Author: IrishRavenX

Disclaimer: Not mine. Nope. I wish it was. Yep. Yep I do. 'Cause then I'd be rich...an'...an' I'd be able to be near Ewan McGregor, an'...and...well, Many other things would be special. But unfortunately, what you recognize from the movie is not mine. Never will be...but no use crying over it, I suppose ::sniffles::

Feedback: Yes, please, please, please. Si, por favor. Ja, bitte. Tak, prosze. Ndyo! Oui, Merci. How many other languages can I say it in? Hebrew.Russian.Irish.unfortunately, one I have forgotten the spelling of, and the other two fonts aren't on this computer. So there we are. Any way, now onto the...

A/N: I'm pretending that Christian was around for a good 9 months during this thing. Time doesn't work out exactly in my mind, and it would do well for you not to think too hard about it. :P

Author's lame excuse: It's a long chapter 'cause I don't know when I'll be posting again. I have a project due, and I'm bout to take a crash course in editing a VHS. Fun fun. Enjoy the story, I'll make some more excuses afterwards. And now..without any further commercials, I present...

Chapter VIII

Christain stared at the bottle of Jameson's whiskey that sat before him on the table. If they were having a staring contest, the whiskey was definitely winning. If they were having a battle of will power..well, the bottle was winning that one too. He had promised that he wouldn't drink any more. No. He would not live out his days being a hopeless drunk. He was a teacher! But on a second thought, the Principal was a drunk..

Christian sat upright in his seat. Which reminded him. He was filling in for the principal. And still teaching his classes. He couldn't be drunk for that, now could he? Well...he *could*...

He slapped his face with a great amount of force. It did a surprising amount of good.

Christian quickly snatched up the bottle, and shoved it into a cabinet. Out of sigh...hopefully out of the mind...

~*~

Marie quickly pulled the clothes from the suitcase she had brought with her, and handed them to Nurse McRoberts.

"Madam Zidler, the doctor specifically said that he does not want Satine to leave. He said that someone is coming to see her now that she has awoken.apparently someone of rather high status."

Marie froze, staring at Susan, then cast a glance to Satine, who paled at the news, and walked over to the window, staring out at the landscape.

"Then we must do more that hurry," Marie said, "Give that to Satine. And pull the hat down to cover your face, Satine. We must go quickly...he is coming...he is coming..."

"Madam Zidler, what are you talking about?"

Susan just stared at the elderly woman, wondering about Marie's current mental condition.

"Satine, dear...you need to come with me now," Marie said gently, shaking her shoulder.

Susan watched Marie, the desperation in her speech, her movements, the overall fear emanating off of her. Whatever had spooked this woman, it was definitely something serious...a force to be reckoned with.

"Come now, Satine," Marie murmured, moving her away from the window,

"You'll be safe with us. You're coming home...little Kait will be so thrilled."

"My little angel...how is she?"

"She's the brightest little thing...she had her father's hair, and the voice of an angel. Such a talented girl,"

"Does she know..."

"No. She does not."

Satine didn't know whether or not to breath a sigh of relief or to cry. Her little girl did not know the true history of her mother, of her father...and she believed her true parents were dead...how would she take it when she returned? She dared not to think about it. Or about Christian...where was her love. Hopefully still alive...Christian took to the bottle when he got depressed, as she had learned before...Christian had not known about Kait, who was born barely two months before the premiere of the show.

The child had been premature, and Satine had barely shown during the eight months. Everyone who knew believed that the child would have died within days...but here it was...almost nine years later...and soon she would be reunited.

~*~

Kait stomped up the stairs, very upset with her Grandpapa. He never answered her question. He only said that Christian was a friend of the family who died a long time ago. It was very upsetting. She hated not knowing what was going on, but her grandparents told her that it was necessary for her to be kept in the dark about some things. That they would tell her when she was older.

Kait ran to her room and pulled open the door of her closet, and came out a few moments later, after some amount of rummaging and crashes. With some amount of strain she pulled a chest from the closet, and sat down on her bed. She lifted the heavy lid, then pulled the first layer from it, revealing an array of memorabilia and pictures she had found in the attic a few years ago.

There were the pictures of the people and places she saw in her dreams, and quite a few things she could not figure out. There were a few pieces of wood, polished into plaques. They had all different sorts of things inscribed into them.

"Sa and Ch till the end of time" "My Gift is my Song" "I only speak the truth" "Today is the day when dreaming ends. 25th of January, 1902." "The Show must go on" "Beauty Freedom Truth Love" "You can't fool the Children of the Revolution" "Until the End of Time" "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is." The lower portion of the plaque had been broken and Kait had never been able the rest of it, to her dismay.

Kait placed them all aside, ignoring the nail that had dug into her skin. She assumed that the plaques had been hung somewhere, long ago. Where, she wasn't sure. But the red windmill was the only place that she could think of. She wished she could have remembered more about the place...

Her granddad said that Kait had a very good memory. The very short woman who worked as a servant for them, Jacylen, or China Doll, as Nini sometimes called her; called it 'Photographic", which apparently meant she couldn't forget things. Kait hunched down on her bed. But she still couldn't remember where her art notebook was.

With a sigh, Kait lay down and closed her eyes, her dreams taking her to a world of music and beauty, known as the Moulin Rouge.

~*~

Christian walked up the steps of the school, dreading the day before him. It was a Friday, he would give it that, but that did not improve things much. He was filling in for the principal, which mean he was now responsible for the entire school. All 87 small, screaming, and slightly demonic children. Scratch *slightly*. They could be little bastar...little demons when they put their minds to it. And Friday had a tendency to multiply the basta...*demon* factor in them by hundreds.

