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Chapter Text

           “Annnd? What did you say next?”

           “Well, I tried one of your lines… But I think I got it all mixed up.”

           “...What did you say to her, Michel?”

           “Uhh… I dropped my standards today, just for you. I panicked okay!”

           “Oh my God Michel! You can't just say that to a lady! No wonder you can't get a date!”

           The boy let out an agonized wail as he dramatically laid himself across the stacks of toilet roll they had out on display. This was par for the course between the two of them for some time now. And unfortunately for him, she had been the longest date he ever had, that being about a day or so.

           Rafaela was an enthusiastic young lady, bright and cheerful much like the red hair that stopped at her shoulders. Aside from her hair, she preferred to not stick out much in a crowd, hiding her shoulders behind a long blue cardigan. She wore a long beige skirt and a pair of glasses, just a typical student, nothing much to consider.

           Oh, how little they knew.

           As the two ducked to avoid Simon’s piercing gaze, as they were slacking off just a little bit her eyes were drawn to the new front page of the newspaper that day. ‘Phantom R: Next Stop, The Louvre!’ A grim wormed itself across her lips, she just had to get a copy today.

           “She’s insane isn’t she?”

           “Hmm?” She feigned confusion.

           Michel waved his hands around as he pointed at the paper. “That Phantom R! Why would a lady do something like that? Is she bored?”

           “Who knows, but she’s pretty cute right?”
          “What is she your type? I thought you weren’t interested in dating?”

           She shrugged. “Doesn’t mean boys and girls can’t catch my eye now and again. But now you're asking me, what about that guy I set you up with? You were curious weren’t you?”

           Michel pouted. “I dunno man, still feels a bit weird to me.”

           “It’ll be fine, if anyone kicks up a fuss just punch ‘em in the gut!”

           “I’m not getting arrested over a date!”

           “Ahem!” Simon loudly coughed in their direction. “If you two have time to gossip, you have time to put together the display for the Fête!” He grumbled towards them.

           “Yes sir!” They squeaked before rushing off to get to work.

           And that was how most of her days were spent, at class with her friends or getting bossed around at work. Setting up dates for a down-on-his-luck Michel and taking care of her dog Fondue who was napping in the break room. Perfectly average at day.

           But as night came around, she was anything but average. As their shift came to a close, she managed to snatch up one of the last copies of the news that day. Fondue trotted alongside her as she practically bounded over to her apartment. There, she could indulge in her biggest secret of all.

           With the snap of her finger, lights revealed a basement of treasures. Artworks of all eras and renown. Now, she didn’t exactly steal them per se. She was just returning them in one fashion or another. As Phantom R, the upcoming lady thief of Paris this century.

           Her suit brought her confidence against the nighttime crowds of Paris. With her hair tied up into a small ponytail, she cut quite the dashing figure. It was a shame she couldn’t let the papers get a good photo of her, but being Phantom R wasn’t just glitz and glamour.

           Today’s prize was to be the Bracelet of Tiamat, a new addition to the Louvre. Everyone was quite shocked and eager to speculate why she’d target such an unknown treasure, but her reasoning was quite personal really. The mark engraved into the corner of the bracelet, she couldn’t believe her eyes when she first saw it.

           It shared the same mark as the coin her father had left her three years ago, the first lead in so long. Honestly, she was a concoction of excitement and nerves tonight. She lied down on the floor of the basement with a kick in her legs as she read the paper over and over again.

           “I can’t believe I’m finally on the front page! Think we should frame it, boy?” She blabbered to Fondue who eagerly barked alongside her. “And they’re finally getting some details right, who knew the Inspector was such a stickler for them?”

           Rafaela had amassed quite a collection over the last three years of papers that talked about her exploits. It wasn’t egotism, at least she hoped not. More of a sense of pride and accomplishment, though many of those early articles mistook her for a man until Inspector Vergier had corrected any assumptions at a conference.

           But as much as she enjoyed soaking in her accomplishment, her phone buzzed with the third alarm that night. “Ah! Shoot, we’re gonna be late! Never been late for a date before, let’s cheese it Fondue!”

           The night was theirs to claim, and she thrived in it. As Phantom R, nothing was impossible. Even amid her hurry, she still shared a blown kiss to a young lady waiting for her to sweep her off her feet. Her reaction was adorably priceless, all those tarot readings must have really gotten to her head.

           Sadly for her, she wasn’t looking for a date. She already had one with the Lourve after all. With the rhythmic tap of her shoes, she was able to worm her way in without much effort. The guards around her were utterly oblivious, she was sure even Fondue was laughing at them with each bark.

           It made getting her hands on the bracelet even sweeter, she even gave herself a minute to admire it up close as it rested on her wrist. “Matches my suit don’t you think?” She smirked over to Fondue.

           “Wouef!” He wagged his tail in agreement.

           “Thanks, boy! But it’s about time we wrap up. Hmm, how about it? Up for a little excitement tonight?” She winked. Of course, they could just go right back through the back entrance. No one would even know they were there! Well, aside from the missing bracelet of course. But on the other hand, it wouldn’t be their most dramatic heist yet without waltzing out the front door, would it?

           And so, she did exactly that with a confident smirk as the lights and sirens blazed around them. Spotlights draped them in light, yet her face remained cloaked in the shadow of her hat. Only revealing the smirk across her lips to the nervous police officers that surrounded them.

           Right on cue, the Inspector finally arrived. Pushing his way to the front with a scowl across his face. “Phantom R! For the appropriation of cultural artefacts… Today I shall arrest you and end your reign of thievery once and for all!” The man spat as she feigned disinterest. “And that mark on the bracelet… You’ll tell me everything!”

           She shrugged him off, kicking a small pebble away as he yammered. “We’ll see about that. You’re a clingy one though, aren’t you? Honestly, some men just don’t know when to give up,” she let out a dramatic sigh.

           “Do not think this is a game!” He snapped, and a group of men on rollerskates gathered in front of him at his command. “Let us see how you stand against them, the famed Roller Skate brigade! After her!”

           They were hot on her tail within seconds, dashing across the rooftops of Paris to the awe of those lucky enough to see it. She made sure to give everyone below a good show, they were sure to be on the front page again in the morning with that. “Ah, as much as I had fun with you boys. It’s about time I bid you all adieu!” She cackled as she slid down the final roof and escaped their angry shouts.

           Unfortunately, the downside of such a dramatic exit was that the trip home was bound to be a long one. Police were on alert across the city, nipping at her heel at every twist and turn. Despite the annoying intrusions, she allowed herself to enjoy the bustling nightlife of the city.

           It was all too easy to blend in with office workers and wandering gentlemen alike as she slipped past a few guards and one grumpy bulldog. All was going quite smoothly until the cries of a young girl caught her ears. The little girl made fruitless attempts to grab a stray balloon that had gotten caught in a tree, far taller than anyone around to pluck it back down.

           She couldn’t leave a young lady to cry in good conscious now could she? She was a criminal sure, but not a monster.

           As she prepped her knees to jump for the balloon, an older girl approached the crying girl. “Oh dear… Don’t cry, here.” Her voice was gentle as she held a violin up to her shoulder. A beautiful tune rang out through the street, turning the heads of those passing by. The light strips decorating each tree sprung to life, creating a beautiful scene for the little girl who had stopped crying.

           While the crowds were distracted, she leapt up to finally grab the balloon. Safely delivering it to the young girl whose eyes glittered with joy. “Merci! Thank you so much!” She giggled before running off to join her parents.

           Rafaela rested her hand on her hip as she made eye contact with the young violinist who was decorated by a soft smile. She was a cute one, and kind-hearted to boot. “Beautiful song back there,” she complimented her.

           The girl looked flustered. “It was nothing, thank you for getting her balloon back.”

           “It was no problem at all Mademoiselle. Ah-” Right as she was ready to chat, the police decided to rear their ugly heads. “Spoiling my fun…” She pouted. “I’m afraid I must bid you adieu ma chère!”

           In her scramble to escape though, she did not notice the gentle glow of the mark she had been searching for against the violin’s wood.

           By the time she had lost them somewhere in Champs-Élysées, she was ready to call it a night. The police hadn’t been this stubborn in quite a while, they must have been pretty restless lately.

           “I’m feeling beat, what about you Fondue?”

           “Wouef…” He whined in agreement.

           She stretched against the cool night air. “Ugh, we should be home soon. Could do with a shower right about now…”

           Karma would be quick to notice her complaints though as they crossed a bridge, a familiar voice called out for help. “P-Please! Help me!” The Violinist cried out as she ran after her, clutching tightly to her instrument.

           And this time, she would finally notice the glow of the mark, but there was no time to get distracted by it. Rafaela quickly lent a shoulder to the girl, moving her to hide behind her as a group of strange armoured men approached them. “What do you creeps want?” She snapped at them.

           “Still your tongue girl. I am Napoleon, you Emperor. Kneel now if you know what’s good for you.” A short man adorned in golden armour approached them from the crowd of strange knights.

           Rafaela clicked her tongue. “I don’t take orders from men less than five feet tall. Who do you think you are? Pretty sure Napoleon died two centuries ago, but I’m sure the police wouldn’t be eager to hear a wannabe actor has been chasing young women at night would they?”

           She could see the man attempt to hold back his anger at her insults as he continued on with his act. “You clearly lack understanding mon amie. There are powers in this world that defy imagination. Now then, ma petite chérie…” His eyes darted over to the violinist who shrunk at his gaze. “You will hand me the Dragon Crown, as its rightful owner you have no choice.”

           “W-What are you talking about?” The girl stammered.

           “Alright, I think the Fête gotten to your head,” Rafaela grumbled as she rolled up one of her sleeves. “If you need someone to bash your skulls back into shape, I’d be glad to help.”

           “You’d threaten your Emperor?” The man snarled.

           “Ohh, is the little chien upset? Hiding behind your armoured friends? Guess that armour is all show and no bite.” Honestly, she could keep this up all night. Michel called it a vicious streak, but there was something enjoyable about throwing insults back at insufferable idiots

           However, she was quick to learn that armour wasn’t just for show. The armoured soldiers began to approach her as the man barked orders at them. She was in for a fight, but she had readied herself for one already.

           “Whatever happened to chivalry?” She teased one the closest one before knocking him down with one swift strike. “You’re just walking hunks of junk!” Their armour was so heavy they couldn’t even get back up!

           Like clockwork, they rushed towards her only to get pushed down with ease as she struck them down with her fists. And a kick between the legs for good measure if they didn’t go down.

           If they were going to play dirty, she’d play the same game.

           And that was by bringing dance to a battle. She swiftly spun around the floor with her hands, flipping herself across the round glow of the moon as the soldiers were left to trip themselves up. With a smirk, she lept over them, accidentally tripping a few more on her way to the violinist. “Pardon!” She cackled.

           The girl gasped as she thrust her hand in front of her. “Let’s beat it!”

           “Wha- AH!” She didn’t give her time to react before she holstered her up into a bridal carry.

           “Au revoir!” Rafaela bid them a dramatic farewell as she lept off of the bridge, Fondue skittering behind her. In the golden lights across the Seine, she lept from boat to boat leaving everyone in awe and shock.

           The screams of the fake Napoleon faded into the distance as she looked down at the girl in her arms. Her shock had warmed into a grateful smile as she clung to her chest even tighter. With one last leap, she looked back at the crowds on the boats gathering together to wave and clap and tipped her hat. “Show’s over folks!”

           And the three of them vanished into the shadows away from prying eyes.

           Rafaela gently placed the girl back down on her feet before glancing around. “Hmm. Looks like we lost them. All in a day's work.” She stretched alongside Fondue. “I take it they weren’t friends of yours, what was up with them?”

           The girl only stammered the shock of what happened still clinging to her as Rafaela lightly poked her on the head. “Hellooo? Don’t leave me hanging cutie.”

           “O-Oh! Sorry, I’m just so surprised is all. Thank you for saving me, Mademoiselle…?” Her words drifted off as she waited for an introduction of sorts.

           Rafaela adjusted her hat. “Phantom R, and this is my trusty sidekick Fondue.”

           “Wouef!”

           The girl gasped. “You mean, the Phantom R? You were on the front page this morning.”

           She pumped her fist in excitement. “You bet! Ah, but don’t worry I only steal artworks. However, I can steal the hearts of lovely girls like you too.” A flash of red surfaced across the girl's face. “Just kidding!” Rafaela laughed.

           Fondue gave her an annoyed whine as she dusted off her suit. “So then, where you heading?”

           “H-Home I’d hope… As fast as I can.”

           Rafaela frowned. “I’d be happy to help, but I don’t think running around with those weird knights is a good idea.” They seemed to have been searching for her specifically at that, leading them back to her home would be a dangerous move. So she had a better idea. “How about you stay over at mine for the night? It’s not far from here, they’d never find you there.”

           “I wouldn’t want to intrude though…”

           “It’s finee! Well, as long as you don’t report me of course,” she chuckled.

           The girl giggled. “How could I? You saved my life! Oh, I’m so sorry I haven’t even introduced myself yet. My name is Marie, I’m pleased to meet you Phantom R.” She clasped her hands together with a sweet smile.

           “Marie huh? Right then! Stick closely now.” She knew a few shortcuts back home thankfully. They were able to dip between alleys and roads without a problem and not a knight to be seen.

           As they reached her apartment Rafaela began to dig around for her keys as Marie peered around the area. “Uhm. Will your family be okay with me staying the night?”

           “Oh! It’s no problem at all. Fondue’s the only family I’ve got,” she explained as she finally fished out her keys.

           With a click, Rafaela unlocked her apartment door, Fondue quickly squeezed his way past her legs to jump onto the sofa with an excited wag. “Sorry to intrude…” Marie squeaked as she stepped inside.

           “Nothing to be sorry for, you’re a guest! To be honest, I don’t have people stay over a lot. I’ll see what I can find for you,” Rafaela cheerfully explained to her as she slipped into her bedroom. It wouldn’t be polite to leave Marie to sleep on the sofa as a guest so that she could sleep in her bed tonight. There were some blankets somewhere in storage that she still had. For now, she grabbed a pyjama shirt and some bottoms for Marie and changed into her usual outfit.

           Coming back out into the living room it was sweet to see Marie had taken a shine to Fondue, playing with his paws as his tail wagged excitedly. “Got some pyjamas here for you.” She announced to the girl who looked quite shocked to see her out of her suit. “What’s up? I can be cute and handsome don’t you know? Feel free to call me Rafaela,” she properly introduced herself this time.

           “It’s nice to meet you, Rafaela!” Marie smiled. “I was just thinking that we have more in common than you think…”

           “Oh?” Rafaela perched on the edge of her sofa as Maire squeezed one of Fondue’s paws.

           “You said Fondue’s the only family you’ve got. I don’t know what happened to you, but I was left on the doorstep of a convent as a baby. I’ve never known who my family are, but they left me this.” She carefully pulled up the violin case she had clung to this entire time. “My dream is to become a famous violinist one day, and that they could someday recognise me.”

           As Marie spoke, Rafaela remembered something important from earlier. “Do you think I could have a look? At your violin if that’s alright?”

           “Of course. Here.” Marie clicked open the case, gently pulling out the instrument and putting it into her hands. Holding the violin became rather nerve-wracking all of a sudden but she persisted.

           The bracelet began to glow much to the shock of Marie, the crest on the violin’s wood lighting up briefly alongside it as they resonated with each other. She pressed the crest out of curiosity and it clicked like a button. “Now this is interesting… The strings seem to be glowing in some sort of pattern…” She mumbled to herself.

           Marie peered at the strings, hovering her finger over them as she watched them glow. “Perhaps…” She plucked the strings curiously in the pattern they glowed. As she finished, the entire violin began to glow, scribbling some sort of text across the edge.

           “The Dragon Crown sleeps at the foot of the Holy Mother, lulled by the Princess of the Moon… Huh, crown? Didn’t those knights accuse you of having something like that? And who is this princess?” It was starting to sound like she had more damsels to save soon.

           “Actually, the princess may not be what you think. Alongside the violin was a music score, Moon Princess,” Marie explained as Rafaela passed her violin back.

           “Guess that’s one down. What about the Holy Mother though?”

           “I suppose it could be a religious meaning, like Mother Mary.”

           Rafaela snapped her finger. “Oh! Doesn’t Notre Dame mean Mother Mary? Or something along those lines.”

           “Oh yes! It does! Perhaps you could join me on my trip back to the convent. It’s on the way there after all. I’m rather curious to see what this Dragon Crown might be.”

           “Then it's a date!” Rafaela grinned. A low rumble echoed through the apartment much to their surprise. But she knew where it came from. “Oh no, I’m so sorry boy. You must be starving after all that running.” She cooed as she rubbed her hands over Fondue’s body.

           He let out a loud whine as his body was wriggled around by her intense petting. “I’ll get something for you, don’t worry. What about you Marie? Had any dinner yet?”

           Marie jumped in shock after giving it a bit of thought. “Oh no! I was hurrying home tonight because I was late for dinner. I was so focused on that I didn’t notice those men following me.”

           “Alrighty then, let me see what I have.” She did eat briefly before leaving that night, but she had a big lunch earlier that day so she was a bit peckish now after all that running. Her small fridge was a bit sparse, it was getting to the end of the week though so she hadn’t gone on a grocery run yet.

           Usually, Simon would let her take home stock about to go out of date for cheaper or nothing at all which helped on a day-to-day basis. She wasn’t exactly earning a lot despite being a thief. Tonight looked to be some garlic chicken and whatever greens still looked good to go.

           The call of Fondue pawing at his bowl was her top priority for now though. Once his bowl was full though she could get to work frying up something interesting. Though with the added pressure of Marie watching her with interest.

           “I’ve not cooked much myself before. They let me help out in the kitchen sometimes but usually, the nuns insist they’re alright without my help.” Marie spoke aloud to her as she watched. “Do you cook every day like this?”

           “Sometimes I’ll just warm up something if I’m feeling lazy,” Rafaela laughed. What’s up, wanna try and cook?”

           “I wouldn’t want to be more of a bother-”

           “Relax, it’s fine. Let’s see…” She had already sorted out the chicken, so they had some time to cut up the vegetables together.

           They were a random assortment though. A potato, half an onion she had wrapped up for later, a few more garlic gloves and a zucchini. “Hmm… Ever peeled a potato before?”

           “Once I think.”

           “Here, let me show you.” Rafaela quickly slotted herself beside Marie, using her own hands to guide hers. Marie’s hands were so much smaller and softer than her own, Rafaela’s had been built up in recent years as she trained to get stronger as Phantom R.

           With her guidance, Marie was slowly able to skin half of a potato, which satisfied her enough to do the rest. “Good girl. Once you’re done with them I’ll cut them up and make some mash.”

           The other girl froze for a brief moment after her comment, which caused a small chuckle to escape.

           Some small talk was exchanged here and there as they continued their cooking. Other dishes and foods they enjoyed and some they couldn’t stand the taste of, Marie wasn’t a fan of raw tomatoes for one. Rafaela enjoyed them on the other hand.

           Fondue was tugging at her skirt before long, beady eyes begging for any extras she had on hand. And she was a weak-willed woman.

           But after a few more minutes of hard work, they had a nice warm meal to grace their plates, and their stomachs. With how small her apartment was the best seat they could grab was on her sofa if they wanted to sit together at least. And so Rafaela set the news up in the background at a low volume to try and see if there were any reports on those knights.

           Everything was reporting on her Louvre break in though, the hottest piece of news even this late in the evening. She was sure it’d be repeated in the morning with some more old threats and promises from Inspector Vergier. They did manage to get footage of her dance across the rooftops though, so that was a plus.

           As she chewed on a tough piece of chicken breast though, she noticed Marie was looking around at the DVDs stacked to the side of her TV. She didn’t pay it that much mind at first until she remembered she had a large James Bond box set sitting in the open for her to see.

           To say she had been influenced a lot by the movies and shows her father used to show her was an understatement. All those heroes with silver tongues and nerves of steel, it’d left quite an impact in her brain. But it was a bit embarrassing to let someone see it, especially someone aware of her Phantom R persona.

           Did they even have TVs at convents?

           They continued to eat together in silence for a while longer, Marie occasionally making a noise of interest as some footage or pictures were shown of her heist. Supposedly someone had caught some footage of her running away from the police when she had first run into Marie too, which surprised the girl greatly.

           “I’ve never been on TV before, this is exciting,” she giggled beside her. At least she was enjoying it.

           It was getting late though, and they’d have a busy morning tomorrow. “I’ll probably be having a shower in a bit. What about you?” Rafaela spoke up as they stacked their empty plates together. That was a problem for her to deal with tomorrow.

           “I shower in the morning if that’s alright.”

           “No problem. You can have my bed for tonight, just leave your clothes on some spare hangers in my room.”

           Marie’s eyes widened. “Are you sure? You’ve already helped me out so much tonight, I couldn’t possibly take your bed too.” Her eyes almost watered apologetically.

           “It’s fine, I’m probably going stay up late watching the news. Gotta see if anyone else spotted some of those knights.”

           “If you’re insisting… T-Thank you for your hospitality Rafaela. I’ll see you in the morning then. Good night,” Marie forced out one last smile for her before picking up the pyjamas she had taken out earlier. Once she slipped into her room Rafaela slumped onto the sofa.

           Some of the aches from her heist had finally begun to set in. And she really couldn’t be bothered to get up now.

           Fondue let out a whine, pulling at her sleeve. “Wouef!” He barked at her as if to yell at her to get up and get changed. After a bit more tugging he eventually got her up as she dragged herself over to the bathroom.

           It was the better choice in the end, she had fallen asleep right after a heist before. And the mess to deal with the morning after was awful, her makeup took twice as long to take off not to mention she’d have to wash it out of her pillow. And her hair would get greasy easily if she wasn’t careful washing it.

           “I’m jealous of you Fondue, why do humans have to do all this crap to stay clean,” she whined to him as she scrubbed her scalp full of suds. “Though I guess not all dogs are that lucky. Some of those dog groomers do some crazy stuff…”

           “Wouef!”

           “Yeah…”

           She wasn’t sure if it was strange to have your dog sit around in your bathroom while you showered. And she wasn’t able to ask anyone else. He was very clingy though, sometimes he’d cry at the door if she went to the toilet without him. Somedays he felt like he was more baby than dog.

           It was even more apparent the second she flopped back down onto the sofa with a spare blanket in hand. He was quick to curl beside her, resting his head on her stomach as she awkwardly positioned the blanket around them.

           The babbling newscasters eventually dulled into white noise as the news went into more national subjects she didn’t really care much for. It didn’t take long for her to finally conk out on the sofa with Fondue’s paws twitching beneath the blanket.

Chapter Text

           The morning sun caressed Marie’s eyes, slowly pulling her from sleep. “Mmm?... Good morning everyone… Huh?” As she pulled herself up, she quickly remembered she wasn’t at the convent at all. That’s right, she had stayed the night with a new friend of hers, though she worried for everyone at home.

           Rafaela’s bed was so warm and soft though, she had quickly found herself whisked away to sleep the second she slipped under the covers. The soothing scents of linen and lavender were pressed into the sheets, it reminded her of the girl.

           Her heart began to steadily thump.

           She wasn’t sure what it was, but there was something so warm and welcoming about her. The way she smiled and spoke to her, the gentle strength she used to carry her to safety. What she had done for her was very kind, yet why did it make her heart pulse and her cheeks flush?

           It was strange, wasn’t it? For a girl to make her feel this way.

           That was what she had been taught growing up after all.

           She shook those thoughts from her head, it’d be awful of her to dwell on those for too long. It’d be staining the kindness that Rafaela had shown to her, and she didn’t want to make the other girl uncomfortable with her questions.

           With a heave, she finally managed to drag herself out of the bed and peer through the door. Rafaela was still asleep it seemed, and she couldn’t help but giggle at the sight. She was splayed out across the sofa, her arms dangled to the side with her head tilted back. Fondue had somehow managed to get himself tangled in the blanket she was using with his legs sticking up in the air.

           She couldn’t disturb them right now, so she left for her morning shower hoping they’d wake up while she was gone. However, once she stepped out, she quickly learned they hadn’t moved an inch. It was getting rather late into the morning now, but the girl must have been exhausted from her heist yesterday so she’d leave her be for a little bit longer.

           “Hmm…” She hummed to herself on what to do once she stepped back inside Rafaela’s room. Her violin case caught her eye, having left it at the end of the bed. “If I’m playing today I should tune it…”

           Marie lost herself to the songs of her violin far too easily, the strum of its strings as it echoed against the wood. Everyone at the convent was always eager to hear her playing in the morning, the children gathered around her and the nuns stopped their work for a moment to listen. It warmed her heart to see the joy it brought everyone around her.

           “Mmm… Mornin’... Now this is a treat to wake up to,” Rafaela sleepy murmurs surprised her out of her performance. Her hair was a ruffled-up mess, and her pyjama shirt had folded up somehow. Notably, little white flecks of fur also covered her legs and shirt.

           In that moment, it struck her those same flecks of fur had also clung to her own pyjamas, and the inside of the bed too. She held back a light snort as she lowered her violin. “Good morning, sorry for waking you.”

           “It’s all good,” she yawned. “I didn’t expect to sleep so heavily…” Rafaela went to rub her eyes with her palms. It looked like she wasn’t a morning person, though Phantom R being more of a night owl was understandable.

           She dragged herself out of the room and back towards Fondue with a whine. “Fondueee, why didn’t you wake me up?”

           The dog let out an annoyed whine.

           “Don’t give me that attitude…” Rafaela huffed as she slumped over him, slapping her hands on the sofa. “You get so grumpy when I use an alarm. But when you need to be my alarm, you sleep in,” she continued her complaints.

           Phantom R, the most famed thief in Paris, was arguing with her dog. It certainly was a sight to behold.

