Title : The Strange Case of Christian and the Duke
Author : peridot mousey
Rating : Remains PG-13 for the same reasons. It's probably a bit of a harsh rating.
Disclaimer : I still don't own Moulin Rouge; I'm not nearly as brilliant as Baz. *smiles* Also, I don't own the novella or musical version of Jekyll and Hyde. I'm just borrowing quite a bit from each and twisting them together into one ulimately warped web of love and lust, reality and facades, good and evil.
Notes : Thanks for the reviews! Well, this chapter has quite a bit of music. If you haven't heard the music from Jekyll and Hyde, I guess this is really boring. I'm sorry... ;_; Also, I'm sorry for taking so long to get this chapter done. It's been a... stressful week.
Chapter 3 : Diamond's Dangerous Game : The Duke
With a smile and an air of confidence, Christian strolled down the streets on the wrong side of Monmarte. In his hands, he held a box filled with horrid and powerful drugs. As if to create a facade for his fear, he sang to pass the time it would take to return to his garret.
"This is the moment
This is the day
When I send all my doubts and demons on their way!
Every endeavour
I have made - ever
Is comoing into play
Is here and now - today!"
"This is the moment
This is the time
When the momentum and the moment are in rhyme!"
"Give me this moment
This precious chance
I'll gather up my past
And make some sense at last!"
This is was the day Christian had been waiting for. Finally, he could free himself from the evil buried deep inside and experience a truly perfect love. He smiled at the thought, for he was convinced he had found that woman special enough to be ridded of her evils to become his perfect love - Satine. He was convinced he could destroy the evil and return home to London with Satine at his side just to prove to the world that he had been successful. As he neared his garret, he continued in his confident song.
"This is the moment
When all I've done
All of the dreaming, sheming and screaming become one.
This is the day
See it sparkle and shine!
When all I've lived for becomes mine!"
"For all these years,
I've faced the world alone
And now the time has come
To prove to them I made it on my own!"
"This is the moment
My final test
Destiny beckoned
I never reckoned second best!"
With quick footsteps, Christian asended the staircase to his garret. He unlocked the door and promptly entered, ready to begin his quest. He rolled up his sleeve as he began to take viles out of the box, still remaining lost in the remainder of his song.
"I won't look down
I must not fall!
This is the moment
The sweetest moment of them all!"
"This is the moment
Damn all the odds!
This day or never
I'll sit forever with the Gods!"
"When I look back
I will always recall
Moment for moment
This was the moment
The greatest moment of them all!"
The table was quickly littered by various bubbling, foaming liquids and needles. With a bit of difficultly, Christian had tied the provided material around his upper arm. He sat down to his typewriter to begin his story. With a quick crack of his knuckles, he placed his fingers upon the keys. Softly he sang his words aloud as he typed.
"I must be wise,
I must try to analyze
Each change in me,
Everything I see -
How will it be?
Will I see the world
Through different eyes?"
He shrugged his shoulders as he reached for the first drug. His gray-blue eyes were captivated by it, and he sang out as he stared.
"Like a warning light
Glimmering in red
Like crimson bloodshed
Shimmering in red
Beautiful and strange
See the colours change before my eyes!
See how they dance and they sparkle
Like diamonds at night!
Leading me out of the darkness
And into the light!"
With a sudden burst of excitement, any sort of fears were pushed aside. He gently pressed the needle to his vein in the pocket of his elbow where his upper and lower arm met. He pushed against the syrenge until the red liquid was lost within his blood. He removed the needle and pressed a ball of cotton to his tiny wound. With his left hand, he typed, "Three fifty-eight a.m. It is done. I have injected 5 centiliters of the newly fused formula. A slight feeling of euphoria. Light-headedness. No noticeable behavioral differences."
Christian sat and awaited for the drugs to take hold of him. He wasn't quite sure what to expect. Although, in his naive mind, he nearly expected the evil to suddenly disppear and all would be wonderful in the world. As the thoughts danced across his mind, he thoughtfully sang.
"Now the die is cast
Nothing left to do!
Time alone can prove
My theories true!
Show the world..."
But his musings were interrupted by his sudden exclaimation of, "Dear God! What's this?!" A sudden pain had taken hold of Christian. He leapt out of his seat and burst into a pain-filled song.
"Something is happening - I can't explain!
Something inside me, a breath-taking pain
Devours and consumes me
And drives me insane!"
A writhing, twisting pain had filled his insides, and an agony had raged outside as well. At first he staggered around the room, then suddenly fell to the floor. He tossed-and-turned upon the floor like a child with a horrible stomach ache. He cried and wailed as though something were trying to come out of him. All the while, he sang - cried - out.
"Suddenly
Uncontrolled
Something is
Taking hold!"
"Suddenly
Agony
Filling me
Killing me!"
"Suddenly
Out of breath
What is this?
Is this death?"
"Suddenly
Look at me!
Can it be?
Who is this creature
That I see?"
The pain instantly vanished as something else told hold of Christian. A certain dark aura had wrapped its arms around the innocent poet and plucked something horrid from the depths of his soul. A man - no, a creature - now stood in the garret. He peered around and with a sinister smirk cried out, "Free!"
With a devious gleam in his green eyes, this new man pushed his black locks out of his eyes, content to have them slicked back. He peered into Christian's dresser and threw clothes out and around the garret until he found a suit - all-black - with a cape. He changed into the dark attire which accented his over-all dark demeenor. He wrapped the cape around his shoulders and grabbed a cane from the corner.
This new man - cold and calculating - was everything Christian could not be. Although he held no money or power, this man was quite sure of himself that he held both. This man could be an investor for the Moulin Rouge and give Satine the life she wanted. He was confident enough to act like a Duke, and cold enough to kill anyone who didn't believe him.
With a quick jerk, he opened the door and slammed it shut behind him. He stomped down the staircase and into the street with a nasty gleam in his emerald eyes. In a tone that sounded like nails scraping against the steel bars of a prison cell yet haunting enough to be chillingingly melodic, he sang.
"Animals trapped behind bars at the zoo
Need to run rampant and free!
Predators live on the prey they pursue
This time the predator's me!"
