Disclaimer: I don't own anything; please don't sue me!
Author's Note:
The Legacy of the Sparkling Diamond
Chapter 3
By, Silver Fox
I found myself staring up the predator I knew only as Nini-legs-in- the-air. She hadn't changed very much. She still had that hunter's gleam in her eye, and that savage tinge in her voice. She was stalking along the stage in the general area I was near. She was still the vulture, circling her prey. But this time I refused to let her have it her way. I glared at her with my eyes turning to stone. Try as she might, she couldn't phase my unwavering glare. Shaking her head, she finally gave up the pursuit and sat down, positioning herself at the edge of the stage, right in front of me.
"Well well, if it isn't the great writer himself. Never expected to see you 'round here, today of all days."
I didn't know what she meant, but I didn't let her know. I knew, that at all costs, I couldn't let her get the upper hand. If she did, then I knew my situation could become dangerous. So I kept my control.
"Why are you here exactly anyway?" She was trying to make me give her the answers that she wanted to hear. I knew that. I knew that any conversation with her was battle, and I couldn't afford to lose. So, I decided to give her a cryptic response.
"I'm here because I was meant to come here."
She narrowed her blazing eyes at me. "Really. You were meant to come here?"
"That's correct. I'm here for the same reason you're here."
Apparently I had stirred something. "Oh really?"
I had to hold in the urge to smile. I was getting the upper hand and she knew it. And she wanted it back. "You are a part of her legacy as well."
I seemed to have touched a nerve when I mentioned 'her'. Nini knew exactly whom I meant, and her hatred was starting to rear its ugly head. "Is that so? I'm a part of her legacy? Satine, I take it you mean?"
I couldn't help but feel a twinge of a smile cross my lips. I had her on the defense. She was trying to act calm, but I saw right through her, whether she knew it or not. "Yes, Satine. We are all apart of her legacy, because she touched us all and changed us as people. You, me, Zidler, and even the Moulin Rouge itself. We've all been changed by her, and therefore she lives on, in a sense, through us all."
Anger was starting to flare up within her eyes. Maybe she thought I was dead wrong. Maybe she knew I was right. Either way, she was now covering her anger. "Well well, it seems Mr. Shakespeare is always right and all knowing, now isn't he?" She had slipped off the stage and was standing very close to me, obviously trying to do something. Whether it was to seduce me or intimidate me, I can't be sure. Nevertheless, I stood my ground and refused to move.
"Why don't you write a story about it, if you know so much?"
"I just may do that."
This was not the answer that she expected. She refused to look the part of being caught off guard, but I sensed it. "Well, isn't that fine and dandy for you." She had turned on her heel and started to huff away when I called something out to her, not being able to resist.
"Why are you so angry, Nini?"
She stopped dead in her tracks. Then she turned around to face me with the most disgusted look on her face I have ever seen. "Excuse me?"
"Why are you so angry?"
"What makes you think I'm angry?"
I decided to go out on a limb and test my theory. "I think you were jealous of Satine."
Her eyes just about exploded, as her face refused to. "Why in the world would I have been jealous of that red-haired harlot?"
Against my kinder judgment, I was having fun seeing her so tortured and frustrated. I guess at the time I thought I was getting revenge for Satine. "Because she was the star, and you just fell short of that. Don't think I didn't notice the red windmills on your old can-can dress. You thought if it wasn't for her, then you could have been the star. And you were wrong. You know you were wrong because," I spread my arms, gesturing to dusty tattered walls. "Now that she's gone, the Moulin Rouge is no more. You see, Nini? You could never have been and never will be the star. But you can't accept that, can you? You can't accept the fact that Satine still controls your fate even after her death." I felt so relieved after I had vented all of this. I felt Satine would have been proud of me.
She, on the other hand, was ready to spit nails at me. She knew I was right. That was why she was so angry with me, I told her the truth. The truth she just didn't want to hear. That's why she didn't answer me. For a time, she just stared at me, trying to break me down. Her gaze tried to penetrate me, but I made myself a fortress. I wouldn't let her disturb me even the smallest bit. Finally, she looked away from me. She looked behind me, to Zidler.
"Are you hearing all of this, Harold?"
His depressed eyes only looked to the ground.
"You agree with what he's saying, then? "
"Yes."
