Title: Ami (duh)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything like the Moulin Rouge, you know stuff like that, they belong to Baz. The only thing I do own is Ami and Lord William.
Dedication: To SugarPrincess who spent her days online, reassuring me that she loved me even when I ate worms.
Sixteen-year-old Ami squirmed in her seat. She was sitting front row in the theater of the Moulin Rouge. The lights were high and the music was pounding in her ears. Ami had a migraine but she didn't care, she was seeing this show! Spectacular Spectacular was amazing! She loved the love story behind it.
"Are you enjoying the performance, my sweet?" Lord William asked her, his thick English accent easily heard.
"Oh yes, very much so!" Ami responded.
Lord William had been kind enough to offer to take her to the show. She looked at the man. He was tall, dark and handsome, yet Ami didn't love him. Of course she liked him . . . but love? That was a different story. Love should be something special, something final, and something worth more than anything else in the world. No, Ami didn't love him. But she didn't have a choice did she; she thought looking at her finger. She would have to fall in love with him. The ring on her finger glistened in the glare of the stage lights. She was betrothed to him; she had no one left except him. Her mother died giving birth to her and her father died with his wife. Lord William took care of her and raised her. He was more like a father to her, yet she was to marry him.
"Dearest," Lord William said placing his hand on top of hers. "The show's starting again."
Hiding her left hand in her pocket she settled further into the seat. The maharaja was speaking.
"Open the doors!" He cried. With little delay, the doors flew open. But what was this? The courtesan had someone else in her hands. Ami gasped, he was strikingly beautiful. He had black hair; it was mused but still . . . grand and sophisticated. His eyes were blue like the sky and his complexion was tan. His face was stricken with pain, and as she looked, so was the courtesan's. What was going on?
"Hahaha." The maharaja said, laughing nervously. " I am not fooled, though he has shaved off his beard and adopt a disguise; my eyes do not lie! For it is he, the same penniless sitar player! Driven mad by jealousy!"
A sigh went through the crowd and Ami let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. The sitar player jerked the courtesan to her feet. They walked a few steps but she fell. The sitar player, his face emotionless looked at her, then to the crowd.
"This woman is yours now. I've paid my whore! I owe you nothing. and you is nothing to me." He sucked in breath, and continued. "Thank you for curing me of this ridiculous obsession with love!" He walked away and paused, stopping at the front seat. That was where the Duke sat! What a treat! Ami thought. The Duke got a taste of the show. She switched her attention from the fleeing actor to the courtesan. She was sobbing. This was a good show! It all looked so real!
"This sitar player doesn't love you! See he flees!" The maharaja went over to the courtesan and whispered something in her ear. "And now my bride it's time for you to raise your voice to the Heaven and say your wedding vows." The courtesan was reluctant to get up. Sobbing on her arm, she arose with the maharaja. Music started to play and the sitar player was almost forgotten.
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return!" What? Where did that come from? It was a great quote. Ami put it in the back of her mind. The courtesan looked up once again the pain in her face showing.
"Never knew, I could feel like this." She softly sang.
"Like I've never seen the sky, before.
Want to vanish inside your kiss." She added, her voice growing louder.
"Everyday I love you more and more.
Listen to my heart, can you hear is sing.
Come back to me,
And forgive everything!" She stopped, choking on air, gasping for breath.
"Seasons may change,
Winter to spring.
But I love you,
Until the end of time." She finished. A hush went over the crowd, they had no idea what was going on.
"Come what may," The sitar player. Everyone turned, all eyes on him, the handsome one that had caused so much confusion.
"Come what may,
Come what may,
Come what may.
I will love you,
Until my dying die." Ami didn't hear them go on. She was absorbed in their eyes. They were truly in love. Ami was sure of that. She soon was alone in her world, love. She wanted, needed, had to have love!
"Darling?" She awoke to the sound of Lord William's voice and the audience applauding. "Darling, the shows over."
"Is it? I must have fallen a sleep, silly me! My dear, who did the courtesan end up with?"