The Duke - as he now called himself - had one thought in his mind. Although Christian saw Satine through innocent eyes and with the hope that she was something wonderful, the Duke's evil spirit caught of glimpse of something much-too-desirable. Suddenly his evil actions were guided by one thing - lust.
"Lust - like a raging desire
Fills my whole soul with its curse!
Burning with primitive fire
Berserk and perverse!"
As he stormed through the streets with his song crashing down like a brilliant yet frightening thunderbolt, his mind was dreaming and scheming of ways to make Satine his completely. By stealing her from the men of the Moulin Rouge, he took away the majority of Moulin Rouge's profits. But also, he would be stealing her from Christian and ruin his plans of finding of the "perfect" love. It all seemed so brilliant in his mind.
"Tonight I'll plunder heaven blind!
Steal from all the Gods!
Tonight I'll take from all mankind
Conquer all the odds!"
The Duke grinned like a devil and cackled into the night. He felt as though he could live forever, for who would dare stop a Duke? The idea pleased him as his laughter filled the night air and his song rang through the streets of Monmarte.
"And I feel I'll live on forever
With Satan himself by my side!
And I'll show the world
That tonight and forever
The name to remember's
But not Christian's, but mine!"
As the glittering, red wings of the windmill were in his view, he laughed again. Tonight he would get everything he wanted, and no one - not even Christian - was going to stand in his way.
"What a feeling to be so alive!
I have never seen me so alive!
Such a feeling of evil isn't a fluke!
For it's the feeling of being the Duke!"
After pushing a few drunken individuals aside, the Duke stepped into the Moulin Rouge and was greeted by one of Zidler's Diamond Dogs.
"Tall, dark, and handsome. My kind of guy. Would you like to go straight to the Red Room, sir? I'll give you a real show. Who needs the Sparkling Diamond when you've got me around?" Nini purred.
The Duke viciously grabbed hold of Nini's wrist and proceeded to twist until she cried out in pain, but even then he refused to release her. "I will only be taken to the Red Room by the Sparkling Diamond herself. I want to see Harold Zidler," he hissed, then suddenly raised his voice to a yell, "NOW!"
"No!" Nini cried out in pain, "I won't take you anywhere! Let go of me!"
"Tsk tsk, my dear," the Duke spat, "you shouldn't treat a -Duke- like that. Now, you will take me to Zidler or else I will deal with you in the only way you underworld showfolk understand."
With a sudden spark of fear ignited in her eyes, Nini nodded, "I'm sorry, my dear Duke. Right this way, please."
"So you're not pathetically stupid after-all. I would say I'm impressed, but well, I'm not," the Duke stated arrogantly as he released Nini's wrist.
Nini nearly had to bite her tongue to control the comments she longed to lash out as this supposed duke. She led him into a section of box seats and escorted him to a small table. "Wait right here, my dear Duke," she said. "Zidler will be with you in a moment."
As soon as she stepped out of the box, Nini's trembling hands lifted her yellow skirts enough to run, but she found that there was nowhere to run. In a matter of moments, she was face-to-face with Harold Zidler.
"Where are you going, my dear?" Harold inquired.
"I was.. I was looking for you. There's a Duke here to see you," she said, and that was the last of her comments Harold paid attention to. But, she continued anyway, desperately hoping he would listen, "He's horrible! He hurt me - twisted my wrist around. He even threatened my life-"
"Where is he? I'm sure he would love to invest..." Harold stated with a gleam in his eyes.
"Second box," Nini murmered reluctantly.
Harold brushed past Nini and strolled quickly to the second box. After taking a moment to fake his best smile, he opened the door and sat across from the Duke.
"I'm so sorry to have kept you wai-" Harold began, but he was cut off quickly by the Duke's comments.
"I wish to see the Sparkling Diamond alone tonight. If I'm impressed by her... private show, I will consider donating to your little Moulin Rouge," the Duke stated.
There was an aura of darkness surrounding the Duke - an aura Harold could not ignore. Sending Satine to see this man could be ultimately disasterous. If something should happen to Satine, there would be no star for the Moulin Rouge. But, if he didn't send Satine, there wouldn't be a Moulin Rouge.
"I will arrange a private meeting for you and Mademoiselle Satine, totally alone," Harold replied, "And I'm sure you will be quite imp-"
Suddenly silence filled the room as the lights were dimmed and the Sparkling Diamond appeared above the lust-filled men upon her diamond- studded swing. With her seductive grin and sultry voice, she sang - purred - to all the men who desired her.
"The French are glad to die for love.
They delight in fighting duels.
But I prefer a man who lives
And gives expensive jewels."
Just as suddenly as the silence had occured, the lights were shining brightly, and the men were whistling and yelling for their Sparkling Diamond. She sang from her swing and leapt off at the end of her verse; all the while, she was keeping the Duke's lustful desire enthralled.
"A kiss on the hand may be quite Continental,
But diamonds are a girl's best friend.
A kiss may be grand,
But it won't pay the rental
On your humble flat
Or help you feed your helpless cat.
Men grow cold
As girls grow old,
And we all lose our charms in the end,
But square-cut or pear-shaped,
These rocks don't lose their shape.
Diamonds are a girl's best friend."
Harold suddenly interrupted the Duke's amusement by murmering a quick, "Excuse me," and a moment after, he departed the box. The Duke, mildly annoyed from Harold's distraction, refocused his attention to Satine. There was no way in hell he would allow Christian to have such a beautiful creature. Never. Of course, the Duke, although he thought otherwise, couldn't control Christian and would certainly never control Satine. Although her performance was seducing every man's mind in the Moulin Rouge, Satine's heart was quickly falling for a Bohemian poet she hardly knew. As she sang through the crowd and eventually ended up running toward the stange during her song to escape the men and to continue her act, she secretly longed for Christian.
"Tiffany. . . Cartier. . .
'Cause we are living
in a material world,
And I am a material girl.
((kiss)) ahhhh
Come and get me boys!
Black Star, Ross Call,
Talk to me, Harry Zidler, tell me all about it!"
When Satine finally reached the stage, she stood next to Harold who murmered something to her about a duke. But there wasn't time to play twenty questions, for the drunken men were awaiting Satine to continue in her sultry performance.
"There may come a time when a lass needs a lawyer,
But diamonds are a girl's best friend.
