A/N:  THIS IS NOT EDITED. BETA READER NEEDED. The movie Moulin Rouge, along with the characters used in this fanfiction, is copyrighted (©) to its respected owners (Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Productions, Baz Luhrmann, etc.). I do not take any credit for the characters from the movie Moulin Rouge that I have used in this fanfiction. All of the characters not from the Moulin Rouge movie are my own creations (Josilan, Henry, and others). Please DO NOT USE THEM without my permission.  Thank you.

Any chapters (including the prologue) PREVIOUS to chapter seven are the work of both Viral Impact and Kalah Exclamation. Chapter seven and any of the FOLLOWING chapters (including the epilogue) are solely the work of Viral Impact.

! BETA READER STILL NEEDED ! ! SUGGESTIONS APPRECIATED !

Chapter Eight: Diamonds and Tin - Part the First

          Adele sat on her windowsill like so many of the other girls did and she inhaled the fresh air. Her eyes were beady and red from crying and she had no more energy to cry. She sat with no expression on her face except for misery and from below someone commented on how Moulin Rouge appeared like such a lonely place in daylight. She was sleep deprived ever since Chance's death. If she closed her eyes, she was afraid that she would see him in her dreams and wake up to find him nowhere but buried in the worm-infested mud. She gazed below and saw the disturbed road where Chance had laid and died. Her heart was broken and there was nothing to mend it.

A soft knock echoed in the room and Adele licked her dry and cracked lips. She tried to talk but no sound escaped her throat. The door slowly opened and Adele pulled her knees to her chest. She rested her head on her knees and she watched as a bouquet of flowers appeared. Henry stepped in and Adele narrowed her eyes. She had no strength to fight him verbally or physically. Slowly, with shuddering movements, she pointed to the door and shook her head. She mouthed, "Leave."

Henry smiled and she noticed the picnic basket and blanket he had in hand. He pulled a vase and a pitcher of water from the basket and he sat them on her dresser. He finally the vase and said cheerfully, "Adele, you must get better. We can't have one of the stars of our show being socially withdrawn. You must eat and drink. You haven't in weeks."

Adele shook her head and she looked away from Henry. She could hear him whistling and she felt sick to her stomach. He had crushed all her dreams, all her hopes, all of her remaining life and he was whistling a merry tune to cheer her up. She held her eyes sting and no tears came. Her mouth was sticky and she licked her cracked lips again. She needed water but would rather die than help herself. There was no reason for her to live without Chance. She felt a hand touch her shoulder and she pulled away. She was shocked when she heard Satine coo, "Adele, I'm here for you."

Adele turned and looked up at Satine with pleading eyes. She mouthed, "Henry must go."

Satine nodded and she barked out to Henry, "Leave. She doesn't want to see you."

Henry bowed out politely but when the door shut in his face, he put his ear against it to listen to their conversation.

Adele hoarsely whimpered, "I feel so alone."

Satine pressed her fingers against Adele's mouth to silence her. She pulled out a picture that she was hiding behind her back and handed it to Adele. "It's our picture and I wrote to you on the back."

"I don't understand." Adele shook her head in confusion as she read the note.

Satine smiled, "You gave all of us hope that we could love and maybe someday fly away from here." Adele finally felt the sticky tears roll down her cheeks and she realized what Satine was telling her. "You're not bitter and you're such a lovely person." Satine pressed her hand against Adele's heart. "This isn't frigid. You are truly the most loyal person I've ever met. Your kindness has touched everyone and given them a little hope in this world." Satine paused. "I wanted to give you this message before…I was going to do something drastic, but I decided against it because of your compassion for everyone. I felt foolish and selfish." Satine smiled and she wiped Adele's tears away, "Your love gave all the Diamond Dogs hope that someday we can love too…and that a man can love us too…." Satine began to cry and she whispered, "You gave me hope when I had none. Your love gave me courage to love again. You are truly the Sparkling Diamond of the Moulin Rouge."

Adele embraced Satine and together they cried as Adele sobbed, "Satine! I love you!"

"I love you!"

"Your words have truly touched me."

