XVII. Parchment and Desperation
Marie fought every instinct in her body that ached to run and embrace her father. He had been beaten and looked dangerously pale when they brought him in. He had a bad leg from an old injury, but he still looked as calm and wise as ever. Marie's eyes filled with tears when one of the men struck him for calling her looking at her, but she stood in place, holding Kitty and trying to get her to stop crying and mentally cursing Lebeau for taking the dignified man to such a state. At least they didn't tie him up, but Marie wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.
Her eyes grazed everything around her. There were now three men with Lebeau and each was armed and blocking the door. She was sure there were more outside keeping watch and she felt incredibly foolish for not having been alert when they brought her in. Her gaze snapped back to Lebeau. With her father's presence his entire demeanor changed. He was visibly more tense and anxious, and deep inside, Marie knew that only made him all the more dangerous.
"You have no need for them here Jean-Luc. I will do as you wish."
Xavier's voice cut through the room and Marie was so proud that he could sound so strong and sure even in a situation like this. And it worked wonders on Lebeau, who visibly cringed from him. Marie realized that he had yet to look at her father directly.
"Don't call me that! My name is Rembrant Lebeau and your mind games will not work on me old man."
He snapped open his pocket watch and shut it almost as quickly. Marie wondered for the first time what time schedule he was on. The older man looked over at him in regret and pity from behind his massive desk. Lebeau was now pacing back and forth in impatience, obviously waiting for something. A few minutes of tense silence later, another man walked in with a leather bound ledger. Lebeau clutched at it triumphantly and turned to look at her and Kitty. Marie's heart dropped when she finally understood what his plans were.
"Bring them!"
Xavier's eyes widened and Kitty started crying loudly again when two of Lebeau's henchmen moved forward to grab them. They pulled Marie to kneel before her father's massive desk. As soon as they untied her from the chair, they did the same to Kitty. There were knives pointed to their backs. Lebeau calmly walked over to the desk, undid the ledger and started to remove several parchments.
"These are transfers for all the property rights and holdings in Europe, as well as the land grants on this god forsaken little sandbar. Sign them."
Xavier regarded the man coolly.
"Only if you let them go."
Lebeau chuckled defiantly but still didn't look the man in the eye. Marie shook her head despite the edge pressed into her back.
"Don't do it father! These people have worked so hard. He's insane! Don't do……"
Marie's words were cut short by the thug who pulled her hair back to reveal her neck and pressed a knife to her throat. Kitty screamed and Xavier's jaw twitched.
"Always so noble my dear. Now sign before the girls die."
"Let her go first."
Marie watched in silence as her father slowly moved a hand to the quill and held it there. Practically tasting his victory, Lebeau signaled the man holding Marie to let go. She slumped forward when he released her. Xavier gave his eldest daughter a solemn look before dipping the quill and moving it across the parchment. Moving deliberately slow, he signed away his holdings, his claim to Puerto Nuevo property and his dream. Marie watched with tears as he stamped an X into hot wax under his name on each paper.
"But mother……"
Xavier continued signing the various documents without looking up.
"It is quite alright Marie Elizabeth. She would understand. We can start over."
Lebeau chuckled excitedly as he fanned the ink to dry faster. He looked over the documents gleefully.
"Oh, but I have neglected to tell you `Master' Xavier. Marie Elizabeth is coming with me."
Xavier paused in his writing and Marie clenched her eyes shut as Lebeau walked over and picked her up by the shoulders. He embraced her from behind. Finally pleased to see the old man's eyes glisten with tears, he added a kiss on Marie's cheek and raised her tied hands to show off her ruby ring.
"I'm afraid this is going to be goodbye. Marie Elizabeth is leaving with me. You see, how could I be a respected Xavier without my beautiful wife? Don't worry, she'll be in good hands."
"You have lost your mind Jean-Luc? This will be known. You will be caught."
Lebeau let go of Marie instantly and pointed his gun at Xavier. Behind them the giant grandfather clock struck one.
"You have nerve old man!!"
The potential for violence escalated greatly. Marie looked from one to the other frantically, but thankfully one of the henchmen spoke up.
"Sir, the ship is waiting. The sooner we leave…"
"I know! I know!"
Lebeau lowered his gun indecisively again and hastily gathered the papers that he had laid out. Signaling to the man behind Marie, he tucked them into the ledger and regarded Xavier one last time.
"We'll see who's pitiful now." He turned to one of the men. "Bring her and finish them."
