Chapter Five: Life in Luxury
Raven led the Titans forward to about where the first funnel was. She took them through a vestibule, which let to the inside of the first deck of the Grand Staircase. The Titans were held in awe by the elaborate woodwork and beauty of the place. A dome of wrought iron and glass was above the staircase, presenting an ethereal feeling about the place.
"Amazing!" Cyborg muttered as they proceeded down the stairs.
"Look, there's the clock!" Beast Boy said, pointing out a clock in the paneling of the staircase, which depicted Honor and Glory crowning Time. Raven smiled, admiring the symbolism of it.
Once on 'C' deck, Raven walked toward an office. "Wait here." she told the Titans.
They did so, looking around, admiring the place. "They sure knew how to build them in this time." Robin muttered.
Terra tried to engross herself in the beauty of the place. She felt irked at the fact Raven was leading them around. She felt like a dog that was told to stay when Raven told them to wait.
She was in the midst of trying to shake off her resentment when she appeared with a crew member following her. "Good evening, young masters. If you please follow me, I'll take you to your cabins."
He led them forward through a passageway on the starboard side, and then turned right, stopping in front of a pair of cabins.
"Here are your keys." he said. "Please try not to loose them again, okay?" He gave a curt nod and left.
"Well," said Raven. "Let's check out our rooms, shall we?"
She took one of the keys and tried it. It didn't work.
"Wrong one." she muttered, using the other key.
She opened the door and went inside, the others following her.
"Whoa, nice place!" Beast Boy said.
There were three beds, each elegantly made, with silky looking blankets. Everything seemed to have a touch of detail and beauty to it. A porthole was on one wall; it was rimmed in brass that was exceptionally polished.
"They don't call this first class for nothing!" Cyborg remarked.
Terra looked around. "Okay Raven," she said. "How'd you do it?"
She glared at her. "Do what?" she asked.
"Convincing that guy to give us these rooms?"
"Oh. Quite simple, really." she replied. "One of the many spells I learned under Malchior was one that allowed me to implant a suggestion in someone's mind. So, I convinced the purser, the guy with keys, that we were passengers and that we lost our keys."
The Titans stared at her in awe. Terra spoke next.
"So, um, where's the bathroom?" she asked.
"Not in here." Raven said. "I'll have to show them to you all; they're out in the corridors."
Terra glared at her. "You mean they don't have bathrooms in theses rooms? We gotta go someplace else for them and to shower?"
Raven nodded. "This isn't a Motel Six. Remember, this is 1912. Not all of the things we enjoy exist in this time. At least, not the way we know them. Besides, we do the same thing at the Tower."
Terra nodded. "Yeah, but I thought this would be different."
Raven shook her head. "If I remember right, only a handful of suites have there own bathroom."
Robin stared at her. "How do you know all this?"
She glared at him. "From my encounter, remember? That's also how I picked out our clothes. I picked up a lot of memories." She sat down and sighed. "I still feel strained. I think we ought to get to bed." She stretched and yawned.
"Good idea." said Robin. "Does it matter what room we take?" he asked.
"No." she replied.
"Okay, we'll give you this one. Come on guys."
He took the other key from Raven and led Cyborg and Beast Boy to other room. The boy's room was similar in appearance to the girl's room, but arranged differently and had no porthole.
"Looks comfy." said Cyborg as he tested one of the beds. "A bit small for me, though." He went to a table with a lamp on it and studied the electric outlet.
"What are you doing?" Beast Boy asked.
"Well, if I'm going to do any good, I have to keep charged. I made an upgrade to myself by installing a charging hookup. All I need is a source of power."
He opened a compartment on his arm (it was an odd sight, as his disguise was still active) and took out two, thick wires. He carefully inserted them into the outlet. He sat down in a chair and sighed.
"Ah, that's better. Our little trip took a bit out of me." He stretched and yawned.
"I say we recharge too." Robin said, sitting down on one of the beds. He took off his shoes, then his jacket and shirt and finally his trousers, all of which he set over a chair. He was in a white T-shirt and shorts. Beast Boy also undressed and was clothed similarly to Robin. He then gasped.
"What?" Robin asked him.
"I just realized something! Raven re-dressed us, right?"
"Yeah, so?"
"So, she knows what our underwear looks like!"
"So what?"
"Its weird knowing that she knows what kind of underwear I'm wearing!"
"Beast Boy, you hardly do your own laundry, so nearly everyone else knows what underwear you're wearing. Besides, she's Raven, so she's not all into that, you know."
"Yeah, but still I'm freaked by it!"
"Go to bed, Beast Boy." Robin turned off the lights in the room. Beast Boy sighed and went to bed.
In the girls' room, things were no less hectic.
"So," Terra asked. "What do we sleep in? I forgot my pajamas."
Raven unfastened her cloak and set it over a chair. "The dresses all have slips on underneath. Sleep in that."
She took off her shoes and socks (they were thin dress socks) and then worked herself out of the dress, taking it off over her head and also laying that over the chair. She was now in a dark blue slip that came down to her upper thighs. Starfire and Terra followed suite; they had on white slips.
"Is this an undergarment, Raven?" Starfire asked her.
"Yes, why?"
"I was just curious, in case one of the boys happens to walk in."
"Don't worry about it."
The girls each got in their beds.
"See you in the morning." Raven quipped.
It wasn't long before she heard Starfire lightly snoring. She turned over to see if that would lessen her perception of the noise when Terra started to snore too.
'Great.' she thought. 'I gotta put up with these two lugs for the entire time I'm here.'
She sighed and tried to meditate. Aside from the snoring, Raven wasn't too enthusiastic about sleeping in the same room as Terra. She wondered if the geomancer felt the same toward her. Raven hoped that the tension between them would lessen sometime soon. Their success of returning home may depend on it.