           “I’m sure he’s sorry. But uhm, do you need anything? We should probably get ready to leave after all,” Marie meekly spoke up.

           “...Coffee…”

           Ah, it seemed Rafaela was one of those morning types. She quickly looked through her cupboards for any type of coffee, eventually getting her hands on some and boiling the kettle. While she hadn’t had the chance to cook often, she did make coffee quite often for the nuns. She preferred tea, but she didn’t mind coffee every once and a while.

           In a few minutes, she had two cups of café au lait prepared and Rafaela was already beginning to rise back up from the sofa. Drawn in by the smell, Marie was able to drop off a cup to Rafaela who wasted no time savoring it.

           “Ah… I feel alive again,” the girl commented.

           Marie giggled. “I’m glad to hear it.”

           After they emptied their cups, they busied themselves with getting ready for the morning. Marie finished tuning her violin and got dressed while Rafaela fed Fondue and also dressed herself. The other girl glanced at her phone with a hum as they stood by the door. “Notre Dame should be pretty quiet this time of day. Perfect for us.”

           It was rather exciting to be walking around this part of Paris for her, it wasn’t an area she visited too often. The streets were lined with the colours of the flag through streamers balloons and all sorts of decorations. One shop in particular was quite flashy next to the rest, with a recreation of the Eiffel Tower using balloons outside.

           “Oh wow, look at that. It must have taken such a long time to make,” Marie commented as they strolled past.

           “It took three or four give or take, balloons can be so finicky you know,” Rafaela casually replied back.

           “Wait, do you mean to say you made that?”

           An older man stepped outside briefly to replace a few flyers by the door and noticed the two. “Ah, Bonjour Rafaela. Had a late start again today, did you? And who is your friend here?”

           “Bonjour Simon, and this is Marie! Marie, this is Simon, he’s kind of like my boss,” Rafaela explained. “Sorry, but I’m afraid I can't help out at the store right now. I promise I’ll be back later to help though!” She clasped her hands together with a pleading look.

           “Don’t worry about a thing! You’re like my little artisan angel, I couldn’t get the store looking this good without you.” The man seemed quite fond of her, eagerly talking about her hard work.

           Seeing Rafaela wriggle under all the compliments was amusing yet sweet all the same time to watch. And she couldn’t help but giggle at the name artisan angel as they said their goodbyes to the shop owner. “That’s quite the compliment. I didn’t know you had a touch for art.”

           “Well, I do have to get close and personal with it, don’t I?” Rafaela laughed. “But really, my father was actually an artist. So I guess I picked up a bit from him. I work with a friend of mine in that store, he tends to work with the customers while I tidy and decorate the store.” Listening to Rafaela’s stories about her life clung to Marie’s attention. After seeing Phantom R as such a strange person, out of reach disconnected from the world printed onto newspaper story. The human beside her burned it all away.

           The streets were filled to the brim with friendly faces, many of them eagerly greeting Rafaela with a smile as she greeted them back alongside Fondue. One housewife in particular was quite happy to see them.

           “Oh! Hello there dear! Is this a new friend of yours?”

           “Bonjour Natalie! How are you today?”

           Natalie waved her hands around excitedly. “Just splendid! I caught a great sale, you should grab something too dear.”

           “I do need to refill my fridge…” Rafaela mumbled. “Ah! But I’m a bit busy right now! I’ll grab some supplies later, thank you for letting me know.”

           The woman let out a soft giggle. “Oh, and before you leave here. Take this for you and your new friend.” She fished out a small light pink box from her bag. “Rose macarons! I baked them this morning.”

           “Thanks! I’m sure you’ll love them Marie, Natalie’s macarons are the best!” She excitedly explained, even Fondue was jumping up to get a sniff of them. Though Rafaela held them up with a huff.

           “I’m reminded of how much your mother loved that flavour. You're even starting to sound like her every day.” Rafaela’s usual smile went sombre at the woman’s words. “Oh dear, but I must be off! I’ve got some more baking to do today. Have fun you two!”
          Despite the cheerful send-off, Rafaela’s mood didn’t bounce back as easily. Quietly staring at the box before remembering Marie was beside her. “Sorry! Spaced out there, did you want to try one?”

           “If that’s alright…” 

           They really were delicious, the rose flavour was a lovely sweetness to go along with the crispness of the pastry. But despite Rafaela’s compliments, she didn’t take any herself.

           “Aren’t you going to have one?”

           “Oh, uhm. I don’t like the rose flavour much…”

           “Oh…”

           Rafaela awkwardly scratched the back of her neck. “I still eat them! I could never waste her gifts. She likes giving that flavour to me though…”

           “...Can you tell me about your mother?” Marie took a brave step forward in the awkward silence that had followed.

           This seemed to catch Rafaela off guard. “Huh? Why?”

           “It’s okay if you don’t want to. I suppose I’m curious after hearing Natalie talk about her,” Marie softly explained.

           Rafaela still seemed hesitant for a moment, before eventually giving in. “Well… She was a ballerina, kind of a bit one I think too. She even did some shows at the Paris Opéra once. But one day when she was picking me up from school she got into an accident, I was pretty young at the time though. So I guess I don’t remember some finer details…”

           “Is she how you learnt to dance?”

           “A bit. Because of her, I learnt my own rhythm, we were even doing ballet lessons for a time. But after she passed away, we couldn’t afford to do it. So I just stopped… Never really touched ballet again since then, but learning it early has helped me with balance,” she attempted to cheerfully add at the end.

           Though Marie could see in her eyes she was still aching deep down. As horrible as it was to admit, she felt some relief in being able to share an experience with her in that way. Neither of them could remember their mothers well, though Rafaela still had the chance to spend time with her in her memory.

           “Now if we want to talk dance, you’d best thank some street dancers for that. They’ve got my back, and I’ve got them. Ask any street performer about Phantom R, and they won’t say a damn thing,” she cackled.

           Marie laughed back alongside her. “You really know so many people Rafaela, I hope I can see one of your performances someday. I’ve seen stories about them in the papers.”

           “Oh, I can bet on that.” She winked.

           “Wouef!” Fondue gave them an annoyed bark, reminding the two they were running short on precious time to explore Notre Dame. Wait for too long and the tourists were sure to come flooding in before long.

           They rushed to the cathedral together, Marie needing to stop to catch her breath as they finally stood before it. “Phew… I should really run some more…” She gasped as Rafaela laughed at her.

           “I try to go on a jog every morning. Well, at least I try to when Fondue wakes me up.” Fondue replied to that with a curt yip.

           To Marie’s surprise, as she looked up Rafaela had changed into her Phantom R suit while she wasn’t looking. It was an impeccably quick change, but she was nary given the moment to ask how before the lady thief confidently strolled towards the cathedral.

-

           Walking through Notre Dame always left Rafaela with a strange feeling of nostalgia. It was where she had been baptized many years ago, though she was no longer Catholic these days. For many years her father used to insist on attending Sunday mass there, even after the ceremony had finished he’d often stay behind observing and taking in the stained glass murals and the historical walls.

           Nothing stays though. A few too many tragedies and hardships had shaken his faith, and in turn, she didn’t have much of a reason to carry onto it either. Despite it all, she was always taken aback by the church. Even after so many years it never changed a bit.

           “Oh wow…” Marie gasped as she stared up at the stained glass of Mother Mary. Rafaela took a seat on one of the many empty benches that surrounded them, crossing her legs with a grin.

           “You’ve got quite the audience today Marie.”

           “Wouef!”

           The violist giggled. “I’ll try to not disappoint!”

           She was sure anything Marie played would sound beautiful, yet even then she wasn’t ready to hear Moon Princess in its entirety. Marie glowed beneath the light trickling through the stained glass, fragments of colour kissing her cheeks. Her song echoed through the church, for all the saints frozen in time to watch.

           Amidst her soft smile, Rafaela swore she saw the dance of angels hidden in the light around her. She was so taken aback by the beauty of it all that she almost missed the way the glass seemed to reverberate.

           “Marie! Keep on playing! I’ve figured it out!” She shouted over to the girl as she ran over to the window. They created some sort of tune, one that had to be paired by gently tapping against the panels as they glowed. With a click, a compartment beneath the glass opened to reveal a golden crown.

           She hopped back over to Marie, a pleased smile on both of their faces. “There we go looks a bit plainer than I thought,” Rafaela commented as she dropped it onto Marie’s head. “Looks a lot better now,” she nodded to herself as Marie adjusted it.

           “How strange… It feels so light!”

           “Yeah, it doesn’t feel like it's made of gold either. Have to wonder what it is…” She mumbled to herself in thought.

           Before they could enjoy their brief victory, the doors to Notre Dame were swung wide open by a vicious force. Amongst a crowd of metal, Napoleon approached them with a slow clap. “Merci my little friends! You saved us the effort of finding the crown ourselves. Now, hand it over…”

           “Come get it yourself you old geezer!” She snapped as she made a dash towards the knights. She quickly knocked one of them over as they began their assault.

           “The gloves come off! Strike her down!” Napoleon barked as they attempted to pile her.

           She was far too quick for them though, slipping out of the way with a spin before kicking the back of their legs. Many of them were knocked into the benches surrounding them, making it hard for them to get back up as they slipped and bumped into the wood.

           One knight managed to get a hit in though as she was elbowing one of them. Their claw tore through her shoulder, sending a stinging pain through her arm. “Phantom R! Please be careful!” Marie cried out seeing her get hurt.

           “For you Marie? Always!” She winked through the pain.

           Their assault continued, and despite the pain in her arm, she break-danced across the holy floor knocking over the knights until a scream froze her in place. “Let go of me!”

           While she had been distracted, they had gone and grabbed Marie, smug grins likely plastered their faces behind their tin helmets. “Let her go!” She growled as she prepared for another attack, and that was when a strange rush of strength rushed through her body. The bracelet began to glow, lifting the knights up like they were nothing much to their panic.

           She rushed over to grab Marie, she could worry about what happened later. They sprinted out of the cathedral, much to the confusion of any passerby. It wasn’t until they reached a street corner that they finally stopped to catch their breath. Marie was still wearing the crown thankfully, so they hadn’t lost it.

           “Y-Your shoulder!” Marie squeaked as she pulled herself close to her arm. “Oh dear… Hold on, I might have something…” As the girl panicked Rafaela released herself from her blazer. It’d be a pain to clean that blood off later, not to mention repairing it.

           Fondue let out a worried wine, one she comforted with a scratch around the head. “It’s fine! We should hurry you back home now before those guys catch up,” Rafaela insisted.

           But Marie shook her head. “It’s not much but I can bandage it for now. Though uhm… I’ll need your shoulder.”

           She loosened her tie a bit before unbuttoning a few of the top buttons of her shirt, letting the sleeve slide down a bit for Marie. The cut was rather shallow thankfully, no more dangerous than a kitchen accident honestly. Though once Marie managed to wrap it up, she turned away with flustered cheeks. “Thanks, Marie. Gotta say though, you’re looking pretty red yourself now.”

           “I-It’s nothing. We should go, I can get you better supplies at the Convent,” she hurriedly explained. “It’s just across the bridge.”

           Rafaela changed into her usual clothes before while the girl was looking away. How so? Phantom secrets. Though as she did her mind wandered to the curious question of whatever made Marie so flustered, perhaps showing so much skin so early on was a bit much. However, she was a bit more well-endowed than the other girl, which felt more plausible to fluster her.

           Either way, it was both cute and amusing to her. Though not to Marie.

           With Marie’s help, she easily guided them through the streets past the bridge towards the Convent. Now and again she’d peer back, to see if she was lagging behind or not, her eyes notably drifting over to her shoulder. “We’re almost there, do you feel any pain?”

           “A bit of a sting but I’m fine,” she assured her.

           Before long they eventually reached the building and ran into a very stressed out man. “Ah! Marie! Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick!” The man rushed over to her, adjusting his glasses as he looked her over for any injuries.

           “I’m so sorry Jean-François. I was attacked on my way home yesterday, but Rafaela rescued me!” She looked back at her with a grateful smile, and Rafaela gave a small wave to the shocked man.

           “Truly? By whom? Let me know and I’ll make sure the Paris Constabulary won’t let them know peace.”

           “Afraid we don’t have a clue,” Rafaela butted in as Marie struggled to find her words. “I gave them a quick, one-two and they ran off with their legs between their tails like little cowards.”

           “And cowards they are for attacking a young lady! Rafaela, I presume? I always knew Marie had a guardian angel, but I never expected her to be so charming. Your luck never ceases to amaze me Marie, as I have some great news for you,” the man eagerly chatted away.

           “Oh? What is it?” Marie’s attention was piqued before her eyes sterned. “But before that, I need to help Rafaela. She got a cut on her shoulder on our way here, and I don’t want it getting infected…”

           Jean-François smiled gently at Marie. “Ah yes, of course. Come along now. We can kill two birds with one stone then!” He eagerly led them inside, Marie taking Rafaela’s hand as they followed him.

           It made her heart beat, much to her surprise.

           The Convent looked to be a very peaceful place, with crisp air and clean stone floors. Jean-François led them to a room that reminded her of the nurses’ office at school. “You’ll find you’re in quite good hands Madameoselle. Marie is quite the healer, she even helped me with a sprained ankle a few months back.”

           “You’re too kind… Oh here we are, this will sting a bit…” Rafaela sat down on a sofa beside Marie, shouldering off her cardigan. Jean-François offered them a brief moment of privacy as she pulled her shoulder out again.

           The sting of the alcohol rubbing against her cut made her tighten her fingers. But she grit her teeth through the pain until a soft bandage was wrapped around her shoulder. “I can sew the cut shirt too if you’d like. But there is a bit of blood on it…”

           “Don’t worry about it, I’ll clean and fix it up when I get home. Thanks though, I’m sure I’d regret leaving it for too long.” The two girls smiled together as she buttoned her shirt back up.

           Jean-François cleared his throat. “Sorry to interrupt. But I still have something to share with you Marie. I might have found someone who may very well be your mother!” He proudly announced.

           They both gasped, Marie, clasped her hands together in surprise. “Really? You’ve found her? W-Who is she?”

           “Her name is Elisabeth, a duchess from a well-established family. Even by Parisian standards!”

           “Damn… Looks like you hit the orphan jackpot there, Marie,” Rafela laughed.

           Jean-François nodded along. “Indeed, and tomorrow afternoon we will meet her before a show at the Paris Opéra. Now I have some business I must attend to, but be assured Marie I’ll be with you tomorrow every step of the way,” he grinned brightly. “Au revoir for now!”

           She could feel the joy brimming off of Marie as the man left, she excitedly turned to her eyes filled with light. “My mother! I finally get to meet her after all these years! I can't believe it I must be dreaming.”

           Rafaela gently pinched her on the cheek. “Nope! You’re wide awake! That Jean-François seems like a pretty swell guy too.”

           Marie nodded. “Yes! He donates so much time and money to the Convent. He even helped me with my violin lessons alongside searching for my parents!”

           “Sounds like a little miracle worker. I’m glad things managed to work out in the end though.” She wouldn’t admit it out loud, but she felt a twinge of jealousy at the prospect of a happy reunion.

           But she wouldn’t dare put a damper on the little lady’s smile, it was an occasion to celebrate, Marie had been waiting years for this after all. Though she had to wonder why a Duchess of all people would need to leave her child at a Convent. The drama of the rich and nobility wasn’t really her forte, though she had watched a few dramas about it…

           “Ahh… My heart is beating! I’m so nervous but so excited! I have so many questions to ask her too.”

           Rafaela softly laughed. “Let’s hope she’s got some answers for you then. I should probably be off though, this crown won’t investigate itself now will it.”

           “Oh yes! I’d love to come with you… But…”

           “It’s fine! You’ve got to get ready to see your mother tomorrow after all. But hey, I’ll try and keep you updated if I find anything neat, you know where to find me after all.”

           Marie giggled. “That’s true! Thank you for everything, Rafaela. I’ll see you again soon alright?”

           She gave her a thumbs up. “Sure will!” Marie’s violin held that mark, after all, as coy as it may be. She might need her if she was ever to unearth the truth behind it… Though the idea of using the girl at all left a bitter taste in her mouth, she’d rather not think of it that way.

           They waved their goodbyes as Rafaela left the Convent in thought. “Hmm… Inspector Vergier was interested in the mark too wasn’t he boy?”

           “Wouef!”

           “That’s right boy! Let’s give the Inspector a little visit on his home turf.” She changed into her Phantom R suit, cringing at the tear in her shoulder. But it was nothing she couldn’t fix.

           Off to the Paris Constabulary, they went! Sneaking in was child's play for her, she’d be the laughing stock of the phantom community if she was caught doing something like this after all. Perhaps she could send a complimentary letter to the gardener for giving her such an easy way to sneak in.

           Fondue was quick to sniff about as soon as they popped through the window, tail and ears perked up alert. “Wouef!”

           “What’s that boy? Got his scent already? Atta boy,” she grinned as she gave him a good face rub.

           They were quick to learn the man was in that day and listened in on him talking to another officer. It seems like his failure to capture her had made quite the stir and he was taking the brunt of it. Admittedly she did feel a bit sorry for him hearing how he hadn’t been home in days. His dedication to the case since his wife's passing piqued her interest though.

           With the man out of the way, they were able to slip into his office to a treasure trove of papers. And what a mess it was. “God, this stuff would take a year to get through! There’s gotta be a special document somewhere with what we need.” A safe in the corner of her room caught her eye, he’d probably hide in there but of course, it was locked tight.

           She rummaged through her pockets and tutted. “Ugh, I don’t have a good lock-pick for this today. Gotta put the combination in the old-fashioned way then.” It’d take forever to go through every possible combination, so she scrambled through his desk, careful to not move anything too out of the way.

           Her brain was scrambled by the number of memos plastered everywhere, how could he live like this? But a few possible combinations caught her eye that were worth a shot. And to her luck, the first one turned out to be the right one.

           She was quick to discover the Inspector's insistence on her blabbing about the purpose of the mark. A string of incidents that involved it dating to three years ago and its connection to various artworks. One name in particular popped out through her skimming though. Graf, someone she had never heard of before in her life.

           But the clock was ticking, so she skimmed over to the last entry and her heart dropped. The final thief involved the casket of Napoleon. Then was that man claiming to be Napoleon really telling the truth? It was as if she had gotten wrapped up in some sort of horror movie if people were rising from the dead like daisies.

           After locking the safe and returning all the papers she touched to their previous spot they were quick to make themselves scarce. It looked like a visit to Les Invalides was in order, the location of Napoleon’s casket.

           The both of them hopped down from the window they came through, sliding down the walls and ledges back to the ground. As she dusted herself though a football spun dangerously close to her face, something she barely dodged in time. Flipping over to kick it out of the way and back towards her mystery attacker.

           “What in the world?... First roller skates and now footballs?” Surely the police weren’t that desperate for methods to capture her.

           From behind a tree, a strange boy made himself known dressed like a detective from a book. “We meet at last Phantom R…” The boy gave her a dark stare. “You’ve avoided justice long enough, today’s the day I shall apprehend you and prove myself in the process!”

           She smirked. “Ah, here we go again. You guys are a clingy bunch you know that? I’d love to stay and chat cutie, but I’ve got a date with Destiny.”

           “Don’t try anything funny with me Phantom! I am Charlie, Private Eye. So… Will you come quietly, or do you require a penalty kick to the head?” The boy hissed as he bounced his football around like it was a threat.

           “Such a difficult choice, right boy? But I’m afraid I’ll have to decline.”

           “Then I’ll choose for you!” The boy spat as he went in for a kick.

           Now a football battle was something quite unique, she’d never really dabbled in the sport much herself. So it was a bit tricky to get the hang of until she noticed a rhythm the boy seemed to kick the ball in. The moment she got a hold of that, Charlie was done for. She couldn’t help but laugh at his shock as his football smacked into his nose.

           As Charlie stumbled against a wall, she went in for the kill. Planting her hand next to his head as she cornered him against it. His eyes darted up at her, filled with a confused panic as she let out a low laugh. “You’ll have to try harder than that to get my attention cutie. Salut, Charlie! Let’s cheese it Fondue!”

           They were off in a flash, barely giving the boy any parting words. Honestly, the thought she could discover the secret behind her father’s disappearance was filling her with a strange buzz. Perhaps the hope of seeing Marie reunited with her mother had installed some hope into her as well.

           Together they casually wandered into Les Invalides, it was surprisingly empty that day for being a famous military museum. And quite suspicious at that. There was an eeriness to the room holding the casket as they entered, even Fondue was on edge as they circled it with curiosity. It was one heavy-looking thing, how anyone could have stolen it was beyond her.

           Fondue scratched at the end of the casket, growing and barking at her as she rushed over. “What is it, boy? Can you smell those creeps? Hm?” She rubbed her hands against the marble, dusting out a well-worn lock that had been hidden in plain sight.

           “A lock huh? Let’s give it a crack.” It was an easy enough one to put together, connecting two N’s on both sides by creating a little path made up of squares. All these puzzles and locks were getting quite peculiar the longer her investigation was going.

           With a rumble, the casket began to move revealing a set of stairs that went deeper inside. She stared down the passageway, darkness swallowing the stairs as Fondue let out a scared whimper and hid behind her legs. “Don’t worry boy, I’m here aren’t I?”

           She comforted him with a gentle rub around the ears. With a whine, he rubbed back before giving her a more confident bark back. “That’s more like it, c’mon let’s go!” They began their trepidation down the steps, lights slowly filling the strange corridor as they reached the end of the staircase.

           “The sewers? No, don’t tell me this goes into the catacombs?” She shivered. “Ugh… Of all the places a dead Emperor could set up shop, right? C’mon Fondue, l-let’s go!”

           Together they lept through the darkness, hopping from stone to stone as they traversed deeper into the sewers. And eventually into the catacombs themselves. A cold chill seeped through the walls as they eventually came to a stand-still, the knights stood around a corner amongst the crackling torches and they listened in carefully.

           “You heard Graf is coming to visit? He must be more worried than we are,” one of them spoke aloud to the other.

           “He’s got nothing to fear with the Chevaliers Diabolique on his side! Even still, we need to make sure he feels welcome and respected.”

           So that was their group name, and Graf was with them at that. Perhaps she’d meet this mystery man sooner than she thought. But as she crawled to get slightly closer, something cracked above her.

           “Hm?... AIEEEEEEE!” She let out a screech as a skeleton crumbled out of the wall. God, she hated the catacombs.

           “What was that? Who goes there?” The Chevaliers yelled as they stormed towards her.

           Without a second thought, she punched them with a loud bang as her fist met their helmets, leaving a dent. They crashed against the wall, knocking them into an unconscious pile as she caught her breath. “F-Fucking skeletons! Ugh!”

           Fondue let out a worried wine as he tugged at her pants. “Sorry about that boy… And you were the nervous one at first…” She sighed. “Let’s go! Before any more skeletons decide to attack me!”

           They snuck further in and reached what looked to be a large important room filled with lights and old structures. And at the centre of it all, was Napoleon sitting on a throne with someone standing guard behind him in the darkness. She snuck in a bit closer to listen in on them.

           “You’ve done fine work… And you’re efforts shall be well rewarded,” Napoleon grinned in the darkness as he spoke.

           “Anything to contribute to my Emperor’s glory…” The shadow spoke.

           The voice… It sounded eerily familiar.

           “We must require what we have lost as soon as possible! Two more treasures… And the crown shall be complete!”

           “Yes, my Emperor. We have located the Queen’s Pendant, yet the Cross of the Sun King still eludes us,” the voice replied.

           Her blood ran cold, Fondue let out a distressed yip as she blindly dashed out of their hiding spot. “Father!” Her cry echoed out through the hall before her mind could stop her. The shadow vanished all but instantly as Napoleon snapped up from his seat.

           “Phantom R? What are you doing here?” He barked.

           “That man! Tell me where he went!”

           “Don’t make demands of me girl! Do you not realise the predicament you’ve dragged yourself into!” The realisation finally hit her as she saw Chevaliers begin to gather in the shadows. “A lone rabbit wanders into a den of wolves, whatever shall she do? Hand over the Dragon Crown, and you might leave in one piece. Apprehend her!” He snapped his fingers and panic set in.

           She didn’t have much of a choice than to fight. They showed no mercy, running at her from all angles. She ducked, sliding out of the way of their claws. But the heavy beat of her heart made it difficult to focus as she sucked a pained gasp through her teeth as her shoulder was tackled. They were knocked off with a kick, but they gave her no space to breathe.

           “You’re off your game,” Napoleon cackled at her. “Quickly now, while she’s weak!”

           In the panic she elbowed and punched her way through them, a lone bark in the distance was her anchor amidst the madness. They had to get out of here. With a few more desperate punches, she knocked most of them out of the way and made a mad dash towards Fondue’s bark.

           Back through the darkness of the catacombs they fled, the loud rustling of armour nipping at their heels as they lept back through the passageway. She wasn’t sure how far they had left them behind by the time they had finally made their way outside. The chilly night air pierced her cheeks as she leaned against a wall for breath.

           Fondue let out a soft whine, nuzzling at her legs. A small bit of comfort against her raging mind. “Damn it all!” She angrily kicked a nearby fence. “After all this time, and he’s on Napoleon’s side? I just- Gah!” Her hat was tossed to the floor in her frustration before crumbling to her knees.

           After three years of desperately searching for any sign of him, he flees the second she finds him. Of course, she knew getting upset wouldn’t get her anywhere, but she couldn’t help the bubbling frustration that welled up in her veins. What a terrible reunion, it was nothing like she had expected.

           He had never been a straightforward man she supposed.

           It didn’t take her long to realise tears had begun to streak down her cheeks, gingerly reaching for a compact mirror she saw the black lines of her wet mascara now wet her face. She looked like a mess.

