Author's note: My sincerest apologies to the couple of you who have already read 2/3 of this chapter…seeing as I am becoming more and more incapable of telling my story by any means other than song…and then cannot keep my songs hidden, either because I like them, as I do the first, or dislike them and need opinions, as I do the second. Wow, that was one really run-on sentence. Told you—I should have put it to verse. ;)
I sort of wanted to add one more song, but decided it excessive. :o/ Anyway, here's the chapter.
Chapter 4
"Satine! I…I wasn't expecting to find you here…now…."
Satine gave half a nervous smile. "They…the show's over, they…posted a sign this evening after…after the show saying that tomorrow would be…the end."
Christian stared at her in astonishment, and she slipped her way into his garret. "Why? Why are they closing, just three nights into it? It doesn't have anything to do with…" Christian shook his head in denial, "It couldn't have anything to do with the Paris show already, could it?"
Satine nodded sadly, and wandered over to his desk. "It's probably also my…you know, condition. I faltered tonight—twice. They notice things like that, and it's not good for the publicity."
As she fingered through the papers, he said hesitantly, "Is that…what you came for? Just to tell me our show is closing?"
She seemed to ignore his question, instead lifting one sheet that seemed to be of particular interest to her. A few moments later, she whispered, "You've certainly kept yourself busy…."
Realizing just what she had read, Christian dashed over and slipped the paper from her hands, just as a tear rolled out of the corner of her eye.
In his own handwriting, he shakily reread the words:
Why did I believe in love
A thing so seldom true
Oh, why have I waited so long
For someone's heart—for you?
I saw you
In your perfection
You saw me
In my need
I saw your heart
Through ice and stone;
You left my heart
To bleed.
You heard me
Tell my story
I heard you
Speak your lie
You heard my soul
All I hold true
And left it there
To die.
I felt you
When you suffered
You felt me
With my dreams
I felt your pain
Pent up inside;
Mine's bursting
At the seams.
After an awkward moment of silence, Satine whispered, "Christian, I'm sorry." Another tear fell, her makeup running, and her voice cracked as she cried softly, "I'm so sorry, Christian…I'm so sorry…it's not true. None of it's true."
"What?" Christian took a step towards her, then hesitated. And for good reason; there could have been a solid wall between the two of them, for the awkward, painful distance.
She smiled a little, and looked into his eyes, her wet eyelashes blinking in furious effort to restrain more tears. "I love you, Christian."
He froze. He felt like his heart was going to stop altogether. "W-what do you mean? You're marrying the Duke, you…."
She froze. What had she said? She never meant to feel such a way, much less allow her voice to express it. But she had a lie to correct. "No," Satine said softly, "I'm not. Will you still fly away with me, Christian?"
At his hesitation, she slowly began to sing.
"Darling, I'm sorry
For what I said
And, love, forgive me
If your heart bled
All over what I've done."
Christian's eyes welled up and he looked away.
"Oh, what have I done?
"I'm sorry, darling
I hope you can see,
And find it in your heart
To forgive me.
I've hurt you, and
I understand,
But honey, I must say…
Baby, I'm sorry
About all this pain
And, oh, I promise
It won't happen again.
The sun can finally shine."
Satine winced slightly upon seeing his eyes still wet and downcast, and she slowly walked away from him, over to the window. She leaned against the wooden pane. They made a good pair, she thought; she felt weak with guilt, but at least it was strong. Just like she used to be.
"Oh, when will it finally shine?
"I'm sorry, darling
I hope you can see,
And find it in your heart
To forgive me.
I've hurt you, and
I understand,
But honey, I must say…
Sweetheart, I'm sorry
For the trouble I've caused
And, now, let's see that
No more time is lost.
Let's finally grow our wings."
Satine glanced back at Christian. He was watching her now—an improvement. She smiled a little.
"Now we can grow our wings.
Let's fly away."
At long last, a smile grew on his face. After all, he mused, she was offering all he'd ever hoped for.
"Come what may…."
A bit startled by the interjection into her own song, Satine nearly did a double take upon realizing that the soft, low voice was coming from Christian. She had been forgiven. She felt a huge weight being lifted off her shoulders, and she breathed a sigh of relief, marveling that she suddenly felt strong again, and at the same time wondering why he mattered so much to her.
