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Chapters
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
 
 
 

Growing Pains - REVIEW THIS STORY

Written by Missy Red and Kaleidopy
Last updated: 01/02/2007 02:01:11 AM

Chapter 4

Later that evening, Remy was sprawled across his bed reading a comic book. The door opened and Lapin walked in. "Y' got no manners, Bug Bunny? Y' ever heard of knockin'?"

"Why should I knock when dis is my room?" Lapin plopped down on the bed. "Got news for y' Cousin, y' an' me are sharin' dis room."

"Oh non, we're not!" Remy dropped his book, rolled off his bed and pointed at the door. "Y' get outta my room b'fore I throw y' out."

Lapin laughed. "Try it, Crevette!"

"Stop callin' me dat." Remy moved to the door, opened it and glared back at his cousin. "Get out!" He screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Non!" Lapin crossed his arms, giggled and repeated. "Crevette."

"Dat's it!" Remy slammed the door, shaking several pictures hanging on the wall.

Downstairs, Therese glanced up the stairs before turning to Henri. "Well?"

"Well, what?" Her brother asked, pretending not to understand what she meant. Another crash from the upstairs bedroom, the third one in less than five minutes caught his attention but only briefly. He returned to the papers he had been reading.

"They're up there fighting. Don't you think you should get up there and stop it." Therese asked. A large thump rocked the house, she yelled. "One of them is going to get hurt and you're just going to let it happen." She walked to the stairs. "If you will not do anything, then I will."

"Soeur, non!" Henri called, making her stop at the bottom of the landing. "Petite frère's learnin' a valuable lesson he won' soon forget." Therese stood listening, waiting for him to continue. "Remy has pushed de wrong person too far dis time. Lapin's accommodatin' him." Hearing nothing for a few seconds, he smiled. "See it's over already."

Upstairs, Remy , on his back, tried to squirm free. "Get off me!"

Lapin sat on his cousin, pinning both of Remy's wrist to the floor. "Now, dat we've settled who's de boss, I will be nice an' let y' sleep in your own bed."

"Y' ain' stayin' in my room, Bugs Bunny. Y' can go outside an' dig y' up some carrots for all I care. Dis is my room an' you're gettin' out." Remy bit Lapin in the arm, causing his cousin to release him. Once free, Remy shoved Lapin down and ran out of the room.

Lapin ran out into the hallway, finding it now in darkness. "I can still find y' in de dark, Crevette."

Remy watched his cousin's silhouette creeping closer. He waited until Lapin was close enough and he stuck out his foot. His cousin fell to the floor.

Lapin rolled over on his side, "Y' better stop dis now Remy b'fore y' get hurt."

"I'm not de one on de floor." Remy laughed, returning to his room. He grabbed his comic book and started reading.

Lapin returned, grabbed the remote to the television and turned it on. He sat down in the rocking chair and watched cartoons. "Want me to turn it up?"

"I ain' watchin' so why do I care if y' turn it up!" Remy yelled behind his comic book. He peeked over the book to watch the cartoon. In time, Remy slowly dropped the comic, propped himself up on his elbows and started watching television.

Lapin jumped on the bed, joining Remy to watch TV together. Neither spoke to the other until Lapin finally had enough. "Y' wan' to be sociable now, Cousin or are y' still gonna ignor me?"

"Jus' 'member one t'ing, Lapin." Remy looked at his cousin while a commercial was on. "Papa's de leader of de Guild an' dat means dat y' an' Uncle Jacques have to do what he says," Remy touched his chest, "an' since I'm his fils dat makes me, Prince of Thieves, so y' got to do whatever I say."

"I don' care if you're de Prince of Egypt, I can still beat your butt anytime an' anywhere." Lapin eyed his cousin until the next cartoon came on.

Remy made a face at him and then settled back down to watch television. For several hours they watched in silence.

"I'm goin' downstairs an' get somethin' to eat." Lapin announced. "Y' want somethin' or are y' too good to eat wit' your cousin, your Highness?"