           Fondue pawed at her arm, her hat nestled in his mouth. “S-Sorry about that boy…” She took the returned hat, hugging Fondue in the process as he licked her ear. “We’ll get the Dragon Crown together before they do… I swear it. And then he’ll have to tell me why he’s doing this!”

           “Wouef!” Fondue gave her a motivational bark back, his tail eagerly wagging for some action.

           “We need to find one of those treasures and quick… Hmm, they said they’ve found the Pendant but they don’t have it yet. We should snatch it first before they make a move. Pretty sure there’s a man at Sorbonne who knows a thing or two about that…” Before she left she made sure to wipe her face with some wipes she carried with her. Though admittedly she was ready to head home after tonight already.

           But they persisted, travelling across the city to the esteemed university. Once there she met a particularly cute girl, but she wasn’t in the mood for any teasing, unfortunately. The girl managed to point her in the right direction though of a rather deep-sleeping Professor.

           With a bit of quick thinking and a handy recorder, she had been forced to take she had managed to wake the man up. Although he wasn’t able to give them a straight answer, he pointed her towards the Paris Archives for a book called ‘Traditions and Treasures of the Royal Family’. Great, more walking…

           Rafaela huffed as they trudged through Paris, avoiding as much of the night-time crowds as possible and hoping to a God she no longer believed in the archives would still be open. It’d be easy to break in but she didn’t want to go through the effort right now.

           Of course, grabbing a simple book couldn’t be that easy. She had to be a member of some sort of special club to go inside the archive it was inside. And unfortunately, the closest thing to that she had was the book club at her school library. “Fondue I’m going to scream…” She hissed with a hushed voice.

           From the aggravated murmurs of students stressed beyond the world, she was able to figure out the librarian had the habit of chasing after phone calls. So with the help of an inconvenient ring, she was able to get to the archive door. Only to discover yet another puzzle.

           She may have pressed the coins for it a tad harder than needed, but who could blame her after today? With the help of Fondue, he was able to nose up a red book with the professor's scent on it to save even more skimming. It had seen better days, to say the least, she could barely read it.

           But from what she could gather, the actual diamond was called the Queen’s Tear. And what's more, it was currently in the possession of one Duchess Elisabeth, Marie’s potential mother. “Hm… That makes things awkward, or easier I guess. Maybe that’s why Napoleon was after her,” she wondered aloud to Fondue.

           She carefully closed the book and returned it to its shelf. “We better make a move Fondue! And I’ll leave the Inspector a small heads-up on the way home.” With the police on her case, the Chevaliers would find it difficult to even get near the Duchess. It was a risk she was willing to take if it meant she was one step ahead of them.

-

           “Wouef! Wouef!”

           Rafaela turned her head around with a groan, pressing her ears against the pillow. “Grrr… Wouef!” Fondue tugged at the back of her pyjama shirt with an annoyed growl.

           “Ugh… What time is it?” She awkwardly propped herself up in bed as Fondue sat there proudly. He nudged her phone towards her as she flicked it on. “... Uh oh! Ugh, we’re gonna have to bolt it Fondue!” She had stayed up later than she had expected repairing her Phantom R costume, and now she was paying the price.

           She didn’t exactly know what time Marie was supposed to meet her mother today, but it sure as hell was late in the morning. So she had to get there before the afternoon at the very least. It was a shame too, she had been considering seeing if she could wear one of her mother's old dresses to fit in better at the Opéra but now she was too hurried to care.

           As soon as she was ready they bolted out of the door, even catching a bus on the way there where she managed to fix herself up a bit more before hopping off. “Never really been here before… It’s certainly quite impressive in person,” she spoke aloud to Fondue as they approached the entrance. As hard as she tried to remember, she couldn’t remember watching any shows her mother performed there, she was too young she supposed.

           Dogs were allowed in there, right?

           She wasn’t sure, but she was sure no one with a ticket wasn’t allowed in so it was back to square one. “Hmm… Where can I get one?” A man by the steps was mumbling to himself about his case, quite loudly bragging about the combination on it at that.

           She’d take note of it.

           “Hello there Monsieur,” she approached him with the most friendly voice she could muster. Holding her hands behind her back for added charm, she was a broke student but doing this sometimes got her discounts if she was lucky. “I was wondering, do you know if they’re still selling tickets to the Paris Opéra?”

           The man was quick to also put on a facade. “Oui, Mademoiselle! You’ve come to the right man. I’ve got them cheaper than anyone else, but we’ll keep that a secret just between you and me.” Oh, this was suspicious alright, and she didn’t exactly like the way he was looking at her.

           He slumped an arm around her shoulder with a grin and she stiffened. “But, I have a special deal for girls like you…” Ew. She slapped him before he could finish his sentence, leaving him reeling in shock. “Gah! What was that for? Fine, have it your way conne!” He stormed off towards a different corner of the staircase, rubbing his cheek all the while.

           “Ugh, what gives… Well, now I don’t feel sorry at all for what I have in mind.” She had recorded a few fun extra sounds with that recorder she had been given, one especially being the sound of a police siren. With an eager grin, she snuck back towards the man and pressed play.

           The colour that left his face was sweet revenge. He cried with his tail between his legs as he tossed his case to the side and booked it. “Maybe they’ll catch him one day, now let’s have a look…” Unfortunately for the scammer, he had mumbled his ‘secret’ code a bit too loudly.

           “Annnnd open sesame! Let’s hope we’re not too late!”

           “Wouef!”

           With a skip in her step, she returned to the Opéra doors with a ticket in hand. She searched for one that was a bit more in a budget range, she wasn’t exactly the picture of riches and didn’t want to risk raising any suspicions. Her heart thumped as the man at the door inspected her ticket, hoping there wasn’t anything wrong with it.

           But he just smiled at her and returned it. “Please enjoy the show, Mademoiselle.”

           She let out a short sigh of relief once they entered the main hall. “I was a bit nervous there for a moment… But wow, look at all these fancy people Fondue,” she gawked a bit. “Ah, we gotta focus! Can you pick up Marie or Jean-François’ scent?” She whispered to Fondue.

           He quickly got to work, stuffing his nose against the floor before his tail perked up. “Found one? Well, let’s go.”

           They swerved through the crowds up towards what looked to be one of the more fancy areas of the house. And were quick to find where most of the police force had been hiding away until now. She played it cool, pretending to have picked up a call on her phone as she listened in on Inspector Vergier talking to Jean-François.

           “A warning you say, from Phantom R?” Jean-François mumbled, he was tapping his foot with aggravation, seemingly annoyed at the Inspector.

           “Oui, she sent one last night. She claims her next target will be the Queen’s Pendant, worn by one Duchess Elisabeth. If you ought to know anything that may assist with our investigation we would like to know.” It was interesting to observe the Inspector in the middle of an actual investigation, she was more used to the sight of him chasing after her at a frightening speed.

           Jean-François seemed to shrug in disinterest. “And exactly who is Phantom R now Inspector? Surely you must know by now.”

           “We’ve yet to discover her true identity, but we do know she is a peculiar thief. She’ll steal a piece of artwork one day, only for it to return the next without a scratch.” Vergier crossed his arms in contemplation.

           “Yes, yes very strange indeed. One wonders why she even bothers with it at all. Now then, I’d like to hear your security today is tight. Not to doubt your abilities Inspector, but she has evaded your grasp for around three years now has she not? One wonders why you still bother at all if the art is returned to its rightful place.” She wasn’t sure how to describe it, but it was almost as if a dark glimmer flickered through the man's glasses.

           It seems like Jean-François could get quite serious about this kind of stuff. She couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt seeing the Inspector’s face, dark rings had begun to circle around his eyes behind his glasses. “Hmph… Do you doubt our abilities? Well, the world may see today is the last she’ll have before being shut behind bars.”

           “Glad to hear it Inspector…”

           If Jean-François was still here, then perhaps Marie hadn’t met her mother yet. She was quick to mingle and hide amongst the crowd as the Inspector and various officers left the hall and scattered across the Opéra.

           “Maybe we should see if Marie is somewhere around here. Any ideas boy?” Fondue let out a quick yip and she followed behind. Towards the general seats he had guided her, but from his whine it looked like they had just missed her.

           And they had promptly walked into a bit of a nightmare for her. Vergier was there alongside one of his superior officers discussing their investigation. “Have you seen anything out of the ordinary so far Officer Loic?”

           She had to not act suspicious and pulled out her phone to pretend she was messaging someone. The other officer shook his head and Vergier sighed. “What about Charlie? Seen anything?”

           Loic hesitated for a moment. “Afraid not sir… I hear there was a bit of a blowup back at the constabulary. Is everything alright?”

           Vergier sighed. “Charlie has the wrong idea, some duty to hunt down Phantom R… It impedes our investigation with childish games.”

          “Maybe Charlie just wants to help? You’ve not been home in quite some time…” Loic mumbled that last part.

           “I must put that child in place for now… I understand the thought I just…” He rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Let us continue on our investigation for now… Hmm, you there, young lady.”

           She nearly dropped her phone. Uh oh.

           “Ah- Yes sir?” In a panic, she pitched her voice up just enough to not sound exactly like Phantom R. Though she cringed a bit as it sounded too similar to a few girls she knew at school.

           “Have you seen anyone suspicious around the Opéra as of late?” He questioned her with sincerity.

           An idea did pop into her head though… “Well uh, some guy outside was pestering me earlier. Put his arm around my shoulder and everything, is that the kinda suspicious you're looking for?”

           He frowned. “No, but such inappropriate behavior is unacceptable. Do you have a description of this man?”

           “Black suit, yellow spotty scarf and black hair.”

           “Shall we send someone outside to investigate sir?”

           “Yes, please do. Perhaps a few more men outside could help us spot her before she comes in…” He mumbled. “We’ll sort this out, Mademoiselle. If you spot any other suspicious people please don’t hesitate to alert an officer.”
          “Yess sir.”

           With that, he and Loic finally left and she let out a short cough. “Damn… That voice hurt a bit… Hm?” It seemed like the Inspector had dropped something, a photo of sorts. “That’s right… Charlie’s the Inspector’s son then isn’t he? So this is…”

           It was a family photo, of a younger Vergier and a baby Charlie with his wife. “...I’ll hang on for it for now.” It could be useful but she’d mail it to Vergier the same way she sent her cards if not. It wouldn’t feel right to hold onto it for too long.

           “Well, Marie wasn’t here… It’s the afternoon now, she’s got to be meeting with Elisabeth soon.” She left the seating area and wandered around the second floor for a bit before noticing a bit of commotion in the main staircase.

           A woman in an expensive-looking purple dress was slowly ascending the staircase. There she was able to spot Marie and Jean-François waiting for her at the top. “That must be the Duchess…” She mumbled as she watched on.

           “Ah, my lady! How honoured I am to be in your presence once more-” Jean-François bowed to her, voice filled with praise. And the woman did little to look his way, walking past him coldly. “Y-Your Grace?” He stammered.

           She turned her head back, eyes piercing through them. “This is the girl?... The one you claim to be my daughter?”

           Marie looked nervous, and Rafaela tightened her hands against the bannister as that nervousness seeped into her as well. “My name is Marie… Uhm, are you my mother?”

           A suspenseful silence filled the air, she could only hope Marie’s reunion would only shed tears of joy unlike her own. But such a dream was a far cry from reality. The Duchess turned away. “Do not waste my time Jean-François. I have no daughter.”

           Moon Princess graced her ears, freezing the Duchess in her tracks. She still clung to that bit of hope the woman might turn around and embrace her. As the beauty of Marie’s violin filled the Opéra hall, catching the ear of all in attendance.

           “My mother left me this song… And I’ve practised it every day in the hopes that I might someday play it for her.” Marie’s voice was soft, full of compassion for the woman in front of her.

           She swore she saw the Duchess tremble for a moment before continuing up the staircase. “Alfred, we’re leaving.” And she left, without another word.

           Poor Marie’s heart shattered into pieces, she couldn’t do anything but watch as the girl clutched her violin to her heart as she escaped down the staircase in tears. She longed to go after her, to be a comfort to her. But she had to get that pendant, or else she could be put in more danger.

           The best she could comfort herself with was that Marie needed a bit of time to let it all out. As soon as she had that pendant, she’d go look for her, she swore on it. First things first, she had to find where the Duchess was sitting. Down the hall, she swore she had seen the woman slip down a corridor lined with red satin.

           It was the fanciest part of the Opéra that was for sure, but a man there didn’t look too happy to see them. “Excuse me Mademoiselle, but only VIPs are allowed past this point. I beg your apology, but we kindly request that commoners such as yourself refrain from bothering them.”

           “O-Oh, sorry.” She quickly turned the other way awkwardly. Security down there was certainly tight. “She’s gotta be down there… Ugh, maybe one of my mother’s dresses would have helped me blend in better. Oh well, always time for a plan B. Hmm, maybe I could fill in for one of their employees…”

           She swore she had seen quite a stressed waiter down the hall earlier, it was worth giving it a shot. If anything, she could always borrow one of their suits.

           The man was a mess, to say the least. Mumbling to himself about a missing recruit, perfect for her. “Excuse me Monsieur. I’ve got some waiting training, might you know where I need to go?”

           He looked at her in shock. “Truly? But we do not hire female waiters…”

           Well, that certainly made things complicated. “Ah, well. I’m a diversity hire.” If she was honest, a place like this probably didn’t care about that. But it was the best she had for a lie at this point.

           “I hadn’t heard of that… Ah, but I haven’t the time to look down on an offer such as this!” Well, part one had worked at least. “Quickly now! To the head waiter for your exam! I shall put in a good word for you.”

           He hurried her along to the Member’s Hall where a few other men were waiting with new suits and stressed expressions. The same man from earlier was there rubbing the sweat off his brow. “We’ve one missing! Where is he?”

           “Ahem, sir! We have our last trainee! Just a bit… Small,” the other waiter nervously squeaked as the head waiter spun around to look at them with a piercing stare.

           “...Is this a joke Andre?”
          “No sir! Claims to be a diversity hire,” he explained.

           “But I have not heard of such a thing! She cannot wait here, send her along.”

           This was proving to be a lot of effort for one little costume, the option of borrowing one was still a prospect at least… “Sir, we are short on waiters! If our other recruit is a no-show, why not let her give it a shot at the very least?”

           The head waiter grumbled in thought as he began to sweat even more. Was being a waiter really that stressful? It wasn’t a job she was particularly interested in. “Do we even have any suits your size?...”

           “I do know my sizes if that helps. I’ve worn suits before so I shouldn’t have any problem putting it on,” she added.

           “Hrn… Very well, well we’ll give it a shot,” he sighed.

           Much to her excitement, they were able to find a suit close to her size. While the head waiter was displeased to see it was a different colour than the rest there were no better options. She wondered exactly why they had a navy suit in their backlog, perhaps an older design. It was a bit of a squeeze, being a tailor-made suit, she managed to get it on just fine and tied her hair up into a neat bun to go along with it.

           “I’m ready sir!” She announced to the head waiter as she returned to the training room. This should be a breeze, how hard could pouring wine and standing straight be?

           After the first recruit left in tears, she decided that yes. Perhaps it was hard. This man was far scarier than any Chevelier she had run into, his voice was running hoarse with yelling every small imperfection they made.

           But there was one thing she knew she was a master at, rhythm. There was a rhythm to each action they had to practise around him. From holding up wine glasses to bowing properly. As soon as that clicked in for her, it flowed from her perfectly. Eventually, she was the last recruit standing.

           “Très bien! Perfect! You have passed with flying colours! Perhaps a change in hiring is in order… I’ve never seen a woman look so dashing in a suit. We must have you waiting right away! We are short on staff, today. Take these drinks to our VIP guests and look sharp!”
          “Yes sir!” With a tray in hand, she stepped out of the hall and peered down at Fondue who had been hiding outside. “I’m off now boy… Remember our usual?”

           “Wouef!”

           “Atta boy!” She grinned.

           As she made her way through the halls carefully though, she ran into a bit of a roadblock. Charlie had arrived it seemed, and was looking quite perturbed. “Why won’t they let me in? Don’t they know Phantom R is after her?” He angrily spat before turning around.

           She could see that look in his eye, and so the act was in. “May I be off assistance Monsieur?” Her voice was pulled a bit deeper this time, alongside her makeup and suit she was closer to a more mature lady this time around.

           Charlie stuttered in surprise. “I-I need to talk to the Duchess, don’t you guys know she’s in danger of Phantom R?” He practically begged.

           “Yes, we are well aware of this. However, we cannot allow commoners to distress our VIPs now… Rest assured, a thief will have no luck getting past. Are you part of the Paris Constabulary?”

           “N-No miss…”

           “Then I’m afraid I cannot help you anymore.”

           Charlie gritted his teeth in frustration at her words, before dashing past. At the very least he didn’t seem to suspect a thing. She was sure she’d get an earful from that head waiter though if she delayed herself any longer and quickly made her way towards the VIP area.

           The other waiter from earlier, Andre was there seemingly having left the stalls with an empty wine bottle. He looked exhausted, but seeing her seemingly gave him a spark of energy. “Ah! You passed? Congratulations! The saviour of our wait staff on this day… Quickly now! The Duchess is a… Demanding guest, we’ve lost around fifteen staff to her out of stress!”

           That was quite the body count. But she wasn’t nervous, seeing as how she didn’t intend to keep this job in the next hour. Deep into the salon, she reached the VIP booth where the Duchess was sitting with her butler beside her.

           She greeted them with a gentle bow. “Pardon. Your drink, Madame.”

           “...Merci, leave it on the table,” she quietly responded.

           The Duchess seemed to be quite dour, though she feigned ignorance. Her butler, however, had quite the eye. “I have not seen you before…” He murmured.

           “Eh?”

           “I know the entire staff here, including potential recruits.”

           Another quick lie was needed here, and she was quick with her tongue. “I was a last-minute addition. Sincere apologies for the confusion.”

           The butler straightened his back. “Ah, my apologies. I understand the head waiter oft finds himself strained in such a department… Yet I’m afraid your movements betray your intent, Madame. For was it not the Duchess’ pendant you laid eyes on first entered into the salon? Might I call upon a Constable to identify you?”

           Busted already. Which meant it was time for action. Yells of various Constables rang out from below much to the butler’s shock. She gave him a grin. “I’m afraid they’re busy.” Fondue was giving them a few bites to remember down there.

           A surprise fist hurdled towards her, and her tray flew out of her hands as she backflipped behind a curtain. The butler caught the tray like it was nothing, gently placing it onto the table as Rafaela stepped back out as Phantom R.

           “Hmph, it gladdens me to see my instinct is still sharp. I can see now that you are Phantom R!” He gave her an accusatory stare-down.

           She stuffed her hands into her pockets as she stared back down at him. “And you’re no ordinary butler either!”

           “Yes, Alfred is also my bodyguard. One of the finest in Paris,” the Duchess calmly explained, only slightly turning her head to watch them. “I’ll make you a wager, Phantom R. If you can beat Alfred, the pendant is yours.”

           “Oh, I like the cut of your jib. Do I have your word on that?”

           “On my family’s honor yes. Now Alfred, show no mercy!” At her order, the man poised himself to fight. Who knew the Duchess was a fan of action?

           While she was at quite a height disadvantage it was nothing she hadn’t dealt with before. Alfred cracked his knuckles. “Let us warm up now Phantom.” She practically dropped to avoid his punches, a guy as grey as him was still surprisingly spry. But fighting all those Cheveliers recently had incidentally helped her be more prepared to fight recently.

           Though the butler did manage to land a hit or two on her face and jaw, ones she returned twofold until they were both battered and bruised. “I-I’m sorry Your Grace…” The man panted as he kneeled to the floor. “I have failed you…”

           “Whoa you’re not about to die are you?” She squeaked.

           “Calm yourselves, he’s a tad dramatic. Perhaps ten years earlier you might have prevailed,” she sighed before turning to Rafaela and removing the pendant. Their gazes finally met, and the woman seemed to pause for a moment as her eyes flickered over to her hair. “...As promised, the pendant is yours.”

           It was lighter than she expected, that was for sure. “Thanks but uh… Why give it over so easily?”

           “‘Tis been a burden upon me for many years… Now I’ll give it to you, knowing you shall carry it better than I ever will.” The bracelet began to faintly glow alongside the pendant as their marks resonated together. “Since ancient times, that bracelet has been worn by the one chosen to do Tiamat’s will on Earth. Be it chance or faith, as the bearer of the bracelet allow me to share with you a family poem… Beneath sun and moon, Amaryllis leads those who sing in the rain,” she finished.

           A peculiar poem, she didn’t have a clue what it meant. “That’s… What does that mean?”

           “That is for you to figure out yourself. Now leave us.” She turned away with a cold shoulder.

           Rafaela shrugged. “Will do, but for a moment. Are you really not Marie’s moth-”

           “Phantom R!” Vergier yelled down the hall.”

           “Goddamnit…” She huffed as she crossed her arms at the man. “You’re a little too late Inspector! Au revior!” She grinned as she bolted it out to meet up with Fondue. Their reunion was short-lived though as they were quick to learn the exit was packed with security.

           Various guests had also begun to notice the commotion, and a few were looking directly at her. So, time to give them the show they came for. With a dash, she ran across the seats in the main theater and lept onto one of the lights that circled up towards the top.

           “There she is! After her!” They scrambled around each level but were too slow to grab her as she hopped from light to light. She let out a laugh as she spun around on one to dodge an oncoming officer, that was certainly a dance she’d never forget.

           She let out a sigh of relief as they reached the roof, feeling the breeze from up high. “What a day, eh boy?”

           “Wouef! Wouef! Grrr…””

           His sudden growls caught her by surprise before a shadow zipped past above them. “I’ve got you now Phantom R!” Charlie yelled as he flipped down from a glider. “You can't fool me, I saw through that ruse of yours! And with all the constables below, I thought you might flee above.”

           “And a hand glider too? Wow, you’re one stubborn cutie. Sorry though, I’m not interested in you or your dad,” she teased him.

           “Leave my father out of this! I’d like to see where all of that confidence will go when you're behind bars!” Charlie hissed as he began to dribble a football.

           Rafaela shrugged. “Whatever you say, just don’t go crying to papa now!”

           Now a game of soccer on top of the Paris Opéra? That was a new one. Though she could feel the desperation in Charlie’s kicks as more and more footballs were slowly lost to her aggressive kicks. It didn’t take long for him to just abandon the idea altogether and went in to tackle her.

           Unfortunately, he wasn’t as nimble as she was and he quickly found himself precariously dangling over the edge of the Opéra. “Now this is quite the predicament… Need a hand there?” She crouched down to look at him and the height below them.

           While she could probably make it down there fine, she doubted Charlie would come out unscathed. But he had more bite than thought, hissing as he clung to the edge with a glare. “Not from you! I can do this myself!”

           “Hmm? Suit yourself then.” She pretended to turn away uninterested as he began to struggle behind her.

           “Wuh? Ah!” His fingers slipped and she was quick to shoot back, grabbing him with one hand and keeping her hat low with the other.

           With a tug, she pulled him back onto the roof, pushing him away from the edge. “There we go, I can't just leave a cutie in danger like that now can I?” She grinned.

           “Ugh… Don’t expect a thank you from me Phantom!”

           “Aww… So mean. But you sound just like your father you know that? I’d love to stay and chat, but I’ve got a date waiting for me. Au revior!” She cheered as she and Fondue lept down from Opéra with a flip, just to give the attendees one last good show.

           With that out of the way, she had to go find Marie. The thought of the poor girl being alone now after such a rejection pulled at her heart. She could only hope wherever she was, she was far away from the Cheveiliers.

Chapter Text

           The sunset warmed Marie’s face, yet her tears had dried some hour ago by now. She had run, run as far away as possible. From her friends, the Opéra, everything. Yet she couldn’t escape the city she was born into, from atop the Montmartre staircase she stared down at it all.

           It was endless and vast, the world she only knew and yet knew so little about.

           She sighed, her thoughts had been a jumble ever since her rejection by the Duchess. Jean-François had never led her wrong before, yet alone did anything to warrant such anger. But he had been oddly on edge that day, insisting that Marie forget about Rafaela as she’d be with her mother again.

           It had struck her as oddly cruel, but she trusted him.

           Her prayers were met with nary a whisper, only a cold reality.

           Now she wasn’t sure who to lean on.

           In her daze, she noticed a familiar dog trot over to her with a hat hanging onto his head. Fondue let out a little whine as he sat in front of her, the hat flopping over his eyes. A laugh escaped her heavy heart as a familiar figure flipped the hat off Fondue’s head.

           “Trying to steal the show now Fondue? How rude,” Rafaela teased as she spun the hat around back onto her head. With a snap, she held her hand out to Marie. “Check it! Did you know, there’s a dance that brings the angels together? Watch me now, to see if it’s true!”

           Marie’s heart fluttered as she took her hand, pulling her above the clouds with a smile. “Let’s not keep them waiting, mon amour!”

           It was as if a concert had been made, just for her. Two women in black joined Rafaela’s side, practically in sync with her movements as she warmed up her dance. Other people nearby began to gather in excitement, but Rafaela’s eyes were only for her.

           “ One more time, let me see you smile, that is all I need~ ”

           Marie’s breath caught in her throat as she began to sing for her.

           “ One thing that I will ask of you, to see you smile again~ ”

           That was when it finally hit her. As the girl sang and danced around for her with a grin on her face. She had fallen in love with her, that was why her heart couldn’t stop beating with her around.

           “ Angels are dancing all around us. It's just because, they love the way you smile while you're dancing~ ” She took Marie’s hand as her song reached its peak. Spinning her around as the crowds around them blurred. “ Found in all in your smile~ ”

           Her heart was abeat as her hands linked with Rafaela. She looked pleased with herself, looking down at the smile she had graced upon her lips. “Well, I don’t know about you. But I saw one angel today,” she let out a low chuckle.

