Moulin Peache
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A/N As promised, this chapter has been delivered as quickly as one could manage.
Thank you for the encouragement. This is where it get's exciting; and Rolf makes his official entrance!
Woot! Feedback, yes?
I stepped up to the door. Surely, my heart would explode out of my rib cage any moment. I gazed up at the elephant, sighed, and gently knocked on the door. After a few seconds of no response, I lightly pressed against the door; it opened with ease.
The insides of the room were just as outrageous as the concept of being inside an elephant…bright, effervescent color draped the various plush cushions and armoirs. Satin, silk, and exotic cottons dressed every corner, every wall. A lavish four-poster bed stood dripping with color. Posted on nearly all the walls were playbills of performances in the Moulin Peache, most of them starring Edward.
"This is a super place for a poetry reading, don't you think?" I soft voice said. My eyes landed on him, still in his costume from the performance. Breathtaking and serene as ever.
"E-Edward…"
"You can call me Ed," he practically whispered. It was over for me, my mind had drawn up a blank. I wanted to collapse on the floor and tell him over and over how lean he looked in those tights, and how his performance was sublime and that if I was to never look at anyone ever again, I would not be phased.
I had never felt like this.
Was I in love?
It certainly felt like it.
How could I ever present my poetry, to try and convince him that I should be the writer for Awesome Awesomeness?
When he, without hardly uttering a sentence, captivated my full attention. If he asked me to do anything, anything that all, I would not need any convincing. Without question, I would say yes before the words left his lips.
"Yes," I lulled. It was all I could say. He rose, and sauntered to a trolley decorated with fruit and roasts. He removed a bottle of fine champagne from the glistening ice.
"Would you like some bubbly?" his smile poked upwards.
I searched quickly to find my words.
"I'd rather just, uhm, get it over and done with," I said. Could he detect the nervousness in my voice? He looked taken aback, as if that wasn't what he expected me to say. Had I said something wrong? I really had to stop overanalyzing myself.
"Oh…okay then. Why don't you come down here…and let's get it over and done with," He walked back to the bed, laying down on it seductively. How could I possibly concentrate reading poetry to him, while laying on the bed!
"If you don't mind, I-I'd prefer to do it standing?" I stammered. His smooth face rippled with undisguised surprise. Did all of his guests conduct business on his bed?
"Y-you, don't have to stand, I mean, It's quite long. And I'd like you to be comfortable. What I do is extremely modern, I must warn you, and it may feel a bit strange at first…but, I think if you're open, then I believe you might enjoy it"
"I'm…sure I will," he replied, awestruck. He looked so captivated by the idea of my poetry. This was a good sign.
Did I have that affect on him?
"Excuse me a moment," I turned away from him, to compose myself. I loosened my jaw, let air audibly escape my lips as I stretched my vocal chords. I was aweful at presentation, most likely socially inept. I turned to face him
"Lovely is the…is-is the moon with, ah,…" I babbled on mindlessly with my poetry. He sighed errotically in response. My nerves were live wires, and I turned away from him and began rambling my poetry, in the meantime, he flew back on the bed, moaning loudly
"Oh, goodness," I said to myself, trying to concentrate on reading aloud
"Is everything okay?" He asked when I began to do hum my lips, doing various voice exercises, moronically, of course.
"I, er, I'm a little nervous…It, takes a little while for me to…"
His face lit up, and I saw him redden a bit. "For…you know, inspiration to come," I turned away from him once more.
In my peripherals, I observed his angelic face grow seductive. My speech froze in its tracks. He rose, and glided towards me, facing me so that our noses were centimeters from touching. His grin stretched across his face
"Inspiration! Yes, let me help you with that," he said, and gently, but firmly, took hold of my lower regions through the cloth of my slacks. I gasped unexpectedly, mostly in shock. Had I given the wrong impression?
Suddenly, he pushed me backwards so I landed in the cloud of frills and pillows on the bed. A small growl escaped his throat as he leapt on top of me.
"Let's do it," he said simply.
