- Part I ~ Chrysanthème -
-Chapter I-
Raphael awoke with a start.
It took him a while to process where he was. He recognized the ceiling and the walls of his room. That was a relief.
Still doubtful, he made sure Marie's gift was no longer in his pocket. He let out a sigh of relief.
He remembered a car speeding past him last night. After he staggered home and went to bed, he must have dreamed the car hit him. That was all. Nothing to worry about.
Another sigh escaped his lips.
Fondue padded into the room. He sat down and looked up at Raphael, wondering what had spooked his master. But Fondue's pensiveness vanished when Raphael patted his head. Then he glanced at Raphael's clothes, still soaked from yesterday. He swiveled his ears when Raphael sneezed.
"Ugh… Think I've caught cold," Raphael coughed. Of course, the canine couldn't comprehend what he'd said.
Fondue followed him into the living room. He saw Raphael's face turn pale at the sight of the flower bouquet on the kitchen table, in a vase. The flowers smelled sublime, but Fondue couldn't see how they were beautiful. (He didn't have the same colour-vision as Raphael!) What did he know about the meaning of flowers? Humans used flowers for special occasions… but not dogs!
Fearfully, Raphael approached the bouquet. It was as if he'd seen a ghost. If only this was the case, he might be less afraid.
He grabbed the black vase and noticed a label hanging out.
There was a message written on it.
Neat handwriting, Raphael thought. Maybe it belonged to a girl or a woman. No man he knew wrote like this.
'TO THE ONE WHO DOES NOT KNOW THE TRUE MEANING OF THESE FLOWERS.'
This had to be someone's idea of a bad joke. He released a nervous laugh. He hurled the flowers in the kitchen trash. He also considered throwing out the vase, but thought better of it. He just added the label to the garbage.
Fondue kept giving Raphael a blank look. He yawned, and let it become a little squeak by closing his mouth. This caught the boy 's attention.
"Oh, sorry, Fondue. I was just thinking…"
He came to stroke his head again, and imagined that if Fondue was a cat, he would have purred.
Raphael sighed. The rain was lashing down again. It had been like this for several days, and from the sound of the weather forecast, things wouldn't improve anytime soon. He went to have a shower, hoping the hot water would help clear his head.
There was a knock at the front door. Automatically entering watchdog mode, Fondue barked. Raphael hushed him quickly. His hair still dripping wet, Raphael opened the door. He blinked at his visitor.
"Hi, Raphael!" Marie beamed. "I hope you don't mind me turning up so early."
He smiled back and invited her in before disappearing to dry his hair. "Sorry— give me just a sec…"
Marie nodded. She waited patiently while her friend finished getting ready, visualizing how their day would play out. The two of them were going to spend time together in the city. In a certain sense, you could call it a date. Mary blushed at the mere fancy— her first date.
Fondue pulled her from her thoughts. He groaned, rubbing the trash can lid in Raphael's kitchen. Intrigued, Marie lifted the lid, and was surprised to find a bunch of flowers in there. Then, she noticed the vase on the table. Fondue barked as if the flowers bothered him. Marie hurried to close the trash can and pretended not to have seen anything when Raphael returned. Many questions arose in her mind. Why was there a bouquet of fresh flowers? Why had it been thrown away? Had Raphael bought it, or had it been given to him? By who…? Could Raphael be interested in another girl?
No, Marie thought. It didn't make any sense. She was getting ahead of herself.
"Everything okay, Marie? "
She smiled and nodded. Everything was fine.
He took her hand. "Then shall we go?"
They had coffee in town on a very pleasant terrace Mary had never visited before. The rain had finally stopped. They continued their conversation from the day before (or rather, earlier this morning) around pastries and hot drinks: a coffee for him and a Viennese hot chocolate for her.
They talked about so many things. Raphael listened as she informed him of what had happened in the year he had been away. It was more of a monologue from Marie than a full conversation, though Raphael added the odd remark.
Several times, she asked him where he had been for nearly a year. But with each attempt, Raphael scowled and changed the subject. She finally gave up on the idea of learning more.
Raphael licked a bit of whipped cream in his spoon. He sipped his coffee and looked around the terrace.
People bustled by, too busy to watch where they were going. Some lingered on the sidewalk a few meters from Raphael and Marie. Some walked on the other side of the road. In addition, they saw a small park where children were playing under the supervision of parents.
