On With The Show



by She's a Star



Disclaimer: Moulin Rouge belongs to Baz Luhrmann :)



A/N: Aww, I had to write a Harold fic. Everyone seems to think he's so heartless, but I always thought of him as an old softie :) All righty, I'll quit rambling.



~*~



I've always been a businessman. Striking deals, making bargains, and money were all that mattered.

Emotions have never been essential in my life.

I never even thought I felt them.

But then a little redheaded thing, thrown out into the streets and positively terrified at the prospect of living there, made her way into my life.

My little sparrow.

Strangely, when I first saw her, I didn't immediately think at how much the men would love her or how much she would benefit the Moulin Rouge.

Instead, I was filled with sympathy, and the most important thing in my life at that moment seemed to be giving the poor thing shelter, saving her from the hell that was Montmartre.

Throughout the years, that little girl grew into the most beautiful woman in all of Paris, and somehow she found a place in my heart. It seemed almost crazy...countless girls had come and gone from the Moulin, and I hadn't felt the tiniest bit of affection for them.

But Satine was different. She was like a daughter to me, and as I couldn't help but feel an indescribable pride as I watched her grow up. My little girl was everything to me.

'All my life you've made me believe I was only worth what someone would pay for me!'

Now that my darling strawberry is gone, those words dance through my head day and night. They tease me, they taunt me, they seem to fill my soul with ice as I realize what I'd done to her.

She sparkled more than any diamond, and was worth so much more than even the highest price a customer had paid.

Satine was truly priceless.

How could she not know that?

And now my chickpea is gone, dead...

She was so young, so beautiful, so full of potential.

And yet instead of letting her fly, I tied her down. I kept her in this place, which is no more than ruins now. A strange part of me almost felt as though I was protecting her from disappointment, from heartbreak.

But really, her heart broke more and more with every day she stayed in this wretched underworld.

I think she died hating me.

I can't blame her.

Every day, I thank God that Christian came here and saved her. She'd been growing more and more jaded, her life draining slowly from her.

And then he came, and her eyes suddenly sparkled with life and love and happiness.

She was never more beautiful than she was when she was with him.

My little angel died happily, in the arms of the one man who could truly make her shine.

I want to sit in the dark forever and let memories of her dance through my mind...my beloved little girl.

I don't think she ever knew how much I loved her.

How empty the world seems, without my darling little sparrow.

But my own words come back to bite me now, cruel and mocking as they echo throughout my mind.

The show must go on.