           The crowd around them slowly dissipated, giving her much-needed privacy to voice her words aloud. “I-” She was sure her face must be red with a flush. “Thank you, Rafaela. I-I-” Her voice began to stammer again.

           Rafaela gently shushed her. “It’s okay, don’t force yourself… I know it’s hard I- Ahm…” She cleared her throat. “Hey, let’s go to my apartment. I’d like to show you something.”

           Without another word, Rafaela guided her down the tall staircase. As if she was a princess being led by a knight. The exhaustion of her earlier tears eventually caught up to her as they sat on the train together. The steady bumps made it hard for her to sit up straight.

           “Marie…” Rafaela whispered to her, nudging her with her shoulder. She took her invitation without a second thought, resting her head on her shoulder as she gave her eyes a moment to rest.

           By the time they reached their station, both of them had to be woken up by Fondue. It seemed she wasn’t the only tired one today. She could finally relax once they stepped foot inside Rafaela’s apartment, the other girl peering through her blinds at the night-time crowds.

           “You said you wanted to show me something?” Marie asked as they stood in her bedroom.

           With a grin, she approached her bookcase and tugged at a few books. Marie gasped as a low rumble moved one of the bookcases away, revealing a set of stairs begging to be explored. “It’s a secret to everybody… My secret cellar.”

           Rafaela snapped her fingers, and a treasure trove was cloaked in light. Famous paintings and antiques alike lined the walls and tables that surrounded her. “This is… Amazing, they all look so real”

           “That’s because they are,” she calmly replied.

           “Wha- How is that possible?”

           “The ones you’ve seen? They’re all fakes. I suppose it’s about time I explained everything to you. We both have a lot in common Marie, I’m sure you know that. My mother… But I never told you what happened to my father,” she explained with a stern voice, fragility petering at its edges.

           She sat down on a crate nearby as she continued her story. “He always struggled with his art, as much as he loved it no one could understand it. So eventually he became a forgery artist.”

           “I never knew you could be an artist like that…”

           “They’re works of art in their own right. From the type of paint used to even the way they replicate age. Completely indistinguishable from the originals. I found his diary three years ago, it listed all the the pieces he had swapped and sold on the black market…” Her voice trailed off.

           Warm brown eyes were lost in memory as Marie noticed a picture frame next to her. There was a man, Rafaela’s father she assumed. Despite his rather shaggy and exhausted appearance, his face was soft with joy and she could see why. It looked like Rafaela was going to school, she was brimming for the camera with long hair tied into pigtails.

           It left an ache in her heart.

           “From that day on, I decided as Phantom R I would set things right. I would steal away the forgeries and return the originals. I wait until their investigations simmer down or finish before making it mysteriously ‘reappear’.”

           “That explains so much now… Why you never keep the art and always return it. I don’t think anyone would have expected that…” Marie murmured.

           Rafaela flicked a coin in front of Marie, she let out a light gasp as it landed on her thumb revealing the mark that was on her violin. “He left me with this coin the day he left. Ever since then, I’ve been searching for anything with the same mark on it. And ever since I discovered the bracelet, I’ve discovered your violin too.”

           “You did this all yourself to find him?”

           “Yeah… I’ve got a lot of questions for him.”

           She and her both… “What is this mark then… Why is it on my violin?” Marie mumbled aloud to herself in contemplation.

           “Wish I knew. That’d solve about half of the mystery at least. Not to mention that Napoleon and those other freaks are after it too. I’ve been figuring out bits and pieces, but I still feel as lost as ever,” she sighed.

           “What will you do if you find him?”

           Rafaela was quiet.

           “It’s getting late. I should probably take you home.”

           “N-No!” Marie blurted out, shocking the other girl. “Let me stay with you. Because I think we’re in the same boat here. I-If I follow the mark, I could find my real mother. Together we could find out what our parents have been hiding from us all this time.”

           “It’s too dangerous!” Rafaela snapped back at her. “What if you get hurt because of him? What would I do?...”

           “What would I do if you got hurt on your own? What would Fondue do?” Marie found herself marching the other girl into a corner.

           She was left in shock by her sudden stubbornness, even Marie was a bit shocked herself. But she had a good reason for it, she couldn’t bear the thought of losing Rafaela, especially now. “... Alright then. But if things get intense I’m not backing down alright?”

           “Right!” Marie beamed with joy.

           After such an emotional high, they weren’t quite sure what to do with themselves until a loud growl echoed through the cellar. Fondue let out a whine as he circled Rafaela. “Ah- Oh no! We were in such a hurry today that we forgot breakfast!”

           “That’s terrible! You both should get something to eat and quickly!” Marie panicked.

           “I don’t have a lot of human food right now… Guess we should make a quick pop to the shops,” Rafaela grumbled.

           While Fondue was munching away at his extra large dinner, the both of them slipped through the door and back into the nighttime crowd. The corner shops grazed Marie’s eyes with their bright LED lights as Rafaela spaced out staring at the products on display.

           “I swear these were cheaper last time,” she grumbled before grabbing a few packets of instant noodles. “I can work with this I think…” After giving it a bit of thought she grabbed one or two extra bits along with it.

           “Is money a bit of an issue for you?” Marie gently prodded as they began their walk back after paying.

           Rafaela shrugged. “Kinda. My dad paid a deposit into the apartment before he left at least, but bills are still bills. I had to learn about how to be good with my money pretty quickly. That was part of the reason why Simon let me start working at my store.”

           “I had no idea…”

           “But when your wallet gets tight you just gotta come up with something creative and cheap,” she proudly announced as they entered her apartment. Fondue was sitting at the door, having waited for her to come back.

           It warmed Marie’s heart.

           Over a pot of boiling water, Marie soon found herself asking another question. “Say… In your cellar, I saw a photo. I didn’t know your hair used to be so long.”

           “Huh? Oh, yeah it used to be way longer. I cut it when I decided to become Phantom R, I think that’s how people were mistaking me for a man a few times at first. Didn’t really tease them much back then,” she explained while stirring the bubbling noodles. “Only started to let it grow back more recently.”

           “Ohh… Hmm, how did those first runs as Phantom R go? I don’t recall reading about you until at least a year ago now,” Marie asked.

           “Terribly!” She laughed. “Nearly got caught on my first try, I even had to go to the hospital after it.”

           Marie gasped. “Really? What happened?”

           “Accidently broke a window and caught my leg in it.” She pulled up a leg and adjusted her sock to show a jagged scar around her ankle. “I couldn’t even get my hands on what I was stealing, it was very embarrassing if I’m honest. But Fondue saved me by biting the police after me.” There was a warm smile on her face as she spoke.

           Fondue let out an excitable howl at the story too, pride in his wagging tail. “Nearly finished…” Rafaela hummed as she boiled two eggs in a different pot.

           Before Marie knew it, two bowls of noodles were ready with a dark broth, leftover chicken and an egg. “Poor man’s ramen,” Rafaela proudly introduced it. “I put a bit of chilli oil in mine, not sure if you’re any good with spice Marie.”

           “Oh wow… I don’t think I’ve seen anything like this before.” She stared at all the steam rising from it in surprise.

           “It’s some kind of Japanese noodle dish. Never had the chance to try a proper one before but I’m sure there’s somewhere in Paris that does it,” Rafaela explained.

           It was quite salty, reminding her of a less creamy soup. Even still she enjoyed it all the same, after all, Rafaela had made it for her. As they ate, the girl shared more stories with her. “I send those cards in first so no one else gets in trouble because of me. I think I saw someone in a movie do it actually…”

           “Why the suit though?”

           “Well it’s cool, isn’t it? And I’d say I look pretty dapper in it too. Thieves can be stylish, there’s all that Lupin stuff isn’t there? There’s some stuff from other countries that are pretty cool too, like I’ve watched all the Bond films with subtitles. Spies and thieves are kinda similar if you think about it, but spies get all the gadgets and we have to deal with lockpicks that love to snap at the wrong time. And spies get their suits dry-cleaned for them! I have to pay for mine to get dry-cleaned nearly every week!”

           Marie briefly wondered if her lips were as salty as the ramen before her face flushed red. It was strangely endearing listening to her talk away about films she liked and what it was like to live as a thief.

           She seemed to notice her chattiness after a while though and nearly choked on a noodle. “Ahh, sorry for talking your ear off. Guess I don’t have a lot of people to talk to during dinner,” she dryly laughed.

           “It’s alright! I like hearing you talk,” Marie giggled. “You remind me of some of the other children at the Convent. They’d tell me everything about their day at dinner, it was the other way around last night.”

           “Ah! Shoot, I should call them to let them know you’re safe!” Rafaela shot up. She quickly busied herself with an apologetic call as Marie finished the last of her ramen. “Mhm, yeah. I’ll be sure to bring her back when she’s ready. Thanks.”

           “Were they okay with it?”

           “Yup. Glad to hear you're safe too. Looks like we have a big day tomorrow though, we should probably get some rest.” Rafaela stretched. “You wouldn’t believe it but I had to go through waiter training today for my heist. It’s harder than it looks.”

           She nodded along, now feeling the sudden weight of drowsiness hit her at the thought of a nice warm bed. Perhaps it was her emotional high still talking to her, but as Rafaela prepared herself to sleep on her sofa again, Marie stopped her.

           The other girl looked at her in surprise as she held her wrist, bubbling her courage to speak. “D-Do… Do you think you could sleep next to me tonight? I don’t think I want to be alone tonight…”

           Rafaela looked shocked at her request before smiling. “Sure, though I will warn you. Fondue likes to kick sometimes.”

           Part of her was hoping it’d maybe be a bit more of a romantic affair sharing a bed with your crush. But Fondue snoring away in between them was a far cry from anything she envisioned. Not to mention how much Rafaela cuddled him instead.

           Sleep did not come easily tonight as she expected, Elisabeth’s rejection was still sore in her memory. Even if she wasn’t her daughter, her words had cut right through her effortlessly. Would her real mother reject her just as she did? What if she didn’t want her to come back at all?

           “Can't sleep?” Rafaela murmured.

           “Sorry…”

           “It’s fine.”

           They turned around in bed to stare at each other for a while, sleep refusing to nip at either of them except for Fondue. Marie sighed. “I suppose I’m worried my real mother might reject me too…”

           Rafaela’s pained expression as she spoke told her enough that the girl shared similar worries. “I can see why that’d worry you… What about your father? Have you ever tried searching for him?”

           Marie nodded. “Yes, but supposedly nothing has come up about him. They suspect he might have passed already…” Jean-François spoke of finding her mother in particular so much, she had never given much thought to who her father might be at all.

           “Your father, can I ask what he was like?”

           “... A bit messy I think. Normally I’d always clean up after him, I’m still doing it even after he’s gone, aren’t I? Guess he was a bit of a nerd too, he liked to talk about art for hours. Artists, techniques and other stories, maybe I get it from him,” she huffed. “And just kind of… Emotional? I guess?”

           “How so?”

           “Well… The whole reason why he went through so much effort to replace those paintings? I got really sick when I was little, so sick I missed a lot of school for a long time. We were a rather poor family without my mother to support us, so he did what he could. I’d sometimes stay in bed while he painted, listening to him talk about the painting he was making to go to sleep… I never thought it’d get this far though, I never knew he was actually swapping them…”

           Tears welled in the corner of Rafaela’s eyes. “I wonder sometimes if that’s why he left me. If I had become too big of a burden for him to bear… I know it’s not true, it couldn’t be, he wasn’t that kind of man. But…” She sighed.

           Marie quietly slipped her hand past Fondue and into Rafaela’s lightly shocking the other girl. “I’m sure you weren’t a burden. We’ll find him together, won’t we? And get the answers you deserve.”

           “Yeah… Thanks, Marie.” She shared one last smile with her before the both of them finally fell asleep.

           By the call of morning, Marie was the first to wake up. And upon discovering their hands were still linked, flushed red. She couldn’t do something like this, yet at the same time, it left her with a warm content feeling in her chest. For now, she decided to try and push it down a bit, they had a mystery to solve.

           After helping Fondue wake up Rafaela later, the three of them were ready to get on with their investigation. “With what I learnt yesterday. We need to find something called the Cross of the Sun King to finish the crown. Not a clue where to start though…”

           “We could ask around the city. I’m sure there’s someone out there who's heard about it,” Marie smiled.

           Before they could continue their discussion a boy ran over to them. “Whoa! Heya Rafaela, you’re up early for once.”

           “Huh? Michel, what are you doing sneaking about?... You have a shift today don’t you?” Her eyes narrowed at him.

           His arms flew up into the air. “Busted… But heyy, you can fill in for me, right? And whoa!- Whose this?” He pointed at her in surprise.

           Marie smiled at him. “Hello, I’m Marie. It’s nice to meet you. Are you Rafael’s friend?”

           “Oh yeah-”

           “We’re exes,” Rafaela interrupted him with a grin.

           “God! Why do you always introduce me like that?”

           “Because it’s funny.”

           “We dated for a DAY !”

           Marie snickered at their bickering. “I didn’t know that Rafaela. I thought that you were uhm one of those…” Her voice awkwardly tapered off as she tried to figure out a polite way to ask her question.

           “Gay? Well, I’m bisexual so yeah. Half and half baby.”

           “Says the girl who got rejected by her lady crush. And after you two spent so much time together in the toilets too,” Michel snidely remarked.

           Rafaela shook him by the collar.

           After that eventful meeting, they ended up making their way to an antique bookstore where they quietly skimmed the shelves for answers. Though Marie couldn’t focus very well with a question on her mind. “Rafaela?”

           “Hm?”

           “You said you were bisexual, what does that mean?”

           “To put it simply, you just like boys and girls,” she explained. “I learnt about it in school from another student. She was a bit, experimental to say the least.”

           “I see…”

           “What’s up?”

           “It’s nothing! Just, I’ve never thought about stuff like this before…” The conversation tapered off as she couldn’t bring herself to continue it. Lest her face betray her true emotions towards the girl.

           The other girl let out an annoyed whine as their search turned up null. “I ever scrolled around online for a bit and found squat,” she huffed. “Hmm… Oh! If he’s around I just thought of someone who can help. I’ve got a friend who lives on FDR Avenue who’s pretty handy with history.”

           Émile was another one of Rafaela’s friends she was pleased to meet. Luckily for them, the boy seemed to be taking a short break and doing a bit of light sunbathing by his home’s doorstep.

           He looked up at the two of them in surprise from a book he was engrossed in. “Oh! Rafaela, hello. Did you finish your history homework yet?”

           “Wait is that due?... No never mind that! I’ve got a question for you, oh great scholar,” she teased him. “Have you heard of something known as the Cross of the Sun King?”

           The boy hummed in thought. “Hmm… Sun King… Can’t say I’ve heard of a cross named that. But ‘Sun King’ could be referring to King Louis the XIVth. I’d suggest you stop by the Paris Archives! They’re filled to the brim with knowledge.”

           Rafaela let out a yell. “Ah! Why didn’t I think of that first? Thanks, Émile!” With a grin, Rafaela grabbed her wrist and pulled her along. They walked through the busiest part of Paris together, linked hand to hand between all the crowds of people.

           It was as if she was soaring above them.

           “This is my first time inside the archives!” Marie excitedly commented as they looked up at the old building. “I’ve always been curious about what it’s like.”

           “Pretty peaceful, c’mon let’s hit the books.”

           It truly was peaceful in there, even the whispers amongst students were barely audible. So much as a pen drop would have been a disturbance. Over by the counter, an old lady was struggling to repress a yawn.

           “Mmm… Oh? Hello there, looking for a particular book?” She yawned as she looked up at them.

           “Yup, anything on the Sun King?”

           The old lady flicked through a large registry. “Indeed we do, far too many. Anything in particular about him?”

           “Anything to do with a cross?”

           “Hmm… Well, we do have a book titled ‘Treasures of the Sun King’. It’d likely be in there. But I’m afraid it's in our special collection…”

           Rafaela let out a frustrated groan. “Again?” She hissed under her breath as Marie pulled her away.

           “What should we do?” She whispered.”

           “I’d distract her with the phone but… Looks like she’s gotten clever…”

           Marie gave it some thought, the steady yawns were something that caught her attention though. “She’s so tired, I think it would take a lot to tip her over the edge,” she whispered to her.”

           “Ohh… I like that idea. But I don’t think we can get away with knocking her out.”

           Marie spluttered. “What? No!” She hissed between her teeth. “I meant we could help her fall asleep.”

           Rafaela covered her mouth with her hand. “Ohh… Well, what do you have in mind?”

           She had an idea, it was something she had done at the Convent many times before. With a deep breath, she stood near the desk pretending to check through one of their information guides and under her breath sang. “ Do, do, l’enfant do, L’enfant dormira bien vite… ”

           The old lady practically slumped across the desk with a snore as she fell asleep. “Yes! Great work Marie, c’mon before someone notices.” She hurried over to the door, sticking a few coins into the door until a lock clicked. “Open sesame, let’s go!”

           Inside the special archive was a beautiful sight, the books were adorned by intricately carved shelves and golden trims. In a way, it was like a royal bedroom for the antique and rare. They spit up their search, skimming through spines and papers for what felt like forever until Rafaela let out a loud ‘aha!’.

           Marie hurried over to see her holding a book on Louis the XIVth. “Man, this guy had a lot of stuff… But it looks like the Cross of the Sun King was one of those things too. Lucky him.”

           “Do you think the royal family had some sort of connection to the Dragon Crown?”

           “Gotta be. They even hid it in the Palace of Versailles during the revolution. And look here, Napoleon was looking for it too after reading the Phantom Rosetta Stone… I should have stayed awake in history,” Rafaela sighed.

           Marie giggled. “Don’t worry, I’ve never heard of it before either. Oh! Your friend Émile might know about it though.”

           “Truee… Let’s head out then! I think my eyes will fall out of my head if I have to read much longer,” she groaned.

           Together they slipped out of the archives, the old lady was still fast asleep thankfully though it looked like they had been stuck in there for quite a while. The sun was beginning to go down and Rafaela fished out her phone.

           “C’mon boy pick up,” she mumbled to herself. “Ah! Hey Émile, yeah it was just some bauble owned by the King. But there’s something else that caught our eye too.” She lowered the phone and put it on speaker for Marie. “The Phantom Rosetta Stone, ever heard of it?”

           “Oh yes! Who hasn’t heard of it? Well, aside from you perhaps. It’s paired with another Rosetta Stone in the British National Museum. They’re displaying it in the Egypt exhibit in the Louvre right now, they’re arguing it’s the discovery of the century!” He excitedly explained.

           At least that was simple enough to understand, but with how late it was she was sure the Louvre was closed now. Though with Rafaela’s track record, she doubted that would be much of an issue for them.

           “I see… Thanks a bunch, Émile!”

           “Hey wait a sec!” Michel’s voice came in to interrupt the call. “You guys are all talk, but wait until you hear about my discovery of the century-” Rafaela hung up.

           “Let’s go!” She cheered as she pocketed her phone.

           Together they made their way towards the Louvre, but as they passed through Tuileries Garden Marie tugged at her sleeve. Amid the carnival crowd was a very boisterous fellow in a suit similar to Rafaela’s.

           “Come one come all! Come see Phantom R perform tonight! Tickets are almost sold out!” He called out to a rather excitable crowd.

           “Someone is pretending to be you,” Marie commented. “And selling tickets with your name at that… Are you okay with that?”

           “Huh? Well, that’s a first. Guess I’m famous enough for that now. Hmm, not heard about this before though. I know quite a few street performers quite well at that…”

           The girl was rather deep in thought for a bit as Marie watched the fake Phantom R perform hat tricks for an easily pleased crowd. But not everyone seems convinced, considering the knowledge of Phantom R being a woman had become recent news some others weren’t as easily fooled.

           “I have an idea,” Rafaela proudly announced. Marie nearly jumped out of her skin seeing how she had suddenly changed into her Phantom R attire without her noticing.

           How she did that was the biggest mystery of all.

           “We’ll give ‘em a real show.” With a confident saunter and an eager bark from Fondue, she made her way towards the fake Phantom R. “Well, now what do we have here?” She grinned as she leant an arm on the fake’s shoulder.

           He leapt back in surprise. “Whoa! P-Phantom R? Wait no! What’s a fake doing here? Trying to upstage me are you?” The fake Phantom R huffed.

           Rafaela let out a cackle. “Strong words there cutie. Why don’t you back it up?”

           The fake Phantom crossed his arms defiantly. “Of course, I will! A dance battle! You and me, the Pony and the Phantom!” He loudly announced to an eager applause amongst the crowd.

           “Wait don’t you think-” Marie panicked

           “It’d be my pleasure, but where’s your stage?”

           She trailed behind them in a hurry inside a colourful tent, attempting to get a word into Rafaela before they began their battle. “Don’t you think this is going a bit too far?” She squeaked as Rafaela climbed onto the stage, the women in black from before approaching from the sides.

           “Relax, it’ll be a bit of fun. Besides, now you’ll get to see Phantom R in the spotlight! Way different than getting chased around by some tin cans,” she laughed but Marie was still unsure about it all.

           Their dance battle began as the crowd roared, copying each other's moves with style. “Come on now cutie, don’t let me down!” Rafaela loudly teased the other boy as he struggled to keep up with her speed. “Watch closely now! Each heart is a treasure, and they’re all mine!”

           “Don’t butter them up with pretty words! Watch this!” The boy backflipped on the stage to applause.

           Wordlessly, Rafaela grinned before letting herself drop down to perform a death drop. The entire crowd gasped as she raised her leg into a spin before getting back up with style. “How’s that for buttering? Satisfied yet cuties? I know you can't get enough of me!”

           “She stole the show!”
          “Wow!”

           “My heart!”

           Marie could hear various yells from the crowd as Rafaela smugly grinned at the fake and flicked at his hat. “Sorry cutie, but the show’s over.”

           The fake Phantom let out a frustrated groan at his loss and vanished behind the curtains. Rafaela jumped off the stage to the shock of everyone around and peered back at Marie. “C’mon! We’ve got a date with destiny!”

           They dashed through the crowd, escaping into the shadows and back on track towards the Louvre. Marie had to admit, watching that performance had made he heart beat twice as fast. Seeing her dance again like that, yet it felt different from the personal dance she had given her before. More performative in a way.

           She noticed Rafaela’s smile wasn’t as big as she expected, a more tired smile if anything. “Rafaela, are you alright?” Marie spoke up, surprising the other girl. “You don’t look too happy about winning.”

           “Wuh? Of course, I am!” She forced a smile onto herself. “Did you hear the way they cheered for Phantom R? Of course that makes me happy.”

           Fondue let out a whine, pawing at her leg. It seemed he had also sensed something was up if only he could talk. Rafaela shrugged. “It’s nothing important, c’mon we’ve got an investigation to go.”

           “If it’s nothing important then why did you agree to a dance battle? I’m just a little worried is all…” Marie frowned.

           Seeing this Rafaela seemed to panic. “Ahh, no don’t get upset. It’s just stupid little things. Like, sometimes I wonder who do people think Phantom R really is. Y’know? She’s almost a character now, is anything I say as her me?...”

           It seemed these thoughts had been weighing on her mind for quite some time, and it only hit Marie now. Her persona had been pushed out around a crowd, teasing and flirting abound. But how much of it was from the heart?

           But she knew Rafaela as a person, not a character. And so she reached out for her hand. “I’m not quite sure what to say but… Phantom R is a kind and brave lady, and so are you. So I’d like to think Rafaela is Phantom R, and Phantom R is Rafaela… I-If that makes sense.”

           Rafaela was taken aback by her. “Not a clue,” she laughed. “I’ll have to think about it, but thanks, Marie…”

           “There we go, a proper smile back on your face…” Marie whispered.

           They made their way back towards the Louvre again, but to her surprise took the corner around to the side of the building. “What’s down here? A secret entrance?” She asked.

           “Yup! One of my favourites at that. Watch.” Over by the wall, Rafaela played around with a few coloured buttons that glowed with a chime. With a click, she twisted a large triangle in the center and a small door opened nearby.

           With a grin, she stood beside it. “After you Madameoselle.” Which elicited a laugh from Marie. The Louvre at night was a beautiful sight, it took her breath away seeing everything under a cloak of darkness.

           “Wow… It’s so quiet. It feels as if I’ve stepped into a whole new world.”

           “Great it isn’t? This is my favourite way to see art. All alone with no distractions, you can really take the time to appreciate it all.” Her eyes drifted around the halls with a soft smile on her face.

           “Wouef!”

           “Yes, yes Fondue. We’ll get to the security cameras in a bit. Let a lady appreciate a bit of beauty will you?”

           Up the stairs, Marie did her best to keep up. The call of the art all around her was quite distracting, if they didn’t have Napoleon to worry about she would have happily let Rafaela guide her around the entire museum at night. Though with how old it was she had to wonder if any ghosts were lurking about…

           “Hold it! Guard,” Rafaela hissed as they hid against a wall.

           “Oh dear… How will we get through?”

           “We just keep going. But with style. C’mon stay close,” she giggled as she pulled Marie with her.

           Hand in hand, Rafaela held her closely as they dashed down the corridor. Freezing behind statues with a pose as guards flicked around with a torch. Her heart was ready to beat out of her chest out of nervousness. The thrill of nearly getting caught and the mischievousness of Rafaela as she toyed with the guards. She had to slump against the wall to catch her breath by the end.

           “Whoa, you alright Marie?”

           “Y-Yeah!” She gasped. “You really look like you enjoy this.

           Rafaela giggled with a bashful look. “Maybe a little…”

           Inside the security room, she took a few more deep breaths while Rafaela and Fondue fiddled with the controls. It sounded like smooth sailing until Rafaela let out a small. “Uh oh…”

           “What is it?”

