Chapter Text
Ben was never the wealthiest or well-mannered or well-fed of boys. Being in a group of petty thieves tends to do that.
It was just him, Steve, George, Charles, and James. Just five orphaned boys against the world. Taking what they can, stealing to live, that kind of thing. It may not be much, but it sure beats the orphanage.
Of course, Ben knew of the La Bouff family. A wealthy family with more money than most knew what to do with.
Every so often, Ben surveyed the La Bouff estate, waiting for the day that the place was empty.
Of course, one day, the opportunity arose. There weren’t any cars in the driveway. No one through the windows. It was perfect. He didn’t tell the others of what he was planning to do. There simply wasn’t any time to do so. Who knows how long he had till one of the La Bouffs came back. Besides, Ben will love to see the look on his friends’ faces when he comes back packing more valuables than any of them had ever seen.
For one of the richest families in the area, infiltrating the La Bouff house was easier than Ben thought. Seriously, they didn’t even leave the back door locked.
Ben wasn’t complaining. He knows how to pick locks, but this makes things way easier for him.
Nobody was home. Not a single person. He couldn’t even hear the sounds of footsteps.
Ben made his way upstairs. He knew well enough that most people contained their valuables upstairs in their bedrooms. Not everyone, but enough people for it to be basic common sense to assume that.
It didn’t take long for him to find the room that he was looking for.
It was… pink. Far more pink than he has ever seen in his life. Figurines and dolls of princesses all over the shelves. A large canopy bed. Far girlier than he was expecting.
Ben made a quick look through of the room. There has to be something valuable that he can sell.
He rummaged through the dressers. Nothing. Just panties. Far from what he’s looking for.
The closet was filled with dresses. Some of them were just casual dresses, but others were full on ball gowns. Fancy enough to make a pretty penny, but there’s no way he can sell them without arousing suspicion; and that’s assuming he can avoid getting them dirty or torn on the way.
It was then he saw it. Sitting right on the desk was a tiara. A very fancy one with diamonds embedded into it. This was perfect. It was small and compact to hide in his pockets without drawing attention. It is also more than fancy enough to have the group set for life. Now he just needs to get-
An aching pain went through his head, a loud noise rang in his ears and then everything went black.
Charlotte looked down at the unconscious intruder. When she came back to get her purse, she wasn’t expecting to hear anyone in the house. However, as she made it to her room, she could hear some rumbles and clicks. A quick peek confirmed what she suspected. A burglar. No way was she allowing anyone to break into her house and get away with it.
A simple use of the frying pan and the burglar was knocked out cold. A handy tool for subduing criminals. Rather unorthodox, but it got the job done.
She couldn’t believe this. It was barely a month since Big Daddy passed away and now she had to deal with this common crook snooping through her stuff. Might as well get the cops before he wakes up.
Her eyes turned back towards the intruder and she couldn’t help but notice a few things that drew her attention.
Long bright blonde hair, albeit a bit covered with dirt. Eyelashes that are longer than Charlotte has seen on most women her age. Rosy cheeks. A little work and he can definitely pass for a pretty debutante. Of course, those clothes wouldn’t do. They are just so dirty with patches all over. She wouldn’t be caught dead wearing anything like that.
Of course, he was a boy. Charlotte sighed. Such feminine features, wasted on a boy in his early teens.
It was then an idea made its way into Charlotte’s head. It was a truly bizarre idea. If she told anyone what she had in mind, they would call the idea scandalous at best, and downright insane at worst. However, it made too much sense to her. It felt so right. She had the resources, she had the cash, and she definitely had the tools to make this work.
“By the time I’m done with you, you’ll be all too eager to follow in my footsteps.”
Charlotte knew she had a lot of work to do if she wanted her plan to go swimmingly. First, she’ll have to make sure her future student is ready before he wakes up.