章 37: Chapter Thirty Seven
Maria wanted to walk Sam home, but she brushed away her attempts. "I'm just a bit sore," Sam had assured, "I'll find my own way home."
"I can't let you do that."
"I'll be fine. Besides, it's almost dark. If you walk me home, then you won't get home until it's pitch black." Maria persisted until Sam told her, "Go home. Say hi to Anita for me."
Maria laid on her bed facing the window. Nighttime blanketed Paris, yet the buildings across the street were still awake with shop lights and every few minutes, she heard people walk by chatting. When Maria arrived home early evening, she wasn't greeted by anyone or sought out to check she was okay. Maria admitted it hurt, realising the nuns only worried for her because they thought she was royalty, but she was still greeted by wandering Sisters when they saw her. They just didn't know she was missing. Or didn't care.
Maria couldn't find Anita, and when she went to go looking she was shooed away for bedtime, as it was now 'lights out.'
She found herself thinking about everything as she laid there. She worried about Sam, and Anita, and Raphael.
Especially Raphael.
Her chest felt uncomfortably warm. She absently scratched at it, hoping to brush away the heat, but it lingered. She grunted and looked down at her chest, glowing lime green.
Maria took off her dress in a panic, throwing it to the end of her bed and huddling in the corner. Despite how cold she suddenly felt, she sweated. Her panting bounced around the empty room as she realised her dress wasn't the cause of the glow. In the centre of her huddle was her necklace, hanging loosely from her neck, every line, every edge, every corner, every opening glowed an intense light green that coated her skin like a slime.
Maria lifted the necklace from her head, gritting her teeth as she scrunched the metal chain and locket in her fist. Look at what you've caused… she thought, All this chaos, all this pointless tragedy, for a scam? Maria shivered as a breeze flew through her room, making her undergarments cold. Where am I without this, though? I've spent so long holding onto this wish, this promise, is it even worth what's happened? Is it worth even trying to continue?
Maria stood by the window and raised her hand to toss the pendent but couldn't bring herself to let it go. Her attempts were met with the chain getting tangled amongst her fingertips and dangling. Maria brought her hand to her face, sobbing as she lowered herself to her knees. She pressed the chain to her face, nuzzling it, trying to hold onto its previous meaning to her. Addison… Addison… Addison…
Knock, knock, knock!
Maria jumped from the sudden as she looked over her shoulder to the door. A light glowed on the rims of the doorframe as if someone were holding a candle to it.
I thought it was lights out… Maria thought. She sniffed and wiped her eyes, attempting to compose herself in the four steps it took to get to the door. She opened it an inch, and it was thrown all the way open as Anita rushed into the room, closing the door quickly when she came in. Her movement was so swift the flame on her candelabra had gone out.
She was panting, leaning heavily on the door as if someone were following her.
Maria cleared her throat and spoke, "Anita?" Anita puffed her cheeks as she took her weight off the door, a hand on her chest as it heaved. "Anita, what's wrong? You shouldn't be here."
"When do you leave?" she cut her off, her hands scrunching around Maria's nightgown.
"What?"
"Go home. When do you go home?" Anita sounded frantic, her eyes locking on the pendant.
"Tomorrow afternoon, maybe."
"You need to leave." Anita sounded desperate as she looked around the room. She blindly snatched at loose bits of clothing, including the dress Maria was just wearing, and utensils that came with the room like bibles and stationary. "Like in the morning. Do the trains operate at this hour? You need to go now!"
Maria caught Anita before she could stuff all the items in her suitcase. She squatted to her size and looked at her eye level. Anita looked exhausted and frightened. "Anita, what's happened?"
Anita expression hardened as she dropped what she held on the ground. "Nothing. Nothing's happened, Maria. But I don't trust any of that," Anita informed. Her voice was a low whisper. "You need to leave, okay? You need to get out of here. The quicker you leave, the less likely it is you'll get hurt."
Maria held Anita's face; she was cold to touch. "You're not making any sense." She looked down at Anita's arms, each of them scratched and littered with dark brown splinters. "What happened to your arms?" She held them and picked at one of the larger splinters but noticed her knees and dress were in a similar state. "What happened to you?"
Anita's lips trembled as she glanced back to the door. "Can I sleep in here tonight?" she asked. Her stuttering breath made her words stutter. "I'm too scared to be on my own."