"Hey, Marie, do you have any exams?" Raphael piped up. "It's that time of year, right?"
She looked at him in astonishment.
Raphael pressed, "Don't you have to pass the baccalaureate? You're eighteen now…"
Mary stifled an amused laugh."I never told you? I was moved up a year in school, so I finished my last year at the same time as you. "
Raphael laughed in turn, amused by his own stupidity. "That's right. You never told me before…" He took another drink, looking towards the crowd.
Marie gazed at Raphael over the rim of her cup. She found him different compared to the memories she had of him. He seemed… mellow. More serious than before.
"Josette harassed me before I left this morning," Marie said, smiling. "She wanted to come with me."
"You're like a sister to her," he said without looking away from the road.
"Yes, that's right. "
Silence fell over them again, heavy and awkward. Marie glanced around the terrace. Raphael kept staring in vain.
There was no doubt, Raphael had changed over the past year.
A waitress came to bring them the bill, placing it on the table with a small vase containing a flower. Much to her embarrassment, Marie realized that it was the same type of flower she had found in Raphael's kitchen.
The latter, seeing the said flower, went white. He stuttered out a protest, but waitress didn't even react.
"Is something wrong?" Mary inquired, concerned for her friend.
"No, it's nothing," Raphael said, though his voice lacked conviction.
She saw him shiver. Fondue let out a whine from under the table.
Raphael stood up, went to pay the bill, and insisted it was time for them to go. Marie traipsed after him, leaving the flower behind her.
"I'm sorry... about everything. I'm a little stressed today," Raphael admitted as they entered the park across the road.
"You were fine earlier," replied the blonde teenager. "Did something happen?"
He cast a worried glance around them. Then, he muttered, "This might sound strange, but—"
A cry rang out. It was a female voice, one that seemed familiar to Raphael's ears. He, Fondue and Marie rushed to the source of the cry.
The dry earth had turned into mud, footprints and as they rushed past hedges. The wind rose, shaking the branches of trees and dispersing any rain left on the leaves. Some of the water caught on Marie's hair and Raphael's glasses. Neither of them noticed as they ran down a path leading to a small clearing. The cry had come from here… but no one else was around. All they could see were footprints in the mud.
Marie dropped onto a bench.
"I've heard that voice before," said Raphael.
"Does it have anything to do with you and..." began Marie, before she trailed off.
Raphael finished her sentence. "Me and Napoleon?"
Marie nodded. "And your father, Isaac. "
Raphael didn't react to the sound of his name. He simply sat beside her on the bench and lifted his head to the fluffy clouds above.
Yes, his father. He was the one who had triggered all of the events with the Dragon Crown, more or less directly. His disappearance had led Raphael to create his Phantom R persona and to steal the Bracelet of Tiamat. The same night, Raphael had met Marie. They were both key players in this story. There was also Napoleon, who had proved to be an impostor named Leonard Bonar, the Duchess Elizabeth— Marie's mother— and Jean-François, Elizabeth's power-hungry cousin. He had wanted to use Mary to access the lost treasure of Babylon. Traces of the ancient empire had been left in Paris.
All of those memories came flooding back to Raphael. His heart hammered when he recalled Marie's smile during their first meeting. They'd had some close shaves back then, like when Jean-François shot him and their escape from the collapsing Hanging Gardens of Babylon…
Marie's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Did you ever find your father?"
"No…"
When he and Marie parted, he said he would find his father and finally get to the bottom of this mystery. But Raphael had failed.
"I think I've lost him for good."
Marie turned to him, took his hand and smiled, her eyes sparkling blue.
"But you've managed without him for all these years, and even though you couldn't find him, you came back to see us." She paused. "You came back to me."
She leaned in and gently pressed her lips to his. Raphael kissed her back. She wrapped her arms around him. His thoughts were filled with nothing but Marie. She had been waiting for a year, but she welcomed him back with open arms. And he knew she still loved him, even after twelve months of separation. Just like he still loved her.
She freed herself from their embrace and moved back a bit. Once again, the sky had gone cloudy and grey. Soon, a light drizzle began to fall.
Marie shivered. Now she regretted just wearing a summer dress.
Raphael took off his jacket and put it on her shoulders, even though it wouldn't keep her completely dry.
"Raphael?"
"Yes?"
"I love you."
"I love you too. "
He smiled and they embraced again.
They stayed like that, entwined, sharing a long passionate kiss.
