Operarealm

Part II

Roza did not remember the details of their cunning nightly flight from St. Petersburg nor did she remember that long mournful journey to Czechoslovakia much at all--she was oblivious to anything but the terrible turmoil inside of her. The train pushed on for hundreds and hundreds of miles through the darkness which seemed infinite. She barely slept at all during that first endless night and seemed immune to the comfort that her sympathetic companions offered. The journey was a stormy and dreary one. Freezing rain, hail and sleet from a storm off the Baltic coast pounded on the windows and the wind was so fierce that it seemed to aspire to de-rail the train.

They reached their destination, Liberec, a small town in northern Czechoslovakia late one windy ominous night, about two days after the ball. From there, they traveled by coach to the dark, looming castle that was not too far beyond the small town. They passed not a soul, it seemed to Roza that they were they only ones in the world. The carriage passed through a dark forest with tall, frozen, sinister trees that seemed to glower and claw downward at them. The forbidding surroundings only served to worsen Roza's excruciating sense of desolation and despair.

None of the travelers felt that they would ever reach the castle. Despite its gothic, grim and even frightening appearance in the inky darkness, it was still an extremely welcoming site after traveling for such a long time. Roza had been the only one of the six ladies that was not asleep when they arrived at last. In fact, she had not slept a wink during the entire duration of the journey. She passionately envied her companions' ability to do so and she felt even more depressed and alone when she was deprived of their conscious company. Without their small talk, their intrigues, their constant attempts to cheer her up, Roza fell prey to grim silence and her own obsessive devastating thoughts. How momentarily peaceful she was when the carriage stopped in front of the castle and she became occupied with the task of waking the ladies up and helping the at first confused, but essentially exhausted and grateful coachman with their things! However, after the initial reactions of the ladies to their accommodations, they fell silent once again. The ladies were merely awake enough to pursue a more proper place to sleep. When the doorman began to lead them by candlelight up the windy staircase and into the gloom beyond, Roza too, at last began to feel the heavy pull of exhaustion. Three days of extreme turmoil with neither sleep nor repose had ultimately taken the toll on her body. Her room on the third floor of the castle was dark, drafty and eerie, but she took no notice of it. She was an invalid and utterly oblivious to anything but her overwhelming longing for physical and emotional rest. Roza collapsed fully-clothed on the great canopy bed and promptly fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

****

Elle a fui, la tourterelle! She has fled--the turtledove!
Ah! souvenir trop doux! Ah, memory too sweet!
Image trop cruelle! Imagine too cruel!
Helas! a mes genoux Alas, at my knees
je l'entends, je le vois! I hear him, I see him!

Elle a fui, la tourterelle She has fled--the turtledove.
Elle a fui loin de toi; She has fled far from you;
mais elle est toujours fidele But she is forever faithful
et te garde sa foi and keeps her promise to you.
Mon bien-aime, ma voix t'appelle My beloved, my voice calls to you.
Oui, tout mon coeur est a toi. Yes, all my heart is yours.

Chere fleur qui viens d'eclore, Precious flower which has just bloomed,

par pitie, reponds-moi! for pity's sake answer me,
toi qui sais s'il m'aime encore you who knows if he still loves me,

s'il me garde sa foi! if he still keeps his promise to me!
Mon bien-aime, ma voix t'implore My beloved, my voice implores you.
Ah! que ton coeur vienne a moi. Ah, may your heart come to me.

Never had the lyrics to Offenbach's plaintive aria had ever held as much meaning in Roza's heart as they did now. She had sought solace in the castle music room for almost two hours now singing every heart wrenching operatic aria that she knew, exploring her soul in attempt to ease her great pain. It was this last piece that really got to her, that had lyrics that really told her story more than any other. Yes, like the turtle dove she had fled, though very reluctantly and was now haunted by the image of the one that she loved more than life itself. The words in the recitative, "Ah souvenir trop doux, image trop cruelle ... Helas! a mes genoux, je l'entends, je le voix! (Ah memory too sweet--image too cruel. Alas! at my knees, I see him, I hear him!) really spoke volumes. For she could not get the night of the ball and Yevgeny out of her mind and was hopelessly in love with him. In spite of everything, she somehow knew that she would love him and that her heart would be faithful to him forever. How cruel was her fate! It was not unlike those of Tatyana and Magda. She was living an opera. Is this what Operarealm was all about? You were brought here where your dearest dreams were realized but cruelly forbidden? Was it the profound whirlwind of emotions that transpired from the impact what was to serve as the inspiration for the rest of one's artistic life? Is one forever destined to achieve great art, but live a life that is empty and alone? Roza sat wondering, in a state of complete masochism.

