An Old Flame (June 2012)

He didn’t give her any more time to chastise him. He just kissed her hard on the lips. He felt her trying to pull away but he just pressed her to him with his left arm. “It’s not safe for you here Serena, I love you, please go,” he said then stepped away from her down the street toward the hotel.

The woman behind the tree grinned as she faded away into the shadows then began to follow him.

His hotel room was the same room he always got when he came here. It was one of the best and it had a wonderful view of the river. He sipped his drink as he looked down at the dirty water. He shifted when he heard a knock on the door.

“Sir, there appears to be an issue with your credit card,” he heard the man say. Charlotte then shooed the man away and he hurried down the hall. Everyone who was anyone knew Charlotte. She was The Guild Envoy and a very respected and dangerous woman. Years ago she had been promised to Gambit, his reward for becoming Jean Luc’s successor. She was a few years older than he, groomed to be his companion, protector and his concubine, skilled as a courtesan. Before he had the throne Charlotte and Gambit had had a fling. Not a lengthy affair but long enough that she had had a taste of him. Enough to realize that she wanted him and could have easily fell in love to him. Cassian, who was in charge now was married and even had children. He wanted nothing to do with her and so he had made her an Envoy and his wife kept her at a distance from their family. His ‘errand girl’, or so Bartor called her but he was the kind of man that used racial slurs all the time. Errand girl was probably one of the nicer things he called her she supposed. Gambit opened the door.

Bartor was the guild enforcer. The man they sent when someone needed a reminder of who was really in charge. He was responsible for multiple murders and assaults. And his strong, dangerous nature was attractive to several women and he was seldom without a woman in his bed. If not more than one.

Elemir never did anything without a plan. He was the most eccentric of the council and his main concern was the future of the Guild. The council was well aware of the undercurrents and the designs that were brewing among the Guild. And Elemir remained in the background to watch everything that happened.

Charlotte had thought that Gambit was forever out of her reach until today. She had wanted him for a long time. She had once been promised to Gambit, who was supposed to have been Jean Luc's successor. However, Gambit had turned away from that life and left New Orleans. Charlotte had not forgotten him though. Gambit had only gotten more handsome in her eyes. She hoped that he had returned to New Orleans to overthrow Cassian and take charge of the Guild.

Charlotte had not changed since the last time Gambit had seen her. She was tall, with a more athletic build and long, white blonde hair and pale blue eyes. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She wore her black leather jerkin and pants and her knee high black leather boots. When Gambit opened the door she flashed him her signature grin.

"Well, look at you. Still as handsome as ever."

The last person expected to see was Charlotte. He hadn’t seen her in a few years but she looked exactly the same as before. Possibly even better than before. Her long hair was pulled back into a long, pony tail. Her face was pale and smooth and her jerkin accentuated her large breasts. She recalled that he liked her breasts and she had pushed them up to make her pale flesh bloom out from the top. He leaned out into the hall, looked both ways then pulled her inside and shut the door. He had no idea of her esteemed position. Only that she might have been in danger for associating with him or being seen with him.

“Are you crazy? If anyone saw you...God Charlotte, why are you here? You know their looking for me. I’m trying to find out where Cassian is. I think Balor will try to kill me,” He said. He saw that she was smiling at him and allowed his eyes to shifted down her body then up again. “You haven’t changed at all,” He complimented. It was true but he was also trying to get her on his side of things. He didn’t want to see her get hurt.

Charlotte loved it when Gambit looked at her. It put a shiver down her spine. Gambit was the only man who was truly able to do that to her. She smiled a little at his compliment and then sauntered over to the mini bar and fixed herself a drink.

"Well good thing I'm Cassian's Envoy then. So, who was the girl you were with? Seemed to be a rather heated argument you two were having."

