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Language:
English
Series:
Part 1 of Tesselation
Stats:
Published:
2019-08-01
Completed:
2019-08-17
Words:
40,969
Chapters:
9/9
Comments:
101
Kudos:
149
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25
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4,685

The Return of She-King

Summary:

“Sometimes you have to stop running from what you were and find out who you are truly meant to be”

She spent years learning, training and preparing herself for what is yet to come.
He spent years hurting, healing and letting go of the past.

The moment they see each other again, one thing becomes clear about them and the bond that keeps bringing them back together: divided by time…united by destiny.

Notes:

For englishmajor226. If it wasn’t for your encouragement, persistence, motivation and guidance, this story would be still gathering dust in the back of my frontal lobe. Thank you for everything.

The title was inspired by the song “Return of the She-King’’ by Dead Can Dance. I don’t know the original meaning behind the “She-King’’ word, but I interpret it as a title that is given to a woman who is strong and passionate, determined and defiant – a leader in her own right, of her own life. I felt it suits Rogue and the way she’s depicted in this story perfectly so, here it is.

The story takes place after the events of “The Wolverine” and is mostly centered on Rogue – her feelings, thoughts and reactions – about her life, her past, her relationships with the people she cares about, and Logan.

This plot is meant to be explored in a much longer fic; not sure if i'd be able to pull through – since this is my first attempt to write Rogan fanfiction – I decided to make an 8 chapter fic first, as a “teaser”, where I pretty much give some basic information about the main characters and the story that takes place. All the details about Rogue’s past and life, about what’s happened to the X Men while Logan was gone and the events that are going to follow, will be analyzed in the longer fic I plan to begin in autumn. This fic also works as a stand-alone – though some things are left pretty vague –, so you may see it as such as well.

Feel free to share your opinion about the story, the characters, what you like, what you don’t, what doesn’t work for you etc. Feedback is always more than welcome.

I have read some incredible fics in the past that had equally amazing soundtrack, posted by the writers. Being inspired by it, I decided to share my motivational music that helped me through the “hit the writer’s wall” times. Enjoy!

PLAYLIST
• Return of the She-king – Dead Can Dance
• The key – Harry Gregson Williams (Total Recall OST)
• Become the beast – Karliene
• White Plains – Two Steps From Hell
• Devil’s backbone – The Civil Wars
• Riding the blues – Snowy White
• The grindhouse blues – Robert Rodriguez (Planet Terror OST)

Chapter 1: Prologue

Chapter Text

She had decided to return to the Mansion some time ago. She stopped for a moment to look at the overwhelming sight of the building rising before her. It wasn’t the same. Nothing was the same. She wasn’t the same.

Rogue had crossed the threshold of the big oak doors for the first time years ago. Struggling to come to terms with her "gift", she soon realized the price she had to pay was much higher than most mutants’.

After she decided to take the cure, "Rogue" no longer existed. For once more she was "Marie". Not the one who was ostracized from her home for being someone – something – she never chose to be in the first place, but the one who had turned her back to her powers for a chance at something she thought she’d never be able to have. The one who was now a "coward" and a"traitor" to her kind and because of that, could no longer stay.

The day she closed the door behind her she was barely 19, leaving a place she once called home for the second time, once more trying to find her place in this world.

A few months later, life came to knock her feet off the ground, reminding her that you can run from yourself, hide from the world, pretend to be someone you ‘re not…but no matter what, you cannot deny nor change who you are underneath. A most important lesson painfully taught and well learned after the cure worn off.

When Marie left the X Mansion she was a young girl; after Logan disappeared without any intention of ever coming back, she had followed, leaving no sign or trace of where she was heading.

Everyone thought she was gone for good as well, though her closest friend – the only friend she had left – hoped otherwise.

Now, years later, a woman resembling only in the slightest way that young girl, was stepping into the grounds of the school. While she was getting closer, the people who knew her recognized her immediately…and not.

The person who once carried the names "Rogue" and "Marie" had returned; "Marie", or "Rogue" as they knew her, had not.

It was so strange. This woman who was coming towards their way seemed like she was crossing the gates for the first time – as if she had never stepped her foot here before. In a way, she hadn’t. Yet, her reappearance after all these years, her resurfacing after all the silence that filled her absence and the rising questions about her whereabouts seemed like a return…the return of someone she had been hiding underneath – under layers of clothes, fear and uncertainty; under all her pain.

The return of a warrior, carrying a sea of souls within.