Chapter Six: Returning Memories
Disclaimer: I don't own Moulin Rouge
Satine sat upright in bed, startled by her sudden realization. All along, her attacker had been the Duke! Satine was sure that the dream was not a result of talking about the Duke that day with Dr. Landon, as many people would assume. It all made sense now. When the Duke and Satine first met, he gave her an uneasy feeling. Of course, he gave everyone an uneasy feeling, what with having an armed guard follow him around. But the feeling Satine got from him was different. This fear was almost, familiar. She knew when she saw the Duke at the Moulin Rouge that that night was not their first meeting. And she had been correct.
As these thoughts raced through her mind, Satine began to pant heavily. Soon her panting turned into whimpers and her whimpers into sobs, which in turn woke up Christian. Christian opened his eyes to once again see Satine sitting up in bed crying. He pulled himself up to a sitting position and gently stroked her hair.
"It's ok, Satine. Don't cry. It was only a dream. Your safe now." Christian whispered. Satine looked at him. How could she tell him what she just saw? "Christian, I knowÉI sawÉChristian, he had a face this time!" she finally managed to get out. Christian's mouth opened and his eyes widened. "Who was it, Satine?" he asked. He desperately wanted to know who had caused his diamond so much pain. Satine hesitated for a moment, and then answered him.
"It was the Duke".
Christian looked at her. "Are you sure? Couldn't it have just been that you talked about him today? How could he have raped you when you were ten, we met him when we were at the
Satine stopped him. "Christian, it really was him. It all makes perfect sense. The Duke was a family "friend"-in actuality he was merely a rich man who my father was doing home remodeling for. The Duke had constantly been in my house for months before my mother's death. After awhile, he developed a rather unhealthy fixation with me. Whenever I would walk in the room, he would stare at me in such a way that it made me want to run as far away as I could. My mother, however, caught wind of it and banished him from the house. After my mother's death, my father began contacting him again. It was him, Christian. It really was! He did it!
Christian did a quick math count in his head. The Duke had been roughly 35 years old when Satine had been at the Moulin Rouge. Satine was 23 now, so that would make the Duke 22 when Satine was ten. It was possible that the Duke would have raped Satine. Christian put his arms around Satine. This was most defiantly the breakthrough that Dr. Landon had been looking for.
The next day, Christian and Satine sat in the living room with Dr. Landon. Normally, he only came once a week but Christian thought that this was information Dr. Landon had to know as soon as possible.
"Well, Christian, what is this important information?" Dr. Landon asked. Satine answered instead of Christian.
"Well, you know how I always say that the man in my dreams has no face? That he's simply a shadow?" Dr. Landon nodded and Satine continued. "Well, last night he had a face. It was the Duke.
"The Duke?" Dr. Landon had to take a moment to remember who the Duke was. "Oh, the Duke from the Moulin Rouge. Well, I could have seen that coming!" he said. Satine and Christian were confused.
"You see, now it makes sense that Satine would still be so traumatized by that night. This Duke also tried to rape Satine when you two lived in Paris. Christian, you said that the one night you spent with Satine in Paris, she didn't show any signs of nightmares. Was that before or after the attempted rape?" he asked.
"Before". Christian answered. Dr. Landon continued. "That's what I suspected. Before the Duke attacked Satine for the second time, Satine was able to sleep and had moved on with her life. After the second attack, the memories were brought back to the surface. Of course, with her illness, she probably had other things on her mind while you two were living in Derby, which explains why she had no nightmares there.
"Well, how do we get the nightmares to stop?" asked Christian. He had noticed that despite all of the information that he had about Satine, Dr. Landon had not been able to give them a remedy for her nightmares.
"It's very simple, really.", said Dr. Landon. "Satine needs to know that the Duke is not going to come back. What I suggest doing is writing your friends in Montmartre. Ask what happened to the Duke, and tell them what Satine just told me. Surely they can help with getting the Duke arrested."
Christian nodded and thanked Dr. Landon. He and Satine went upstairs to write to Harold. Of all people, he would know the Duke's whereabouts. Christian sat down at his typewriter and began his letter.
Dear Harold
Hello, and how is everyone back in Paris? You will be happy to know that Satine has completely recovered from her consumption, and we are now living in London.
However, not everything has been going well. Satine has been suffering from repeated nightmares. We've been seeing a therapist, and have discovered the source of the problem. You see, Satine was raped as a young girl, although I'm sure you knew that already. That is what her nightmares were about. However, until last night she couldn't remember who had attacked her. Last night she once again woke up crying and told me her attacker had been the Duke.
Our therapist has suggested seeking your help in getting the Duke arrested, if he is still in Paris. If he is not and you know where he has gone, please let us know.
Thank you in advance,
Christian and Satine
Later that day, Christian mailed the letter. He hoped that the Duke would be arrested quickly and this would all be over.