"T'erese won' let y' in de kitchen until it's supper time." Remy said, keeping his eyes on the television. "Ruin your appetite, she claims."

"I'm a guest, she'll let me do what I please." Lapin left the room. He returned in three minutes, angrily stomping back to sit in the rocking chair. "She threaten t' spank me if I step one foot in her kitchen."

"Told ya." Remy laughed, "an' Tante, she be worse than mon soeur."

"I'm hungry now!" Lapin rocked in the chair. Letting out a sigh, he looked at Remy and confessed. "I was only kiddin' 'bout takin' over your room. I'm sleepin' in de next room. Jus' wanted to get y' mad so I could fight wit' y'."

"It worked!" Remy admitted, laughing. "Go to de door an' make sure nobody's up here." Remy rolled off the bed and went to his dresser. He waited until Lapin nodded. "Ok, lock de door an' come over here."

Lapin obeyed, joining his cousin as Remy pulled out a false bottom in the last drawer.

Remy pulled out a small backpack and opened it. "Help yourself."

Lapin looked inside the backpack. "Wow! Y' got a gold mine in here. Candy, potato chips, cakes, and cookies." He reached in, grabbed a hand full of goodies and zipped up the bag. "I don' wanna be in your shoes if Tante finds dis."

"Y' not goin' t' tell, are y'?" Remy put the bag away, closed the drawer and went to the door to unlock it. "Sit down b'side de bed, if somebody comes in here, dey can't see y' eatin'."

"Y' not eatin' anythin', how come?"

"Not hungry." Remy returned to his bed and went back to watching television. He didn't want to talk anymore.

"Remy, Uncle Jean doesn' wanna leave y' anymore dan y' want him t' leave." Lapin said. "When Père started goin' on dose trips, I hated it, but after awhile, I got use t' him takin' dem. Trust me lil cousin, y' will too."

"Non, never will." Remy turned his face away to stare at the wall. "Lapin, sorry for givin' y' such a hard time. It's not your fault Papa might have to leave. I keep hopin' dat he will stay home."

Dusk, Jean-Luc and Jacques stood outside talking about the upcoming meeting. "Constance jus' called. Everthin' is ready. De guest list has reached over five hundred members an' you're de guest of honor."

"Total waste of time if y' ask me." Jean-Luc said. "We got enough problems wit' de Assassins to keep my attention for years, an' dat's not even de tip of de ice burg."

"Y' worried 'bout Remy?"

"Oui, very worried. Remy has trouble wit' nightmares." The guild leader admitted. "He's jus' now beginnin' to sleep through de night. He still has dem but not like he use to. I'm afraid de Paris trip will start dem up again. I'm almost tempted to call de trip off."

"Y' do dat Jean, an' Pièrre will have your head. Refusin' to appear at de meetin' will only serve as another weapon for Pièrre to use against y' to take your leadership." Benoit turned to his brother-in-law, the smoke from his pipe filling the air. "I still say y' were wrong not to strip him of his councilship. De man is trouble. De sooner he's gone from our Guild de better I'll sleep at night."

"Pièrre's nothin' more dan a power hungry weasel. I've taken care of his kind for years." Jean-Luc said, looking upwards enjoying the darkening skies. He glanced at the house after hearing a door close. Remy and Lapin rushed out of the house, running towards the tree house. Jean-Luc took a deep breath and called to his son. "Mon petite, I wan' to talk to y'. Papa wants to talk to you."

The little boy stopped running, realizing the source for the upcoming talk. "Papa, you're leavin', aren' y'?"

"Fils, y' know I would never leave unless it was necessary." He walked over and picked up the boy.

"We'll leave y' two alone." Jacques said, guiding his son back to the house.

"Papa, please don' leave." Remy begged, trying hard not to cry. Jean-Luc gave his son a tight hug, allowing the boy a moment of privacy. Remy never cried in public, choosing instead to bottle his emotions. As he rubbed the boy's back, his son shook in his arms.