           “Ahh… They changed the security controls. So, there might be some guards on their way here.” Marie’s eyes widened, was she always this messy on her heists? “But hey! We still have some time! Let’s book it!”

           With a spring in her step, Rafaela dragged her back down the hall. Though Marie found the warning bells in her mind were going off the charts now. Exactly how bad did Rafaela mess up the controls? How long did they have left?

           The other girl seemed to be obvious to her panic, still in the moment as Phantom R as they made their way into the Egypt Exhibit. Everything was smooth sailing until Rafaela took a turn and was met face-to-face with a very realistic replica of a mummy.

           She swore the colour drained out of her face in a near instant as she let out a strangled scream before clamping her mouth shut with her hands. “I hate you…” She coldly responded to the mummy.

           “R-Rafaela?”

           The girl’s face quickly turned red as she realised what she had done in front of her. Tugging her hat down in front of her face in embarrassment with a groan. “Are you afraid of mummies?” Marie had to hold back a snort.

           Fondue let out a little bark too, as if to affirm her question.

           “Ugh… It’s so embarrassing. You can blame my dad for that. Like, oh great idea Issac, go show your five-year-old daughter a movie that’ll scare the living daylights out of her! All because some fancy pants director’s name was attached to it, God!” She ranted with a huff.

           Marie and Fondue laughed together at her embarrassment before the yell of a security guard caught their attention. As if a switch was flipped into action, Rafaela grabbed Marie by the wrist. “Let’s hurry!” She hissed under her breath as they sped off in the opposite direction.

           While the guard was distracted searching for their voices they finally got a glimpse at the stone they had been searching for. It was a lot more fragmented than she had expected though. “How strange… What do you think it says?”

           “No idea looks like it’s not got enough to translate. But from what it says here Napoleon ordered it to be shattered. Apparently, it contained information about some lost civilization,” Rafaela explained.

           Marie crossed her arms in thought. “Hmm… That doesn’t really help does it? What should we do now?”

           “Guess it’s worth giving Versailles a visit. After all, he didn’t find it during the revolution, so it’s gotta be there somewhere still… Let’s talk about it more once we’re outside, that security guard has gotta be on his way back now!” Rafaela explained as they began their escape from the Louvre.

-

           Somehow buses to Versailles seemed to still be running, and at Marie’s suggestion, the both of them made their way to the Arch de Triomphe to catch one. Rafaela was quite excited about it really, she hadn’t been to Versailles before so she and Marie would be in the same boat there.

           Though to just their luck, it looked like there was a problem with the bus. A poor soul of a bus driver had all the colour sucked from his face as he babbled apologies to angry customers all dressed for some sort of party. Rafaela squeezed her way through the crowd and over to the man.

           “What’s up with the bus?” Her question was met with a loud frustrated wail from the driver.

           “Ohhh, the misery! Of all the days, my bus has been giving me no trouble. Euuuuuuuu! And the whining, it will not stop!” He clutched his head in pain

           She was a bit taken aback by the dramatics, but they needed everything they could get if that bus was going to move. “Hey take a deep breath now. Let me help, what seems to be the problem?”

           “Auuuuuu! Young lady! No, angel! Come quickly, look how the smoke rises!” He practically dragged her along to the faulty engine. It was sputtering away with a whole number of buttons and gizmos attached to it. “The three buttons must be pressed, but in the right way!”

           He then proceeded to make a range of dramatic sounds to mimic the sound of how to press each button. She worried for the man's sanity if he continued bus driving. “What a moody beast it is! A fickle creature!”

           “Right, why don’t you go uh, sit down for a bit? Guess I just gotta press the buttons in the right rhythm.” She patted her chest proudly. “And that’s my speciality.”

           They were a little finicky at first, but after the first button she managed to get a hang of it and the engine was running again in no time. And the driver howled in joy at the sound. “Oui! A miracle, ohh thank you I will no longer be thrown to the wolves! Quickly now, you may board without charge you and your friend.”

           “Thanks! After you Marie,” she grinned.

           The three of them settled at the back of the bus, away from any prying eyes of the other chatty partygoers. Every one of them was dressed to the nines, it was a bit overwhelming if she stared for too long. “Should take a while till we arrive,” Rafaela mumbled to herself as she checked her phone.

           “Ah-Dammit,” Rafaela hissed as she caught something in her phone's reflection. She pulled out a compact mirror and pouted. Her eyeliner had gotten smudged somehow while they were out today, though she wasn’t exactly sure when.

           Marie peered over at her curiously as she left her glasses on her lap to try and fix it with a small makeup kit she carried with her. Carefully extending her eyeliner just a bit to hide the smudge, and then recreating that new line on the other eye.

           But it was a bit awkward to do with Marie watching her so intently. “What’s up?” She spoke aloud while focusing on steadying her hand.

           “Sorry, it’s nothing just… I’ve never really watched people put on makeup before. Some of the nuns do wear it, but only a little bit. They’ve never let me touch any of it though,” she quietly explained.

           An idea was quick to strike Rafaela with a grin. “Do you want to wear some?”

           “I-I’m not sure…”

           “I can do it for you if you’re nervous about putting it on yourself.”

           Marie seemed to give it some thought for a while, staring at Rafaela’s face all the while in consideration. “A-Alright, just a bit,” she nervously replied.

           “Alright then, we can start with a bit of foundation, and if you don’t like it I have a few wipes.” It was a gentle process for sure, and she didn’t want to hurt Marie by accident in any way. She had seen how demonized a bit of powder had become by some people, and it wasn’t easy to remove it.

           Rafaela leaned in closer to Marie, holding the bottom of her chin gently with her finger as she pressed a powdered brush against her cheeks. The girl was frighteningly still as she brushed the pale powder across her face, caressing every divot and curve. “Mhm… There we go, what do you think?” She clicked her mirror open for Marie, letting the girl hold it and look closely at herself.

           She looked at her reflection in surprise. “It didn’t change much.”

           “You don’t have many marks to hide to be fair. But think of it as preparing the base of a painting, gotta have something clear and ready to use. You want to keep it on?” She reached over to grab some wipes if Marie wasn’t happy with it.

           “Yes, please. It’s not as bad as I thought it was… I was always told it wasn’t very proper to wear a lot of it, so I steered clear of it,” Marie explained.

           It was something Rafaela didn’t grow up worrying about really, even if her family was once Catholic. “There’s nothing wrong with enjoying it, my mother used to tell me that a lot before she died. If there was a big show happening she’d be done up so beautifully, I remember how it’d glitter and shine under the lights. When I got older, I had to learn most of it by myself…”

           “Rafaela…”

           “Sorry, sorry. Been rambling a lot lately huh?”

           “It’s fine! Though I was wondering, what else would you put on after this?” Marie squeaked.

           Rafaela raised her eyebrows in surprise. “What’s up? Are you interested in trying on more?”

           “A bit… If you don’t mind.”

           She smiled. “Of course, you can stop me whenever you’d like. Lessee… Oh, we can get a little bit of concealer on next, it just helps hide any bits the foundation didn’t cover.” She calmly explained as she blended it onto Marie’s face. “Your skin is quite soft you know that?...” She commented without thinking.

           “Why don’t we get a little bit of blush on next? The brush for it is really fluffy too, here.” It was only a light amount of blush, just a bit to dust her cheeks with a light pink. The way she squeezed her eyes shut as she brushed at her cheeks was adorable though.

           “It really was soft…”

           “Yeah, Fondue likes it when I brush him with it too. After cleaning of course,” she chuckled. “The next bit might be a bit tricky for you. I need to put something around your eyelids. Close your eyes for me, alright?” She held Marie’s chin up carefully as the other girl nervously closed her eyes.

           Admittedly, Rafaela was nervous about doing this for someone else. She had never applied anyone else's makeup on before, and if she poked Marie in the eye somehow she might as well just be thrown off the bus.

           With a steady hand, the pen curved across Marie’s eyelids. It was a simple line, just enough to highlight her eyes. And with a little flick, she gave the edges a small curve similar to her own.

           “Nearly there… Hm, I don’t use it often myself but how do you feel about eyeshadow?” Rafaela hummed.

           “M-Maybe a little bit.”

           “Alrighty, I’ve got a good one for you too.”  She leaned in a bit closer, silver dusting across Marie’s eyelids. Admittedly the reason behind her choice was a little bit cheesy. It reminded her of the moon, a perfect fit for Marie if she was honest.

           Rafaela smiled. “One more step Marie, you look great! Open your eyes for me, just something for your eyelashes left.” She cautiously brushed Marie’s eyelashes, keeping her eyes set on the girl for any flashes of discomfort. Yet she seemed quite pliant beneath her hands.

           “There we go!” She finally pulled back, taking back in the breaths that had paused in the moment. With her compact mirror, she let Marie look at her work for a while as she organized her makeup bag.

           Something fell out with a clack and Marie was quick to pick it up for her with intrigue. “What is this?...” She murmured.

           Rafaela finched it out of her fingers and pulled off the top. “It’s just a lipstick tube,” she explained as the red stick corked out, unmarked and unused. “I considered using it before, but thought it might stick out too much.”

           “I’m sure it’d look fine on you. Though do you think I could try it on too?”

           “Knock yourself out.”

           Watching Marie try to carefully position the stick across her lips was a cute sight, puckering them too far for proper coverage before looking at Rafaela with big eyes as if to ask ‘Did I do it right?’. “Relax your lips a little, you’re scrunching them up too much,” she snorted.

           “R-Right. How about now?” She turned to her with a bright smile across her red lips.

           “Perfect,” Rafaela smiled back before Marie returned her stick. Without giving it much of a second thought, she considered wearing it alongside Marie too. May as well, it’d be cute to match.

           However, she didn’t expect the oddly shocked look on Marie’s face when she turned around to face her after applying it. “What’s wrong?” Was she embarrassed to match her?

           “N-Nothing!” She stammered. “It suits you really well Rafaela!”

           If it suited her that well why did she seem flustered about it? Oh well, not much to dwell on. Once she finally packed her makeup back up, Marie poked her on the shoulder with a little smile. “Thank you for this Rafaela. Really, if I may could I style your hair in return? I’ve done it a lot for other children at the Convent before.”

           “Really? Anything you’ve got in mind?”

           Marie hummed in thought. “Turn around, I’ll surprise you.”

           She turned around, letting Marie’s fingers twirl around the locks of her hair. It wasn’t long enough for anything too intricate, but with the way her hands moved, she had a feeling what she was making.

           A warm feeling bloomed in her chest remembering the days her father used to braid her hair for her. She had missed the feeling, it just wasn’t the same doing it herself. “There we go, w-what do you think?”

           Rafaela peered back to look at the short loose plait. “It’s cute! Thanks, Marie!”

           Eventually, their stop finally arrived. It felt great to stretch her legs again as they stepped off the bus, all types of fancy party-goers also got off with them which piqued their curiosity.

           “So many of ‘em… There’s gotta be some sort of party going on them,” Rafaela commented as they explored the front gate. A man in a suit stood right by the gate, letting certain people inside so she tried him first. “Excuse me, is the palace still open today?”

           “My apologise, Mademoiselles. But the palace is currently open only for invited guests only today. We are sorry for the inconvenience,” he explained.

           Well, that put them back a few squares, especially after coming all this way already. “Hmm… What to do,” Rafaela hummed to herself. “Could try sneaking in, but I’m not too familiar with the layout here… Maybe someone can let us borrow their invitation.” She winked.

           But Marie crossed her arms with a disappointed stare. “Rafaela… How would you feel if someone stole your invitation? Not very happy would you?”

           “But-”

           “We can find another way in I’m sure,” she assured her. “If we help someone they might put a good word in for us. Let’s keep looking.”

           Rafaela huffed and followed behind her. There had to be some sort of lock nearby she could pick for them to sneak in, though the chances of them getting caught were still an issue. With this many special guests, she was sure the security would be tight.

           While she pondered what to do, a friendly man approached them with a relieved look on his face. “Oh, what splendid luck! Just the young lady I hoped to see,” he eagerly exclaimed towards Marie. “Ah, I’m getting ahead of myself. I’m the conductor of a music troupe scheduled to perform at the gala today you see. But unfortunately one of our violinists fell ill and we’re one short. I’ve seen you perform on the streets in Paris before Mademoiselle, might you consider joining us?”

           Marie squeezed at her violin case anxiously. “O-Oh I don’t know…”

           “I could arrange invitations for you and your friend if so. Perhaps a warm-up could help you consider,” he explained as he handed her a music sheet.

           She gave it a quick look over. “Oh! I’ve played this before! Right then…” Marie took a deep breath as she pulled out her violin, attracting the attention of a few guests nearby. Rafaela took a step back while she played, letting the pleasant flow of music warm her ears.

           Already the conductor looked very pleased with her performance, and the nearby guests seemed to believe her performance was a part of the Gala. Cheering up many of the rich visitors unpleased by the service already.

           The conductor gave her an excited applause once she finally finished. “Bravo! Fantastique! That was a wonderful performance. Here are the invitations I promised you both, once the performance is over you’re free to enjoy the festivities as much as you’d like.”

           Marie’s face was beaming with pride as they were handed their golden accented invitations. “Now then, if you’ll come with me I shall introduce you to your fellow musicians backstage. I’m sure they’ll be relieved to meet you.

           “Yes! I’ll see you after the performance then, Rafaela!”

           She smiled at Marie. “Best of luck!”

           The two of them hurried through the gate, leaving her with Fondue. “Enjoy the party eh? Ahh, if only we weren’t looking for that cross,” Rafaela pouted.

           “Wouef!”

           “It’s so unfair isn’t it Fondue? Oh well, let’s make our way inside!” Thankfully no one seemed to stop her from bringing Fondue in, he was one lucky dog that was for sure. The inside of the palace was far grander than she had ever expected, it almost made her eyes hurt. “Damn, this is one swanky place…”

           A meaty smell wafted down from where the banquet was taking place and his tail thumped against the floor with excitement. “Fondue… We’ve got work to do,” she lightly scolded him as he whined. “I’ll treat you later alright boy?”

           “Wouef!”

           The guests were, special to say the least. One man attempted to whistle at her which she promptly shouldered off. Purple just wasn’t his colour. A lady very nearly recognised Fondue from the opera house and one man wasn’t having the best day with his expectations.

           All the while it felt as if their gazes were piercing her up and down, it was unnerving if she was honest. She looked horribly out of place amongst them all, comfortable yes but fancy? Amongst the crowd, she felt strangely inadequate amongst the wealthy.

           Fondue let out a whine as she shuffled around, sensing her anxiety. “Sorry boy, guess I feel a bit out of place… Hmm…” Well, she had one trick up her sleeve for an easy confidence boost.

           After straightening her tie, she certainly felt a lot better in her Phantom R suit, barring the hat for now. “Well, don’t I look dapper for a party? Right Fondue?” She grinned in front of one of the hallway mirrors.

           “Wouef!”

           “Great, now let’s keep going!”

           As she passed through one of the galleries a particular wail of sorrow caught her ear as a man sobbed into his flute, creating a sorrowful tune. “What’s up, flute boy? Flat tune?”

           “I go on in five minutes! And my music sheet is in shreds! Ahh, my life is over. I’ll never play again, they’ll toss me out into the streets,” he wailed.

           “Hey, chill out flute boy. I think I’ve got some tape somewhere…” It was closer to a sports tape if anything, but it did the trick binding together some of the papers. The flute player watched anxiously as she slotted the sheet together.

           Once it was together he played a short tune on his flute and looked at her elated. “Ohh! Thank you so much, I’ve gotta be more careful with these sheets… Is there anything I can do to repay you?”

           “Hmm… Ever heard of the Cross of the Sun King flute boy?”

           “Can’t say I have… Sorry about that. Gah! I need to be on now! Thanks again!” He sprinted away, nearly tearing his music sheet again in the process.

           Hopefully, it’d hold together throughout his performance. “No luck here… Why don’t we try Chapel Court? That should have some old knick-knacks in there,” she suggested to Fondue.

           She didn’t pay much mind to the crowd around her as she walked, staring around at the old walls lined with gold when she saw it. A sliver of red amongst the crowd. Her father.

           She froze in place, unable to breathe as his eyes met hers.

           “Father?”

           His eyes widened before vanishing amongst the crowd. “No, wait!” She desperately called out for him to no avail.

           Fondue let out a confused whine beside her. “I-I saw him. My father! C’mon, we need to find him.” She didn’t give Fondue a chance to catch up before she practically sprinted after the man.

           Flashes of red called to her through the crowds as she continued her chase, weaving in between confused and angry guests. He slid up the stairs and she followed after him as best she could.

           “Father!- Ah!” Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to avoid everyone and quickly crashed into one of the guests. Her heart lept up her chest as she attempted to pull them up in a panic. “I-I’m so sorry!”

           “Ugh, you should be. What’s a lady doing running about the place like a wild chicken?” It was a lady in an expensive-looking white dress and well-styled pink hair. She helped her up, scanning the room for any sign of her father to no avail.

           “Sorry Madame. But I was chasing after a man with red hair, you didn’t happen to see him did you?” She apologised again to the fuming lady.

           She crossed her arms with a huff. “First he bumped into me without apologising, and then you finished the job for him.”

           “I said I was sorry at least…” Rafaela mumbled under her breath.

           “Hmph, this is what happens when they allow so many peasants in. Improperly dressed brutes, I’d have you kicked out but I’ll grant you a bit of mercy for at least rectifying that mistake.”

           There were so many words she wished she could spout, but any number of them would have had her promptly kicked out. And so she quietly slunk away into the crowds into one of the few empty hallways to let out an exhausted sigh.

           “Improperly dressed huh?...” It was one of her father’s old suits, she had found it after he left. The only one that could really fit with slight altercations. At first, she mostly wore it for the connection to him. She was doing this all because of him after all, yet as time went on it became part of her, part of Phantom R.

           Fondue finally caught up to her with a worried whine. “Oh… I’m sorry boy, I left you behind.” She crouched down to rub his head. “I-I didn’t mean to I just…” He licked her face in understanding.

           “Hey now don’t do that, you’ll ruin my makeup,” she let out a dry laugh.

           “Wouef!”

           Looks like she had run into another dead end. With another deep breath, she pulled herself up. “Maybe it wasn’t him… Who knows. Marie’s performance should be nearly done at least. Let’s go check out the Hall of Mirrors.”

           Thankfully it wasn’t far, though stepping inside her earlier anxieties began to crawl back out. All the men around her were wearing specially tailored suits alongside women in beautiful white ballgowns. She was the only woman around in the suit as far as she could tell as she carefully stepped around various couples to search for Marie.

           “Rafaela!” Marie’s cheerful voice called over to her from between the crowd. She turned to greet the girl only to be left speechless the moment she laid eyes on her. Marie was wearing a white ballgown too, alongside her makeup and hair she was the very picture of a storybook princess.

           She let out a soft giggle. “The conductor said I might as well use it while I wear it. W-What do you think?”

           Oh.

           Oh crap, what should she say? Gorgeous, stunning, beautiful? Those all felt too simple. She was meant to be good at this stuff, she wasn’t a mess like Michel when it came to words. Yet here she was babbling like a baby as the guests around them began to slowly dance together to the next band.

           She slapped her sweaty palms against her trousers in a panic. Phantom R wasn’t some nervous mess, she had to focus. “Ahem… Chère Madame, you take my breath away. Would you honour me with a dance?”

           “Gladly.” She smiled so brightly as she took her hand in hers.

           Rafaela wouldn’t be lying if she didn’t say she was nervous, dancing alongside others was one thing. But dancing with them in a waltz was a whole new experience. She was quick to take the lead, finding a rhythm with the tune that echoed through the hallway.

           As long as they could copy the movements of the dancers nearby, they’d be just fine. Yet at the same time, she couldn’t rip her eyes off the other girl. How closely they held each other as they slowly swayed to the music, the gentle spins that made Marie’s face light up with joy.

           It all made her heart flutter, yet in a way she had never felt before.

           Marie was very cute, yes, she had already stolen her heart with her charm like many other girls and boys before her. It was usually a fleeting feeling, a brief companionship before the next. Nothing stayed unless they stayed as friends.

           Yet there was something that drew her into Marie, a feeling of wanting to stay by her for longer. Why did she feel such a way?

           To hold Marie closely, dance as one as if no one else was around.

           Would she want the same? For a mess like her?

           The song finally reached its crescendo, and she was left without her answer.

           Both of them were left speechless after their dance. Even as Marie went to change out of her dress she couldn’t get her head out of the clouds. And replacing her glasses with her hat didn’t seem to work the same as always much to her dismay.

           However, it elated her heart to see Marie still in her makeup even after changing out of her dress. “Thank you for waiting. Hm? You’re wearing your hat now?”

           “Yeah, being in full suit feels better when the stakes are high. Great moves back there by the way. You really took my breath away, didn’t know you could dance like that,” she grinned as Phantom R’s confidence slowly returned to her.

           Marie blushed. “Thanks! I was nervous if I’m to be honest… But once I got into it, it was a lot of fun. Though I would have been lost without you leading.”

           “Don’t tell yourself so short. It’d be lovely to dance again, but we should find the Cross of the Sun King first. Would you do me the honours?” She held out her hand again with a smile.

           And Marie took it with a smile of her own. “Of course! Let’s keep up our search.”

           With the high of their dance slowly welling away, her thoughts drifted back to her run-in with her father from earlier. And Marie was quick to notice how her face soured. “What’s the matter, Rafaela?”

           “Sorry, I just… Can’t get him out of my head.”

           The other girl's eyes seemed to widen a bit. “Who?”

           “My father… I saw him earlier. But it felt like he was running away from me… Ugh, never mind that. We should focus on finding the cross. I’ve done a bit of asking around myself but with no luck. Did you ask anyone in the orchestra about it?”

           “I didn’t get much of a chance to, but it might be worth a shot! They should be somewhere in the Hall of Mirrors still,” she suggested.

           They were able to find another young lady with a violin of her own who was quite excited to see Marie again. She supposed it must be easy to bond with someone over a shared instrument. However, she needed a bit of help tuning her instrument before she was going to walk which Marie was happy to help with.

           With her assistance, the violinist directed them to the palace guide who knew all there was to know about the palace. Rafaela was surprised she hadn’t run into him sooner, it would have been a great help.

           They were introduced to Ronaldo, the palace guide and Marie was quick to ask him that burning question. “Excuse me but, have you heard of the Cross of the Sun King? We heard it was in the palace?”

           “Hmm, I’m not quite sure who you heard that from. I’ve never heard of any cross like that here. Pardon a question of my own though Mademoiselle, but were you not the young violinist in the orchestra from earlier?”

           “Oh, yes I filled in last minute. Was something the matter?”

           “No, no it was splendid! I have only heard a few performances that have moved me in such a way. If only the Duchess was here to see it,” he sighed.

           “The Duchess? As in Duchess Elisabeth?” Rafaela asked.

           He nodded. “Indeed, she always attends our events. It’s such a shame she wasn’t able to make it today, she loves the sound of the violin quite dearly.”

           Besides her, she could see Marie’s face falter at the woman being mentioned. Rafaela slipped her hand into hers, lightly squeezing it to comfort her. “Alright then… Say, do you think we could look around the gardens then?” She asked, changing the subject for her.

           “I can certainly make an exception for you two. The gardens are officially closed today, but after such a performance how could I say no? They’re known for their beautiful amaryllis flowers, though not currently in bloom they’re still so striking. I’ll let the guard Philippe know to let you both through,” he explained before bidding them farewell.

           Amaryllis flowers… The Duchess had mentioned them before. “Beneath the sun and moon, Amaryllis flowers leads those who sing in the rain…” She mumbled to herself.

           “Rafaela?”

           “Hm? Oh, it’s a saying someone told me. Could be a clue though, let’s check it out.”

           By the Gallery of Angels was the guard waiting for them. “Right then, you must be the two the guide mentioned. Follow me.” With a click, he unlocked the garden doors before closing them once they stepped through with a cautious eye on the other guests.

           The guard quietly guided them through the gardens up until they reached another gate. Everywhere she looked was stunning beneath the glow of the moon, yet Marie drew in her gaze no matter where she looked.

           “Over there is the Latona Fountain,” the guard’s explanation shook her out of her distraction. “The story behind it goes all the way back to Roman and Greek mythology. After the goddess Latona gave birth to Apollo and Diana, she turned the nearby villagers into frogs. Peculiar story isn’t it? Well, I need to go check on some of the other gates. I’ll be back in a bit,” he explained before giving them some privacy.

           The steady thumping in her chest returned yet again as she stood alongside Marie. It only struck her now they were practically on their own together, even Fondue had taken to sniffing around leaving them on their own.

           “Let’s go check out the fountain then,” Marie smiled at her as she pulled her hand along. It sent a strange shock up her arm as they approached the fountain together. “Oh, it’s so much more beautiful in person,” Marie gasped as she stood before the fountain.

           “Y-Yeah…” Rafaela awkwardly shuffled.

           “Hmm… But why this story in particular?”

           A small memory of her childhood snuck its way back to her, her father’s comforting ramblings while she was stuck in bed with a fever. “I remember once when my father was carving Greek statues… He said Apollo was the god of the sun and Diana goddess of the moon.”

           “Oh! Perhaps they’re the sun and moon in the saying! So these frogs are the ones that sing in the rain,” she excitedly exclaimed.

           Rafaela wanted to scream. Everything inside of her was tearing at the seams right now, and for what reason? Why was she so nervous? Was it- Oh.

           She hid her blush behind her hat. It was love.

           The romantic kind at that.

           To be frank, she had never felt this way for someone before. And she felt utterly lost on what to say for the first time. It burned brighter than any attraction she had to anyone else before, and even more fragile at that.