Gambit tried to assimilate what harlotte just said. “Her name’s Serena, she’s nobody,” He said. “You’re...the Envoy? How in the HELL did you manage that?” He asked and then he remembered Helen, Cassian’s wife. She was an extremely strong and jealous woman. She would not want Charlotte anywhere near her husband...alone. Though Cassian was a father when Gambit met him. He loved his children more than anything else. He would be interested to know how that rated against who and what Cassian really was.

“I need to speak to Cassian. Can you get me an audience?” He asked.

Charlotte took a sip of her drink and sat down on the edge of the bed. She crossed her legs and eyed Gambit. "Why should I help you? You ruined everything by leaving. You were supposed to be Guild leader and I was supposed to be by your side. I'm slightly more elevated now than what I was before...but I'm not where I wanted to be."

“You know that I’ll either have to kill Cassian or get him to advocate to take the guild leadership. And if Belor gets his hands on me...well, you’ll not get what you want then if I’m dead,” Gambit said. “I need to see Cassian, can you help me or not?” He asked. What he hoped she didn’t know was that Cassian was one of the only people that could get him an official audience with the Council. Before the council he would renounce his claim to the guild leadership and then that would be that. But that would not give Charlotte what she wanted. Neither would giving him to Belor either. He hoped she didn’t know how much power she had over him right then. He certainly didn’t act like she had that.

Charlotte downed her drink and put the glass down. She crossed her legs under her on the bed and looked at Gambit. "Balor wants me to bring you to him. He's the only one really looking out for me now that you're gone Gambit. Getting you an audience with Cassian would possibly hurt my relationship with him. So, if I'm going to take this huge risk for you...what are you going to do for me?"

Gambit winced internally. Obviously Charlotte knew more than he had thought. Probably the advantage of being The Envoy. She could come and go amongst the various houses with impunity. “What is it that you want Charlotte?” He asked concernedly. “Money? I have some...I could get you 50k tomorrow, more in a week or so,” He said. He didn’t like the look of her smile right then.

Charlotte laughed when he offered her money and she shook her head. "Money? What the hell would I do with money?" She slowly got up off the bed and began to walk towards him. She slipped her arms around his neck and looked at him. "No...what I want...is you Gambit."

Gambit wanted to back away but he knew that he couldn’t If he offended this woman she would take him to Belor. But he didn’t love her. He never did. What he felt for her was lust and she had obliged him. He took hold of her arms with his hands. Her bring this close, she was beautiful, very much so but Serena held fast to his heart. Gambit was a survivor though. Could he give her his body? Would Serena understand if he did?’ He wondered.

“I’ve met someone Charlotte...Serena Stark…” He began and didn’t believe he said her name. ‘You IDIOT!’ He thought. ‘How could you be so stupid!’ He wondered.

Charlotte gave no visible reaction when she heard Serena's name, but she knew it well. Serena Stark was the daughter of Tony and Isabella Stark...two of the most powerful and influential people in the world. If Gambit was close to this girl then they could use her as leverage. This was good information to know. However, she needed to not tip her hand.

"Well, things like that never mattered to you before Gambit. Why should it matter now?"

“Alot of things have Changed Charlotte. I’m an X-man now and so is she. I am willing to trade for an audience Charlotte. But I love her and nothing is going to change that,” Gambit said. He probably shouldn’t have said that but he wanted Charlotte to know that if she did ask him to be with her, it would just be a physical thing. That his heart was already taken.

Charlotte tried to hide the pain in her eyes when Gambit told her that he loved Serena. How could he be in love with that girl? She was a spoiled rotten princess and knew nothing of the hardships she and Gambit had both faced growing up.

"What do you even have in common with this girl Gambit? Did she grow up on the streets, or know the hardships you and I both faced? Judging by the way she was dressed I'm betting not," she said still playing the dumb card on who this girl was.

“Charlotte, before I met Serena...all I saw was darkness. All the death I caused, all the evil that spawned from it And I was little more than a stain of black within that darkness that is the guild. No one else could see it. Not even me, not at first. And then one day I saw a light. It was just there. An amazing brilliance. What I found wasn’t something that I saw, it was as if I was shedding this skin of darkness and becoming something else. Serena was the cause of this transformation and so I will never belong to you, Charlotte, but if you want this body, though it does belong to someone else. I will give it to you in trade,” Gambit said. Then he kissed her.

