The White Princess

We Run Around The Rules

Ella awoke to a piercing blue gaze staring at her intensly "Ah, there you are" she heard the blue eyed man say in a hushed tone "Do you dream of your own death often?" he questioned softly "Charles Xavier, I assume" Ella sighed and slowly sat up while she clutched her head "Not often at all, that seems to be the first time" she groaned "My head..." she fell back on the couch her groan growing louder "Here, drink this and calm yourself, I might be able to help" Charles handed her a glass of water and smiled slightly at her "If by help you mean wallow in my 'ead don't bother, I already know why it hurts" she mumbled, sipping the water.

Charles frowned at the girl "Because of the extra mutations?" he asked while she continued to sip from the glass and nod slightly "I can contain them well but they're very hard to control once I let them out of the mental cage" she explained "If they take control for too long, my head starts to hurt and sometimes I go into a fit of vomitting for days"" she sighed and coughed "Where might I be?" she asked quietly, staring at the water in her glass "Some place safe, I assure you" he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder "Erik should be up in a few hours, should we go for a tour while there are no distractions?" Ella looked up at him and nodded, a smiled spreading across her face "Oh please, I've never been in an actual home in so long" she told him.

Ella climbed the stairs of the Xavier estate in awe, she had never been in a home so large before "You grew up here?" Ella threw the question over her shoulder "Yes, I did, along with Raven who you'll meet later" he said, smiling at the girls amazement "You got to spend every day in one place?" she asked in wonder "You're so lucky, I was always moved from place to place, I never had a real home or a room" she told him, leaning over the railing to look down "Don't get me wrong, I loved being with Erik, my father, mother and step father but, I never got to have the real family experience" she sighed dreamily "Being able to come back to the same door, same couch, same bed, same... everything has always been a dream of mine" Charles frowned a bit "Well, I'm sure you won't have to do that after this is all over" he assured her but Ella simply shrugged "We'll never know until it's really over, will we?" Charles' frown deepened "I suppose you're right" he sighed.

Ella heard a bedroom door open to reveal a ginger boy in boxers giving a big yawn "Why am I awake..." he groaned and Charles heard him "Ah! Goodmorning, Sean, I was just giving our new guest a tour" he told Sean who rubbed his eyes "New guest?" he asked tiredly as his eyes began to focus on the petite brunette "Oh! Shit! I mean, Crap! I mean..." he stumbled with his words "What Sean means, Ella, is welcome" Charles said, glaring at the boy for his language "Yeah, sorry" he mumbled and Ella smiled at him "It's nice to meet you, Sean" she stuck her hand out "As you heard, I'm Ella" Sean took her hand and smiled slightly "Right, you're the girl who was taken on the night we were attacked, right?" he asked and Ella nodded slowly as she remembered that night "Well, that's enough chit chat for now, come Ella let's finish our tour" Charles pulled her gently by the arm away from Sean, feeling her discomfort at the mention of the attack "Nice meeting you!" Sean called walking toward the washroom.

Charles eventually led Ella outside to show her the garden but Ella only sat on one of the stone benches surrouding the large fountain "Ella?" Charles stared at her with concerned eyes "Are you alright?" he asked and Ella gave a sad smile "I just need a moment to be real..." she said quietly, watching the water pour from the center piece of the fountain and to the base.

Charles rubbed Ella's back soothingly with a sigh "I can promise you, things shall get better" he told her and Ella gave a sideways glance to look at him "Charles, you really shouldn't promise things like that" she told him and he smiled slightly "Trust me, I know what I'm doing" Ella laughed and gave a nod "I suppose you're right" Charles stood and held his hand out to Ella "Come on, let's see if Erik has awoken" Ella took his hand immediatly after hearing Erik's name and stood to follow him into the house.

Erik had awoken to the sound of running water with a gasp, he had been having nightmares of Ella being drowned by an unseen figure.

At first it was nothing but a nightmare but it had felt more real each time he had it and always awoke in cold sweat and panting.

He dragged his hands down his face and sighed, throwing his feet over the side of the bed and placing them on the cold hardwood flooring.

There was a knock on his door followed by the sound of Charles' voice "Erik?" he called from the other side of the door "May we come in?" Erik's head snapped to look at the door "Is Ella with you?" he asked and heard Charles chuckle as he opened the door to reveal Ella smiling as bright as the sun.

Ella ran and jumped into Erik's arms while she shouted "Erik!" whom caught her and wrapped his arms tightly around her, burying his face in her hair.

Seeing them embrace reminded Charles of a daughter and father seeing one another for the first time in years and it made him smile.