This is an idea a good friend of mine suggested that I write. I don't think Velma and Amber's relationship has been explored very well, so it's about time that happens.
Velma never wanted to be a mother. The moment her daughter came into the world, she despised her. This little thing demanded so much of her attention and time, not to mention had destroyed her once perfect figure and now she had to diet even harder now to get it back. Sometimes she would find herself thinking about shaking Amber until she stopped crying or leaving the baby on someone's doorstep. Of course, Mr. Von Tussle would have no such thing. He adored his little daughter.
That was another thing that pissed Velma off. The husband she had fought hard to steal affections from was slowly turning away from her. He was enamored with this little pink thing that cried and made messes all the time. He would spoil his daughter with many gifts until her nursery overflowed with them. Velma hated Amber.
"Mama! Mama!" four year old Amber cried out in the middle of the night.
Velma ignored her daughter's cries and pulled the sleep mask back over her eyes, trying to tune the four year old out. Mr. Von Tussle had passed away a few months ago and since then Amber had been having nightmares. Her precious father was no longer there and she was left with a mother who was more like those evil stepmothers she would read about in her fairy tale books. The little girl never understood how she could make her mother so mad by doing nothing. She didn't understand why her mother never hugged her or kissed her or tucked her in at night. At four years old, Amber learned how to take care of herself an awful lot.
"Mama! Can I sleep with you tonight I'm scared," Amber whimpered, shaking Velma with her little hands.
"No, go back to your room, Mommy is trying to sleep," Velma grumbled, pushing the little girl away.
Amber stumbled and pushed her tears back. She had learned that crying in front of her mother did no good.
"Please Mama? I'm scared," she tried again.
"What on earth are you scared of?" Velma groaned, wanting to shake this little girl until she stopped talking.
"Daddy! I'm afraid his ghost might come back," Amber whimpered.
"That's ridicoulous, there are no such things as ghost, now go back to your room now, Amber, or I will give you something to cry about," Velma growled at her.
Amber scampered off out of fear and crawled back into her bed, clutching her stuffed bear tightly as she cried herself to sleep.
The eight year old raised her hand to cup her stinging cheek. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry, she told herself.
"Now go away, mommy has work to do," Velma told Amber in her sing song voice, pushing her daughter as far away from her as she could.
"Yes mother," Amber whispered, retreating to a far corner so she could cry and soothe herself in solitude.
Why didn't mommy like her? What did she do that was so wrong? She tried so hard to be a good girl. She tried to keep quiet and not bother mommy while she was working. She tried hard to keep clean and look beautiful like Velma commanded. Still, nothing she did was ever right and she would always get punished. Sometimes she would get slapped, sometimes she would get a spanking, sometimes her mother would take her favorite dolls away and sometimes she would be sent to bed without any dinner or breakfast the next morning.
When Amber got into her teens she realized that maybe if she acted more like Velma, it would make her happy. Maybe for once she could do something right. So she began to act cold, bitchy, snobbish and for some reason it impressed Velma a bit. Only a little bit though, Velma still refused to hug her or kiss her. Instead she just found more faults to critique, but sometimes she would give Amber a little smile. That little smile gave Amber so much hope. Still, she knew that mommy would never love her.