I do not own Anastasia or the characters. Just the plot of this story :D

The young man narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Yes, that's right. I did." He managed to say as she had closed the distance between their faces and was staring wide eyed in his eyes. It was almost intimidating him. But what was more weird was how awfully familiar her eyes were. He had never seen someone whose eyes could match Anya's pure, crystal ones, those cerulean orbs that made you think the sky had fallen into them and clung onto them for dear life. Those beautiful eyes that had him fall in love, him, Dimitri, the conman.

At his reply, she backed away, unlocking their embrace, hand of confusion driven on her forehead as she stared down at their feet. Some couples crushed on her as they were standing in the middle of the floor so he gently grabbed her wrist and led her out of the crowd, where it was somewhat calm and solitarily. She stole bewildered glances at him now and then and that was only increasing his perplexion. "Antonina, are you all right? What has happened?"

"I'm-.. fi..- you are… oh, no!" she covered her lips with both her hands so to muffle up a sob. She was not looking at him anymore and when she finally did –he actually made her to by slipping a hand under her chin and lifting her head- she pushed him away gently and run away. He would have gone after her if it weren't for another girl grabbing his sleeve and pleading with her battering eyes for a dance. He refused as politely as he could and headed back to the table hoping to meet Vlad. But his gaze fell on the massive stairwell where his friend and the royal family were sitting on.

He climbed slowly the stairs and bowed before the Empress. The old woman smiled kindly and inclined her head. "Hello Dimitri."

"Good evening, Your Majesty." He greeted back and couldn't help feeling a wave of shame filling him as he gazed in her sea blue eyes –which were identical to her granddaughter's- of forgiveness and goodheart. He had meant to hurt her just to get her money and she did not deserve such painful feeling. He had experienced it himself. He still was. "It's been quite some time, hasn't it?"

"Has indeed!" she agreed almost gaily. "Come, sit with us." She invited him, pointing to an empty chair next to Vladimir.

"Ah, you are most kind but I just wanted to talk to Vlad about-"

But he didn't get to finish his phrase for a flustered Sophie climbed the stairs, pushing aside whoever stood on her path. "Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

"What is the matter, Sophie?" the Empress seemed most puzzled and worried by her cousin's attitude. The woman had to sit down a little before explaining herself and Dimitri could see clearly the concern growing in the old woman's heart. "What's happened? Nothing bad, I hope."

"Oh, Your Majesty! Look!" she exclaimed producing a mask from behind her. Dimitri gasped recognizing immediately the mask as the one the girl he danced with wore "She's run off somewhere but no one can find her! As if she has vanished! That stupid, stupid girl!" she exclaimed blowing her nose in the handkerchief Vladimir offered her. "A gentleman saw her running to the back yard and throwing away her mask. She was crying, Your Majesty!" She cried in his arms a bit before speaking again. "Oh, I swear if anything has happened to our Anastasia, I don't know what I'll do!"

Dimitri's eyes widened a great deal lot and he shot a confused look to his friend. Vladimir only shrugged his shoulders and turned his attention to the crying woman in his arms. "Don't speak such words! She's around here somewhere! She must be taking a stroll in the gardens again. You know her, she is an adventurer!"

"What is wrong, Dimitri?" the great Empress addressed the young man whose jaw had dropped a great deal lot and whose eyes had gone totally blank, wearing no emotion in them. At first he did not react to the old woman's question until Vladimir cleared meaningfully his throat and gestured the Empress to Dimitri with his eyes. The man's face returned to its normal shape but the blood was still drained from it.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty, what did you say?" he felt stupid and even more nervous than when he was dancing. But thinking back to the dance he had shared with that woman, his mind flew back to Anastasia. She was there. And he had been dancing with her. And they had both be ignorant of the fact. And the man she had been talking –and obviously thinking- of, was none other than himself. What an irony!

"I just notice you seem a little… distracted –for a lack of better term-. What's troubling you, my boy?" she replied goodnaturedly, but the concern the words Sophie had offered her was unmistakably visible in her wrinkled, kind face.

"Oh, it's…nothing, I'm…-just that…uhh…" he ran a nervous hand through his hair turning it into the usual mess it was before he managed to tamed it –it had been quite a struggle- with his brush and hairstyle tools Vlad had lent him. Suddenly he felt sweat damping his skin, so he had to remove his mask so to feel a bit more comfortable. Those latest events had been too sudden and weird to proceed.

He had accepted to go to that ball because Anya would be absent and yet he had found himself strolling awkwardly on the dancefloor with her. And he had not even figured it out. Glimpsing to Vlad's direction, suddenly it all became clearer. He had planned for it all to happen, his cunning, sneaky friend had taken care of everything. And obviously Anya had been unaware of the fact either. Was Vlad's purpose to reconciliate them? Well, it wasn't the best way

"Hmmm?" the Empress's low exclaim made him jerk his head to her and he realized he had been standing speechless before her. He idled his hands by playing with his mask as he searched his brain for an answer. He knew what the answer was and so did she, the woman was no fool. Just like he had observed before, she had the same big, cerulean orbs with her granddaughter. The same cleverness and foxy sharpness snuggling in them. He could just picture Anya gazing smugly at him with those eyes, an eyebrow cunningly arched and a posture of expectance and impatience.

"Well, uh… I… Anya, she's…" he was about to remark he had not expected to find her present when he suddenly recalled what Sophie had actually said. She had run away, crying and they had lost her tracks. And that was his fault. She had realized it was him the moment she gazed in his eyes, he could remember the moment clearly now. Looking to the balcony's wide open glass, he knew what he had to do. "Uh, beg your pardon, Your Majesty. I have to…"

And without voicing his thoughts to the end, he backed away, descending in wide strides the fancifully carpeted stairs. He pushed people aside and excused himself in an amount of times he could not recall. He was too focused on getting to the gardens and finding her. Within a few seconds, he had realized that perhaps he had been foolish back in Paris, like Vlad had well put it. What if he had confessed the truth? Whatever, he just had the sudden urge to see her face again and to tell her everything.

He swiftly found himself in the balcony of the back yard, where a great garden was laid before the palace, painted with the colours of every sort of flower and plant. They had managed to make it look identical to the one the gardeners used to attend to when he had been a kitchen boy. It looked beautiful. But it was also huge. He didn't know where to begin. He followed the path to his right and he almost immediately found a golden sash lying carelessly on the ground. He picked it up already convinced it was hers and threw his gaze towards each and every direction. Most part of the garden was lighted up by the bright flames of lanterns or by the colourful lights coming from the ballroom. He would have seen even a shadow of hers. But there was nothing.

Disappointed but not willing to give up so quickly he jogged to his right, his dark orbs restlessly roving over the area in quest of her. After a few minutes, he was convinced; it was not an easy task, but he would achieve it one way or the other. He would find the Princess who had gone lost yet again.

So what do you think will happen next? I have the next chapter already written but I will increase your impatience for a little while. Yeah, I'm that evil! Oh come on, tomorrow it will be up! But until then, would you do me the honour of leaving me a review? :D thank you for reading -and reviewing, if you do!-