Another Hero
Notes: This fic was inspired by the song "The Show Must Go On" from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack.
"Whatever happens, we leave it all to chance
Another heart ache, another failed romance
On and on
Does anybody know what we are living for?"
I have seen it happen a hundred times before tonight and I will see it happen a hundred times more. I work in a world where love is forbidden, as a law, people ignore love. But that never stops it from rearing its head. If anything, love is more prevalent in the underworld because people need it so desperately. They cling to it as if it is the last thing that will keep them alive.
It couldn't keep my sparrow alive.
Of all the women in the underworld I thought she would be the last one to fall in love. She was so strong without a man where the others girls were so weak. She was a business woman; she avoided emotions with her clients at all costs and look where it took her. She was the Sparkling Diamond; the star of the Moulin Rouge.
Then he came along. For so long I thought of him as a wretched child; nothing more than a boy with a silly infatuation. He had a childish crush on an older and unattainable woman. He distracted her, he took away from her performances. I could see her eyes wander from the man onstage, to the Duke and to the writer. That useless writer.
I hated him, I admit that. He drove me around the bend and there were times when I wanted to strangle him with my own bare hands. Every time she would have a meeting with the Duke, he would find some way to prevent it and I was finding it harder and harder to appease the Duke with my lies. I was going to fire that boy, I really was.
Then one night I caught them together. Locked in an embrace so beautiful and so truthful that I felt any anger melt from my heart. He truly loved her, I could see that now. His fingers tangled in her fiery hair and his lips pressed to hers like they were giving him life, it was a scene out of a fairy tale.
I tried to be angry at them, but I could not. I was only angry at myself because I would take her from this man whom she loved so much and I would offer her to the Duke. I was angry at myself because I knew she was never mine to give. She belonged with him, their souls fused together because of the beautiful love they shared and I sent her away without asking what she wanted.
I hate myself now because of it. I loved her like my daughter and I had taken care of her since the day she arrived at the Moulin Rouge. But how can I say I loved her when I placed her in the hands of a monster? I freely gave my only daughter to a man who would never love her and never be able to give her what she needed. I took her away from a life she would have been so happy in.
As I stand here watching her in the arms of her lover, his tears streaming down his face and falling onto her cheeks, I cannot help but remember the times before. My girls have come and gone many times, falling in love with one client or another. Some of these girls truly knew what they were doing and have never returned. I have received occasional letters from them and they write of their happiness.
Others were blind.
Others like Nini.
I fear that she is the one who told the Duke about Christian and Satine. I fear this because she returned to me only a few years ago after being enticed by love, then cast away when she was never good enough. She used to be so vibrant and full of life, her eyes would sparkle and her smile was infectious.
Now Nini is dead. Her eyes are cold and her smile, venomous, all because she allowed herself to fall in love. Her hatred of men is obvious, regardless of the line of work she is in. She hates them all, including me I fear. She blames me for letting her go away with a man who could never love her. I should have seen his true intentions I suppose. She was a truly beautiful woman and love took it all away from her.
She is standing aside, also watching Christian cry. The tears on Satine's face make it seem like she too is weeping, but we know better than to believe that. Satine is dead.
Nini is not smiling any longer. This startles me and I watch her, wondering why she is not taking pleasure in Christian's pain. Her mouth is open slightly, a look of shock and wonder playing across her feathers. I see for the first time in years a flicker of emotion in her eyes.
Sadness? Remorse? From where I am standing I cannot tell.
Christian buries his face in Satine's throat, his sobs muffled by her hair.
I look back at Nini and I take a step back I am so startled. There is a single tear running down her cheek. Then another squeezes out of her eye, followed by another. Soon she is sobbing so hard that she collapses to the floor and slams her fists against the stage.
I begin to go toward her and then I realize; she was the one who revealed to the Duke that Satine had been unfaithful. She had told him of Christian and the secret meetings. Nini had revealed everything and now she regrets it.
I stand back and watch as they cry. Christian holds Satine's body close to him and sobs. Nini watches, tears running down her face and sobs wracking her small shoulders. It pains me, knowing that this is the life we lead. Tragedies like this are common.
I turn my back on the horrible scene and hang my head. I will only be a matter of time before another hero falls in love with another one of my girls.
