"Paris - The last night of new moon for this winter." " Don't wake up entire hotel!" " There's almost nobody here." "I still have eight hours on my shift..." " Oh shit, it's midnight!" " I have to split." " You don't want to stay, you can have the red room." " No, I have to make the rounds?" " When will I see you again?" "One of these days..." "Give me a kiss." "I would like a room for tonight." "With a window on the street or the courtyard?" "It doesn't matter." "That's not true." "I'd like a special room." "The red room..." "It's free, right?" "Yes." "60 francs." "Keep the change." "Do you know this man?" "He stayed here a year ago." "His name is..." "Max..." "Christie." " You are very kind." " You're feeling better, Lady Christie?" "In fact, I shouldn't allow you to address me like that." "We weren't married, but it was like this..." "Seven years... seven years of my life with him..." "That gives me the right, doesn't it?" "I'm being ridiculous." "Excuse me, Mademoiselle ... ?" "Lucie." "My name is Leni" "Yes, it true, it's ridiculous, in this room, there are objects that I want to look at, touch..." "But I love him still." "I must admit it." "But what can I do for you?" "Well..." "I've lost his trail." "I must find him." "Did you know him?" " No." "But the girl who worked here before me often spoke of him." "She'd talk about his enormous tips." "Yes, we are very generous, actually." "Unfortunately he hasn't returned since." "You, you have a lead." "I know that he was often with..." "I'm sorry... a girl." "My friend remembered their names because they had the habit of yelling at each other from the stairs... waking everyone." "Christie ..." "Stern ..." "And then?" "That's all." "Make an effort..." "Lucie, don't take this wrong." "I'd like to hire you to investigate some things for me..." "Make an effort." "I don't know if I should but... my coworker." "I remember that after leaving the hotel she started spending her nights at a dance club." "not far from here." "It's called the "Rumba"." "And who should I talk to there?" "My coworker has a friend who works as a "Ticket Girl"..." "Elsa." ""Ticket Girl"?" "How awful." "I'm not staying." "But your money ...?" "It's an advance." "Don't be afraid." "I'll be in contact." " Do you remember the last time you were here?" " I was with him." "I followed you like a guard dog." "I was envious of him." "Envious of what?" "You!" "Me?" "You admire me?" "I've managed 150 francs, which you'll get... 150 francs?" "It's not 150 that you owe me, it's 175." " Why 175?" " I lent you 150 francs three days ago when you were with those guys, for the drinks at the bar." "And 25 francs last night." "Last night?" "You lent me nothing last night." " I lent you 25 francs last night." " Who do you take me for?" "Madame Duchesse, you have a visitor." "Then you know my brother." "When Lord Christe came here, everything was different." " How so?" "He would come in and in a blink of an eye everything was different." "First he bought all the evening Tickets." "He was always very generous." "For us it wasn't bad." "He sent home all the customers, we were able to sit down and relax for hours like that..." "You didn't dance?" "Oh no, he always came with a girl." " We only danced with his friends." " Parasites, or worse, they live off their family's money." "Max is a bit mixed up in the head, if you want to know, Mademoiselle ... ?" "Elsa." "We must always pay for his extravagance." "It's curious, that his sister doesn't have an English accent." "Impertinent!" "I studied in Switzerland." "I'm sorry." "You're right, he was very extravagant." "And also a little ill." "Like something was upsetting him?" "Precisely, yes!" "What could it be?" " His conscience?" "Oh yes, his conscience." "He last time he was here, he didn't speak." "He kept to a corner, completely alone, and said nothing." "Except when he ordered his drink... champagne." "He drank and drank... but couldn't get drunk." " And you?" " We were completely tipsy." "All at once he got up... and made a big gesture, like this... and the mirror broke." "I must find him immediately." "Do you know how?" "However." "The girl who was with him... her name is Sylvia Stern." "She has a meeting with him." " Where?" "Thank you, Elsa." "You'll see me again." "It's the story of a Zebra who escaped from a small country zoo." "He comes upon a farmhouse and meets a chicken." "And asks it:" ""What are you doing?"" "The chicken says to him:" ""I'm a chicken and I make eggs."" "And the Zebra said: "Oh... " And continued on until he met a cow." "He then inquired: "And you, what do you do?"" "The cow said:" ""I'm a cow and I make milk."" "And the Zebra said: "Oh..." and continued on, until he met a bull." "And