Her thoughts of doom and gloom were interrupted only by a knock on the door. It was Despina who asked her to come down to dinner. Roza obliged. All of that brooding had left her in a state of intense hunger. She had slept through breakfast and lunch and had not eaten since the evening of the ball. Perhaps some food on her stomach would provide some much needed comfort.

When she reached the dining room, Marenka, Rusalka, Fioridilgi and Dorabella rose to meet her with sympathetic eyes.

"How are you?" Markena asked gently.

"As well as can be expected," Roza told her glumly.

Fioridiligi embraced her. "You poor thing," she said with a loud sigh. "I know what it is suffer like that! I too, am most aggrieved. I can't bear to be without my Guglielmo! I've been pining all day. I regret having taken this vacation. I will be without my love for a week ! Can you imagine that? A week - seven days. It was Despina's and Dorabella's idea to take this all-girl vacation before our wedding ceremony and I am not enjoying myself one bit."

"I too, am feeling lonesome," Dorabella agreed. "But the men are in Prague and that is only an hour or so by train from here. Still, it is rather lonely here. This castle gives me the creeps."

"Oh you silly girls!" Despina exclaimed with an exasperated sigh. "Do you have any idea how ridiculous you are being. Men aren't worth all that bother! You should enjoy your freedom while you have it! If men please you so much, while don't you go to the village tavern and find some new ones to amuse yourself?"

Fioridiligi scoffed, absolutely furious "How dare you suggest such a thing? How dare question our fidelity!" She stomped her foot to emphasize her words.

Dorabella grinned at her. "Do you want to go there after dinner?"

Fioridiligi gasped. "Dorabella - I'm surprised at you! Do you mean to suggest that you'd actually take up Despina's vile plan?"

Dorabella grinned mischievously. "I might. But the weather is not so nice outside, isn't it supposed to snow Despina?"

Despina had finished setting the last place awhile ago and had been tapping her foot on the floor impatiently. She indicated for the ladies to sit. "Yes, it's going to snow, but not until tomorrow. Some gypsy folk I met on the grounds this morning told me so. I'll bet it's going to be a big one - you can feel it in the air."

"Oh merciful heavens!" cried Fioridiligi. "What of our men?"

Despina rolled her eyes. "They'll be fine at their friends' house in Prague," she said impatiently. She brought everyone their porridge, chicken, and biscuits and Marenka, Rusalka and Roza ate to the squabbling of the three ladies from Cosi fan tutte.

****

Later that evening, they were sitting in one of the castle sitting rooms when there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Marenka asked the sad Rusalka who was sitting on the window seat and wistfully look out into the night.

"A gypsy," Rusalka said in a voice that was misty and melancholic. It was the first two words she had said all day. Roza had been wondering if she even spoke at all, for in the opera, human beings could not hear her voice.

"It must be one of those gypsies I met this morning." Despina headed out into the hall to the door. A few moments later she returned, followed by an old gypsy woman who wore an ethnic Czech costume. She introduced her to the girls and announced that she would be spending the night.

And so now there were seven. The gypsy woman, Madame Damira, was very lively and grateful. In exchange for their kindness, she offered to tell everyone their fortunes.

The two Cosi sisters went first and then Marenka and Rusalka. The gypsy woman's hint of the operatic ladies' fates came as no surprise to Roza, for she knew their stories well, but she found herself shocked by the gypsy's remarkable accuracy. Unless Madame Damira knew their operas well, how could they have known all of that? By the time it was Roza's turn, she was very anxious.

Roza took her seat before the old gypsy. Madame Damira winked at her. For the first time she realized that the woman reminded her of the gypsy woman that had sold her the mirror back in Reality. Madame Damira studied Roza carefully for several moments and then took her hands and studied their palms carefully making "hmmmm" noises. It seemed like an eternity to Roza. The wind outside had begun to pick up substantially and the grandfather clock ticked in the hall.

"Very interesting," the gypsy said at last.

Roza implored her. "What do you see?"