Notes: This fic was inspired by the song "The Show Must Go On" from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack.
"Whatever happens, we leave it all to chance
Another heart ache, another failed romance
On and on
Does anybody know what we are living for?"
I have seen it happen a hundred times before tonight and I will see it happen a hundred times more. I work in a world where love is forbidden, as a law, people ignore love. But that never stops it from rearing its head. If anything, love is more prevalent in the underworld because people need it so desperately. They cling to it as if it is the last thing that will keep them alive.
It couldn't keep my sparrow alive.
Of all the women in the underworld I thought she would be the last one to fall in love. She was so strong without a man where the others girls were so weak. She was a business woman; she avoided emotions with her clients at all costs and look where it took her. She was the Sparkling Diamond; the star of the Moulin Rouge.
Then he came along. For so long I thought of him as a wretched child; nothing more than a boy with a silly infatuation. He had a childish crush on an older and unattainable woman. He distracted her, he took away from her performances. I could see her eyes wander from the man onstage, to the Duke and to the writer. That useless writer.
I hated him, I admit that. He drove me around the bend and there were times when I wanted to strangle him with my own bare hands. Every time she would have a meeting with the Duke, he would find some way to prevent it and I was finding it harder and harder to appease the Duke with my lies. I was going to fire that boy, I really was.
Then one night I caught them together. Locked in an embrace so beautiful and so truthful that I felt any anger melt from my heart. He truly loved her, I could see that now. His fingers tangled in her fiery hair and his lips pressed to hers like they were giving him life, it was a scene out of a fairy tale.
I tried to be angry at them, but I could not. I was only angry at myself because I would take her from this man whom she loved so much and I would offer her to the Duke. I was angry at myself because I knew she was never mine to give. She belonged with him, their souls fused together because of the beautiful love they shared and I sent her away without asking what she wanted.
I hate myself now because of it. I loved her like my daughter and I had taken care of her since the day she arrived at the Moulin Rouge. But how can I say I loved her when I placed her in the hands of a monster? I freely gave my only daughter to a man who would never love her and never be able to give her what she needed. I took her away from a life she would have been so happy in.
As I stand here watching her in the arms of her lover, his tears streaming down his face and falling onto her cheeks, I cannot help but remember the times before. My girls have come and gone many times, falling in love with one client or another. Some of these girls truly knew what they were doing and have never returned. I have received occasional letters from them and they write of their happiness.
Others were blind.
Others like Nini.
I fear that she is the one who told the Duke about Christian and Satine. I fear this because she returned to me only a few years ago after being enticed by love, then cast away when she was never good enough. She used to be so vibrant and full of life, her eyes would sparkle and her smile was infectious.
Now Nini is dead. Her eyes are cold and her smile, venomous, all because she allowed herself to fall in love. Her hatred of men is obvious, regardless of the line of work she is in. She hates them all, including me I fear. She blames me for letting her go away with a man who could never love her. I should have seen his true intentions I suppose. She was a truly beautiful woman and love took it all away from her.
She is standing aside, also watching Christian cry. The tears on Satine's face make it seem like she too is weeping, but we know better than to believe that. Satine is dead.
Nini is not smiling any longer. This startles me and I watch her, wondering why she is not taking pleasure in Christian's pain. Her mouth is open slightly, a look of shock and wonder playing across her feathers. I see for the first time in years a flicker of emotion in her eyes.
Sadness? Remorse? From where I am standing I cannot tell.
Christian buries his face in Satine's throat, his sobs muffled by her hair.
I look back at Nini and I take a step back I am so startled. There is a single tear running down her cheek. Then another squeezes out of her eye, followed by another. Soon she is sobbing so hard that she collapses to the floor and slams her fists against the stage.
I begin to go toward her and then I realize; she was the one who revealed to the Duke that Satine had been unfaithful. She had told him of Christian and the secret meetings. Nini had revealed everything and now she regrets it.
I stand back and watch as they cry. Christian holds Satine's body close to him and sobs. Nini watches, tears running down her face and sobs wracking her small shoulders. It pains me, knowing that this is the life we lead. Tragedies like this are common.
I turn my back on the horrible scene and hang my head. I will only be a matter of time before another hero falls in love with another one of my girls.