Chapter 4 A Palace of Memories
Later on, once they got to town, Anya and Katya were at a ticket booth ready to go to Paris while Katya held the puppy, who was now named Pooka, in her hands.
"Two tickets to Paris, please." Anya requested the ticket agent.
"Exit visa?" The salesman asked with a frown.
"Exit visa?" Anya asked while narrowing her eyes.
"No exit visa, NO TICKET!" The salesman shouted before slamming the shutters in Anya's face.
Katya held Pooka by her and Anya, and walked over to her friend with a disappointed look. "No tickets, huh?"
Anya just shook her head with disappointment.
But just then, an old woman came up from behind the two of them. "Psst! See Dimitri, he can help!" she whispered to the both of them.
"Where can we find him?" Anya asked softly.
"At the old palace," The woman answered. "But you didn't hear it from me."
"Oh," Anya nodded along with Katya.
"Go!" The woman guested her. "Go, go, go!"
"Hmmm…Dimitri?" Anya wondered aloud.
"Do you think he could really help?" Katya wondered to herself.
Meanwhile, at an old theater, Dimitri and Vladimir were sitting at a large table with stacks of resumes and 8x10 glossies in front of a large stage, holding auditions for girls to play an Anatasia look-alike as they planned to win money from the empress.
Lots of young women had showed up, eager to play the part while also giving the two men their photos and resumes.
The desk was covered completely with papers and photos, and Dimitri had been reading a very long list of names in front of him, searching for the right girl to play the part.
"Nice, nice," The auburn-haired man told the next tryout sarcastically as he crossed another name off the list. "Very nice, yeah…"
"And I look like the princess," The actress claimed. "And I dance like a feather!"
"Okay, ummm…" Dimitri said while crossing off the actress's name. "Thank you. Thank you. Next please!"
The next woman to come onstage was wearing a rather large fur coat. When she got onto the stage, she let the fur coat fall to the ground, revealing her bony-thin body clothed by a provocative dress.
"Grandmamma, it's me!" she said as she held a long cigarette in her hand. "Anastasia!"
As the actress moved her hips in a seductive fashion, Vladimir groaned, and put his face down on the desk.
This woman was clearly the wrong choice to portray Anastasia.
"Oh, brother," Dimitri moaned to himself.
Shortly after finishing the auditions, the two con-artists left the theater, and began to head out down the street, appearing defeated. None of the women who showed up to audition were fit to play the part of the lost princess.
"That's it, Dimitri," Vlad said with defeat. "Game over! Our last kopeck gone for this flea-infested theater, and still no girl to pretend to be Anastasia!"
He then tossed away the resumes of the actresses who tried out.
But Dimitri wouldn't give up so soon.
"We'll find her, Vlad," He assured his friend with a grin. "She's here somewhere, right under our noses."
He then pulled out the dusty, but well kept music box from his pocket to show to Vladimir. "Don't forget, one look at this jewelry box, and the Empress will think we've brought the real Anastasia."
Just as they were leaving, two familiar girls were also walking on the sidewalk. Anya and Katya decided to follow the old woman's advice, and find this "Dimitri" person.
The two stopped to ask someone for directions to the palace. "Excuse me," Anya started. "My friend and I are looking for the Catherine…"
But it was just at that moment when Anya accidentally bumped into Dimitri, who was walking in the opposite direction as the girls, and walked past her.
"Excuse me." Anya muttered to the man, rather annoyed.
"That klutzy durak!" Katya softly cursed. "He made me drop my money!"
Anya saw Katya's accident, and helped her pick it up.
"And before she catches on, we'll be off spending 10 million rubles." Dimitri finished as he and Vladimir left the sight.
Once Anya picked up all of Katya's money, she then turned to the man she was trying to ask for directions to the palace. "Do you know where it is?" she asked.
"There's nothing there," The man answered, pointing down to the direction the palace was in. "No, no, there's no one living there. Go on."
Anya and Katya both nodded a 'thank you' to the man before heading down the path. Unknowingly, it was the same path Dimitri and Vladimir were walking down.
Later that afternoon, Anya and Katya had just reached the deserted palace, which had been long abandoned since the execution of the Romanov family.
Prior to the revolution, the palace used to gleam and be filled with life as the Romanov family lived there during the winter months. But now, it was falling into despair, and no one looked after it anymore.
Anya and Katya moved cautiously towards the front entrance, where the doorway was boarded up.
"This seems to be a pretty large palace," Katya commented while looking up at the huge palace ahead of her.
"Yeah. By the way, Katya, did you remember to send your letters to your siblings in America?" Anya asked her as Katya's expression lit up.
"Yes, hopefully Aristark, Ivan, and Natasha will receive them in a couple weeks. Boy, will they be surprised when they learn that I'm finally coming to America!"
Just then, Katya heard some barking, and turned her head.
"Oh my goddess!" Katya gasped when she saw Pooka running towards the barricaded door. "Anya, we gotta get Pooka!"
Anya nodded, and then the two young ladies ran after the dog. By the time they reached the barricaded door, however, the puppy had already snuck in through a crack.
"Pooka!" Anya whispered and peered inside. "Pooka! Pooka, where are you?"
She then pulled a board away, only for her to fall down on her back.
"Oy, podlost!" Katya cried with concern. "Anya, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Anya said as her friend helped her back on her feet.
Even though she had fallen down, the two now had a way to get inside the palace.
Meanwhile, inside a palace bedroom on an upper level, Dimitri and Vladimir were eating a light supper when they heard a noise from below.