Her nostrils started to flare. "Really, because I don't believe we have to be controlled by Satine still. She's dead. She's dead and she's not coming back."
"But Nini," I turned around to look at Zidler this time. "You were the one to tell the Duke that Satine and Christian were lovers. To me it seems like you always had it out for her, and therefore you had it out for all of us."
Now my anger was rearing its ugly head. Now I knew. She was to blame as well. "Really, Nini?" I started moving towards her. "It was you who tipped off the Duke. You were that jealous of us? You were so selfish that you had to do that?" The volume of my voice was becoming unstable and out of my control.
"So what if I did?" she defended herself. Though she was backing up while she was talking, trying to put on a confident air, but all I could sense was resentment. "I did what I still do now, I refused to let her control my future. I took it into my own hands; I'm not ashamed of that. I'll never be ashamed of that, no matter what anyone says, especially you, Christian.
The light in front of my eyes was starting to turn to a shade of scarlet red. My pain and anger were beginning to control me. Against my better judgment, I put my hands around her neck. I didn't think then, I only felt. I felt relief as my hands tightened around her neck and she began to gag. I felt such a relief of pressure. Part of me feared that I would kill her, but the other part of me didn't give a damn. Zidler was now trying to get me to stop, but I elbowed him in the gut, and pushed him away. A maddening rage was filling me with terrible desires. The desire to see her dead, the desire to see him dead, and the desire to burn down the infernal place, among other things. Her face was starting to turn blue as her fingernails clawed into my hands. I heard screaming and other cries but it was all so far away to me that I didn't pay it mind.
Suddenly, I stopped. My criminal desires had suddenly vanished. I released my hands from her neck and she fell to the floor, coughing and desperately gasping for air. I put my bleeding hands to my sides and stood still. I felt something on the back of my neck. Instinctively, I just stood still, and did nothing. It was this thing on my neck that had made me stop myself from killing Nini. It felt like cold steel was pushing against my skin, pointing upwards toward my brain. It felt very much like a gun. I heard a familiar voice from behind me.
"My my, our own penniless sitar player."
I took in a breath and held it. I knew who it was. "And you the Maharajah, sir Duke."
Author's Note:
Author's Note:
The Legacy of the Sparkling Diamond
Chapter 3
By, Silver Fox
I found myself staring up the predator I knew only as Nini-legs-in- the-air. She hadn't changed very much. She still had that hunter's gleam in her eye, and that savage tinge in her voice. She was stalking along the stage in the general area I was near. She was still the vulture, circling her prey. But this time I refused to let her have it her way. I glared at her with my eyes turning to stone. Try as she might, she couldn't phase my unwavering glare. Shaking her head, she finally gave up the pursuit and sat down, positioning herself at the edge of the stage, right in front of me.
"Well well, if it isn't the great writer himself. Never expected to see you 'round here, today of all days."
I didn't know what she meant, but I didn't let her know. I knew, that at all costs, I couldn't let her get the upper hand. If she did, then I knew my situation could become dangerous. So I kept my control.
"Why are you here exactly anyway?" She was trying to make me give her the answers that she wanted to hear. I knew that. I knew that any conversation with her was battle, and I couldn't afford to lose. So, I decided to give her a cryptic response.
"I'm here because I was meant to come here."
She narrowed her blazing eyes at me. "Really. You were meant to come here?"
"That's correct. I'm here for the same reason you're here."
Apparently I had stirred something. "Oh really?"
I had to hold in the urge to smile. I was getting the upper hand and she knew it. And she wanted it back. "You are a part of her legacy as well."
I seemed to have touched a nerve when I mentioned 'her'. Nini knew exactly whom I meant, and her hatred was starting to rear its ugly head. "Is that so? I'm a part of her legacy? Satine, I take it you mean?"
I couldn't help but feel a twinge of a smile cross my lips. I had her on the defense. She was trying to act calm, but I saw right through her, whether she knew it or not. "Yes, Satine. We are all apart of her legacy, because she touched us all and changed us as people. You, me, Zidler, and even the Moulin Rouge itself. We've all been changed by her, and therefore she lives on, in a sense, through us all."