           “Auuhh… Y-You look beautiful tonight Marie.”

           “H-Huh? Where’s this coming from?”
          Her brain grasped at straws on what to say, every good line she had on hand had dissolved into water as Marie approached her. “Oh, you’re bright red! Are you feeling alright?”

           “Just peachy! Ahaha,” she awkwardly laughed.

           Marie turned her attention back to the fountain with a concerned crook in her brow. She could still save this, at least she hoped.

           “Hmm… Could the flowers be linked to that nursery rhyme?” Marie mumbled to herself.

           Rafaela leaned against the fountain to try and catch a glimpse of her face. Yet no matter how long she stared at her, words couldn’t describe how she felt inside. Part of her feared scaring the other girl away. Marie was still rather new to all of this as well, what if she made it worse?

           As she worried herself, she failed to notice her arm slowly sliding down the edge of the fountain before a loud splash resounded through the garden. “Ah! Rafaela, are you alright?” Marie squeaked as she helped pull her out.

           “Y-Yeah! Guess I was looking a bit too closely,” she dryly chuckled. But it was honestly very embarrassing. At least Marie was the only one around to see it, though that in itself was awful for her image right now. Even Fondue had come back after the splash, though she worried a bit less about him. He had seen her in worse states.

           She had to wipe off all her wet makeup now with a huff. Her mind was a storm right now, but after a quick cheek slap, she steadied herself. They could talk about it once they had the cross. “Alright, focus. Uhm… I think I heard that Nursery Rhyme before, let’s see…”

           Carefully this time she pressed at the frogs scattered about the fountain, each one croaking out a small note. To their delight, as the song was sung a small compartment in the fountain revealed itself.

           “The Cross of the Sung King,” Rafaela gasped as she picked it up. It had that same mark as before too.

           Their victory was short-lived though as a cocky laugh rose from the bushes. “Well done, you’ve saved me the trouble once again,” Napoleon’s shit-eating grin revealed itself once again.

           Rafaela held her arm out in front of Marie defensively as he let out a dry chuckle. “Just as Graf said… Let the fox run free, and it shall catch the rabbit.

           “I’m no fox you snake!”

           “But ah, how loyally you’ve searched for my treasure now. I am not one to throw away such talent, so I’ll give you an offer…”

           “Can it shortie, whatever it is I’m not interested,” she snapped. “Marie… The moment he’s distracted I want you to rush,” she whispered.

           She gasped. “But what about you?”

           “I’ll be fine. Get some help, find the guard,” she assured her with a wink before approaching the Emperor to distract him. “Where’s your little friends to help you out now?”

           The man looked down at her with a dark stare. “I would not worry about them, little fox.” He tossed a sword down by her feet, it stabbed into the dirt below her. “On Garde! For the crown, I challenge you!”

           She plucked it out, giving it a little twirl in her hands. “I accept!”

           Before the fountain they dueled, metal harshly crashing against each other as she parried each of his hits. It was a dangerous dance they performed, neither side backing down as she ducked and slashed against his armour. It was the first time she was holding a real sword, yet it fit perfectly in her palm like an extension of herself.

           “Hmph, you put on a good show…” Napoleon hissed as she managed to knock him back. “But I’m afraid this was part of my plan.” A dark gin crawled up his face and her skin crawled.

           A phone beeped in his pocket. “Yes… Very good Graf he muttered over it.”

           “Napoleon! Tell me who Graf is! What are you doing?-”

           “Rafaela! Run!” Marie’s voice called out to her through the speaker.

           They had Marie. She dashed over with her sword and he parried her away effortlessly as if he had just been toying with her the entire time. “Coward! Put that phone down and fight!” She spat.

           “Coward? Moi? Fighting words from a loser to the sound of victory. You should have accepted my offer earlier stupid girl. Now, finish the crown and I shall give you back the girl. You have until tomorrow at high noon! The Eiffel Tower shall be appropriate. You’d best be there Phantom R, lest you lose the girl forever.” His laugh echoed through the garden as he slunk into the shadows, leaving her alone with Fondue.

           “Dammnit!” She screamed as she slammed the sword into the floor. Fondue scampered over to her with a worried whine as she spun around to him. “He’s got Marie! I was too careless…”

           The fountain beside them cried in the silence. She couldn’t just stand around and let the first woman she loved be taken away from her. “Let’s go home Fondue, we need to think of a plan.”

           She’d finally tell Marie how she felt after she was safe, until then her safety was her top priority. The bus back home was thankfully quiet, exhausted party-goers and other people enjoying the night fought against dozing away. But she was anything but tired. 

           The second they stepped foot back through her apartment she got to work. Her father had left behind all sorts of tools of various trades and arts after he had left. With some metalworking tools, she was able to pry the Queen’s Tear out of its pendant and slot it back into the crown. Behind that the cross was finally pushed into place, finally finishing the crown.

           “Ugh… So much work for one crown, what does it even do?” She muttered as she held it up to the light to get a better look at it. To her surprise, a message shone on the wall. “Huh? What’s this?... ‘He who bares the Dragon Crown rules the heavens. Moon Princess wakes the throne, but only royal blood opens the way.’”

           What kind of nonsense was that? She had enough riddles for a year these last few days now. She’d worry about it later, there were more pressing things to get to. A plan had crawled its way over to her, and her father had left her just the tools to do it.

           Fondue snored away on her lap as she worked the night away, coffee cups pushed to the side as she twisted and carved flexible metal. To take a page out of her father’s book, she would create a forgery of the crown. It wouldn’t be perfect, she didn’t have the time or skill for that. But as long as it could fool someone from a distance, that was all she needed.

           Her thoughts drifted as she worked, to whoever the mysterious Graf could be. A pit of dread gnawed at her that it could be her father, he was in the palace after all. Did he truly hate her?...

           She attempted to direct her thoughts elsewhere, but those seas were just as stormy. The realisation hit her about the moment she toppled into the fountain. If Napoleon had been watching and waiting for them to get the cross. He had witnessed her fall from grace talking to Marie.

           A repressed scream muffed into her sleeves as it hit her. Oh, he wasn’t leaving that tower alive tomorrow, at least not in one piece.

Chapter Text

           The morning had finally trudged its way through her blinds, light grazing against the two crowns on her desk. Fondue dozed away in Rafaela’s lap as she rubbed any weariness from her eyes. She had fallen asleep at her desk at some point in the night, though not for long.

           With one last adjustment, her trap was set. Today she’d steal back Marie from Napoleon with the help of the fake crown. But she doubted she’d be the only one with some sort of backup plan or scheme going on here. She needed her own support, but from whom?

           Bringing the Inspector in would make it more of a mess, what word would she be able to get in without him trying to arrest her? Perhaps back up from another Phantom, but on such short notice that wasn’t likely. Her list of allies was short, and she didn’t have much time to be picky.

           That’s when an idea popped into her head, Charlie. He couldn’t very well leave an innocent Parisian in danger either, and maybe with a word here or there. She could convince him to help her if it meant proving himself in some way. Besides that, Charlie seemed to be quite the tracker, so she was sure she’d run into him one way or another if she visited the Constabulary today.

           With a gentle ear rub, Fondue let out a yawn as she woke him up. “Morning, looks like I’m awake for once,” she giggled. “C’mon boy, let’s try and find Charlie’s scent I have a plan.”

           She hid the dark circles that had developed under her eyes with a bit of makeup and set off into the morning. Each step moved with a purpose as she found herself hurrying towards the Paris Constabulary, hoping no one would notice her Phantom R attire.

           Most people had been passing it off as a costume as of late at least, she had the Fête to thank for that. A few officers were chattering away at the front of the station, not the best look but whatever it was it had to be interesting.

           “I haven’t seen the Inspector in yet today. Did he finally take a break?”

           “Something like that. Well, you didn’t hear it from me but… Supposedly one of his friends is opening an art shop in Champs-Élysées. Went there to wish him luck or something along those lines,” the officer explained.

           The other one hummed in interest. “Ohh… Wonder if Phantom R might strike it?”

           “Surely not? She’s never targeted an art shop before, right?”

           That shop sounded like a good place to start. If the owner was a friend of the Inspector, then he should know Charlie too. Besides, part of her was curious to see what the store was like. She had been so heavily invested in more classical art over the years she had never really looked into a lot of modern art.

           The street was abuzz with the new shop, she could overhear people excitedly gossiping about it along the way. And it certainly looked the part when it came to modern art. Outside the store was covered in colorful decorations and sculptures and with quite the crowd too.

           She chewed the inside of her lip, the chances of getting to speak with the owner were feeling slim but she’d try. The inside of the store was just as if not more colourful than the front. Each piece of art caught her eye, it was almost a bit overwhelming.

           As she searched for the store owner, one painting in particular caught her eye. It was a bit minimalist, much like the other art around it but it was coated in a warm sunset shade of oranges and yellows. And at the center was a figure in red dancing with what looked to be an angel.

           It was strangely familiar.

           “Ah, Mademoiselle has this caught your interest?” She nearly yelped as who she presumed to be the store owner materialised beside her. “Ah, my apologies. I didn’t mean to startle- Hm? Wait a minute, I recognise you.”

           Oh she wasn’t caught already was she? “You were in Montmartre were you not?”

           “Montmartre? Wait a minute, oh yes you were that artist sketching people nearby weren’t you?” Her memory finally clicked into place, though it was a surprising coincidence all things considered. She had only briefly spoken to the man if he had seen Marie around.

           “My name is Albert. And I opened up this art shop in hopes I could inspire other Parisians to love art as much as I do. And you, my dear, were the inspiration for this piece.”

           “Oh okay- What?”

           Her face ran flushed at the memory of cheering up Marie. To see it had stuck out to someone else so much, well it was a little embarrassing. “Such an artistic expression of love I couldn’t help-”

           “Ahh! That’s enough,” she buried her head in her hands in embarrassment as he chuckled at her.

           “You remind me of Vergier’s kid, about the same age as you as well. If you were here a few minutes earlier the two of you could have met!”

           “Charlie? Know where he went?”

           “Hm? Friends are you? Apparently, they had some sort of tiff. If I recall they mentioned something about Place Vendôme before leaving. Maybe you should go have a look,” he helpfully suggested.

           Well, it was a lead at the very least. “I’ll go see what’s up. Thanks, Albert.”

           She headed off before he could ask for her name, weaving through the crowd. “Looks like we’ll be on quite the wild goose chase today. Aren’t we Fondue?” It was nothing she wasn’t used to by now at least.

           But as she reached Place Vendôme there wasn’t a Charlie in sight. “Can you smell him Fondue?” Fondue gave the floor a sniff but whined in disappointment. There must have been too many smells to keep track of then. With a huff, she looked around for someone to question when a reporter caught her eye.

           “Excuse me-”

           “Ah, just the lady I was looking for. The right age group yes… And fashion sense. You wouldn’t happen to know where Phantom R could strike next? Any gossip or rumours?” She chattered on as Rafaela flinched at the camera flash.

           Covering her face with her hat to protect her eyes and privacy she cleared her throat. “Ah… Not a clue. But you wouldn’t happen to have seen a kid with short blonde hair around here earlier? Around my age.”

           The lady hummed. “Oh yes, quite striking too in that pink outfit. Though I wish I could have gotten closer… There was an argument with THE, Inspector Vergier. It must have been about Phantom R… Maybe I should follow them down the road for an interview.”

           She quickly slipped away while she mumbled to herself. Down the road, that couldn’t possibly be near her apartment? With a frustrated groan, she dragged herself down there. Hopefully, she wouldn’t find a gaggle of police cars around her home, it would make things a lot more difficult today.

           It was worse than that though, as Michel was hanging out nearby likely waiting for her. But he would have probably seen Charlie gone by too so with a deep breath she stepped over to him. “Ah, excuse me person-I’ve-never-seen-before.” Very subtle of her, she could regret it later. “But did you see a kid dressed in pink come through here?”

           “Huh? Kid in pink… Pretty sure I did. Pretty striking one too, went towards Musée Rodin,” he explained. “And whew, I tried to say hello but all I got was stink eye!”

           “Well then, better luck next time kid!” She smirked at the rare chance to call him something like that before bounding off to continue her search.

           Hopefully, he wouldn’t put two and two together. Down to the Musée Rodin, there wasn’t anything in particular until she heard the voice of a boy shouting to himself from behind some bushes. “Oh, I’ll have the last laugh one day. Just you wait, Charlie!” He kicked and dribbled a football with a lot of force as he yelled to himself.

           “Hey, do you know Charlie?” She called out to him, catching him by surprise a bit.

           “Ugh yeah! Just beat me at a game and all. My archenemy… Wait you guys aren’t friends are you?”

           “...S-Sort of?”

           “Huh, didn’t know Charlie had any female friends. But then you can take back this ball for me instead!” He tossed over a well-worn ball, Fondue was practically at the edge of his seat looking at it.

           “Is this ball Charlie’s?”

           “Yeah, Charlie’s one scary shooter! But a surprisingly forgetful one at that. Come watch us play sometime, I’ll get ‘em one of these days.” His eyes burned fiercely as he made that promise to himself.

           With how hard Charlie’s kick was, she doubted he’d stand a chance. But with this ball, that meant they were finally on track to find him. “Give this a sniff would ya Fondue?”

           He pressed his nose up against it with the wag of his tail. “Wouef, wouef!” He excitedly barked before beginning to guide her through the city and towards the direction of FDR station. She worried for a bit that he could lose Charlie’s scent amongst the crowd, but he persisted with a tail held high.

           “Hm?” As she looked out over the street, something or someone caught her eye. “Is that really Charlie?...” She murmured as her eyes were drawn to a young girl in a pink dress sitting by a cafe.

           She casually strolled over to her, careful to not make a scene. “Bonjour, Charlie. This seat taken?” She smiled down at her, flicking her hat all the while as she waited for the other girl to respond.

           There was a moment of silence as Charlie took a sip of coffee. Before leaping out of her seat in shock. “Y-You! You’re Phantom R!” She yelled, causing a scene.

           Rafaela silently panicked, holding out her hands to try and calm her down. “Come now, let’s not disturb the other customers. I’m only here to talk,” she calmly explained as she took a seat.

           Charlie huffed, picking up the seat she had knocked over. “Just my luck… What do you want?”

           “I need your help,” Rafaela finally asked, not a tease in sight. Though Charlie still seemed suspicious of her intentions so she began to explain her situation. “It may be difficult to believe. But you’ve heard of those men in armour as of late right?”

           “Right?... You of all people aren’t here to complain about security are you?”

           “Not exactly. I’ve been on their tail for quite some time now, investigating them as it were. My reasons for why are private, but alongside me was another girl named Marie…” She chewed the inside of her lip. “And I hate to admit this but… I was careless, and they ended up capturing her. I’ve got until noon to give them something they want at the Eiffel Tower.”

           Charlie grimaced. “A hostage situation? Why didn’t you contact the Constaburly like you’ve done before?”

           “Well, I worry what they might do if someone other than me showed up to negotiations. You know what I mean, don’t you?”

           The other girl was quiet, so she took that as a yes. Rafaela crossed her legs as she continued to talk. “It’s all being run by some madman claiming to be Napoleon. All I want is to just get Marie back, he can't get his hands on what he wants,” she finished.

           Charlie’s eyes glared through her. “How do I know you’re telling the truth? And this isn’t just some kind of massive joke? Why would I help my sworn enemy?”

           “Wha-? I’m being serious here. Would you really let some madman roam the streets? Aren’t detectives supposed to lock up people like that?” She argued with her. But one harsh stare told her all she needed to know as she deflated. “...Fine then. Oh, before I go. Your father dropped this back at the opera house, mind giving it back to him?”

           She turned her legs to the side as she prepared to leave, sliding the photo down the table to Charlie. “Hmph. If I never see that man again, it’ll be too soon… Wait…” She seemed to freeze at seeing the photo, carefully picking it up.

           “My mother’s handwriting… ‘I will keep our family safe, while you keep our city safe. I know you will not let us down, my brave, noble constable… Your darling daughter Charlotte, and your loving wife’... I-” Charlie muttered to herself as she read the picture.

           Rafaela stood up, she had two hours left still to figure out another plan of action. However, as she walked away, she slowed her steps. Hopeful her mother’s words might change her mind.

           “Phantom R, wait!” Right on the cue. “I’ll help you. But keep this in mind, alright? We’re still enemies,” Charlie huffed as Rafaela returned to her seat in relief.

           “Ah that’s a shame, thought I’d become your first lady friend Charlotte,” she lightly teased her.

           Charlie scowled. “Only my dad calls me that. Just call me Charlie instead… Wait, how do you know about that?”

           “Ohh, I just met one of your friends.”

           “‘Friends’ yeah right… Let me guess, he was bashing in the dirt with a football?”

           “Yup.”

           “Figures. So then, mind telling me what this plan is?”

           “It goes a bit like this… I have a fake of the crown he wants with a trap inside of it I’ll give to him instead. And I want you to distract some of those knights for me once it activates. If they see two of us, they’re bound to get confused.”

           Charlie narrowed her eyes. “Two of us? Wait, you want me to pretend to be you?”

           She giggled. “I think you can pull it off, any other suggestions?”

           “Guess that should work fine enough… Though exactly where is this extra disguise of yours?”

           Well, she had her at that. Admittedly she had been so focused on making the crown she hadn’t actually prepared that. Not to mention she wasn’t sure if she’d even be able to get this far. “Well… I might have someone in mind who can help,” she grinned.

           “Should I be worried?”

           “Not at all. We’ll head straight there once you're done with your coffee, there should be about two hours left…”

           The call of coffee was still rather tempting, but after last night for the sake of her stomach, she’d hold off on it. But she was ashamed to admit, while waiting for the girl to finish she did briefly doze off.

           Only being awoken when Charlie flicked her on the nose. “Are you seriously that relaxed?” She scolded her.

           “Ugh, not in the slightest. I didn’t get a wink of sleep last night,” Rafaela huffed. “Let’s head to Tuileries Garden, he should be there.” She flinched as she stood up, the lack of sleep pulsing through her skull.

           Traveling together with Charlie was something she had never expected though, the look on Vergier’s face, if he saw them now, would be more priceless than any treasure. However, the awkward silence was something she could do without, as Charlie wasn’t exactly the chatty type with her.

           “Uhm… So about the whole Charlie thing. What’s up with that?” She attempted to break the ice.

           “It’s my name, what about it?”

           “Nothing wrong about it. But you didn’t correct me when I thought you were a boy? That was something I struggled against for a bit when I started out,” she explained.

           Charlie crossed her arms. “Yeah, I remember him talking about that. It’s just… No, why would I tell my enemy this.” She stubbornly refused to open up.

           “Hey, I wouldn’t use it against you. If it’s bothering you, you can talk about it. But if you don’t, then you don’t,” she shrugged. “Simple as.”

           “Is it really that simple though?...”

           “Maybe for some people.”

           The other girl looked lost in thought for a while as Rafaela left the topic to rest. She wouldn’t force her to answer if it made her upset, but to her surprise, she eventually spoke up again. “I guess, some days I prefer to be a boy. And others a girl.”

           “I’ve heard of this somewhere before… So you’re genderfluid?”

           “I-I guess… Doesn’t really feel like it most days.”

           “How so?”

           Charlie gripped the edges of her cardigan. “I feel like I don’t know how to be a girl sometimes. Being a boy is so much easier most days, yet I can’t throw it away. I like being a girl too, but sometimes I feel more lost than before.”

           Rafaela’s eyes softened upon hearing her confession. Something like this wasn’t her area of expertise, only hearing about it in passing. But something didn’t sit right with her about leaving Charlie stranded without an answer. “Well… What does being a woman mean to you?”

           “Huh? I dunno… Being all soft and flowery doesn’t suit me. But I still enjoy some girl things, a lot of the guys at school call me a tomboy too.”

           “It’s a hard thing to answer, huh?”

           “Of course it is. Like you have a better answer?”

           She laughed. “Of course not. Everyone has a different answer, it’s up to you to decide what it means to you. What being a man to you might be different to someone else too. I’ve had a few people give me weird looks when I wear suits, but it makes me feel pretty damn good.”

           “So, it’s just as simple as that? Do what makes you feel happy?” Charlie crooked her brow at her in disbelief.

           “Sounds pretty hard doesn’t it? But I guess nothing’s easy for us girls, eh?”

           A smile crept onto Charlie’s face, even if she tried to hide it.

           Soon they reached Tuileries Garden and her target was in sight. The fake Phantom R was still at it with his business, though it looked like he wasn’t bringing in as big a crowd as last time. As much as she’d like to have another dance battle with him again, they were short on time, unfortunately.

           “Bonjour my brother from another mother. Couldn’t do a fellow phantom a favor?” She cheerfully greeted him as he gawked in surprise at her sudden appearance.

           “Y-You again? Ahem, when will you ever learn you fake! You may have beaten me once before, but that was just a fluke,” he quickly jumped onto the defensive.

           She just waved him off. “Mhm, sure. I’d be all up for another dance battle, but I’m in a bit of a hurry right now. Now, victors spoils and all. And I need an extra Phantomy suit for a friend of mine, you wouldn’t happen to have one would you?”

           “W-What?”

           “Do try to make it snappy!” She added with a grin as she pushed him towards his tent.

           To her delight, they were able to get Charlie done up in a suit just about her size, she’d only be a distraction from a distance so she didn’t worry too much about the finer details. She helped Charlie do a few adjustments to the suit in front of the mirror while the girl looked at her reflection in surprise.

           “Huh… It’s not too bad.”

           “Suprised? A good suit can look good on anyone. I’d say you're looking pretty dashing in it as well.”

           Charlie hid her face behind the hat she had been given as Rafaela grinned. “Now then… We don’t have much time left. I’m heading to the tower, remember our plan?”

           “Of course. Just watch yourself, I can't catch you if you’re dead.”

           “Haha! We’ll just have to wait and see.”

           Her face fell once she stepped out of the tent, a more serious expression washing over her. “Alright, Fondue. Let’s save Marie.”

           “Wouef!”
          It wouldn’t be her first time going up the tower, unsurprisingly her father had insisted they go up once when she was younger. Though seeing Paris from up high had quickly hit her with vertigo for a while. A while back though she had visited it with Michel and Émile. Despite the height, the view was strangely grounding to her.

           She had lived here all her life, and she still knew so little about it. Such a shame her third visit would be ruined by Napoleon. But her complaints could wait, she worried for Marie far more than any view.

           Waiting for the lift to steadily rise into the tower gave her a moment to stew in her anxieties. Fondue whined in concern as let out a heavy sigh. “We’ll be fine, let’s just hope they haven’t grabbed anyone else.” It seemed everyone was steering clear of the Eiffel Tower today already, so at the very least she wouldn’t have to worry about others getting hurt.

           It arrived at the deck with a ding, and she stepped out with her hands dug into her pockets. The crowns were hidden away in both pockets, but she could recognise the fake with just a touch. A small gasp escaped her lips as she walked out onto the deck, seeing Marie held captive by the Chevaliers.

           “So… You have brought the Dragon Crown?” Napoleon grinned as he walked through the group. Her lips twisted as she pulled out the fake, displeasure plain across her face. “Now, throw it to me! And I shall give you the girl,” he demanded.

           But she had some demands of her own. “Let her go first.” She scowled.

           Her emotions had gotten the better of her for a moment as Napoleon’s sword dangled a hairs-breath away from Marie’s neck. “An Emperor does not negotiate! He gives orders!” He barked.

           Without another word, she knelt down and slid the crown across the floor. It landed perfectly between Napoleon’s feet, and she hid a grin behind her hat. As he reached down to grab it, canisters of smoke spurted out from the fake crown as the man yelled.

           To add insult to his injury, up from above Charlie dropped more of her own, catching the attention of the group. “Two of them?” The man spluttered as part of the Chevaliers broke off to chase after her.

           Now it was her time to shine. Rafaela lept up onto the railing, sprinting towards them with a powerful kick to the nearest Chevaliers' head. Their fighting space was tight, she pushed her evasion to the limits as she spun and punched her way through the men.

           They stubbornly covered the front of Napoleon, making it difficult to get towards him. But she had an idea. As one of the men fell, she ripped the helmet off of his head and kicked it like a football right into Napoleon’s face.

           “Marie!” Rafaela grabbed the other girl’s hand, dragging her away from the Chevaliers with their small window of opportunity. She held onto her tightly, letting the girl hold onto her for stability as they ran through the deck.

           Just a little further, the stairs were just around the corner.

           Then a figure slowly rounded the corner from the shadows in front of them. It was Jean-François. Her mouth ran dry, and a dangerous curve coiled up his lips. It was dangerous, she tried to move in front of Marie in an act of desperation.

           …

           The birds fled.

           “Rafaela!”

           And the city quieted, as the ring of a gunshot rang out from the tower.

           She clutched her abdomen, her legs giving up beneath her as she topped down onto the metal floor. A shaky gasp escaped her lips as she tightened her grip around the warm wound.

           He had shot her.

           This wasn’t supposed to happen.

           In the midst of her pain, she reached out for her hat. Her piece of rebellion as the man sauntered over to her. Marie yelped as she was grabbed by the Chevaliers, hands desperately reaching out to her. Fondue barked and gnashed his teeth at the man, but remained weary of the smoking gun in his hand.

           Jean-François reached into her pocket, pulling out the real Dragon Crown with a smirk. “Ah… You silly girl. The crown isn’t the true treasure, it is akin to a key or a map to the true treasure.”

           He held it up to the light of the sun, the message she had read earlier being revealed. Any flames on her tongue sputtered away as she coughed in pain, her skin flushing cold as she clung to her last bit of strength.

           “Oh yes… How obvious! I owe you a great debt, for I now know the secret to the key of commencement. It was a long time coming,” the man mocked her as she pressed against the floor.

