(HIATUS)【 ★ - A Gentleman's Desire - ★ 】

☆-𝓟𝓻𝓸𝓵𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓮 -☆

"Fidget!"

"Yeah, boss?" the raspy voice belonging to one "Fidget" responded.

"Find the girl..."

"Got it, boss!"

Uneven footsteps were heard
all over the first floor, accompanied by the sounds of crashing and shattering. The footsteps started climbing the stairs and making their way from room to room. Rasped breaths could be heard from the nearby rooms as more furniture and miscellaneous items were broken. The girl held her breath, her bedroom door slowly creaked open as "Fidget" giggled and started tearing apart her room.

The girl didn't hesitate to
take an alternative escape route that would lead outside. She crawled towards a trapdoor in a corner of the panic room, trying to be quiet with the creaky, wood floor.

*crrrrrrreeeeeeaaaaaakkkk*

The noises stopped after that
and immediately there were scrambling sounds from both Fidget and the girl. The girl got through the trapdoor just as Fidget opened the panic room's entryway. She sprinted down the narrow corridor and bursted through a door leading straight to the front door. Footsteps came from the living room nearby and the corridor she had just came from. The girl quickly locked and barricaded the door she just came from, and quickly opened and ran out the front door. The girl hid in a nearby barrel but kept the lid opened a bit so she could see the people who were chasing her.

Soon, a bat with a flat cap, a striped-scarf, and a wooden peg leg staggered into view with the all too familiar raspy breathing. He also wore black tights with a single shoe and a pale purple turtleneck. His yellow eyes scanned the empty streets for any signs of the girl. His short grey fur was slightly damp from splotches of blood, most likely from her mother's fresh corpse. Then, a large shadow encroached the small bat with sharp, yellow eyes. Thankfully, the streetlights of the empty street could reveal the intimidating individual a little better.

He wore a black top
hat with a grey brim with a black cloak with a red underside and a gold connecting piece. He wore a grey button-up vest and black, long-sleeved undershirt. White gloves covered his hands revealing that the man had five slender fingers instead of four. A white collar and a purple and red-stripped ascot covered his neck. He wore black dress pants and dress shoes with a long pink tail trailing behind. His face though, sent shivers down the girl's spine. Sharp, yellow teeth stretched into a very malicious grin, paired with those yellow, gleaming eyes. Grey fur covered his face like a beard with light pink skin covering the remaining parts of his face and ears. Slick, black hair covered the top of his head, giving him a look akin to the Phantom of the Opera. In his gloved hand, was a cigarette holder wafting smoke around like a mist and a bell was being held in his other hand. The girl instantly knew that the bat was Fidget, while the man was none other than Ratigan himself.

"Fidget..."

Fidget started getting nervous and looked at the twisted gentleman behind him.

"Y-Yeah boss...?"

"Go bring the parts back to the lair, hmm?"

"O-Okay boss..."

The bat scampered away which left Ratigan alone and searching the street.

"You can come out now~"

He cooed out, most likely to the girl.
This caused the girl to freeze up and her blood ran cold.

"Or would you like to play
a game first?~"

He turned towards the barrels and chuckled. He opened the lid of one and threw the lid to the ground. As he repeated this, his expression got hungrier and hungrier. The girl's blood rushed into her ears and her heartbeat was getting quicker and quicker. His figure was then in front of the barrel the girl was in. Time seemed to slow down, waiting for the feeling of his hands to snatch her up and take her away.

Suddenly, a clattering
sound came from elsewhere causing Ratigan to snap his head towards the direction of the sound. He chuckled and quickly ran towards the sound giving the girl the sense of relief. The girl immediately got out off the barrel and started booking it away. The cold, damp air caused her breath to resemble little clouds of mist as she ran. She thought she had ran far away from the killer of her father, but oh how wrong she was...

She heard heavier
footsteps trailing behind her. She glanced behind and saw Ratigan chasing behind with a deranged expression. He was yelled out to her in a sing song voice.

"A wonderful game of cat and mouse my dear, but you can never get away from me!~"

The girl turned around
and saw a horse-drawn carriage approaching aahead. A new found determination found a way onto the girl's face. She stopped and face towards Ratigan with a terrified expression, he never faltered and lunged at her. She ducked and grabbed hold of the carriage as it zoomed by.

She looked back to see
Ratigan giving her a smug smile with her hankercheif in his hand.

"Oh bloody hell..."

The girl stared in shock as he waved goodbye. He simply chuckled and walked back to his lair and whispered,

"Our game isn't over, little gem"

With that he disappeared into the shadows of the night.

Ever since then, the girl
has been living on the streets as a scavenger, and avoiding the evil mastermind and his thugs. She rarely ate, slept with one eye open, and was extremely paranoid of everyone... almost everyone. She did help Basil when he needed assistance. After all, he did know a lot more about Ratigan than anyone else, and he was the best person to put that obsessed man behind bars.

Little did she know, that one
particular bat has been watching for her and reporting to the very man who was hunting her down in their three-year-long
game of cat and mouse. Patiently he waits, not starting his magnum opus plan until he has claimed his little gem as his own. He would kill anyone who would dare to touch or talk to what is his. After all, she was now his because of that deal with her father long ago...
...
..
..
.
..
..
...
"It's only a matter of time my little gem~"
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..
.
.
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~ End of Prologue ~