The gypsy woman dropped Roza's hands back into her own lap. "I see that you are a very ambitious, talented and determined young lady - a young lady determined to overturn her own fate. But know this ... know that the force of fate cannot be reckoned with and that very soon you will be consumed by it."

Roza was becoming more and more unnerved. "What are you saying?" she asked.

"A storm comes," said Madame Damira with chilling intensity.

"I heard," Roza replied. "The snow--"

The gypsy woman cut her off. "Not only that kind of storm. I'm speaking of another storm that comes with it - a storm of manic passion from the East. A storm in the form of a desperate, melancholic soul that seeks solace in joining with yours and will succeed in doing so. There is no escaping him."

****

Contrary to the previous night, Roza was having the worst time sleeping. The gypsy woman's chilling words kept resounding in her mind relentlessly. Just what exactly did she mean by that? But in her heart, Roza exactly what she had meant. But how could she have known? Could Despina, that sly trickster have told her Roza's situation as some sort of a mean joke? Even though Despina insisted that Madame Damira was not one of the gypsies she had met that day, Roza could not be sure. She knew Despina's calculating character quite well and knew that she was easily capable of it. Roza did not know what to think. Somehow she believed that Despina had better things to do and that it was below her to initiate such a mean prank.

Roza tossed and turned in the canopy bed. The wind whistled eerily around the castle. She drew the quilts up higher, to shied herself from the cold and whatever horrors lied in the ancient castle. She had read a great deal about the castles of Europe and knew for a fact that many of them had extremely dark histories. Dark histories that left behind a trace of the terrible events that had taken place there centuries earlier. Dark histories that left behind vengeful ghosts. Her mind kept replaying all the most frightening things she had ever read and seen on television. Particularly frightening was that television program called Haunted Castles where this woman awoke in the middle of the night to find herself face to face with a bloody ghost that was floating over her bed. Roza couldn't get the frightening images out of her mind her mind and she became increasingly paranoid. The eerie wind began to sound like the wail of a banshee, the creaks and groans of the castle began to seem like footsteps stalking toward her.

Suddenly the footsteps grew louder. Step ... step ... step ... step ... They were coming from the hall and seemed to be heading toward her door. Step ... step ... step ... step ... The footsteps stopped at her door. The doorknob turned ... .the door creaked open ...

Roza screamed.

"Sssshhh..." said the figure. "Do you want to wake everybody up?" The figure stepped into the moonlight.

Roza gaped in disbelief. "Liza?! What are you doing here?" she rose from the bed.

Liza ran to Roza, embracing her. "Thank goodness you are safe! Please forgive me for startling you - I didn't know this room was occupied. Myself, Gherman, Palina, Yeletsky and Alexandra just arrived a few moments ago. We were initially supposed to go on a holiday to Paris, but the plans have been changed. I persuaded my party to come here after I received urgent word from the Princess Gremina."

Roza still shaking from shock, was extremely bewildered. "Tatyana? She sent you here? But why?"

"To bring word, among other things ... " Liza explained. She dropped her voice as if the walls had ears. "Palina and I am the only ones that know you are here. Roza ... I saw what happened at the ball ... and I have spoken with Tatyana. Roza - Yevgeny is madly in love with you and will stop at nothing to have you."

Roza whimpered in despair. "But Liza - I can't have him! I'm here as an opera singer in serious study. I explained it all in a letter that I gave to Tatyana to give to him. Didn't he receive it?"

"Da," said Liza solemnly. "And he has written a reply." she reached into her bodice pocket and pulled out two letters attached to each other which she handed to Roza. "This is a letter from Princess Gremina and with the letter from Yevgeny attached. Read it and you tell me if your situation is any less grave."

Roza sighed heavily and opened the letters, already knowing in her heart what she would find. The first letter with a gold seal, was from Tatyana. She recognized the fine writing paper.

