Cruel Beauty

Smoke

You carry Victoria outside choking, her dimwitted guards wait idly with Horace and Jasper already been taken to the police station accused of Cruella's murder. You lie her down on the ground she isn't responsive she looks so fragile her face covered in soot, and ash in her hair, so you immediately start CPR trying to revive her, it isn't easy as you can barely breathe yourself. 'Darling please, please.' tears sting your eyes. After a beat Victoria chokes and splutters responding to your kiss of life, her eyes flutter open and you breathe a sigh of relief but there is no time for pleasantries. The police could arrive at any moment. 'C'mon.' You lift her up again she is still dazed in your arms. 'Well don't just stand there you imbeciles, open the car door!' You bark. Her guards finally get into action they open the door help you get her in, and close the door behind you. 'Hellman Hall, now.' you instruct when they get in they immediately drive you off. Victoria is still coughing you shift her to an upright position patting her back as lying slumped won't help her, the fire blazes in the distance as you leave the dilapidated building behind the scent of smoke heavy in your nostrils. It takes the Baroness a few moments to collect her thoughts, you roll down the window letting in the fresh night air. 'Cr-Cruella?' she manages to croak. 'Dealt with.' you respond in a cold tone.

Victoria remembers Cruella, her eyes illuminated by her silver metallic eyeshadow, they looked at each other as though for the first time. Her eyes stung from the smoke and she knew the girl was going to leave her to burn and in truth, she didn't blame her. 'Give me your hand!' Cruella shouted stunning the Baroness like no one ever had. She reached through the elevator gap locking eyes with Victoria urging her to trust her.'Baroness! Move! Now!' Victoria approached, waiting for Cruella's expression to change to the cruelty of the Baron's drawing back her hand. Leaving her to burn. Reaching out with uncertainty she had taken her hand. Cruella helped tug her up through the shaft, it's all going well until her damn curvaceous hips got stuck. Victoria clawed at the floor trying to pull herself out feeling Cruella continue to try and strong-arm her through the gap, but her choking had gotten worse. In her last breath if she had the energy she would have told the girl to run but by then she was unconscious.

'We need to go back.' Victoria speaks hoarsely and you shoot her a look. 'We need to go back now! Turn the car! We need to go back!' You grab her and rock her. 'Darling it's okay, you are safe.' You try to soothe her. 'Is everything quite alright miss yn?' The guard driving slows down a little. 'Just shut up and do your job, drive!' you hiss and he immediately puts his foot down speeding off. Victoria continues to fight against you looking out the car's back window as the dilapidated building explodes, she stops as she watches the flames surround the place. She closes her eyes and releases a sigh of regret knowing it is now too late. You continue to hold her. When you arrive home Victoria is unusually quiet and in fact quite distant you are both still filthy from the flames but for once she doesn't even seem to care about her appearance when you enter the radio is already blaring away. "Breaking news, Cruella, best known for upstaging the Baroness in the fashion world, has died tonight." 'Switch it off.' Victoria instructs distantly. 'Victoria?' you tilt your head. 'I said switch it off now!' she screams and you are taken aback but do as asked switching it off.

Meanwhile across London in an apartment, a TV can be heard in reporters droning on, and a kettle whistles. " London's fashion provocateur has died. The Baroness and Cruella had been going head-to-head...The Baroness' competition has gone up in flames. Cruella, a shining star in London's West End fashion scene has tragically died tonight in a warehouse fire." Cruella blinked slowly being stirred by the noise, she frowned in confusion looking around the fancy flat, Buddy and Wink pounced on top of her. 'Tea, Miss Cruella?' the young woman is startled to see one of the Baroness's minions gazing down upon her. The last thing she remembered was being tied to the chair and then nothing. 'Why am I alive?' she gathers the jacket over her tighter. 'Because I dragged you out of the smoke and flames before they consumed you.' John had lain in wait but the game changed when he saw you entering the building after you emerged with the Baroness but Cruella had not he had entered dragging her to safety. 'I have something for you.' he opens a handkerchief showing her the ruby necklace. 'You found it?' Cruella is surprised. 'In the fire, I can assure you it's been, uh, thoroughly bleached. May I show you something?'