           Pulling herself up was an ordeal, like moving a puppet with broken strings. Napoleon clapped from behind her, approaching them from between the Chevaliers. “You’ve done well Graf… And shall be rewarded for your efforts.”

           She gasped. “Graf?... So my father isn’t…”

           “Graf is my family’s noble title. A useful code name I must admit, for our long storied history. Elisabeth is one of us too, you should know,” he continued to mock her as she ripped her eyes away from him.

           Marie looked so scared, it crushed her. “M-Marie… Give her back,” she hissed through the pain. The other girl struggled against the grip of the Chevaliers, reaching out her hand to Rafaela.

           Her bloodied tips pressed against hers, a small warmth in the pain as the click of Jean-François called out behind her. “Now, now. We cannot have that, can we? Do try to not sully our precious key now, would you? But a parting gift perhaps? Some led, inscribed Mademoiselle Rafaela… Phantom R,” he darkly chuckled.

           She couldn’t look away from Marie, the fear and shock inscribed deeply across her face. The makeup she had so carefully applied for her had been ruined in all the squabble. If only she could hold her close, whisper words of comfort to the girl. If there truly was a God, would he let them live a happy dream?

           “Phantom R!” A voice rang up from above them. Charlie dove down in a glider, a miracle from above. Without hesitation, Rafaela grabbed onto her hand as Fondue grabbed onto the handle with his jaw.

           She heard Charlie gasp above her as she adjusted her position. “Phantom! Don’t die on me!” It was all she could do to stay conscious amongst the pain. Their escape was turbulent, the Chevaliers wouldn’t let them go even in the sky.

           Charlie did all she could to fight them back, but it couldn’t last forever. One stray missile was all it took for them to be sent hurtling down back into the city. They crashed near the river, Charlie’s glider shattering as they scattered onto the ground.

           They were fortunate to not have broken any bones, at least from what she could feel. The pain in her abdomen dulled any other pain in the rest of her body as she curled onto herself on the ground.

           Charlie let out a grunt of pain as she got up and rushed over to her. “Phantom! Hey, don’t die yet! Where’s your grand finale? Get up!” She pulled at her shoulders to sit her up against a short wall.

           There was a grimace across Charlie’s face seeing the blood that soaked up her shirt. Rafaela wasn’t exactly sure if the bullet had gone all the way through her, or if it was still inside. It didn’t matter to her though. “M-Marie… Ugh, I have to help her.”

           Fondue licked at her wound with a frightened whine as she tried to pull herself up, but Charlie practically forced her to sit down by pressing down at her shoulders. “Are you stupid? You can't chase after them in your condition!” Charlie yelled.

           “It’ll be fine… I have some stuff back at home to patch up,” she insisted.

           Charlie hesitated for a moment, cogs clicking away behind her eyes before her expression turned serious. “No, I won’t let you. Ugh, I kind of owe you for earlier… So let me help you!”

           Confusion flickered through her mind, a bit slow and woozy with her steadily losing blood as Charlie took out her phone. Nervously she swallowed before making a call. “...Hello Dad.”

           Panic quickly gripped Rafaela, Vergier was one thing she didn’t want to deal with right now but part of her wanted to trust in Charlie’s judgment. “Ugh, I know this sounds insane but. Phantom R has been shot, and she needs our help.”

           It was difficult to make out anything from Charlie’s call, she wasn’t on speaker after all but it sounded a lot like arguing. “This isn’t some sort of joke! There’s more danger around the corner, Paris will be in trouble if we don’t do something! What? O-Okay…” Charlie lowered the phone for a moment. “He wants to speak with you.”

           Rafaela let out a pained gasp. “Right now?... Ugh, I’m starting to feel woozy. Just put the phone to my ear I’ll try and get through to him,” she sighed. As Charlie held the phone up to her ear she took a deep breath to clear her mind. “Hello Inspector…”

           “Phantom R. Exactly, what mess have you involved yourself in now?” The man huffed through the line.

           “Listen, you know those weird guys in armour plodding around lately? Well, I’ve been doing a bit of investigating of my own. Charlie’s right, Paris is in danger and we can’t let them get away with their plans… I know we’re not on the best terms Inspector, but believe it or not. I care about this city too, and they have someone I love… So…” She was getting woozy, it was getting hard to continue speaking.

           The man was silent, her heartbeat thrummed in her ear. “Tell Charlie to take you to a clinic down Place Henri-Mondor. She’s been there before, there’s a back entrance. I’ll meet you both there.” And he hung up.

           “What did he say?”

           “Clinic, Place Henri-Mondor backdoor. Said you’ve been there before.”

           “Yeah… Can you stand?”

           Rafaela gulped. “M-Maybe… Think you could lend me a hand?”

           Charlie nodded, pulling her up by the arm and holstering her over her shoulder. “You know something?”

           “Yeah?...”

           “You’re heavier than you look.”

           Rafaela gawked. “Wha- Wow, and after everything I helped you with,” she pouted as Charlie began to help drag her through the city streets. Fondue trotted on ahead to watch out for anything suspicious.

           It was a bit awkward feeling the gaze of others on them as they struggled to walk through some of the busier streets. Charlie went down a few less busy corners and alleyways when possible as Rafaela tried to hide her wound.

           “So…” Charlie broke the silence after a while. “What did you mean by someone you love? Are you talking about Marie?”

           “Huh?... Oh.” Admittedly she had been quite woozy, so she had been a lot less guarded while talking. She barely remembered mentioning Marie in the call but it slowly caught up to her as her face turned red through her pallid skin.

           “Yeah… I like her a lot, dunno if she likes me back though,” she eventually confessed. “I’ll kick Jean-François in the balls if I have the chance…”

           The other girl grimaced. “Okay maybe stop talking for a while.”

           Eventually, they reached the clinic's back door, it looked to be some sort of anonymous practice. A little dodgy for the Inspector of all people to know about, but who was she to complain right now?

           As they waited, a man came through another door in a white coat and a face mask. He looked to be their doctor for the day. “Hmm, quite the interesting situation we have here, hm? You’re the one Vergier told me about yes?”

           “Yes she is, is he here yet?” Charlie replied.

           “Not yet, but I suspect he’s on his way. Until then, would you care to join me in my operating room Mademoiselle?” With Charlie’s help, she was holstered up onto an operating table. Sadly, Fondue had to sit outside or else risk dog hair getting into her injury.

           The bottom of her shirt was pulled up, peeling off her skin leaving a disgusting red trail behind as she flinched. He hummed in thought. “Well, aren’t you lucky?”

           “L-Lucky?” She spluttered. “I got shot! That’s pretty unlucky!”

           “Fortunate perhaps then, that they did not hit any major organs. Some of your intestines may be grazed which could cause tearing. It may be best to leave the bullet inside, think of it as a cork of sorts. Were I to pull it out you’d likely become a fountain!” He practically laughed.

           While she looked on horrified of whatever quack-doctor she had just been entrusted to the door opened with a lot of force. Inspector Vergier had arrived, and the room turned quiet as the doctor waddled off to get something to treat the wound. His eyes briefly glanced at the injury then at her and then onto Charlie.

           “So. Care to explain what exactly happened?”

           Explaining everything that happened to the man with some doctor hovering around you the entire time was quite awkward. Not to mention how the man would hum in interest at the more peculiar parts of the story. From how Napoleon and his Chevaliers had been attacking her and Marie for some time, and now to Jean-François’ betrayal. She made sure to mention his title, Graf, knowing how it’d catch the Inspector’s attention.

           And the way his eyes blew open upon hearing it she knew she had hit the mark. “Graf… And where did he go?”

           “I’d like to know that too- OW! Jesus Christ…” She yelled as rubbing alcohol stung her injury. “But it won’t be anything good that’s for sure. I’ve got an inkling the Duchess Elisabeth might know a thing or two though.”

           “The Duchess is involved in all of this?”

           “Not in a bad way I don’t think. Graf said they’re related, so she must know what he’s after…”

           The room grew quiet as the doctor finished cleaning up her wound, patching it with gauze and other bandages. “Then there’s no time like the present! We need to find those Cheveliers and quick!” Charlie announced.

           “Charlotte! When will you learn, you cannot just throw yourself into danger like this,” Vergier argued with her.

           “And when will you learn Paris can't be defended on your own? Here, you dropped this.” Charlie pulled out the photo, Vergier tentatively taking it from her. “You owe her right?”

           The man sighed. “For who else do I defend Paris for? Stubborn child… Phantom R, as loathe as I am to admit it. We must combine forces if we are to protect Paris. We shall track them down and evacuate the city, my orders will go out as soon as I am able.”

           “Never thought I’d hear you say that Inspector. What about Elisabeth?”

           “Go in my stead, I must prepare the Constabulary. Today we will defend Paris from that pack of madmen.” If this was how he energized his men before any operation it was no wonder why so many police were so loyal to him.

           There was a glint in Charlie’s eyes at the man's quiet acceptance of her help as he passed on the address of Elisebeth’s manor to her. Together they left the clinic, determined with every step.

           “Hmm, a lovely reunion don’t you think?” The doctor commented. “Looks like you’ll be off into some action right away. I’d suggest you take these, it’ll take your mind off the pain for lack of a better word.”

           A small bottle of painkillers was handed to her, the labelling was somewhat dubious though. “Uh… Are these even legal?”

           “The greatest thief in Paris and that’s your first worry?”

           She pouted and took the recommended dosage. Like magic, the pain dissipated almost immediately, though she felt a bit numb in some places she wasn’t in any pain at least. “God where were you all those cycles…” She bitterly muttered.

           With a curt thanks, she practically dashed out of the clinic. Fondue followed closely behind. There was only a brief pit-stop at her apartment to change shirts, it wasn’t exactly pleasant running around in a blood-soaked shirt in public.

           The sky was a morbid grey overcast as she stepped outside, not the most settling weather on a day like this. But she persisted and made her way to the mansion with the directions Vergier gave her.

           Off the bat, her eyes were drawn to the crests decorating the elusive mansion. It was the same as the mark they had been chasing this entire time. Elisabeth had secrets, and she was ready to tear them open.

           It was a maze inside, and security was pretty tight at that too. But with the help of some wonderfully placed statues, she was able to sneak past the guards and deeper inside. Breaking into mansions wasn’t something she got to do often, only having done it a few times before to steal back a painting that her father had sold. But their security was comparable to a lot of smaller galleries and museums.

           The foyer was a sight of its own, they were often quite garish in the previous mansions she had been in before. This one managed to retain an elegance to it without needing to show off a multitude of riches.

           Now she just had to find the Duchess, and hope she wouldn’t freak out seeing her. Yet she wasn’t in her room much to Rafaela’s dismay. “Where could she be? I’m not one to snoop around a lady’s room, but when life gives you lemons…”

There had to be some secrets hidden around somewhere, paintings were usually the best hiding spot when it came to secret safes and holes and the like. She snuck a peek behind a few of them, coming up null until she finally found one with a secret.

           It was a diary.

           ‘Today was a wondrous day. For my darling daughter was born to me. May God watch over her always. Ma petite chérie, Marie.’

           A quiet gasp escaped Rafaela. “So… She really was her daughter all along?” She continued to read. ‘She may very well be the last blood descendent of the Babylonian royal house. Yet, my cousin Jean-François has left a dark cloud over this fate. I believe he must have been pulling the strings in The Mystère incident. He must not get his hands on the Dragon crown, Diodorus’ painting must not become a reality.’

           She carefully put the book back, the mention of a painting catching her eye. While her heart was heavy, she had hope once this was over that the two could finally reunite. With some more investigation, she quickly discovered an interesting lock. It pinged like a guitar string, and she had an inkling as to what song would unlock it.

           The tune of Moon Princess rang out through the empty room and a secret door opened inside of the fireplace. “More secrets… Let’s go Fondue.” Nothing could have prepared her for what was behind it.

           It was as if she had wandered into a private museum, artwork and sculptures of all kinds filled the dimly lit hallways. And at the very centre of it, was a massive painting. She couldn’t believe her eyes, this must have been the real treasure Napoleon was after all along. A massive Babylonian fortress, hung up in the sky as if by magic like she had stepped into a world of fantasy.

           Yet with everything she had experienced these last few days, the world of fantasy had bled into their reality enough for her to believe it. A loud crash echoed through the hall, breaking them out of their focus. “What was that?” She gasped.

           They dashed out of the secret room, making their way back towards the foyer where they were met with a frightful sight. Alfred had been knocked down and beaten by the Chevaliers Diabolique, they must have forced their way in.

           She lept down from the top of the stairs, catching their attention with a scowl. “What? She’s still alive?” One of them yelped.

           “Who cares? We’ve got what we came for,” another one argued. “Let’s move out!”

           The Chevaliers escaped while she knelt down to check on the beaten butler. “Alfred, are you alright? What happened?” She called out to him as she helped pull him up.

           “Y-You… You’re Phantom R. I failed her Grace, they’ve taken her…” He gasped in pain as he grabbed her shoulders. “Please… You must rescue her! They cannot get away with this! She has a kind heart, she did what she had to, to protect her dearest treasure. The Place de la Concorde, that’s where they’ve taken her. You must hurry!”

           She carefully placed her hands on his shoulders, moving him to a wall to let him sit up and rest. “Don’t worry, I don’t plan on letting them get away with this either. Phantom’s honour, right Fondue?”

           “Woeuf!”

           “Come on! Let’s go save Marie and the Duchess!”

Chapter Text

           Heartbreak and terror plagued Marie’s heart. Rafaela’s blood stained the tips of her fingers as she repressed the urge to scream out in pain. She couldn’t be dead, could she? That other girl rescued her after all right?

           And Jean-François… She sniffled to herself as she repressed her tears, many of them had already been shed the night before when he had taken her. He had looked down at the makeup running down her face in disgust, sending a wave of shame through her.

           Seeing him shoot Rafaela like that too… After all was said and done he had simply shrugged at her terror and said. “I told you to forget about her, didn’t I? Let this be a lesson, my dear.”

           Hate was not something Marie enjoyed the feeling of. She’d prefer a world without it.

           Yet as she stared at the man she once adored, it was the only word to describe the tempest inside of her.

           Napoleon had dragged her in front of the Louvre. Destruction and chaos reigned around them as the Chevaliers spread fear across the city. She clutched to her violin, Rafaela’s rebellious spirit still burning within her.

           “Play us Moon Princess, now!” Napoleon demanded.

           “Never! I’d rather die!” She spat back at him, seething with rage.

           “Maybe later,” Napoleon scoffed as he gestured for one of his men. “But for now…”

           She turned to see where he was looking and a gasp caught in her throat. The Duchess Elisabeth was pulled to the front, a somber expression across her face. “If you do not play, your mother will die.”

           “No, you’re wrong! She’s not my mother,” Marie desperately argued with the man, but Napoleon only laughed at her.

           “Oh, how tragic,” he mocked her. “Elisabeth has been lying… Trying to protect you .”

           Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes as her flame of rebellion began to sputter out, a weight growing on her shoulders. She turned to look at the Duchess, a cold uncaring mask across her face as they met eyes. “Do not play that song, little girl. I’m nothing but a stranger, do not torture yourself over me.”

           The Duchess, she loved the sound of the violin.

           Were she to die today, she may never hear it again.

           Marie took a deep breath, pulling her violin to her shoulder as the woman gasped. “No! Marie, please!”

           A tear escaped the corner of her eye, sliding down her cheek as she forced out a smile. “I never knew how nice hearing my own name could be… I don’t care whose mother you are, you don’t deserve to die.”

           Moon Princess echoed through the desolate streets as tears cascaded down her cheeks. The ground began to rumble just as Napoleon’s laughed. “You were the key to everything! Now watch, as it rises once again! My great treasure of antiquity!”

-

           Rafaela was caught off guard by the sudden rumbling that echoed through Paris. “W-What the? Is this some kind of earthquake?” She spluttered as the ground below her vibrated, nearly knocking her off her feet.

           People around her were in a panic, confusion spreading like a disease to all the citizens of Paris. A scream caught her attention, people were running away from something. The Chevaliers Diabolique had invaded the city, setting themselves upon spreading fear to its every corner.

           Sirens blared off in the distance, the Constabulary was pulling itself across the city to control the chaos. But she only had one goal in mind, Marie. “Let’s cheese it Fondue!” She yelled over at the dog as the men began to chase after her.

           She didn’t have time to deal with these guys, and so the both of them escaped onto the rooftops. They were persistent little buggers, following her through the rooftops and even trying to nab her with gliders.

           Above her the clouds darkened, a chilly wind blowing past her as she hopped on one of the Chevaliers’ heads. Leaping back into the streets and continuing her sprint to reunite with Marie.

           It was then that a shadow was cast over Paris, and her heart sank. Fondue angrily barked and growled at the shadow, knowing what it was too. “T-That was in the painting,” she gasped.

           A fortress floated in the skies above them, and to think that thing was underneath them this entire time. It shook her to her core, how long had this all been planned for? How many lives were twisted and ruined by his ambitions?

           Dark clouds circled the fortress and a biting cold rushed past her skin. It was snowing amidst summer as if the weather was just a weapon for Napoleon now. As she buffered against the blizzard, the fortress began to glow.

           Lightning quickly rained down around her, crushing cars and trees alike. It was utter madness all around her. And yet, she could see something. For such a supposedly amazing strategist, Napoleon had left himself wide open.

           With a grin, she rode the lift up the Eiffel Tower. The lightning around her dissipated into it as she reached the fortress up in the sky. An unfortunate place for Napoleon to have parked it, but fortunate for her.

           “The Eiffel Tower’s got a lightning rod!” She yelled out to the police down below before heading deeper into the fortress.

           It was like nothing she had ever seen before, even amongst the age-old buildings that were scattered across Paris. “So this is Babyloneon…How on earth did people thousands of years ago build something like this? Gah, I don’t have time for sightseeing!” She ruffled up her hair before continuing deeper into the fortress.

-

           The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Marie had always thought of them as a myth. But here she was, standing in the very center of it all. She feared for the worst, hearing the crash of lightning all around them. Napoleon refused to let her go, even with the gardens in his hands. Jean-François had insisted she was still needed, more secrets to be pried open with her blood.

           She had struggled to make eye contact with Elisabeth, the woman’s face was filled with shame as they were marched along by the Chevaliers. As dearly as she wanted to try and comfort the woman, she doubted she’d get far before her own tears would be shed.

           “Have those fools found her body yet?” She heard Jean-François bark at some Chevaliers. “I don’t care what state it’s in, we cannot risk Issac finding out,” he muttered bitterly.

           Part of her clung to that hope Rafaela survived, but having seen how they were shot down. It’d take a miracle for her to come back.

           Marie cursed herself, she hadn’t been brave enough. She had so many more things left to say to her. Dreams to share, hands to entwine.

           To have told her she loved her.

           “Marie!”

           The echo of her voice still haunted her.

           “Marie! I’m here for you!” A desperate voice cut through the fog.

           Her head shot up, turning to see Rafaela in the flesh running towards her with determination. “Rafaela!” Marie cried out in relief. She was alive, that was all that mattered.

           “Hmph, the petit thief doesn’t know when to die. When will you learn, that crawling around like the cockroach you are will account for nothing,” Napoleon spat.

           “Aww, is the little Emperor still bitter about Waterloo? I’m taking Marie and Elisabeth back, and I’m not leaving without them! Fondue, let’s go!” Rafaela smirked as the Chevaliers piled on over to her.

           In unison, Rafaela and Fondue fought against the men. Rafaela punched and twirled her way through their armour and claws. All the while Fondue snapped his jaw at the softer fabric around their legs, sending them fleeing off in pain.

           A smile crept back across her face, the pure bliss of relief spreading through her body. Until the icy bite of reality returned as Napoleon clicked a gun pointed straight at Rafaela.

           The other girl froze. No, this couldn’t happen again. But she was being held down, unable to move. “Pitiful girl, though you may be able to shoulder off such a bullet. How might she fare?”

           Marie was forced to stare down the barrel of Napoleon’s gun. Her throat ran dry with fear as the man grinned. “The girl will die. And you shall be left powerless to contemplate your uselessness.”

           “No!”

           She squeezed her eyes shut as the shot rang out around them. Awaiting the pain and silence.

           Yet she was still breathing. Her heart caught in her throat as she tried to tear open her eyes. She couldn’t have-

           But as she opened them, she was met with someone else standing before her. Head held high and proud before crumbling to the ground. Elisabeth had taken the bullet for her.

           “W-Why?” Marie shuddered as she crouched down to hold the woman.

           Elisabeth looked up at her, eyes warm and somber filled with longing. “Ah… Forgive me, Marie… I wanted to spare you from all of this, that is why I left you at the Convent…” Her hand cupped Marie’s cheek, and her vision began to blur with tears.

           Her mother weakly smiled at her. “I lived each day in grief knowing I’d never see you grow… But I am glad to see you’ve grown into a fine lady. Ma chère Marie…” Her voice faded into a whisper as her hand fell limp.

           Marie held her tightly, shaking her desperately to open her eyes again. “No! Please don’t leave me again! Mama!” Her sobs echoed through the gardens as she buried her head in her chest.

-

           Was there no limit to how far these men would sink? It made Rafaela’s blood boil over, she wasn’t about to let them get away with this. While the police had finally made their arrival, Napoleon and Jean-François had made their escape.

           “Fondue, take Inspector Vergier to Marie! I’m going after them!” She ordered him, knowing there was still a chance the Duchess might live. With the Inspector’s help, she was sure they could save her, but she didn’t have time to stand around.

           She made her chase, eventually arriving at a fountain where Jean-François stood. Seeing him grinning like a madman filled her with rage as she stared daggers into him. “You! You! Marie trusted you! How could you use her like that?”

           The man calmly shrugged, as if it was nothing at all. “Such sacrifices are necessary for the sake of realising ambition. Have you not made your own sacrifices to become Phantom R? I cannot help it if mine is to lead the boarish masses.”

           “Casse-toi, fils de pute! Who gives a damn about your ideals! You’ve broken Marie’s heart,” she hissed.

           “Espèce de petite pute. I wouldn’t expect you to understand… Though perhaps even a dog like you may learn how to kneel…” He began to cackle, before breaking out into mad laughter as parts of the floor broke away and metal claws cut through the dirt.

           The Dragon Crown glimmered in his fist as what looked to be robots with lanky arms and claws slowly surrounded her, controlled by the crown. “More tin cans for me to crush? You’re too generous…” She scowled.

           “Ha, still your tongue. These are the true Chevaliers Diabolique, created to defend the Babylonian Empire. They know no pity, mercy or hesitation… Now, it is time you danced your last, Phantom R.” He thrust out his hand, giving the cold machines their signal.

           Loath she was to admit it but, she was in trouble. Everywhere she jumped, a claw came rushing down on her. She yelped in surprise as one of them managed to topple her over with a well-timed slash.

           A Chevalier readied itself to slam both of its claws onto her as she scrambled to get back up. But right on cue, a football smashed into its head and a bullet knocked it down through the chest. Two hands shoved her off the ground a bit roughly as she stumbled back onto her feet.

           “You’ve got your posterior defences wide open!” Charlie smirked.

           “Allons-y! We’ll show them who they’re dealing with!” Vergier added as he readied his gun.

           “Woeuf!” Fondue barked as he weaselled his way between her legs. He must have sensed she would be in danger and led the two of them here. Her heart bloomed in appreciation as they joined their forces against the horde.

           Jean-François tutted in frustration. “A small diversion. The three of you shall die together then!”

           Rafaela straightened up her suit. “Don’t go crying off then when we break all your toys.”

           The Vergiers covered her back, and she covered theirs. Charlie’s football thrummed against the metal soldiers like a drum as Vergier’s guns shot through the air like a snare. Even amongst the chaos, there was rhythm.

           Despite their lack of humanity, these Chevelairs were no different than the last ones. Hunks of metal knocked down like tortoises on their shells. All in all, they were a pretty good team though she was sure the other two would be vehemently against such a suggestion.

           As she knocked a few more over like dominos the Inspector let out a yell. “Graf is making his escape! Phantom R, after him leave these machines to us!” He loudly ordered her as she lept onto one of the Chevelier’s heads to knock it down.

           “Right! I owe you guys one! Let’s cheese it Fondue!” She shouted as she dashed the man. She wasn’t about to let that bastard get away. With Fondue’s help, he was able to follow Jean-François’ scent down a winding corridor until he froze with a whine.

           A blistering heat began to slowly rise the deeper they went and her steps slowed to a cautious crawl. Lava boiled around her, she had never seen something like this before. It was sweltering, the bullet inside of her burned in pain as she flinched.

           “Where are they?” She hissed as her eyes scanned across the desolate room when a shadow loomed above her.

           She nearly lost her hat as she ducked to avoid the slash of a massive lance. Above her hulked a massive mechanical Chevelier, and inside of its chest Jean-François grinned ear to ear as he tutted at her. “Such a disgusting stain, always needing to be scrubbed out by hand.”

           “Ohh how my heart bleeds for you, you bastard.” She rolled her eyes at his complaints with a scowl.

           The man above her let out a low sigh. “As Issac’s daughter, shouldn’t you be helping us instead? He’ll be such a nuisance once I scrape you off the floor.”

           Her eyes widened into saucers as her heart dipped. “You!- Are you the reason he left?” She screamed, her voice betraying any attempt to stay calm.

           He seemed to enjoy watching her distress, his grin extending out to almost inhuman lengths as he leant down just a bit outside of the Chevelier. “You could say that. Indeed, your father is one of us.”

           “But why? Why would he do this?”

           “Curiosity killed the cat, but I suppose you’ll be dead soon enough. He began making forgeries for our organisation when you were young. With a little swap here and there, we’d sell the originals on the market for him. All for you… His only sickly daughter,” he mockingly cooed.

