Phantasia
Chapter One: Strange Occurrences
A sudden chill ran down Maribell's spine. She glanced around, her dark red hair falling over one shoulder as she did. Her chocolate eyes sparkled fearfully in the dim light of the basement, the light bulb flickering on and off. A gasp slipped through her lips as a hand clamped onto her shoulder.
"Found you." A husky voice teased.
A squeal sounded from Maribell's figure, and she snapped around to meet the pale blue eyes of her capture.
"Grandpa! Don't scare me like that!" She whined, like many 8 year olds did.
Jacques Sauniere chuckled light heartedly," Sophie was tired of looking for you. She asked me to come look for you."
Maribell pouted, "Why does Sophie always have to be so lazy?"
"Dear Maribell, your sister is not lazy; she is busy working on her puzzles. You know how much she likes to figure things out."
Maribell's attitude drooped," Sophie was always the smarter one…"
Jacques' eyes softened and he put an arm around Maribell's shoulders," Mari, Sophie is just good at solving puzzles and equations. Your talents lie elsewhere. Besides, she is four years older then you. You still have time; why not explore a couple of things, hm?"
Maribell looked up at her grandpa with eyes brimming with hope," You really think so Grand-pere'? Will you help me?"
The old man smiled," Of course pêche (peach). But first, let's go eat some dinner and then we'll find your special talent."
Maribell smiled, showing off her missing two front teeth," Oui!"
20 Years Later
28 year old Maribell bowed on stage, her emerald colored skin shining in the spot lights above her. Next to her, her best friend Adriana smiled and bowed as well, her golden curls gracefully slipping over her shoulders. Behind them, the rest of the cast of the musical Torve (Wicked in English) bowed along with them. The 1000+ people in the audience cheered and whooped as they began to stand up, a couple of them even cried 'Encore!'. Maribell and Adriana smiled at each other, waving to the audience as they backed away into the silence of backstage. Maribell sighed," Well Ari, another successful performance. That was our, what, seventh one this week?"
Adriana chuckled," I've lost count. Ettiene (Ee-ti-en) and I are going out for dinner tonight, would you like to come?"
" I'd love to-"A sudden string of beeps signaled that Maribell's phone was ringing from her dressing room.
' Maybe it's Grand-pere'!' Maribell thought excitedly, and dashed into her dressing room. Adriana followed in with a knowing smile on her face. Maribell quickly scanned the room, finding that she couldn't see the cell phone through the clutter on her dressing room table. She sighed, and listened for the beeps.
Beep beep beep
Maribell dug through the right side of her table, and quickly picked up the small, black cell that she had gotten on her last trip to the United States.
She flipped it open," Allo?"
" Maribell? Hey, it's Sophie." Her sister's soft voice penetrated her eardrums. Sophie's voice hadn't been this soft since the time their family had died. Luckily, Maribell had been at Jacques' house, visiting.
"Sophie… What's wrong?" Maribell asked softly in return, shooing Adriana out the door and closing it.
"Mari… Grand-pere' is dead. He was murdered. Maybe, an hour or two ago…"
Maribell was silent, her brain almost not able to contemplate the fact that her grandfather, the one who had practically raised her, was now dead, or worse, murdered.
"Mari? Maribell, say something, please." Sophie begged. Sophie might have barged in on Jacques during Hieros Gamos, but she would not reveal that kind of thing to her younger sister, thus, Maribell still loved their grandfather.
"Grand-pere' is… il est mort?"
"Oui. Maribell, I know that it's sudden, but I need your help with something."
"… Alright." Maribell's voice was hollow. Sophie's heart went out to her little sister. She knew that that meant that Maribell was trying to hold back the onslaught of tears that threatened to fall.
"Can you be at the Louvre in 30 minutes?"
"Oui, what is it Sophie?"
"Dearest Maribell, I fear that our lives may be in danger." Sophie's soft voice become sharp and urgent, something that Maribell wasn't used to. She set her grief aside for the moment, and replied," Continue sister."
"Grand-pere' called me a couple of hours ago, asking to meet with me. I, of course, declined, but then he asked me to call you and ask you if you could go and meet him. I said that I would try to reach you, but you didn't answer your phone."
Maribell's eyebrow's furrowed and her nose scrunched," I was on stage, I couldn't answer my phone."
"I figured. Anyway, I don't know what he was going to tell us, but it seemed pretty urgent. I heard his voice crack more then once."
Maribell opened her mouth to say something, but was quickly cut off by Sophie,"Before you say anything, let me explain. I thought that he was just using the lie to get to see us."
"Lie? What lie?"
"How do you think I found out that we were in danger?"
"Oh…"
"Continuing, I'm on my way to the Louvre right now to see his… body. There is a man there, a Robert Langdon. Somehow, I think he wanted Mr. Langdon and I to meet, you as well."
"Sophie, how are you figuring this? What evidence are you basing this on?"
