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



by Karadarlin and She's a Star



~ * ~ F I V E : A L L * T O * C H A N C E ~ * ~



by She's a Star







"Satine...what are you doing here?"

Satine remembered him now, as she stared at his face again. She hadn't seen him for years, but she could still remember him storming into the elephant, telling her that he loved her...that he knew she must have felt the same.

She'd explained to him that she was a courtesan, that she had only been indulging his fantasies, that she could never fall in love.

What idiot, she remembered thinking, would pay for a courtesan and then believe she loved him?

"I..."

How was she supposed to tell him that she'd fallen in love with his cousin when she'd stressed so heavily, those many years ago, that she couldn't...wouldn't ever fall in love?

"I'm with Christian," she finally said, staring down at the perfectly polished floor.

She could feel everyone's eyes on her, something she thought she would have grown used to after starring at the club for so long.

But that had always been positive attention.

"Why?" Philip asked. "Are you working with him...?"

Oh, God, don't make me say it, Satine thought miserably as he stared at her, his eyes wide and expression clueless.

However, Mr. Claremont beat her to it.

"The little whore's in love with your cousin," Edward sneered. "Or so she claims. My idiotic fool of a son will be heartbroken soon enough, just like you were."

"Edward, PLEASE," Lenora begged. "Vicky-"

"She thinks the wench is a Goddamned princess, Lenora!" Edward thundered, glaring at his wife. "I will NOT have our daughter IDOLIZING this woman!"

Philip still had his dark eyes fixed on her, expression blank. Finally, he murmured, "But I thought...I thought you couldn't fall in love."

"I couldn't," Satine said softly. "But...I...did."

"But I suppose I just wasn't good enough to be an exception to your little rule," Philip said bitterly.

"I didn't know you," Satine said weakly. "I didn't love you..."

"Philip," Christian cut in. Satine had almost forgotten he was there. "You can't control who you fall in love with."

"Love, love, love!" Edward interrupted, his tone full of fury. "It doesn't MATTER! There are MORE important things!"

"No!" Christian cut in, his eyes sparkling with anger. "There is NOTHING more important!"

Satine felt a smile begin to form around the corners of her lips, despite the horrible situation. His never-ending belief in love had been what made her fall...

"I won't have another one of these foolish arguments with you, boy!" Edward shouted. "Love won't keep you off the streets! Love won't make you rich!"

"Well, then I suppose those things aren't very important, are they?" Christian asked coolly.

"You're a fool," Edward sneered, then turned and stomped out of the room. Satine couldn't help but think of him as an overgrown child, pouting because he didn't get his way.

Satine sighed inwardly with relief when she noted that everyone's eyes were now fixed on Christian instead of herself.

"Still obsessed with love," Colin commented weakly.

Philip's fierce glare made its way back and forth from Christian and Satine before he spun around and left the room, announcing, "I'm going to go see my mother."

"I can't believe it," Satine muttered under her breath.

Everything that could possibly go wrong had gone wrong, and with flourish.

She waited for Christian to offer one of his reassuring whispers, something along the lines of "Everything will be all right" or "We'll get through this."

He didn't.

Instead he just stared at the door where Philip had exited, his eyes harsh and cold.

Satine sighed miserably.

One thing was for sure-the Bohemian storm wasn't the only one that was brewing.

And the one heading towards Claremont looked far more dangerous.



~*~



"Satine, Satine!"

Satine, who had been on her way to her quarters, turned around abruptly. She didn't want to go back to the room...being there made her uncomfortable.

Victoria was standing behind her, grinning broadly and holding a baby doll carefully in her hands.

"Hello, Victoria," Satine said with a smile.

"Want to come practice with me?"

"Practice what?" Satine asked.

"Being an auntie," Victoria replied, holding up the baby doll as evidence. "I'm going to be a nice auntie, not a scary one like Aunt Sarah."

"I'm sure you'll be a wonderful aunt," Satine said, walking over to Victoria. "And I suppose I could use some practice, too, for being a mother."

"You don't have any other babies?" Victoria asked as she wrapped her tiny fingers around Satine's, clutching the baby doll with one arm.