"The sitar player. A silly choice if you ask me. The maharaja could have given the courtesan anything and yet she chose love." The Lord looked at Ami as if telling her to agree.
"Yes, I agree completely." So the courtesan ended with the satire player. Good. They were in love; they should end up together.
"Shall we go?" The Lord asked, offering Ami his hand.
"Yes, let's." They rode home in the Lord's carriage to the Lord's home.
As soon as Ami had had her fill of food she excused herself and went to her room. There she bathed and stepped into bed. Ami fell asleep thinking about the wonderful love story and the gorgeous man.
******
"Hello, my darling." Lord William said over his morning coffee as Ami sat down across from him. "There's an article in the paper about the show we saw." He slid the paper down the table keeping a section for himself.
"Thank you." She smiled a fake smile.
She picked it up and started to read. "William," She said. "Did you know the star of the show was dead?" She asked, her voice wavering.
"Is that so? That's too bad she was such a pretty little thing." He barely glanced up from the stock section of the news.
"It says she died in the arms of her lover, The Duke." She stopped, that couldn't be right. The courtesan loved the Sitar player, not The Duke.
"That's nice." He set down his paper, "My dear, why don't you go shopping for a new dress, we're having a dinner party tonight."
"On such short notice! What will I wear?" The look on her face gave the Lord delight.
"I'm sure you'll find something you'll look stunning in, you always do." He went back to his paper.
Ami, seeing that she wouldn't get another word from him, walked out of the dining room, eager to get changed for a day of shopping.
****** (One year later)
"Ami! Ami wake up." The seventeen-year-old awoke to the shakings of the maid. "My dear it's the Lord, he's calling for you. Hurry!" The maid tossed Ami a robe and grabbed her hand, leading her to the Lord's chambers.
As soon as Ami entered the doors she screamed in seeing the state of the Lord. With the amount of cuts and bruises on his body, she knew he would not survive the night. She tried to turn and run, but the butler caught her.
"My dear." The Lord rasped. "Come here." Ami shook her head, but the butler pushed her forward. "It all happened so quickly, the carriage, the horses. I didn't see it coming. My dear, you are to have my mansion. You're to have my money, anything I have, you now have. I love you my dear . . ." The Lord stopped. "I love you. I had hoped one day you'd grow to love me too."
"But I do love you." The Lord raised a hand to stop her.
"No, you don't. I see your eyes, I know." The Lord battled for breath. He touched her face, pain grimicing through his face. "The good God wants my life, he shall have it. Julie, take care of her, when I'm-" The Lord was dead, he stopped breathing in the middle of the sentence.
Ami screamed again. What was she to do now? Who would love her now?
"Julie!" She yelled, wiping away tears. "Get my coat."
"But Miss-"
"GET my coat!"
"Very well Miss." The maid left the sobbing girl. Leaving the butler alone with her. He was afraid. Ami gazed back to him. He saw the pain and anger in her eyes and backed away. Satisfaction pumped threw her body but Ami didn't know why. Julie soon came back with a fur-lined coat and the relief in the room was evident.
Ami snatched it from the maid and ran out. Where she was going she had no idea, anywhere. Anywhere that was away from here. She hurt, so much she couldn't stand it.
Ami walked to a little park. The park was five miles away, had she really walked that far? There it was the Moulin Rouge. It was the theater where she had first seen him. It was closed now, no Diamond Dogs to run it. But where was he? It didn't matter, she was alone.
"I'm alone!" She screamed. Snow began to fall, adding another coat to the first one. "I'm alone!" It was an amazing feeling. A feeling she couldn't remember having, and a feeling she would never forget.
Frustrated, she took off the ring and threw it in the snow. "No one loves me! I am alone."
"I know how it feels." She turned around, startled. "To be alone I mean." Ami stared at the man; she couldn't see his face. He bent to pick up the ring. "It is an awful feeling, painful. One you never get over." He was standing next to her now. He took the ring slipped it back onto Ami's finger. "I want to help you. You're never alone." He said whispering in her ear. "I'm here now." And then he kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, thinking a thousand thoughts at once. But most of all, so this is what it's like, to be in love.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything like the Moulin Rouge, you know stuff like that, they belong to Baz. The only thing I do own is Ami and Lord William.