Dear Roza,

I hope that you are well and are finding some peace in your castle in Czechoslovakia. I write to you in great concern, but I encourage you to remain strong and steadfast as I have on many occasions. Roza--that letter you wrote to Yevgeny did not seem to do any good. In fact, it has only served to inflame his passion even more. When he read it, he dropped to his knees and begged me to reveal your whereabouts. I told him that he should know better by now, when I make a promise I keep it. And I had promised you, myself and God that I would not betray your trust. I would no sooner break my marriage vows! Yevgeny is very dangerous to me. He always seems to be haunting me and trying to sway me to do something that is not honorable! It is abominable! I had to leave the room. An hour later, I returned to fetch my shawl and he was still there! Only now he held a letter he had just written and which he begged me to get to you. I told him plainly that you were long gone from here and that I had no means of delivering it. Alas, when he threatened to take his own life, I just had to relent. I will send word with Liza, who is very sympathetic and clever. Everyone from Pikovaya Dama was planning on a holiday anyways, so I know it would not look at all suspicious if she were to leave suddenly and with the group. I wanted her not only to deliver the letter, but to be there for what I know is a very hard time for you. I wish someone had been there for me like that. You will now be among many more friends. But do be cautious about who you reveal your presence to. I trust Liza and Palina, but I don't know about the others - especially Alexandra. I must leave you now. I will attach the letter from Yevgeny as promised. I will pray that fate is kind to you.

Tatyana

My dear Roza,

I have been beside myself with torment since your flight from me at the ball. If anyone would have told me that I could have fallen this hard yet again I would have never have believed them. When Tatyana rejected me two months ago, I thought my life had ended. I have been forever doomed to relive that unbearable pain for as long as I can remember. Oh, if you could know the agony of being alone and rejected! It is a fate worse than death. I know you have known such pain yourself. During the fireside conversation at the Lithuanian Inn, I was utterly entranced by your story of suffering. I found in you a sort of second Tatyana. I believed there and then that God had given me a second chance! Oh Roza - from the moment I saw you I loved you, I wanted you! Every word you said just confirmed the fact that I had found an angel on earth, a light in this desolate life of mine. When I saw you again at the ball that night, I became overwhelmed with passion. My passion was such that I couldn't even speak ... I wanted only to hold you and make you mine. I know you felt it too ... I know you must love me. Oh Roza - why did you flee from me and deny both of us the unearthly bliss that we could find together? I have read your letter a thousand times. It enraptures me to know that you love me and it gives me immense pain to read your words of farewell. Oh Roza - you can not desert me like this! I love you for your ambitions--I love everything about you and you must know that I will never abandon you. I wish to be your protector forever ... to kneel before you and drown in love's agony. Oh how I long and ache to hold you and kiss you and make you mine for all eternity. I must find you, my love. Fate has decreed us for each other irrevocably and I long for the precious moment when you shall be mine. Oh my love - have pity.

Yevgeny

Roza discarded the letters onto the canopy and burst into tears, feeling more anguished than ever. "Oh Liza - that letter! It has struck me straight to the heart!"

Liza embraced her. "I was afraid of that. I'm so sorry. I never should have given it to you!"

Roza sobbed. "No, you were only doing what you were told. You were only being a good friend. Liza--this is so terrible! I want to be with him just as he wants to be with me! How? How can I live like this? I feel so weak. From that letter, I get the impression that he is going to seek me."

Liza nodded. "I know. Perhaps it would be best if you returned to your world immediately."

"But I can't! The only door is in the country where Opera was born, in Italy. It's so far, there is a storm coming and besides, I have so much more to learn!"

Liza smacked the top of her forehead. "Darn, I didn't even think of that! But don't worry, Roza - there is no way he will find you out here. He doesn't know even know where to look. It's so remote and lonely out here. I'm sure he'd expect you to go to one of the big cities like Prague or Vienna."

Roza sighed sadly, her heart wishing otherwise. "Yes, I suppose you're right."

"We must get our rest now, " Liza said stifling a yawn. "My journey was absolutely exhausting and I'm sure you've not fully recovered from yours either. You've been through so much..." she hugged Roza. "Try not to brood ... it's hard I know ... for you are Slavic. The Slavic soul loves to brood."

"Oh ... Don't I know it?" said Roza. "Thank you, Liza." And so Liza left and Roza was once again left alone with her melancholy.

****

Roza slept very late and she was still exhausted. She had been awake long after Liza had left brooding hopelessly over the contents of the letters--particularly Yevgeny's. She had never received such a letter in her entire life! Never! Oh, how she'd longed for such a love for as long as she could remember! As she re-read the letter, she once again saw his handsome face, heard his insidious voice. She saw the look of passion that had overcome him, his heartbreaking desperation when she slipped out of his grasp. She was utterly unable to purge him from her mind. Nor could she forget the gypsy's frightening fortune. Was Madame Damira right? Was her fate already decided?

