A.N. Sorry this took so long. I've been busy getting ready for the "s" word to start up again. Thanks for the good reviews!
Disclaimer: I don't own Moulin Rouge.
The rest of that day passed as if nothing was wrong. When Molly and Blaire returned home, Christian thought it best to not inform them about the Duke. Molly and Kyle had yet to be informed of who the Duke was, and giving them more information on the Duke would mean giving them more information on Satine's past. Both Christian and Satine kept up an act of being alright which the family seemed to believe. At certain moments even Satine forgot that anything was wrong. However, when it came time for her to take her medicine and go to bed, she had a sudden pang of fear.
"Christian, what if he comes when we're asleep?" she asked. Christian gently reminded her that Molly, Kyle, and Blaire would all be awake. For once, Satine was glad for her unusual sleeping routine. There was never a moment in the house where everyone was asleep. With this knowledge, Satine was able to sleep easier.
As Christian and Satine slept upstairs, Blaire looked out the window in the living room. She had heard something during lunch, and although her parents had told her it was just the wind she knew it was something else. As she stared out the window, she noticed that some of the shrubs seemed to be moving. She watched the shrubs for fifteen minutes before her mother called her for dinner. As she walked out of the room, she told herself "It's just a rabbit. That's all it is. A silly little rabbit." But part of Blaire knew that there was something much more dangerous than a rabbit in the shrubs.
The man outside was now crouched in the bushes. He had been watching the house all day. However, he was not focused on the people inside. He knew that Christian and Satine were in that house. Instead, he kept his focus on the surrounding yard and the street in front of the house. He knew that eventually his reason for being here would come.
After dinner, Blaire received her parents' permission to play outside. She immediately went to the moving shrub and moved the leaves. She resisted the urge to scream at what she saw. Sitting in the shrub was a slim, dark-skinned man. Instead of screaming, she simply asked "Who are you?
The man smiled. "My name is Chocolat. I'm a friend of Satine's from Paris." To Chocolat's relief, Blaire accepted this and sat down next to the shrub. When asked what he was doing in the plan, Chocolat replied "Well, I'm here to help Christian and Satine.
"Are you going to make Satine's memory better or make her not be sick?" Blaire asked. Chocolat shook his head. "No, but I wish I could. I'm here to protect her and Christian from someone. I would appreciate it if you wouldn't tell anyone that I'm here.
Blaire knew that she was always supposed to tell her parents about any strangers she met. She also knew that her parents wouldn't be happy about a man living in their garden. But Blaire sensed that Chocolat needed to be there. If he was there to protect Satine and Christian, then he should be left to do that. She didn't want any more bad things to happen to either of them. No one knew it, but Blaire often heard the conversations they had at night. She knew how scared Satine was, even though she didn't know why. So Blaire decided to keep Chocolat her secret for now.
Later that night, after Christian and Satine had woken up and Blaire and her parents were in bed, Chocolat saw a figure walking towards the house. Instead of coming up to the front door, the figure walked around the side of the house. Chocolat got up and followed him.
Upstairs, Christian and Satine were sitting in bed, enjoying each other's company. They tried to keep as quiet as they could at night, because they knew Blaire's room was right next door. Suddenly, they both heard a noise. Christian went out onto the balcony to see two shadows moving around on the lawn. He ran back through the room and down the stairs without explaining to Satine what he saw. Not wanting to be up there alone, Satine grabbed a warm coat and followed him.
She found Christian crouching by the back door, watching two men argue in the backyard. Although she couldn't remember his name, Satine vaguely recognized the dark-skinned man. However, the other man was completely new to her. Or so she thought. She crouched down behind Christian as the two men continued fighting. One said something about leaving her alone and not hurting her. The other said something about her being his. Suddenly, it hit Satine that she had seen this man before. This was the man from her dream, the one who kept tearing her away from Christian. This was the Duke.
Christian turned, and was startled by seeing Satine behind him. He noticed that something was wrong. Normally, Satine made direct eye contact with him but as he looked at her now her eyes seemed to be staring back into space. Well, not into space. She was staring into the backyard. Her eyes remained fixated on the fight that was going on. Christian gently guided her farther away from the door where neither of them would be seen. Too afraid to do anything else, Satine listened as the two men exchanged arguments. The Duke kept insisting that she was his, and that he had a contract saying so. The dark-skinned man retorted that it was impossible to own a person and that she was free to love whomever she wished. Satine listened as the two men continued to exchange verbal insults. Then she heard one of the most terrible sounds she had ever heard in her life. The sound of a gunshot.
Satine watched in horror as Chocolat fell to the ground. "Chocolat," she suddenly remembered. "His name is Chocolat." It was as if the gunshot had released all of her lost memory. All at once, she knew exactly who Chocolat was and who the Duke was. She knew where she had come from and remembered her time at the Moulin Rouge. As her memory returned, she suddenly became enraged at the Duke for hurting Chocolat. Christian, who had also been fixated on the argument, was just as enraged and ran out onto the lawn though he knew that wasn't the safest thing to do.
"Damn you, Duke. Why did you hurt him?" Christian yelled as he exited the house. The Duke smiled at seeing Christian was so close to him, so within his reach. Now he could finish the job. "He was in my way," the Duke said as he moved closer to Christian with every intent to shoot him. However, the Duke had not intended on encountering Chocolat and had used up his one bullet already. Upon finding his gun useless, the Duke went for the next best thing-his fist.
Christian fell to the ground, cutting himself on a stray tree branch. Satine rushed into the yard to his side and knelt down next to him, not caring about the Duke or what he might do to her. As she tried to stop the bleeding, she felt a familiar feeling come into her throat. She began to cough violently and it wasn't long before she felt lightheaded. As she blacked out, she heard voices. Some she recognized, some she didn't but somehow she knew that they would help them.
A.N. Wow, that took a long time! Sorry! School started and things have been getting kind of crazy here. Hopefully the next one won't take quite as long. Please review!