Satine's face softened and she held Adele's hands, "Now please, shine once more and help us regain our strength. Without you, it isn't the same."

          "It's enormous!" Nini spat as Satine showed off her diamond ring.

"Look at all the blues and sparkly whites." Another girl, near the back of the group huddled around Satine, shouted, "It's so huge!"

"You know what they say – a man's diamonds reflects the man's…" The girls giggled before the sentence could finish.

"That's one diamond." Someone whistled in awe.

Another yelled from far back in the room, "Who's it from?"

Satine proudly said with her head held high, "My darling, my love, my one and only…Leroy."

The whole group sighed and Nini grumpily shattered the moment, "So you did give him his money's worth."

Satine slapped Nini and screamed, "It's because he loves me."

Nini held her face and as the group moved away from her, she stood in shock. Her face stung and she could see Satine's flaming red hair in the midst of all the bodies surrounding her. She whispered, "…Where's Henry?"

Satine giggled, "And tonight he's taking me to Gothic Tower."

"Is it true the Duke left him everything except his manor in England?" Adele questioned.

Satine nodded and said, "It's lovely, isn't it?"

"Diamonds are always a sign of love," Henry interrupted the group and they turned to see Nini following closely behind him. "You of all people should know that…" He put a finger under her chin and smiled crookedly, "…does Camilla Parker ring a bell?"

Satine grimaced and she turned away with an ashamed look spread across her face. Adele placed her hand on Satine's shoulder and cried, "You're such a…" Adele clenched her teeth and stopped herself.

Henry grinned and said politely, "I say we continue practicing and stop the fooling around?"

Adele stared flatly at Henry and boldly said, "I'm only staying because I have to, not because I want to."

Henry touched his chin in thought and his eyes flashed as an idea came to him. "Let's take a small break. Go discuss." The girls scrambled to talk and surrounded Satine with questions and comments. Henry approached Adele, cornering her into one of the booths. He touched her shoulder and inhaled the sweet scent of her hair. "Adele…"

"Henry, stop." She pushed his hands away and whispered, "I hate you. You killed Chance."

"No." He strongly commanded as he latched onto her shoulder with a tight grip. "No."

"Yes." She cried as she tried to trip his hands from her shoulders but his grip only tightened. She withered under the pain and she fell to her knees.

"I never killed him."

"Yes you did."

"Stop arguing!!" His nails dug into her skin and she could feel them begin to rip.

"You can't brainwash me like the rest." The room fell silent as she screeched, "You're a murderer."

Henry shook his head and pushed her away. He looked down at her to see blood seeping from the gash he made with his nails. "No one here seems to agree. It was just an accident, right?" Murmurings of agreement followed. Adele held her shoulder and lowered her head in shame; he had won. She stood up and wiped the snot and tears from her face. "Let's get back to work, you hear?"

"I hear." She spoke in a flat and defeated tone. "I hear clearly."

          Christian stumbled into Adele's room after asking Nini for directions. The light flickered as the door slammed open and Adele and Satine glanced up. They were sitting in the windowsill with cigarettes hanging from the corners of their mouths. Poker cards were scattered on the floor and a bottle of wine was in their reach. Satine flicked the cigarette outside the window and Christian placed a rose in her hand.  He took the other hand and he produced a tiny tin ring he had made and fell onto one knee.

"I can give you the world of love. I have my inheritance to give you a wedding and a strong household. No more drinking Satine! No more whores!" As he spoke, his hands shook, "I want you and you only."

He readied for her reply and moved her fingers so he could easily slide the ring onto her finger. In his hastiness, he hadn't noticed the gaudy enormous diamond on her hand. Christian's eyes locked onto the diamond that already occupied her ring finger and swallowed hard. Satine shook her head and gracefully turned her head away. She pulled her hand away and Christian's eyes never left the diamond.