Marie screamed as she was pushed out again by the same monumental man that brought her in. She tried to look back to see what would happen to Kitty and her father but she was practically being carried out by the enormous hands. Lebeau passed her with a grin and gathered his coat.
"Don't worry my dear, it will be quick."
Marie bucked against her captor, but she was dragged from the room effortlessly. In the study, she could make out Kitty running to her father's side. They held each other tightly as one of Lebeau's men raised his gun. Still struggling, she gasped when the doors swung closed behind her and jumped when she heard a shot and then another ring out.
"Nooo!!!"
Marie slumped down to the marble entranceway in a blur of light blue satin. She squeezed her eyes and begged god that it wouldn't be so. They were dead. They were all dead. Lebeau cursed at the enormous man to hurry, who mumbled and picked up the sobbing girl. Tossing her over his shoulders like a sack, he stomped down the steps behind Lebeau, while Marie's mind threatened to fold on her once again. Consumed in grief, she stopped crying and closed her eyes. It was too much to handle. She could not take it. It was just too much. Moving deeper into shock, Marie almost lost it again, where it not for the jolt that ran through her when the big man fell backwards and she landed hard on the white gravel path.
Holding her hands to her head, Marie's mind reeled while all around Lebeau's henchmen scattered and panicked. Completely oblivious to the sudden frenzied commotion, Marie pushed at the body next to her and stood up. Taking a few unsure steps, she came to the realization that she free. No-one was holding her. Looking up to see the giant brass X of the doorway, she staggered to move forward. Behind her she heard gunfire and yelling, but she was oblivious to it all. She had to see them. Kiss their faces and their hands. Give Kitty her cross back. See her mother's serene and beautiful face. She had lost everything, but she wanted to see them all one last time. Marie was halfway up the white marble when she felt a blow to the back of her head. She turned around and saw Lebeau before she passed out.
Logan tore through the cobbled roads up the hillside with only one thing on his mind. The horse he rode was strained to the breaking point, but he dug his black boots into it's side mercilessly, spurring it on. To his amazement, the others were right behind him, pushing themselves to the limit as well. But he barely thought about them. His concern was only Marie and when the enormous house up on the hill came into view, he pulled ahead even more.
It happened that just as he turned for the last stretch, he spotted the coach that McCoy had described and Lebeau walking down the front steps. His teeth clenched in anger and when he saw an enormous man step out of the house behind him with Marie struggling in his grasp, he positively felt his blood boil. But he was still out of range. Yelling at the horse to move faster, Logan kept his eyes glued to the man as he swung her over his shoulder. Her long hair draped down his back and moved with his every step. He could faintly make out the white streak in the distance.
McCoy was saying something at his side, but Logan didn't hear it. Clutching the horse firmly between his thighs, he lifted a few inches out of the saddle and swung the rifle he had across his bare back towards the front. Taking a sharp aim, he fired the moment he was close enough. The bullet ripped through the Blob's chest in a spray. They both tumbled to the ground and all hell broke loose as Lebeau realized he had been discovered.
A half dozen hired thugs came out of nowhere and Logan's companions quickly fired in retribution. The firefight that ensued was intense and when they reached the house, the hand to hand even moreso, but Logan's gaze didn't waver. He had spotted Lebeau and seen him carry Marie off across the lawns. Everything in his body creaked in agony at seeing her so hurt and vulnerable. His Marie. One thing was certain, he wasn't going to let him hurt her. He had hurt them enough and as Logan slipped off his horse and charged forward, with a readied rifle Bobby tossed him and his knife, he knew it was all coming to an end.
Marie started coming to, when a sudden misstep sent them both tumbling to the ground. Tearstained and weary, Marie blinked at the smell of the black earth suddenly pressed into her face. Her hands were in front of her and she dug them into the blackness. The smell of soil and life filled her. But she was yanked up again and facing Lebeau's crazed eyes before she could protest. She recalled her situation clearly.
"My dear, now that you're up you are either going to cooperate or I'm going to kill you."
Marie blinked at him a few times. He was dirty and sweaty from carrying her and was still gripping his gun tightly, but the idea struck her as so funny. There was no other way, he could possibly hurt her any further. She surprised him by giggling. He stared at her for a minute. When he was courting her, she giggled incessantly. It was somewhat annoying, but so endearing. It occurred to him that he hadn't heard her giggle once since her return. He opened his mouth, but she spoke first.
"What exactly do you think you're doing Remy??"
He blinked at her carefully, all notions that that they were being attacked and chased gone. He lifted the ledger he was holding tightly.
"It's our future Marie Elizabeth. Yours and mine."