A knock on the door interrupted her intense thoughts. It was Despina bringing a brunch tray of soup, tea and biscuits, followed by Liza and Palina. They greeted her and then insisted firmly that she at least eat something.

"Despina?" asked Roza. "Where is Madame Damira? I need to ask her if last night was for real."

Despina shook her head. "I'm afraid you can't do that now. She left for Prague at daybreak so she could beat the storm." And Despina left, smirking at the tragic expression on Roza's face.
Liza turned to Roza. "I've met Madame Damira. I believe she is the official gypsy fortuneteller of Operarealm."

Palina shivered. "That woman gives me the creeps. Remember the time when we visited Prague and she predicted your exact fate, Liza?"

Liza shivered too. "Da, how could I forget? Now as I pass through my story seasonally, nothing is ever a surprise to me anymore ... Even though I am powerless to stop it." She became momentarily lost in her melancholic thoughts and then she turned to Roza, "What did she tell you?" Liza asked darkly.

"Oh, nothing really ... " said Roza in a tone that was much lighter than she actually felt. "She basically told me that I was foolish to try to overturn my fate, that a storm of desperate passion was coming from the East and that I would be consumed by it." Roza shivered, betraying her anxiety. "So what do you think? Are my precautions useless?"

Both Liza and Palina were silent were several moments.

"I don't know what to say, Roza," said Liza.

"I do!" proclaimed voice behind them. Despina was back. "I think your girls are stupid if you believe a word of what that old kook said."

Liza was annoyed. "But Despina--she has predicated my fate!"

"Balder-dash!" retorted Despina. "You make your own fate, girls - don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise." She went to the windows and pulled the drapes aside to reveal a swirling mass of fat snowflakes flying down with huge gusts of wind. The snow had already accumulated to a point where the ground was no longer visible. "It started about an hour ago," Despina told them. "Without a doubt this is the storm Madame Damira predicted ... which is no surprise ... we all knew it was coming. I don't think you have anything to worry about Roza - that mad Russian loverboy can't get to you in this, even if he knows where to find you and even if he is dumb enough - which I don't doubt: men are so stupid - to even attempt to travel in such weather."

****

By mid-afternoon, the snow had accumulated considerably and showed no signs of tapering off. The residents of the castle thought that this storm showed promise of being one of the worst blizzards that Operarealm has ever seen. That afternoon, the sisters from Cosi fan Tutte as well as Marenka of The Bartered Bride were absolutely ecstatic to find their lovers safe on the snowy castle doorstep. Fioridiligi's Giuglielmo, Dorabella's Ferrando and Marenka's Jenik had come up from Prague, braving the elements to surprise their beloved ladies. After the enraptured hugs and kisses were exchanged, the ladies scolded their men for risking their lives to travel in such terrible weather. Roza, who was looking on from the hall, was suddenly hit but a most horrifying thought: What if my darling Yevgeny is somewhere caught in this harrowing blizzard? While her mind knew that this was highly unlikely, her poor heart couldn't help but worry. She remembered the old gypsy's words about the storm from the East. What if there were two storms? What if the man she loved was caught up in the blizzard? Roza didn't want to think about that ... she didn't want to think about that at all. Suddenly she heard voices drifting down the drafty corridor.

"Are you sure?" came Despina's bright sardonic voice. "That seems about as likely pigs learning to fly ... pigs ... men ... really, I see no difference!" She laughed.

"Of course I'm sure," came Alexandra's voice, ignoring Despina's joke. "Just ask Giuglielmo, Ferrando and Jenik ... they've just arrived. They have just come from Prague themselves ... and I'll bet that they even stayed at the very Inn that he did."

"Alexandra, my sweet - must you constantly pry into other people's affairs?" said Yeletsky patiently, "I admit the whole situation is interesting, but it is really none of our business."

Roza did not get to hear who and what they were talking about. For she remembered Tatyana's comment about Alexandra well and slipped into a nearby room before the three had a chance to turn the corner and see her. At a time of such great turmoil, Roza could not be bothered by such gossip.

