.

He's 19 in this one, recently 19, and it's their very first time holding auditions for an Anastasia look-alike. Everybody's gotta start somewhere....

.

.

Something about today made it seem better than all the other days. He was much more optimistic today. He was looking forward to this. He whistled through the empty halls as if he were a normal citizen with a home and a job and a family.

Today they'd rented out the Pavlov Theatre. Today was the first screening for their blue-eyed ticket to freedom.

Stopping in front of one of the old floor-length mirrors, Dimitri wiped the thick coat of fluffy grey dust from the surface and adjusted the secondhand newsboy cap on his head. This could work.

Vlad had gone ahead to greet the early arrivals, so without another minute of waiting, Dimitri grabbed his coat and disappeared out the door.

.

.

"Dimitri! Good." Vlad gestured to the chair beside him. "I don't think I've ever seen such an impatient crowd."

He hung his coat and hat on the back of the chair and took a seat. "Who do we have first?"

Scanning the list; "Natasha Voskova."

They were ready. Everything was going according to plan. It was time to get started. Clearing his throat, Dimitri called out across the room they'd payed a week's meals for. "Okay---uh, good morning, ladies. I'm Dimitri, and this is Vladimir. When we call your name, come to the stage and tell us why you think you'd make a good Anastasia. Clear?" The line of women nodded. "Okay. First, Natasha Voskova. Natasha?"

Dimitri and Vlad exchanged an excited glance while the girl emerged from the line. But then she was onstage. And they looked at her. And the smiles faded.

Natasha was wearing a bright pink dress with more bows than the human mind could imagine. There was at least an inch of blonde roots in her red hair, and she had a grin on her face that said she was totally confident this was working. It didn't help, either, that her height rivaled a giraffe's---almost without exaggeration.

"Uh...wow."

"Do you see what I see?"

Dimitri gulped. "Unfortunately." Addressing the girl, he added, "Thank you. Next!"

The second woman in the line stepped forward as the first one ran off, and it was clear that this wouldn't work either. She was at least forty-five years old.

Vlad scribbled the first two names off the list. "Thank you. Next please!"

The next girl to take the stage looked completely out of place, or possibly just plain out of it. She had short, curled brown hair, a dance costume, and a puzzled look on her overpainted face. "This isn't the Swan Lake audition?"

Avoiding the urge to slam their heads against the desk until blackness won and consciousness lost, both of them droned "No" in unison.

Confused, she scurried away. Just as it was beginning to look as though they'd never find a match, a demure young redhead took her place, and a ray of hope flickered into the theater.

Once he regained speaking ability, Vlad consulted the list. "You must be...Katrina?"

She nodded. "Yes, that's me."

They traded that look, the Eyebrow Raise of Possibility. "And why should you be Anastasia?" Dimitri ventured.

"Well, my aunt says I look like her. And I can sing just like her."

Again, the ERP. "Sing?"

Katrina nodded again. "The grandmother's lullaby. You could say I did my homework."

This was a beyond incredible find. They'd be in the papers by Monday. "Well," Vlad laughed, "go ahead!"

As soon as she opened her mouth, though, the ray of hope flickered right back out. It wasn't a lullaby. It wasn't a song. It wasn't singing. It may or may not have even been human. Poor girl---obviously tone deaf. Dimitri could've given up. Vlad could've cried.

Wincing in sheer pain, Dimitri lifted a hand. "Stop that! Uh, I mean, we've---" nervous laugh "---we've heard enough. We'll contact you."

Purely satisfied, Katrina made her exit. Vlad prayed a silent 'thank you.'

Six Anastasias, one man and one set of German triplets later, the verdict was in: This could take a lot, lot longer than they'd ever thought possible.

.

.

XP XD There may or may not be another chapter of auditions eventually, I haven't thought that far ahead yet. Quite fun. Leave a review please.

.