This story takes place in a Marvel 2 type universe. (but not exactly the same) Marvel characters are their property, the other characters are mine.

Written February 1999 (revised September 1999)

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Keri Wilson

Remembrance of Things Past

February 13, 2025

Crypt of the Thieves Guildmaster

New Orleans

Emile LeBeau. "Notre petit ange" (1) the tiny plaque was inscribed. Above it a blank plaque rested, awaiting the current Guildmaster and his wife. Out of old tradition it would remain completely blank until their deaths. The next large one beside theirs was inscribed: Jean-Luc LeBeau "Pacificateur"(2) and below that, on the same plaque: Madeline, Jean-Luc's wife. Their son Henri LeBeau held the only place below them. Other than his name the only inscription was "Mon fils". (3)

A middle-aged couple moved to stand before these, five children ranging from mid teens to preschool age behind them. The younger ones were still chattering loudly. The sounds echoed through the chamber.

"Zachary, Odea, taisez-vous."(4) The woman addressed the younger children in a quiet, but firm tone. The unusual white stripe in her otherwise chestnut-colored hair, reflected dimly in the shadowed light and her emerald colored eyes narrowed a bit as she spoke, quieting the children with the expression alone.

She was above average height, but no longer the overly thin size of her youth; she presented an image of a strong woman and mother. Her body matched her curves now, Not plump, but womanly. To her husband this made her even more attractive. Her elegant, forest-green, velvet dress brushed the top of her ankles. It gave her a classic, warm look, without making her look much older than the day she married her husband.

The quietness brought the solemnity she desired in which to pay respect to the dead. She took the hand of the man beside her and felt him return the warm support. The strength of the bond between them could almost be felt.

The man's tall, slender but muscular frame contrasted well with her feminine one. His dark blue shirt, black jacket and matching pants were as simple and formal as the occasion demanded. His long, chestnut-colored hair was just slightly lighter than the woman's and was tied neatly back for this solemn moment. His glowing red on black eyes closed, as he breathed a quick Catholic prayer for the dead and crossed himself. The children followed the man's example and crossed themselves. They were dressed in formal wear.

It was obvious the couple were the parents of all five children. The oldest boy had the same eyes as his father, while the older girl and youngest boy had eyes that glowed green on black. The younger girl had the same emerald green eyes as her mother, and the middle boy had turquoise colored eyes. Their hair colors were varying shades of brown. All but the oldest boy had their mother's white stripe in their hair.

The woman took the bouquet and placed a few blossoms in each of the small vases attached to the wall. She stopped last at the one by Emile LeBeau's plaque. Her bare hand traced the letters. The man gently put his arms around the woman. "Desiree, ma cherie, don' cry." He whispered in her ear. "Emile is lookin' down on us from heaven, don' wanna make him sad, neh?"

Desiree softly said, "Ah know ah shouldn't be so sad Remy, it's been thirteen years. But ah cain't."

"I can't forget it, either, mon amour." Remy hugged her. "We shouldn't forget, but we have to take care of de livin' too."

Remy reached down to pick up his youngest daughter, Odea, who had quietly been sucking her thumb beside her father. The three-year-old smiled when she was sitting in her father's arms. Remy carried her out of the crypt, the other two younger children; Zachary and Jerome followed him. The older children, their daughter Adele and son Etienne, both took turns giving their mother a gentle hug. Then they followed their father and other siblings out. Giving their mother a few moments of private grief.

Desiree looked at all the plaques again, once she was alone in this place of remembrance.

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February 1, 2006

Rogue put her last bag into the minivan. She turned and looked at the mansion for maybe the last time, as she drove away. It had basically been her home since late in her seventeenth year.

The X-men were retired. Scott and Jean had started their family up in Alaska. Warren and Betsy had married and gone to England. Kitty and Pete Wisdom had reconciled and Kitty lived with him in England. Hank and Cecilia had married and both worked for the Avengers. Logan, well... he was off wanderin' somewheres. The Professor was the government's mutant relation's expert. The mutant rights bill passed five years ago, and the professor had been appointed to his position in the government. Then everyone had started thinking about doing things they had only dreamed about before. Ororo had returned to Africa, her home. Kurt had let Amanda tease him into marriage; they traveled a lot. Colossus returned to Russia. Marrow had just disappeared, probably back to the tunnels that were her home.