Maria had no words, so she nodded.
Anita's sigh was smoother as she sat on the edge of Maria's bed. Maria sat by her, she attempted again. "Anita, what's happened?" She pressed a hand on her forehead, her eyes widened in awe, "You're so cold. Have you been outside?"
Anita pushed aside her hands. "I don't trust the Alexandra's."
Maria sighed, she had seen this before. It mainly presented itself in children who had very fresh memories of their old families or had been alone for so long. They found the prospect of getting adopted so daunting that they would make up excuses or become paranoid about why a family would want them. Maria hadn't expected Anita to feel this way.
"Ann, it's perfectly understandable. What you're going through is very frightening and new. It's normal to feel a little insecure about it." Maria gently stroked Anita's hair, but she was too rigid to stay still as she hopped off the bed and started pacing.
"This isn't paranoia, Maria!" Anita lowered her voice. "They sought me out. They wanted a ten-year-old girl with blonde hair. There is half a dozen of those here, and yet when I get here, they just pop up out of nowhere and ask specifically for me?"
Maria shook her head and sat on the ground to be the same height. "Anita, that's not unusual. Sometimes families want to pick children with a certain appearance. Sister Wendy told me they have blonde children back at home. It's not unheard of for them to want a girl that fits their family description."
"But I wouldn't fit their family description!" Anita looked on the verge of panicking. "They're both brown-eyed, brown-haired people. The chance that they would have even one blonde haired blue eyed child is one in eight. One in eight. And they claim to have four blonde, blue-eyed children."
"Ann, it's unlikely, not impossible."
"Fine. But why am I the only one being interviewed for them?" She started chewing on the end of her hair. "They're after me. Are they part of something? Are they the Unknown Royals? They're too good to be true!"
"No, no, Ann. Sister Wendy promised Raphael she would get you adopted quickly," Maria informed, hopping off the bed and grabbing her hands, halting her from her panic pacing. "Anita, this is just a happy situation. You're a wonderful little girl, and families would be silly to not want you. This is a big step for you. You're going to have a family."
Anita's breath shook, "You don't believe me…" Her eyes wandered around the room, attempting to distract herself as she said, "I don't want a family. I want Raphael."
Maria sighed as she hugged Anita, who returned it with tight arms. "I know, sweetie. I know." Maria picked the little girl up and laid down with her, gently stroking her hair as Anita's head snuggled under her chin.
Maria felt Anita playing with her pendent, and her tired words saying, "You need to get rid of the pendent, Maria," she said, "It's done more bad than good." Anita shuffled away from Maria's grasp and rolled over, her back to Maria.
Maria's lips twitched to a smirk. You have no idea, she thought.
"They lied, you know." Anita yawned.
"Who lied?"
"The Alexandra's."
Maria sat up, Anita stayed down. "What did they lie about?"
"Olivia Alexandrea claimed to have miscarried a baby last month, a baby which she had carried for several months."
"So?"
"She doesn't show any sign of being recently pregnant." Anita's words morphed into a mumble. "And I don't care what anyone says, no family is that okay with adopting another kid after just losing one. They wouldn't love me. They can't love me."
She sounds so sad, Maria thought. Soon after, Anita fell asleep. She didn't snore, but her breathing became very deep, and her previously tense hands relaxed into opened palms.
Maria found she couldn't sleep. She laid awake and stared at the ceiling, the light coming in from the window providing a strangely blue colour. She was lost in thought over what Anita had said.
She had only met Anita a few days ago, but in that time, she had been the most logical and sound-minded person she had ever met. To see her in a state of utter panic was unnerving. Was she right to fear the Alexandra's? Was she correct in thinking if she was adopted into that family, they wouldn't love her?
Maria shook her head. Now I'm paranoid.
She groaned as she rubbed her eyes, stretching her arms and sitting up. Her pendent tapped against her chest, gaining her attention. She held it in her hands again and sighed. Anita claimed it was a necklace given to King Phillipe's wife, cursed by a witch on behalf of the Unknown Royal, instead of a family heirloom somehow lost outside of the Royal Family.
Everybody wanted this piece of jewellery. The Unknown Royals, the Royal Family, Raphael and countless others throughout her life, including herself.
She dropped the necklace and groaned again. She fell back against her bed and managed a restless slumber late into the evening.
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