But, he could theoretically barricade himself in the principal's office, as the true principal usually did. And he could drink...Christian stopped and mentally slapped himself. He would have physically done so, but he had the feeling it would disturb the staff and students, and make them question his already moot and...well...questionable state of mind.

He opened the door of the school, and turned to look at the empty school yard, imagining the throngs of children which would soon appear. _Bring it on._

~*~

Susan helped Marie get Satine situated in the carriage, wondering all the time what exactly had Marie so worried.

"Marie, what is going on?"

"I must get Satine away from here. The Duke is coming."

Susan looked to Satine, who was looking very pale.

"Satine is not ready to leave, Marie, she is not fully recovered."

Marie looked from Satine to Susan, the former of which who squeezed her hand weakly.

"Then you must come with us, Nurse McRoberts. You can come with us and care for Satine," Marie suggested hastily.

"But...I don't have anything packed. And my job..."

"We'll pay you!" Marie said, "And we can purchase anything you need."

Susan looked from the carriage to the hospital, feeling as if she was coming apart at the seams, being pulled in two...what should she hold more important? This woman, obviously in need of help, or a job she is not content with?

She looked to Satine, who was looking at her with a pleading look in her soulful blue eyes. With a deep sigh, and many second thoughts, Susan jumped into the carriage, closing the door behind her.

~*~

Kait ran down the steps of the school, twirling around triumphantly. It was Friday afternoon. Friday...fridayfridayfridayfriday...a wonderful, wonderful Friday. Kait didn't know why she was in such a good mood...aside from the mere fact that it was indeed a Friday, and that on Friday afternoons, her grandpapa let David take her into the City. Kait loved the city. It was bustling and full of activity and life. Everything you passed by had its own story...every person had a history...

And even better...she got to visit the bookstores...and the art museum. The guide at her favorite museum was very nice. He gave her a special tour. When she had first asked, he was really snobby, but then David pulled him aside and talked to him for a few minutes...and suddenly the guide became really nice...

"Katherine, what are you doing?" Ms. Sullivan asked the twirling girl as she went around in circles on the lawn.

"Why, Ms. Sullivan, can't you see the young girl is twirling?" Christian asked, leaning against the wall of the alcove leading to the front door of the school. He jumped down the steps and onto the lawn, joining Kait in her twirling.

Ms. Sullivan just walked away, not gracing his reaction with a comment.

Soon Kait fell onto the lawn laughing, taking Christian down with her. Christian lay there, looking up at the sky, listening to Kait and his own laughter. It felt good to laugh. The laughter died away, and after a few moments of silence, Christian stood up, and helped Kait do the same.

"I like to spin," Kait stated, brushing the dirt off her dress.

"I noticed," Christian chuckled.

"My mother used to like to twirl. My nana said that Mommy liked to dance."

Christian watched the young girl's eyes cloud, getting a far off look in her blue eyes. Suddenly those eyes seemed so, so familiar... Kait went over to sit on the bench and sighed heavily.

"You're here rather late today, Kait. Where is your ride home?"

"I don't know," Kait replied, resting her head in her hands, "David is probably having some problems with the car."

They sat there in silence for awhile, and finally Kait turned to Christian and looked up at him in curiosity.

"Mr. James, can you tell me a story?" Christian looked at Kait and smiled.

"Stories? Well, Miss Kait, that just happens to be my specialty," Christian smiled even brighter.

"And it happens that I have just the perfect story."

"Once, a long long time ago, in India, there was a beautiful ..courte.princess. She was the most beautiful princess in the land, and had a voice like an angel. Her eyes were..." Christian looked to Kait, who was looking at him intently.

"..as blue and beautiful as yours, Miss James. And she had the most brilliant, shining red hair. But one day, an evil maharajah took over her kingdom..."

Kait interrupted "And then she had ta' make him believe she loved him, but she really loved the penniless sitar player (though David told me that he was really a writer) and the evil duke...maharajah found out, and they got upset, but love concurred all in the end."

Christian just stared at Kait in amazement.

"How did you know that? Did you read a book about it?"

"A book? No, no, David told me about it, though my Grandda didn't want him to."

"Kait!"

Christian looked up to see a man standing across the street next to an automobile. A very large black man, with an all too familiar smile plastered on his lips.

"Hello David!!!" Kait called, waving, "I have to go, Mr. James. See you on Monday." Kait grabbed her bag and began to go towards David, "Oh, yeah, when is open house?"

"Er...Wednesday," Christian replied, slightly dazed.

"Thanks, Mr. James!" Kait yelled, sprinting towards the car. Then she stopped again.

"I also think I forgot my notebook in your music room. That's the last place I remember having it after I played that really nice violin. Could you find it for me? Thanks!" Kait's words were very rushed, and Christian's brain froze trying to follow them, unable to reply.

Kait dashed the final three yards to the car and David took her bag, put it in the trunk of the car, and opened the door for her. They took off down the road moments later, leaving a very perplexed Christian standing next to the bench in the front yard of the school.

"Wha...?"

Five minutes later, Christian had managed to come to some sort of rational about what had just taken place, and was on his way to his office to lock up. and to find a notebook????

~*~

Author's Note: No open house yet, folks. Sorry. I don't rush through these stories. But it is coming soon, very soon. I'm trying to wrap things together. Hopefully it will work. ::hops about:: As I said before, I don't know when the next posting will be. But I'm sure that some reviews will help me speed my updating...yes...that will do nicely...::Evil maniacal laughter::

While you're at it, I recommend that you Witchblade fans check out the story I put up in honor of April Fools day. Muahahahahah!!!! :P