There may come a time when a hard-boiled employer
Thinks you're awful nice,
But get that ice
Or else no dice."
Suddenly Satine and Zidler were hidden within a circle of skirts while they quickly changed their costumed-attire, and the Diamond Dogs sang their own little chorus. The pair exnchanged questions for answers back-and-forth until both knew everything about the situation the other knew. There was a duke - the smoldering temptress type - who was keen to invest, and as long as Satine gave her usual stunning perfomance, she would become a real actress with her first role being in Christian's play. Simple enough, they supposed.
"He's your guy when stocks are high,
But beware when they start to descend.
Diamonds are a girl's best,
Diamonds are a girl's best,
Diamonds are a girl's best,
Diamonds are a girl's best friend."
Harold quickly removed himself from the circle and darted back to the Duke, while Satine emerged back unto the stage with her typical black attire transformed into a dazzling red. Her legs were clad in black, knee-high boots, and a flirtacious black boa was draped across her shoulders. She stood, twirling Harold's jacket around with a sinister smirk as though - something - had happened within the circle of Diamond Dogs. She tossed the jacket aside and again sang to her adoring crowd.
"'Cause that's when those louses
Go back to their spouses.
Diamonds are a girl's best friend."
Satine paused and grinned when her first number was complete. The men wildly applauded and began to chant "Sat-ine! Sat-ine! Sat-ine!" until she moved as though she would sing again. She teased them a bit, walking back- and-forth and not singing a note. Finally she sat upon the edge of the stage as the music began to fill from the room from above.
"There was a time - I don't know when
I didn't have much time for men
But this is now - and that was then
I'm learning!
A girl alone - All on her own
Must try to have a heart of stone
So I try not to make it known.
My yearning!
I try to show I have no need
I really do - I don't succeed"
With a sudden smirk, Satine stood and twirled around. She moved about on the stage giving a dazzling smile and a flirtacious wink to the staring men around her. The Duke began a bit enraged by her behavior toward the other men, but he concluded that it was simply because she hadn't met - him - yet.
"So let's bring on the men
And let the fun begin
A little touch of sin
Why wait another minute?
Step this way
It's time for us to play
So lets waste no more time
Bring on the men!
I always knew - I always said
That silk and lace - in black and red
Will drive a man right of his head
It's easy!
So many men, so little time
I want 'em all - Is that a crime?
I don't know why they say that I'm
Too easy!
They make me laugh - they make me cry
They make me sick - so God knows why"
Satine's laughter danced around the room as the Diamond Dogs twirled around and joined in her performance. The stage was a dazzling display of twirling skirts and feather boas as they each tried to win the affections - and money - of the men around them.
"We say bring on the men
And let the fun begin
A little touch of sin
Why wait another minute?
Step this way
It's time for us to play
So lets waste no more time
Bring on the men!"
As they danced around, Satine was able to have a moment to stare into the box that held the Duke. She sighed and instantly wished she could be with that charming poet instead. Something in her, despite her costume and song, desired a real life with real love, not a nasty, evil Duke that just wanted a private show. She gave another sigh as a realization occured to her. Why was she falling for a silly poet? She had known plenty of men to know that love is just game. Her ponderings were interrupted by Nini giving her a quick push as if to remind her she was in the middle of a performance. As she sang the next part, she stared at the Duke and wished he would listen to her instead of staring.
"They break your heart
They steal your soul
Take you apart
And yet they somehow make you whole
So what's their game?
I 'spose a rose by any other name
The perfume and the pricks the same"
Something within Satine felt horrible about giving such a show. She knew Christian wouldn't like it, yet she hardly knew him. Still, she ignored the little voice in the back of her head and forced her Sparkling Diamond facade as she hopped off the stage and proceeded to stroll through the whistling, drooling men.
"I like to have a man
For breakfast eachday . . .
I'm very social
And I like it that way!
By late mid-morning
I need something to munch . . .
So I ask over
Two men for lunch!"
As she sang and gave her suggestive winks away, the men began to chase after her. She quickly ran into Chocolat who lifted her above the crowd. She murmered a quiet "thanks" as she continued in her song.
"My healthy appetite Gets strongest at night
My at-home dinners
Are my men-friends delight
When I invite the fellers
Over to dine . . .
They all come early
An' we're in bed by nine"
Chocolat and Satine danced through the crowd, and once they reached the stage, he aided her in returning to her swing. She was quickly lifted into the air again, safe from the hungry men, as the Diamond Dogs sang.
"So let's bring on the men
And let the fun begin
A little touch of sin
Why wait another minute?
Step this way
It's time for us to play
So lets waste no more time"
Satine sang out one final, "Bring on the men!" before she her swing reached the backstage area. Marie quickly located her and began the process of turning her from "Sparkling Diamond" into "Smoldering Temptress". As Satine endured the painful process of getting into another corset and dress, the Diamond Dogs completed their number.
"Big men. small men
Short men , tall men
I guess that means
Almost ALL men!
I'm a player
Long as they are men!"
The Diamond Dogs scattered through the crowd once their song was complete. Upon Harold's command, they started a Hunkadola on the dancefloor. The Duke searched the crowd with hungry eyes for the prize he desired. After scanning the room and finding no sign of the Sparkling Diamond, he began to grow anxious and angry. But, before those fierce emotions could take control of him, the door to his box seats suddenly opened.
Satine stood dressed in a long, red, satin dress. Her firey locks cascaded to a point just below her barely-covered shoulder blades. With a seductive gleam in her peridot eyes, she purred, "I believe you were expecting me."
"Yes, I was, Mademoiselle Satine, but it appears you've kept me waiting," he said, arrogantly.
"I'm terribly sorry for keeping you waiting, my dear Duke," she said, caught off-guard by his arrogance. "But, I must say, I am so glad that you have taken an interest in our little show."
"I don't care about the show, only you. If I'm quite impressed by your own little show, I will see about investing," he said.
Satine's stomach twisted in knots at his words. To become an actress she would have to be his little whore. The thought sickened her, but her ambitious desire to become a - real - actress was too much to give up. Perhaps, she pondered, she could distract him for the moment. Perhaps there was another way...
