L'amour Fou
by A.L.S.O.
Chapter I - A New Beginning
Christian sighed, pulling the bundle in his arms closer to his chest. If this was a new beginning, it certainly didn't seem like a clear slate, a fresh start, with all the old memories consuming him until his heart ached. The wind blew harder and Christian pulled his coat collar up closer around him and began to head to his room on the ferry; the sky was darkening with rain clouds and the weather was growing bitter cold. What a day to start a new life.
In his cabin, he placed the bundle on the bed and pulled the blankets off, revealing a blue-eyed black-haired five-month old baby. Amour was her name, and she was the first and only child of Satine.
Christian filled the sink with tepid water and pulled off Amour's dress, placing her gently into the sink and cleaning her softly with a washcloth.
He yawned, not even knowing what time it was. He had lost track of all time the day Harold Zidler announced Satine had died of Tuberculosis in the middle of the night. But if only she had, he thought sarcastically, remembering when Zidler knocked at his door and presented him with his daughter. He had revealed to Christian that Satine hadn't died at all, that it had been a scam to keep anyone knowing about her being pregnant, but that now she really was finally gone...she had died during the delivery and Amour had no one but her father. But Christian had been too dumbfounded to remember Zidler was a sneaky, black-hearted man....
Christian had been happy to have his daughter, though. He had been alone, pitying himself and drowning his sorrows in dozens of bottles of Absinthe. But he knew he had to take responsibility, and took Amour to Nantes, where he got a job at the weekly newspaper. They stayed there for only five months until Christian decided he needed to stop mourning and to get away from France once and for all, and here he was, on a ferry to England.
He was brought sharply back to reality when a clock on the wall stroke seven o'clock, and he lifted Amour out of the water, wrapping her with a towel. He kissed her vulnerable forehead and placed her on the bed, slipping clean pajamas on her shivering her body.
"Is that better, darling?" he whispered, scooping her up in his arms and kissing her again. "It will be okay soon, we'll be in England in a week and we'll get a nice house and buy some new warm blankets...would you like that? And I'll buy you some toys and clothes...everything will be much better, I promise you that."
Christian laid her down on the bed and slipped off his jacked and shoes, crawling in beside his small daughter. He pulled the covers up and tucked them tightly around both of them, putting his arm around Amour's gentle body and getting closer.
A new beginning, a new start for Christian James and yet things were exactly the same as they had been the past months. His eyes closed sleepily and the thoughts of the past scattered as sleep overcame him and he fell into a deep doze.
The next morning was as gray and dull as the last, and the rain poured down endlessly. Amour was silent the whole night, as she was on most nights, but woke up early with a small cry. They went down to the Wreck Hall and ate a small breakfast, Christian munching on toast while feeding Amour warm milk. Then back in the cabin Christian would entertain his daughter with old toys, his singing, and sometimes read to her; then the second meal would come, entertainment, dinner, a walk on the deck followed by a bath, and finally sleep.
So the days passed for six more until they finally awoke one morning to a knock on their door and a deep voice saying, "Ten minutes until arrival, sir." Christian stretched and yawned, standing to pack. He got all of their belongings and placed them into a suitcase, put his typewriter in its case, then pulled out the basket cushioned with blankets. Amour started making soft baby noises announcing she was awake, and Christian picked her up and put her in the basket.
"Today's the day," Christian sang softly, "when dreaming ends."
He took his suitcase and typewriter in one hand and the basket in the other, then left his room and closed the door behind him. His chest swelled with pride as he walked down the hall and a slight smiled played at his lips; this was it, this was his new beginning, it was all officially starting today.
With the little bit of money that he had and with his daughter by his side, he knew he could do everything right if he tried. They were father and daughter, and together they could accomplish anything.
Christian and Amour took a train to Bedford, the town they would be living in, and immediately began to look for a place to stay. It was almost too easy, because by noon they had found a shop with an apartment above it and knocked on the landlord's door to see how much it was, but Christian was too happy to care.
"Hello?" she said, when Christian had knocked.
"Hello, I'm Christian James and I was wondering about the shop you were renting out?"
"Oh, yes, yes! Of course! Please, come in, would you like a cup of tea?"
"No, thank you," said Christian, setting his suitcase and typewriter outside and carrying in his daughter. "I'm just here to see about the place--"
"Oh, yes, excuse me. I'm Mrs. Gerber, Mr. James, and you're interested in the shop and apartment?" Christian nodded. "Well, together that would be one hundred pounds a month."
Christian nodded. "Good price. Is it available immediately?"
Mrs. Gerber reached down in her apron and pulled out a set of keys. "Now, if you're in a rush."
Christian laughed. "I am, actually. My daughter and I have just arrived from France and we have nowhere else to go."
"Yes, yes! Come, I will show you the place." She wobbled out of the house on her walking stick, followed by Christian and Amour, and led them next door. "This is the place," she said, unlocking the door. "It hasn't been rented out for over two decades and might be a little dusty, but I've kept it up to date. You like?"
The door creaked open and Christian stepped into the little shop, completely covered in a thick layer of dust. The two display windows were covered up with old, yellowing newspapers and the checkout counter had a filthy cash register sitting on it. The walls were covered in bookshelves, perfect for opening a bookstore, and Christian imagined in his head the shop full of hundreds of books just ready to be sold....
"This is perfect," he breathed.
"Yes, I must say I was quite fond of this place," said Mrs. Gerber. "My husband had it opened as a cafe, but I closed it down after Mr. Gerber died of a heart attack. But it is very nice, hm?"
"Oh, yes, it is," Christian agreed. "I'll take it."
"Wonderful!" she cried. "Since you are the first to rent this out in so long and since October is already halfway over, your first payment wont be due until the last of November."
"Thank you," said Christian. "Yes, thank you very much."
Christian had no trouble reopening the shop as a bookstore. He bought some pale blue and yellow paint and after some dusting and sanding, had it colorful and vibrant, almost looking like new. The whole thing was painted blue with the edges and decor yellow, and in navy above the door in large, bold letters read, "THE PENNILESS POET." The shelves were refurbished and there were five circular cases added to the center of the room, all filled with old books that had been donated by the library or townspeople, and new books he ordered from London. The display windows were set up with Christian's favorite selections of the books the store contained, either propped up or set on velvet cushions, and the glass of the windows were cleaned to perfection.
Within a month, it was opened and ready for business and customers were coming and going often. He was making good money within his first week and became known within a day. He was Christian James, an unmarried father raising his child on his own, depressed because of his past but becoming slowly happy with the way the future was presenting itself each day. Every young woman knew that he was unavailable, his heart was set on some unknown love, and everyone else knew that he was sweet, kind, charming in every way, and the perfect father anyone could ask for.
But the person most happy with the situation was Christian; the new life he was leading was as perfect as it ever could be, and between raising his daughter and controlling the shop, he was too busy to ever think about Satine for long, which only put him in a state of melancholia.
The new beginning that he had started was going along as set to plan, but good things never last forever.
It would be five more years and seven months before anything devastating would happen, however, and that would be when the supposedly dead Satine stepped off a train and into the Bedford Station with her five-year-old son, Christopher, starting a new life as well, but as Sarah James.
A/N: Tada, THE END! Or at least for the first chapter of my first story. I hope you liked it and if you don't understand something or whatever, just put it in a review and I'll write you an answer either in the A/N of the next chapter or in another review.
Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Moulin Rouge or any of its affiliates. If I did I certainly wouldn't be here whining about it.
I don't own the songs either:
'Dunno' and that belongs to Baz
yeah, that's it.
