It was happening. This was the moment that Christian was leading himself into the wonder of which was the Moulin Rouge. The music pumped louder than ever, and as if in a dream, he floated into the entrance of it's facade with it's large doors mysteriously opening upon his arrival letting leak out, a light, so brilliant and so bright that Christian had to shut his eyes for a moment before he could open them again to see what was happening in front of him. He placed a hand over his face to help shut out some of the light, but he realized soon enough that a spotlight had been placed upon him and an enormous eruption of noise was ringing out from everyone in the room. He was being cheered on. They had all been waiting for him!
Christian weakly smiled, not expecting this kind of attention. Another spotlight turned on across the hall with Zidler shouting more welcomes and then a "And the Moulin Rouge is proud to present to you" Christian's ears were ringing and he just continued smiling, giving a slight wave. The sparkle of his clothing was adding a lot to the blindness he was experiencing, but after a few more moments, the spotlight moved off of him and back around to the rest of thehall giving Christian his full vision back.
What he saw in front of him was a picture of such chaos and madness that could never be believed. Everyone around him was in their own state of bliss, eitherdue toalcohol or just getting caught in the rush of the thrill. There was light everywhere and the gleam, shimmer, and sparkle of sequins, glitter, and diamonds. The Moulin Rouge looked very much like it had been put under a strange spell, a spell of erotic beauty, color, and magic. Christian would have never believed this had been possible again nearly a year ago when he had come here after Loreena, seeing the Moulin Rouge as a beat up dump. While on the thought of her, he remembered that she was to meet up with him shortly, so he scanned the painted and masked faces of the those around him. Nothing seemed familair.
He still stood, taking in the gripping imagary. He looked at the people, the polished floors, the newly painted walls, the ceiling which unlike the old Moulin Rouge, now had windows, allowing the flash of the fireworks outside to seep in. Christian noticed that part of the dancehall itself had been built partways outside, and many curious spectators were looking in to watch. In the very front of the hall, there was agigantic stagewhere a band roared giving the Moulin Rouge it's hypnotic beat. Dancers were scattered everywhere giving off a show to whoever wanted to watch. A waiter came up to Christian offering him a large glass of absinthe, and, taking it curtiously, gulped it down letting the sweet poison fill his neurons with a feeling of euphoria. More lights flickered causing a strobbing effect, and Christian gayly (as a result of the absinthe) joined into the crowd, becoming part of their insanity. A group of dancers gathered around him and he let them guide him across the floor. One dancer, dressed in something reminicent of a peacock took hold of his arm and pulled him away from the others. Another spotlight passed above him and he was once again incapable of seeing. He felt the flutter of glitter on his face from the acrobatic performers above who sprinkled the fine powder on the unsuspecting guests below. Pieces of it stuck to his eyelashes much like snow so that all he could see were the small bursts of light surrounding his eyes.
What he could make out was a grand staircase with a golden finish. He let his eyes gaze up towards the top few stairs, letting them focus onto something which he thought was vaguely familiar. He could see a twinkling figure of blue, with flowing wings, and wiping the glittery dust from his eyes, he was able to see it. See her. Loreena. He was certain it had to be. Loosing his breath, he felt this heart beat faster than ever before. He was completly speechless and motionless, watching the vibrant figure of sparkles glide down the stairs towards him. He could see she wore an eye mask, with her hair delicatly curled, partway up, partway down. He couldn't take his eyes of her. She twirled down the last few remaining stairs, her dress spinning out, shimmering as it flowed. Her incandescence was as enchanting as her smile. Her dark eyes lustered as she pulled of her mask, showing the complete beauty of her face. Christian was totally enthralled and captivated. Almost never before had he seen something so beautiful in his life as the woman that occupied the space within feet of him. He thought, no words could describe the things that flowed through his mind at that very moment. Reaching for her hand, he grasped it, leading her into a waltz that had just begun. Neither of them spoke for they felt the language given off by their bodies alone was enough communication. Spectators watched them dance, hitting every beat, perfectly completing every turn. Then, the others joined Christian and Loreena in their mesmorizing dance.
Christian's eyes were locked, undividedly fixed on Loreena, as were her's on his. The sleeveless straps of her gown flopped down her shoulders exposing a small amount of cleavage. He didn't really seem to notice being as he was so occupied by her face which was beaming with an expression of pure joy.
It was hard to believe that he had first thought of her to be so much younger than she really was upon their first meeting. At first, she had appeared no more than 15 or 16, but the girl that he held so firmly in his arms now was a woman, a woman who's allure was so gracious, holding ultimate perfection.
Christian couldn't speculate what he was thinking in his mind. It was almost like he was falling in love with her. He held Loreena tighter and continued to do so with every dance as the night went on. They were at eachother's side the whole time, Christian refusing to leave for even just a moment. As it was nearing midnight, the final dance started, another waltz. Christian held on evencloser to Loreena. She looked like an angel to him. Her silver costume wings swaying to the movement of their bodies. Around and around they spun, roating, revolving, whirling, letting the colors swim around them forming a bubble of crystilized pigmentation.
For Christian, time stopped. Everyone around him dissapated away into the air, and it was just him and Loreena. Like before in the meadow, their faces were within inches, and Christian knew what he had to do. A symphonic glassando of music was their soundtrack as his head went slightly forward, their lips coming together. Loreena's arms went around Christian's neck and he picked her up gently, letting her fall onto his mouth.
For a moment, he practically forgot about Satine, but never totally. It was after that critiacl moment the atmosphere changed dramatically, the bubble popped, the romantic story-likefantasycame to a hault. To Christian, it felt as if his entire universe was crashing down on him. His mouth burned with unbareable pain as he pulled away, becoming slightly dizzy. This was not happening, it couldn't be. He was falling in love.
"No!" he screamed. "No!" He began to back away.
This feeling was far worse than the feeling he had felt with Loreena before. He knew why. He had brokenthe biggestpromise to himself, the promisethat he would not fall in love again. Not only that, but he had forgotten about Satine, which even though it was a brief period of time, was making him feel the most worst. "No" he muttered again into his hand. "No."
The clock dinged 12 am midnight, and the party still raged, but Christian had to leave. He had to escape. He was sufficating, slowly choking on his overbearing guilt and shame. Loreena tried to keep up with him, seeing that something was terribly wrong. Before exiting the way he had come in, Christian turned back around and faced Loreena. A shower of glitter was still falling from above, and even though Christian found himself picturing Loreena as a tiny angelic figure in a snowglobe, he had to do this. He had to say goodbye.
Cupping one of her hands, he kissed it, letting a small stream of tears flow from one of his eyes. All he could do was look at her and whisper, "I'm sorry." Then he ran out the doors.