Dedication: To SugarPrincess who spent her days online, reassuring me that she loved me even when I ate worms.
Sixteen-year-old Ami squirmed in her seat. She was sitting front row in the theater of the Moulin Rouge. The lights were high and the music was pounding in her ears. Ami had a migraine but she didn't care, she was seeing this show! Spectacular Spectacular was amazing! She loved the love story behind it.
"Are you enjoying the performance, my sweet?" Lord William asked her, his thick English accent easily heard.
"Oh yes, very much so!" Ami responded.
Lord William had been kind enough to offer to take her to the show. She looked at the man. He was tall, dark and handsome, yet Ami didn't love him. Of course she liked him . . . but love? That was a different story. Love should be something special, something final, and something worth more than anything else in the world. No, Ami didn't love him. But she didn't have a choice did she; she thought looking at her finger. She would have to fall in love with him. The ring on her finger glistened in the glare of the stage lights. She was betrothed to him; she had no one left except him. Her mother died giving birth to her and her father died with his wife. Lord William took care of her and raised her. He was more like a father to her, yet she was to marry him.
"Dearest," Lord William said placing his hand on top of hers. "The show's starting again."
Hiding her left hand in her pocket she settled further into the seat. The maharaja was speaking.
"Open the doors!" He cried. With little delay, the doors flew open. But what was this? The courtesan had someone else in her hands. Ami gasped, he was strikingly beautiful. He had black hair; it was mused but still . . . grand and sophisticated. His eyes were blue like the sky and his complexion was tan. His face was stricken with pain, and as she looked, so was the courtesan's. What was going on?
"Hahaha." The maharaja said, laughing nervously. " I am not fooled, though he has shaved off his beard and adopt a disguise; my eyes do not lie! For it is he, the same penniless sitar player! Driven mad by jealousy!"
A sigh went through the crowd and Ami let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. The sitar player jerked the courtesan to her feet. They walked a few steps but she fell. The sitar player, his face emotionless looked at her, then to the crowd.
"This woman is yours now. I've paid my whore! I owe you nothing. and you is nothing to me." He sucked in breath, and continued. "Thank you for curing me of this ridiculous obsession with love!" He walked away and paused, stopping at the front seat. That was where the Duke sat! What a treat! Ami thought. The Duke got a taste of the show. She switched her attention from the fleeing actor to the courtesan. She was sobbing. This was a good show! It all looked so real!
"This sitar player doesn't love you! See he flees!" The maharaja went over to the courtesan and whispered something in her ear. "And now my bride it's time for you to raise your voice to the Heaven and say your wedding vows." The courtesan was reluctant to get up. Sobbing on her arm, she arose with the maharaja. Music started to play and the sitar player was almost forgotten.
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return!" What? Where did that come from? It was a great quote. Ami put it in the back of her mind. The courtesan looked up once again the pain in her face showing.
"Never knew, I could feel like this." She softly sang.
"Like I've never seen the sky, before.
Want to vanish inside your kiss." She added, her voice growing louder.
"Everyday I love you more and more.
Listen to my heart, can you hear is sing.
Come back to me,
And forgive everything!" She stopped, choking on air, gasping for breath.
"Seasons may change,
Winter to spring.
But I love you,
Until the end of time." She finished. A hush went over the crowd, they had no idea what was going on.
"Come what may," The sitar player. Everyone turned, all eyes on him, the handsome one that had caused so much confusion.
"Come what may,
Come what may,
Come what may.
I will love you,
Until my dying die." Ami didn't hear them go on. She was absorbed in their eyes. They were truly in love. Ami was sure of that. She soon was alone in her world, love. She wanted, needed, had to have love!
"Darling?" She awoke to the sound of Lord William's voice and the audience applauding. "Darling, the shows over."
"Is it? I must have fallen a sleep, silly me! My dear, who did the courtesan end up with?"