"I'm sure you will," Satine purred, as though his words had meant nothing.
"Oh Chickpea," Harold's voice boomed as he suddenly appeared in the box, much to their dismay, "why don't you two squirrels go up to the Elephant to get better acquainted?"
"Oh, of course, Harold, I was just about to," she murmered, disgust lingering in her tone. But, Harold didn't respond, and the Duke, apparently, didn't notice. "Right this way, my dear Duke."
Satine escorted the Duke toward her beloved Elephant with delibrately slow footsteps. She was dreading this night more than any other. It was one thing, she pondered, to seduce the Duke in order to win his affection to keep him around. It was quite another being - ordered - by him, basically, to be his personal whore, his private show, his midnight snack. No one would ever respect her, and she knew it. No one would think of her as a real actress; they would whisper "Duke's mistress" behind her back, but in their minds, they would think "Duke's whore". Was it worth it? She had spent most of her life indulging men's fantasies and being worth what someone would pay. Why did it matter so much now? Perhaps because a certain Bohemian poet had put thoughts in her head. "How wonderful life is-" She shook her head as if to rid the voice of goodness from her. This was her life, and a silly poet couldn't change that.
"Here we are," Satine stated, forcing her sultry voice as she opened the red door to her exotic Elephant. She quickly stepped inside, already separating herself from the Duke. She darted behind her changing curtain and said, "Please excuse me a moment, I just need to change into something more.. comfortable."
As Satine stepped out of her red, satin dress and slipped into the slinky, black attire, a haunting sadness danced in her peridot eyes. She glanced into her mirror and struggled to force the tears back. "Yours are the sweetest eyes, I've ever-" Stop it! - she scolded herself as she shook her head - You are a courtesan, and therefore you can not fall in love. She glared at her reflection, determined to give the Duke exactly what he wanted and move on to a better place in her life. She would be a star - his whore - but a star.
"Ahem, my dear Duke," she purred, "I'm quite pleased that you took time out of your busy schedule. I do hope this is good enough for you."
"Quite, Mademoiselle Satine," he said, grabbing her hand and placing a slimy kiss upon it. "A kiss on the hand may be quite Continental."
"But diamond's are a girl's best friend. Tsk tsk," she said, teasingly shaking a finger at him. "Would you care for a bit of supper?"
"Perhaps," he said, staring at her with a nefarious gleam in his emerald eyes. She cringed slightly, but he didn't seem to notice. She moved to the other side of the table, keeping it between them for the moment. With a nearly nervous hesistation, she reached for a grape, but his hand quickly grabbed hers. "So, Mademoiselle Satine, what is this little show about? I suppose I should know the story before I invest."
"It's about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," she stated.
"How ironic," he murmered.
"You should really discuss it with our writer, Christian. It was quite lovely the way he described it," she said, as a sudden odd gleam danced in her eyes.
"Oh really?" he inquired.
"Yes," she said, suddenly lost in a daze. She tried to be seductive toward the Duke in her actions, yet in her mind, her words were for Christian only. "I hope you don't mind... I hope you don't mind that I put down in words how wonderful life is now you're in the world."
"That's.. that's quite beautiful..." the Duke stammered, suddenly captivated by her. He leaned forward to kiss her, but Satine suddenly jumped away. He snarled angrily.
"My dear Duke," she suddenly wept and collasped onto her bed in hopes of getting herself out of the horrid situation, "you must know the effect you have on women!"
"And what would that effect be?" he asked, darkly.
"There's a power in you that scares me," she said, cringing - and to her dismay he noticed that time. "We should wait until opening night."
Satine turned when she received no responce, but she was face-to-face with the Duke. He forcefully grabbed her arms and kept her pinned down. "I won't wait until opening night, Mademoiselle Satine," he hissed in a tone that sickened her, "because as of this moment, I haven't decided if I want to invest. Now, if you give me what I want, I'll give you what you want. It's not such a dangerous game, is it, Mademoiselle Satine? I need a pretty, little whore... and you want to be a star. Don't act so prudish now; if I hadn't arrived, you would be seducing some other man. Admit it, Sparkling Diamond, you are a courtesan. I will make you a star, and you will do as I say. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"
At first she said nothing, and in reply, the Duke tightened his grip upon her tiny wrists. There was nothing she could do. "My dear Duke," she purred, again forcing her Sparkling Diamond voice, "of course you make yourself quite clear. I desire nothing more than to be - your - courtesan. You will make me a star, and all I have to do for you in return is my job. How fortunate I am, my dear Duke."
"Don't toy with-" he hissed, but Satine's sudden singing stopped his words.
"How wonderful life is, now you're in the world," she sang softly, causing a certain enchantment to fill the Duke's eyes. As the horrid seduction took place, Satine thought nothing and felt nothing - she was merely a puppet in his game. Although his cruel words and icy touches disgusted her completely, she did nothing. She was the Sparkling Diamond and such things weren't supposed to bother her.
The night's hours passed by slowly, and Satine acted as though she was lost in a peaceful slumber. She didn't sleep, not at all, for her mind was wide awake and thinking horridly of herself. The cold, cruel Duke arose from the bed and reluctantly got dressed. Once he was gone, Satine finally allowed herself to remember the terrible feelings. She cried and cried until she felt as though there were not any tears left in her peridot eyes. She stared at the ceiling and sang softly.
"Look at me and tell me who I am,
Why I am, what I am.
Call me a fool and it's true I am.
I don't know who I am.
It's such a shame - I'm such a shame.
No one knows who I am."
She reached for her pink robe and softly tied it around herself as she stood and walked around her Elephant. She finally stopped in the dark corner where her dressing table sat. She stared into her mirror and sang bitterly to her reflection.
"Am I the face of the future?
Am I the fact of the past?
Am I the one who must finish last?"
Satine sighed and slowly walked toward her balcony. She stared out at the still sleeping city and sang - cried - out to anyone who would listen.
"Look at me and tell me who I am,
Why I am, what I am.
Will I survive, who will give a damn
If no one knows who I am?"
Tears began to fall from her peridot eyes again as she thought about a poet who made her believe that perhaps she was worth something to someone. But, she reminded herself, she wasn't worth anything to anyone.
"Nobody knows,
Not even you,
No one knows who I am."
