Disclaimer: Moulin Rouge = Baz....i mean you don't have to be a Nazi rocket scientist to figure that out!...sorry down with love..lol

Chapter IV: Here comes the Duke

With full stomachs, Satine and Christian walked down the night lit streets, hand in hand. The lovers were finally alone, enjoying each other's presence. Satine snuggled closer to Christian as he wrapped his arms closer to her waist. The perfect ending to one of the best days either of them ever had. Satine let out a soft yawn as they walked back to his garret.

"Darling, it's getting pretty late... I think I should walk you back home." Christian said shyly. 'She needs to get back' he thought grimly, even though he never wanted to night to end.

As the streets grew colder, Christian took off his overcoat and placed it warmly over Satine. She smiled in response.

"I love you." She said tenderly as she planted a soft kiss on his cheek. This caused the poet to blush. 'I love you too,' he said in his mind.

'No ones ever treated me like this for...for as long as I can remember.' She said silently as she stared deep into his gray eyes.

"Thank you... Thank you so much for tonight... for being, well you..." Satine said honestly. "You're just too good to be true..."

With a loving smile Christian knew what she meant but it was her she wanted to thank. "You deserve it all." He said as they approached her door.

There was an odd, but passionate silence. Unable to resist the temptation any longer, Christian passionately kissed her as they locked into an embrace. And with that, he slowly pulled away, knowing he couldn't stay a minute longer, and took a step back.

"Good night Satine." He said softly as he walked back to his garret with a slight spring in his step.

x

It was early morning and Christian was already awake. He sat at his typewriter and typed away. Click, click, click. He didn't remember the last time he was this inspired. Now that his muse was back, he could easily find the beauty in life again. He finished typing the last verse to his newest creation and folded it.

He was just about to put the poem in his overcoat when he realized: SATINE HAS IT!!! Christian began to panic. What if someone saw it...? This wasn't good.

"It's about 7', " he thought without looking at his pocket watch. "Maybe I can get it before anyone notices." This would give him an equal opportunity to give the poem to her and an excuse to see her again. A devious grin surfaced on his face, as he took the letter in hand and stepped out the door.

X

Christian quietly sneaked through the darkened corridors when heard a voice. The voice seemed to be coming from the door on his right. He paused for a moment, as he recognized the voices. He knew one belonged to Harold Zidler, but the other.. He couldn't quite put his tongue on it. It was an annoying nasal voice.

"I want my end of the bargain Zidler!" The man said irritated about something.

Christian's eyes grew wide. It couldn't have been. What was the duke doing here?!

"If you don't give me back MY diamond..." The Duke threatened, "I'll have all your worthless whores thrown to the streets!"

That bastard Duke was bargaining for Satine like she was some kind of property. Christian was shaking in fury. "If he even touched a hair on Satine he would..." engulfed in all his rage, Christian closed his eyes shut and punched the wall nearby.

"What was that?" the duke asked Zidler. Surprising himself on what he had just done, Christian panicked and ran towards Satine's boudoir. He had to get to her. All he knew was that it wasn't going to be good on Satine's part. He needed to find out what happened. More importantly he needed to get Satine out of here, fast!

Without thinking, Christian quickly opened the door to Satine's room, went in, and shut the door hard.

X

Satine had just awakened from a peaceful dream when she heard the door shut. "Chris?" she said her voice still hoarse from sleep.

"We have to leave...no time to explain...," he trailed off, as he began to lift her up.

"Where? What's going on...?" she demanded, still half asleep.

He stood still and simply said "The Duke's here..." God how he hated that word.

Satine's world shattered around her. Her soft ivory skin turned pale as she went under her covers and began shaking uncontrollably. She hid under her covers and started rocking herself back and forth, back and forth.

"No! Please...don't!" She cried out. Christian stood there and stared, completely stupefied. Satine was one of the strongest people he knew... but now, now she was cowering in fear. He began to approach her, slowly. " Darling, what's the matter?"

"No please!" she yelled. He backed off, completely terrified. Satine continued to cry uncontrollably.

"Shh...shh..." Christian said softly. "I wont let anything bad happen to you...you know that..."

Satine stopped and stared at him, as if those were the magic words.

"Come what may, remember?"

"I love you Christian."

"I love you too, but I think we should get going..." He said, remembering the reason why he came running.

X

"I think it's clear." Christian signaled to Satine as he took a peek outside her door.

"Let's go."

'Satine would probably know the best route out of here.' "Which way?" Christian asked.

She thought for a second "this way." She pointed. They ran through the hallway, together, Christian never letting his eyes wander far from Satine.

Satine fell to the ground as she began to cough out of blood. Christian felt Satine tug on his arm and noticed her struggling to breathe.

"Oh my God, S-Satine! Are you okay?" he said as he began to rub his hands, up and down her back.

"Ahem..Oh-I'm okay..." She said as she began to breathe heavily. She nearly screamed when she saw the Duke at the corner of her eye.

"There they are...Get them!" He ordered Warner.

Satine led Christian to the back exit of the Moulin Rouge. He shut the door behind them and jammed a pipe through the handles. He smiled, obviously proud of his work and pointed towards the crowded plaza.

"He can't find us if we hide." He stated. He followed Satine into "Bar Absinthe." The bar was filled raucous with drunken men. There was boisterous music and the smell of hot must was in the air.