Now she was leaving, going to the place and man she planned to spend the rest of her life with. Remy.

He had been called back to New Orleans two years ago by his foster father.

His time of exile had been declared over and he was renamed the heir of Jean-Luc. He was to be the next Guildmaster of the Thieves. He needed to be trained how to be Guildmaster before Jean-Luc died. Remy had always held to honoring his family's wishes, and returned.

The next two years had been difficult for both of them. The first year Remy was not permitted any contact with any X-man, not even her. They wrote letters and sent pictures. Once, Remy had enlisted Tante Mattie to smuggle out an audiocassette that he had somehow made. That had made her cry she hadn't heard his voice in six months by then. She sent one in return, by way of Tante Mattie.

In the meantime, Rogue had been working on controlling her powers. Now that the Professor finally had some spare time, they finally made a breakthrough. It was during one of the times she accompanied him to Washington D. C. She could actually control the power mentally. Not well at first and still not for long, but it was a start.

Last year, she had been permitted to visit. Those visits were all too short and extremely intense. At their first meeting, he had proposed marriage; swept away by the moment, she had simply said "yes". She was shocked when he had started to cry and blurted out "I was so afraid you'd say no, chere." She really looked at him then, and could see stress and exhaustion practically radiating from his body. They didn't make love that time, they slept in his bed, holding each other tight. So relieved just to be together again.

After that time, things went better, Rogue smirked. She and Remy had equally passionate natures. He was neither as stressed nor exhausted when she visited. They enjoyed themselves thoroughly. During her third visit Jean-Luc LeBeau spoke to her privately.

"I wan' you t' know how serious a t'ing you are committing yourself to, if you marry into de Guild- an' dat's if Belladonna agrees t' de annulment. Dis won' be like marryin' Gambit of de X-men. You will be de wife of the Guildmaster's heir. You, like Remy will have to have training in your duties, especially since you be an outsider. First t'ing is you have t' be accepted by de Guild. Den you have t' take a Guild name. You can no longer be Rogue, de member of X-men. Your loyalty must now be: first t' your family, den to your clan, den t' de Guild. Are y' prepared t' do dis? Don' answer me now, t'ink `bout it f' awhile."

She wanted to blurt out that of course she was prepared, but thought better of it when Jean-Luc had said the last with an emphatic look. He dismissed her then. She railed to Remy when they were alone about it, but Remy agreed with his father.

"No, ma chere, I won't be bringing you into my world without it being fully your choice. T'ink about it, mon amour. If y' can't, I'll understand. We figure somet'ing else out den."

She went back to the mansion the next morning. At first she was mad, but then she actually did think about it and realized she was a bit scared about this. It would mean turning her back on the X-men, and taking a large chunk of responsibility that she wasn't sure she was ready for. It took two more months and visits before she decided she would. When she told Jean-Luc about her doubts at taking this responsibility, even then, he nodded.

"You really t'ink `bout it, non? Bien. (5) Dat tells me maybe you ready for de start of de training."

Acceptance by the Guilds, Jean-Luc and Remy hadn't been kidding when they said it was like getting a law passed through congress. They outright told her to play up the charming southern belle bit as much as she could possibly stand.

Remy had been blunt. "Dey t'ink a femme is jus' for de making of babies an' de raising of dem. Femmes (6) supposed t' be smart, charming, an domestic only. Pah! Dey jus' a bunch o' vieux jeu imbeciles."(7) Remy looked bitter. "But dey make de choice whether you are accepted or non. So you have t' play de game."

Rogue knew how to play that game though, when she needed to. That hurdle had been easy. Easier for her than it had been for Remy when he came back from exile.