He was defeated and hoarsely said while fighting back the tears, "For two days I'll wait at the train station, for you…if diamonds are more important than love…"

Satine had fled the uncomfortable scene but it still played in her mind. She left Christian standing in Adele's room with the wilting rose and the dirty tin ring. She stood on the balcony of Gothic Tower and gazed down at the Moulin Rouge. She tapped her foot with impatience and glanced at the clock. Leroy was terribly late and the meal on the table was already stone cold. She saw Christian from below with the collar of his trench coat flipped up and his eyes trailed up to hers. She retreated back into the shadows. His words echoed in her thoughts, "For two days I'll wait…"

          The heavy doors clanged shut and the sound rang throughout the empty tower. Satine anxiously circled around and squinted to see two figures in the darkness. She swept back into the shadows and hid behind the royal blue drapery; the velvet brushed lightly against her skin as a breeze passed through. The voices were quiet and Satine's face constricted as she tried to listen.

The voices faded in and out of her hearing as the strangers walked around the room. The tension increased and Satine held her breath. "Leroy!" It was a woman's voice.

"…Damn…No, darling…please…" Recognizing Leroy's voice, Satine's grip increased onto the velvet drapes and she fought back the tears. "Satine means…you're my…I love…"

"Leroy, please."

Leroy's voice became angry and frustrated as he took the woman into his arms and shouted in her face. "No! The diamonds mean nothing! They're nothing! There is no such thing as the love of diamonds.

"Diamonds were created so weak men can hide behind them. Isn't it Leroy?"

Satine watched as the two figures came together and as the light fluttered from the balcony entrance, she witnessed the soft kiss Leroy placed onto the woman's lips. "Amèlie, I love you…"

Satine screamed in fury and ripped the drapes from the ceiling as she dropped to her knees. Plaster and the heavy metals rings came crashing down and she began to rip the drapes apart. Her scream pierced the ears of all and Leroy and Amèlie turned to see her. It resembled the scream of a dying horse; it was unbearable, unearthly, horrifying. She picked herself up and kicked the drapes away from her. She ripped the ring from her finger and threw it at Leroy.

"Curse you." She wiped the tears away and spat in his face. Her finger pointed to Amèlie and she screamed, "Shame on me for being fooled! I'm not the whore! You are!" She turned to Leroy and held her hands up as if she wanted to rip him apart, choke him. She growled through clenched teeth and eyes ablaze in wrath. "You lied…you lied…when you gave me that ring." She pointed to the diamond, no longer did it shimmer with wondrous allure. It was cold, dead and just like all the other rocks she had received. "You never meant it. You should die. You deserve a slow, painful, cruel, miserable death." Satine broke into tears and dashed out of the room without glancing back to see Leroy's face.

          Unwilling to move, Josilan remained in front of the train station with baggage in her hands and a black veil shrouding her face. James was beside her with Isabelle in his arms as she held a dirty raggedy doll in her pink hands. Her face was angelic as she slept soundly, her face tucked into his shoulder and her arms unwilling to leave his neck. James kicked Josilan forward and set Isabelle on her feet. He disappeared and Josilan was left alone. James and Alyse Bordeaux didn't have the money to care for the depressed Josilan and her unruly little girl. The train whistled blared and Josilan took Isabelle from Henry. She boarded the train and James followed to make sure her trip was successful.

As they boarded, James tipped his hat to the strangers as they sat in their own booth. Isabelle sat down beside the window and talked to her doll as she twilled it around. Josilan's knees brushed James' as she seated and their eyes interlocked. His hands shook as he laid his hat on his lap and Josilan's eyes twitched. James was the first to speak, "Jos, I apologize."

"Money always mattered." She replied sweetly.

"Though wonderful and meaningless, I do not regret what happened between us."   A hand was placed on her knee and she moved away hurriedly.

"I do." She turned her head away and their conversation ended.

          "You lied."

Henry's voice pierced the darkness of The Elephant's confinement. With the hiss of a newly lighted match and a flash, the only light emitted from the red embers of his cigarette. He leaned against the wall and fingered the drapes that masked the heart-shaped window. Satine was sprawled on the floor, her hands covering her face as she pulled her sticky hair from her sweating and bleeding face. Her throat stung as the burning sensation of acid lurched from the depths of stomach and the contents of her dinner spilled onto the floor. The Persian rug was ruined.