"Did you hear something?" Dimitri asked his friend, somewhat startled by the noise.
"Eh, no," Vlad responded while looking around.
Still, Dimitri wanted to find out what he heard. It seemed clearly obvious to him that someone had broken into the palace.
Meanwhile, Anya and Katya had made their way inside the palace vestibule, and looked around. Taking her scarf off, Anya had a second hand look around the main foyer before she joined Katya to walk up a staircase. Going up the steps, the two looked back towards the entrance so they would know how to get out.
The two girls then made it to the large palace doors, and opened them slowly, careful not to disturb anyone who may be inside.
"Hello?" Anya called out softly. "Anyone home?"
But there was no answer.
"Uh, I don't think anybody's home." Katya shrugged while nervously looking around the palace, hoping no one was going to jump out and scare her and Anya.
Going into the room, now partially destroyed, the two girls examined it to what appeared to be an old abandoned dining room. The room was so dusty and full of cobwebs that it looked like it hadn't been cleaned for years.
"What a shame," Katya sighed, sympathetically. "This place looks like it hasn't been taken care of for years."
Approaching the dining table, Anya bent forward to inspect a dusty old plate. She blew the dust off of it, and picked it up to take a better look at it, aside from her own reflection.
For a moment, she thought she saw what looked like an image of a father dancing with his young daughter.
She touched it, and then felt something - a strange feeling that felt like a distant memory.
Anya blinked, then shook the feeling away.
"Hmm." she said as she sat the plate back on the table.
"Anya! Look at this!" Katya called.
Anya looked up, and saw a dusty cabinet full of china bowls and plates decorated with dancing bears.
Entranced by all the chinaware, she went over to take a closer look.
"Bowls," Anya said softly as she looked at some dusty ornate dishes on the tables, along with champagne glasses covered in cobwebs. "Plates," The redhead whispered.
Everything seemed somewhat familiar to her.
"Anya, are you okay?" Katya asked as she saw her friend lost in thought.
"Yeah," Anya answered softly. "It's just that…this place - it's…it's like a memory from a dream."
The two women then wandered out into another open door, and found themselves on the top of a grand staircase, and looked around.
It led to what once was a grand ballroom.
Anya then stared at a large painting of the royal Romanov family. All the faces looked somewhat familiar to her, as if she had seen people like them before.
A music box melody could be softly heard as Anya paced slowly and sang.
Dancing bears,
Painted wings,
Things I almost remember,
And a song,
Someone sings,
Once upon a December,
Katya watched her friend with curiosity and awe as Anya stopped at the large landing halfway down the steps.
She then took off her coat, revealing her tattered brown dress, as she embraced herself, and continued singing:
Someone holds me safe and warm,
Horses prance through a silver storm,
Figures dancing one by one,
Across my memory,
Anya then let her imagination get the best of her. She envisioned the ballroom as it might have been.
She could see it transform to its once splendid glory, and ghostly figures dressed in fine evening clothing floated down from the inside paintings high above near the ceiling while singing to the tune of her song, even giving a glow to the interior ballroom.
Katya wondered what had gotten into her friend, so she decided to close her eyes and dream along with Anya.
Pooka just watched as his mistresses were both lost in their imaginary worlds.
Katya then imagined herself wearing a different outfit. She wore a light blue dress with a transparent white trimming at the waist, a blue belt secured with a bow at the back, white puffy sleeves, white gloves, high heels that looked like they were made of glass, a tan necklace with a blue stone, blue earrings, and her hair done in an high up-do with a white crown around it.
She walked down the stairs, and made eye contact with a handsome young man dressed in a white suit.
The man smiled and held his hand out to her. Katya gasped, but then she returned her own smile, and took his hand.
The two of them danced together while Anya imagined Czar Nicholas, Czarina Alexandra, Tsarevich Alexei, and the Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana and Maria appearing from the grand painting, and making their way to the ballroom.
Two couples both floated down towards Anya, and gave her bows and curtsies.
Someone holds me safe and warm,
Horses prance through a silver storm,
Figures dancing gracefully,
Across my memory,
One of the duchesses in a pink dress then approached Anya, and placed a pearl necklace around her twirled about, and her appearance changed. She was now wearing a yellow dress with a blue ribbon around her waist, transparent white sleeves, a gold kokoshnik tiara, and heels. Her hair was also tied back in a low ponytail by a sky blue ribbon.
Anya danced around with a few gentlemen while Katya danced with her dream boy, and then the czar approached Anya.
Far away,
Long ago,
Glowing dim as an ember,
Things my heart,
Used to know,
Things it yearns to remember,
Anya danced around a bit with a young man dressed in a red suit, and then danced with a different man wearing a blue suit.
The czar then began to approach Anya, and the dancers all bowed and curtseyed as respect for the former ruler.
Anya broke away from her dancing partner as the Czar approached her, and slowly took her hand to dance with her a bit.
And a song,
Someone sings,
The Czar then leaned forward and gently kissed Anya on the forehead. Releasing her from their embrace, he slowly backed away.
Once upon a December,
Anya held the last note as she made a full curtsy to the father figure before she sat down in the center of the dance floor.
Katya gently broke away from her man, and slowly walked over to Anya.
All the spirits then began to vanish one by one and soon, it was just Anya and Katya who were left in the ballroom.
The two girls then gazed up at the ceiling, thinking about their dancing, and where Anya must have heard that song long ago.
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