Roza tried to achieve her peace of mind by sitting in one of the castle window seats and reading a beautiful old gold-bound edition of her favorite British novel, Jane Eyre which she had found in the castle's extensive library. She thought that by reading the familiar and beloved classic, she could find some warmth and comfort in her silent solitude. This worked for about an hour or two but then she was once again disturbed by visitors. It seemed that she had picked the very room that all the Slavics in the castle choose to congregate in. Gherman, Yelestsky, Tomsky (who had arrived from Prague with the others) and Jenik played cards and drank vodka, while Liza, Alexandra, Palina and Marenka sat close by. Rusalka sat in one of the corners, looking as usual, as alone and as depressed as Roza felt. Roza herself, sat secluded in the long green velvet drapes of the window seat. She had no desire to reveal her presence. As she was making herself more comfortable, she at once became aware of a prickly object beneath her. She removed the object as silently as possible. It was a beautiful mask of black velvet. Roza didn't really wonder how the mask had found this particular window seat. It might have been a piece left over from their flight from the ball in St. Petersburg a few nights before. In any case, feeling particularly morbid and melancholy, Roza slipped the mask on her face. It was all the better; for she might be discovered by one of the three or more, who could be spies for Yevgeny. When twilight came and the light was too poor to read, Roza closed the book and merely listened to the conversation. She was about to drift off to sleep, when she heard her Alexandra start to speak.

"So, Tomsky ... Jenik ... do tell everyone who you ran into in Prague," she said coolly. "I don't think they believe me.

Tomsky set down his empty vodka glass and there was a dramatic pause. "Yevgeny Onegin!"

Roza concealed in her window seat stifled a gasp. Yevgeny ... in Prague? How? Why? She listened intently, hearing everyone's gasp of shock.

"Yevgeny ... in Prague? Are you sure?" inquired Liza nervously.

"Of course I'm sure!" replied Tomsky confidently. "Do you think I wouldn't recognize our Russian brother?"

"I saw him there too," put in Jenik. "He stayed at the same tavern as all of us. You can ask Giuglielmo and Ferrando as well."

"Really?" came Marenka, clearly taken aback. "What was Onegin doing in Prague?"

"Looking for Roza," Jenik replied. "She was rumored to have gone there."

"Really?" Palina asked. "By whom?"

Alexandra smiled slyly. "I have no idea ... " She seemed to know something that the rest of them did not.

"Nor do I," Tomsky agreed, not noticing this. "But that doesn't matter. What matters is that he was there and searching for Roza. He had this picture he drew of her--I never knew but our Yevgeny is a fabulous artist--and he was taking this picture around and asking everyone he saw if they had seen her and knew where she was. I've never seen a man act like that ... he was carrying on as if his life depended on his finding her. He's mad that's certain!"

Gherman scowled at him. "Monsieur, I entreat you not to make fun of the man in love! Do you know what it is to suffer like that? I know too well and I feel great pity for Yevgeny's plight. I hope he finds his Roza soon."

Tomsky chuckled. "I sure would like to be there when he catches up with her. We are always involved in our own operas it would be nice to watch someone else's opera for once."

Palina nudged him with her elbow. "That was cruel, Tomsky. Personally, I hope Yevgeny does not find Roza. He is selfish and does not deserve her. Besides, Roza is suffering enough as it is..."

Liza looked at her.

Alexandra raised her eyebrows at Palina. "How would you know? Unless she's somewhere nearby..."

"Nyet ... No, Alexandra, she has not," Liza told her quickly. "Neither of us has seen her since the night of the ball.

"Da," Palina agreed.

Alexandra turned back to Tomsky. "Any word on where Yevgeny is now?"

"Well," Tomsky told her. "As far as I know he was in Prague this morning. He was coming down the stairs at the Tavern as I was going up after my breakfast. He looked like he was going somewhere. I did not see him after that. Jenik?"

Jenik thought hard for a few seconds. "I believe it was him I saw leaving in a carriage. I honestly hope it was not though. There was talk in the tavern that some man was foolish enough to journey by carriage in the storm ... they said he was heading North ... that he was traveling in this fashion so he could not leave any rock in Czechoslovakia unturned ... that he was searching for his love! It had to have been Yevgeny!"

Roza stifled a cry of grief from within her hiding place.

"That's terrible!" Liza moaned shaking her head. "I hope it wasn't him either ... but it must be! Oh my, Roza would be devastated. Thank heaven she is not here to hear this!"

