Chapter 3

When has anyone ever said love was an easy thing? Anya Petrovna Romanov had thought this on many occasions. She'd been through her share of relationships. She wasn't popular in elementary school or in middle school. A full blooded Russian she was tomboyish and stocky with eternal bed head. Then as she hit puberty she suddenly thinned out and grew into a shapely and vivacious person. She was never too well endowed in the chest, but an incredible pair of legs and hips with a playful personality got her more than a few admirers.

After a few disastrous relationships Anya decided that the boys in her high school were just that; boys; and not worth half the time and grief they caused. She didn't date seriously again till she got to college. The first boyfriend she found seemed to like her and respect her, but a few months in an old ex came knocking and he decided that Anya wasn't the one he wanted.

The following winter she found another one, sweet and sincere, and a complete geek but she loved him for it. Their personalities were a perfect match and they remained together even after she graduated college and had plans to wed, plans she decided to put on hold when she got the chance to try out to be a Disney animator. What was supposed to be a two week trip at most turned into months, and Anya was forced to find a permanent place to live in California.

Soon after it cost her the fiancé and the life back in her home city. She was never accepted as an animator, and rather than return home in disgrace she decided to take a pity offer and go to Florida with the last of her savings to work for Disney not as an animator but as a cash clerk in one of their gift shops.

Two years passed and Anya was still there though she had moved up a little and gotten a raise. She had not been with anyone since she had left her fiancé for LA and had heard he had not only found someone else but had gotten engaged again.

Like anyone who works at that park for any period of time Anya learned it's in and outs, its secrets, and the little hidden places within it. She wasn't much interested in getting to know its more colorful employees. They tended to stir bad memories of wasted time.

Every time a movie comes out under the Disney name, the workers get a free screening in some small theater. Anya went to see the newest, Hunchback of Notre Dame a few weeks after it came out. She was disappointed how much they had butchered the book to make it more kid friendly but very much liked how much they had fleshed out her favorite character, Claude Frollo.

It wasn't until she was lying in bed that night that it hit her; those characters are real and very soon they'd be coming to work at the park. She wanted to meet Frollo and perhaps talk to him. A few days later she went to see the movie with a co-worker and this time found herself paying more attention to him, getting excited at thought that he was coming here.

She wanted to meet him as soon as possible and was secretly delighted that the movie didn't do so well in box offices. She had planned to 'bump' into him not long after he arrived but honestly did not expect him to 'bump' into her in the shower. Frankly she was amazed afterwards how she managed to talk to him with out either one of them freaking out.

She certainly did feel sorry for him, and was genuinely glad to help him in anyway she could be it filling out forms or giving him a place to be alone. He surprised her again when she showed him her little Boulevard of Moonlight. Anya was sure he still preferred Esmeralda. Why wouldn't he?

Then he touched her so tenderly; and ran off embarrassed. Was he falling for her? Anya went home completely confused and puzzled over the event again and again. If he was falling for her, which was unlikely at best, why wasn't she falling for him? She had always had an odd taste in men, and did find him attractive in his own way, but wondered weather she could love him.

Not just him, but anyone. It wasn't him it was just her experience. She worried losing a fiancé had crippled her emotionally. Trying to be sure, she pictured their walk in the boulevard, coming to stop in the grove with dappled silver light. She could feel his fingertips again cool one moment then fiery hot the next.

Instinctively her hand reached up to touch the place they had rested. One moment longer and her hand would have been raised to his, would have coaxed him to cup her face the way he may have longed to. Anya then came to a conclusion.

She may not have any discernable emotion now, but the body often knows things before the heart. If he wanted her and she wanted him, she would pursue him. She knew he would turn and run or even try to fight but she would not take no for an answer. This may be the final chance for them both, and she was determined to grab it.

Over the next week Claude learned just why people said that anyone trying to avoid love will find that the radio is their worst enemy. It seemed any time he came anywhere near a speaker there was some love song playing. And not just any love song, but some song that seemed to perfectly describe exactly the situation his was in. Every time he heard one of these songs he would try to cover his ears. But there was one problem with that, his head was covered by that insufferable mask. So, love song-cover ears- BONK!

By the forth or fifth time he was pretty damn sure he heard his father laughing and yelling 'imbecile!' from heaven. Fortunately later on he figured out most of these songs were one a loop and once he'd heard them a few times he could pretty much tune them out, unless they had these little pieces of lyrics that stuck to his brain like mortar on stone. He'd be going through his day or lying in bed at night and these lyrics would just pop into his head.

'Sail away with me honey, put my heart in your head

Sail away with me honey now, now, now,

Sail away with me, what will be will be,

I wanna hold you now, now, now'

'Jump in the water, cmon baby jump in with me

Jump in the water, cmon baby get wet with me

Jump in the water, cmon baby jump in with me

Jump in the water, cmon baby get wet [get wet, get wet]

Kiss that frog, lady kiss that frog'

'Baby I've been searching like everyone else, can't say nothing different about myself

Sometimes I'm an angel, and sometime I'm cruel

And when it comes to love, I'm just another fool

Yes I'll climb a mountain, I'm gonna swim the sea

There ain't no act of God girl, could keep you safe from me'

'Like a gift from the heavens

It was easy to tell

It was love from above that could save me from hell

She had fire in her soul

It was easy to see

How the devil himself could be pulled out of me'

'Pretty soon we were takin' it serious

Me and you underneath a mysterious spell

Nothin' I could do and it suddenly felt like a bolt out of hell

I'm tellin' you

To the sound of the beat I was hanging on

Like a powerful truth, it was banging on me

Wouldn't let me go

Like a shot in the dark she was hot like a spark'

One night he was in bed fast asleep; caught in dreams of his home when those songs came into his head and even woke him up. When he realized he was awake he completely lost his temper and pounded stuffing out of his pillow. His rage subsided and he rubbed his face and shook his head and crawled out of bed.

Every one of Disney's toons lives in the same complex underneath the park. It's accessible by a large door concealed in a similar manner as the door to the bath and shower room. Each one of them has an apartment or suite, consisting of one fore-room/ living room/ kitchen and one bedroom with a half bath.

Frollo stood over his sink, running the cold water over his head trying to clear it. After a few minutes and he pulled his head out and turned off the water. It had helped a little.

He stared at himself in the mirror and wondered what had happened to him. He would give anything to be what he once was again, before Anya, before the move, before the gypsy girl. He knew there was no going back, remembering some thing an old professor at his university had said.

"Nothing fades as fast as the future, nothing clings like the past."

He ran a hand through his soaked hair and tried to think of a way to make it all go away. As long as Anya didn't know anything he was reasonably safe. Perhaps he should just ask her to leave him alone, or if he didn't see or speak to her it might all fade and he could more or less get back to normal.

He took in a huge breath, toweled off his hair some and went back to bed though sleep wouldn't come for hours yet.