The One Diamond
She Desires to Love
A/N: The movie Moulin Rouge, along with the characters used in this fanfiction, is copyrighted (©) to its respected owners (Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Productions, Baz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce, etc.). I do not take any credit for the characters from the movie Moulin Rouge that I have used in this fanfiction. I collaborated with Kalah Exclamation Mark (check out her account on fanfiction.net) for this fanfiction also (I write even chapters, she writes odds [we try at least to keep this pace]). Thank you.
!!BETA READER NEEDED!!
Also, this is LOOSELY BASED on the movie. Basically Satine, a much colder and eviler Satine, does not have a tragic physical illness and she is definitely in denial about her love for Christian. She doesn't want Christian because she found him to be a roadblock in her success—I made her obsessed with becoming an actress… Also The Duke does not own the deed to the Moulin Rouge. The story does not really revolve around the play as much as it did in the movie and Toulouse plays a minimal part. On last note: I have introduced my own *main* characters, Léroy, Henry, Alexandra, and Josilan. There are also many other characters that I have created… Thanks again and…
WELCOME TO THE MOULIN ROUGE!
Chapter One: Beginning and End
The lights of the majestic Moulin Rouge flickered in the distance as Henry shoved his way through the throngs of men clad in their best. He was awestruck by the tantalizing building that stood before him…where alluring, beautiful… no…undeniable temptresses…
"Watch where you're going buddy!"
Henry's top hat fell to the ground and he watched as a group of men shook their fists at him after downing the last of their absinthe. Henry picked up his hat and brushed off the bit of grime. He fingered the blue ribbon that was subtly tied around his hat before graciously planting it on his head with a devilish smile. Tonight was the night when he would finally settle old ties and begin new ones.
Once Henry was waiting outside where the people mingled, Henry felt at home and the anxiousness dissipated quickly. Almost immediately after stepping onto the property of the Moulin Rouge, he bumped into the infamous Henri Marie Raymond Toulouse-Lautrec Montfa and Toulouse grasped his heart and exclaimed, "It can't be the Henry could it?"
Henry nodded as he shook hands with Toulouse, "It is I, it is I." Henry laid a hand on Toulouse's shoulder and he gazed down at his fellow friend, "Toulouse, how is that Bohemian Revolutionary show of yours going?"
"It is spectacular." Toulouse replied pleasantly. "One last and first performance tomorrow night."
Before Toulouse or Henry could say another thing, they were pushed into the building and for the first time in fourteen years, Henry saw the man of his nightmares and the man of his dreams…Harold Zidler. His perfectly round face and burning pink cheeks erupted into a grin as he wailed, "Welcome to the Moulin Rouge!"
The Diamond Dogs appeared from the labyrinth behind the curtain and the dancing and wild partying began as the first notes hung in the air until the very last. Everyone slowly made their way to the dance floor and men waited with bated breath for the Sparkling Diamond to be lowered from the heavens. The bright lights darkened and as if by magic, the elusive, the exclusive, the exquisite Sparkling Diamond appeared from the heavens to grace them with her presence. Glitter appeared like the stars as it floated from the ceiling and men reached up as if to catch some in his hand. Satine placed one foot on the floor and the slim and very tall heel of her seductive black shoe hit the floor. Click. She was poised with her perfect voice and perfect body as she began to sing, "The French…"
Men crowded around and soon chaos ensued as she swung just out of the reach and teased with her giggles and yelps of joy as the men showered her with roses, precious promises of a lavish life, and above all, diamonds.
The song ended and the Sparkling Diamond climbed off her throne and something strange caught her eye; a single ribbon of blue wrapped around a tattered top hat. The Sparkling Diamond pranced around flirting and giggling and finally she recognized the man with the blue ribbon who sat with Toulouse. She turned to the crowd as she backed into Toulouse's booth and she cried, "Good night my dear men for tonight I choose to spend my time here. Please, continue on because even though the Sparkling Diamond needs her rest, there are plenty of other Diamond Dogs that don't." With that, she sat and the hangings of their private booth were shut.
Henry uttered, "You were lingering with them long enough weren't you?"
Satine smiled and fixed a loose strand of hair before replying to Henry's impatience, "You're just like Zidler."
Toulouse shook his head and corrected Satine, "Not quite as evil though. I highly doubt that Henry would sell you to The Duke."
Satine narrowed her eyes and she felt that same piercing in her heart and she asked curtly, "So, are you going to kill Zidler or not?"
"Satine, so abrupt? Has the Moulin Rouge truly made you this…?" Henry waved his hand in the air as he thought of the word.
Toulouse suggested, "Cold? Evil? Wonderfully beautifully seductive?"