Choosing a name had been comically difficult. Remy had "helped" her. This tended to lead to silly arguments over why a name was or wasn't a good one. Finally in a fit of pique Remy suggested Desiree. (8) Rogue laughed, but tired of all this bickering, and feeling amused about the whole situation, she agreed. So she was recorded in the Guild family register as Desiree, adoptee into the LeBeau clan.

She felt some trepidation at next step. The year and a day training. Thankfully not isolated from Remy. In fact, Remy was expected to help her, since she was to be his wife, after this. That was, if Belladonna could be persuaded to annul her marriage to Remy, but still keep the peace pact. If not, she and Remy could have a sort of unofficial marriage just within the Thieves Guild. They both hoped Belle could be reasonable about this and allow the annulment.

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February 5, 2007

"Come forward foul seductress, bow down to the woman who shows you extreme mercy, granting your wish to steal her husband and make him your own." Belladonna Boudreux commanded the woman now known as Desiree LeBeau.

Desiree and Remy had both been made to go through a whole day humiliation in front of both Guilds. This was Belladonna's condition for granting the annulment. Remy had been forced to stand naked and do nothing while Assassin Guild members hurled insults and filth at him. No injury of either was permitted, by the rule demanded by the Thieves guild, only humiliation. Desiree had had been allowed to wear a long red tunic while she went through the same thing as Remy.

What she had to do know was the last of the humiliation, thankfully. Desiree was exhausted and wanted to take a long bath and fall into bed. She knew she had to look disgusting. Filth covered her face, hair and tunic and body.

Desiree kneeled in front of Belladonna and said the set words that would end her humiliation here. "Je vous rends mon gratitude pour votre grande indulgence."(9) She let none of her irritation show when she said this. It was said in the most formal manner and that's all she allowed to show.

Belladonna merely nodded, and turned her back on Desiree, dismissing her. Then she turned toward Remy. "Come forward, lowly thief, dishonored one, bow to the woman who shows you far more mercy than you deserve for your betrayal of sacred marriage vows."

Remy bowed to Belladonna and repeated the same phrase that Desiree had spoken. Belladonna nodded curtly, and then turned around without a word and walked out. The Assassin Guild members followed her. The ceremony was over.

Tante Mattie and Jean-Luc escorted Remy and Desiree to their home. Too tired to stand, they sat in the bathtub and bathed each other. Desire for each other was there but exhaustion was greater, and they just collapsed naked into bed.

Six weeks later they were married.

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February 28, 2010

Lapin ran into Remy and Desiree's diningroom , "Remy! De Guildmaster needs you, maintenant!(10)

Remy stopped feeding his 8 month old son, Etienne and stood up. The baby tries to reach the food, and when he couldn't, started to howl. Desiree came over and started feeding the baby while she gave Lapin a look that said, you darn well better tell me too.

Lapin shifted nervously under that stare. Remy appreciated Desiree's strength, and that stare had scared many a guild member. They knew better than treat the future Guildmistress "like any other femme". Remy demanded the Guild give his wife equal respect and, with some grumbling, they did. She was to be addressed as Guildmistress when Remy was addressed as Guildmaster, and attended all meetings as his equal.

Jean-Luc did not oppose this, as long as the guild could adjust to it, and it served the betterment of the guild; Remy and Desiree could do what they wished. There had been a few heated arguments over the last three years between Jean-Luc, Remy and Desiree. At first they were pushing too hard too fast for drastic changes in the Guild. Jean-Luc had given in on the things he had considered distasteful himself: infant and child stealing and selling, and muggings. The Guild would no longer participate in these, and would now prevent them from occurring. Jean-Luc had to remind Remy and Desiree over and over though, that "the Thieves Guild were not de X-men, an' most members would not appreciate them trying to turn de Guild into a copy of it". Jean-Luc was pleased that they had finally begun to temper their reforming fervor. It must be gradual, he told them. The Guild and its ways are old. Resistance to change can be strong.