Author : peridot mousey
Rating : Remains PG-13 for the same reasons. It's probably a bit of a harsh rating.
Disclaimer : I still don't own Moulin Rouge; I'm not nearly as brilliant as Baz. *smiles* Also, I don't own the novella or musical version of Jekyll and Hyde. I'm just borrowing quite a bit from each and twisting them together into one ulimately warped web of love and lust, reality and facades, good and evil.
Notes : Thanks for the reviews! Well, this chapter has quite a bit of music. If you haven't heard the music from Jekyll and Hyde, I guess this is really boring. I'm sorry... ;_; Also, I'm sorry for taking so long to get this chapter done. It's been a... stressful week.
Chapter 3 : Diamond's Dangerous Game : The Duke
With a smile and an air of confidence, Christian strolled down the streets on the wrong side of Monmarte. In his hands, he held a box filled with horrid and powerful drugs. As if to create a facade for his fear, he sang to pass the time it would take to return to his garret.
"This is the moment
This is the day
When I send all my doubts and demons on their way!
Every endeavour
I have made - ever
Is comoing into play
Is here and now - today!"
"This is the moment
This is the time
When the momentum and the moment are in rhyme!"
"Give me this moment
This precious chance
I'll gather up my past
And make some sense at last!"
This is was the day Christian had been waiting for. Finally, he could free himself from the evil buried deep inside and experience a truly perfect love. He smiled at the thought, for he was convinced he had found that woman special enough to be ridded of her evils to become his perfect love - Satine. He was convinced he could destroy the evil and return home to London with Satine at his side just to prove to the world that he had been successful. As he neared his garret, he continued in his confident song.
"This is the moment
When all I've done
All of the dreaming, sheming and screaming become one.
This is the day
See it sparkle and shine!
When all I've lived for becomes mine!"
"For all these years,
I've faced the world alone
And now the time has come
To prove to them I made it on my own!"
"This is the moment
My final test
Destiny beckoned
I never reckoned second best!"
With quick footsteps, Christian asended the staircase to his garret. He unlocked the door and promptly entered, ready to begin his quest. He rolled up his sleeve as he began to take viles out of the box, still remaining lost in the remainder of his song.
"I won't look down
I must not fall!
This is the moment
The sweetest moment of them all!"
"This is the moment
Damn all the odds!
This day or never
I'll sit forever with the Gods!"
"When I look back
I will always recall
Moment for moment
This was the moment
The greatest moment of them all!"
The table was quickly littered by various bubbling, foaming liquids and needles. With a bit of difficultly, Christian had tied the provided material around his upper arm. He sat down to his typewriter to begin his story. With a quick crack of his knuckles, he placed his fingers upon the keys. Softly he sang his words aloud as he typed.
"I must be wise,
I must try to analyze
Each change in me,
Everything I see -
How will it be?
Will I see the world
Through different eyes?"
He shrugged his shoulders as he reached for the first drug. His gray-blue eyes were captivated by it, and he sang out as he stared.
"Like a warning light
Glimmering in red
Like crimson bloodshed
Shimmering in red
Beautiful and strange
See the colours change before my eyes!
See how they dance and they sparkle
Like diamonds at night!
Leading me out of the darkness
And into the light!"
With a sudden burst of excitement, any sort of fears were pushed aside. He gently pressed the needle to his vein in the pocket of his elbow where his upper and lower arm met. He pushed against the syrenge until the red liquid was lost within his blood. He removed the needle and pressed a ball of cotton to his tiny wound. With his left hand, he typed, "Three fifty-eight a.m. It is done. I have injected 5 centiliters of the newly fused formula. A slight feeling of euphoria. Light-headedness. No noticeable behavioral differences."
Christian sat and awaited for the drugs to take hold of him. He wasn't quite sure what to expect. Although, in his naive mind, he nearly expected the evil to suddenly disppear and all would be wonderful in the world. As the thoughts danced across his mind, he thoughtfully sang.
"Now the die is cast
Nothing left to do!
Time alone can prove
My theories true!
Show the world..."
But his musings were interrupted by his sudden exclaimation of, "Dear God! What's this?!" A sudden pain had taken hold of Christian. He leapt out of his seat and burst into a pain-filled song.
"Something is happening - I can't explain!
Something inside me, a breath-taking pain
Devours and consumes me
And drives me insane!"
A writhing, twisting pain had filled his insides, and an agony had raged outside as well. At first he staggered around the room, then suddenly fell to the floor. He tossed-and-turned upon the floor like a child with a horrible stomach ache. He cried and wailed as though something were trying to come out of him. All the while, he sang - cried - out.
"Suddenly
Uncontrolled
Something is
Taking hold!"
"Suddenly
Agony
Filling me
Killing me!"
"Suddenly
Out of breath
What is this?
Is this death?"
"Suddenly
Look at me!
Can it be?
Who is this creature
That I see?"
The pain instantly vanished as something else told hold of Christian. A certain dark aura had wrapped its arms around the innocent poet and plucked something horrid from the depths of his soul. A man - no, a creature - now stood in the garret. He peered around and with a sinister smirk cried out, "Free!"
With a devious gleam in his green eyes, this new man pushed his black locks out of his eyes, content to have them slicked back. He peered into Christian's dresser and threw clothes out and around the garret until he found a suit - all-black - with a cape. He changed into the dark attire which accented his over-all dark demeenor. He wrapped the cape around his shoulders and grabbed a cane from the corner.
This new man - cold and calculating - was everything Christian could not be. Although he held no money or power, this man was quite sure of himself that he held both. This man could be an investor for the Moulin Rouge and give Satine the life she wanted. He was confident enough to act like a Duke, and cold enough to kill anyone who didn't believe him.
With a quick jerk, he opened the door and slammed it shut behind him. He stomped down the staircase and into the street with a nasty gleam in his emerald eyes. In a tone that sounded like nails scraping against the steel bars of a prison cell yet haunting enough to be chillingingly melodic, he sang.
"Animals trapped behind bars at the zoo
Need to run rampant and free!
Predators live on the prey they pursue
This time the predator's me!"