She looked at him sadly, wondering briefly just how long she had been out and how far along in the forest they were. The laughter died out slowly
"You've taken everything I love. There is no us."
She stared at him in quiet defiance and Lebeau's hand went for hers again. Marie pulled it away. His face fell.
"You're making this hard."
"Everything. You've taken everything. "
Using his superior strength, Lebeau pulled her forward. He could still hear the wiz of gunshots not that far off. Angry and desperate, Lebeau raised his gun again to threaten her again, but Marie moved quicker. Using the rock she had gathered from when she fell, Marie swung it to meet his hand with all her strength. The silver gun he loved so much smashed into three pieces and fell to the dark ground.
Yelping in pain at the damage the sharp rock inflicted on his hand, Lebeau dropped the ledger as well. Marie dove for it and caught it before it hit the ground. Turning on her heels before he could react, she ran into the forest, blind to where she was or where she was headed, knowing only that she could not let Lebeau succeed in his plan. Her mother's dream would not die at his hands. She would make sure. Clutching the ledger tightly, Marie ran through the humid forest not that unlike the one she had shared with Logan. She shut her eyes briefly at the memory. They had been so happy.
Behind her, Lebeau was yelling and cursing in frustration. He wiped his bloody knuckles on his expensive white shirt, before taking off after her. Despite her ease in the greenery, Marie was still disadvantaged. The lighter dress she had worn because of the heat was still dragging, catching and making it hard to run in. She couldn't see him, but she heard Lebeau's hard boots and broken curses close behind her. Although, the gunshots had ceased, she could still make out voices and yelling in the distance.
Knowing she had no choice, Marie turned to those voices and ran as fast as she could, hoping whoever attacked Lebeau's men would help her as well. Stopping only to grab a particularly hefty long branch, she ran until she could no longer ignore the pain in her side. Cursing herself for still having worn a corset, she paused and looked around. Spotting a dense bush nearby, she tucked into it, hoping her bright dress wouldn't give her away. Lebeau caught up to her in a matter of minutes. Pausing where the footprints stopped, he looked around.
"Marie come here!!"
Marie shuddered at the intensity in his voice. She didn't have to see his face, to know the vindictiveness there.
"I would have given you anything! A-ny-thing!"
She watched carefully from under the brush, not six feet away. He moved forward, then doubled back. He would go fox hunting often enough to know how to follow a trail. Marie's heart sank and she clutched her branch tighter. Apparently he had the same idea as her, because he tossed off his long jacket and picked up a stick nearby.
"But it wouldn't have been enough huh? All you wanted was that savage."
He grinned maliciously and twirled round and round, looking for the broken twig or stray footprint that would give her away.
"But he's dead!! So why not carry on? Was he that good a fuck?"
Marie clenched her eyes and threw her head back in agony. The movement caused the leaves of the bush she was hiding behind to rustle a little. Lebeau's smile got wider and his voice got lower. He saw a scrap of light blue satin tucked behind some leaves.
"Believe me I could understand the need to indulge in the occasional rut with a commoner, my dear. That's what whorehouses are for. I will not lie. But did you actually think he cared for you? You were just there Marie. A very convenient fuck when no-one else was around."
Marie opened her eyes at how close his voice sounded, but was too late in moving. He had seen her and before she could react, he had tackled her flat to the ground, once again using his weight to pin her. Marie struggled wisely though. He would not take her or the documents, she would rather die. And she had no intentions of dying at his hands. With a snarl, she clutched at the stick she had in her hands and rammed it into his throat with a quick jab.
Lebeau's eyes flung open and he staggered back coughing and wheezing. Marie grinned at the damage she inflicted and scrambled to get to her feet. Not willing to take chances, she brought the branch to his lower back with a grunt, felling the tall man to his knees. Now in total control of the situation, Marie yanked his head back by his ponytail, like he had done several times to her. Lebeau was still not able to breathe through his damaged windpipe so he looked at Marie in growing terror, turning almost purple.
"You have no idea what we shared Lebeau. It was true love, not your twisted idea of it."
He went to reach for her, but she stepped out of the way and brought the branch back down on his hand. He dropped it immediately as it ripped the wounds he already had on it again. Letting rage run through her unchecked, Marie smirked at the man she had choking on his knees as she walked circles around him.
"Did you honestly think I would let you destroy what my father has built here! What these families have struggled for!"
Seeing that he was regaining some ability to breathe again, Marie brought the branch across his back again. Despite the crushed windpipe, Lebeau hollered in pain as he arched his back. Wanting him to know, needing him to know, Marie pulled his head back again to face her. She smiled sadly into his crazed eyes before moving her lips. Brushing down just inches from his face, she whispered.
