Cheesebridge was dark as Molly Monte Cristo walked home from an afternoon tea break that fell well far past curfew. She had just moved back from Mira, a neighboring town just over the hill, and she wasn't used to any sort of curfew. Her friends warned her about the Boxtrolls, which were never a major threat when Molly lived there before, but she insisted on leaving anyway. She didn't like the idea of staying overnight at someone's house, especially when her own was just a couple miles up town.
As she walked on the empty, foggy, streets, something caught her attention. A shadow-like figure in the distance running into an alley. Curiosity got the better of her, and she decided to follow it.
The alley was darker than the streets it seemed, a couple trash cans on either side. Whatever she had seen before seemed to be nowhere in sight now. Suddenly, a trash can rumbled, and made the lady jump. She waited for a moment, and out popped a cat. She giggled off the scare as the cat licked it's paw.
"Oh Molly," she assured herself, "you've been reading too many books again." She turned to head back home, but didn't notice a small box in front of her and tripped over it. She gave out a small scream as she fell to the floor, landing on her hands and knees. She sat up on her knees and examined the box, she was sure it wasn't there before.
The box shook, and she lurched back quickly, expecting another cat to jump out. Instead, a head popped out, a boxtroll head! She screamed in terror, never seeing a real live boxtroll face to face like this before. The Boxtroll screamed back and hid inside it's box.
Before Molly could even scream for help, a net was swung over the boxtroll, capturing it in it's clutches. Molly's eyes followed the net up the handle to see a tall, gangly man in red. "Aha! Caught you, ya filthy beast!" he proclaimed, "You won't be hurting no civilians on my watch." He swung the net over his shoulder with one hand, and lent the other out to Molly to help her up. "You alright, miss?"
She took his hand, but rather than stand up, she used it to pull him in for a hug. "OH THANK YOU SO MUCH! YOU SAVED MY LIFE! I WOULD HAVE BEEN A BOXTROLL'S DINNER IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU!"
The gentleman held his arms back, as not to touch her, dropping his net in the process. The Boxtroll saw it's chance and scurried away into the darkness, not that either of them noticed. The man in red was too preoccupied with the woman clinging to his torso, which no lady has ever done to him before.
"MR. PICKLES!" a booming voice interrupted, "You let one of the monsters get away!" A man with a big gut and mean scowl across his face emerged from out of the fog into the alley. Molly released her grip on the tall man as he stuttered and apologized to his boss. "I- I did? Oh, it appears I did." He rubbed the back of his neck in a mixture of embarrassment and nervousness. "Sorry, Mr. Snatcher."
The man referred to as Snatcher rolled his eyes and ignored his stooges apology. He gave Molly a quick up and down look and approached her. He was much taller than her, and his evil demeanor was rather intimidating to a lady like herself. "What's an upper class woman like yourself doin out here all alone on a Tuesday night?" He began to circle her like a shark, making her even moor nervous.
She cleared her throat, "Well, I was coming home from a friend's house and I just happened to see something in the alley. Thought it was a cat, but it wasn't, obviously. It was-"
"A Boxtroll?" he interrupted her, circling back around to her front and practically nose to nose with her. Molly shrunk and meekly nodded. "There is a curfew enforced for a reason, Miss. To keep you people safe! Now, how about I escort you home and-"
"Uh, boss?" The tall gangly man stepped in. Snatcher turned to him sharply, waiting for an answer to his interruption. "I- I was thinking maybe I could escort her home?" His boss thought for a moment, standing between the two, looking back and forth from one to the other. He knew what was going on, his stooge liked this woman. Not that he even had a chance with her.
"I really shouldn't, considering you let one of the beasts get away!" he stated sternly, looking down the alley where the Boxtroll had ran. "But i'm feeling a bit generous at the moment, so you may." He tossed some hair behind back as he turned on his heel to go back onto the streets.
Both Molly and Mr. Pickles glowed at his response. The man shyly held out his arm, and Molly gladly linked hers with it. They began to walk down the street towards her home, which was just a block away.
"I'm terribly sorry if I got you into trouble, Mr…" she trailed, waiting for a name. Although, she had heard his boss say it already, she was hoping for a full one.
"Oh, it's fine, really. And it's Pickles. Monty Pickles." He couldn't look at her, he couldn't even believe he was walking with a lady; arms linked and everything. "I don't believe I caught your name either."
"I am Madame Molly Monte Cristo." she said with a hint of brag in her tone. She was rather proud of her long name. While some found it a mouthful, she thought it was grand. "But you may just call me Ms. Molly."
"Ms. Molly." Mr. Pickles echoed. The name was like a melody in his head. The perfect name for the perfect lady.
They stopped at the top of Cheesebridge, just outside the market place. "Well, this is my home." she said, as they stood before the door of a tall home with a single door. It looked rather common for the home of a madame, but Pickles didn't question it. "Thank you, again, for saving me from the boxtroll. And for escorting me home."
Monty tipped his hat to her, "It was no trouble at all, Miss. That's just the job of a Red Hat." He smiled, finally getting to look her in the eyes. They were a dazzling green, with a warmth that matched her sunny, boisterous, hair.
She began up the stairs to her door, but before grabbing the knob, she turned back to her hero. "Perhaps we will see each other around town?" she asked hopefully.
He was shocked a lady like herself would ever want to meet a man like him again. He wasn't an aristocrat, he was a simple man who only owned one pair of pants. She wasn't in his league, and he knew it, but still his heart gave a flutter every time she spoke. "Perhaps we will." he answered with a toothy smile.
Molly giggled and opened her front door. "I hope we will. Goodnight, Mr. Pickles." she began to close the door, and while he could still see her he waved, "Goodnight, Ms. Molly" The door clicked shut, and he turned away from it. He gave a happy sigh, "Ms. Molly." he repeated.
On the other side of the door, Molly faced away and gave a sigh as well, "Mr. Pickles." She placed a hand over her heart as she made her way up to her room.
Mr. Pickles strolled merrily down the empty streets back to his colleagues and their exterminator-mobile. He hopped on his usual spot where he dangled off the side, a big grin slapped across his face. His best friend Mr. Trout noticed right away. "What's that all about?"
Monty swung forward to see his pal better. "Mr. Trout, i'm in love."
"I'm flattered, but i'll have to say no." the big man joked. Mr. Pickles swung back to his spot, still smiling. "Not with you! With Madame Molly Monte Cristo."
"Ooh, fancy!" Mr. Gristle interjected from his backseat.
Pickles nodded, "She is! A one of a kind lady she is! Never met one like her before."
The car shook as Snatcher climbed to his seat on top. He rolled his eyes, "If you've met one, you've met them all, Mr. Pickles. Don't be fooled by a lady's tricks. Especially one such as herself."
Monty paused, his smile failing. "I don't know, she seems special."
"Special?" Snatcher practically spat the word. Literally, Mr. Trout swore felt some spit hit the back of his head. "Ha! Even if she was, you really think someone as high as her would ever give a man like you a chance? A man like any of us? Those kid of people don't respect us. We work and slave for them and what do we get? Nothing."
Mr. Pickles heart sank, his boss wasn't entirely wrong. They had encountered quite a few houitey-touity people who were rather rude to them. Molly wasn't one of them though, but what if her friends were? Was she just being friendly rather than flirty? Questions started to cloud his mind and worry him. His boss was probably right, Molly didn't feel that same way for him as he did for her.