L'amour Fou
by A.L.S.O.
Chapter XII - Apart Again (Epilogue)
Christopher asked constantly where Christian and Amour were, but Satine never gave a direct answer. What would she tell him? She couldn't just say that they were gone forever, because not even she could yet accept it, and she couldn't lie to him or tell him anything that wouldn't actually happen.
Everything became clear, though, when the day of their funeral came. It was a bright, sunny day that aggravated Satine when she woke up, almost as if the whole world was happy despite her mood. She found Christopher playing on the balcony and told him to go dress in his best black suit. He obeyed, not whining or asking questions, almost as if he knew what was happening. He soon found out whether he did or not, when Satine took him in a carriage to the Bedford Graveyard.
There assembled the whole town in front of two coffins; one was smaller and a reddish wooden color, and the other was bigger and black. The smaller had a black-and-white picture of Amour and the bigger held one of Christian, both resting on easels behind the coffins.
It was then that both Satine and Christopher knew that it was real: Christian and Amour were gone. Christopher cried and Mrs. Gerber took him in her arms, carrying him away from her mother, who was kneeled on the ground in silent tears.
Of course no bodies were recovered from the fire, and each townsperson was to bring an object that reminded them of the deceased. Some brought photographs, books, toys, anything that might be special to them; for Amour, Satine brought a jump rope, what her daughter had been playing with the first time she laid eyes on her after six years. As for Christian, she brought an old copy of the transcript of "Spectacular, Spectacular!" which had brought them together in the first place. Christopher picked some flowers, explaining to Mrs. Gerber that just like flowers would be around forever, Christian and Amour would never leave his heart.
The day of the funeral, Satine was a sobbing wreck of tears, blood, and coughing.
Christian was only at the hotel for not even three days when he realized that they couldn't stay there any longer. His money was running fast and the apartment's living conditions were poor, and yet still no plan came to him. His only so-called 'friends' were his father's businessmen's sons, who only wanted to discuss politics and talk about the future; you could rarely ever actually find a true Bohemian in England.
Christian's father was living close by, but they never exactly got along, especially after his mother died a few years before he left for Montmartre. He did have siblings, nine sisters to be exact, but only one was old enough to have moved away from the house, and that was Jessica, almost a Boho herself.
Christian didn't know why he hadn't gone there in the first place, but when he knocked on Jessica's door and a bibulous man answered, it suddenly became very apparent. Her husband, Jonathon, was anything but likable; he was fat and disgusting, always drinking and eating and never allowing his wife any fun. The only reason she married him was to get away from her home and overbearing father. But Christian had manners and gave a simple nod as a hello.
"Well, whaddya know!" Jonathon said loudly. "It's the gay brother from Paris!"
Christian rolled his eyes. Jonathon thought he was gay because he was in to poetry and writing; it wasn't his fault he was a hopeless romantic. "Is Jessica here?" he asked, keeping his anger suppressed.
"JESS!" Jonathon yelled into the house. "Get your arse out here!"
Christian flinched at the treatment of his sister, and clenched his hands into fists to keep from punching the huge face in front of him. A moment later, a girl with curly black hair, looking like an exact, but feminine, replica of Christian, appeared in the doorway, yelling at Jonathon.
"What did I tell you about cursing at me? I swear, Jon, one more time and I'll have you thrown out, I—" She stopped abruptly when she saw the visitor, and squealed in excitement, throwing her arms around his neck. "Oh, Christian, I've missed you! You've been gone forever!"
Christian smiled and hugged her . "I've missed you, too," he said, pulling away to get a good look at his sister. "Wow, the last time I saw you, you were only sixteen years old!"
"I know, I've grown up!" Jessica laughed. "And God, so have you! Look at you!" But this wasn't exactly a compliment, and they both knew it. He was still as handsome as ever, but his eyes were deprived of their naïve sparkle and childhood dreams. He looked all in all...dead.
Jonathon rolled his eyes and stormed back inside. Christian gave one look at him before shrugging.
"Ignore him," said Jessica. "What's wrong, darling?"
"I'd rather not talk about it," Christian muttered.
"Whatever it was, it did you good," she said, looking at his solemn face. "But enough about that, we can get some hot cocoa and talk about the 'horrible Montmartre'." She laughed and took Christian's hand to lead him inside, but he didn't budge.
"Hold on," he said. He looked behind him nervously then stepped aside to reveal a little girl. "Jessica, this is Amour. Amour, this is Aunt Jessica."
"Hello," said Amour with a charming smile.
"Who is—is she—is she yours?" Jessica said in bewilderment.
"Yes, all mine," Christian smiled, pulling his daughter up in his arms. "She's my little Amour." He kissed her on her cheek and led her inside.
Satine was desperate to make the right decision for once. She had the choice of staying in Bedford and mourning over Christian and Amour for the rest of her life, and then she had the choice of leaving, to go some place where the memories didn't haunt her. Christopher moped around the house and was starting to do poorly in school, always choosing to stay silent and unsociable.
Yes, Satine decided, it was time to go. After two months she had enough of looking out the window and seeing no shop, just to constantly be reminded of those burning flames that had killed two of the three loves in her life. One day when Christopher awoke, rubbing and yawning with sleepiness, he walked into the living room to see three suitcases packed and Satine waiting patiently with his jacket.
"Mama?" he inquired.
"C'mon, Christopher," Satine said gently. "It's time to go." She held out his coat and helped him slip it on before handing him some toast for breakfast, grabbing the suitcases, and leaving the apartment.
They took a train to the one other home Satine had ever known: Montmartre.
The day of Christian's arrival at Jessica's was a depressing one; he reminisced the story of Satine and his and explained it to his sister, and by the end of the day, she was nearly feeling his pain as much as he was.
It was agreed that Christian and Amour could stay there as long as they wanted, and Christian promised that he would look for a house and a job first thing in the morning, though Jessica assured him there was no rush. She almost begged Christian to stay to keep her company and away from Jonathon.
That night Christian tucked Amour into bed, as happy as he had ever been since he fell in love with 'Sarah.' He sighed with content as he watched her from the doorway, sleeping easily as her small chest rose and fell in time with her breathing. She stirred for a moment and let out several tiny coughs; Christian took nothing of it, but perhaps that was because he didn't notice the small drops of blood that had fallen on Amour's hand.
And so ends the tale. As in most stories of love, there is no perfect ending, with bliss and ecstasy, with no rain and only clear skies and utopian days ahead. There is hurt and anger and powerful feelings that domineer the lovers and cause them to do things they'll never forgive themselves or each other for committing.
Yet deep inside those callous hearts, those aching minds, there is a love so strong that it is bound to one day overcome. In the end, love truly does conquer all, even if it is only l'amour fou.
A/N: Well...guess that's the end of that, hm? I think I'm gonna miss writing this story, but never fear, the sequel is near!! Lol, well it's not near but I have started on it. BTW, congrats Moulin Rouge for winning Best Musical Sequence and Best Actress (I think those were it) at the MTV Movie Awards!! Sorry about losing best kiss, but you guys still did awesome!
Dedicated: This is to all of my reviewers. I can't even begin to tell you how much your reviews mean to me and these twelve chapters are all for you guys! Thank you so much!
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