Chap 15: Hidden Treasures
Logan said a silent thanks to the Gods for answering his prayer as they finished their kiss. Breathless, both Logan and Ororo leaned back, their eyes picking up where their lips left off.
“So was that yes an answer to my first or second question?”
“Both,” she said simply, leaning over and kissing him again.
As Ororo leaned back against her chair, Logan reached out and took her hand, pulling her back to him.
“‘Ro, I don’t want to lose you again,” Logan said plainly, holding her face near his so he could look deeply in her eyes.
“Logan, let’s not make promises neither of us can keep. Let’s just take it a day and a moment at a time and see where it takes us, okay?” she suggested before kissing him and taking his hand in hers as she stood.
Looking up at her with questioning eyes, Ororo smiled, trying to reassure him.
“I have an errand to run. I won’t be long,” she told him just as the doors slid open and Jubilee, Dazzler, and Bobby rushed in, all of them talking at once, “And it seems that you have visitors.” Bending over to kiss him again, Ororo whispered her goodbye. Standing, with a wink, Ororo turned and smiled at the kids as they approached.
“Hey guys. Keep him company while I’m away, okay?” she asked as Jubilee moved to take the seat Ororo has just vacated.
“Sure, Storm, no problem,” Iceman said curious about what he had just seen, standing on the other side of Logan. I have to ask the girls if they saw it too, he thought, referring to Ororo’s goodbye kiss.
At the door, Ororo turned to look back at Logan to see him and the kids deep in conversation, smiles all around. Logan, looking up, met her eyes and smiled. Ororo, feeling finally at peace, returned his smile and headed the door, oblivious of the angry glare she was getting from Forge, watching from the lab.
Forge, deciding that the time had finally arrived to confront her, told Hank that he would return shortly. He hurried after Ororo, determined to get some things off his chest.
After a few minutes of searching, Forge decided to follow his instinct and look for her outside. Turning the corner of the garage, Forge was pleased that his gut had lead him right as spied Ororo leaning against her car, the radio playing softly.
“Going for a drive?” he asked casually as he walked up to her.
“Not really,” she said as casually, hiding her surprise at seeing him, “Just waiting for a friend so that we can go take care of something.”
“Sounds like fun,” he said, “There was something that I wanted to talk to you about. Got a sec?”
Looking over her shoulder, Ororo didn’t see any sign of Gambit. So not to seem rude, she decided that she could spare a few minutes.
Turning back to him, she nodded, saying, “Sure. What do you have on your mind?”
“What’s the hell is going on, Ororo?” he asked, his anger bursting through.
“Excuse me,” Ororo replied shocked and taken off guard by his outburst.
“Don’t try to play innocent with me. How dare you disrespect what we had?”
“Forge, you are not making sense.”
“Don’t play dumb, Ororo. You know what the hell I’m talking about. Not a day after you break up with me, you’re all over that savage beast,” he said, his anger building at the thought of Logan touching Ororo.
“There is no need for name calling, Forge. When we talked, I explained why I felt the need to end our relationship. I was not being true to myself and I certainly wasn’t being fair to you. So instead of pretending to love you, I decided to pursue a relationship with the person I was in love with. I am only trying to be true to myself,” Ororo said, trying to appeal to his rational side.
“You just don’t get it, do you?” he said, his voice an angry whisper, turning away from her and thinking of their relationship.
“I loved you. From the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew that you and I would be together. And we were and it was a beautiful thing,” he said smiling, remembering the good times they shared. That memory was quickly replaced by the vision of Ororo and Logan kissing at his bed side, awakening his anger once again.
Turning back to face her, he continued angrily, “But you could not stop loving a man who broke your heart, Ororo. A man who wasn’t man enough to give you back the love you gave him. I tried to mend your heart by giving you the love that you were looking for. I guess it wasn’t enough.” Forge looked away, fighting hard to keep his control over his feelings.
“I love you, Ororo, with all my heart. He’s doesn’t deserve you. I do,” he said simply.
“Forge, I understand that you are hurt, but I need you to understand why I did what I did,” Ororo told him, feeling like a broken record, “Forge, I loved you enough to let you go so that you could have the opportunity to find someone to give you the love you desired, the love you were not getting from me.”
“Don’t make it seem like you were doing me a favor,” he said nastily, “Call it what it truly was, an opportunity for you to get in touch with your savage side. You didn’t care about me. You didn’t even care enough to not flaunt your affair with him in front of me, knowing I was in the room.”
“First of all, it is not an affair because you and I are no longer in a relationship,” she said angrily, getting tired of the conversation, her eyes flashing.
“Forge, I can not talk to you when you are like this. Regardless of what I say to you right now is not going to help you come to terms with any of this. So let’s agree to disagree and end the conversation before one of us says something that we will regret later,” Ororo told him, turning to walk away.
“I’m not done talking to you,” Forge said, grabbing Ororo’s arm.
“I wouldn’t do that, mon ami,” Gambit said stepping out of the shadows near the garage door to the outside, a card charging in his hand.
“Gambit, what are you doing here? We’re having a private conversation,” Forge told him angrily, lessening his hold on Ororo’s arm, but not releasing it.
“Didn’t look like it to me, Forge. Gambit tink you can have a conversation without touching de lady, so if you want to keep that hand, I advise you to release her,” Gambit said just as Forge snatched his hand away from Ororo, shaking it painfully.
Gambit, smiled inwardly, knowing that Ororo had taken a more subtle approach.
“We’re not done with this Ororo,” Forge hissed at her angrily, “We will finish this some other time.”
“Yes we are, Forge,” Ororo said simply, as he started to walk away, “What’s done is done.”
Gambit, knowing that the Forge situation is one that Ororo was sensitive about, thought it would be best if they chose another time to look for Rogue’s ring. Just as he was about to open his mouth, Ororo surprised him, saying, “You ready to go?”
“You sure?” he asked, feeling that she needed time to deal with Forge and his angry outburst.
“If you think that Forge’s little tantrum is going to stop us from completing our ‘mission’,” she said, using the quote gesture, “Then think again. I gave you my word that we were doing this today and it shall get done today, regardless of how long it takes.”
Laughing, Gambit knew that though Ororo was not in the best spirits, she would do whatever it took to keep her word. So Forge be damned, he thought as he go into the car and reached over to open the door for his friend, knowing for sure that just as he had “talked” with Wolverine, he would have a “talk” with Forge for what he did to his Stormie. And that, he thought as they pulled out of the garage and headed down the drive to the gate, you can take to the bank.
Ororo didn’t realize that her “regardless of how long it takes” would be prophetic. After getting to the city, they headed to one of the premier jewelry stores. Gambit, not impressed with the selection, suggested another one. Five stores and three hours later, she and Gambit were frustrated.
“Gambit done tink we gonna find Rogue’s ring,” he said with a touch of sadness as they made their way back to her car.
Looking over at her friend, Ororo tried to think of a place that would have something that would have a ring that reflected the combined tastes of both Gambit and Rogue. Deep in thought, Ororo didn’t realize that Gambit had said something to her until he touched her.
“Chere, ya still wit me?” Gambit asked, concern written on his face.
“I’m fine, Gambit. Just racking my brain trying to find a place where…” she trialed off, the name of the store coming to her as she spoke.
“Thank the Goddess,” she exclaimed, starting the car and steering it north, remembering a quaint shop just up the road that carried reasonably priced, exotic and colorful jewelry.
“Chere?”
“I know the perfect place to find Rogue’s ring. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before,” she told him, turning into the parking lot of Hidden Treasures.
On one of Ororo’s few trips to the city, she passed the store and thought that it seemed different and wanted to take a look. Stepping through the doors, Ororo felt as if she had stepped on a ship making its way around the world. The proprietors, a family of anthropologists, archaeologists, travelers, and admirers of other cultures decided that since most people would never get to travel to other countries, they would bring the countries or representations of it to the people.
The store was divided into different show rooms, each representing a different continent. Aborigine art from Australia, Alpaca wool clothing from Peru, Kente cloth from Ghana, Yoruba masks from Nigeria, French cookbooks, compiled and collected from their travels, are just a few of the treasures one would find.
And located right smack in the center was the jewelry case that contained within it semi-precious and precious gemstones, loose and in settings, from across the globe. Rubies, Sapphires, Alexandrites, Chrysoberyls, Emeralds, and Diamonds (whites, pinks, blues, oranges, yellows, and blacks) were just a few, with many more on display, shimmering as the sun hit them whenever the door opened.
