~ * ~ E S C A P I N G * T H E * U N D E R W O R L D ~ * ~

by Karitastarlet and She's a Star

~ * ~ T H R E E : C O M E * W H A T * M A Y ~ * ~

by She's a Star



Satine held her breath as Christian swung open the huge door, knowing what to expect on the inside. Fancy furniture and expensive antiques, things that Satine had never experienced and knew she wasn't worthy of. It didn't matter if she married Christian, became a respectable house wife, dressed in the finest fashions, and sat down with the other ladies at tea parties. Part of her would always be Satine, The Sparkling Diamond, the most sought-out courtesan at the Moulin Rouge. Yes, she'd been the classiest of the girls back in Montmartre, but that was nothing compared to here.

Perhaps Christian's family would be able to see through her elegant clothes and flawless face right away and realize that she was nothing but a worthless whore.

Don't think of yourself that way, or it WILL show, Satine scolded herself.

She couldn't help but gasp as the door opened all the way and revealed Christian's home. It was a hall, clearly, and the walls were decorated with different paintings, many done by artists Satine was familiar with. Sculptures and plants also were placed around the hall.

"My goodness," Satine murmured under her breath.

"It's only the entry hall," Christian said with a chuckle. Satine looked over at him and forced a weak smile, which was returned, only his was radiant and full of warmth. Just having him smile at her made her feel better.

Somehow, she couldn't picture Christian living there...it was so proper and stuffy and everything that he wasn't. It just seemed wrong for him to be there instead of in the tiny apartment back in Montmartre. She couldn't see him sitting in here with his typewriter, that thoughtful, far-off expression on his face.

Stop it, Satine, she thought. He's right, it IS only the entry hall. It could be completely different.

But somehow she doubted it.

"Who's there?" a female voice asked. One of the doors swung open, and a plump, elderly woman with gray hair, sparkling blue eyes, and a wide smile came into view.

"Christian!" she exclaimed, immediately enveloping Christian in a huge hug.

"Nanny Kelly!" Christian cried, grinning as he patted her on the back.

Satine stood awkwardly, hugging herself. It was odd...she didn't feel the tiniest bit of nervousness when performing in front of hundreds of men, but Christian's nanny made her feel so nervous she thought she would pass out.

"And who is this lovely lady?" Nanny Kelly asked after she pulled away from Christian.

"This is Satine," Christian said, taking her hand and squeezing it lightly. His touch made her feel a bit less nervous.

"Nice to meet you," Satine said, glad when her voice came out even instead of shaky.

Nanny Kelly's expression seemed to change the slightest bit as Christian said her name, but Satine blinked and the warm smile had returned.

"So, our Christian's finally fallen in love, after all his years of dreaming?" Nanny Kelly asked teasingly.

"Yes," Christian said, then looked at Satine. All of her nervousness momentarily disappeared as she allowed herself to get lost in his eyes. She loved the way he looked at her...as if she were the only thing in the world.

"I can tell," Nanny Kelly said softly. Satine could feel her eyes on them, but couldn't bring herself to look away from Christian.

"Well," Nanny Kelly said brightly. "I'll go tell the mistress and your sisters, shall I?"

"All right," Christian said without looking away from Satine. Nanny Kelly left, and Satine couldn't help but whisper, "Did you see how she looked at me?"

"What do you mean?" Christian asked, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. He'd noticed as well.

"You know what I mean," Satine said. "It was just...odd."

"I suppose," Christian said softly. "So-"

He was interrupted by a young girl's voice shrieking, "Christian, Christian!" in delight.

Christian turned around, and immediately his face broke into a wide smile and he held out his arms. A little girl who looked around seven giggled happily as she wrapped her arms around her brother.

"Hey, Vic," Christian said happily, pecking her on the cheek.

"You're back! You're back!" Victoria exclaimed, ecstatic. "I thought you were going to live in Paris!"

"Well, I just missed you too much," Christian replied, still smiling. "I had to come back and visit."

"I missed you too," Victoria replied, then turned to see Satine. Her blue-green eyes, which were the exact same shade as Christian's, looked curiously at her.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Satine," Satine replied softly. She didn't quite know how to act around her...she'd never had much experience at all with children.

"You look like a princess," Victoria said, her voice full of awe. "I have a storybook, and the princess looks just like you..." she turned to Christian. "Is she a princess?"

"Yup," Christian said, affectionately ruffling his sister's black curls. "And I'm her prince."

"You're not a prince, silly!" Victoria said with a giggle. She turned back to Satine again. "The grown-ups talk about a bad lady named Satine sometimes...they go in other rooms and whisper to each other."

Satine and Christian exchanged bewildered glances.

"But she can't be you," Victoria concluded. "You're a nice lady."

"Thank you," Satine said softly, a bit dazed. Certainly it wasn't HER they were talking about in hushed voices!

But Satine wasn't a common name.

And she supposed, considering what she'd been doing to make money for the past ten years of her life, that she could be a 'bad lady'.

But how could they have heard about her?

"Vic, where's Mum and Lavinia?" Christian asked.

"They're coming," Victoria replied informatively. "Mum got all teary-eyed when Nanny Kelly told her you were back. She missed you a lot."

