Remy wished he knew what was going on. A few years ago, he had been excommunicated from the Thieves Guild and asked never to return. That had hurt him, but on one level he understood his father's decision. However, he knew his father loved him and on occasion he had returned to New Orleans upon the request of Jean-Luc. This time was a little different though.
Remy wasn't sure why his father had called him. When Remy got on the phone, Jean-Luc had simply said,
"Son, I need you to come here as soon as possible. It's very important."
"Why?" Remy had asked.
"I can' tell you, jus' come."
So, Remy had said okay and was now on a plane, heading back home. He was curious about what was going on, and wished his father had been more specific.
When he arrived at the airport in New Orleans, he was shocked to find Emil and Genard waiting for him. He walked over to them, carrying his bag, and grinned.
"I could have gotten dere on my own, ya know."
"He asked us to come. Didn' say why. He jus' wants us to drop you off at de house an' go somewhere." Genard commented as they walked out of the airport.
"Huh. Interesting. And why is one question he doesn' seem to want to answer." Remy replied.
"Okay, Papa, what's goin' on?" Remy asked, joining his father in the living room of the LeBeau mansion.
Jean-Luc turned from the window and looked at his son. He was dressed in his green and gray Thieves Guild uniform, and the look on his face was solemn and even a little sad. "I asked you to come here for a very important reason, Remy."
"So, what is it?"
"I'm leavin', Remy. De prophecies said dat I have to. Dey also said…I have to leave you in charge. You are le diable blanc, the one who is s'posed to lead a unified guild to de resurrection. I can' leave anyone else in charge. I'm sorry. Good luck."
Remy blinked in astonishment, unable to believe what he had just heard. Was he supposed to be the new patriarch of the Thieves Guild? He didn't want that. He never had wanted it. And here his father was, telling him he didn't have a choice. "Come again?"
Jean-Luc simply smiled at his son and walked out of the room. He knew he couldn't answer Remy's questions, and he wouldn't be able to if he could. Remy was just going to have to figure things out on his own. They all were.
Remy stood there in silence, mouth hanging open, watching his father leave the mansion for the last time. He knew it was the last time, because if it wasn't, what would the point be to making Remy patriarch?
After the door shut behind Jean-Luc, Remy realized he now had to break the news to the other thieves. He remembered what Genard had said earlier, and it occurred to him that the thieves didn't know what was going on with Jean-Luc and the prophecies.
Remy sighed and went to the phone. He dialed a number, knowing he was going to need some help in talking to the thieves.
"Tante Mattie, can you come over here to de mansion? I need your help…"
"Jean-Luc left, didn' he?" Mattie replied.
"Oui…an' now I have to tell de others…"
"I know. I'll be over shortly."
"T'ank you."
Remy stood at the front of the living room. Seated around him, along with Tante Mattie, were the six remaining members of the New Orleans Thieves Guild.
"Where's Jean-Luc?" Theoren demanded. He knew something was going on.
Remy sighed. "Dat's what I've asked you all to come here for. I have to tell you somet'ing. He left."
Mercy's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
"I mean he left, Merce." Remy replied. "He called me, told me to come down here, wouldn' say why; when I got here, he said de prophecies told him he had to leave an' put me in charge, so he did."
"You mean…he's actually gone?" Theoren asked, checking the date on his watch to make sure it wasn't April 1. It wasn't. He sighed.
"Oui. He wouldn' elaborate. When I asked him to, he jus' smiled an' walked out of de house."
"An' he made you de patriarch?" Theoren kept going.
"Yeah…"
Theoren got up from his seat and left the room. Remy wasn't his favorite person and the idea that Remy was now the leader of the Guild didn't sit well with him. Remy sighed again as he watched Theoren leave. He turned to the others.
"You better go after him, Rem." Emil commented quietly. He felt like jumping up and down for joy…he knew that Remy being patriarch meant that Remy would be coming to New Orleans more often than before. And that was a very good thing in Emil's eyes.
"Oui, I will. But b'fore I do…he's obviously upset 'bout dis, an' I can' blame him…but do you guys feel de same way?"
"Well, prob'ly not. He's de only one who lost a loved one b'cause of your powers." Claude commented.
"Claude!" Zoe reprimanded. "That was mean."
"It was, Zoe," Remy said. "But it was also true."
Zoe was flabbergasted. "You mean you're just going to let him say it?"
Remy nodded and shrugged. "Yeah. Why not? Now, I'm gon' go see if I can calm Theo down…"
Theoren was sitting on the back steps of the mansion, staring into the trees in the backyard. Remy joined him, sitting beside him silently.
"I didn' ask for it, you know." He commented quietly.
Theoren snorted derisively. "Den why'd you accept it?"
"I didn' have a choice! He didn' give me one. He jus' said I'm de person who's s'posed to lead de Guild to de resurrection. Dat's it. An' I t'ink he b'lieves in dat too. I mean why else would he do it?"
"You're his son."
It was Remy's turn to snort. "Dat doesn' mean I'm de best person for de job; it doesn' mean I'm de most qualified…"
Theoren looked at Remy finally, his dark eyes thoughtful. "What are you sayin'?"
"I'm sayin'…I'm gon' need your help."
"You need my help?" Theoren was astounded. He hadn't expected this.
"Theo, I can' be here twenty-four-seven. I'm gon' need someone to be in charge when I'm not here. An' when I am…I don' really know how to be de leader of dis Guild. I'm gon' need you to help me out."
"I was your father's second-in-command for a long time, Remy." Theoren stated quietly.
Remy put a hand on his cousin's shoulder. "I know, Theoren. Why do you t'ink I'm askin' you instead of one of de others?"
Theoren smiled. "I never let Jean-Luc down. An' even t'ough I don' like you all dat much, I won' let you down either."
"What'cha t'inkin', Rem?" Emil asked, joining Remy on the back porch after Theoren had gone inside. He stood and leaned on the rail beside where Remy was sitting.
Remy looked up at his cousin. "I'm t'inkin' I've got a big job ahead of me."
"Well oui, you do, but dat don' mean you're not up to de challenge, you know?"
"Am I? Even if de two guilds unify?"
Emil grinned. "Sure. It ain' gon' be easy, but you can do it. We all s'port you, you know? It ain' like you're alone or somet'ing."
"Why?" Remy asked.
Emil frowned and sat down beside Remy, his blue eyes curious. "Why what?"
"After everyt'ing dat's happened, everyt'ing I've done, why do you guys s'port me? Why doesn' Theo or someone try an' take de leadership from me?"
"Two words, cousin. Your father." Emil replied. "Like I said, it ain' gon' be easy, an' chances are dere's gon' be a lot of t'ings standin' in your way, but as far as I know, it ain' gon' be us."
"I sure hope you're right, Red." Remy sighed.
Later that night Remy stood in his bedroom, staring out the window, watching the moon rise over the trees in the backyard. It was really beautiful, he admitted, and wished he had a camera to take a picture of the scene.
"Papa…why…why did you have to do dis to me? What's gon' happen?" Remy whispered. He knew the next few weeks and months were going to be full of trials and tribulations. It was going to be a time of adjustment and reevaluation. He just hope everyone involved was going to be up to the challenges.
And as Remy stared at the moon, he made a vow to himself that he would not fail. He would not let his father down. His Guild, his family was depending on him. He wouldn not let them down either.