Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters, just a few here and there that I have made up somewhere along the line, and you'll be able to pick those out easily. I do not own any of the songs in the story either; I just really love them and find that often songs just fit in too well in my stories. I'm going through another "Scarlet Pimpernel" phase right now, so more lyrics from that show might pop up here… oh, right, and I don't own any of the Shakespeare either. Please read & review, I am always open to any ideas and suggestions. Many thanks to Autumn for the wardrobe ideas!

Carlotta awoke the next morning with the ringing of the telephone in her suite.

She stuck her hand out of her bed in an effort to answer the telephone but in her state of still being half-asleep, she succeeded only in knocking the telephone off her nightstand.

"Cazzo!" she yelled out. She finally managed to grab the phone receiver just as the person hung up.

"Cazzo!"

Her eyes glanced over the clock on her nightstand. 7:57. Almost eight. She sighed and swung her legs over the bed. Time to get up and go about her usual Saturday routine. She got up and walked over to her desk and sat down. Her calendar was open and she read over her schedule for the day: M/P-10; Photo Shoot-2; Tosca-6; Masquerade-10.

Masquerade? She had completely forgotten about the Christmas masquerade! The Opera gave a lush masquerade ball several times a year, and despite the usual New Year's masquerade which was to be held a week later, the managers had decided to throw a Christmas masquerade the Saturday before Christmas.

Carlotta looked at her timepiece again. After eight. She decided to get a move-on or she would never get everything finished in time.

The photo shoot had been wonderful, as had been the show. Her Tosca seemed only to improve with every performance. Carlotta hurried back to her dressing room after the how to get out of her costume and get into her attire for the masquerade. She hurriedly took her wig off and dashed towards the couch where her white ball gown laid. The magnificent dress resembled a snowflake with its twinkling crystals, all hand-sewn.

She carefully removed her costume and donned the ball gown before starting to tear the pins out of her hair that were holding it up underneath the costume wig. Carlotta tossed her head forward and stuck a hand on her vanity table in search for a brush. What her hand instead landed on was unmistakably a gift-ribbon.

Carlotta snapped her head right-side up and grabbed for the envelope and tore it open.

My dearest Lotta,

I am pleased that you seem to have taken my advice to heart.

It will not be long before we are together, and I promise, I will

never leave you.

Here's something that you can wear with your outfit

for the masquerade tonight.

You will undoubtedly look like an angel.

Til then,

Your Secret Admirer

Her hands trembled nervously as the opened the package. When her hands finally stopped shaking long enough to open the box, she pulled out a few diamond and crystal dragonfly hairpins.

"Oh, Baldo!" she whispered. "Oh, they're so beautiful!"

Carlotta quickly brushed her hair and set the dragonflies in. They sparkled wildly and she couldn't stop admiring them in the mirror. She finally pulled herself away from the mirror long enough to dab on some of her new perfume, put on her new earrings, and grab her new mink coat before heading out the door. As she left, she spotted Yvette and Ubaldo arm in arm further down the hall on their way to the masquerade.

She instantly felt tears once again prickling the back of her eyes, but she was determined to have a good time at this masquerade even if it killed her.

I will not think about Ubaldo, she told herself, but at the same time, she could not help but wonder: how could these magnificent gifts be from Ubaldo? He was clearly involved with the ballet tart; yet last night she had been told that appearances were deceiving.

She observed as Yvette planted a big kiss on Ubaldo's lips. That didn't seem deceptive at all to Carlotta. She quickly turned her face away and made her way to the masquerade.

Within minutes of her arrival, she found that she was miserable. Countless people who were praising her work and her glorious performances as Tosca approached her, yet she felt completely alone. She was exhausted from the day and had just made up her mind to leave the ball and return to her suite when she felt two hands slip around her waist.

"Surprise", said the voice. "You weren't planning on leaving just yet, were you?"

Carlotta whipped herself around and found herself face to face with Santa Claus. Hey eyes widened at the red velvet suit and long white beard.

"It is a masquerade, Signora, is it not?"

Carlotta nodded.

The stranger was still holding Carlotta by the waist, and their eyes met. He had such beautiful brown eyes… deep with passion and emotion, brimming with hunger for life and love. She could lose herself just in his eyes.
Slowly, the stranger drew her in closer until their noses were only centimeters apart. When he kissed her, Carlotta suddenly felt weak at the knees. She wrapped her arms around him and their kiss deepened. Neither party wanted to break their embrace, and so they remained kissing for what seemed to be an eternity. They stopped only when Yvette, drunk as could be, stumbled into them, causing Carlotta to stumble.

"Fat ugly toad!" she spat at Carlotta. "Even in white you're still a toad!"

Yvette spun herself around and kept on going until she had left the party. The stranger once again took Carlotta by the waist.

"Shall we dance then, Signora?"

Carlotta smiled at her mysterious lover and graciously accepted his invitation. They danced in each other's arms until three in the morning, when they went for a moonlight stroll in the gardens. Halfway through their walk, Carlotta thought she spotted Yvette's body moving on top of another on one of the benches, her light blue dress in a crumpled pile on the floor.

Sensing her momentary distress, her secret Santa swept Carlotta off her feet and kissed her with more passion than she had ever been kissed. The couple ended up on a bench as well, kissing each other as if there were no tomorrow and as if nothing else or no one else mattered.

All right, so maybe Yvette had Ubaldo and there was nothing that she could do about it… but she had her admirer. She had found someone who truly loved her, and she knew deep in her heart that she loved him back. She was no longer alone. Carlotta had found the love of her life.