Lapin rushed the words out, "Jean-Luc, I t'ink he gonna die soon. You have t' be dere when he dies." Lapin turned and ran back to the Guildmaster's home, Remy right behind him. Desiree grabbed the baby, one of his bottles out of the refrigerator, threw on the soft baby carrier, put Etienne in it and flew to catch up with Remy and Lapin.

When she caught up with them, she lifted Remy up under his arms, and flew them as fast as was comfortable to Jean-Luc's home. Lapin would have to catch up to them there.

"T'anks chere. Get dere much quicker now. Don' t'ink Lapin minded that much gettin' left behind."

"Hah! Especially since he probably got a good look at my underwear when I lifted you up."

"Can hear him now, talkin' t' his other friends-"

"What all two of `em?"

They laughed; it was better to joke than to worry about the future needlessly. A near future that they couldn't change. Jean-Luc was dying and very soon the Guild would be their complete responsibility. They both knew in recent months as they had taken on more of their expected roles just how heavy a burden leading the Guilds would entail for them both. Jean-Luc still did a lot of it on his own, but as he became ill, he had them there for most of the day. It wasn't a contagious illness, just his body slowly breaking down with age. He often asked to hold his grandson, Etienne during these days, since the baby was there anyway, he told them. They knew though, he perhaps hoped that he might leave some vague impression on the baby. Some memory of him, no matter how impossible that might be for an infant mind.

Desiree flew them into Jean-Luc's bedroom.

"Bien. You are here." He smiled at them and gestured them to come close.
Jean-Luc stroked the baby's cheek. "You t'ink you aren't ready t' lead now,
neh?"

Remy and Desiree nodded.

"Felt de same way, when my pere was killed in one of our wars wit' de Assassins. Wasn't much older dan you two are now. Before Henri was even
born. Scared to death of making some horrible mistake dat would destroy de Guild. Dat fear is good, don' let it rule you, but don' pretend it not dere. Rule it, let it make you consider your decisions, but don' let it keep you from making dem. You listen to dis, you ready t' lead de Guild."

Jean-Luc LeBeau died twelve hours later.

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February 13, 2012

The Guildmaster of the New Orleans' Thieves Guild sat in his private office while tears silently streamed down his face. His wife's sobs could be heard through the closed door of their bedroom door. Their second child had died only hours after his birth. Tante Mattie had kept Emile alive long enough for a christening by the family priest, but could do no more. The loss was crushing, it was unbearable. Remy felt so helpless.

Tante Mattie came out of the bedroom, Desiree's wrenching sobs had quieted. The healer left the door to the bedroom open as she walked over to Remy.

"I gave her dis, it'll help her sleep f' a while. You should take it too and rest your soul of its grief for a bit. But I'll leave dat decision up t' you." She handed him a glass.

Remy nodded. He doubted he was capable of speech at the moment. Grief locked his throat tight.

Tante Mattie nodded back and quietly slipped from the room.

After a few moments he rose from the chair. Deciding to follow half of his foster mother's orders he left the drink where it was, but went to join his wife in their bed.

He eased onto the mattress, careful not to wake Desiree from the light sleep the draught would give her. Gently he lay an arm around her and closed his eyes.

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February 13, 2025

Desiree touched the plaque of Emile; their poor, miscarried baby. Not
even Tante Mattie could save him, their second child. He had too many
things wrong. Desiree had been almost 7 months along when she miscarried. They were both so devastated by the loss they hadn't tried to have another child for 3 years.

They decided to dare to try again for another child after three years and Adele was born. She turned out to be a strong, healthy girl. Desiree and Remy felt like someone above had seen their pain and given them something to balance it.

They felt braver then, and decided to have more children. Jerome was born two years later, Zachary two years after that, and lastly Odea, two years younger than Zachary.

Remy was right. You should care for your living as well as your dead, in your heart. She turned and went to join her family outside, in the sunlight.

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1) our little angel

2)Peacemaker

3)My son

4)be quiet

5)Good

6) in this context- wives

7)old fashioned imbeciles

8)the name means Desire

9)I give you my gratitude for your great indulgence

10)immediately