Anger was starting to flare up within her eyes. Maybe she thought I was dead wrong. Maybe she knew I was right. Either way, she was now covering her anger. "Well well, it seems Mr. Shakespeare is always right and all knowing, now isn't he?" She had slipped off the stage and was standing very close to me, obviously trying to do something. Whether it was to seduce me or intimidate me, I can't be sure. Nevertheless, I stood my ground and refused to move.
"Why don't you write a story about it, if you know so much?"
"I just may do that."
This was not the answer that she expected. She refused to look the part of being caught off guard, but I sensed it. "Well, isn't that fine and dandy for you." She had turned on her heel and started to huff away when I called something out to her, not being able to resist.
"Why are you so angry, Nini?"
She stopped dead in her tracks. Then she turned around to face me with the most disgusted look on her face I have ever seen. "Excuse me?"
"Why are you so angry?"
"What makes you think I'm angry?"
I decided to go out on a limb and test my theory. "I think you were jealous of Satine."
Her eyes just about exploded, as her face refused to. "Why in the world would I have been jealous of that red-haired harlot?"
Against my kinder judgment, I was having fun seeing her so tortured and frustrated. I guess at the time I thought I was getting revenge for Satine. "Because she was the star, and you just fell short of that. Don't think I didn't notice the red windmills on your old can-can dress. You thought if it wasn't for her, then you could have been the star. And you were wrong. You know you were wrong because," I spread my arms, gesturing to dusty tattered walls. "Now that she's gone, the Moulin Rouge is no more. You see, Nini? You could never have been and never will be the star. But you can't accept that, can you? You can't accept the fact that Satine still controls your fate even after her death." I felt so relieved after I had vented all of this. I felt Satine would have been proud of me.
She, on the other hand, was ready to spit nails at me. She knew I was right. That was why she was so angry with me, I told her the truth. The truth she just didn't want to hear. That's why she didn't answer me. For a time, she just stared at me, trying to break me down. Her gaze tried to penetrate me, but I made myself a fortress. I wouldn't let her disturb me even the smallest bit. Finally, she looked away from me. She looked behind me, to Zidler.
"Are you hearing all of this, Harold?"
His depressed eyes only looked to the ground.
"You agree with what he's saying, then? "
"Yes."
Her nostrils started to flare. "Really, because I don't believe we have to be controlled by Satine still. She's dead. She's dead and she's not coming back."
"But Nini," I turned around to look at Zidler this time. "You were the one to tell the Duke that Satine and Christian were lovers. To me it seems like you always had it out for her, and therefore you had it out for all of us."
Now my anger was rearing its ugly head. Now I knew. She was to blame as well. "Really, Nini?" I started moving towards her. "It was you who tipped off the Duke. You were that jealous of us? You were so selfish that you had to do that?" The volume of my voice was becoming unstable and out of my control.
"So what if I did?" she defended herself. Though she was backing up while she was talking, trying to put on a confident air, but all I could sense was resentment. "I did what I still do now, I refused to let her control my future. I took it into my own hands; I'm not ashamed of that. I'll never be ashamed of that, no matter what anyone says, especially you, Christian.
The light in front of my eyes was starting to turn to a shade of scarlet red. My pain and anger were beginning to control me. Against my better judgment, I put my hands around her neck. I didn't think then, I only felt. I felt relief as my hands tightened around her neck and she began to gag. I felt such a relief of pressure. Part of me feared that I would kill her, but the other part of me didn't give a damn. Zidler was now trying to get me to stop, but I elbowed him in the gut, and pushed him away. A maddening rage was filling me with terrible desires. The desire to see her dead, the desire to see him dead, and the desire to burn down the infernal place, among other things. Her face was starting to turn blue as her fingernails clawed into my hands. I heard screaming and other cries but it was all so far away to me that I didn't pay it mind.
Suddenly, I stopped. My criminal desires had suddenly vanished. I released my hands from her neck and she fell to the floor, coughing and desperately gasping for air. I put my bleeding hands to my sides and stood still. I felt something on the back of my neck. Instinctively, I just stood still, and did nothing. It was this thing on my neck that had made me stop myself from killing Nini. It felt like cold steel was pushing against my skin, pointing upwards toward my brain. It felt very much like a gun. I heard a familiar voice from behind me.
"My my, our own penniless sitar player."
I took in a breath and held it. I knew who it was. "And you the Maharajah, sir Duke."
Author's Note: