Disclaimer:
Marvel owns all.I've just invited them over to my house to play.
A/N: This is an AU to any of the cannons, so only the basics are going to be the same. For categorization purposes, I like movieverse best!
I was holding this one off until I got to the "good" part, but then I realized I would be like 5 chapters in and publishing them all at once and I didn't want to do that. However, you do get 2 chapters today!
Thanks
To my beta, FaeMarked, who started Twilight fics but never got around to posting (or finishing, hint hint). Thank you for indulging my resurging X-Men craze!
Prologue
"We were too late, Patriarch. De Thieves took de child before we could acquire him." The masked assassin prostrated himself at Marius Boudreaux's feet.
Rising from his throne deep within the bowels of the Assassin's Guild headquarters, Marius calmly stepped down the dais toward the cowering assassin.
With a gentle voice, he prodded: "Am I t' understand that yo' failure has left me wit' no other avenue t' gain control of both Guilds?" Marius circled behind him, raising his voice to a fervor that matched the swift kick to the man's ribs. "I must now marry my only daughter not only int' that den of Thieves, but also t' that street filth Le Diable Blanc?"
He referred of course to the Thieves' precious "white devil" prophecy: a vessel for the King of the Old Kingdom that would bring back the glory of those ancient times and unite the warring Thieves and Assassins Guilds. With the child in the Thieves' possession, Marius could see no other means than a marriage of convenience to gain power during this unification struggle.
Receiving no further response, Marius signaled for the man to be eliminated. Slowly and painfully. Several other assassins stepped out of the darkened room's shadows to heed their Patriarch's command. The sound of skilled hands flogging defeated flesh filled the room. With his back still turned against the melee, Marius flicked his wrist to finish the failure.
Before the final blow could be delivered, the lone assassin managed to regain enough breath to muster a strangled, "No."
"No?" Marius spun around to appraise him. The Patriarch's word was enough to halt the execution.
"No." Clutching his ribs, the man garnered the strength to rise to his knees. "There was talk at de Antiquary's of a second prophecy."
"Lies! There is no other prophecy." The right price had been paid to the right thief. Marius knew all of the Thieves' secrets. "Everythin' leads t' Le Diable Blanc's reign. An' yo' inadequacy has handed over our Guild wit' no fight!" Marius shouted.
"There is no need t' fight if we can get Le Poison du Diable." With his last ounce of strength, the assassin stood to his full height.
Only the most senior Guild members noticed Marius' momentary hesitation. "An' why should I believe you?"
Looking the Patriarch dead in the eye, the man ruthlessly answered: "The poison's power will be de downfall of Le Diable Blanc."
"If what y' say is true, then I'll have both Guilds an' mon princesse précieux." Marius contemplated as he moved back to his throne.
Thinking the revelation redeemed him, the assassin bowed with a gracious, "Oui, Patriarch."
An eerie silence filled the chamber. As Patriarch, Marius had shown no weakness three months prior when his coveted wife died during Bella Donna's birth. Her beauty had been unmatched, but she was no more than another of his possessions earned literally through the blood of others. Only the children she favored him mattered and she'd fulfilled her purpose five years previous when she'd delivered Marius' heir and son, Julien.
It was no secret that his children were his most precious possessions. Julien had been spoiled since the day he was born. He had been raised to be the next Patriarch of the Assassin's Guild. But since the birth of Le Diable Blanc a few weeks prior, all of Marius' machinations for Julien were obliterated. There had been only one scenario in which Julien could assume his rightful place and that hinged on the Assassins acquiring Le Diable Blanc before the Thieves. Marius could have adopted the demon child as his own, second born to the pureblooded Julien. The Thieves would have had to bow to Assassins rule in order for the prophecy to be fulfilled.
But thanks to the wasted excuse of a man before him, all remaining scenarios stripped Julien of his birthright and instead placed it entirely on Bella Donna's shoulders. With Le Poison du Diable, Marius could still gain the Thieves Guild through Bella Donna's marriage while bequeathing the Assassins Guild to Julien. Le Diable Blanc would unite the Guilds, but it would be Marius' children who actually ruled them. Nowhere in the prophecy was it specified how long the white devil would live after uniting the Guilds. Le Poison du Diable would quickly remove him from the picture.
As he settled on his gilded chair, Marius waved to three other assassins still hidden in the shadows. "Find Le Poison du Diable."
The assassins bowed with a straight back, hands clasped into touching fists and thumbs pressed against their foreheads. It was the ultimate sign of loyalty and respect within the Guild.
Turning his attention back to the disgraced man, Marius said: "Y', on de other hand, have failed me for de last time."
The other assassins encircled the man as he begged for his life. "S'il vous plaît épargnez-moi, mon Patriarche! Je vous en supplie!"
As his dying screams filled the air and his life blood poured through the grated floor, Marius shook his head. "I was wrong. Y' failed me again."
A small boy approached from behind his throne, cradling a swaddled three month old babe. As Marius gently took the sleeping Bella Donna, he turned to his young son to remind him, "No assassin begs!"
(X)
Le Poison du Diable - The Devil's Poison
S'il vous plaît épargnez-moi, mon Patriarche! Je vous en supplie! - Please spare me, Patriarch! I beg you!