"Do it?!?!?!" Certainly, my words had been misconstrued. But logic at this point was out of the question.
"You want to, don't you?"
"Well, I-I, I came to read my-"
"No! Tell the truth!" He peeled away my tie, and I began to clamor desperately. I would go into cardiac arrest at any moment! What could possibly have driven this beautiful, sculpture of a human being to attack me, and attempt to smash me with their passion. I wanted to give in. Badly, although I was unsure of myself.
However, my objective kept resurfacing. Jonny and the others needed me to convince Ed that I should write for the show…damn damn damn my relentless conscience.
"Can't you feel the poetry!" He cried in ecstasy
"W-what!?"
"Feel it! Feel the tiger inside you!"
I couldn't help but think of other things…But I…HAD…to focus…
"The…tiger?"
"Yes! YES!!" He threw his head back "I need your poetry NOW!" He placed his hands at the waist of my slacks, preparing to tear them off. I was severely confused.
With a swift escape, I rolled out from under him, landing swiftly on my feet--the first pseudo-graceful move I had emitted in years. I readjusted my suit, composing myself. I gathered my confidence, every last drop, and decided to give it all I had.
"It's a little bit funny," I said softly. The words bubbled out of me gently, feather light. He looked confused, distraught.
"Wha?"
"…This f-feeling inside. I'm not one of those who can--who can easily hide. Is this…okay? Is this what you want?"
He tilted his head at me, and then grinned again.
"Oh, poetry! Yes! Of course it's what I want! Dirty words! Oh!!" Flippantly, he began to toss around on the bed, moaning loudly. I could feel my face flushing, but I did my best to press on as he rolled about the bed, reacting to my words as if they were erotic touches.
"I-I don't have much money, but boy if I did-" I continued
"Dirty! Dirty Words! Yes!"
"I'd buy a big house where we both c-could live--"
"I love it! Ohh it's so good!"
"If I-I were a sculptor--"
"Wonderful!
"…But, then again, no-"
"Wonderful."
"Or a man who makes potions at a, tavelling show-"
At this point, he had flung himself off the bed and onto the floor, obscenely taking the satin covers tumbling down with him as he rolled around on the carpet, gasping and moaning.
"Oh, don't! Don't!" He cried out, and I paused. "No no! Don't stop!" He sighed dramatically.
"I know it's not much--"
"Give me more! Yes! Yes yes yes! Oh!"
"…But it's the best I can do…"
"Dirty, dirrrty! Yes!"
By now, I felt ridiculous, and my nerves had flattened out. With a solid stroke of passion, I looked out the window to the moon for my ultimate bout of encouragement, and I turned back to Ed. My mouth opened, and my words had suddenly transfixed into song.
"My gift is my song…" I belted. It echoed across city, and in a wave, lights flickered about the buildings, lighting up the entire town. It also caught Ed's attention; he stopped rolling around on the floor, and looked up at me in wonder.
"…And this one's for you. And you can tell everybody that, this is your song. It may be quite simple but, now that it's done…I hope you don't mind…I hope you don't mind, that I put down in words; How wonderful life is, now your in the world," The words spilled from my mouth like paint onto a canvas, and Ed, mesmerized, stood up to follow me, as I was consumed with so much intensity. I continued to sing for him…
"Sat on the roof, and I kicked off the moss. Well some of these verses well they, they got me quite cross. But the sun's been kind, while I wrote this song…"
He walked towards me, his skin looking like satin milk under the moonlight's cast. His lips were parted slightly, as he watched me. The confidence in me was almost unbearable…I wasn't sure where this self-empowerment had come from. He looked dazzling, and I didn't want to stop, in fear that I'd break the spell.
"It's for people like you that…keep it turned on. So excuse me forgetting, but these things I do, you see I've forgotton if they're green or if they're blue,"
I took his hands, my fingers brushing against his palms, and he smiled at me, though somewhat uncertainly.
"Anyway, the thing is, what I really mean…Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen."
I stepped up close to him, and he tilted his head. His face crept close to mine, his eyes glazed over in admiration and flattery.