asks him: "And you, what do you do?"" "And the bull looked at him and said:" ""I am the bull." "If you want to know what I do, take off those stupid Pajamas."" "I'm sorry, I wasn't listening..." "What were you saying?" "Nothing." "It brings luck." "As for our other little debt, we'll worry about it later." "It's suffocating here." "Like anyone can sleep with these jungle drums around." "I'm rather drunk." "I lie down like this... and not so much as breathe the rest of the night." "You tickled me!" "The truth is, I'm unable so to sleep..." " Why?" "I want to be honest with you, Monsieur Pierre." "You are a kind, intelligent man." "A godsend, in short." " Really?" "I'd like to hire you." "I'm alone." "I need a friend." "And you're offering me?" "Yes, to 21 at 11 o'clock." "Amsterdam... at the same place." "I'll bring it to you." "Are you interested?" " Perhaps..." " And now?" " Perhaps..." "Do you know the "Fairy Godmother:?" "It's a stone that has disappeared for two centuries." "One might say cursed." "I see you are well informed." "Cursed or blessed, its value is incalculable." "I have a feeling it's around here." "If it were found," "I would know how to sell it." "At the highest price." "I don't like organizations." "But I'm the organization." "It's only me." "Perhaps us..." " Perhaps..." "Sylvia Stern?" "My name is Leni." "I've heard you can help me find Lord Christie." "How do you know that?" "A friend." "But he never spoke of you." "It's been along time since you've seen him?" "It means..." "I was in the can for quite a while." " How long?" " A year." "He promised to help me once I got out." "I don't believe you." "Anyway, it doesn't matter." "Max Christie is dead." "I'm dreadful." "He's dead and I think only of myself." "I'm sorry." "How did it happen?" "We don't need your pity... nor your curiousity." " We?" " Yes, we." "He and I." "You want to know, all the same?" "He burned, little by little, until he dissappeared." "No one could understand." "Not even me, for that matter... until recently." "Now I understand." "I should say we." "Go on." "You came here to find me." "It's said that he is able to reform at the sight of water." " From what?" "From the battle." "He fought and defended." "He defended us." "He suffered horribly... but he withstood to the very end." " Withstood who?" "That's all, I'll say nothing more." "It's I who takes their place." "But you don't need me to tell you that, right?" "You know everything." "In the name of the Salamanders!" "Pierrot!" "You'll see me again." "There you are." "It can't go on like this." "She's no longer sleeping." "You must put your trust me." " No." " Tell me everything, it will be better." "Everything." "From the beginning." "One year ago." "Lucie?" " Who is this?" " Sylvia Stern." "I must see you, it's very urgent." "Can you come to the Aquarium tonight?" "It's absurd, but..." "in any case it's in your interest." "I don't know you, why should I come?" "Because it concerns Pierrot." "Until tonight." "She swallowed everything, Amsterdam, drug traffic, all that?" "Even Amsterdam?" "But the "Fairy Godmother", did she take that from you also?" "That's unbelievable." "How stupid, these mortals!" "What do you want... they're simpletons." "Yes, simpletons..." "You're remarkably strong." "They're no match for you." "There's no one who can challenge you." "I don't know what you want, but..." "I find you very flattering today." "I want nothing." "I believe that..." "Yes..." "You don't need me anymore?" "That's too bad, it was nice for a change." "Fed up with Carlotta? Their stories are so complicated." "I have the desire to play a mean trick on everyone." "I have to leave." "Are you sure you don't need me?" "No, it's very simple, I follow her path until I see her little friend Sylvia Stern." "You're getting warm..." "You're burning..." "A "Lacrima Christi", well chilled." "A "Lacrima Christi", well chilled." "Looking for someone?" "Can I help you?" "I'm investigating gaming halls." "We're the only women here." "Can I ask you some questions?" "Good, let's start:" "Do you play often?" "For a lot?" "Which game?" "All the time." "At high stakes." "On everything." "Chemin-de-fer, Roulette, Baccarat..." "Also Hide-and-Seek sometimes." "I passed by a lot of places... two rights turns, two lefts turns..." "Avenue Grand Ours, the little car..." "You were following, weren't you?" "What's your profession?" "The truth, now!" "Detective..." "Private" "Amateur?" "I don't want to reveal the name of my client... it's the nature of my investigation." "I can tell you:" "I received a telephone call." "I went... there was a crime." "Premeditation, then..." "How did you kill her?" " Me?" "I saw you as I was coming in." "You