The Duke - as he now called himself - had one thought in his mind. Although Christian saw Satine through innocent eyes and with the hope that she was something wonderful, the Duke's evil spirit caught of glimpse of something much-too-desirable. Suddenly his evil actions were guided by one thing - lust.
"Lust - like a raging desire
Fills my whole soul with its curse!
Burning with primitive fire
Berserk and perverse!"
As he stormed through the streets with his song crashing down like a brilliant yet frightening thunderbolt, his mind was dreaming and scheming of ways to make Satine his completely. By stealing her from the men of the Moulin Rouge, he took away the majority of Moulin Rouge's profits. But also, he would be stealing her from Christian and ruin his plans of finding of the "perfect" love. It all seemed so brilliant in his mind.
"Tonight I'll plunder heaven blind!
Steal from all the Gods!
Tonight I'll take from all mankind
Conquer all the odds!"
The Duke grinned like a devil and cackled into the night. He felt as though he could live forever, for who would dare stop a Duke? The idea pleased him as his laughter filled the night air and his song rang through the streets of Monmarte.
"And I feel I'll live on forever
With Satan himself by my side!
And I'll show the world
That tonight and forever
The name to remember's
But not Christian's, but mine!"
As the glittering, red wings of the windmill were in his view, he laughed again. Tonight he would get everything he wanted, and no one - not even Christian - was going to stand in his way.
"What a feeling to be so alive!
I have never seen me so alive!
Such a feeling of evil isn't a fluke!
For it's the feeling of being the Duke!"
After pushing a few drunken individuals aside, the Duke stepped into the Moulin Rouge and was greeted by one of Zidler's Diamond Dogs.
"Tall, dark, and handsome. My kind of guy. Would you like to go straight to the Red Room, sir? I'll give you a real show. Who needs the Sparkling Diamond when you've got me around?" Nini purred.
The Duke viciously grabbed hold of Nini's wrist and proceeded to twist until she cried out in pain, but even then he refused to release her. "I will only be taken to the Red Room by the Sparkling Diamond herself. I want to see Harold Zidler," he hissed, then suddenly raised his voice to a yell, "NOW!"
"No!" Nini cried out in pain, "I won't take you anywhere! Let go of me!"
"Tsk tsk, my dear," the Duke spat, "you shouldn't treat a -Duke- like that. Now, you will take me to Zidler or else I will deal with you in the only way you underworld showfolk understand."
With a sudden spark of fear ignited in her eyes, Nini nodded, "I'm sorry, my dear Duke. Right this way, please."
"So you're not pathetically stupid after-all. I would say I'm impressed, but well, I'm not," the Duke stated arrogantly as he released Nini's wrist.
Nini nearly had to bite her tongue to control the comments she longed to lash out as this supposed duke. She led him into a section of box seats and escorted him to a small table. "Wait right here, my dear Duke," she said. "Zidler will be with you in a moment."
As soon as she stepped out of the box, Nini's trembling hands lifted her yellow skirts enough to run, but she found that there was nowhere to run. In a matter of moments, she was face-to-face with Harold Zidler.
"Where are you going, my dear?" Harold inquired.
"I was.. I was looking for you. There's a Duke here to see you," she said, and that was the last of her comments Harold paid attention to. But, she continued anyway, desperately hoping he would listen, "He's horrible! He hurt me - twisted my wrist around. He even threatened my life-"
"Where is he? I'm sure he would love to invest..." Harold stated with a gleam in his eyes.
"Second box," Nini murmered reluctantly.
Harold brushed past Nini and strolled quickly to the second box. After taking a moment to fake his best smile, he opened the door and sat across from the Duke.
"I'm so sorry to have kept you wai-" Harold began, but he was cut off quickly by the Duke's comments.
"I wish to see the Sparkling Diamond alone tonight. If I'm impressed by her... private show, I will consider donating to your little Moulin Rouge," the Duke stated.
There was an aura of darkness surrounding the Duke - an aura Harold could not ignore. Sending Satine to see this man could be ultimately disasterous. If something should happen to Satine, there would be no star for the Moulin Rouge. But, if he didn't send Satine, there wouldn't be a Moulin Rouge.
"I will arrange a private meeting for you and Mademoiselle Satine, totally alone," Harold replied, "And I'm sure you will be quite imp-"
Suddenly silence filled the room as the lights were dimmed and the Sparkling Diamond appeared above the lust-filled men upon her diamond- studded swing. With her seductive grin and sultry voice, she sang - purred - to all the men who desired her.
"The French are glad to die for love.
They delight in fighting duels.
But I prefer a man who lives
And gives expensive jewels."
Just as suddenly as the silence had occured, the lights were shining brightly, and the men were whistling and yelling for their Sparkling Diamond. She sang from her swing and leapt off at the end of her verse; all the while, she was keeping the Duke's lustful desire enthralled.
"A kiss on the hand may be quite Continental,
But diamonds are a girl's best friend.
A kiss may be grand,
But it won't pay the rental
On your humble flat
Or help you feed your helpless cat.
Men grow cold
As girls grow old,
And we all lose our charms in the end,
But square-cut or pear-shaped,
These rocks don't lose their shape.
Diamonds are a girl's best friend."
Harold suddenly interrupted the Duke's amusement by murmering a quick, "Excuse me," and a moment after, he departed the box. The Duke, mildly annoyed from Harold's distraction, refocused his attention to Satine. There was no way in hell he would allow Christian to have such a beautiful creature. Never. Of course, the Duke, although he thought otherwise, couldn't control Christian and would certainly never control Satine. Although her performance was seducing every man's mind in the Moulin Rouge, Satine's heart was quickly falling for a Bohemian poet she hardly knew. As she sang through the crowd and eventually ended up running toward the stange during her song to escape the men and to continue her act, she secretly longed for Christian.
"Tiffany. . . Cartier. . .
'Cause we are living
in a material world,
And I am a material girl.
((kiss)) ahhhh
Come and get me boys!
Black Star, Ross Call,
Talk to me, Harry Zidler, tell me all about it!"
When Satine finally reached the stage, she stood next to Harold who murmered something to her about a duke. But there wasn't time to play twenty questions, for the drunken men were awaiting Satine to continue in her sultry performance.
"There may come a time when a lass needs a lawyer,
But diamonds are a girl's best friend.