"I…can't believe it," he said in a voice barely above a whisper, "I…I'm in love with a young, handsome, talented duke.
My eyebrows knitted together.
"Duke?"
"Not that the title is a big deal, of course," he chuckled. I gave him a questioning look, confused.
"No, but. I'm not a duke," I tried to explain, as he leaned in to brush his lips against mine.
"I'm a writer," I whispered. Immediately, he pulled back, and paled.
" A writer?"
"Yes, a writer," I began to explain. I suddenly got the feeling that something was horribly misunderstood. My notion was confirmed as he took an unsteady step away from me.
"No…no, no."
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed movement, and turned to look, Jonny, Sarah, Jimmy and several others were climbing all over each other outside the window to get a peak. I quickly glanced at them, and they exchanged mortified glances, and scrambled to disapear from my sight. This attempt failed miserably, as their unorganized plot to spy on me caused them to fall in heap from the ledge. Ed, distracted by my averted attention, looked in my direction a quarter of a second after the group had fallen out of sight
"Jonny," He gasped. "Oh no. You're not another one of Jonny's ever-so-talented, elegantly disheveled, penniless proteges, are you?"
"I--well, you could say that, yes."
"No!"
"No?"
"NO! I'm gonna strangle him!"
I rewinded the days events, carefully going over what might have gone wrong. I drew nothing.
"What?" I was irrevocably confused. "Jonny told me that--he said--"
Ed's eyes widened as he turned to cross the room, heading towards the door.
"But the duke. What about the duke!?" He seemed to say to himself. I followed close behind.
Ed opened the door, and standing in the doorway with his back faced towards us was a tall individual with a dark expensive suit and blue hair poking out from beneath his hat. On the other side of him stood Eddy, who didn't seem to see Ed open the door, as he was in mid-conversation.
"…You're Dukeness, if I could direct you to--" Eddy spoke, and Ed slammed the door, and spun around to face me, paling.
"The Duke!" He cried.
"The Duke?"
"HIDE! Out the back! Do it!!!!" He nearly tackled me, but at the same moment, the door opened. His reflexes were a thousand times faster than mine, and he flipped around, standing upright so that I was hidden behind him.
"Hey, Princess. Are you presentable for the Duke?" Eddy sang in mock sweetness.
I, still confused, peered around Ed to see what was going on. He gently, but hastily bumped me with his thigh, motioning for me to hide behind him.
"What are you doing?" Eddy said skeptically. Without missing a beat, Ed nonchalantly put a hand on his hips, and leaned to one side. He was still in his ornate costume, and all the frills and pieces hanging off of it shifted to his side as he leaned against the food trolly, making an opaque wall shielding myself from the Duke and Eddy. I scooted behind the trolley and ducked.
"I--uhm. I was waiting," Ed replied. There was a pause. I imagined it was Ed and Eddy having a conversation with their eyes. I imagined not much got by Eddy. No doubt he sensed something odd.
"Duke, please allow me to introduce your tall rich self to…mademoiselle Ed," he said. Ed laughed softly, with nervous traces.
"Mister. How nice of you to take time away from your duke-like duities to come visit little old me," Ed said sweetly. I took this moment to peak over the trolley of food, between the roast and a lentil-bean salad, certain the grandeur delectables would shield me. Ed saw me out of his peripherals, and snapped his head towards me, giving me a put-your-head-behind-that-chicken-OR-ELSE look. Needless to say, I ducked back behind the roast.
"Great beets of my homeland," the duke gasped, most likely at the grand spectacle of Ed standing there. "Rolf is blinded by the fierce intensity smoldering from ballerina-actress-Ed-Boy. Impressive," he nodded.
"Well!" Eddy piped up "I'll leave you lovely ladies to get…better aquainted. SEE YA."
With that, Eddy quickly exited the room, leaving the three of us to be alone. The Duke, Rolf, as it appeared to be, hadn't the vaguest idea of the third party in the room, hiding behind the roasted chicken and lentil salad.