DISCLAIMER :

VOLTRON AND ITS ELEMENTS ARE OWNED BY WEP.

Mystery of the Christmas Star

Chapter Eleven

Backstage was chaotic to say the least. Three of the performers had yet to arrive, and the curtain was due to rise in ten minutes! Emily was ready to doze off any minute, making it all the worse. She could tell that her illness was getting worse, but the show had to go on.

She had to help move the scenery for the first scene into position, help others with their costumes, clean or touch up many of the actors' make-up and hair, and get herself ready to perform if called on.

"Em! I need you to do the opening lines because Bob's not here!" Ray, the director, looked as ragged as she was beginning to feel.

"Fine. Helen and Danny aren't here yet either – and before you ask, no one has any idea where they are!"

The poor guy didn't look like he could take another blow. This was an important event for this town that just could not be postponed! When Shelby came back stage in such a rush, everyone was expecting the worse. "Emily! Guess who made it!"

"Lotor's here? Oh good, he's never seen or heard of this show!" The truth was that she was just happy that her love was there. If she didn't make it through the night, at least she could be with him as she went on to be with her adopted grandmother and whatever family she had on the other side.

Shelby wasn't through yet. "Everyone! You might want to hear this! Lotor hasn't come alone. The Voltron Force and the Arusian Royal Family are with him tonight! From what I understand, Princess Allura has never seen the program in her life. And Captain Keith has never seen it performed live!"

"Okay people … that means this time it's for keeps! Let's show them just what this show is all about! Now head for opening marks, and let's get this show on the road!" Ray seemed to have gotten a needed boost of adrenaline at the news. To be honest, Emily did too.

She didn't care who Lotor had brought with him. Though he had heard her rehearsing her lines again and again, this was the first time she would be performing it for her love in full costume. Quickly she went to Bob's mark, took a breath, and stepped into character just as the curtains rose.

"Charles Dickens wrote his Christmas ghost story in 1843. In its preface, the author told his readers that he wanted to raise the Ghost of an idea and wished for his tale to haunt their houses pleasantly. Well it has now for nearly three centuries! Now we wish to bring that same story to life before you tonight. May it warm all of your hearts, and maybe teach some cold hearts what could be waiting for them if they are not careful." With that Emily left the stage, and the narrator took over.

Once out of sight, Emily had to lean on the wall to keep from hitting the floor. Everything was spinning around her. No! She had to keep going, if only this one last night.

Before she could say a word, Emily felt herself being dragged off. Next thing she knew she was in the chair before the mirror in her dressing room. Good 'ol Shelby had seen what happened and got her out of sight before they could be caught.

"Where are your meds? I hate it when you push yourself this far!"

Emily knew that her friend was being just that – a friend. But the time had come to face the awful truth. "I brought my last five – they're in my purse. Shelby, I think that it will take them all to get me through tonight. The last few symptoms have begun to hit me – and hard."

"Don't talk crazy like that. You're going to be fine." Shelby stuck in the needle and administered the amber solution. It eased Emily's dizziness, but the sensation of spinning remained in her head.

"I'm not talking crazy, I'm just facing the truth. There's no way Lotor can find my family in time now." Emily would've gone on, but there was a soft knocking at the door.

It didn't surprise either girl when Ray popped in. "Helen and Danny just called in sick on the same call. To tell the truth, it sounds more like they're both nursing matching hangovers. Think you can cover their parts?"

"Let's see. Pull off the part I have read for at almost every rehearsal. And then motion around as the silent Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come? Easy. Let me take a dose of my medication, and then I'll head over to costumes and make-up/hair." Emily was trying to portray a convincing 'I'm just fine' – a part she could just barely manage to pull off.

Ray pulled Shelby off to the side and whispered to her, "the second she starts to falter, you tell me."

At first, Shelby wanted to speak up right then and there. But, something told her to wait it out. Her friend was taking a second dose of medicine less than two minutes after she herself had given the first. Maybe Emily wasn't talking crazy after all, and the end really was near.