Just when they were about to turn around and leave, Christian spotted Warner looking at their direction. He tried to hide Satine to the best of his abilities by lightly pushing her to the corner of the room, and kissed her.

Satine caught on quickly as she looked to Christian's side and saw the over grown oaf. The two jumped up when they heard 3 gunshots fired. Christian protectively held Satine. Warner went in with the Duke not too far behind. The place was turned into a bedlam of screaming drunks, trying to find a way of escape. The two also tried to make a break for it, but a strong hand grabbed Christian by the shoulders, causing him to jerk back.

Christian tried to shrug the arm off but froze completely when Warner pointed the gun at Satine. Both Satine and Christian cringed in fear, not knowing what would happen.

"Please..." Christian pleaded, fearing for Satine's life; and his own. The Duke approached the two. He stopped and stared at Christian. The Duke hissed at him as he pulled Satine away by the arms.

"I've missed you my sweet," The Duke said to her, but more to Christian. He took Satine's hand and planted a kiss. Satine tried to pull away but the Duke held her hand mercilessly, so that she was forced to stay still. The Duke winced at the disgusted look on her face. He let his eyes wander towards Christian as he faced him. The Duke gave him a smile and then hit him.

"She is mine boy!" Christian felt the blow to his face. He wasn't going to give up that easily, not yet at least.

"She's not anyone's!" Christian fired back, his voice enraged with anger. It didn't matter if he was a Duke. Or how powerful he was. Satine wasn't some toy he could play with; nor was he.

The Duke's elbow struck Christian's stomach as he fell to his knees and yelped in pain. "Quiet boy! This doesn't concern you!" The Duke yelled back.

"No! Stop it!" Satine said, her voice choked with sobs.

"Silence!" The Duke snapped back at her. Again the Duke's fists collided with Christian's jaw and stomach. The Duke savored every blow to the boy. 'If it wasn't for this damn writer...Satine would have already been mine!' He greedily thought.

Satine rushed the Duke with a fury of her own punches and kicks. Christian looked up, confused, wondering why the blows stopped and looked at Satine. The Duke caught both her hands and pushed her back. She lost her balance, fell over the near by chair, hitting her head on the table and pasted out cold.

Funny how fast things can move in times of chaos? Christian had never been a fighter. Always preferring to stay away from fights. Preferring to work things out with pen and paper rather than fists. But when he saw the Duke violently shove Satine like that, he knew he had to take a stand, even if it meant risking his life.

The young bohemian writer had snapped. Without knowing, he managed to find a way to trip Warner with his feet. The clumsy manservant dropped the gun to the floor and Christian instinctively grabbed it. He felt sick holding the gun in his hands, but he knew he was doing the right thing. The tides had turned.

"D-don't you touch her!" Christian yelled, his voice laced in anger.

"Get back!"

Warner stood dead in his tracks when Christian mercilessly aimed the gun towards the Duke. The Duke signaled Warner a few times to 'HELP'. It was useless; he was on his own.

"What do you think you're doing boy?" The Duke asked Christian nervously.

"I'm going to kill you, you bastard!" Christian yelled as loud as he pleased. Bitter rage had enveloped him to the point were he was blind. He was on the edge and anything could set him off.

Satine's eyes fluttered open as she came back to reality. She looked around her memory still fuzzy. She could only hear yelling. She looked up and could barely recognize her Christian. What had happened to him? She could never picture her innocent poet holding such a weapon, let alone take another life...even for her.

"I'd like to see you try..." The Duke continued to challenge the writer, his voice trying to stay normal.

Christian loaded the gun, his arm shaking uncontrollably. He put his finger on the trigger and looked towards Satine's direction. She was awake, on the ground, looking directly into his once soft eyes that were now a solid gray. Her eyes brimmed even more tears as her eyes silently pleaded him not to do what she thought he was going to do. Killing the Duke wouldn't help, she knew that. He knew that.

Christian stood there, the gun still aimed at the Duke, ready to fire. He clenched his other fist hard, trying to supress his mixed emotions. Christian seemed to have had an insanely evil grin on his face. This was definitely a first. Had jealousy driven him mad?

In an effort to reduce the obvious tensions in the room, Satine slowly got up, trying to comfort her crazed poet. Christian only turned to her briefly and winked.

Christian smiled deviously as he pulled his face closer to the Duke. "Any last words Dukey?"

The Duke should have thought before he spoke.

"Stupid bohemian, I never liked your story in the first place. Love? Even if you did have the guts to kill me, my people would have you dead tomorrow. You can't win. You and that whore will be dead!"

Christian took a swing at the Duke but missed.

The Duke laughed, amused at the naïve boy's anger and snarled, "She's my whore!" Christian dropped the gun. Those words pushed Christian off the edge. Before the Duke could even blink, Christian's anger struck him.

Struck by Christian's other hand. The Duke Tumbled to the floor, knocking him unconscious. Warner turned to Christian and gave him a cold stare. Once Christian's moment of shock was over, he immediately ran to Satine and grabbed her by the arms.

'RUN!' was the only thing on Christian's mind.

X

Did you really think our INNOCENT bohemian writer would really kill the Duke? I wasn't sure myself. I kinda just flipped a coin and I guess fate just took over. I enjoyed writing this chapter...got to know my inner psychopath! What did you think? One question...what's Christian's last name? Ive been hearing James and Everett a lot...it says "James Son limited"? Dad's name or last name?