           A rush of shame ripped through her body. “H-He made those to pay the doctors…” An underlayer of guilt had pulsed through her for many years, watching her father slowly crumble away for her sake. Mayhap her suspicions were right all along.

           Left alone for being too great of a burden to bear.

           “And how he toils for an even greater, more noble cause! The subjugation of the world under her true ruler. Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte!” Jean-François dramatically echoed through the room. Before a stone lodged itself into his nose, blood trickling down his chin.

           Rafaela cracked her knuckles, letting that steadily building rage flow through her. “Shut your goddamn mouth, you don’t know a thing about him! But let’s see how your little Emperor does when I break his favourite boy toy!”

           Jean-François wiped his nose with a silk handkerchief with a scowl. “Tch, for my Emperor!” The machine whirled to life again, crushing the stone floor beneath them as she flipped out of the way.

           The man circled her like a hawk, cowardly skirting away whenever she was close enough to try and hit him. Instead, he summoned strange gemstones to shoot at her, which she managed to kick and punch back with ease.

           While her fists may not be strong enough to punch through that hunk of metal. He had graciously supplied her with a weapon with his gemstones, they effortlessly pierced through his armour as he gawked in shock.

           “W-What is this? This is impossible!” He yelled.

           “It’s very possible! I’m not letting you get away this time!” Gemstones flew past her as she made the small pillar of stone her dance stage. Watching with pleasure as the man desperately slammed his hands into the controls as she effortlessly dodged his attacks.

           With a mighty kick, she sent a red gemstone flying into his face. He was swiftly knocked over, the machine crumbling to the floor with a crash as the front opened and he flopped out. She lept over to him, limbs twitching with rage as she kicked him.

           “Where did he go? Where’s Napoleon? Where’s my father?” She yelled as she grabbed him by the collar. His glasses had shattered and his face was bruised and cut as he gasped in pain.

           She was about ready to punch him for answers when a hand suddenly grasped her shoulder. “We need him alive, Phantom R,” Vergier calmly reminded her and she slowly pulled herself away. “Jean-François… Or perhaps I should say Graf. You are under arrest for disturbing the peace and threatening Paris.”

           Jean-François was hauled up, arms locked up with hand-cuffs as Vergier passed him off to two officers who dragged him away. She could finally breathe again, sweat dripping down the side of her head as she attempted to fan herself off.

           “Hot as hell in here… Will you also be going after Napoleon then?” She asked the inspector.

           “I shall have to decline, my men need guidance to keep the peace down below. And we must make sure Graf doesn’t escape justice. You put me in an awkward position Phantom R…” He rubbed the bridge of his nose with a sigh. “I must thank you for saving Paris, but tomorrow I will endeavour to catch you again.”

           She smirked. “Well, I suppose you and Charlie are the only stalkers I don’t mind having around. I look forward to our next tango, but until then I’m going after Napoleon. Au Revoir Inspector!”

           With a hop, she dashed off deeper into the gardens, Fondue barking at her side. Many of the doors were sealed shut, forcing them to move outside where floating platforms circled the gardens. “What way should we go? This can't be a dead end already.”

           “Woeuf!” Fondue lept onto one of the platforms with an excited bark, waiting for her to join him.

           “Oh! That’s a good idea Fondue, c’mon let’s step to it!” Together they hopped from platform to platform while the snowy winds blustered against them. She was careful of her footing, falling now before reaching Napoleon would be an embarrassing way to go.

           It was a relief to reach the end and warm herself back up inside. She even sneezed, causing Fondue to give her a bit of a side-eye. Hopefully, she wouldn’t get too sick after all of this.

           A lift took her closer down, the mystic of Babylon slowly fading away into something more modern and high-tech. “They really made all of this?...” She whispered to herself in thought. What would their world look like if that technology hadn’t been hidden away all those years ago?

           But there wasn’t much time to daydream, as it finally reached the bottom. The main control room was lit in green crystals that circled the walls and a larger one that hung above the controls. And at the very center across a narrow bridge was the man she had been chasing this entire time.

           “Napoleon! This is the end of the line for you!” She barked as she rushed across the bridge.

           The man let out a frustrated sigh at the sight of her. “I see that Jean-François’ over-confidence is only outmatched by his incompetence!” He unsheathed his sword, her face reflected in the sheen of the blade. “I am a soldier, not a showman. This will be your last dance Phantom R!”

           “Well if you’re not pulling any punches this time, then I won’t either!”

           He scoffed, pulling out an extra sword to even the odds. She caught it as it flew by her head, pointing it back at him with determination burning in her eyes. “This is the finale! En garde!”

           “En garde!”

           Metal clashed, and their swords grinded together with a harsh screech as they locked together in a duel. He pushed back against her, forcing her to party away each of his slashes. Napoleon was deeply on the offensive, an act of desperation most likely.

           He forced her against the edge of the bridge, likely intending to kick her down into the pit below. But she had other plans, flipping away onto the circling platforms below.

           Their battle continued as he jumped down after her, attempting to slash at her as he landed. She was far too quick for him, however. And she took the opportunity to finally land a hit of her own, leaving a mark through his shoulder.

           His eyes flashed with vitriol as he went in for a stab she just barely parried. Yet his aggression seemed to wane, the injury in his shoulder making it more difficult for him to perform large swings.

           The tides were turning.

           If she could get her hands on those controls Paris would be saved. She leapt towards them, hoping the injury would slow Napoleon only for his sword to cut through the stone by her feet. He was the last thing between her and stopping this madness.

           Now it was her turn to go on the offensive, stabbing at him like a woodpecker as he attempted to block her sword with his own. But he only had so much strength in his arms, as she soon broke through his last defences leaving a large cut down his chest.

           His sword shattered as he collapsed, coughing in pain as he dragged himself towards the controls. “T-This is no possible… How could I lose?” He wheezed. “No matter… He will continue the world I have begun in his name…”

           She pointed her sword at the injured man, a light tremble in her stance as her adrenaline continued to pump through her body. “Whose he? Who are you talking about?” She demanded.

           The man let out a weak laugh as he began to tap away at the controls. “As it were, my true name is Leonard Bonard. A shadow to the true Emperor! And now I will clean up this mess… Clean it up for him!” With a mad grin, he pressed a button as the lights around them tapered out.

           Above them, the green crystal began to crackle with energy as a pit of dread grew in her body. “Through the rumble of this world, he will construct a new order. The true Napoleon!” He began to madly laugh as he staggered away from the controls, twisting his head towards her with blown-out eyes. “We have triumphed, Phantom R!”

           He fell into the darkness below, laughter echoing all the way down. A chilling thud, and then silence. She tore her eyes away from the pit, their fight was over. But Paris was still in danger, she had to stop the reactor.

           In a struggle she tugged and pressed against the levers and buttons, hoping for a miracle. “Dammnit! Nothing’s working!” She hissed as she slammed her hand against one of the panels.

           She couldn’t fail here now, not after everything they’ve done.

           “Rafaela!”

           Her head shot up, turning to see Marie running over to her across the thin bridge. Without a second thought, she rushed towards the girl. She squeezed her into a tight embrace which Marie gently returned.

           “I thought you had died… I-I’m so glad you’re okay,” Marie hiccuped.

           She pulled away, reaching into her pocket for some wipes. “I’m okay now…” She whispered as she carefully cleaned Marie’s ruined makeup away. “But the Duchess, is she?”

           Marie smiled, reaching into her pocket. “My mother’s fine. The constables were able to help her and the Inspector told me this…” She took out a small dented silver pendant, and inside of it was a picture of a young Marie. “He said it kept her safe, she must have been carrying it with her all this time.”

           It was a heartwarming sight, but the gardens groaned and buckled around them grounding her back into reality. They didn’t have much time. “Marie, listen to me. I-” Her brain screamed at her this wasn’t the time. Yet the memory of her near-death up on the Eiffel Tower was fresh in her mind. The regret she would have carried were she were to die.

           “What good is a happy dream if I can’t stay with you? I want to be by your side, I just wanted you to hear this before the end.” Their fingers entwined with each other. “I’m sorry… I wanted to say it all sooner but I didn’t have the words. And now I don’t know what to do…”

           Marie’s grip tightened. “We’ll make that dream come true! I know you can do it!”

           “Rouf, rouf!” Fondue made a muffled bark as he held up Marie’s violin case between his jaw.

           The girl gasped. “Oh, brave noble Fondue! You’re trying to help cheer her up aren’t you?” She softly smiled as she slipped her hand away to pick up the violin case. “Please, don’t give up Rafaela! There’s always hope, right before the curtain closes!”

           She stepped up towards the controls, turning it into her stage as the tune of her violin echoed through the room. It was strangely ominous at first, an unsettling tune among the quakes that shook them with every passing minute.

           Yet as she continued to play, a spark of hope ignited through the tune. Fragments of Moon Princess amongst a song Marie created for her on the spot. A concert, just for her.

           Rafaela gasped, a memory striking her as she held up the bracelet on her wrist. “Elisabeth… She gave me the Queen’s Pendant because I wore this bracelet. I know it’s special, I’ve seen its power once before.” She stared up at the green crystal flickering above them. “I know I’m not the only one in Paris who wants to stop this. If I could just channel that…”

           Moon Princess’ gentle tune played out around them as Marie took the stage once more. The Bracelet of Tiamat finally began to glow again as it resonated with the land. She could feel it, the wishes of every person in Paris below them as they reached out to her.

           Their prayers wisped into the bracelet, a golden glow surrounding them. “Thank you, Marie. If it wasn’t for you, I’d probably have given up a long time ago,” she weakly chuckled. It truly was a miracle. “I can feel it… The rhythm of the city… The pulse of the people, the rhythm of the land…”

           And there was one thing she knew what to do with the power of rhythm. As the crystals around the wall began to glow in tandem with her, the stage was set. She was ready to dance.

           With Marie’s violin backing her up, she moved like never before. Her body flowed with rhythm as she swept her legs across the floor and her arms burned with strength. She danced for Paris, she danced for Marie.

           The bracelet glowed in tune with her, growing ever stronger until the light was almost blinding. “Don’t worry Paris. I hear you loud and clear!” Her lungs squeezed with determination as she thrust her hand up to the crystal. The light bursted out, surrounding the crystal like a flame as it crackled and shattered behind its power.

           In an instant, the room around them began to crumble. Stone fell from the ceiling as Marie cried out in surprise. She grabbed onto her shoulders, holding the girl up against the tremors. “Quickly! We need to run!”

           Rafaela pulled Marie along the bridge, the fragile thing beginning to fall apart right behind them as they ran. She slammed her hands against the lift, attempting to pry it open to no use. “Woeuf!” Fondue barked towards her, pawing at a new entryway that seemed to be an emergency staircase.

           They pulled themselves up the near-endless set of spiralling stairs, eventually returning to the outdoors. Her eyes darted around for any way they could escape to little avail. “There should be a platform near the Eiffel Tower on the other side! Let’s hurry there!” She explained before they continued their escape.

           Behind her, she could feel Marie slowly beginning to struggle against all the running, but even so the girl persisted through it all. Through all the rooms they had run through before, the walls and floor were slowly falling apart. Even the fountain had burst and could barely spit out water anymore.

           They were so close to escaping though when through a corridor a massive tremor caught them off guard. “Marie! Watch out!” She tore the girl back from the corridor as a massive chunk of the ceiling collapsed in front of them.

           “Ugh, are you kidding me!” She practically screeched. “C’mon, there’s gotta be another way out!” Down the other side of the corridor, there was a locked door, one she had overlooked earlier.

           With the tension so high in the air she struggled against the crystal that locked the door. Impatience whittled at her fingers as it took its time lighting up. She could only hope she wouldn’t have to deal with these again.

           As soon as the doors swung open she dashed through them only to get pulled back by Marie this time. “Careful! Part of the floor has fallen away!” The other girl yelled as they stared down at the crumbling corridor.

           Unfortunately, they didn’t have time to find a safer way out. “Okay, Marie hold on tight.”

           “Huh? Uwah!” Marie squeaked as she hauled her up in a princess carry.

           Admittedly, the bullet in her abdomen was burning like hell right now. But better that then to get crushed by some giant floating gardens. With a deep breath, she made her first leap alongside Fondue.

           She could feel Marie clinging to her tightly as they hopped in between sections of the floor that were still floating. A few sections fell away after they jumped to the next, raising the hair on the back of her neck. “We’re almost there!” She gasped as the tip of the tower was just barely in sight.

           There was one last jump, far wider than all the others before.

           Fondue made it across just fine.

           But as she landed at the very edge of their last jump. The rock below them crumbled under their combined weight. Marie’s grip on her tightened in a panic, making her unable to throw the girl in a last-ditch effort to save her at the very least.

           A hand from above gripped her wrist, freezing their fall as her head shot up. “Charlie!” 

           The girl pulled at them with all her might. “I said you were heavy, didn’t I? But let’s make this even my friend!” She hissed through her teeth as she tried to pull them up.

           With one last heave, Rafaela was able to pull herself up onto what was left of a corridor with Marie in tow. “Quickly! There’s a helicopter just down here!” Charlie yelled as they all made one last mad dash.

           Vergier was waiting for them on the helicopter, barely giving them a chance to strap in before it moved away from the gardens. Up in the air, they watched it fall apart, crumbling away as stones littered the streets.

           As soon as they landed they ran out amongst the crowd that was watching its destruction with awe.

           She could nearly kiss the ground with the relief she was down from there. Though it being Paris that wasn’t exactly the best idea.

           “I can’t believe it…” Marie quietly gasped as the Eiffel Tower began to light up.

           “Yeah… It’s all over now,” she could finally sigh in relief. The fireworks of the Fête sparkled in the sky around them. A celebration from the city itself after the miracle they performed. “No more being a pawn, you’re free now!”

           Their hands squeezed together, gratitude brimming from Marie’s eyes. “Thank you… Thank you so much!” The girl hiccuped as they embraced below a colourful sky.

-

           “Aw, c’mon Simon I’ve got a date today!”

           “The Fête only comes once every three years! And we’ve got a lot to make up for it getting pushed back now. Business like this only comes every once and a while! You have a date every week at least.”

           Rafaela held back a laugh as she listened in on Michel and Simon’s bickering, some things never changed. She adjusted her hat in the breakroom mirror with a smile before stepping through the door. “I’ll be off then,” she cheerfully interrupted them.

           “Huh? Why do you get to leave? And what’s with the Phantom R costume? Kinda suits you…” Michel mumbled.

           “Pretty snazzy right? Well seeing how I helped Simon prepare for the Fête after it was pushed back, I’ve got a bit of leeway.” Some parts of Paris were still recovering from the attack, but the desire to party and celebrate persisted. Before they knew it, the city was up and running ready to dance the night away.

           The other boy continued to pout as she gave a little twirl, Simon clapping in approval as she did. “Huh, haven’t seen you wear a braid since like middle school,” Michel commented.

           A small silver silk ribbon shimmered in the light, holding her braid together. “Pretty cute right? But sorry boys, I’ve got a date with destiny,” she grinned as she left the store. Michel gawked in dismay as Simon waved her off.

           To Notre Dame, that was where destiny was waiting for her.

           She practically skipped down the roads, hopping from lamposts without a care in the world. Fondue ran alongside her, his tail held high with excitable chuffs and barks. “Oh! Rafaela, you look quite dashing today,” Natalie chuckled as she lept down from a lamppost.

           “Bonjour Natalie! Enjoying the celebrations?”

           “Indeed! I even have a present for you, here.” The woman pulled out a delicate white box, tied up with a little red ribbon. “I baked these macaroons specially for you! They’re violet-flavoured, I hope you like them.”

           Her eyes lit up. “Ohh, that does sound nice. Thanks a bunch, Natalie!”

           Together with Fondue, she continued her stroll down the road. Munching the macaroons as she went. They certainly tasted different than roses, though she couldn’t help but compare the two like eating perfume and soap.

           Fondue lept up at her, eager to get a bite as she held it away from him. “Mhph! No! Not ghoof hor dogs!” She muffled with one still in her mouth. He whined as she stuffed it into her mouth with a pout. Maybe she could ask Natalie to make some for dogs sometime.

           “Huh? Phantom R?” She whipped her head around in surprise at the sound of Charlie’s voice. It seemed she was wearing a white sundress with red and blue trimmings for the Fête. However, she wondered if her dad had made her wear it.

           She quickly made eye contact with said man standing beside her, swallowing the macaroon nervously. “Uh, fancy meeting you two here? Nice dress Charlie.”

           Charlie looked a bit embarrassed at the compliment. “Feels a bit cheesy… But I guess it’s nice. What are you doing here though, not planning on snatching anything from the stall owners are you?”

           They narrowed their eyes at her in sync, seems that accusatory stare ran in the family. “Whaa? Why would I steal from small businesses? I’m just an honest Parisian lady enjoying the Fête de Paris.”

           Vergier let out a huff, slinging a bag of goodies over his shoulder. It seemed he finally decided to take a bit of a break, even still it looked like he could never truly relax. “We’ll be keeping an eye on you Phantom R. My men are across Paris today to keep the peace in check. But this will be the only time I’ll leave you with a warning.”

           “Second time.”

           “Feeling cheeky are you?” A small smirk crawled across his face.

           She leapt back with a laugh. “Maybe after a few glasses of wine! But hey, if you guys are lucky you might even get to see me dance. I’m pretty good at it if I’d say so myself,” she grinned.

           After that little encounter, she was finally able to make her way to Notre Dame without any other trouble. Elisabeth had sent her a letter the day before requesting she come see her there, and hopefully in turn see Marie again. They had been rather busy after everything that had happened, and they still had more to talk about after her rather rushed confession in the gardens.

           In front of the church, Alfred was waiting for her, bowing at her presence. “Ah, we’ve been expecting you. Please, follow me.” Inside of the church was nary a soul in sight aside from the familiar figure of Elisabeth standing at the back of the church.

           Rafaela removed her hat as she approached the Duchess, it felt appropriate after all that had happened. She turned to her with a warm smile, a far cry from the cold mask she had worn before. “Tis good to see you Phantom R. Though I suppose I should call you Rafaela. I imagine you must have some questions, I’ll answer them the best I can.”

           “Great to hear, good to see you're doing well too. Hmm… Well, I really just want to know about Marie. French and Babylonian blood, how exactly did that happen?”

           “Her father was descended from Babylonian royalty, and I, of course, the French Monarchy. He was perhaps the last of his line… Something Jean-François could not overlook…” There was a distant sorrow in her eyes as she spoke.

           She wondered if the two had ever been close. But the betrayal from family always cut deep, it was a feeling she had felt recently. “I can't believe my father would fall in with people like that…”

           “I’m sure Issac has his reasons,” she calmly explained.

           Rafaela’s attention was spiked. “Huh? You knew my father?”

           “He was once a close friend of mine…” There was a gentle nostalgia in her eyes. “In fact, our meeting at the opera house was not our first. While our contact became sparse around the time we both had children, he did endeavour to visit me once when you were but a baby. I must say, you’ve grown into a fine young lady.”

           She hid her face behind her hat in a fluster of embarrassment as the Duchess let out a soft laugh. Once she eventually set the hat back on properly, she had one more question to ask though. “Do you know where he might have gone? Did he ever contact you one last time?”

           Elisabeth shook her head. “No, I never knew why he disappeared but… Knowing your father, I’m sure he has a plan. I’d bet my life on it. He’s far too emotional to stay detached for long.”

           “Ha… That’s for sure. But one day I’ll find him. And when I do, I’ll get the truth.” This was her promise to herself, and Elisabeth. A truth they both deserved the answer to.

           “Rafaela?” Marie’s voice gently called out behind her.

           Marie was draped in the gentle light that poured through Notre Dame’s windows. Her lips were coated in a brilliant hue of red and her skin practically glittered in the warmth of the sun. “I-I must thank you again. If it wasn’t for you I…” Her eyes began to water as she struggled through her words.

           She slowly approached her with a smile. “It wasn’t me that changed your destiny. It was you, Marie…” Their hands joined together again as Marie’s eyes lit up once again. “Now then… It’s almost time for the first dance! Wouldn’t want the Rhythm Queen to be late now would we?”

           With a soft laugh from the girl the both of them ran through Notre Dame, leaping out into the sun through the church doors. “It’s show time!”

Hand in hand, they mingled amongst the festivities that had begun outside. Everyone around them was bursting with joy as their dance began, crowds bustled around to watch while many began their dances together in tandem.

           Rafaela held Marie’s hand high as she spun her around, confetti settling in her hair as it rained down upon them. “For a long time, I never thought to dance hand in hand with someone like this,” she began. “But I can feel down the connection it brings. Your own rhythm, entwined with mine.”

           But all dances must come to an end. And with a heavy heart, she had a difficult choice to make as their steps began to slow. Her search for her father had to continue on, it may be her last duet in quite some time.

           “You know… Rafaela. After everything you said to me in the gardens, I couldn’t think of what to say back…” Marie’s voice quietly spoke up as their dance finally stopped. Yet their hands remained linked together.

           “Do you have an answer?”

           With a gentle flush against Marie’s face, she did quite the unexpected. A pair of red lips crashed against her own, inexperienced yet passionate. “H-How’s that for an answer?” Marie stuttered against her red face.

           Her lipstick had smudged against her own, leaving a very obvious sign of what happened as Rafaeal’s brain attempted to clock what just happened. “Yeah, I think so,” she could only squeak.

           She pouted with a whine. “Ahh, dammit this messes up my whole… Thing! I was supposed to give the first kiss.” Not to mention her plans for a dramatic exit had flown out of the window. She could stay around for the Fête for a bit longer… What was one day lost searching for her father after she had already spent three years?

           Marie just let out a laugh at her pouts. “You’re so cute when you're embarrassed.”

           “Ugh… Drag me out there why don’t you?” She was supposed to be good at this sort of thing. Granted her experience with real romance was… Sparse to say the least. Perhaps she wasn’t as smooth as she had envisioned, a crushing reality to hit her now of all times. Had she actually been embarrassing herself this entire time?

           “Woeuf?”

           “Yeah… I think I broke her Fondue. Sorry about that.”

           Fondue just let out a small bark in agreement.

           Despite that small hiccup, the rest of the Fête was sparse of embarrassments. They travelled around Paris once again, taking in the celebrations. From dancers in the streets, that Rafaela joined in on to the stalls filled with delicate ornaments and treats. Destiny was Marie all along.

           Amid the early evening, they returned to her apartment for a brief respite from the crowd. There while Fondue snoozed away a dog treat induced food coma, Rafaela and Marie indulged in other delights together.

           A quiche with goat cheese was shared, alongside madeleines and a little bit of light red wine. Though not enough to get tipsy, watching Marie’s face shrink as she tasted it for the first time gave her a good laugh though.

           Fondue was left to nap away for now as they escaped into the evening crowd. Cheers continued on as they danced together in the streets.

           As night fell over Paris, the Fête marched on. The late-night crowd would celebrate until the sun broke back over the horizon, and the city would slowly turn back to normal until the next one.

           They eventually found themselves on a familiar bridge as the excitement of the day slowly softened. Pont Alexandre III, this was where their paths finally converged. Marie stood over by the fence, looking down at the boats filled with parties and celebrations down below.

           “It’s strange to think… What would have happened if we never met here,” Marie softly murmured as Rafaela leaned beside her.

           “If you had been captured?”

           “Not just that. What if my violin never had the mark? Would we have even met?”

           Rafaela grumbled in thought. “Maybe not… When I saw that mark on your violin, something fell into place for me then. That day I felt on top of the world, I was all over the papers and I had found a piece of my father’s puzzle. For a moment, that’s all you were to me too…”

           Such a thought weighed heavy on her mind, as brief as it was she had still thought of Marie as something to use just like Jean-François. “But, you’re more to me than some mark. Ha, I’m almost a bit glad all of this happened.”

           Marie giggled. “I could have done without all the violence… But I’m glad I got to meet my mother, and you too…” Her cheeks flushed red. “What will you do now? There’s so much more we don’t know.”

           Rafaela stretched her arms. “Well, that’s an easy one. I’m going to keep searching for my father. If the real Napoleon is out there, we can't have him dragging himself back to Paris. I’m not sure where to start but… I’ll never be far from you, I promise.”

           She rummaged through her pocket and tossed her lipstick tube over to Marie who caught it in surprise. “That shade of red suits you better in my opinion. It’s very cute.”

           “Ah- T-Thank you,” Marie stammered with a smile. “I’ll never forget this, ever. Hehe, if you don’t come back I might have to send Alfred to come drag you over.”

           “Ohh, clingy one are we? And I thought the Inspector was my best stalker,” Rafaela cackled. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back. Tonight might be the last night we see each other for a while now… So let’s end it on a high note okay?” She smiled at Marie as she linked hands with her.

           Their faces warmed beneath the silver glow of the moon, a world away from a dream. “Mon coeur sera toujours pour toi…” Rafaela whispered as they pressed their foreheads together, basking in each other's glow for what felt like an eternity.

           Marie softly giggled as they parted. “Your hat nearly fell on me.”

           Rafaela snorted. “You better not get attached, I don’t have a spare.”

           She smiled back at her before gazing over the Seine. “You know… I have one more request.”

           “Ohh?”

           Without another word, Marie lept into her arms as the two erupted into joyous laughter. “Feeling adventurous are we? Well then, let’s give everyone below a good show!”

           Their eyes sparkled with excitement as Rafaela lept off of the bridge, dashing through a party who cheered at the act. From one boat to another, people joined them in laughter and joy as Marie squeezed Rafaela tight.

           With one final leap, they looked back at the boats filled with waves and smiles as Marie grabbed Rafaela’s hat to tip it to them. She warmly smiled at the girl as she waved off the partygoers with her free hand.

           “Show’s over folks!”