Author's Note: So basically I'm a huge fangirl and a romantic - I hate the thought of Christian and Zidler and the Moulin Rouge being done forever.
ENCORE
Scene 1
JANUARY, 1910
Scene: Night. From above, hills covered in snow. A large city visible very far off. Zoom in slightly. In the middle of the hills a small village is now visible, lots of small cottages clustered together, lights on. A few people in the snow covered streets. Zoom in again. A window in one of the cottages. Through it we see a young woman sitting at a typewriter. Her blonde hair is pulled back into a soft chignon and she is wearing a green tweed skirt and jacket, with an ivory shirtwaist. Final zoom. She looks up from the typewriter for a moment. We notice her eyes are a brilliant shade of green. She smiles, and continues typing
Emilie's voice: My name is Emilie. Not so very long ago, I left behind my beloved Montemarte for this little village in the country where I sit now, typing the story eagerly spilling from my fingertips.
A very wise and kind man, my teacher, said to me once:
Christian's voice: Emilie, you must not mistake stories as sentient lifeless things. You do not have power over them; they have immense power over you. Never even think otherwise, do you hear me?
Emilie's voice: Then he threw down his pen and stormed out of the room, all because I had merely suggested that I could not pry the correct words from my brain.
Oh yes, I was afraid of my teacher for a long while. But as a maid at the Moulin Rouge ,a student courtesan, a petit coquette, who else was there to indulge my passion for words?
Courtesans, even student courtesans, we are not allowed any other passions than those of the night.
My teacher, he says one of my worst faults as a writer is an utter refusal to keep to my topic, as I am doing now. It is a shame, really, as this story I am telling you is ever so important…
Scene: Flashback. Zoom to Montemarte, streetcorner in the spring. Two little ragged beggar girls, one with blonde hair and the other with red, are calling out to passing people. The red haired one looks a little older, and pauses a moment to scold her sister.
APRIL, 1890
Mirette: Emilie, you are not pouting enough. (she pinches her sister's cheek)
Emilie, with a hand to her face, angry: Ow. But Miri, I am trying!
Mirette: You are, but trying will not bring us money. Here, give me your other cheek. Pinching roses into them makes your eyes glimmer.
Emilie, moving away, still angry: No, Miri, it hurts
laughter, Emilie and Mirette both look up to see a woman and a man. The woman is strikingly beautiful, and the man is rotund with an almost comical appearance. They begin to talk to each other, loud enough so that the girls can hear too.
Satine: Look at them! They would make the most perfect petit coquettes, oh Harold do agree.
Zidler: Ah, dove, they are most fetching creatures. The one with the red hair, like yours, she already has the mind of one of us. And the smaller one, look at those beautiful green eyes!
At this Mirette preens and Emilie wrinkles her nose
Zidler, continuing: But pigeon, imagine if we picked up every stray your sweet heart broke for. We'd turn the Moulin Rouge into an orphanage instead of the fine establishment it is!
Emilie, interrupting: You mean brothel.
Zidler's face darkens, and he opens his mouth, but Satine talks before he can
Satine, laughing: You see? Look at the fire in this one! (she touches Emilie's face) Harold, you always say that is the most intriguing thing about a woman – men love to tame their fire.
Zidler, still frowning slightly: Well, yes, but Satine…
Satine, pouting: Harold, I shall be furious if we do not take these two angels into the arms of the Moulin Rouge, simply furious!
Mirette, eagerly: Oh please do, M. Zidler. My sister and I should love to become petit coquettes!
Zidler throws up his hands: How can I say no to such charm? Oh, I will rue the day you ladies become courtesans, for you will have me wrapped around your fingers just like my Satine. (he pinches Satine's cheek) Come, let us get you girls clean and beautiful.
he ushers the girls ahead)
Zidler, quietly: Sparrow, why did you beg so for me to take the girls?
(Satine shakes her head, and motions for Zidler to catch up with the girls. He takes each by the hand. Satine stays where she is for a moment, and looks at the sky.)
Satine, dreamily/sadly: Because they remind me so much of myself.
Scene: Zoom out, we see Satine start walking again, up the street toward the Moulin Rouge. We hear (older) Emilie's voice again
Emilie: And so, our circumstances changed in an instant. From penniless orphans to petit coquettes, picked by the hand of The Sparkling Diamond herself! Mirette was thrilled beyond measure. She took to it naturally. Mirette is like that: she loves to make people happy and the admiration she is granted in return. And I?
At the Moulin Rogue, the essence of The Bohemian Revolution…
In my own way, I thrived too.
Scene: Moulin Rouge theme plays. Pan to the Moulin Rouge and zoom out slowly.
END SCENE 1