"The sitar player. A silly choice if you ask me. The maharaja could have given the courtesan anything and yet she chose love." The Lord looked at Ami as if telling her to agree.
"Yes, I agree completely." So the courtesan ended with the satire player. Good. They were in love; they should end up together.
"Shall we go?" The Lord asked, offering Ami his hand.
"Yes, let's." They rode home in the Lord's carriage to the Lord's home.
As soon as Ami had had her fill of food she excused herself and went to her room. There she bathed and stepped into bed. Ami fell asleep thinking about the wonderful love story and the gorgeous man.
******
"Hello, my darling." Lord William said over his morning coffee as Ami sat down across from him. "There's an article in the paper about the show we saw." He slid the paper down the table keeping a section for himself.
"Thank you." She smiled a fake smile.
She picked it up and started to read. "William," She said. "Did you know the star of the show was dead?" She asked, her voice wavering.
"Is that so? That's too bad she was such a pretty little thing." He barely glanced up from the stock section of the news.
"It says she died in the arms of her lover, The Duke." She stopped, that couldn't be right. The courtesan loved the Sitar player, not The Duke.
"That's nice." He set down his paper, "My dear, why don't you go shopping for a new dress, we're having a dinner party tonight."
"On such short notice! What will I wear?" The look on her face gave the Lord delight.
"I'm sure you'll find something you'll look stunning in, you always do." He went back to his paper.
Ami, seeing that she wouldn't get another word from him, walked out of the dining room, eager to get changed for a day of shopping.
****** (One year later)
"Ami! Ami wake up." The seventeen-year-old awoke to the shakings of the maid. "My dear it's the Lord, he's calling for you. Hurry!" The maid tossed Ami a robe and grabbed her hand, leading her to the Lord's chambers.
As soon as Ami entered the doors she screamed in seeing the state of the Lord. With the amount of cuts and bruises on his body, she knew he would not survive the night. She tried to turn and run, but the butler caught her.
"My dear." The Lord rasped. "Come here." Ami shook her head, but the butler pushed her forward. "It all happened so quickly, the carriage, the horses. I didn't see it coming. My dear, you are to have my mansion. You're to have my money, anything I have, you now have. I love you my dear . . ." The Lord stopped. "I love you. I had hoped one day you'd grow to love me too."
"But I do love you." The Lord raised a hand to stop her.
"No, you don't. I see your eyes, I know." The Lord battled for breath. He touched her face, pain grimicing through his face. "The good God wants my life, he shall have it. Julie, take care of her, when I'm-" The Lord was dead, he stopped breathing in the middle of the sentence.
Ami screamed again. What was she to do now? Who would love her now?
"Julie!" She yelled, wiping away tears. "Get my coat."
"But Miss-"
"GET my coat!"
"Very well Miss." The maid left the sobbing girl. Leaving the butler alone with her. He was afraid. Ami gazed back to him. He saw the pain and anger in her eyes and backed away. Satisfaction pumped threw her body but Ami didn't know why. Julie soon came back with a fur-lined coat and the relief in the room was evident.
Ami snatched it from the maid and ran out. Where she was going she had no idea, anywhere. Anywhere that was away from here. She hurt, so much she couldn't stand it.
Ami walked to a little park. The park was five miles away, had she really walked that far? There it was the Moulin Rouge. It was the theater where she had first seen him. It was closed now, no Diamond Dogs to run it. But where was he? It didn't matter, she was alone.
"I'm alone!" She screamed. Snow began to fall, adding another coat to the first one. "I'm alone!" It was an amazing feeling. A feeling she couldn't remember having, and a feeling she would never forget.
Frustrated, she took off the ring and threw it in the snow. "No one loves me! I am alone."
"I know how it feels." She turned around, startled. "To be alone I mean." Ami stared at the man; she couldn't see his face. He bent to pick up the ring. "It is an awful feeling, painful. One you never get over." He was standing next to her now. He took the ring slipped it back onto Ami's finger. "I want to help you. You're never alone." He said whispering in her ear. "I'm here now." And then he kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, thinking a thousand thoughts at once. But most of all, so this is what it's like, to be in love.