"Remy, your frère an' soeur will be here. Nobody's abandonin' y'." He gently turned his son's face, wiping the boy's tears away with his fingers. "I need for y' to be strong mon petite."

The boy took a deep breath, tried to smile but sighed instead. "Oui Papa, but I'm goin' to miss you."

"An' I y' petite, but it's only for a week." Remy wrapped his arms around his neck and hugged him. Jean-Luc smiled, satisfied his son had accepted the situation. "Durin' supper, we're goin' to have a family meetin' to set some rules while I'm gone."

Lapin stuck his head out the door, interrupting the private talk. "Supper's ready. T'erese say to eat it now b'fore it gets cold cause she ain' gonna reheat it." He held the door open, allowing the two to enter the house.

Seated next to Remy, Lapin swung his legs under his chair listening to the boring conversation while he enjoyed his spaghetti dinner. If he and Remy had to listen to guild matters, then they should be considered equals, which included the benefits of being treated as adults. A lame joke was shared by Henri and the adults laughed, giving Lapin the chance to speak his mind. "How come me an' Remy have to drink milk an' everybody else gets to drink wine? We're old enough to drink it too."

"Tell me mon fils, when did y' decide dis?" Jacques placed his wine goblet on the table. "Y' b'come a man without your mère an myself knowin' it?"

"I am a man!" Lapin elbowed his cousin, "Ain' we, Remy?"

"Well mon fils, man or non," Jacques said. "y' still goin' to bed at nine."

Everyone at the table laughed, angering the youngest Benoit.

"Nine!" Lapin shouted. His father shot him a threatening glare, he quickly lowered his voice. "I bet Remy doesn' go to bed at nine." He looked at the head of the table, "Isn' dat right, Uncle Jean."

"Oui, Remy's bedtime isn' nine." His uncle answered. Lapin stuck out his chest, grinned back at his father, satisfied he had proven a point. His uncle added, "Mon petite's in bed at eight-thirty an' when school starts it changes to eight."

Lapin's mouth dropped opened, realizing he had just stuck his foot in his mouth.

"Now to get some business out of de way b'cause Remy an' Lapin will be asleep when Jacques an' I leave in de mornin'." Jean-Luc continued. Everyone stopped eating to listen. "Henri's in charge. What he says goes."

"Oh great, he's bossy enough as it is." Therese threw her napkin down beside her plate, turned to Henri and sarcastically saluted him. "Heil! Hitler."

"T'erese!"

"It was a joke, Henri, sheesh!" She playfully hit her older brother in the shoulder. "You have no sense of humor, Big brother."

"Sure I do!" Henri raised his goblet, toasting his sister. "Want to see somethin' real funny, T'erese? Look in de mirror."

"B'fore I was interrupted," Jean-Luc continued, clearing his throat. "De Assassins are still swearin' revenge for dat death last week. Henri, de guild stays on high alert an' jus' to be on de safe side, de boys are not to leave de property."

The announcement caused a major uproar from the two ten year olds. The mutiny was quickly silenced by their father's threatening glares. "T'erese, y' let Remy out of his studies dis week. Let de boy enjoy himself."

Therese glanced at her younger brother, who made a face at her. "Enjoy yourself little brother, because next week you'll have tons of lessons to make up for your little vacation."

"Papa, she can't do dat, can she?" Remy asked his father.

"I t'ink she jus' did." Jean-Luc patted the boy on the head. "Petite, I'll bring y' an' Lapin somethin' back wit' me if y' two b'have." Two sets of eyes looked at him, he held up a finger, warning them. "I'll be phonin' de house daily, any word from T'erese an' Henri dat you're causin' dem any problems, I'll come back home an' deal wit' y' myself."

"We'll b'have," Remy answered before he took a bite out of his French bread, "Dey won't even know we're here."

 

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