were hiding behind the column." "I didn't say anything, I didn't scream" "There were no pleas for help." "I brought you here undercover." "And now..." "A Cognac, please, for Mademoiselle." "Don't be afraid, I'm not going to turn you in." "It wasn't me who called, it was her." " Her, who?" " The deceased." "Mademoiselle Stern." "Very good." "Let's start again." "Profession?" "I'm the night keep at a Hotel." "I was asked to find someone who has disappeared." "The dead girl, as you already know." "I believe you were lured into a trap." "The story was only a pretext." "In reality, you were the aim." " Why?" "To play the scapegoat." "Help me, Mademoiselle... ?" "Viva!" "I will be obligated to report you to my client." "His name?" "Her." "Her name is Leni." "Monsieur Pierre, please!" "Excuse me, I couldn't help overhearing." "You're looking for Monsieur Pierre, I believe." "He wouldn't be, by chance, the same who works with Lord Christie?" "Yes, that's right." "Would you like to have a drink?" "It would be a bit less hectic next door." "I beg you not to say no." "With Pierrot he wrote quite a bit." "Rather often in the beginning, then we lost touch" "Finally, after spending five years in Panama," "I've come back and I want to find him." "I've been told he lives here, in the "Palace"." "I arrived today." "That's all." "And you?" "Excuse me, if I'm indiscreet." "Me..." "I hardly know him." "In fact, I haven't seen him since the time of Lord Christie." "Until today, when he sent me message to come see him here." "You frequent the same places?" "I suppose I shouldn't hide anything." "I work in a dance club." "The "Rumba"." "It's not as bad as that." "Not bad?" "You've never been a Ticket Girl, so you can't know what it's like." "After a few dozens rounds you start to understand." "Cold tea, then dancing, then more tea, then more dancing." "You're underarms start to sweat, and always the same stupid idle chatter... the guys, they also try to pick you up... and the swollen feet..." "But with Pierrot it was different?" "He was a true gentleman." "Aren't you a little... ?" "He was always charming, I'm sure." "Don't be afraid, I'm a friend." "Moreover, I believe he spoke of you in one of his letters..." "You're name is?" "Elsa." "Yes, that's right, Elsa." "He told me..." "No, that wouldn't be discreet." "In any case..." "He liked your name a lot." "He found it... distinguished... classy..." "like yourself." "My real name isn't Elsa, my name is Jeanne." "It sounded better..." "Elsa, for my job." "The other girls call me Jeanne to annoy me." "I don't like "Jeanne"." "It's too ordinary." "To me you're "Elsa"." "And now I have to leave." "No, allow me, let's not split hairs about it." "For now, I'll be seeing you again one of the days." "Can I give you a little advice?" "Don't stay here too long." "You might be waiting pointlessly." "Good luck, all the same." " What are you doing here?" " I'm waiting." " We were supposed to meet at the "Palace"." " No, we were to meet here." "I've wanted to do that for a long time." "Why did you wait so long?" "I had to." "And now?" "I'm completely yours, day and night." "I believe you." "I'm glad." "I knew your friend didn't have it quite right." "She told me not to wait for you." " My friend?" " Yes, from when you lived in Panama." "I know no one from Panama." "She seemed to really know the Lord Christie days." "I've forgotten my past." "You must forget yours." "I'm getting you out of here." "It's getting late and I'm still not dressed for tonight." "I need to change." "I'll wait for you downstairs." "You have a little surprise." "You won't talk about it, it must be kept a secret between us." "What is it?" "You'll see." "In any case, she's a mythomane." "Who?" "The old lady... hotel lobbies are full of them." " You make me wait." " Why did you make me come here?" "I'm the one who asks the questions!" "Tell me everything." "You don't want my timetable?" "I don't understand anything." "Your explanations are confused." "I hired you, Lucie, and I'm the one who pays you." "Pays precisely." "Be exact!" "You hired me to find a man named Lord Christie." "I never found him, but in his place I found a girl, who asked me for help... who was murdered." " Then she's of use to us." " I won't breathe a word of it." "Yes, you will talk, and right away." "I don't buy it." "You keep changing your story." "It's not a man you're looking for, it's something else." " Be honest with me." " Honest?" "I'm always honest." "We need each other." "Tell me about this blonde women." "I followed her into a game hall, but she noticed me." "It was as if she was able to be in two places at the same time." "Her name is Viva." "What else?" "You didn't tell me everything." "There