Ororo, though she didn’t purchase anything on that first visit, spent a great deal of time exploring the rooms and talking to the staff. As she left the store, she promised herself and the proprietors that when she returned, she would purchase something from their unique collections.
“Ms. Munroe. My dear, you have returned. How are you?” the sales clerk said, extending his hand to Ororo, as the pair made their way over to the jewelry case.
How did he remember my name, Ororo thought since she had only visited the store once and that was many months ago. She smiled as she took his hand and replied, “I’m fine and yourself?”
“I’m doing very well now that you have graced us with your presence again. I am an admirer, searcher and collector of rare and unique treasures and you my dear are one of those treasures,” he said flirtatiously, responding to her silence question, just before he kissed the back of her hand.
“Ahem,” Gambit cleared his throat, drawing the salesman’s attention from Ororo, suddenly feeling protective.
“Oh, my apologies. It just that sometimes when I see a beautiful woman, I forget my manners,” he said, throwing out another compliment.
“My name is Gary Cross,” he said, releasing Ororo’s hand to shake Gambit’s. Gambit only nodded to the salesman, not giving his name.
“Oookaaay,” he said, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen with Gambit’s silent response. Clearing his throat, he put on his salesman smile and asked his favorite question, “So how can I help you?”
Looking over at Gambit, Ororo waited for him to share the reason for their visit. When he didn’t speak, Ororo spoke up. “We’re here to find a ring,” she told him, silently wondering what had gotten into Gambit.
“Oh, so you are getting engaged,” Gary said, a trace of sadness in his voice, “Well I have the perfect ring for you…” he began as he moved toward the left side of the glass case.
“No, I’m sorry I was not clear,” Ororo said, smiling at the thought, “I’m here to help him find a ring for someone else.”
“Very well,” Gary said, giving a prayer of thanks, feeling like he still had a chance with the lovely woman, “We will get to that in a minute. If it’s okay with you, Ms. Munroe, I have a ring I would like to show you. I think it’s a perfect accent to your beauty and it matches your eyes perfectly.”
“I would love to see it,” Ororo said grateful to have a break from Gary’s admiring gaze and constant compliments for a moment. Turning to her friend, she asked, “Gambit, what has gotten into you?”
“Gambit don’t trust him,” he said simply, putting his hands in his pockets.
“Gambit, you’re not the most trustworthy person either but I still trust you,” Ororo said jokingly, hoping to pull her friend out of his funk, “Okay, I feel a little uneasy about this whole interaction but regardless of that, I believe that this the place where we will find Rogue’s ring. So please, let’s just make the best of it and try to find a ring, okay?”
Sensing that Ororo, like him was ready to get back to the mansion, he knew that she wouldn’t head back without helping him find the ring. So I guess I should act like I want to find one, regardless of this fool, fawning over Stormie, Gambit thought, sighing and nodding, letting letting her know that he would give it a try.
“Thanks,” Ororo said, knowing what his smile meant, as Gary approached them again holding a felt covered pillow.
“Milady, the ring of your dreams,” Gary said dramatically bowing, allowing them to see the ring. Curious about it, Ororo and Gambit leaned in to take a closer look. Ororo gasped at the sight of the ring.
“Set in a platinum setting, you have a one carat round cut blue diamond with a half carat diamond on either side,” Gary said holding the ring between his thumb and forefinger, “The story behind the ring is one of the reasons I bought it. It was said that the ring was created as a tribute to a weather goddess by an Ethiopian tribal shaman who lived among a secret society of immortals,” he said smiling into the faces of his captive audience, “It is also said that the symbols engraved in the ring are suppose to bring good luck to the wearer but if worn by the weather goddess, her power would increase exponentially and would never fail her.”
Hearing the tale, a shiver went up Ororo’s spine. She had heard of the fabled ring and it had been in her possession once before. She had embraced the Goddess role that others had titled to her but on the faithfully day she had chosen to go with Professor Xavier, she had left it in the care of the tribal elders. Instead of her going back to retrieve it, the ring had found her.
It can not be the same ring, she thought, as she gazed at its familiar etchings and engravings.
“And where did you find this ring?” Ororo asked, holding her breath, anxiously awaiting his response.
“I picked it up in a South African market place that is notorious for vendors with sob stories and tall tales about the items they sell. I have purchased many things from that market place only to find out later that they were fakes and not the actual artifact,” he said, gazing at the ring intently, “But when I saw this ring and heard the story, I like it so much that I didn’t care if it was a fake. Something about it drew me to it and I thought it was worth the price, even if it may turn out to be a fake.”