"Well, she won't have to anymore," Christian said, putting an arm around Victoria's shoulders. Satine, who suddenly felt very cold, wished that the arm was around hers instead.

One of the doors to Satine's right was pushed open, and two women emerged. They were both tall, slender, and very beautiful. The older one, obviously Christian's mother, had dark brown hair which held the occasional streak of gray, and Christian's warm blue eyes. The other, Lavinia obviously, was a much younger version of her mother, with the same dark brown hair and eyes.

"Christian!" Mrs. Claremont cried happily, flinging her arms around Christian. He greeted her and hugged her back.

"Christian," Lavinia said with a brisk nod. Satine wasn't sure she liked her...she seemed a bit too formal.

"Oh, I've missed you so much, Darling!" Mrs. Claremont exclaimed, pulling away from Christian and studying him. "You haven't changed much."

"Mum, it's been barely four months," Christian laughed.

"Well, yes," Mrs. Claremont said. "But it seems so much longer." She kissed her son on the cheek. "I missed you, dear."

"I missed you too, M-"

"What is this infernal racket? Honestly, can't a man get ANY rest?"

Satine held her breath as the man who could only be Mr. Claremont stomped into the room. His expression was one of utmost fury, and Satine couldn't believe Christian had survived living with this man for over twenty years.

"Oh," he said as soon as his eyes fell upon Christian. "Come back, have you? Couldn't cut it as a writer in Paris, eh? Told you a million times, boy." Satine wanted more than anything for Mr. Claremont's beady eyes to overlook her.

She found out seconds later that that had been merely wishful thinking.

"And this is your can-can girl, isn't it? The one you fell absolutely head-over-heels in love with?" Mr. Claremont's eyes looked her up and down, and Satine felt a shiver run up and down her spine. "Wouldn't be surprised if she was some dirty whore," Mr. Claremont continued.

"Edward!" Mrs. Claremont exclaimed in shock.

"What's that?" Victoria whispered to Satine.

"N...nothing," Satine whispered back.

"It's the truth, isn't it?" Mr. Claremont said, glaring. "She'll break your heart, boy, just like that Satine whore at that filthy Moulin Rouge place broke Philip's!"

"EDWARD," Mrs. Claremont snapped.

Satine, however, felt as though she'd just been slapped...Philip? She couldn't remember anyone named Philip. But then again, she couldn't remember any of them...they were just nameless faces, memories she'd love to banish from her mind.

"Her name's Satine, too!" Victoria exclaimed, pointing at Satine.

The whole world seemed to stop, and Satine felt like crying as the eyes of Mr. and Mrs. Claremont and Lavinia all fell upon her, filled with disbelief.

"Is that so?" Mr. Claremont asked coldly.

"Yes," Satine whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Lavinia, Victoria, let's go," Mrs. Claremont said tersely, taking Victoria's hand and practically dragging her out of the room. Lavinia glared daggers at Satine before leaving after her mother.

"So..." Mr. Claremont said, his voice full of cruel amusement mixed with anger. "My son fell in love with the number one whore at the Moulin Rouge." Christian's father laughed shortly. "I never thought even YOU would sink so low, boy. Desperate to fall in love...no woman would have you and your idiotic ideas, so you paid one! And as if that wasn't pathetic enough, you began to believe that she loved you...that she was an angel, just trapped in hell..."

Satine could feel Christian shaking with rage next to her, and she took his hand in hers.

"Look me in the eye and tell me I'm wrong," Mr. Claremont challenged.

Christian took a shaky breath, stared his father straight in the eyes, and said softly, "You're wrong."

"Oh am I?" Mr. Claremont asked, then turned to Satine. "Go ahead and tell me you're not the Satine from the Moulin Rouge. The...Sparkling Diamond or whatever the hell those underworld monsters refer to you as."

Satine could feel tears welling up in her eyes as he glared at her...she'd never, ever felt more ashamed of being a prostitute.

"I am," Satine whispered, looking at the floor and trying desperately to swallow the lump in her throat.

"Look at me when you speak to me," Mr. Claremont ordered. "You have no right to show the smallest bit of disrespect, whore."

A sob escaped from the back of Satine's throat, and Christian wrapped his arms around her, then said coolly, "You don't know her. You have no right to talk to her like that. Now leave."

Mr. Claremont smirked. "Fine. Be naive. Get your heart broken. Just don't come moping around the house as if it were unexpected."

And with that, he disappeared into the door that his wife and daughters had gone through a few moments before.

As soon as he left, Satine allowed the tears that were begging to fall to pour from her eyes and slide down her cheeks.

"I can't believe it," she whispered through her tears. "I can't believe your family would hate me. I can't believe that I broke your cousin's heart somehow...I...oh, Christian."

"Shhh," Christian said soothingly, rocking her in his arms. "We have each other, it's going to be all right."

"No it's not!" Satine exclaimed. "Couldn't you see how much they loathed me? They're not going to let me stay, I'm going to have to go back and be with the Duke..."

"No!" Christian said sharply. "Don't think like that...it's going to be fine."

He wiped away a tear that was making its way down her cheek, and she smiled weakly.

"Come what may," he sang softly, a smile on his face.

Satine forced herself to smile...it would be all right. She COULD make it through this. As long as she had Christian, things would be fine...

In a soft, shaky voice, she echoed his words.

"Come what may."