"Nope," Satine replied as they made their way towards Victoria's room.

Surprisingly, she added dryly to herself.

"I'm as new at this as you are," she finished.

They entered Victoria's room, and Satine had to blink a few times in order for her eyes to grow accustomed to the wave of pink.

Hand still clinging to Satine's own, Victoria led her over to a delicate-looking white baby cradle. She let go of Satine's hand and placed the doll in it carefully, then put her finger to her lips and made a "shhh" noise.

"She's got to sleep," Victoria informed Satine in a hushed whisper.

"I see," Satine whispered back seriously. "We'd better be quiet."

"Do you want to know her name?"

"Of course."

"Well," Victoria whispered in a matter-of-fact tone, "Her name used to be Jane, but now I changed it."

"To what?" Satine asked softly.

"Satine," Victoria replied earnestly. "So that she can grow up and be as pretty as you."

Satine smiled lovingly as she replied. "I hope that my baby is as sweet as you."

Victoria smiled, then looked down at the baby doll and caressed its porcelain cheek with soft, tiny fingers. She began to hum softly under her breath, and Satine couldn't help but feel a bit teary at how amazingly like Christian she was...her nature was so soft and naive and sweet.

And she, too, had immediately recognized Satine for who she was.

"Hush little baby, don't say a word," Victoria sang, her voice pure and sweet. "Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird...and if that mockingbird don't sing-"

Satine began to sing as well...her own mother had always loved to sing, and she could vaguely remember a soft, beautiful voice singing the same words to her as well so many years ago.

"Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring. And if that diamond ring don't shine-"

A sudden shriek, so full of grief and woe that it sent a shudder up and down Satine's spine, filled the air.

"What is it?" Satine immediately asked, her muscles tensed and heartbeat doubling its pace.

Victoria looked a bit nervous, but far more calm than Satine.

"It's Aunt Sarah," Victoria explained, her voice low. "She screams when she thinks about him."

"The lover she lost?"

"Yes," Victoria said, her fingers finding their way to Satine's once more. "It's scary." She paused, staring intently at Satine. "Why does she get like that?"

"I don't know," Satine replied honestly. "I don't know your auntie barely at all...but I know..." She took a deep breath, then continued. "I know that if I lost your brother, I would probably be the same way."

Victoria's blue eyes were wide. "Why?"

"Because..." Satine had never been skilled at explaining things, particularly to children. "Because I love him more than anything, and without him, I would just..."

She trailed off as a familiar feeling came over her...that awful weakness, that sense that you were suddenly powerless over your own body. Victoria was looking at her, her expression one of terror, as Satine began to cough. They weren't as bad as they'd been in the past....she coughed once...twice...

And then the feeling was gone.

Relief filled Satine as she took a few deep breaths, then smiled reassuringly at Victoria. There hadn't been any blood that time.

Maybe she really was getting better.

Maybe she'd been worrying all this time about nothing.

"Are you sick?" Victoria asked worriedly.

"Sort of," Satine replied weakly. "I haven't been feeling well for a while now..."

"Our doctor is nice," Victoria informed her. "I had a cold, and he made me feel all better-he sat with me and read me stories sometimes."

Satine smiled. "That was nice of him."

Then the shrieking started again. Victoria's grasp on Satine's hand tightened, and Satine squeezed right back.

"Charles!" Aunt Sarah shrieked, her voice so full of misery and yearning that it made Satine's heart ache. "Charles! Come back!"

Satine could hear the soft, soothing voice of someone attempting to reassure her, and after a while, Aunt Sarah's shrieks turned softer.

"Charles," she begged, hopeless. "Charles...come back to me..."

Satine felt tears well up in her eyes. If she ever lost Christian...if she ever had to be alone...to live her life alone like his poor Aunt...

Christian, I need you with me, Satine thought to herself. I need you with me right now.

As if called by fate, Victoria's door swung open, revealing Christian and Lavinia.

"Darling, there you are," Christian said, coming over and wrapping his arms around Satine. She felt her the tension in her muscles immediately fade away at his touch. "I've been looking all over for you."

