Natalia was tired. In fact, exhausted might be a more appropriate word. She felt as if she was going to fall asleep right there on the middle of the stage in an auditorium full of emptying people, but that wasn't an option. The show had just finished, and it was four hours long. When she wasn't performing, she was running around backstage, changing costumes and fixing hair before the other actors got on stage. So,there was a good excuse for her fatigue.

But there was a certain thrill of successfully performing that made you feel wide awake, and the mix between the two was very strange. The show didn't even matter,though. This particular opera house, where she had been working since she was thirteen, was closing in a week. All she had left was one more performance. Then she didn't know.

Perhaps she should have followed the urging of her family and found a husband. She was nineteen, which was not very old at all, but they claimed that with her opera success, she would have no trouble finding a husband. The idea made her unhappy, Natalia had already learned her lesson about falling in love, but at least she would have a place to stay.

She could move back in with her family, although they moved last year to the country, so there wouldn't be much work for her to do. The idea of being completely dependent on her parents yet again made her feel ill, and they wouldn't like it either. The few friends she did have were in the same predicament she was, or they simply didn't have any room in their house. Of course, there was one option, someone who she knew that could never close their door to anyone in need,and most certainly had enough room.(She was sure they would, considering the amount of money their family had and the grandeur of every house he had ever lived. There would be enough room for six more people at the very least.)

But that wouldn't work out either. Natalia hasn't seen that boy-well, man now-for almost exactly five years, and was more than happy to keep it that way. And she had heard nearly nothing of his location. The last she heard of him was last year, and he was considering co-owning an opera in France. She hadn't heard it from him, of course, but just from general gossip. Before that, she knew only his approximate location by a letter he gave her before he left, and he claimed he was going to be somewhere near the city of Vienna. Even if she could track him down, she didn't want to. Not out of laziness, but out of pride. The first time she would see him in years would not be her begging for a spare room, and Natalia decided this the first moment that idea came into her mind.

She had to get looking for another opera house to work at. Surely that couldn't be difficult, but where would she stay while she was hunting for a job? As she stood on stage, thinking the exact same thing she had been thinking for the past month, she was unaware of Yekaterina, her older sister, attempting to get her attention.

"Natalia," She whisper-shouted, pulling on her hand "Come on, we have to get off stage."

Natalia didn't respond, mostly because there were still a few people in the auditorium and she didn't want to make any more noise,as she followed her sister off stage. Despite the success of the show, it was rather quiet backstage. She expected shouts of glee, or someone in tears because it was the second-to-last show, pr at least some sort of noise. Anyone who has ever been on any kind of stage can tell you that backstage is a loud place that is filled with either praise or complaints. Silence was rare, and it never meant anything good. Ad she peered over the heads of her fellow co-workers, she saw that it was nothing good indeed.

There were all the things of the people that lived in the opera house sitting in the middle of the floor with note on the top of the pile. Someone (She couldn't see who) picked up the note and stared at it, before reading it aloud.

"We regret to inform you that all performers, stage crew,dancers, etcetera that have taken residence here must be evicted. As you know, we are being foreclosed upon later this week, and no one is permitted to stay here any longer. The eviction is taking place immediately. We apologize for this inconvenience.

Sincerely,
The Delov Brothers Opera Company"

The silence that followed this announcement was thick, as if it were weighing down the entire room. This lasted only for a second before utter chaos erupted. There was a volley of swear words that came from all sides of the room, emitted from those whose luggage was on the floor and those whose was not. Yekaterina was crying, and it fell onto Natalia to grab their things. There was only one performance left,but she would have appreciated a bit more warning. Yekaterina had a stable boyfriend who originally said that there simply was not enough room for the both of them to stay, but certainly she could find enough room for one night. There was no other options. That's what Natalia repeated over and over in her head as she grabbed the handle of the door. She'd stay with her sister and then she'd have to go stay with...him (This was going to be a problem. She couldn't even think his name, let alone let it come out of her mouth) There were simply no other options.

But Natalia could have no way of knowing that another option was waiting quite literally right outside of the door.

One week earlier in France

"We have everyone." The exasperated Frenchmen sighed, running a hand through his hair "Except for Mercédès." The man in question, Francis Bonnefoy, ran one of the most successful operas in France. Well, he co-ran it. It was split between three gentlemen, including himself, and how they came to be here was a very strange story indeed. But that was a tale for another day.

"A good mezzo-soprano is so hard to find these days, and she would have to know the parts of Carmen, also. Someone who could be a leading lady and a minor role at the same time..." Toris wasn't aware that he was thinking aloud, which he had a habit of doing if he thought on one problem for too long. And they had been going on about candidates for Mercédès for at least one hour today, and consistently all week. Marie Boyer hasn't been seen in France for weeks. Adélaïde Dubois would never be satisfied being a minor role. Every mezzo-soprano they already had could barely memorize one role, let alone two. Rehearsals started in two weeks, and there was no Mercédès.

Simply put, they were screwed unless they found somebody, and they had to find them quickly.

"Outside of France. We have to think outside of France." The third gentleman announced, feeling the need to start writing out his frustration into a song. They had been at this for so long that he stopped adding in things a while ago,lost in thoughts of notes and melodies. Occasionally he would say something, but most of the time there was just silence.

Then, the answer hit Toris as if he had been slapped in the face. How had he forgotten? He thought of her every single day. The answer was clear. He just had to make sure the other two agreed to it. And, once he assured them that there was no harm for one of them to at least go to one show, they agreed.

And that is how Roderich Edelstein ended up outside of an opera house in the Russian Empire, both happy and miserable. Happy because Toris was correct. Actually,he was beyond correct. The girl was a fabulous singer, and had a very good stage presence. She was just what they needed. From what he gathered, the girl was rather famous in this part of the Empire, which was not shocking to him. But he was freezing, his hotel was a bit of a walk from his current location, and he had no idea how long he would have to wait for her to arrive and either agree or disagree with the offer. All there was left for him to do was wait. Wait and hope.