Cruella nods at his words and he reveals the necklace is more than meets the eye. 'I didn't know it had a key.' Buddy whines and Cruella scratches his ear. 'Mmm-hmm.' John muses. 'What's it to?' Cruella asks curiously. 'This.' John nods at the wooden box on his coffee table he hands Cruella the key letting her open it she removes the birth certificate. 'The Baroness has a kid?' she sounds surprised. 'You. May I walk you through it?' John has not forgotten the monster the Baron was but why not let the girl believe she had one loving parent? Where was the harm in that? 'The Baron was a sweet old guy, the Baroness, on the other hand, is a true narcissist, she was having an affair with her assistant.' Cruella briefly sees your face surrounded by smoke but the memory is unclear. 'So when she found out she was pregnant, well there was no way it was going to be yns, she wasn't exactly thrilled. The Baron on the other hand was delighted, he craved an heir more than life itself.' At least the last part was true. 'So much so that he surprised her by giving her a family heirloom. She took the necklace, but she and her lover had other plans for you. You didn't fit into their plan, particularly her assistants.'

'Stop.' Cruella interrupts the story. 'You keep saying "you." She looks irritated. 'You are her daughter. I was there when you were born. The Baron was away on business, and she ordered me to do the unthinkable, I thought with time I could talk her out of it. The Baroness never wanted children but I thought understanding that you were equally as innocent as she had previously been she might spare you. By then yn had already gotten her claws in too deep, she was the Baron's lover before the Baroness. She wanted to punish him for betraying her, let us say the Baron was no saint in marriage he had a wandering eye. It was a diabolical request. I refused I bundled you up I wanted to get you to safety I knew I needed to protect you. But how?'

You sauntered down the stairs your black wispy dress flowing behind you. 'John.' John froze and turned seeing you, your eyes penetrating his very soul. 'Where are you going with that?' you pull your wrap around your shoulders and approach him. 'The Baroness has asked me to....take care of it.' You raise your chin listening to the baby wail you can't see the child it's bundled up in the blanket. But to you, that is not a child, that is the product of a vicious horrible man who uses women. Who tormented your soul mate within an inch of your life that isn't a baby that is the Baron's prize trophy of a job well done. You think of everyone he has tormented and a sick level of satisfaction sweeps over you that you will be party to taking away what he wants most. John stands with the bundle looking stoic but something niggles at you. 'Take the child into the woods and leave it there, if the wolves don't get it I'm sure the night air will.' You turned on your heel to return to the Baroness.

'Then I saw Catherine, the sweetest woman who ever lived she saved you. I took a bundle of old blankets into the woods, yn watched from the window. And Catherine took you. The Baroness said the child had died, the Baron, he, uh, wasted away. The point I'm making is, you are the rightful heir to the Baron's entire fortune. The mansion, the title. Everything.' Cruella looks utterly shell-shocked. 'That psycho cannot be my mother.' She stares into the fireplace in horror. Memories, flames, she remembers pulling something.

The commissioner walks between you and the Baroness. 'The boys are locked up, but we have a problem.' The Baroness had been in a strange mood but this morning she had lightened up a little perhaps looking on the bright side, her nemesis was gone, until this happened. 'I don't pay you for problems.' The commissioner continues. 'We didn't find her body.' Victoria looks like someone just threw ice-cold water over her. 'What are you talking about?' Your jaw clenches. 'That is not possible, I saw it myself, besides, it's on the TV, the radio.' You insist. 'Well, someone tipped them off and gave them the wrong tip.' he responds and you can tell by his tone he is being condescending towards you and Victoria immediately picks up on this. 'Thank you for your time. Incompetent as always.' You feel a flush of warmth when she puts him in his place on your behalf. Little do you know, Victoria is also suffering inner turmoil so Cruella whoever she is, may be alive, and Victoria owes her a life debt. But Cruella was also trying to destroy her. But Cruella might also be her...The conflict causes her to grab the nearest chair and throw it across the room hitting an unsuspecting maid who winces grabbing her leg. 'You're in the way.' Victoria points at her accusingly. You touch her shoulder. 'Love...I..' she shrugs you off and walks away.

You follow her to her study she stares out of the window nervously. 'Baroness?' You enter behind her. She is overwhelmed with all of her emotions she wants them to stop. You see she looks like she is struggling with something. 'Victoria?' she looks at you with frightened eyes and you kiss her softly. 'How about some tea?' You offer. 'Thank you my dear.' she touches your cheek, it's been a while since you performed any menial task for her. 'How many sugars?' Victoria finally cracks a smile at your ridiculous smile. 'Sugar? I'm sweet enough.'