is also a man." "Thin, about 40, with an irregular walk." "Pierrot." "Horrible, abominable..." "I fear that he..." " Who is he to you?" "He's my brother." "Listen to me, Lucie, Viva is dangerous, very dangerous." "Your brother is a victim." "You will bring me to him." "It's me again, Elsa." "I was waiting for you." "You can have it back." "What a nice surprise." "I'm happy like a fish in water." "People pass by, and their mouths open, but no sound gets through to me." "The dream is the aquarium of the night." "Once and for all, I can think of only you, Jeanne, and you alone." "Do not regret me." "Since you are here, I cannot be sad." "I see you on the edge of a lake as a knight in the water's reflection." "My body swims on the surface." "It slowly sinks." "It's there that the knight come to meet me." "I agreed to come here with you Pierrot not only for my own amusement." "And you didn't either." "I've come to see a little clearer." "You distrust me, wrongly." "My sentiments are absolutely transparent." "I'm afraid." "You must protect me." "From who?" "Afraid of what?" "I have enemies, and I'm alone." "If you agree, a treasure will rise before our very eyes." "You are rich and haven't a need for treasure." "On the other side, it makes all the difference." "I know who I can negotiate with there." "You're afraid, afraid of someone here." "This is the type of business you keep a low voice about." "There is no more business between us." "Now I'm following you." "No backtalk." "I know, she's gotten into your head." "I am a dangerous woman, very dangerous..." "I ask you only one thing." "Look carefully." "Later this woman will dance with your brother." "She's going to try to lure him into a trap." "I'll tell you nothing more." "You might be waiting pointlessly." "Good luck, all the same." "I won't try to seduce you, Monsieur Pierre." " Too bad." " No funny business between us." "Lucie fears for your future." "She's right to." "It's none of your damn business." "No cuss words." "Don't be a tough guy, Monsieur Pierre." "I have something to sell you." " What?" "A little information that will get you out of the shit." "You see, I can also be crude." "You're also trembling with fear." " Oh you daughter of the moon," " Oh you daughter of the sun," " Destroyer of cities!" " ... who strikes from afar." " I challenge you." " I challenge you." "At the first full moon of Spring, at dusk... between night and day, in the Cloud Garden... beneath the tree of the Northwest Winds I will wait for you." "I... will wait for you." "You came." "We understand each other without speaking, Elsa." "Jeanne." "It's Jeanne for you." "Jeanne, Elsa... whatever." "Your seedy dance club, your sinister hotel, whatever." "Jeanne, Elsa, both tell you nothing." "Listen." "You are elsewhere." "Elsewhere." "All walls can be collapsed." "Numbers... free us from them." "Seven, eight nine five, three six two" "Our business isn't finished, Pierrot." "You'll get everything you want, but I need it." "You will give in... and you will have everything." "In the name of the Salamanders..." "By the flames and by the ashes, two and two no longer make four." "I see you coming, Viva, and I see you going." "Desperate." "Forever." "Without your flying carpet or hocus-pocus." "By the power of this stone... like the Phoenix burns, to rise from the ashes." "Seven, eight, nine..." "By the flames, by the ashes, in the name... in the name of Salamanders..." "The heat is intolerable here." "Mademoiselle Viva, why don't we leave?" "You're wearing too many clothes." "Make yourself comfortable." "Please, can I leave?" "You're covering your throat." "You've been crying." "Suddenly I was there, with out knowing quite why" "then I heard a loud noise, as if... something where behind me like water... or something that sounded like that." "It was unbearably hot." "There was this woman, this little woman, who approached me." "You won't believe me, but it's as if I have no memory of anything that happened before." "Afterwards, I went back home." "I was thirsty... then I went back to work... and started dancing again." "but I was still so thirsty." "You barely escaped, Elsa." "But I'm more afraid for you at this moment." "You haven't seen Pierrot?" "She can be so charming, Viva, when she wants to." "She can be seductive." "She's so rich." "Her greatest pleasure is seducing, a man away from another woman." "She bewitches him, she dominates him completely," "And afterwards she makes him her Creature." "And then?" "Like a squeezed lemon." "I will take revenge." "Come here." "Look at me." "Remember... she loses all her power," "as soon as she's no longer surrounded by light." "Go" "Now" "You knew to look for me here." "Don't