Hello dear readers! To make up for the short chapter 9, here's chapter 10 as well! Hope you enjoy it! And happy reading! =)

*-* Performances and Guest Flow Duty

The next two performances were a breeze, and each time it got a bit easier to climb the stairs to her position on the stage. Each time, she put herself even deeper, more intently in her role. Each time, she reached out more to her loving fans, and her smile felt truer, even to herself.

He hadn't been to see her, but she knew he was there, hiding. Her voice, her acting, her passion, it was all thanks to him, now. That she could even be on the stage and doing this was only happening because of him. True, Meg had pushed her up there, but she only did it because she'd known Christine had taken voice lessons and could do it easily. Thanks to him.

So at the end, before leaving, she turned to him, hiding up there, reaching out and bowing her head, her hand over her heart.

It was as much for her as it was for him.

Then it was finally time to have lunch, and she went up to take off her costume gratefully, back into her blue one, impatient to go and see Meg.

She had barely seen her during the performances, catching her dancing with a huge grin on her face, having the time of her life, and it'd brought her back to when she was down there with her, smiling and gossiping about the performers, and how some were oh so delicious…

Now, she got down, to see her waiting for her, in her blue costume.

"I'm famished," her friend smiled. "Let's go."

And together with the rest of their teams, they went to the Ima building close by, where the restaurant was. Waiting in line, they chatted about the morning they'd had. She always loved coming here, despite the crowds. At the beginning she couldn't stop looking at all the costumes, from the two parks and hundreds of employees eating together. The purple formal from the Tower of Terror, or ToT, in their language. The rocky black of the Rock and Roller Coaster team. The white sketched shirt of the production 3, Animation team. The red of the other Guest flows. And of course, some even more special, a blue genie eating with his team of performers.

They found seats near the water fountain, and dived in. It was always a noisy environment, but most of the time it'd provided comfort for her. Was harder to lose herself in her messy and sad thoughts when it was so chatty and she could barely hear herself think.

And it was soon over, 45 minutes always too short.

They got up and left the building, under the hot sun of summer.

"What I'd give for some of your ice powers," Raoul laughed, playfully elbowing her. "We'll be burning out there."

"If I could, I'd start with me," she answered with a smile.

Yes, she could do it. The two teams had blended, Anna not leaving her side, bringing the rest of the performers with her, and Meg had also refused to leave her alone, along with Raoul. The look he had when he looked at her had changed since this morning. It had turned impressed and almost deferent. And it frightened her a bit. She didn't want to deal with his lovesick, puppy eyes, when she'd almost certainly break his heart. She'd given her own already, and she would never take it back. And she remembered everything had started last week when she'd met him again, after her Angel had seen them together. She'd linked the two events, of course, despite how ridiculous it was.

"I'm usher right, for this show," Meg said. "And you, Raoul, you're… Greeter! Cool, you'll need the umbrella. And the sunscreen!"

He seemed put off by the fact he wouldn't be inside.

"I won't be able to see you for the last one," he pouted.

Right. The one who could replace her would finally be arriving this afternoon, and she'd be able to go back to her usual role, after this show.

"Don't worry," she promised. "I'll be singing loud enough so you can hear me. And… Who knows? I might even apply for the next season…"

He brightened.

"Please do! They'll take you in a heartbeat!"

"Raoul! Time to go!"

He waved at her, before leaving to go onstage and be the greeter. As its name suggested, he had to greet and inform the public, as well as direct them into the main area of the theater, where the ushers then placed and guided them.

Meg would therefore be on her left side, as she was usher right. Her friend loved that position. She could go and dance with the audience, all while being at her post. The perfect combination.

She went up to her dressing room, put on the dress, the make-up and the wig, once again looking at Elsa in the mirror. One last time she would go up those stairs and on the stage. She was still frightened, and as Anna had said, perhaps she always would be. But the rush… The exhilaration of the public, their energy, giving back as much as she gave them… The thrill, pure and relentless… She'd grown fond of it. She would almost be reluctant to part with it tonight.

Almost.

She smiled, in the warmth of the afternoon. If he was there, in all his black clothes, he'd surely be too warm, as well. She knew he wouldn't come to see her, not with everyone present here, waiting for their time on stage, but he was there, not far. She felt it in her heart.

And one by one, they went away, as the stage manager, they all called Monsieur Reyer, for his sweet but formal disposition, freaked out one last time on their lateness, "the theater was full, people had waited for the three shows in a row to go back and see this, we can't be late!" She'd known it from afar, that usual drama. They had much of their own to deal with and it'd been enough. But it seemed, no longer could she turn a blind eye to their problems, as she'd done before. Now she was part of them, and their problems were her own.

She was left alone in the dressing room, as she warmed up her voice, one last time. His own sounded, sweet and low, filling the room.

"I thought I heard you claim you wished to audition, did you not?"

And so she had, foolishly, to her colleague and almost friend.

"I did. But… It was mostly to appease him. I can still wait."

"If that is your wish… We'll talk about it some more tonight, if you wish to join me?"

"It'll be my pleasure," she answered earnestly.

"Then I shall see you in the music room. Good luck for this last performance, my dear. They will love you, once again."

And he was gone, and it was her cue. She could hear the public impatient for her arrival, singing at the top of their lungs, to wait for her.

She slowly descended the stairs, and then up to the stage, to wait until the curtain opened and she was revealed. The smile, on her face, wasn't faint or pretending. She was glad to be there. She could feel she belonged there, too.

And her voice began to soar once more, as the public joined her, tears in their eyes. And then it was over. She bowed again, a hand over her heart, nearly crying, too.

She hugged Anna, and they saluted one last time. And she went backstage. Put off the make-up, the wig, the dress, back into her blue clothes. There. Now she could go back to her usual work.

