Anita could hear before she could see. She could hear the indistinct murmurs of passing adults, the sound of rickety wheels occasionally jamming, causing a distinct scraping noise, clinking of glass and the occasional beep. The air seemed artificially clean when Anita could smell, the air tainted by cleaning chemicals and other vapours. Her hands scrunched around a thin sheet placed over her, but she felt warm. Her nose felt itchy, and her eyes heavy as she attempted to open them.
At first, she couldn't see, everything was a bright blue, but after blinking it away, she noticed she was staring at a light. She winced and attempted to block it with her hand, but it took much more effort than she anticipated. Everything felt heavy.
She shuffled up to her bed and looked down the sheet, finding a blonde girl asleep. Maria was resting her head on the bed by her legs. Anita scanned the room, taking in the details of what she now recognised to be a hospital. Across, she saw an older woman still asleep in her bed surrounded by curtains to keep her privacy. Anita noticed her little section of the room was also given curtain walls; aside from a yellow flower in a vase sitting on a side table, there wasn't any personality.
Anita grunted as she tried to sit up but felt groggy as everything once again turned dark.
*
Maria opened her eyes and sat up, disturbed by something unknown as she rubbed her eyes. Anita seemed content.
She stood up and stretched. The hospital was rather busy. Nurses bustled around other patients before continuing with another. Maria went to sit back down when Detective Riley, followed quickly by Sam, walked down the hallway of people before standing at the end of Anita's bed.
"Excuse my sudden arrival. I just have a couple of questions for you-" he saw Maria and sighed, "Oh, Miss Stephany, I thought perhaps you were a guardian." He saw the unattended chairs surrounding the little girl.
"Hello Maria," Sam greeted, embracing her like an old friend. At first, Maria didn't recognise her, dressed in a long blue dress and rather girlish accessories, "This is quite the surprise, isn't it?"
"You two have met?" Detective Riley asked.
Sam nodded, "Maria's new to Paris. I met her after school one day. Turned out we had mutual acquaintances like Anita here."
Her Father seemed somewhat exhausted as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'll ask you how you know this little girl later," he said. He looked to Maria, "Do you know where her guardians are?"
Maria gulped, unsure how to answer. Did she mention Raphael? Admit Anita was an orphan? She looked to Sam for support, but she offered the faintest of shrugs.
"Truthfully, I'm not too sure," Maria admitted, "I'm just waiting on them now. I don't want her to wake up by herself."
Her vague statement seemed enough for the Detective, who announced he too would sit by Anita in case she woke up. "I won't formally question her, but you can understand why I will need to."
Maria nodded and slowly sat down, "Of course. They shouldn't be too long, I'm sure."
"Have you contacted them?" he asked.
Maria nodded, "Her family is aware of what's happened."
"Do you have a name? Perhaps I can contact them, perhaps give an escort." He took out his notepad and waited for a response.
Maria hesitated, her lips pressing together before she said, "Umm…"
"This way, sir." Someone parted a curtain, and a nurse gestured to the space. She seemed shocked to see Maria and Detective Riley, "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought this was the little girl from the catacombs?" She looked at a clipboard, "Anita… no last name listed."
Maria nodded, "Yes, this is she."
"Excellent." She gestured again to the bed, "Take all the time you need, sir. I'll be back with a couple of things for you to sign, okay?"
"Mercy, mademoiselle." A young boy approached the bed, his bright red hair brushed back, his golden-brown eyes framed by large, round glasses and dressed in casual attire as if he was a student. Raphael feinted surprise at the trio surrounding the girl. "Mes excuses, mais est-ce qu'il s'est passé quelque chose ? Est-ce qu'Anita va bien ?" He held Maria's hands and spoke to her directly, his French accent suddenly stronger, "Maria, has something bad happened to her?"
Maria wasn't sure how to respond. It was Raphael, but he looked different, drastically different to his fedora-wearing persona. "We've had quite the fright, Raphael," she spoke slowly, the slightest indication in his eyes that he approved what she was saying. "But they said she'll recover within the next few days."
"They told me I was able to bring her home." The glee in his eyes bordered on tearful. "I'm so glad she's okay." He walked past Maria and kneeled by Anita, murmuring something calming to her.
