A bad storm was outside and Logan was inside, sitting in a big comfy chair in the library watching the raindrops fall. A small noise made him look over and he saw a young girl enter the room and start looking at the books on the shelves. He watched as she moved from book to book, not really finding something she wanted to read. It was getting late and he wondered what she was doing out of bed when a bolt of lightning struck close by and the roll of thunder that followed it shook the windows. She jumped and turned around and he could tell by the look on her face that she was scared of the storm.

“Megan?”

She jumped again for she had not seen him in the corner.

“Logan?” she asked.

“That’s me.”

“Oh. Hi. Is the storm keeping you awake, too?”

“I guess so. I’ve been watching it. I’ve been watching you, too. Are you ok?”

At ten-years-old, Megan was the youngest mutant at the mansion. Her eyes were a pretty shade of yellow and her acrobatic skills were wonderful to watch. She could spin in the air and always land on her feet. Like Logan, she could see in the dark. She went over to the dark corner he was sitting in and crawled up in his lap.

“Would you please tell me a story? My mom and dad always tell me one at night on the phone.” Her parents had sent her to the school to help her learn her lessons and how to use her mutant powers but would always come running to her if she needed them. They were on a business trip at the moment and would not be back for another three days.

“What kind of a story would you like to hear?” Logan asked. He didn’t really know any, but he could see that she needed one.

“A fairy story would be great.”

“Ok. But you are going to have to help me. If I get stuck or need a word, you have to come up with an idea or a word I can use.” He winked at her and she winked back.

“They all start with ‘Once upon a time’.” She giggled when he growled at her.

“Once upon a time there was an Indian, who…”

“Most of the time these stories have knights, castles, and princesses.”

“Once upon a time there was a knight. He was a good knight, but he ran into trouble when a…”

“Witch.”

“He ran into trouble when a witch cast a spell on him. She made him sad. The witch also cast a spell on a pretty princess who lived in a big white castle. The princess could no longer kiss anyone or they would turn into a…”

“Frog.”

“She couldn’t kiss anyone because then they would turn into a great big frog. The witch had a bad knight who worked for her. He did not like the sad knight and found out from the witch that the sad knight would be happy again if he ever kissed the princess.”

“What was the name of the princess?”

Logan thought for a moment. “Mary,” he said.

“What was the name of the sad knight?”

“You give him a name.”

“How about Sydney?”

“Sounds good. Now where were we… Ok, the bad knight…”

“Let’s call him something.”

“The bad knight Sabertooth did not want Sir Sydney to be happy and kept watch over the white castle so that no one could ever see the princess. Sir Sydney found out that Sir Sabertooth was making Princess Mary sad by keeping her in the castle. She couldn’t even get out to visit her mom and dad. Since he did not like to see anyone else sad, he rode over to the castle on his…”

“Yellow dragon.”

“He flew over to the castle on his yellow dragon and proceeded to kick Sir Sabertooth’s butt.”

Megan began to giggle. “They don’t say things like that in fairy tales!”

“Well maybe they should,” growled Logan with a wink.

“You’re funny. Go on.”

“Sir Sabertooth and Sir Sydney fought and fought until Sir Sydney pulled out his best weapon, his…”

“Flowers.” Megan had a hard time not giggling at Logan’s funny face.

“He pulled out his flowers and Sir Sabertooth, who had hay fever, sneezed so hard his head fell off. Then Princess Mary came running out of the castle and gave Sir Sydney a great big hug. Then she kissed him and …”

“They lived happily ever after.”

“No, he turned into a great big frog and then he was happy and she loved him anyway and they lived happily ever after.”

Megan yawned. “Thanks for the story, Logan. Can you tuck me in?”

“Sure, kitten.” He stood up and picked her up at the same time in his strong arms. She curled up against his chest and closed her eyes. As he left the library, he realized Marie was standing just past the doorway with a goofy grin on her face.

“I was looking for a missing little girl,” she said and smiled at the flannel-clad bundle in his arms, wishing he could hold her like that, too. “I liked the story. I happen to like frogs, you know.”

“Somehow I knew that.” Logan grinned back at her. “Do you want to tuck her in?”

“No, I think she’s in very good hands. Good night, Logan.”

“Good night, princess.” With that, he walked down the hall to the dorm rooms, humming a little tune to Megan.