She loved that dress. It was simply perfect. Bright pink, with a wide skirt and a fabric rose in one side of the waist. The mannequin was also wearing white shoes, with matching gloves. She imagined herself going to school dressed like that. And because the worn backpack, the one she used to move around her stuff, would most definitely not combine with a dress like that, she would also needed something else, something like a purse. Yes, a pink purse. With such an outfit, she could go to school and put in their places all those girls, who always made fun of her old clothes, battered shoes and lack of proper school material.
Scarlet was so lost in her reverie that she almost didn't notice her siblings leaving her behind.
"Sepherine, walk!" her older sister shouted as she turned around the corner. Scarlet nearly growled. She hated that name! Anyway, she followed her and the other four brothers and sisters, her own shoulders sagging in defeat as her two sisters headed to the market. Fantastic. More cheap, half-rotten vegetables and greasy bacon. She hated her life. And she hated her family, just as they hated her.
She was the seventh of ten children, four of whom were sisters. Clearly they were too many and never had money for anything, even when her older sister began working as a secretary. Her mother used to complain about how much she regretted having had the last four children. All her sisters felt the same, along with her father and three brothers, who worked at the train station. Her father as a guard, her brothers carrying baggage, guiding tourists or whatever they could do to get some money.
Scarlet herself, ten years old, wanted to make her own profits. But she aspired to much more than to carry suitcases or be employee in a lost office in London. Yes, she would go much, much further. She just needed some more time.
The day of her triumph would come, and all of them would pay.
She wished she could be more like Scarlet O'Hara. That Scarlet had really been respected. Of course, she had had tough times too, but then she had reached the top, and all her detractors had swallowed the comments and the contempt they had felt for her and had been crushed by the beauty and wealth she possessed at the point.
Therefore, she had already decided that she would become nothing less than the Queen of England, and her name would be Queen Scarlet the first.
Meanwhile, she and three more brothers had arrived to school. One of them (her fifteen years old brother) had opened the door and pushed her inside without any ceremony. She slipped and fell to the floor, to the great amusement of the people around her. Then, blushing furiously and with her nostrils flaring, she got up and walked to class.
And well, as expected, everything was horrible. Matilda, the insufferable, presumptuous dunderhead who had everything she wanted, was already sitting there. This time, it seemed like Matilda had wanted new clothes... the very same Scarlet had been daydreaming about barely fifteen minutes ago. When she passed by her side, she tripped with Matilda's foot. Again, in the floor, and again people laughing. Why did life hate her so much?
She sat, glaring daggers at everyone in an attempt to regain dignity. Oh, but this time, she wouldn't sit down and swallow the humiliation. Later, they would have sports class, and they must change to the uniform for more appropriated clothes. Matilda would have to leave her clothes in the shelf, with no one looking.
She would steal it.
Now, the problem would be re-entering the place where everything was kept. But she had the recess to solve that problem, she hoped.
Her hopes were awarded with the sight of a boy she had never noticed before. However, even if the boy in question looked cute and a little shy (how come that she hadn't seen him?) he was using some kind of device to open the door of the school that told her she had found her answer.
As discreetly as she could manage, she moved across the yard in order to be closer to him. A tall, brawny boy took her from the neck of her partially shredded sweater (courtesy of Lorenza, another of her sisters) and lifted her from the floor.
"Look, silly slippery Sepherine!" and started laughing with a sound that resembled a tormented goose. She, practically burning of rage, hit him with her knee, managing to free herself from his grip. She felt powerful when his sidekicks seemed to have second thoughts and left her alone. The boy with her answer was almost out of her sight, but she could still see him -and especially the thing she was looking for, that had just fallen to the floor.
She rushed to the place where the thing had landed, and picked it up hoping desperately that it would be easy to operate. She let the air she was holding when she found out the simple way of activating the device, by pushing a button that detonated something like lights and then opened the desired lock, like the one she was opening at that very moment.
Not long after that, while the victory was still drawn in her features, the bell rang. Everyone went to the classrooms, except for her own classmates, who left in direction of the dressers. Now, not even the absolutely nauseous clothes she was forced to wear trampled her mood.