But after all, she mused, he was offering all she'd ever hoped for.
"Let's fly away"
"Come what may"
"Let's fly away"
"I will love you""Leave our worries to"
"Until my dying day"
"Another day"
Satine's voice caught in her throat for a second. Love—something she'd always tried to escape, was so thick around her she could feel it's radiation. Months ago, she would have fled. But here, with Christian, this love and her dream of flying seemed to blend so well….
"And there's no mountain too high"
"We'll spread our wings; away we'll fly"
"No river too wide"
"Leave our sorrows behind"
"Sing out this song, and I'll be there"
"Now we're together, every care"
"By your side"
"'S set aside"
"Storm clouds may gather"
"Our hearts will be opened"
"And stars may collide"
"And binds be untied…"
Had someone predicted this turn of events half an hour ago, Christian would have laughed scornfully, and then probably thrown a bitter remark back at the prophet of sorts. In fact, it all seemed like something Toulouse would have dreamed up—perfectly, almost unrealistically romantic. Like a fairy tale, or a dream. But Christian never wanted to wake up.
"But I love you"
"Because I love you"
"Until the end"
"Let your soul blend"
"Of time"
"With mine."
Satine had drawn her knife and stabbed the girl through the heart. With a grinding crunch, the blade had slid through the frozen rock, and it had shattered. Satine beamed. Victory. She'd freed herself from the Diamond; there was nobody left to resist this now.
"Come what may"
"Let's fly away"
"Come what may"
"Let's fly away"
"I will love you"
"Leave our worries to"
"Until my dying day"
"Another day"
Grasping each others' hands tightly, they each leaned in and shared a kiss. Sweet and perfect, it sent tingles up each of their backs as if it was their first.
And in a way, it was.
"Come what may"
"Let's fly away."
~*~
The Duke paced back and forth across the room, moustache twitching furiously, and hair dancing in front of his eyes in a most unruly—and irritating—fashion. Warner stood at the door silently, as usual.
Harold shifted anxiously behind his desk, eyeing Warner with a hint of apprehension. "Dear Duke, let me assure you I had no choice, but—"
"This show can not come off the stage yet, Zidler; I won't have it! We agreed to—"
"But Duke—"
"Don't interrupt me! We're discussing important matters here, Zidler, and I want them solved. The show will go on the night after next, and the following, and continue until my expenses are paid!"
"But, Dear Duke…we've sold thirty-seven seats for this next night. Just thirty-seven! It would do more harm than good, let me assure you, to—"
"Zidler, the show will go on. The show must go on, or I'll…" he paused, glancing behind him to see Warner smirking smugly, and then turned his attention back to the stout man who was sweating profusely before him. He pursed his lips in thought. "Did you say the writer had anything to do with this?"
"Y-yes…" Zidler stuttered, "he p-played a small p-part in our little…" he swallowed, "i-inconvenience, but—"
"Then, the show will go on." The Duke's eyes narrowed menacingly. "Or I'll have the boy killed."
Zidler's eyes widened. "I understand."
~*~
Satine jerked away suddenly. "Christian…" she choked. Then she fell limply into her poet's arms.
Disclaimer: The names of the characters, the setting, the entire Moulin Rouge story belongs to a brilliant genius named Baz Luhrmann, (and a bunch of other people, companies, etc. I'm sure…).
Yes, my poem/song, and my song, as usual, except for the parts from "Come What May." I did write Satine's parallel to the song she read of Christian's, but as it didn't quite fit inside the story, it's only on FictionPress, here: …Okay, fine, just take out my link….
Another author's note: Very short…sorry, but I wanted it out, and that seemed an appropriate place to stop. ;) And, don't expect another update any time soon—I've got exams next week.
Hm. I'm a little discouraged by the decrease in reviews—it simply makes me wonder if people have given up on this…I hate to say this, as it might cause people to take the easy way out simply because I've offered it, but…if you're not going to review anyway, could you just go, "I read it," and at least give me that? I would appreciate it. :o)