"And I am carrying his child."
Logan left Summers and the rest to deal with who was left of Lebeau's men on the front lawns of the Xavier home in search of Marie. He had seen the bastard drag her into the forest behind the property, but it was expansive and thick. Logan ran in at full speed, but ten minutes later, his heart sunk in the realization that they could be long gone and they could not find them. Running aimlessly with Cable's knife at his side, having long dropped the rifle, he stalked and stalked non-existent trails until he had to admit to himself that he had lost her. Slashing at a nearby tree in frustration, he brought his hands up to his temples and shut his eyes. His body dripped in sweat and his heartbeat thrummed so hard in his ears, it was a while before he was able to hear it.
In the distance, high in the canopy, he could make out a call. A call that could have been anyone's only, there was just one bird in the world that would know his name. Looking up, Logan caught the amazing sight of Raven swooping down in a shocking blur of color. Extending his hand like he had seen Marie do a thousand times, he stared at the accessorized parrot in awe as it fluttered and tucked his wings in.
"Looo-gan, Looo-gan."
"Raven, where did you come from? Are you with her?"
The bird cawed and fluttered excitedly. Logan figured simple was better.
"Marie. Marie."
He flapped even harder and took off again. Logan stared at his retreating red tail feathers for a second before taking off after the animal with a renewed sense of hope and a smile.
Marie stopped her easy trotting and crouched low on her haunches when she thought she heard her name called. Knowing she was close to the house again, she thought it might be best to let them show themselves before answering. She cocked her head and listened for the direction. Then she got her feet when she heard it get louder. Making a slight change in her trajectory, she ran a little faster as she began to realize who was calling her. Not having felt anything but sorrow for what seemed like an eternity, she almost collapsed to the ground again when Raven swooped down from the treeline calling her name. She fell to her knees and cuddled the bird close, having thought it was lost forever and cried tears of joy at having at least one thing left to remind her. That's how Logan found her.
Coming to the small, sun-dappled clearing, he felt his heart stop at the sight of his Marie, on the ground in a dress that matched Raven's tie. She was petting her bird frantically and crying softly when he stepped forward. A branch snapped under his boots. She startled and looked up immediately with her hand tight around a branch at her side. Logan noted the natural reflex. She had learned so much.
Not sure if he was a dream or a hallucination, Marie let go of Raven and shrank back slightly at seeing Logan's form. She would have stared forever had he not dropped the knife he was carrying and dropped to his knees before her. Taking her teary and dirty face in his hands he crushed her to him, relieved and ecstatic beyond words. Marie gasped at the solidity of the man that held her. His chest was just as she remembered. Strong and safe. She clutched at him tightly with a shudder, not willing to let go for fear that he might vanish again. Worried that she hadn't said a word to him, Logan rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs and peered down to her face.
"Are you hurt?"
Marie shook her head no, surprised at the emotion that choked his voice and clasped her hands over his. Logan stared into the pain and surprise in her wide green eyes. Not able to hold back, he crushed into her lips. They dueled with their tongues desperately, wanting to demonstrate all the relief and love they had for each other with the simple act. Needing to feel her completely against him, Logan pulled her flush against him with a hand to her back. He tangled the other in her hair, and Marie clutched his sweaty back tightly, never thinking she would do so again.
But eventually he pulled her back, and she was lost in the hazel depths of his eyes. Slightly panting, Logan brushed hair out of her face and asked what was bothering him.
"Lebeau."
Marie motioned to where she had dropped the ledger and tried to clear her throat.
"I took care of it."
Logan frowned slightly and took a quick look around. Marie placated him with a hand to cup his face. The reality of him still hadn't sunk in yet. Her voice was a whisper.
"He told me you were dead."
Logan kissed at her hands willing her pain to go away.
"Almost, but I'm here now darling."
Marie squeezed her eyes shut and let a tear escape her.
"My family…I think…I have to know."
Logan swallowed hard and stood in understanding, pulling her into his arms. He realized for the first time just how ragged she looked. He gravitated a hand over her stomach. Marie looked up and reassured him with a kiss to the jaw. Not able to believe he was still holding her, Logan smoothed her tangled strands of white.
"Thought I lost you darling."
Marie sighed heavily and leaned into Logan's shoulder. He caught her chin and pulled her up a little more. Sharing a soft tender kiss that left them both overwhelmed with emotion, Logan and Marie hurried off with Raven cawing in the lead.
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