Not here, hmmmm? Roza mused wildly. She suddenly felt as if she were suffocating. She had to leave this hiding place that had come to feel like her tomb. She couldn't listen to another word of this. With every word, these people unwittingly plunged the dagger deeper and deeper into her heart. Roza couldn't bear it any longer. She pulled the heavy drapes aside, not caring who saw her.

Alexandra who was seated opposite the window saw her first. She started. "Oh! That gave me a fright!" She put her hand to her heart, calming down instantly. "Well, whom have we here?"

Roza hesitated, not knowing what she should say. "I am not at the liberty to say ... "

"Why not?" Alexandra asked suspiciously. All the Pikovaya Damans had stopped playing cards and drinking and were now staring at Roza curiously.

Roza had forgotten that she was still wearing the velvet mask. "I am undercover," she said smoothly, disguising her voice with what she hoped was a believable British accent. "Very secret business."

" ... And your name is?" Alexandra inquired, obviously annoyed that she didn't know everything there was to know about the situation.

Roza adopted her middle name. "Elana," she told her and she promptly left the room before she could be interrogated any further.

****

Roza sighed in complete despair. She was beside herself with worry for Yevgeny. How could he do something so foolish and reckless? If something ever happened to him (could something happen to a native in Operarealm?) she knew she would never be able to forgive herself. Unable to sleep, Roza took to wandering the castle aimlessly, once again prey to her restless and relentless torment. Although she kept reminding herself that it was not her fault that Yevgeny was impulsive enough to pull such a stunt, she couldn't help but blame herself somehow. She had always dreamed of being his comfort and now she might have ultimately caused his demise. Please God, let him be safe ... As she was praying and obsessing over these agonizing thoughts of doom and gloom, she met Marenka in the bottom floor corridor.

"Marenka," she whispered running to her. "It's me ... It's Roza!"

"I know," Marenka said solemnly. "And so does Liza, Palina, Rusalka and Despina. Don't worry - your secret is safe with us. You needn't worry about the Cosi sisters either - they are much too concerned with their men to bother with anything or anybody else." She laughed. Her laughter echoed desolately in the cold, dark hallway.

A long silence followed as the two looked down the dark halls, in which the only light shone from their candles. "It's late, Roza," Marenka said quietly. "You really should be in bed. It must be past midnight."

Roza nodded in agreement. "But I feel as if I will never be able to rest again, considering my situation."

"You must try," Marenka answered her, stifling a long yawn. She was already climbing the massive staircase, coaxing Roza to follow. After a long sigh, Roza began to climb the stairs as well. But then she stopped short. What was that?

"Did you hear that?" she asked Marenka, who had already climbed one flight of stairs.

"What?" Marenka asked, bewildered. "I didn't hear anything."

And then it came again ... this time seemingly much more amplified. A loud knocking resonated throughout the foyer of the castle.

"It's coming from the front entrance," Roza whispered, suddenly paralyzed with suspense.

This time Marenka heard it too. "Now who could that be at this hour?" She walked down a flight to join Roza‘s side, pure confusion on her face. "A traveler lost in the storm perhaps?"

Light footsteps scurried from the direction of the kitchen. Apparently Roza and Marenka weren't the only two up at this hour. Despina hurried briskly towards the main door, muttering something belligerent in Italian about visitors that called at such insanely late hours.

Despina reached the great door and it opened with a long, drawn out creak. Snow swirled into the room with a great gust of icy wind. Despina leaned forward in sheer surprise, blocking the eavesdroppers' view from the stairs. It was as if she couldn't believe her eyes. "You ... here ... what the - ?" Despina, a girl who didn't stammer, stammered.

And then all three of them heard the voice. A rich and most insidious male voice. A voice of pure velvet which was infinitely sad and full of indescribable weariness and longing. "If you please ... I have lost my way in this abominable storm. I am freezing and exhausted. Would you be so kind as to grant me shelter for the night?"

"Yes, sir," Despina answered curtly.

The door swung open and a tall, dark figure staggered into the threshold and removed his hat. With his long black cloak, high starched collar, dark, thick wavy hair, piercing sapphire eyes and intense melancholy, stood Yevgeny Onegin himself!

Roza, who had never done such a thing in her entire life, fainted dead away. Marenka narrowly caught her before she took a fall down the treacherous steps to an untimely death.

© 2003 Copyright held by the author.

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