"Ma'am? Time to wake up, ma'am."
The soft voice slid into Maria's dreams. She had been lying in her bed, enjoying the sensation of cotton sheets against her skin, watching the morning sunlight creep across the bedroom ceiling.
"Miss Suzuki?"
With an effort, Maria sat up. At the end of the bed were two figures. One was a maid, her head bowed; the other was her seneschal, Emily.
Maria stretched, feeling the stiffness in her limbs. "Good morning, Emily. How long have I been asleep?"
"Exactly one year, ma'am," the seneschal replied. "The briefing has been downloaded, but if I may ... ?" As Emily talked, Maria rose from her bed, allowing the maid to wash her and dress her. Maria was wealthy enough to spend a year in suspension, wake for one day to sample life and deal with business, then return to sleep for another year.
"Where are we today?"
"Paris, Miss Suzuki." Emily held out a dataslate. Maria glanced at it, then passed it to the maid.
"It has been a long time since I was in Paris, and it seems a shame to waste it. I think I would like to go out today. Make the necessary arrangements, please Emily."
"And what would you like to do, ma'm?"
Maria considered this. "I would like to go shopping. Yes. Shopping. And I would like some lunch. And it has been a long time since I have been to the Louvre. And ... ." A wicked thought crossed her mind.
Emily waited patiently.
"I think I would like a companion for the night."
"As you wish ma'am"
By the time Maria had breakfasted, enjoying the view from her balcony across the rooftops and towards the Eiffel Tower, Emily had finished making the arrangements. The day went quickly. There were the department stores on the Champs-Élysées; there was a chic café on the Île de la Cité; there were the echoing corridors filled with art. And all through it there was Emily by her side, ready to fulfil every desire. Then, as evening fell, the pair returned to the hotel suite. A beautiful young man was waiting there.
"This is Edouard," Emily announced. "He is your companion for the night."
Maria walked around the young man, examining from every angle. Then she nodded in approval. "Thank you, Emily. You may go. I will see you later."
"Yes, ma'am."
And then the two were alone.
They feasted on the finest French cuisine and drank the finest of French wines. They engaged in small talk. And then, when it was all exhausted, they made love in the grand bed in the room overlooking the lights of Paris, before falling asleep in each others' arms.
As she drifted away, Maria couldn't help but wonder what tomorrow would bring in a year's time.
