior would offer the humans a livestream of their grief? Suddenly, Anna was holding Erik's hand. "That will be private as well," Rogue answered, smiling like saccharine and making the human squirm in her seat as Anna's fiery emerald eyes stared through her. "If you don't mind, we have some family business to attend to. Any more questions?"
Trish cleared her throat and consulted her notes. She quickly shifted her attention to Hank standing in the corner of the room and then towards her camera man. "No, I think we're done. Thank you, for your time, King Magnus." She smiled between Anna and Lorna. "Ladies."
Erik had been grateful to leave the conference room and return to his apartment. There was another two hours before the memorial and honestly, he wanted a nap or a massage — or both. It was only with a small amount of smugness that he, Anna, and Lorna left the conference room and flew through the air — godlike to the mortals in their gravity-defying ability. "Thank you for the save," Erik murmured, looking between the two most important women in his life.
"Ah, well, there is someone you need to meet," Anna said, taking his hand again as they landed on the balcony outside their apartment.
"I'm sorry, I'm late," Lorna apologized, smoothing her hair over her shoulder when she landed beside them. "I had planned to come, but then the attack happened, and I had to make sure it was safe before…"
Polaris' abilities would have been helpful in a battle, but not in the massacre that had taken place. Erik was glad his daughter's life hadn't been endangered. He really couldn't handle any other tragedies. He squeezed Anna's hand and then entwined their fingers. "You're here now. That's all that matters."
"Let's give Lorna a minute before we go inside," Anna suggested.
Confused, but willing to abide by any of Anna's suggestions, Erik nodded. Lorna slipped inside, closing the sliding glass door behind her while they waited on the balcony. Erik used his free hand to trace along the edge or Anna's jaw, down her throat, and over the swell over breasts, lingering over the emerald and silver jeweled necklace covering the majority of her chest. "This is nice." He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers.
Anna smiled into his kiss and her warm fingers grasped the back of his neck gently before slipping into his hair. He loved the feel of her nails against his scalp and sighed at the calming sensation, the tension easing out of his muscles. "Ah'm glad you like it, Erik," Anna said, pulling back. "Ya can thank Emma — she's a bit of a clothes horse and her jewelry collection is pretty impressive." She stepped back, but kept hold of his hand while she brushed her free palm over the bodice of the gown. "She apparently had these commissioned for Lorna and me — before everything went down."
"Watching my queen and princess stroll into that interview looking like goddesses? I couldn't have been prouder," Erik murmured gazing down at her. Maybe he didn't need a nap or a massage. Maybe—-.
"So, Lorna didn't come alone. It seems, Erik, that you have a granddaughter," Anna explained.
Erik blinked down at her speechless. He cleared his throat, but still, no words came to his tongue.
"Apparently, about four years ago my brother and Wanda conceived a little girl. Her name is Talia and Lorna is her guardian. Kurt met her this morning and now — we were hoping you'd be ready," Anna explained.
"Kurt and Wanda?" Erik snorted. The idea was not one he'd have considered. "I didn't realize those two…."
"Ah think it's just something that happened," Anna interjected. "But, Talia is very excited about meeting her Opa." She squeezed his hand. "You mentioned children, but how do you feel about starting with your granddaughter?"
He sucked in a deep breath. "I think there's a lot going on these days."
She lifted his hand to her lips and kissed the back of his knuckles. "By the way, once we get to Planet M. I think I want to be called Queen Anna. I don't feel very Rogue much these days." She opened the sliding glass door. "Come on."
With a faint smile on his lips and no longer feeling tired, Erik followed her inside their apartment. The House of M had been established — he had his queen and her brother, his daughter, and his granddaughter linking their bloodlines together. What more could he want?