Chapter Text
The whistle of the train blew and hissed. They were almost there. Celia and Allan had been on the train for hours. They had taken a boat from America to Spain, and then traveled the rest of the way by train. It had been nearly a month long journey, and both of them were quite ready to finally set foot in Paris. When they got off the train Celia took Allan's hand and he could feel it shaking just a bit. They had spent nearly all of their money trying to get to Paris, so she had the right to be nervous.
They made it to a charming square with a few small cafés and clothing stores. Allan gestured his wife to sit down on a bench and he sat down next to her. "It's going to be alright love," he assured stroking her platinum blonde hair. "There's no way the Dowager won't chose you!"
Although he was just as nervous as she was, he did believe what he said. Before they were married, Celia had been an actress in New York City. That was how he met her. He saw her on the stage, olive green eyes gleaming in the light. Her hair had been tied up in an exquisite style, and her dress glittered. She sang and acted like no person before her had ever done, and Allan knew she was the one for him. For her, seeing a shabby wanna be musician show up after the show asking her if she wanted to get lunch was both parts creepy and flattering, but she said yes. Even with all that had happened to them after that, Celia didn't regret it.
"What was the horses name?" Allan asked glancing at his wife.
"Romeo," she mumbled.
"Perfect!" He shouted, a bit too enthusiasticly. "See Celia, you have this down. Besides you are an actress, you'll have the Dowager convinced!"
"I hope," she muttered back.
Allan sighed. His wife hadn't been her usual self for a long time. Getting her to pose as Anastasia had been a difficult enough task, but getting the Dowager to believe it would be even worse. "Celia, we need this, you know that." She nodded but didn't say a word. Allan continued, "You just need to-"
Allan was interrupted as a chubby red haired girl passed them talking to a tall thin man with the same fiery locks she had. "I can't believe she wouldn't even look at me at all!" The girl ranted, "I mean, I had that Anastasia stuff down!"
A jolt of fear went through Allan. "Excuse me miss, I don't want to intrude, but what were you saying about... Anastasia?"
The girl looked at him for a second, surprised at his question, then answered as if it was nothing. "The Dowager Empress says that she isn't going to be seeing anymore Anastasias! The dumb old lady doesn't know a thing if you ask me!"
With that the girl walked away. Something inside Allan dropped and pounded like a rock in his stomach. When he sat back down next to Celia she looked at him for a second then tears welled up in her beautiful green eyes. Seeing her cry, made Allan want to cry as well but he had never been one to shed a tear. Before he knew it he was holding his wife and desperately trying to comfort her.
"I'm sorry Celia, he mumbled, "I really hoped this would work." Despite his best efforts, she continued to cry into his chest.
He knew the reason why. When they fell in love, her father said that if they married she would be banned from performing in his theatre. She tried auditioning for other shows, but when word got around that she had been kicked out of her father's own theatre, she got a bad name. Allan had struggled to get a good job, and when their first child was born, they were forced to put him up for adoption. It was the most difficult decision they had ever made.
When Allan found out that the Dowager Empress was looking for her long lost granddaughter Anastasia, he hoped that they might be able to get the money they needed. Now yet another complication had happened, and they were stuck in France with nothing but two suitcases full of the few scrappy things they owned.
"I promise Celia, we'll find a way to get money," Allan tried to assure. Celia squeezed him, tighter as he muttered, "Whatever it takes."
As they hugged on the bench, a happy looking couple passed, the woman had blonde hair and shining blue eyes. The man had hair that flopped over his face, and he laughed at a comment the woman made.
"I can't wait to see Nana!" The woman cheerfully announced, "We've only been gone three weeks but it feels like forever!"