The Red Rose

Chapter XXXI

We arrived in Paris at sunset, and Carmilla seemed a little anxious.

"I have a strange feeling, Miguel. I feel like I'm being watched, as if I've felt this way before."

"Um... I don't know, maybe it's the mission. We don't know what we'll find or how to get there, so I imagine it's normal." I tried to console her.

I think it was especially when we crossed the Seine River that this sense of discomfort seemed to be triggered, and she would focus on the water. But I insisted that we focus on the mission, as I could feel we were getting close.

When we arrived at the building, it was gigantic and beautifully decorated. Carmilla, of course, had been here several times before and told me how beautiful the events held in that place were. I bought myself a hotdog with a baguette from a small shop nearby, and she looked at me in astonishment.

"You don't seem to eat as much as before? Are you on a diet? Or maybe it's my presence, dear." She smiled with a mischievous grin.

I winked at her and said, "Of course, who could resist the beautiful Countess Karnstein."

She pinched my cheek and said, "Grrr... You're too adorable. But we need more decent clothes if we want to enter the opera."

We stopped by another clothing store, as usual, and I began another agonizing modeling session, courtesy of the Countess. After several hours, she finally found what we needed, and the vendors seemed very pleased. One of the guys couldn't resist and wanted to pull out his smartphone to ask for a photo, which she flatly refused.

We bought the tickets to the opera and entered the venue, which was spectacularly decorated.

"Miguel, here's the plan. We'll watch the opera and then try to hide somewhere. I believe Holmes, before he died, planned to visit the so-called Phantom of the Opera. Isn't it great that he actually existed? I had no idea! And they make beautiful songs in honor of his story; it's very romantic and sad."

I had skimmed through some of it, courtesy of Juanpi's PDF files, but those intense stories of romance and love triangles were too heavy for me. I think after the Laura and Carmilla drama, I'd had enough trauma. Things were finally getting better with Carmilla, especially after seeing the fruitful life Laura had led after returning to the future.

Time passed, and I was still savoring the hotdog I had hidden when we entered. Carmilla looked at me disapprovingly.

"Glutton! You're ruining our undercover mission! Look how people are staring at us."

Indeed, as I was about to take the last bite, a very well-dressed lady looked at me and then made a gesture of embarrassment and disdain. I had to quickly shove everything into my mouth and swallow fast, looking like a hamster storing seeds in its cheeks.

After several hours, with my eyes almost closing, Carmilla nudged me in the shoulder and said, "It's time. Find a place to hide; we need to stay until everyone has left, and then avoid the night guard at all costs. Can you do it?"

"I'll be a total ninja, love!" I said, striking a Naruto pose. Carmilla didn't seem to get the reference.

We quickly moved between various corners, and moving at full speed, Carmilla passed among the actors, almost blending in with them, and infiltrated one of the rooms, then into a wardrobe. I clung to the walls like Spider-Man until I reached a nice high corner.

"I'm a corner spider!" I murmured as I waited for the last few people to leave.

As the night guard made his rounds, I slowly began to descend and quickly slipped out, following her scent until I reached where Carmilla was.