come near me." "I'm only here to pass along a message." " Don't be afraid of me." " Stay there!" "Listen." "Leni wants to see you." "She spoke with you at the dance club, she tried to warn you about Viva." "She wants save you, she wants to help you get out." "I don't need to be warned about Viva, and I don't need Leni's help." "I'm alone, but I know where I stand." "Here in this sinister place, where you're forced to hide..." " Like an assassin?" "Still afraid of your big brother?" "Lucie, hear me well." "I didn't kill Sylvia." "Look at me!" "I swear I didn't kill her." "You must believe me." "But who then?" "Get with it, Pierrot!" "I was crazy to accept this mission." " Did she give you some money?" " Yes, but it's not her alone, I know she's lying that's she using me, that she's mocking me." "I know that she never knew Lord Christie." "That she's behind something else." "That's why Sylvia died." "Insanity takes instant possession of the people she approaches." "But there's nothing I can do:" "when she speaks, I must obey." "That's enough, now." "Let's leave together." "Let's leave together!" "When is the meeting?" "When?" "At the hotel, tomorrow, at nightfall." "Don't go, it's a trap!" "I know." "I'll be there." "Don't go." "I have a task to complete, I must see it through to the end." "Go see Elsa." "Tell her that there's no more danger." "I see what I weave only from behind, never from the front." "Viva?" "I have something to sell." "At the dance club." "You're too late." "The stone isn't here." "I had to defend myself, I swear!" "Leni set her against me." "Listen, Pierrot, this time I'm not lying, I need the stone!" "Are you sure I have it?" "You're all the same, so heroic when you have it in your hands." "What are you doing here?" "I need it, you understand, I need it!" "I lost my temper, it's true, but..." "I want to live, Pierrot, to see, to hear, to feel... beyond these 40 days in late winter that we are given." "I beg you, Pierrot." " No." "neither one... neither you nor the other one." "Later, I'll see Leni and I'll battle with her." "Then it's your turn." "Fine." "But remember only one thing:" "Leni loses all her power the moment she's dazzled with light." "Go... kill her!" "And after..." "After?" "You'll see me again." "Elsa!" "We're too late." "I was wrong!" "Everything will end now." "I can't explain it to you." "Here, take this." "Keep it." "Don't give it to anybody." "Look at your hand, Pierrot." "You are condemned." " Like Max." "It will be long." "With horrible agonies." "In these last days I thought I could battle against you as an equal." "I believed I had your dimensions." "But I was only an imitation." "Pale..." "I can help you, if you help me." "How old are you?" "I've been young for too long..." "I'm sick of it." "Is that enough?" "You want to know my story?" "A ghost." "The daughter of the moon, who only returns to earth" "for 40 days..." "Each year, each winter..." "Forever?" "I'm sorry for you." "You'd rather stay on Earth?" "Yes, help me." "Give me the stone." "I need it." "The first full moon of Spring... is tonight?" "Look at me." "Be my accomplice." "Come!" "Give me the key!" "Pierrot, what happened to you?" "Look!" "I've almost passed to the other side." "No!" "Don't touch me." "Leave it on the ground." "I'm beginning to understand." "Sylvia, Elsa..." "The three threads lead to one another." "The third victim is me." "Not if you give me the key." "You must leave and forget everything." " I need to know more." "I know that you didn't kill her." "I was nothing but a soldier in the battle of two queens." "Viva killed Elsa, and now I'm certain that Leni did the same with Sylvia." "Why?" "They didn't need to do it, the girls were infected, they were going die..." "I transferred the thing from one to the other." "The Goddess always arrived too late." "Anyway, we must defend ourselves from Viva." "And Leni?" "That's no longer important." "I'm finished, Lucie." "Coward." "Enough, we no longer have the time." "A duel will take place at dawn, before the tree of the Northwest Winds." "There, everything will be decided." "The strongest will get the stone." "And after?" "She will remain on Earth." "And we will submit to their caprices and their strength." "I won't give you the key!" "You're suffering?" "It's excruciating..." "Quick, the key." "Later." "Viva has dazzled me." "Lucie escaped." "Viva's after her." "Your sister is lost." "Never mind." "I'll wait for Viva in front of the tree." "She must come, everything takes place there." "Adieu, Pierrot." "I promised to save you like I saved Sylvia Stern." "Why?" "For pity." "Two and two... no longer make four." "All walls collapse." "Seven, eight... nine... five, three... six... two."