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The first Thing Erik noticed was the dress. The second was that he had apparently forgot how to breathe.
Rogue stood t the top of the palace saircase, one gloved hand resting on the bannister as she surveyed the ballroom below. Her gown was a rich, brilliant red, the fabric hugging her figure before cascading into a flowing skirt that swept elegantly across the marble floor. Her white-streaked hair had been pinned up, with the soft curls framing her face, and the diamonds at her throat caught the chandelier light whensoever she moved.
She looked like se belonged in a painting.
And Erik, King of Genosha, Master of Magnetism, and the most powerful mutant in the world could do nothing but stare.
I’ve never seen you looking so lovely as you did tonight.
The thoughts came unasked, followed by a strange ache in his chest.
H had seen Rogue in battle, her fists raised and her eyes blazing with righteous fury. He had seen her laughing with friends scowling at his political decisions, and standing defiantly before him when she disagreed with his vision for mutantkind.
But he had never seen her like this. Or maybe he had, in some distant memory that this altered world had stolen from him.
“Magnus you’re staring.” Charles murmured beside him.
“I am observing the proceedings.” That was his response, using it as an excuse so Charles my not have to hear the cockiness in his old friend’s voice.
“Of course.” Charles followed his gaze toward the staircase and smiled knowingly. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”
Erik said nothing, did not trust himself to.
I’ve never seen you shine so bright.
Rogue walked down the staircase, smiling as several guests approached her. She accepted their compliments with easy grace, her laughter carrying across the ballroom. When she reached the floor, a young diplomat bowed and offered his hand.
She accepted his hand and Erik’s jaw tightened.
The orchestra began a what’s and Rogue was swept into the crowd. It seemed that every eligible bachelor in Genosha had suddenly discovered an urgent need to dance with her. One after another, they approached her, bowing, smiling, and offering their hands.
She danced with a senator, then a visiting ambassador, then a young aristocrat who looked as though he might just faint from the honor.
Erik watched with piercing eyes from beside a marble column, holding a glass of champagne he had barely touched.
I’ve never seen so many men ask you if you wanted to dance.
He could hardly blame them. Rogue was radiant and her smile had a way of making a person feel as though the entire room had disappeared.
Still, he found himself wishing the entire room would disappear, only leaving the two of them here.
They’re looking for a little romance, given half a chance.
A particular had some man leaned close to whisper something into Rogue’s ear, making whatever he said to her laugh and placing a hand against his shoulder.
The stem of Erik’ champagne glass bent slightly between his fingers.
“Careful. That glass is expensive.” Charles remained when he noticed the glass bending out of its usual shape.
“I tail to see your point, Charles.” He said, releasing his tight grip on the glass
Charles raised a brow at him, tilting his head some. He knew when Magnus was interested in something and chooses to ignore it. “My point is that if you continue glaring at every man who approaches her, someone is going to notice.”
“I am the king. People notice everything I do.”
“Yes. Which makes your behavior all the more entertaining.” He chuckled until he took a sip of the champagne
Erik turned his head to him with a sneering look, glaring when he noticed the smile on Charles’s face.
Across the ballroom, Rogue finished her dance. Her partner bowed over her hand and she thanked him before turning toward the refreshment table. For a while she stood there alone and Erik seized his opportunity.
Keeping his eyes entirely focused not Rogue, Erik shoved the champagne glass towards Charles’s chest, who blinked and ignored his smirk when he made his way towards her.
“Rogue.” He called out her name softly, a tone he thought incapable of.
Hearing her name, she turned around and noticed who was a standing behind her. Immediately, her face brightened at the sight of him. “Hello, Your Majesty.”
“May I have this dance?”
Her eyebrows rose. “Well, ain’t that somethin’. The king himself asking me for a dance.”
“I was under the impression that you were accepting invitations.”
“Oh, Ah am.” Her smile grew mischievous. “But Ah didn’t know you were interested in dancin’, sugar.”
“I have many talents.”
Rogue snorted at that. “Humility ain’t one of ‘em.”
Typically, he would have scoffed or responded with a snide. But because this came from Rogue herself, he harbored no hard feelings. Instead, he provided her the gentlest of smiles he rarely showed to others.
“Will you still dance with me nevertheless?” He asked, offering his hand to her.
Rogue looked down at his hand, the very same that have crushed enemies and radiate tremendous power. But tonight, it was warm and welcoming. The young woman looked up at the older man and grinned as she placed hers in it. “Ah can’t say no to the king.”
As erik led her onto the dance floor, the orchestra began a slower melody. His hand settled at her waist and Rogue rested hers upon his broad shoulder. They fell into the rhythm with surprising ease. For a moment, Erik forgot about the watching court. He forgot about the crown, the council, and the ould Wanda had created around them. He simply looked at Rogue, loosing himself into her green eyes.
And I have never seen that dress you’re wearing.
“What’s that look for?” She asked him.
“What look?”
“That one.” She gestured vaguely toward his face. “Like you’re tryin’ t solve some great mystery.”
“Perhaps I am.”
“And am Ah the mystery?” She smirked, taking joy in teasing the man before her.
And Erik noticed, unbothered, and calm as he faintly smiled down at the beautiful woman in his arms. “Undoubtedly.”