"Vic and I were practicing," Satine explained, planting a kiss on his cheek and enjoying the bright smile that immediately bloomed upon his face.

"Practicing?" Christian questioned, his lips meeting her own.

Satine allowed herself to get lost in his kiss for a moment before reluctantly pulling away and replying, "Mmm-hmm. For the baby." She motioned towards the baby cradle.

"The baby," Christian repeated, his smile returning. "Our baby."

"Our baby," Satine echoed, returning his smile. If someone had told her six months before that she would fall in love with the sweetest man in the world and actually settle down and start a family, she wouldn't have believed them in a million years.

Christian kissed her again, and Satine laughed as Victoria whispered to Lavinia, "Why do they do that so much?"

"Because they're in love, silly," Lavinia whispered back.

Christian chuckled, then asked Satine, "And how did my baby sister do?"

"Brilliantly," Satine replied, exchanging a smile with Victoria. "She's going to be an amazing auntie."

"Not like Aunt Sarah," Victoria seemed compelled to add.

"Oh, Vic, don't be mean to Aunt Sarah," Christian said, his eyes still sparkling even though his voice was stern. "She's had a hard life...to lose the person you love is the worst pain imaginable."

He pulled Satine closer to him as he said it, as though trying to keep her with him always.

Well, Satine thought as she planted a kiss on his forehead and Victoria giggled, He doesn't have to do that...I'm never leaving him.

~*~



"Oh, dear God," Satine murmured under her breath in awe later that day as Christian led her into the library. She'd always enjoyed reading, but never in her life had she been surrounded by this many books...there were at least fifty shelves, all around twice Satine's height.

"My favorite room in the house," Christian said with a smile, squeezing her hand. "I swear, I spent at least half of my childhood in here." He looked around the library fondly, as though old memories were dancing across his mind. "My goal was always to write a book. I wanted to create other worlds for people to get lost in."

Satine smiled lazily as she wrapped her arms around him.

"You've already created one," she informed him, tracing his jawbone with her finger.

"Oh really?" Christian asked, his tone carrying a hint of amusement.

"Uh huh," Satine said softly. "And I get lost in it every time I'm with you."

Christian studied her a second before replying, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I'm always lost in Satine-land."

"Satine-land?" she echoed with a laugh. "Creative."

"Thank you, thank you," Christian grinned, planting a quick kiss on her lips. Satine smiled at him for a moment before kissing him back, softly at first but becoming more passionate each second. Whenever she kissed him, a completeness that she couldn't get anywhere else always filled her. She loved that feeling...needed it.

Not breaking the kiss, Christian took a few steps backward and laid down on one of the many expensive-looking mahogany tables, pulling Satine with him.

Oh, I have to stop this, Satine thought to herself. Knowing our luck, someone will walk in any second.

Still, she couldn't bring herself to ruin the moment. Instead, she just let herself get lost in his kiss, ignoring the fact that if Christian's father walked in, he'd have them out on the streets in a milisecond.

However, when Christian began to fumble with the zipper on the back of her dress, she pulled away from him.

"Christian," she murmured.

"Hmm?" he asked, kissing her neck.

"We can't do this," Satine said, not bothering to keep the reluctance out of her voice. "You know your father will walk in."

Christian pulled away from her, and Satine let out a giggle at his appearance-his hair was sticking out every which way, due to the fact that her fingers had been running through it, and the whole area around his mouth was covered with crimson lipstick.

"There's always going to be a Duke somewhere, huh?" Christian asked, his smile never leaving his face though his tone was a bit disappointed.

Satine nodded, then added, "I doubt I'll ever be able to kiss you without being disturbed."

Christian gave her an over exaggerated pout, then began to stroke her hair lightly with his fingers.

"Makes you kind of miss Montmartre, doesn't it?" he asked.

Satine nodded with a laugh. "The sitar player's humble abode."

She licked her pointer finger and began to wipe the lipstick from Christian's mouth, something she'd become quite skilled at after trying to hide their relationship from the Duke for practically four months.

