When I awoke sometime later I was in a very comfortable feather bed surrounded by the most sumptuous linens I have ever felt. I swear that the coverlet was made of embroidered velvet, incarnate red with gold and silver work done on it. Four heavy mahogany posts carved in the shape of angels clasping sheet music held up the canopy. The canopy itself was gold with cherubs frolicking around dancing and playing instruments. The curtains were drawn on the bed with only a sliver of light peeking through the gaps. I sat up and pulled the curtains open. Surrounding me in the room on every flat surface were silver candelabras. Each candelabrum held five tapers in cups shaped like roses. There was a scent, not overpowering, of rose oil beeswax. It did not smell of English rose, this was a tangy almost musky scent, more like that of someone wearing rose perfume. After checking to make sure I was alone, I sat and brushed out my waist length hair. Deciding that I had to use the w.c. and take a bath I went in search of the door. I found it exactly where I expected it, right in between the mahogany fireplace and the armoire full of beautiful costume gowns.
The bathtub was enormous, almost the size of a small swimming pool. I turned on the hot water tap and luxuriated in the warm bubbles created by the bottle of rose scented soap I found next to the grand tub. I found amazingly that I did not need to shave as, sometime before I came here, Christine had waxed her legs and armpits. Thankfully enjoying the fact that I did not need to try and amputate my limbs with a straight razor, I washed the damp hair that cascaded around my body. Getting clean was such a wonderful feeling after sleeping for hours in that horrid costume and greasepaint stage makeup that I started singing. Unfortunately, the only song that came out of my mouth was The Point of No Return from the Andrew Lloyd Webber version of the Phantom of the Opera. I hoped desperately that Erik could not hear what I was singing and subsided into a fit of giggles. After I toweled off and braided the sides of my hair back into a headband, I put on a beautiful nightgown of English organza and lace.
Just as I was returning from that luxurious bath, Megan decided to pop into the candle lit bedroom and just about passed out. She didn't see me standing behind her, but when she turned around, I could see the tears in her eyes. "Why were you the one chosen for this trip? I've always wanted to be here, especially with him! It's okay though; I'll be all right. Anyway, your mission, should you choose to accept it, and I guess you already have seeing as you sang the part of Margarita earlier, is to change the story to the way it should have been, although it won't change a damn thing that stupid git Gaston Leroux writes, we will know it happened differently."
"Sounds like fun to me" I replied. "And if you tell me how to change it I will kick your butt when I get back AND erase all but one copy of these files!"
"Hey, don't even get bitchy at me cause you got this mission and I didn't. Can't I just stick around and watch? I'm only a hologram here, after all."
" Alright, you can watch, but only if I don't see or hear you. Of course all of this is being recorded in the hologram chamber for posterity so why the hell not. All I ask is that you give both of us some privacy, even though he doesn't know your are here, that is no reason to follow him everywhere, otherwise I'll put the files in a password protected state and the hard drive under lock and key, got it?"
" Okay, okay, I'll just make myself disappear so I can see through the wall. Geeze, hardass."