She laughed and he felt the sound settle somewhere deep inside him. It was the kind he had not felt in so many years.
Or the highlights in your hair that catch your eyes.
The chandelier light shined against the white streaks in her hair. Erik watched it twinkled as she turned beneath his arm, th red of her gown swirling around them.
He had always admired her beauty, but tonight he found himself noticing things he had overlooked before: the delicate curve of her smile, the little crease between her brows when she was curious, the warmth in her yes when sh laughed.
Maybe it was the dress. Maybe it was the music. Or maybe he was finally seeing her clearly.
I have been blind.
The realization hurt more than he expected.
In another life, he had known Rogue intimately. He remebered her courage, her compassion, and the fierce independence that he drawn him to her. He remembered the impossible choices they had faced, the tenderness they had shared, and the love that had existed between them despite everything standing in its way.
But this Rogue had none of those memories. To her, he was a king. A formidable man. A poltical figure. Maybe even a friend. Nothing more. And he was beginning to understand just how much he had lost.
The music softened and Rogue steppe closer.
The lady in red.
She looked up at him with a smile that made the rest of the ballroom seem impossibly distant.
Erik estimated until he gently drew her closer. Rogue did not resist. Instead, she placed her cheek against his, her hand settling more comfortably on his shoulder.
Is dancing with me, cheek to cheek.
Of one breathtaking moment, it felt as thought they had done this a thousand times before. Perhaps they had.
Somewhere beyond the strange reality of House of M, beyond the memories Wanda had rewritten and the lives she had rearranged, there was a woman who knew exactly how it felt to be held by him. And somewhere with Erik, that memory remained.
“Erik?” Rogue whispered.
He closed his eyes briefly at the sound of his name on her lips. “Yes, my dear?”
“You’re awfully quiet.”
“It’s because I am enjoying the dance.”
“Well, that’s a first. Ah figured you’d spend the whole time tellin’ me how the council ought to be run.”
“I can discuss the council if yo prefer.”
“Don’t you dare.”
He chuckled at her response and Rogue laughed agaisnt his cheek.
There’s nobody here. It’s just you and me.
The ballroom had not actually emptied. The orchestra continued playing and the guests still watched from the edges of the floor.
But Erik barely noticed. There was only Rogue, her hand in his, the warmth of her cheek against his, and the faint scent o roses that followed her wherever she went.
It’s where I want to be.
For the first time in a very long time, Erik did not wish to be anywhere else. Not on a throne. Not at the head of a council. Not in a world where every mutant bowed to his name.
It was here. With her, even if she could never remember why.
When the music came to an end, neither one of them moved immediately. Rogue lifted her head and her eyes searched his face.
You know, Ah don’t think Ah’ve ever seen you look a t anybody the way you look at me.”
Erik heart stumbled upon hearing this from her. Could there be a glimmer of hope that she might remember?
“Have you not?”
“Not really.” She tilted her head. “It’s almost like you know me.”
He looked at her for a long moment. “I wish I could explain it.”
“Then try to explain it to me.”
If only it were that simple.
How could he tell her that he remembered a life she had never lived? That somewhere, in another version of their story, she had been the woman he wanted beside him when the world grew dark? That he had once held her close and wondered whether loving her might finally teach him how to be a better man? How could he tell her that he was falling in love with her all over again?
Instead, he lifted her gloved hand and pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles. “Perhaps I see some thing in you that I have spent a lifetime searching for.”
Rogue’s teasing smile faded into something softer, something familiar. “Oh, Erik.”
He had never heard his name sound so tender. At first, he thought she might lean closer, that she felt the same inexplicable pull he did, some invisible thread connecting two people whose memories no longer matched.
Unfortunately, the orchestra began another waltz and the spell broke.
Rogue smiled and stepped back. “Thank you for the dance, sugah.”
Erik wanted to throw a metal boulder at the orchestra for ruining the moment. Instead, he controlled himself from such temptation and focused solely on her. “The pleasure was mine.”
She started to head towards the refreshment table, then glanced over her shoulder. “Save me another one, will ya?”
Erik stared after her. Then, slowly, he smiled.
Later that evening, long after the gala had ended, Erik stood alone in his study, looking out over Genosha’s moonlit garden.
He could still se her in his mind: the red gown, the white streak in her auburn hair, the way she had laughed when he teased her. Everything about her was so natural.
But I hardly know this beauty by my side.
The thought was both cruel and true. He had danced with her and felt the echo of a love that neither time nor Wanda’s a let red reality had managed to erase.
Yet he hardly knew this version of her at all. He did not know what made her smile hen she was alone, what dreams kept her awake at night or what she hoped to find in a world that had given her so much and asked so little of her in return.
He wanted to know. Not because he remembered loving her. But because, standing in that ballroom, he had begun to love her again.
Erik reached for the small glass of cognac on his desk and raised it toward the moonlit window.
I’ll never forget the way you look tonight.
He spoke the words aloud, his voice barely above a whisper. And for the first time since Wanda remade the world, Erik Lehnsherr found his men wishing for some thing he could not command, conquer, or bend to his will.
A chance to make new memories with the woman in red.