Satine turned to Toulouse and shrilled, "I am not cold. I'm not evil."
Henry interrupted, "Toulouse is right though. The Duke has made you almost distant and harsh?"
"When a man locks you in a room and forces you to love him, you would be this way too." Satine buried her face into her hands as she began to sob. Henry heard her muffle voice ring, "Zidler knows that he doesn't have to keep The Duke after he gave the deeds back but Zidler keeps him for the money and we both know very well where the Moulin Rouge will go if Zidler dies." She looked up from her dry hands, her eyes sparkling not with tears but with fire, and said with raised eyebrows, "So…"
Henry slammed his fists into his white gloves that matched his black suit and he replied as his hand went under the table. "Yes, I'll kill Harold Zidler." From beneath the table, he felt the cold gun lay blunt in his hand. "I promise you this sister."
"Let us toast and drink to the future! To the play! To the return of Henry! To life itself!" Tolouse raised his glass and downed it. The rest followed in suit.
Henry crept along backstage of the Moulin Rouge until he dropped down into Zidler's bedroom where he was snoring quite loudly and even in his deep sleep, Zidler pulled at his mustache. Henry shook Zidler awake and he popped out of bed, his apoplectic eyes probing Henry. "Son?"
"No. Death." With those words Henry spoke, his life changed forever.
Satine clenched the sides of her dressing table as Marie, Satine's trusted servant and friend, hastily pulled the strings of her crimson bodice tightly. She gazed at her image in the mirror and then a loud muffled "bang" resounded through the room. Satine clenched harder and when Marie turned to leave, Satine commanded, "Marie, tighter. I need to be perfect for The Duke."
Marie chuckled, "Even if he's going to take them off?"
"There's no time for waste." Satine barked. The stress was too much for her and her nails dug into the wood. Marie obeyed Satine's orders and soon the door crept open. Satine's eyes traveled down to the dressing table and she jumped as Henry's gloves, stained with red, were brutally slapped onto the top of her dressing table. She turned to gaze into Henry's blazing eyes.
Henry hissed as he caressed Satine's cheek with his cold unwelcoming pale hand, "A pair of blood red gloves to match my dear. Does The Duke await?"
Satine turned and leaned against the dressing table and her voice pricked Henry's ears, as she bluntly whispered, "Isn't he always?" She paused as she waved Marie away and Henry sat on her small cot in her dressing room. "Where did you hide him?"
"Does it matter?" Sliding on a pair of fresh new white dinner gloves, he replied, "If it really mattered you would do it yourself. I'd like to spare you the details…for now."
In her sultry voice, Satine chirped, "You always were a tease." Satine finished adding the last touches of makeup onto her face before she turned and growled, "Aren't I as seducing as they tell?"
"Almost Satine," Henry's voice rumbled from the depths of his throat, "almost."
"I am forever in debt with you Henry." Satine whispered.
Henry pointed at Marie and laughed, "You're the witness my dear." And with that he exited.
The Duke, pacing across and around and back again, waited impatiently for Satine's arrival in The Elephant and he wrung his hat nervously in his hands. He slipped upstairs and watched the crowd as they drunkenly disappeared into the bowels of the city and finally the beauty, clad in the taunting red, emerged from the front doors and the hat fell to the ground in two pieces. He had finally ripped it. His hands returned to his mustache and they twisted and turned the ends of it as he lay on the bed on the top of The Elephant. Tonight he wanted to gaze at the stars and impress his lady with his newest gift, a necklace made entirely of diamonds. He heard the soft footsteps from below and he quickly opened the case that the necklace rested in. He clasped the necklace around his neck and hurriedly closed the translucent drapes that hung down from the canopy of regal bed. Satine cooed, "Duke where are you? Are you hiding from me?" She pulled open the drapes and when she saw the glimmering of the diamonds, she purred, "I like both gifts."
"Both gifts?" The Duke questioned as he raised both eyebrows with curiosity.
Knowing what to say to impress The Duke, she replied with a seducing smile, "You and the diamonds."
Waiting at the train station, Christian pulled his coat tightly around his frail body and recalled the moments of the night…
He watched silently as the curtains rose and fell as each scene had its beginning and end. When the moment came, he stealthily slid into a costume and took time to shove the last of his money into his pocket. He hefted himself up onto the back of the stage and watched as Satine appeared from the depths of the backstage. He grasped her arm and roughly shook her, hoarsely groaning, "Satine…you love me…me…not the Duke, please Satine…Satine…" He shoved the gun into her hand and hissed, "Take me if I can't have you. Do it Satine! Do it!"