She was out of the dressing room to go and consult about her schedule with her team when Anna came. She kept forgetting her name…

"You're leaving? Already?"

"Well, Natalie will be arriving soon, now, so… I can go back to work."

Her ex-sister smiled sadly, and held out her hand.

"For what it's worth, I loved having you here with us onstage. You belong there. Truly."

She squeezed her ex-sister's hands, and then went back to her XP, Gina. She had the radio and coordinated everyone.

"Ah, finished, Christine? You were a fine addition, up there, I've never seen such an amazing Elsa. But I'm glad to have you back. The crowds have been wild, I'm sure you noticed, and we'll need you to help with the greeter, they're getting out of space for the lines…"

"I'll be on my way."

"Alright, I'll tell them."

She spoke fast in the radio, to warn them she'd be coming. And so Christine was out, the hot sun surprising her, after the cool shade of the theater. She joined the greeter and rover, who seemed desperate. The crowd was, as announced, terrible.

"Christine!" Meg screamed. "You're here! Thank God! Could you go and help out over there? I have to remain here to deal with these people, I swear they have been here for the past four shows we've had… Don't they have other things to do?"

She nodded, and followed the line. The pushchairs "parking" had become a mine field. She slowly went to create a passage pushing them to the side, neatly rearranging them in order. When that was over and it didn't look like a giant new mother shopping day, she went along the line. In all her years here, she had very rarely seen so many people so early before a show. They had run out of space, and had to redirect the people. The rover seemed overwhelmed too, and was glad to see her.

"Hello everyone, the next show will be full! If you begin waiting now, the next show's at 6:30. It will be in English. Yes, I'm sorry, that's in three hours. Please could you… Thank heavens, Christine, you're here! Help me! These people, here, I've told them three times to move, and they refused. Could you go and help?"

Full of her confidence and authority, she drew to her full height, and began telling them gently but firmly that they had to move. Other people had been waiting much longer than they had to be in the queue, and it wasn't right. She remained polite and firm, and with much grunting and complaining, they finally joined the back of the queue.

They began directing the rest of the people, as she occasionally went up and down the queue, to see how the crowd began entering the theater. She reminded them not to run, not to push, "they'll be space for everyone, don't worry".

But even she could not work miracles.

When the theater was full and they closed the line, she still had much complaining to face. She was sweating from the hot sun and the comings and goings, but work remained. Still she could remain under the umbrella to inform the guests and pay less attention to the queue.

By the time the show started, she'd regained a little bit of coolness, her bottle nearly empty. She badly wanted to take off the beautiful but heavy blue over shirt they had to wear, to be in the white blouse underneath. But so far, orders had been to remain fully dressed. And then the music started, and she kept an open ear to the show. Meg was at her side, nearly smug when the new Elsa appeared to sing.

"Now, that is not nearly as good as you, is it?" she whispered.

She dared not reply anything, because it was the truth. She'd been much better. But this was a one-time thing, to help out the other team. Now she was back with her own kin, and loved it. Truly, the rush was different, but no less good. It required different skills, and she was always thirsty for knowledge these days. Much like him.

She pushed him out of her thoughts. If she started now, she wouldn't be able to wait until she finished her shift. And that would not do.

He consumed her thoughts, in ways she'd always dreamt of, and yet feared. It was intense, this love of theirs. And still, she did not know what he looked like. She had loved his hands, the beauty of his fingers, the soft skin of his lips, thin as they might be. Her body was aching for him, for more, but she couldn't, couldn't yet ask this of him. Not when the barest touch had him freaking out.

She again tried to push him from her mind, as the swarm of people came out of the theater, some of them hurrying to their side to demand "where had the other Elsa gone? When was she coming back?" Meg nearly stuck out her chest, the proud mother with her child, even though she couldn't reveal her identity. That was rule number one: they were the real characters. No other existed.

"It was the real one, what do you mean? Surely this was a mistake. Maybe she'd had a cold and her voice was not as good as before?"

"Elsa, a cold?" Christine intervened, softly mocking her friend. "No, don't worry, she sang too much and her voice needs a bit of rest. Which is why she didn't sing as beautifully as before."

They didn't seem convinced, and tried to pry the truth out of their mouths, but the girls were used to that, and never derived from their claims. If they weren't satisfied with Elsa's performance, they could always say that to the complaint board.

They finally left them alone, and they were able to go back inside, for their last show. Before long, the second team would come and relieve them, to take the second half of the daily performances.

Christine was usher right, as well as Raoul. He'd won the short stick and could remain inside as well, while Meg went to the usher left.

He was grinning to be here with her.

"What a perfect end to a perfect day," he giggled.

She laughed, and nodded.

Yes… It truly was… But it may be the end of their shift, but certainly not the end of her day. She had still much to do, and she couldn't wait to go back to him.

The last show seemed to last eternally, with the same people complaining about the weaker Elsa, and the reluctant way the guests were going to their allotted seats. When the other team arrived, she very nearly couldn't help her relieved sigh.

She waved at them, and as her XP said:

"Good luck with the rest of the day. It'll be awful."

They groaned with that, some laughed, even, but then noticed how deadly serious she was.

"I mean it. These crowds, I haven't seen them like this since we had a meet and greet with Elsa in the Princess Pavilion. They were as wild as these."

An old Guest Flow member, Fred, who had been there during that delicate time, asked then:

"You're kiddin', right? What for?"

Thankfully, her XP didn't point out who they had to blame for this and just shrugged.

"I have no idea. The Frozen madness, you could say… Now, people, let's go! Good luck!"

And they were off, returning to the base all together, leaving a very bewildered second team behind.

"We'll hear them complaining tomorrow," Meg giggled. "Poor them…"