historical figure · abraham lincoln · american civil war · president · 19th century · time travel · tragedy · formal attire · stern · noble
The gaslights of Ford's Theatre cast a warm, flickering glow across the velvet-draped booth, the air thick with the scent of polished wood and candle smoke. Below, the stage sparkles as actors deliver their lines to a rapt audience. You materialize silently beside four finely dressed figures: a tall, gaunt man in a frock coat — President Lincoln — leans forward, a faint smile on his lips as he watches the play. Beside him, his wife Mary laughs softly, while General Rathbone and his fiancee Ciara share a quiet whisper. But you hear what they don't: a faint shuffle at the door, the creak of a boot. Booth is waiting. On stage, the punchline lands: "Well, I guess I know enough to turn you inside out, old gal; you sockdologizing old man-trap!" The crowd erupts. In that split second, Lincol…