"No," she shrilled as she attempted to pull away from his deadly grip. She withdrew from the obsessed man and hissed, "Christian stop being so foolish." When he lunged at her again, she pulled away, "Stop. You fool! I already told you why. Stop!" Christian continued to pull Satine closer to him and the gun towards his head. Satine finally shrilled as she broke free from his grip, "I choose the maharajah, not the sitar player." Defeated, Christian fell to the ground as Satine continued. "I choose The Duke, not the lowly writer…" The three words Christian dreaded spilled from Satine's mouth, "I don't choose you." The breaking of Christian's heart could be heard from miles away.
He inhaled sharply and rocked back and forth at the thought of those three dreaded words. The station was empty until he heard the clicking the shoes as someone approached. He turned his head to see a strikingly beautiful young woman take her place beside Christian. She took Christian's breath away and he could almost feel his cold and lifeless heart leap. He stared at the lovely girl's profile until she finally turned and Christian took a step back. He thought, "Satine?"
Her eyes opened. They were a mix of emeralds, jades, olives, limes, and any other shade of green while gently cradled by a vibrant gold. A veil of long black eyelashes shrouded her eyes but only for a brief moment as she went to blink. The flaring green eyes enticed him, as did her rosy cheeks and lips, and soon he leaned in and kissed her softly. His fingers entangled in her curly chestnut hair and he felt her quiver under his touch. The young woman pulled away and Christian felt his fingers catch in her hair. She uttered, "Who are you?"
Christian breathed huskily as he gently attempted to pull his fingers out of her hair, "Christian Beaularie."
"I see your fingers are caught. Let me help." She reached up and unwrapped her tightly coiled tresses from his fingers and for a moment they held hands. When they parted she uttered, "I'm Josilan Balzac. What brings you here at such lonely hours?"
"I'm leaving Montmartre."
"I want to leave. I like to wait and watch the trains come and go, hoping that someday I'll be on one of them." She said airily and the two stood in silence for several minutes until the train whistle blew and Christian hefted his little belongings onto his back.
Before Christian climbed onto the train, he turned to Josilan, "Dare to come with me?"
Why did her trust her? When he looked at her, he almost felt alive again. But she was a stranger! Her eyes had told him something; she was to be trusted, she had no capability of hurting him because she didn't want to hurt him. She was a soul looking for a way out. Christian shoved his hand into her reach. The man helping them onto the train watched with curiosity. Josilan took Christian's hand and they felt safe together, almost as one as they boarded the empty train. They sat down next to each other and said nothing. Josilan gazed out of the window and soon Montmartre was out of her sight. Her dream had come true!
Satine took her last curtsey before the red curtain fell for one last time and behind the stage, she ran into the arms of her beloved brother, Henry. Word had spread almost instantly that Harold had left a hastily scribbled letter instructing Henry that it was time for him to take Harold's place at the Moulin Rouge. Harold's only excuse was that he wanted to find his wife Alexandra before he died. Henry spun around with Satine in his arms as Satine airily cried "I am finally an actress! Henry, it can't be any more perfect than this!"
Henry dropped Satine onto the floor and left her confused as he murmured, "This isn't what I wanted so it isn't what you want."
"Henry?" Satine glared up at him in complete terror as he paced down and forth. "What do you want?"
"I want the Moulin Rouge to sparkle like it has never sparkled before and if that means I work you until you die Satine…" Henry's voice tapered off as he bit the knuckle of his index finger and stared longingly at Satine. "I want them to remember me, not Harold. Get up Satine and while you're brushing yourself off, get all these wild fancies about being an actress out of your pretty head." Henry spun around on his heel and disappeared into the darkness as Stine was left confused.
She collected her thoughts and strode back to her room where she promptly buried her face into her bed and sobbed for a good hour. When she could cry no longer, the first thought that came to her mind was Christian. She poured herself a glass of wine and stared at the wall blankly while the wild thoughts ran through her mind, "Why was I so cruel to him? Because love is a foolish thing. It would only destroy me in the end like it destroyed Harold. It's my duty to serve Henry. I signed the contract…he kills Harold and I serve him unless…I marry. Henry knows I'm scared of love! Henry knows he's dug my grave here at the Moulin Rouge! Henry knows…"
The door slammed open and The Duke stood with a bottle of wine and a smile as he wheezed, "My dear?"
Satine produced a small smile and she forced back the tears and the lump in her throat as she giggled nervously, "Duke? You've come unexpected but you know me, I love the unexpected."
The Duke lunged at Satine and immediately wrapped his arms around her and smothered her with kisses as a cold chill ran through her spine. "This torrid show must go on until I have enough strength to find a way to leave. The show must go on…" The thought stayed with her all night until she finally fell asleep with The Duke's hot breath piercing the skin on her face but still the thought plagued her in her dreams…