There may come a time when a hard-boiled employer
Thinks you're awful nice,
But get that ice
Or else no dice."
Suddenly Satine and Zidler were hidden within a circle of skirts while they quickly changed their costumed-attire, and the Diamond Dogs sang their own little chorus. The pair exnchanged questions for answers back-and-forth until both knew everything about the situation the other knew. There was a duke - the smoldering temptress type - who was keen to invest, and as long as Satine gave her usual stunning perfomance, she would become a real actress with her first role being in Christian's play. Simple enough, they supposed.
"He's your guy when stocks are high,
But beware when they start to descend.
Diamonds are a girl's best,
Diamonds are a girl's best,
Diamonds are a girl's best,
Diamonds are a girl's best friend."
Harold quickly removed himself from the circle and darted back to the Duke, while Satine emerged back unto the stage with her typical black attire transformed into a dazzling red. Her legs were clad in black, knee-high boots, and a flirtacious black boa was draped across her shoulders. She stood, twirling Harold's jacket around with a sinister smirk as though - something - had happened within the circle of Diamond Dogs. She tossed the jacket aside and again sang to her adoring crowd.
"'Cause that's when those louses
Go back to their spouses.
Diamonds are a girl's best friend."
Satine paused and grinned when her first number was complete. The men wildly applauded and began to chant "Sat-ine! Sat-ine! Sat-ine!" until she moved as though she would sing again. She teased them a bit, walking back- and-forth and not singing a note. Finally she sat upon the edge of the stage as the music began to fill from the room from above.
"There was a time - I don't know when
I didn't have much time for men
But this is now - and that was then
I'm learning!
A girl alone - All on her own
Must try to have a heart of stone
So I try not to make it known.
My yearning!
I try to show I have no need
I really do - I don't succeed"
With a sudden smirk, Satine stood and twirled around. She moved about on the stage giving a dazzling smile and a flirtacious wink to the staring men around her. The Duke began a bit enraged by her behavior toward the other men, but he concluded that it was simply because she hadn't met - him - yet.
"So let's bring on the men
And let the fun begin
A little touch of sin
Why wait another minute?
Step this way
It's time for us to play
So lets waste no more time
Bring on the men!
I always knew - I always said
That silk and lace - in black and red
Will drive a man right of his head
It's easy!
So many men, so little time
I want 'em all - Is that a crime?
I don't know why they say that I'm
Too easy!
They make me laugh - they make me cry
They make me sick - so God knows why"
Satine's laughter danced around the room as the Diamond Dogs twirled around and joined in her performance. The stage was a dazzling display of twirling skirts and feather boas as they each tried to win the affections - and money - of the men around them.
"We say bring on the men
And let the fun begin
A little touch of sin
Why wait another minute?
Step this way
It's time for us to play
So lets waste no more time
Bring on the men!"
As they danced around, Satine was able to have a moment to stare into the box that held the Duke. She sighed and instantly wished she could be with that charming poet instead. Something in her, despite her costume and song, desired a real life with real love, not a nasty, evil Duke that just wanted a private show. She gave another sigh as a realization occured to her. Why was she falling for a silly poet? She had known plenty of men to know that love is just game. Her ponderings were interrupted by Nini giving her a quick push as if to remind her she was in the middle of a performance. As she sang the next part, she stared at the Duke and wished he would listen to her instead of staring.
"They break your heart
They steal your soul
Take you apart
And yet they somehow make you whole
So what's their game?
I 'spose a rose by any other name
The perfume and the pricks the same"
Something within Satine felt horrible about giving such a show. She knew Christian wouldn't like it, yet she hardly knew him. Still, she ignored the little voice in the back of her head and forced her Sparkling Diamond facade as she hopped off the stage and proceeded to stroll through the whistling, drooling men.
"I like to have a man
For breakfast eachday . . .
I'm very social
And I like it that way!
By late mid-morning
I need something to munch . . .
So I ask over
Two men for lunch!"
As she sang and gave her suggestive winks away, the men began to chase after her. She quickly ran into Chocolat who lifted her above the crowd. She murmered a quiet "thanks" as she continued in her song.
"My healthy appetite Gets strongest at night
My at-home dinners
Are my men-friends delight
When I invite the fellers
Over to dine . . .
They all come early
An' we're in bed by nine"
Chocolat and Satine danced through the crowd, and once they reached the stage, he aided her in returning to her swing. She was quickly lifted into the air again, safe from the hungry men, as the Diamond Dogs sang.
"So let's bring on the men
And let the fun begin
A little touch of sin
Why wait another minute?
Step this way
It's time for us to play
So lets waste no more time"
Satine sang out one final, "Bring on the men!" before she her swing reached the backstage area. Marie quickly located her and began the process of turning her from "Sparkling Diamond" into "Smoldering Temptress". As Satine endured the painful process of getting into another corset and dress, the Diamond Dogs completed their number.
"Big men. small men
Short men , tall men
I guess that means
Almost ALL men!
I'm a player
Long as they are men!"
The Diamond Dogs scattered through the crowd once their song was complete. Upon Harold's command, they started a Hunkadola on the dancefloor. The Duke searched the crowd with hungry eyes for the prize he desired. After scanning the room and finding no sign of the Sparkling Diamond, he began to grow anxious and angry. But, before those fierce emotions could take control of him, the door to his box seats suddenly opened.
Satine stood dressed in a long, red, satin dress. Her firey locks cascaded to a point just below her barely-covered shoulder blades. With a seductive gleam in her peridot eyes, she purred, "I believe you were expecting me."
"Yes, I was, Mademoiselle Satine, but it appears you've kept me waiting," he said, arrogantly.
"I'm terribly sorry for keeping you waiting, my dear Duke," she said, caught off-guard by his arrogance. "But, I must say, I am so glad that you have taken an interest in our little show."
"I don't care about the show, only you. If I'm quite impressed by your own little show, I will see about investing," he said.
Satine's stomach twisted in knots at his words. To become an actress she would have to be his little whore. The thought sickened her, but her ambitious desire to become a - real - actress was too much to give up. Perhaps, she pondered, she could distract him for the moment. Perhaps there was another way...
"I'm sure you will," Satine purred, as though his words had meant nothing.
