Oh……ow……that hurts…..Manda groggily opened her eyes to right away shut them again because of a blinding light above her. Well, that & because she was in the most pain she ever felt. One: it felt like someone bashed her head into a wall about 100 times, & two: her leg felt like it was on fire.

Manda opened her eyes again, this time just slightly. After her eyes adjusted to the light, she slowly sat up, groaning at the pain it brought as she pushed a thick blanket off her. When she was finally up, she noticed the room that she was in.

It was gorgeous. It had a dark colored wooden floor with a large gold, white & dark red area rug going it. The walls themselves were white with gold strips, & a few places had dark red, gold trimmed curtains going down them, & other parts had large gold framed paintings. In one corner of the room was large grand piano with sheets of music spread out along the top. In another corner there was a large vanity & mirror, & what appeared to be many different type of make-up, perfume, hair ornaments, & brushes on it. Then next to that was an open door that showed a bit of the inside of a bathroom. And across from the bathroom were 3 sets of doors.

After looking around the room, Manda looked down at the bed she was sitting on & stared in amazement. It was HUGE, there was a beautiful, thick dark red quilt which in the position it was in showed off the gorgeous white sheets with a gold roses set in a pattern on it. Manda then turned around, looking at the mass of gold, white, & dark red pillows behind her. After that she looked up taking an interest in the top of the canopy, which had a painting of what seemed to be a bunch of people looking at a small figure on a stage. But what really attracted her was the delicate handcraft put into the many small gold roses that lined the canopy & brought a thick bundle of sheer red sheets down in a curtain tied at the side in gold rope.

Manda then heard a small noise, which made her look up to see Brooke leaning against the frame of the bathroom.

Damn, she looked horrible. Her usually straight, clean, dirty blonde hair was matted with blood, & it was knotted & unbrushed. But what she really noticed about her was the look she was giving her. Brooke didn't seem to look at Manda like she was thankful she was ok…but like she wanted to hurt her.

Manda gulped slightly, then asked softly, "Brooke….honey….are you….ok?"

At first Brooke didn't answer her, but after seeing her expression soften, Manda opened her arms invitingly, which Brooke took as an invitation to run, & jumped into her arms.

Manda pulled her cousin close to her, gently pulling her hands through her knotty hair.

Manda looked down at Brooke, feeling her eyes fill with tears at the sight of her cousin.

If she had never tried to rescue her from that man she wouldn't be in this mess. But she did, & now she was hurt, they were both hurt, both scared, & didn't know where they were.

For awhile they both laid there, unmoving, & silent, just staring up at the painting. To Manda, it looked so familiar, especially the small girl on the stage. After so long of staring at her she could see long brown waves pulled back out of the girls face, & a puffy blue gown. She would have guessed her to be Christine Daae, but for some reason she just couldn't say it was her.

Manda had thought Brooke had fallen asleep, until she heard her whispered, "That girl…I think she's supposed to be you…& the blonde girl in the corner….the one in white….I think she's me."

When Brooke said Blonde girl in the corner, Manda was confused. But then she seen her. The girl seemed to be trying to stay behind a curtain, but was still standing on the stage.

Maybe Brooke was right…maybe they were them…..maybe.

The longer Manda stared at it, the more her eyes became heavy. After, what seemed like hours of just staring, she felt herself drifting off to sleep.