Detective Riley blinked, mildly recognising the young man but unable to confidently say anything. "Forgive me, who are you?" he asked.
Raphael sniffed, composing himself as he stood up and held a hand out to him, "My name is Raphael Dane. I'm Anita's older brother." His words were smooth and full of concern, the way he addressed the Detective was as if they had never met. "I haven't been told too much by the nurses. Has something happened?"
Maria noticed the gloved Raphael wore on both hands, pitch black, and saw how he hadn't taken them off to shake the Detective's hand. He had noticed as well. "Detective Riley. This may be a strange request, but could you take off your gloves?" He had held Raphael's hand and examined it.
Sam intercepted, sensing there may be a reason Raphael was wearing the gloves, "Father…"
"No. It's okay, Miss Riley," he assured, "I will take my gloves off for the Detective."
Maria recalled the sword which had sliced through his hands, too deep to hide without gloves or bandages.
Raphael removed one glove, showing off his hand, which aside from a band-aid had no anomalies. "And the other?"
"Father!" Sam hissed, "Don't be rude."
"No. It's fine." Raphael started plucking the fingers off his other gloved hand, "However, I don't know why you must know." When the glove came off, it was heavily bandaged.
"What did you do to your hand?" the Detective pried.
Sam resorted to striking her Father. Raphael blushed, as if embarrassed, "It's a bit embarrassing. I burnt my hand making oatmeal yesterday morning. I forgot how hot the handle was when I was washing up." He smirked, "You can imagine how strange it would look if I only wore one glove."
The Detective didn't seem convinced but nodded, "Quite." He took out his notepad again, "So are you her guardian?"
Raphael nodded, "The closest thing. My Father adopted her a few months ago, and he's out of the country now." He looked down at her and shook his head, "My God, what's happened to you, my dear?"
"Do you have any association with the Phantom of Paris?" the Detective asked.
Raphael chuckled, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Is that what this is about?" He made a half-hearted chuckle. "He's been an estranged family friend on my Father's side. He needed a place to stay while he was in Paris, and being as silly as I was, I gave him a room." Raphael sighed as he ran a hand through Anita's hair, "I had no clue you were caught up in all this, Ann…" He mumbled.
"So, you're aware of his activities?" he asked.
Raphael frowned, "I wasn't aware of the extent until recently." He adopted a frightened expression, "I promise you, I wanted to hand him at the moment I found out, but he's family. What would you have done?" Raphael played up his accent in the last sentence, adding to the desperate tone he was displaying.
"So, you've had no clue as to the whereabouts of your little sister?" the Detective didn't sound convinced.
"I'm still a student whilst also working full time. I try to be around, but the truth is she's probably spent more time with that Phantom character." He sighed, "But if you're looking for him, I'm afraid you won't find him."
The Detective raised an eyebrow, "Why?"
"He came charging in late last night, woke up half the neighbourhood, packed his bag and left without a word." Raphael shook his head, "He didn't tell me where he was going."
The Detective hummed something, "Do you have your Father's contact? I may need to validate some things before I can talk to her."
Raphael made a face and shrugged, "You can try. But I haven't been aware of his movements for a while now. His job can sometimes take him everywhere. The last I heard of him, he was perhaps in… Spain, maybe Rome." He asked for the notepad and paper to scribble down a phone number. "This is the last number I had contact with him." He handed it back, "Perhaps look on from there."
The Detective paused as he took in the boy again. Maria didn't feel he was convinced, but he smirked as he took the paper. "For your sake, this better add up, Mr Dane."
Raphael dismissed the name, "Please. Raphael is fine, Monsieur."
"I have other leads to consider first and foremost. Once those are done, I'll be sure to come back to this," the Detective assured, pocketing the paper and pen. "I have other commitments to attend until then." He turned to his daughter, "I'll be in the lobby, Sam."
Sam nodded as her Father returned down the hallway.
"Oh my God…" Raphael collapsed to his knees and tapped his head against the metal bed frame.
Sam gave a sideways smile as she folded her arms. "You know my Father doesn't believe you, right?"
"I would doubt his detective skills more if he wasn't sceptical," Raphael informed. "But unless one of you rat me out, I technically don't have anything to worry about."