"I-"

She was cut off when the door swung open, causing her heart to jump into her throat. However, she let out a sigh of relief to find that it was Philip rather than Edward. The relief was short-lived, though...the expression on Philip's face made Satine's blood run cold.

Satine immediately pulled herself off of Christian and stood up, straightening out her dress and smoothing her hair over. Christian propped himself up into a sitting position on the table.

"Sorry to interrupt," Philip said coolly.

Neither one of them replied, Satine at a loss for words.

After waiting a few seconds for a response, Philip continued.

"Though I suppose it's a good thing I walked in when I did," he sent a disapproving look at Satine, a look full of disgust and loathing. "I wouldn't want any sins to be committed under my uncle's roof."

Oh, as if you're such a saint, Satine thought angrily. You went to the Moulin Rouge. You paid for a courtesan.

"But I suppose it's difficult for you," Philip kept talking, his voice cold and menacing. "To break those habits, Satine. Once a whore, always a whore-"

"Stop it," Christian said. His voice was even, quiet...and yet it even caused Satine to shudder.

"Stop what?" Philip asked innocently. "I'm only telling the truth. Anyway, isn't that one of your little 'ideals'? Truth!"

"You don't know her," Christian's voice was still calm, but his hands were balled up into fists. "So don't even begin to try to judge her."

"They're all the same," Philip growled. "Sick, twisted, evil...get pleasure from fooling men, breaking their hearts."

"That isn't true."

The words escaped Satine's mouth before she even realized she'd said them aloud.

"Oh?" Philip hissed skeptically.

"Yes," Satine said. "We're keeping ourselves off of the streets. We're trying to survive."

Philip laughed shortly. "As if there aren't other ways."

"You have no right to say that," Satine said softly, trying to keep her voice even. "You've had money your entire life, you don't know what it's like."

"You have no right to defend yourself," Philip retorted. "Can you even count the number of hearts you've broken?"

"Most people aren't idiotic enough to fall in love with a courtesan," Satine's voice grew louder, and each word dripped with fury. "You can't just decide you love me if you don't know me."

"Well, then when did you fall in love with her, Christian?" Philip asked, his eyes baring into Christian. "Did your relationship develop slowly? Did you realize you loved her after spending days and days together as merely friends?"

Christian didn't reply, though he didn't break eye contact with his cousin.

"So I thought," Philip finally concluded bitterly. "Love at first sight. You saw her performing. Heard the song of the siren, and you were hooked. There was no hope for you. You had no choice but to give her yourself so she could play her mind games."

"I would never do that to him," Satine cut in angrily. "I fell just as hard as he did, and we LOVE one another, Philip, it isn't some sick game of lust and betrayal and-"

"Well, we'll see about that," Philip said. "I thought that was the only type of relationship that you underworld trash understood."

"Stop right now," Christian hissed. "She fell in love with me, Philip. Accept it. You always think you can have anything you choose, anything you desire. If you pay money for it, it's yours. Well, it doesn't work that way with people, Philip. If you keep thinking that way, I doubt anyone will be able to love you."

Philip, who had been advancing on Christian throughout the course of the conversation, swung his fist right at Christian's face. A sickening crack filled the air as fist met jaw, and Christian stumbled to the floor.

"Christian!" Satine exclaimed, running over to his side. Philip, however, knocked her aside with one swipe and slammed his fist into Christian's face again. Another crack filled the air.

"STOP IT!" Satine shouted, standing up and attempting to pry his arms off of Christian. Philip ignored her and slammed his fist into Christian's chest. Satine heard one of his ribs break, and she felt hot tears well up in her eyes.

"STOP IT, YOU BASTARD!" she screamed as a barely-conscious Christian coughed. Blood emerged from his mouth to join the crimson on his rapidly swelling cut lip.

Philip slammed Satine aside, and she stumbled backwards, then hit her head on one of the sharp corners of a table. Pain overtook all of her senses, and she tried to whisper out her lover's name. However, she'd lost the ability of speech.

She attempted again and her voice came out, weak and barely above a whisper.

"Christian, I love you."

And then everything went black.