The teacher (a thin bald man who looked old enough to have seen Shakespeare alive) told them to pair up and start practicing ball-throwing. As usual, she was left without a partner. And it couldn't have been better.
Silent and elegant, she made her way out of the class. She activated the lock-opener (guess it wasn't exactly a key...) and she immediately identified the bag she was looking for. Quickly, to avoid suspicion, she took everything she wanted and put the nearly empty bag back in its place. Then she hid the clothes under some bushes near the street and made her way back to the class... where hopefully no one had noticed her absence.
The remaining time was painful and so, so very slow. Her hands were itching with emotion, she just wanted to go out and enjoy her prize. Well, there was still the part where Matilda noticed the robbery, but it would be fun to watch. Ah, it was there, Scarlet thought as a piercing shriek was heard coming from the dressers.
Hell broke loose.
A few teachers ran, waited patiently as a sobbing Matilda explained everything and then started the Quest to Find Something That Now Was Hers. She laughed inwardly as everyone whispered and ran. That is... until she was called too.
"Your classmate Phil Lloyd states that he didn't see you during the class" started the Headmistress. "Is it true?"
Well, she wasn't expecting that."No, ma'am. I was without a partner for the practice, so I stayed out of the way". That wasn't even a lie.
The older woman eyed her, suspicion clear in her eyes. Scarlet did her best to appear innocent.
"We will know that soon enough" and Scarlet just hoped that the headmistress wouldn't be able to acknowledge the nervousness in her eyes. Someone else entered the room, bringing a boy with him.
"So, you are the one who was out here the entire time. Did you see someone around? Probably carrying a bundle of clothes?" asked the headmistress to the boy, whose identity she recognized as none other than the one who owned the lock-opener. She looked at him. If he had been out in the last thirty minutes, he had seen her for sure. Her eyes widened with fear.
"Yes, headmistress" answered the boy, almost lazily. "I was looking for Professor Jones, but I didn't see anyone walking next to the dressers".
"Are you sure?" asked the headmistress, disappointed. Scarlet fought back the surprise, trying not to give herself away. "You two can leave, then".
She walked out side by side with the boy. Once well away from the adults, she stopped and just stood there dumbfounded. He had not betrayed her. And he could have done just that... after all, why would he want to help her?
She didn't notice the boy approaching her, so she almost jumped when she heard him right next to her.
"What's your name, baby?" the boy asked with the cutest crooked smile she had ever seen.
"S ..." she hesitated, her heart racing. No one had ever called her "baby", and Sepherine could not be anyone's baby, for that matter. That was a good time to start her alias "Scarlet, my name is Scarlet"
"Beautiful name", he winked. "I'm Herb Overkill, by the way". She just stared at him in total disbelief. "I really thought that your move was amazing y'know. It was a greeat use for the lockbreaker".
"Y...you..." she was unable to complete the thought.
"Oh, I was thinking... I'm an inventor, but I'm not that good at using my inventions. You, on the other hand...you've got the talent" he gave her another of those crooked smiles, and she was unable to process anything. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? "What about being associates? I can tell you will achieve big things".
Her mouth was totally open. He thought... he thought her talented and capable? He wanted to be her associate?
"Are you serious?" she couldn't help but ask, still astounded.
"Well, if you don't want to, I c..."
She cut him in the middle of the sentence with a myriad of "Yesyesyesyes... of course. It's just... no one takes me seriously, ever..."
"They all have been fools" Herb arched an eyebrow. "You will be the greatest super villain of all time" She gave him a big, bright smile. Now she had found someone to share her dreams with.
During the following days, they kept talking. She told Herb about her horrid family, the lack of money, her deep desire to prove herself... He told her about his loneliness, the weird looks everyone sent him when he was talking about his inventions and how he didn't like being in the spotlight.
Not long after, they flew away together. Two more years, and they were already established and respected villains. A few months later, they bought a castle and the robberies started being heard in the entire world. They fell in love and married, and it was named the "event of the year" in the Villain Magazine. Being happy together, though, was a little more difficult with three small yellow capsules around...
A/N: So... hello! First fanfic published, not a native speaker. If someone happens to read this and (hopefully) enjoy it, please leave a review. I'd like to improve. Thank you :D