Paris holds the key to her past;
Yes, Princess, I've found you at last.
No more pretend,
You'll be gone;
Thats the end.


Sophie had spotted an old friend of hers and rushed across to meet her. And Anya, oh Anya, was spinning, twirling in that dazzling purple dress she'd bought from Chanel, with a man who'd invited her to dance. That left a disillusioned Dimitri and a lovestruck Vladimir at the table they'd reserved at Moulin Rouge. Vlad had barely paid attention to Dimitri's sullenness; he was too caught up in the excitement of seeing his darling Sophie again.

But tonight, Dimitri seemed even more gloomy than he had been all the last few nights combined.

The Moulin Rouge was spectacular. The dazzling lights, the zest of the can-can dancers. Everything was just beautiful. The scintillation was brilliant, even the courses were delicious. Salmon, a tangy salad, and champagne. Anya had drunk half of hers. Dimitri hadn't drunk a single drop. Vlad wondered why; Dimitri loved to celebrate things with a glass of champagne…when they could afford it. No doubt Sophie had taken caution to only show them around the finest places in town. Maybe Dimitri was feeling overwhelmed by Paris...

Vlad filled both his glass and Dimitri's and filled them both to the brim. He smiled warmly at a wan Dimitri. "What do you say m'boy?" He pushed his glasses back onto his nose. "A toast to the grand duchess Anastasia?" His eyes twinkled with mischief. Dimitri's reflected emptiness. He sighed and pushed a tired hand through his hair.

After a second or so, he shook his head. "What's to celebrate?"

Vlad sensed something was seriously wrong. He had been too neglecting of the boy's emotions ever since he'd found his lovely little morsel Sophie, the radiant delight she was...

"What's wrong?"

"Everything." Dimitri insisted, his hands closing around the glass of champagne. The light fell on his eyes, making them look even more glazed against his shiny, slick suit and the gaudy backdrop of the cabaret.

"We never should have held auditions or left Russia…" He trailed off, back to thoughts of home. He'd thought about that ever since Anya had mentioned it. Where was home?

"Homesick?" Vlad chuckled. "Far from it." Dimitri replied dryly.

"Ahh, the unspoken attraction. What else could it be?" Vlad smirked knowingly.

"God damn it Vlad the next time you mention-"

"You're afraid to lose Anya." Vlad stated simply.

Dimitri picked up his glass. A glass like this probably cost double what it took to buy food for a month in Saint Petersburg. He glanced at Anya still gracefully twirling. The dress was so beautiful on her. The last couple of nights she'd transformed from a raggedy girl in in a worn out yellow tunic to a Chanel wearing beauty.

"It's an interesting possibility." Dimitri finally announced, looking back up at Vlad with a clear expression.

"You've got to tell her."

"And do what? Beg her to join us in our wonderful mansion back in Russia? Beg her to join me in the art of conning others to get by?" He snorted. "We don't have much to offer."

"We offered her another chance at life."

"That's different." Even as he said it, he felt the dread coming on. "We did it for the ten million rubles."

"Well, my boy, if you won't tell her, at least dance with her. You didn't learn to dance so you could sit here and wallow in misery."

Sophie was walking back to the table and she picked up Vlad to introduce him to someone. Vlad gave Dimitri a quick pat on the shoulder.

Dimitri mustered up all his courage and walked over to Anya, who was now standing besides a man in a grey suit and a purple tie.

He cut in and offered his hand. "May I, Anya?"

Anya grinned. "No cutting remarks about my posture or table manners in three days? I'm impressed."

"I have tons of time for that tomorrow before the ballet." He held her waist and spun her around.

The funny thing was, he had been feeling light headed before they had even started to dance.


A/N: There's this one short scene in the movie where they show Dimitri and Anya sitting together at the table in the can can dancing club, and I've always wanted to expand a little on that scene since Dimitri appears so wistful and slightly heartbroken during it. I'd like to think they danced after he held up his champagne :)