Serena had managed to sweet talk the front desk clerk into giving her Gambit's room number and a key. She wasn't going to leave him. If he was in danger then she wanted to be by his side and help him. She loved him too much to do anything else...even if the man did drive her crazy at times.

She walked down the hallway and found his room. She paused and listened and heard some movement inside and knew he must be there. She used the key and unlocked the door and opened it. What she saw stunned her. She saw the man she loved in the middle of a kiss with another woman!

"What the hell?!"

Charlotte heard what Gambit said but what she felt warred with what was in her head. A change was coming, for good or ill but anything was better than this, deadfall of purgatory that she lived in now. Neither alive nor dead. When he kissed her it was like all rational thought left her brain. Gambit was a wonderful kisser and her knees wanted to buckle and they might have if he hadn’t held onto her. Her lips instinctively kissed his back and in that moment, she was willing to do anything he asked of her. Anything. And then she heard a voice. Loud and discordant and felt his lips draw away from hers. It was almost painful to feel that. Butterflies swam in her middle and she turned to see a woman in Gambit’s room.

“Serena?” Gambit asked. And Charlotte smiled. “This is Serena? Well, you certainly like them young. She is beautiful though,” She said. Before Serena could leave however Charlotte moved like lightning. She struck her in the side of the head, the stomach and then the groin, all in 3 quick hits that Gambit could barely see. “Charlotte NO!” He said and then struck her in the back and knocked her to the floor.

When Serena awoke Charlotte was tied up on the bed next to her and Gambit sat on an ottomon by the bedside where she laid. Her head rang like a bell and her stomach hurt.

Serena had been in such a state of shock that she had been too slow to defend herself. She had felt like her heart was being ripped from her chest by Gambit's own hand. How could he tell her he loved her and then do something like this to her?! Had she been a fool this entire time? Had he just been using her?

The woman moved so fast that Serena barely had any time to react. Then, everything went dark...

...Serena's head was pounding and her stomach ached. She slowly opened her eyes and realized that the woman Gambit had been kissing and who had attacked her was now tied up next to her on the bed. She then looked over and saw Gambit. Her eyes were filled with heartache and betrayal.

"What the fuck is going on Gambit?"

Gambit’s first reaction was to lie and to drive Serena away from him. When she looked at him though he thought she could see the lie being fabricated in his head. Her hard slap to his face however and him grabbing her wrist before she could hit him again dissuaded him of uttering that lie.

“Will you stop that!?” He asked. “I’ll tell you what the hell is going on, alright?” He said angrily. And then he proceeded to tell her everything. He told her about Jean Luc Lebeau and how they had kidnapped him as a child and raised him as their own. They trained him and mentored him to be the next Leader of the thieves and assassins guild. He told Serena about the group of mutants and how he had betrayed them without knowing it. He told her about how he was destined to become the next leader of the guild and how Charlotte had been trained to be his consort. He also told her how he ran from this life, met Striker and then Logan and then Charles Xavier and became an X-man. And then of meeting Rogue who was sent to draw him back to the guild but defied them as well. He them spoke of herself, and how she had changed him into something else altogether, something better.

Charlotte ofcourse was listening to everything he said. Some of what he said had touched her greatly and how Serena reacted to his words. “I’d do whatever I had to Serena, to get back to you. But I couldn’t take it if you ended up hating me,” Gambit said.

Serena listened closely to everything Gambit had to tell her. For the first time in their relationship he was being completely honest and open with her. That meant more to her anything else he ever could have given her because it was ultimately himself that he was giving her. She felt her heart break for him and what he had been through. She looked deeply into his eyes and reached out and gently caressed the side of his face.

"I could never hate you Gambit...not when I love you as much as I do."