Henry continued as he swept across the floor and tossed a handkerchief down to Satine, "You told Josilan I was after her. You told her that Christian was dead. I wanted to kill her apparently because she married Christian. I understand your twisted web of lies. You told me you killed Josilan and told her that Christian was dead. Now, why would you want to do this? Ah…" Henry pulled her up to face him by her hair. "Because you wanted Christian single and Josilan to never come back. You knew she feared me, and you knew Christian loved her. He was your only way out at the time, wasn't he? He was the only way for you to leave your loving brother. Have you anything to say?"

"This handkerchief isn't enough." Satine whimpered.

Henry threw a crumpled piece of paper onto the floor and Satine opened it as he let go of her hair. It was a letter, which stated the Bordeaux family wanted money for the returning and care of Josilan and her child out of wedlock. Satine frantically turned her head upward to find Henry and he smiled. "Josilan knows the truth and she is eating with the rest of the girls. Clean up."

          Henry was waiting at the train station and he watched as people began to pour out of the train. James approached him with Josilan by his side and as Henry hugged her, he was afraid if he hugged too tightly she would break. Red circles around her eyes indicated malnutrition but the child was healthy. James snatched the money from Henry's hand and within moments, Henry was alone with Josilan and Isabelle. Isabelle cowered behind her mother's skirts and Henry held Josilan's hand. "Let's get you out of the cold, eh?"

Satine pulled her heavy suitcase up to the station platform and she saw Josilan and Isabelle. Her heart sank as she witnessed both her siblings embrace and she yearned to be with them for a brief moment. Then the truth hit her. Henry was just being reunited with Josilan, he never told her the truth. She touched her bandaged face and whimpered as she listened to them as they hurriedly passed.

Josilan questioned, "How's Satine?"

"She didn't write?" Henry was a wondrous actor as his face fell in surprise.

"She sent me a few letters with money from Christian's inheritance after he died…" Josilan shook her head and her eyes moved from side to side as she thought.

"A shame about Christian." Henry paused as his eyebrows rose. "Satine has been deathly sick. Self abusing herself and 'medicating' with alcohol."

"Oh God!" Josilan hunched over and Satine could hear her sobs as they disappeared. "She's done so much for me. Why?"

"It's all right…all right…"

They disappeared from view and Satine understood the reason behind Henry's white lies. If he told her Christian was alive, he would lose a new source of money and she would hate Satine. Henry had a weak spot for his youngest sister and felt a need to protect her from Satine's cruelty. She secretly thanked him and she turned away with an ashamed face. She had harmed an innocent woman and child only for her own desires.

Satine pulled herself together and she, still lugging her suitcase behind her, pushed through the crowd. The train chugged onward and the station became nearly empty. The sun was beginning to peak through the darkness of the night and she sat on top of her suitcase with her eyes watching the sun. It would be a beautiful morning.

          The scene reminded Christian of the first night he met Josilan. Did it mean something? He stepped forward and cleared his throat, a giddy grin on his face and it widened as Satine turned her delicate head and her face beamed with happiness. He leaned down and noticed her bare hands that lay in her lap and next he noticed her face. "Darling, what happened to you? Your face is bruised!"

"I fell down some stairs," Satine lied with a small smile.

Christian shook his head and kissed her lightly. He opened the tiny black box and as it flipped open, he felt it leave his hand and her arms wrap around his neck. He cried, "Marry me?"

Her hot breath caressed his face as she whispered, "I will Christian."  He felt a sharp pang in his eyes as tears fell from them and he hugged her even tighter against his warm body.

They remained for a lingering moment and finally Christian fell on one knee and slid the ring onto her finger. Satine smiled and she felt a hot tear slid down her icy cold cheek. Still on his knee, he whispered "I love you and this piece of tin will eventually be a diamond but…it still means as much as a diamond."

Christian rose and swept her into his arms. He spun around and cried out to heavens as he professed his love. When he let Satine down, she flatly said, "This tin ring means so much more than the diamond I had." Tears glistened on her pale cheeks and Christian smiled as he cupped her face with her hands. As their foreheads touched, she whispered, "Sometimes diamonds are just cold rocks."

Christian replied, "Satine, this is right. This is where you and I belong; together."