OK, so this fourteenth chapter that's chronologically listed as chapter seventeen of my '102 Dalmatians' story is the shortest chapter of my story, so far. it'll probably even be the shortest chapter of them all if I never submit a shorter chapter than this one along the way. all of what happens in this chapter is solely based upon all that happened during that song in the actual film of '102 Dalmatians', Cruella De Vil 2000. I hope you all remember that song from the movie. anyway, this technically fourteenth chapter of my own version of '102 Dalmatians' is a whopping three-hundred-fifty-five words long of total storyline. the storyline of which doesn't include the comments from yours truly guised as author's notes, this explanatory headnote, right here, or the (mandatory) disclaimer which makes up the paragraph following this headnote. speaking of which, would you look at that? it's already time for this chapter's obligatory disclaimer.
disclamation: I don't own '102 Dalmatians' in any way, shape, or form. I mean, I own it on DVD, but I was only seven when it first appeared in theaters, at all. so, it wouldn't even be natural for me to have owned '102 Dalmatians', at all. I also don't own either of the '101 Dalmatians' movies. I was but two or three years old when the live action remake came out, and when the original animated classic of '101 Dalmatians' came to theaters, I didn't even exist, yet. all these films are owned by the Walt Disney Movie Productions Company and by Dodie Smith.
As the weeks went by, Miss De Vil got more and more into the community service project she chose for herself. It was a pretty easy street for her to have taken just to repay her debt to society. It was helpful, it was fashionable, it came with animals. It was the obvious choice for 'Ella' to have been able to perform her community service and be motivated to do so.
A/N: if only it'd come without any initial form of temptation, though. community service isn't even supposed to be fun. it's not like it's art or music or any other leisure activity.
It had only been natural that Raymond and Bradley had benefit from Miss De Vil's activity at 'Give a Dog Another Chance at a Home'. It was their dog shelter which she was making into an animal palace, after all. They had even started to receive letters from celebrities, lords and ladies and even her majesty, the queen, who had wanted to adopt one of the dogs at their shelter. But it was actually the letters, themselves that excited Raymond and Bradley and not the ideas of having to give up any of the dogs they had so carefully gotten to know and love for themselves. Receiving a letter from royalty of any kind was the highest honor in England.
A/N: I bet that receiving a letter from a queen was a high honor in England is all I'm saying at the end of that paragraph.
The only one who had truly continued not to trust Miss De Vil to have kept her cure intact was none other than Kimberly, herself, and her dogs, Patch and the newly removed from her maternity leave, Piper. Patch even commented to his mate, Piper, in their own shared native language about what they clearly thought of the reformed devil woman from Patch's puppyhood.
Patch: This can't be the devil woman. This isn't even the devil woman I remember.
A/N: surely a blessing in disguise for any one of Pongo and Perdita's puppies should any of them had ever seen or even met with Miss De Vil ever again.
Piper also had her own comment about Miss De Vil's apparent cure to her madness.
Piper: The old mad lady may have given up her bark, but it doesn't mean that she won't still bite.
Unfortunately for Kimberly and her dogs, Patch, Piper and their own puppies, only time truly knew the answer to exactly how much longer Miss De Vil was going to last with keeping her cure intact. Kimberly, herself, hoped that her probational case, 'Ella's, cure was as real as it had initially looked to the public eye.
