| Chapter One Reims, France ~ April 20th, 1917 �Sara�sweetheart?� Satine called as her strong motherly voice echoed through the hallway of the quaint house in a small French village. �Mama!� Satine�s daughter exclaimed, as she saw her mother�s familiar shape walk into the room. Sara�s short brown curls bounced as she turned her head towards Satine. �Hello, my girl. Time for something to eat, and then bed time!� Satine said as excitedly as she could for her 2 year old daughter. �Eat!� she replied happily, toddling down the hallway to the kitchen. Satine chuckled at her daughter�s enthusiasm as she followed her. When they reached the kitchen, Sara climbed into a chair, and sat playing with a napkin while Satine prepared a small plate of sweets, along with a glass of milk. She sang the first song that occurred to her out loud while making her way around the petite kitchen, more for herself than for Sara. �Once, as my heart remembers. All the stars were fallen embers. Once, when night seemed forever, I was with you. Once, in the care of morning, in the air was all belonging. Once when that day was dawning�I was with you. Sara made a small noise at the table, still engrossed with her napkin. Satine�s thoughts wandered to Christian, as she continued to place food on her daughter�s plate. �How far we are from morning, How far are we, And the stars shining through the darkness, Falling in the air. Once as the night was leaving, into us our dreams were weaving. Once, all dreams were worth keeping�I was with you. Once when our hearts were singing�I was with you.� �Mama�eat?� Sara said quizzically at her mother, who had stopped moving around the kitchen and was staring off into space, lost in thought. �Oh�oh, of course,� she replied, shaking her head at her carelessness. She moved towards Sara, placing the plate in front of her, and gently taking the napkin away from her. Satine unconsciously began fanning herself, for it was a lot warmer in April than it normally was. As Sara ate, Satine was brought back to a time 2 years earlier as the song in her mind stirred some sweet long ago memories� �Once as my heart remembers�All the stars were fallen embers�� Reims, France ~ May 29th, 1914 �It is far too hot to be pregnant!� Satine moaned. One of the maids was furiously trying to fan Satine with a newspaper. Summer seemed to have come early to the quaint town in France that she and Christian had come to call home. It was late May and the thermometer already read ninety degrees. Soon Christian stepped into the living room; tiny droplets of sweat beginning to form on his own brow. �Oh Darling�� he said, trying his hardest not to laugh at the pathetic image in front of him. Satine was splayed across a large arm chair, with her dress hiked up to her mid thighs. A very weary maid stood above her, waving a paper about as if she were mad. Christian took the paper and dismissed the maid. �Thank you, Antoinette,� he called after her. He stooped in front of Satine and blew a stream of cool air over her face and placed a loving kiss on her forehead and another on her swelled belly. Satine sighed, �Christian, what should I do? I think I�m beginning to roast!� Christian smiled and removed a sweaty curl splayed across Satine�s forehead. �Well, I can�t very well have a roasted wife, now can I?� Christian ducked as Satine picked up a pillow and playfully threw it at his head. He sat in thought for a moment before his body snapped to attention. �Darling, what is it?� Satine asked. �I think I have an idea how to cool you off,� he said. Before Satine could ask any more questions, Christian was already down the hall calling, �I�ll be back in a few minutes, sweetheart. You just stay there�and don�t roast before I come back!� Satine rolled her eyes and again fell back into the large arm chair. Christian opened the door to the cellar where they kept their refrigerator. He flicked on the solitary light bulb that illuminated the stairs and was greeted by the sight of his and Satine�s prized wine collection. Beautiful bottles from all over Europe. He smiled when he reached the bottom of the stairs, where his favorite bottle stood proudly in a glass case. It was a lovely bottle of sparkling champagne that he and Satine had bought while honeymooning in Corsica. Basking in the priceless memories, Christian finally reached the small fridge and was careful to be quick while pulling out a bag of ice from the top door. He turned on his heels and once again made his way up the stairs. �Where did you go?� asked Satine, when she saw Christian with the bag. �Into my �lair of desire,�� Christian said mysteriously before joining Satine in fits of laughter. He held out his hand and Satine willingly took it. She had learned a long time ago not to question Christian once he had his mind set on one of his escapades. She just let him carry out any wild, artistic idea he had; and was usually quite glad for doing so. Before she knew it, Christian had led her up their spiral staircase and into their white, marble bathroom. Christian closed the door behind them and made sure it was locked before turning around and giving Satine a hint of mischief twinkling in his perfect smile. She watched as he set the bag down and wrapped his arms around her waist and fingered the laces of her loose fitting dress until they came untied in his hands. A small gasp escaped her lips as he pulled the dress up over her head and let it fall in a heap to the floor. Satine immediately became aware of her �less than perfect� figure and folded her arms and placed them across her middle. Christian shook his head when he saw her self-conscious state and gently removed the limbs obstructing his view of her body that he thought had never looked so perfect. �Darling, what could be more beautiful than seeing something we made growing inside you?� He ran tender hands down her sides, �I don�t want you to ever worry about your body for me, all right? No matter what, you are Satine and you are beautiful and perfect and I love you.� Satine couldn�t help but smile at her husband. She truly was the luckiest woman in the world. Christian left her standing in her undergarments while he stripped off his own clothes, revealing his still exquisitely sculpted body. He rolled his trousers up to about mid-calf and then took Satine and situated her comfortably in the bathtub. Christian reached for the bag of ice before climbing in with her. Reaching in, he pulled out a large chunk of dripping ice and said, �Now let me know if you get too cold�� �Too cold?� she asked. Christian gave a quick swipe of the ice down her cheek and neck. �Oh!� Satine cried at the tingling sensation. He smiled and whispered, �Now relax. That�s it�shh�� She leaned her head against the edge of the tub and let Christian work his magic. He ran the piece back and forth across her forehead and circled the curves of her lips before the big ice block had liquefied to nothing but cool droplets flowing in little rivers all over Satine�s body. He pulled out another piece and leaned her forward to rest against his chest while he massaged the back of her neck and down her spine. He let the ice rest in the small of her back where she had mentioned soreness. Satine�s breathing was now coming in slow, deep breaths. She was incredibly relaxed and Christian had achieved his goal; she felt as if a crisp, autumn breeze had just washed over her entire body. She was pulled from her thoughts when she felt something very cold between her breasts. Her eyes snapped open to find Christian, who blushed and said, �I�m sorry, I couldn�t resist.� Satine laughed and took his cold hands and placed them back on her chest. �You know you�re hands are always welcome anywhere they please,� she said evilly. Christian inched his head to Satine�s and placed a soft kiss on her lips. She caught Christian off guard and slipped her tongue into his mouth. He groaned against Satine�s lips as she maneuvered her body until she was straddling his lap. Panting, they slowly pulled apart. Christian sighed, �I think I�m hotter than when we started�� Satine took the bag of ice in her hands and said, �Oh, I think I can fix that.� *** �All done!� Sara shrieked happily at her empty plate and cup of milk. Satine was brought out of her flashback, and smiled at her daughter. �Alright, my sweet girl�let�s go get you ready for bedtime,� she replied as cheerfully as possible, pushing the clear memories from two years before as far away as she could�not knowing that more of them would soon come to haunt her� |