A/N: Remember, if you recognize something, it's not mine. I tweaked the previous two chapters to clean them up a little. Now, on with The Opening!
Finally, Opening Night came. The club was ready, done in shades of blue and silver with hints of green. The performers were ready. All would perform for Opening Night. After that, they would rotate. The waiters were ready. Claude had reassured them that there would be plenty so patrons wouldn't have to wait very long. Andre had been advertising the club all over Paris.
The club would be a little different. All the performers would come onstage in formal dress for their own gender. They would perform an opening, which was written specifically for the club. Then Toddy would take over as emcee, and the ones who were performing that night would go back and get ready. Toddy would sing a song, do a little patter, and then the first performance would happen. For Opening Night, the first performer was Victoria. She would do "Le Jazz Hot", King's favorite out of all her numbers.
The lights lowered. The ensemble came out on stage and took their places. The lights came up. Toddy and Victoria were front center, with the others gathered around them in a seemingly random pattern.
"Welcome to King's Illusion, where things aren't as they seem.
Is it real, or is it merely one of your dreams?
Am I a femme fatale, or a man in a dress?
At the end of the show, you get to guess.
You won't know who's who until the end,
But things might change.
You need to come back again."
The Opening was a smash. The performers were amazing. The wait staff was perfect. The repartee between Toddy and Claude was brilliant. The club was shining. The next morning, the papers were raving.
"King's Illusion No Dream!"
"The Illusion is for Real!"
After the first week, people had to make reservations weeks in advance. Each show was packed. King and Toddy resisted Andre's request that they open all seven days. They felt that the performers needed the rest to stay at their best, and the club needed the two days for cleaning and maintenance to stay at its best.
A month after the club opened, King and Victoria moved to a flat a few blocks away from the club. They felt they needed the space, and were definitely going to need the extra bedrooms. Victoria would have to bow out of performing in a month or so. She was pregnant with their first child.