"What about the paintings in your attic?" Maria asked.
Raphael paused, "Most of them aren't there anymore. But they're all knock-offs," he informed.
Both the girls chuckled, but it died down as they looked to Anita. "Is she going to be alright?" Sam asked, "Father told me about it on the way over. Just ghastly."
"The nurses said she should be fine. A bit groggy, but fine," Maria informed. She was rubbing her hands together. "I haven't left her side since she got here. She hasn't woken up yet."
Raphael nodded as he remained kneeled beside her, resting his chin on his arms as he simply stared. "I'm allowed to take her home," he informed, "When she's able, that is. I have to sign a couple of things."
"Were you lying?" Sam asked, "About being her older brother?"
Raphael smiled, "It's official enough. I'll be fixing up the little details later, but… yeah, I'm gonna make sure of it."
"Should I question to legality of it all?" Sam asked.
"I've forged my Father's signature before. We're basically the same person at this point," Raphael informed, immediately making a hush gesture at the two of them.
Sam rolled her eyes, throwing her arms in the air, "I'm getting water," she announced, marching away.
Maria swayed for a moment before sitting down in the same chair and dragging it closer to Raphael. "You'll have to teach me those lying techniques," Maria said, her eyes locked on Anita, "That was almost flawless."
"It's full of holes, though," Raphael confessed, "I'll have to clean it up later."
"How long did it take for you to come up with it?"
"Most of the night. I didn't sleep. I made myself wait, so my story made some sense," he explained, taking off his glasses, "It would be strange if I just rocked up an hour after the incident. Who would've told me?"
"I could've."
"That's a whole other can of worms," Raphael informed, "Lies work better when they involve fewer people."
"What about your Father?"
Raphael stayed silent for a moment before stating, "He's not gonna vouch for me, but he won't not. They won't be able to find him, and the most they got on me is that I harboured a fugitive. But the case could be in my favour." His exaggerated French accent returned, "I'm a student who worked full time. I was hardly home." He slowly took Anita's hand and sighed, "I'm going to have to catch her up with a couple of things." He shook his head, "I'm going to take her far away from all this."
The heartfelt moment was followed by silence as Maria reached a hand out and held Raphael's hand that held Anita's. "You're a good person, Raphael," she assured. Raphael smirked as he took her hand and pressed a soft kiss against her knuckles, it felt like an absent gesture, but Maria still blushed. When she attempted to take her hand back, his grip tightened. His expression stiffened as he looked to Anita, refusing to let her go.
Determined to change the subject, Maria picked up the glasses delicately. "So, are these real?" she asked as she held it close to her eyes.
Raphael smirked, "They're prescription reading glasses." He took them back and fitted them on his face, "They're a bit big for me, though." It dripped down his nose, prompting him to push it back up his eyes.
"Are they yours?" The glasses, while they suited him, barely stayed on his face.
"No, they were my Grandfather's." He took them off, blinking several times before placing them on the side table. "I'm convinced he was blind as a bat."
They shared a chuckle.
"Was what you said true?" Raphael asked, "Back in the catacombs."
Maria bit down on her lip and sighed, "Yeah. It's true." She played with her fingers, "Turns out, Addison was the Lost Royal. She did die when we were young. No one told me how or what it was, but… I went to her funeral. I was almost adopted by her parents, was seen with the necklace and… assumed to be the Lost Royal." She dropped her head, clearly saddened. "I never corrected anyone."
"I'm sorry," Raphael said. Despite this, the smallest of smiles crept on his face.
"What?" His smile was contagious.
Raphael's smile broadened as he looked to the ceiling. "Is Maria even your real name?"
Maria made a clicking noise, but before she could respond, Anita rustled, slurring a string of indistinct words. Raphael kneeled closer to her, taking her hands in his. "Anita… I'm here," he assured soothingly. He gently petted her hair as her eyes flickered open; after a moment of unfocused staring, she locked onto Raphael and was overwhelmed with emotion.
"Raphael…" she sobbed.
Maria watched Raphael hold back his own tears as he kissed her on the forehead and rested a hand against her cheek. She attempted to speak, but her words were quiet. It wasn't long before Anita closed her eyes again and fell back asleep.