Maribell could practically hear Sophie smirk as she replied," I saw his dying wish written on the floor in invisible ink. It said,' 13-3-2-21-1-1-8-5, O draconian devil! Oh lame saint! P.S. find a pêche and Robert Langdon."
Maribell's eyes widened," But, why?"
Sophie sighed and Maribell heard her adjust the phone squished between her shoulder and ear," I'm not sure, but I swear that I'm going to find out. Meet me outside of the Louvre in an hour, alright?"
Maribell let out a sigh, long and shaky," Okay."
"Adieu Mari."
"Adieu…"
Sophie hung up.
Maribell fell to her knees, her painted green hands over her green lips. Tears coursed down her cheeks, a choked sob every now and then. She struggled to calm herself down, and quickly got up. She dashed out of her dressing room and into the women's locker room. She took off the black garb and green second skin that covered everything under the black clothing. She quickly turned on the hot water, and jumped into the shower. It stung her body at first, but she relaxed once its soothing effects took hold. The black dye came out of her hair, trailing down her body as it mingled with the green body paint she used to play the main character, Elphaba, the 'Wicked Witch of the West'.
After scrubbing all of the more stubborn body paint off, she got dressed and with a rushed apology to Adriana and Ettiene, swung the car door open, jammed the keys into the ignition of her blue Chevrolet Corvette, and sped off into the night.
A tight knot of apprehension and anxiousness built up in Maribell's stomach as an un-nameable bile dribbled into her throat. Despite the disgusting substance's existence, her mouth felt dry. She took a drink of the water in the cup holder to her left. Her eyes still watered occasionally, and she had to reach up and brush them away on numerous occasions.
On a side note, Maribell never considered herself pretty. Her shoulders were a bit wider then most girls, and during all of elementary, all of them had called her 'Sasquach'. She wasn't the outcast, but she wasn't the most popular young girl. After that, and during the summer of sixth grade, she had filled out a bit, but with puberty comes those little annoyances. Acne and PMS were her main problems, but they both mellowed down when Maribell turned 15. Sophie was already in college, working towards her degrees in code breaking and such. But, there were two things that Sophie could never beat her in: Acting and Soduko. Before each practice, Maribell would take an hour to do a Soduko puzzle. If she finished within her time limit, it would be a good performance. If not, then she would try hard not to let the play flop. Each time she didn't finish the number puzzle, something did go wrong. Someone forgot their lines, something happened to the backdrop, or something as simple as a sprained ankle, but something did always go wrong.
Maribell was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts when she spotted a black Audi stopped to the side of the road. Its parking was oddly obscure, half on the road, half off. She slowed down, squinting to see if there was anyone there. She could just barely make out a silhouette clothed in black kneeling on the grassy bank.
Maribell had always helped people, and she felt horrible to just leave the person there, especially if he was harmed in any way. She drove her car right behind his (she guessed he was a man due to his hulking form) and quickly got out. She cautiously walked over," Hello… monsieur? Are you alright?"
A sudden flash of pale flesh and piercing metallic blue orbs made her gasp.
The man's lips curved into a slight sneer as his eyes narrowed," I'm fine."
" Are you sure? I could call an ambulance if you're hurt…"
The man sighed, and got up. Maribell hadn't expected him to be so tall: probably around 6'3" or 6'4" to her own 5'9".
" You don't have to call anyone mademoiselle, I can take care of myself. I was just praying, but I can understand why you thought that I was in trouble." His deep, masculine tone was the only thing that Maribell was ready for, and even that surprised her.
None the less, she smiled softly, "Well, I'm glad that you're alright, monsieur…"
"… I'd prefer not to reveal my name to strangers." He replied monotonically.
Maribell laughed," Of course, silly me! Would it be alright if I told you my name?"
The man thought for a second, and then responded," If you wish."
" I'm Maribell Neveu, nice to meet you monsieur Mystery Man." She stuck out a hand, flecks of green paint still stuck under her stubble nails. She tended to get nervous and bite her finger nails sometimes, so she didn't even bother trying to make them nice.
The man hesitated for a second, and gingerly took her hand in his, shaking it lightly.
" So, since you're alright, I guess I should go now. Maybe I'll see you later?" She said, patting his Italian marble hand and smiling up at him.
He didn't respond, and simply removed his hand from hers.
" I'll take that as a no." Maribell frowned. She had never met someone so… withdrawn, due to lack of a better word.
" Adieu." She chirped, and began to walk back to the car when-
" Silas."
Her single pierced ears perked, and she turned," Quoi?"
"My name. It's Silas." He answered.
Yet again, a smile crept onto Maribell's face," Adieu Silas, see you later."
He simply nodded, and got into his car, speeding off a second later.
Maribell sighed, letting the blush that had begun to creep up her neck flush her face. It was odd that she felt this way around Silas. Maribell had always fallen for tan guys; she thought that spending time around them would make her own skin seem more alive. But Silas…
He was an odd fellow, that was for sure.