Chuckling, breaking out of his reverie, Gary placed the ring back on the felt pillow. “Now, I’m not sure what to believe but like I said, when I saw it, I had to have it. And when I saw you in the store many months ago, your eyes reminded me of it. I wanted to show it to you then but we were so busy so I didn’t get a chance. So I said that I would make sure to show it to you if you ever returned. And you did and so here we are,” Gary said, taking a breath and smiling again at Ororo.
I don’t know what it is about her, Gary thought, hearing her companion clearing his throat again, but I’m just drawn to her and those eyes.
“Oh, I did it again. I’m so sorry,” Gary said to Ororo, shaking his head to clear it, “You didn’t come here to hear me tell you a tall tale and stare, you came to find a ring for someone special.”
Clearing his throat to get his bearing, Gary turned on his salesman persona. Smiling his brillant smile, he clapped his hands.
“Now, my friends, I promise you,” he began as he tucked away the blue diamond ring, “that you have come to the right place to find that special ring. Now tell me…”
For the next thirty minutes, Gary asked Gambit question after question about Rogue and the ring he was looking for. Although Gambit was still weary of the salesman because his actions toward Ororo, Gambit found himself getting caught in the excitement of the moment and even smiling a few times as he nodded and shook his head no at the salesman’s suggestions. After another twenty minutes, Gary pulled out a princess cut emerald diamond ring. The 1 carat emerald was surrounded by an invisible setting of green and white diamonds that encircled the ring. When Gambit saw the ring, a smile stretched wide across his handsome face and he nodded, causing Gary to beam with pleasure.
Ororo, weary of the back and forth, went in search of the item that she would purchase. She found herself in the room dedicated to the treasures from the African continent. Thought she was familiar with many of the artifacts available, a small crude Yoruba figurine depicting a woman with a flowing garment with a lightning bolt in her hand drew her attention. Tickled at the depiction, Ororo knew that she was the inspiration of the object. This will help ease the longing for home, she thought as she picked it up, just as Gambit called out to her, motioning for her to come over.
Looking at her friend as she approached, Ororo could tell by the smile on Gambit’s face that he had finally found the perfect ring for Rogue.
“Its perfect, Gambit,” Ororo said excitedly, as she examined the ring, “Rogue will fall in love with it the instant she sees it.”
“Great, I’ll just clean it and wrap it up. Ms. Munroe, have you also found a hidden treasure?” Gary asked, noticing the figurine in her hand.
“Yes,” Ororo said simply, handing him the figurine. Noticing movement above Gary’s head, Ororo noticed the clock. Oh my Goddess, she thought, we’ve been gone for nearly five hours. He’s probably worried to death by now.
“My treat, ‘chere,” Gambit said, finally saying more than a few words since entering the store, as Gary wrapped the figurine carefully in tissue paper.
“Thanks. I need to step outside to make a quick call. I’ll meet you at the car,” she told Gambit, and he nodded. “Thank you Gary for your time and helping my friend find the perfect ring.”
“No, thank you, Ms. Munroe for bringing us the business. I hope to see you two again soon,” Gary said as he took Ororo’s hand for one last kiss. Nodding politely and gently withdrawing her hand, Ororo headed out the door, pulling her cell from her purse.
Calling the mansion, she hoped that she would be able to reach Logan, but Jubilee came on the line to tell her that Hank was running some tests.
“He should be done soon, Storm. Did you want to wait for him?”
“No, Jubilee. That’s okay. I just wanted to let him know that I was on my way back. If you could give him that message, I would appreciate it,” she told the young mutant.
“Sure Storm. I’ll tell him. See ya when ya get back,” Jubilee replied before signing off.
Ororo got in her car, anxious to get back home. Although she was happy that her friend had found Rogue a ring, she wished it had not taken as long as it did. I guess you can’t rush perfection, she thought as Gambit got into the car, a smile still in place on his handsome face.
“Thanks, Stormie. Gambit knew he could count on you,” he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek as she started the car.
“Just returning the favor,” Ororo replied as she put the car in gear and steered it in the direction of home.
[Reviews - 30]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story |
Has been viewed 2530 times
- Text Size +
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story | Chapter or Story | Chapter or Story | - Text Size +
You must login () to review.
