Voyage Of The Villainess

Street Rats Forgotten Past

"This place is really lovely!" The woman wearing thick make-up chuckled as she turned around.

"I agree with you, Lady Charina." Her companion, a gentleman, wearing a bright red suit agreed with her.

"Oh my, Sir Escandor." the woman, whose name was Charina gasped. "It\'s a madame and not a lady."

"Oh," The man expressed surprise. "With how youthful you look, I thought you are still not married."

"You flattered me, Sir Candor," Madame Charina said, opening a fan to cover a blush on her face. Her deep crimson blush got even redder, making her cheeks seem like a chili pepper. "Ehem, I suppose we should go next to a famous cafe..."

"Ah, thief!" Madame Charina didn\'t even finish her words when someone snatched her bag away from her.

"Let me get them, mademoiselle." Sir Escandor ran after the thief.

"Stop!"

A boy in rugged clothes glanced behind as he ran. He held the bag firmer in his scrawny almost bone-like hands.

"As if I\'ll do that. stupid fatso!" 

"Rat! If I catch you! I\'ll skewer you alive!"

"Too slow, bleh!" The boy in ragged clothes stuck out his tongue. Then he immediately turned into a corner. He completely disappeared from the man\'s sight.

Sir Candor also turned into the corner where the thief went through. But he halted his footsteps when he saw two pathways.

\'Damn that rat, where did he run to?\' He glanced left and right deciding on which way to take.

\'Because he\'s a street rat...\' Sir Candor thought swiftly to himself. \'Left! He must head to the left! \' He made the decision to go in that direction. The youngster emerged as the bright red guy vanished on his path. He was dangling like a bat from one of the tall poles above where the man was standing.

"What a fool." He giggled as he jumped down on the ground.

"Cal, look." A girl with the same ragged clothes and disheveled hair appeared from behind the boy. Both of the children looked like they were no older than nine.

"Nesha, What are you doing here? I told you to just stay in the hideout." Callan said as he went closer to Sha.

"Hmph. I\'m not that weak, noh." Nesha crossed her arms as she pouted. "Look, I sold some flowers today and earned quite a lot." She extended her arms to show a tattered hat that indeed contains a lot of coins.

"Wow! We could buy lots of food with this!" Callan\'s eyes grew wide in surprise.

"Not only this time but someday, when we grow up, I\'m going to provide you with any food you want," Nesha said with a proud smile beaming her face full of dirt.

"And we will eat until all our stomachs burst out!" Callan chimed in.

"Hahaha! Then we will surely die if our stomach bursts out!"

But then a sudden thought came inside Callan\'s mind. His face was replaced with fear. "Let\'s get out of here." He pulled Nesha with him as they ran on the alley with no people.

\'I hope that they still don\'t know.\' Callan\'s sweat was dripping from his forehead and somewhat he was getting chills from behind.

He knew too well what might happen to young street rats like them if it leaked out that they had these tons of money. This much money could be both a blessing and a curse to children like them at the same time. And his fear indeed came true.

As he turned to an alley, one tall and lanky guy with long disheveled curled hair and unshaven face was leaning on one of the walls. Callan stopped. Nesha, seeing the man, also froze as she hugged the coins she earned. 

He squeezed Nesha\'s hands and decided to go another way. But when they turned around two more adult men were already blocking their way. One with a bulky stomach, who was grinning at them maliciously, and the other one was a small thin man with his back slightly arched and both of his hands were on his pockets.

"Why are you in such a hurry, Callan?" The lanky man faced them. His droopy eyes looked at the small children with slyness. 

"Ah, boss Jack!" Callan replied with a forced smile on his face. "I didn\'t think that was you there. The corner was quite dark for me to see." 

"Really?" Jack slowly walked towards them.

Seeing this, Callan held Nesha\'s hands firmly as they slowly stepped back.

"Cal," He glanced at Nesha who had a frightened look on her face.

"Don\'t worry, Sha. Just don\'t say anything. I\'ll handle the rest here." He whispered. 

They stopped just a meter away from the two men behind. But Jack continued to walk towards them. He then stopped just an inch in front of the two children and gazed down at them.

"Now you could see me clearly right?"

"Yes, bos- Argh!" Callan didn\'t finish his words when a strong punch landed on his stomach. 

"Callan!" Nesha screamed in horror.

"Rat, do you think I\'ll believe that crap." Jack spitted out to the boy who was crouching in front of him. His two arms clutched his stomach and his face distorted in pain.

"Go beat him so that he would learn his lesson," Jack said and snatched the bag away from Callan. Then he glanced at Nesha who was trying to help Callan stand up.

"I\'ll also have this, for pissing me off." He grabbed the hat that Nesha was holding with extreme force. 

"Ahh!" Nesha fell on the ground, hurting both her elbows from the impact.

"Sha!!!" Callan tried to go after her but...

"Where did you think you\'re going?" A strong kick landed on his head that made him sprawl on the ground. And the next thing happened he was rained down with kicks and punches. Callan covered his head as his body received torment.

"Cal!" she screamed, terrified and shocked. Nesha was about to sprint back to him, but her shaking body came to a halt when she noticed Cal staring at her. \'Don\'t come here,\' he mouthed as he shook his head.

"Run!" With a bit of remaining strength that he has, he shouted. 

She turned around, unsure what to do, tears flowing down her face, causing her to collapse due to her gleaming blurred eyes. She had a little injury on her face, but she did not mind. \'I must get someone to help!\' Nesha murmured, biting her lips and wiping tears off her cheeks with her arms.

A small smile escaped Callan\'s face when he saw Nesha\'s departing figure. 

"Boss, the girl!" The bulky man tried to follow Nesha but Jack stopped him.

"Just let her be. It\'s not like someone like her will cause problems for us." But then an evil thought formed in his mind. "On second thoughts," he gestured for the two men to stop beating Callan.

He crouched to Callan\'s level and grabbed his hair to make the boy face him. "I think this boy wouldn\'t be able to learn his lesson if we don\'t do something about that class."

Callan\'s eyes widened with horror as he heard the man\'s words. "Don\'t-don\'t do anything to her!\' He said as he grabbed Jack\'s arm.

But what could a scrawny and a kid like him do against cruel adults like him? He was just shoved on the ground. Jack stepped on his head and made Callan\'s face press on the hard cold ground. "You will see it yourself when we get the girl back," Jack said as he nodded to the small man. The said man immediately departed to the place where Nesha ran too.

"Nesha! You must escape! And never return!" he cried in his head. His vision was already hazy, and his body was in excruciating pain. The blood from his brow continued to run all over his face.. But that was nothing compared to the terror he felt if these thugs captured Nesha.