"Oh Chickpea," Harold's voice boomed as he suddenly appeared in the box, much to their dismay, "why don't you two squirrels go up to the Elephant to get better acquainted?"
"Oh, of course, Harold, I was just about to," she murmered, disgust lingering in her tone. But, Harold didn't respond, and the Duke, apparently, didn't notice. "Right this way, my dear Duke."
Satine escorted the Duke toward her beloved Elephant with delibrately slow footsteps. She was dreading this night more than any other. It was one thing, she pondered, to seduce the Duke in order to win his affection to keep him around. It was quite another being - ordered - by him, basically, to be his personal whore, his private show, his midnight snack. No one would ever respect her, and she knew it. No one would think of her as a real actress; they would whisper "Duke's mistress" behind her back, but in their minds, they would think "Duke's whore". Was it worth it? She had spent most of her life indulging men's fantasies and being worth what someone would pay. Why did it matter so much now? Perhaps because a certain Bohemian poet had put thoughts in her head. "How wonderful life is-" She shook her head as if to rid the voice of goodness from her. This was her life, and a silly poet couldn't change that.
"Here we are," Satine stated, forcing her sultry voice as she opened the red door to her exotic Elephant. She quickly stepped inside, already separating herself from the Duke. She darted behind her changing curtain and said, "Please excuse me a moment, I just need to change into something more.. comfortable."
As Satine stepped out of her red, satin dress and slipped into the slinky, black attire, a haunting sadness danced in her peridot eyes. She glanced into her mirror and struggled to force the tears back. "Yours are the sweetest eyes, I've ever-" Stop it! - she scolded herself as she shook her head - You are a courtesan, and therefore you can not fall in love. She glared at her reflection, determined to give the Duke exactly what he wanted and move on to a better place in her life. She would be a star - his whore - but a star.
"Ahem, my dear Duke," she purred, "I'm quite pleased that you took time out of your busy schedule. I do hope this is good enough for you."
"Quite, Mademoiselle Satine," he said, grabbing her hand and placing a slimy kiss upon it. "A kiss on the hand may be quite Continental."
"But diamond's are a girl's best friend. Tsk tsk," she said, teasingly shaking a finger at him. "Would you care for a bit of supper?"
"Perhaps," he said, staring at her with a nefarious gleam in his emerald eyes. She cringed slightly, but he didn't seem to notice. She moved to the other side of the table, keeping it between them for the moment. With a nearly nervous hesistation, she reached for a grape, but his hand quickly grabbed hers. "So, Mademoiselle Satine, what is this little show about? I suppose I should know the story before I invest."
"It's about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," she stated.
"How ironic," he murmered.
"You should really discuss it with our writer, Christian. It was quite lovely the way he described it," she said, as a sudden odd gleam danced in her eyes.
"Oh really?" he inquired.
"Yes," she said, suddenly lost in a daze. She tried to be seductive toward the Duke in her actions, yet in her mind, her words were for Christian only. "I hope you don't mind... I hope you don't mind that I put down in words how wonderful life is now you're in the world."
"That's.. that's quite beautiful..." the Duke stammered, suddenly captivated by her. He leaned forward to kiss her, but Satine suddenly jumped away. He snarled angrily.
"My dear Duke," she suddenly wept and collasped onto her bed in hopes of getting herself out of the horrid situation, "you must know the effect you have on women!"
"And what would that effect be?" he asked, darkly.
"There's a power in you that scares me," she said, cringing - and to her dismay he noticed that time. "We should wait until opening night."
Satine turned when she received no responce, but she was face-to-face with the Duke. He forcefully grabbed her arms and kept her pinned down. "I won't wait until opening night, Mademoiselle Satine," he hissed in a tone that sickened her, "because as of this moment, I haven't decided if I want to invest. Now, if you give me what I want, I'll give you what you want. It's not such a dangerous game, is it, Mademoiselle Satine? I need a pretty, little whore... and you want to be a star. Don't act so prudish now; if I hadn't arrived, you would be seducing some other man. Admit it, Sparkling Diamond, you are a courtesan. I will make you a star, and you will do as I say. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"
At first she said nothing, and in reply, the Duke tightened his grip upon her tiny wrists. There was nothing she could do. "My dear Duke," she purred, again forcing her Sparkling Diamond voice, "of course you make yourself quite clear. I desire nothing more than to be - your - courtesan. You will make me a star, and all I have to do for you in return is my job. How fortunate I am, my dear Duke."
"Don't toy with-" he hissed, but Satine's sudden singing stopped his words.
"How wonderful life is, now you're in the world," she sang softly, causing a certain enchantment to fill the Duke's eyes. As the horrid seduction took place, Satine thought nothing and felt nothing - she was merely a puppet in his game. Although his cruel words and icy touches disgusted her completely, she did nothing. She was the Sparkling Diamond and such things weren't supposed to bother her.
The night's hours passed by slowly, and Satine acted as though she was lost in a peaceful slumber. She didn't sleep, not at all, for her mind was wide awake and thinking horridly of herself. The cold, cruel Duke arose from the bed and reluctantly got dressed. Once he was gone, Satine finally allowed herself to remember the terrible feelings. She cried and cried until she felt as though there were not any tears left in her peridot eyes. She stared at the ceiling and sang softly.
"Look at me and tell me who I am,
Why I am, what I am.
Call me a fool and it's true I am.
I don't know who I am.
It's such a shame - I'm such a shame.
No one knows who I am."
She reached for her pink robe and softly tied it around herself as she stood and walked around her Elephant. She finally stopped in the dark corner where her dressing table sat. She stared into her mirror and sang bitterly to her reflection.
"Am I the face of the future?
Am I the fact of the past?
Am I the one who must finish last?"
Satine sighed and slowly walked toward her balcony. She stared out at the still sleeping city and sang - cried - out to anyone who would listen.
"Look at me and tell me who I am,
Why I am, what I am.
Will I survive, who will give a damn
If no one knows who I am?"
Tears began to fall from her peridot eyes again as she thought about a poet who made her believe that perhaps she was worth something to someone. But, she reminded herself, she wasn't worth anything to anyone.
"Nobody knows,
Not even you,
No one knows who I am."