“So then, you see why you need to go? I have to do what I came to do. At least remain here, at the hotel until I finish with Cassian,” Gambit asked when Serena gave him that stubborn look she did when she was not going to do what he asked. She was very ‘independent’ that way. Gambit helped her up then sat Charlotte up though her hands and ankles were tied.

“I will take you Gambit but I was ‘promised’ to you,” She said defiantly. “Promised yes but that does not mean I have to accept you. Cassian didn’t,” Gambit said. “Cassian will likely follow the prescripts, he won’t allow you to advocate just because you want to. He will take some convincing. And right now I see no reason why I should stand with you on that,” Charlotte said.

“And Belor will try and kill you, regardless of what you do,” she said and looked at Serena. Her lips curled up into a smile as if she knew a secret no one else knew.

Serena finally agreed to remain at the hotel in the room until Gambit returned. She stepped away from Gambit and Charlotte into the bathroom and when she was gone Charlotte looked at Gambit with a little smile.

"So, since you cannot offer your body in trade, what else can you offer me for agreeing to do this Gambit?"

Gambit sighed as he untied her and let her up. Charlotte was beginning to really get on his nerves. He needed her cooperation but she didn’t need money. She had influence and power but he knew what she was asking for without saying it outright. “Fine, I’ll give you the Sais,” Gambit said in a scoff. And then he stepped up to her and held a dark, dangerous look in his red eyes. “And if you double cross me or hurt Serena again...I will make it my business to seeing you suffer,” he said. Charlotte’s smile faded at hearing that. Gambit never threatened unless he was willing to back it up.

“Anata wa joseidakara watashi wa kantan ni ikanai,” Gambit said in Japanese and Serena saw Charlotte’s throat swallow convulsively at his words. She didn’t know what he said but his words were as if he were drawing a sword from its scabbard right then. Gambit knew several languages with very little accent but only rarely used any others but his French creole or english around others. The shocked look on Serena’s face made him grin. ‘There is much for you to learn about me and so little time’ He thought. ‘I know you’d never let me go if you knew we may never see one another again’ he added in his head.

“I’ll be back soon cherie mwen,” Gambit said and he took a step back as if he were not going to kiss her goodbye.

Serena blinked in surprise when she heard Gambit speak in Japanese. He had never mentioned to her knowing that language and she knew then that there was much about Gambit that she did not know. Hopefully, he would begin to share these things with her now. She didn't know what Gambit said, but she could see that it made Charlotte very uncomfortable.

Serena hated that she couldn't go with Gambit, but she had promised that she would remain here and so she would do as she had promised. She just hoped that he would be safe. As he started to back away from her she realized he wasn't going to kiss her. She grabbed his hand to stop him and then stepped up and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. In that one kiss she poured all of the love and passion she felt for him. There would be no doubts in his mind of her feelings for him.

“Alright, Belor said and took her glass from her and set his and the one he took from her down onto the table. He turned back toward her then reached for her right hand. He saw her recoil and he snatched it from where she held it and then shifted it down so that her palm rested on his hardness. Belor was quite the large man, larger than anyone she had ever been with before. He pulled his hand away from hers and then shifted it to turn up her face. He could see unshed tears in her eyes and knew she wasn’t doing this willingly. For some reason, he could not be certain why this...bothered him.

Belor was not really a moral man. He had women, beautiful women, bonded to him as property. They accepted their fate, never able to pay back what they or their family or their house owed. Belor accepted all kinds of trade but he liked women more than most anything else. He reached and took her right breast into his hand and saw the anguish in her eyes. He leaned forward and planted his lips onto hers and though she accepted his tongue she did not kiss him back and he tasted the saltiness from her tears. He felt her hand grab him harder but then he just shoved her hand away and straightened and forced her to look up at him.

“I could be helpful to Gambit or a serious hindrance. You think about that when I call for you again. Now go!” He said and pointed toward the door. He would not take a woman that did not accept him freely.