'Sherly' Holmes
- PROLOGUE - ...?
The door to the old 'apartment complex' – or better known as 221 B Baker Street, was opened without a key. You didn't need a key to 'unlock' the sorry excuse of a safety measure which only purpose it was to keep unauthorized people –or just those without a matching key to it- outside. But there was no need for it anyway and the door carelessly fell back and closed again after letting an 'unauthorized' person slip into the building.
Although this was how practically every damn fan fiction about 'Sherlock' started, the person made it's way down the empty hallway –she couldn't care less about that little fact and hence did not; care, that is.
"Mrs. Hudson!"
The voice echoes from old stone walls and earned them a rather cold frown of the 'intruder'.
-No response.
Her weary legs hurried to the staircase with vast steps and only came to a halt in front of the newest paper and a package neatly stacked on top of it. Checking for interesting articles, she slid past the stairs and headed to the right where a single door was shutting off another room.
She didn't bother knocking and just carelessly tossed the newspaper through the tiny vent underneath the door after finding nothing of interest. Slightly bending down with her legs still completely straight, she took a closer look at the package in an almost attempt to shove it through as well. Just eyeing the pretty obvious difference in their size, she gave the door a glare and turned around as fast as she had paced to that old lady's flat and already made her way upstairs.
Her steps were strangely fast and steady despite her lean legs, which took them two at a time without looking in the slightest bit brutish; although the old wood made dangerous creaking noises under each and every step she took.
The small, yet heavy package firmly in her grip, she stopped on top of the few over a dozen steps -16 to be precise- and briefly gave the door in front of her a light, yet forceful knock with her right hand.
-No response.
A second was all she gave them.
A soft frown crept up her forehead and she took a glimpse around in search for something like a spare key, since she obviously didn't own one for herself.
A slight kick to the wooden covers on the lower border of the wall left to the door and a tiny crack inside the bricks appeared. Giving the perfect hiding place for their spare key another cold look, she clicked her tongue without even checking the 'secret' hidey hole and grabbed the doorknob firmly as she gave it a slight twist to the right while pulling on it at the same time.
-Of course not.-
She thought for herself slightly shaking her head to the hole in the wall while tearing at the doorknob and pressing her foot up and against the lower edge of the door until she herself thought it might break.
A soft 'click' made her stop and let a satisfied smirk twitch over her features as she let the door slide open inwards practically by itself and invited herself inside the room ahead casually.
-Works every damn time.-
Closing the door behind her without a sound, she let her cold gaze wander around the mess of a room she now stood in.
She listened to the old flat for a moment until she heard what she had searched for, when a rattling sound came from where the kitchen was and made her smile ridiculously appeased with her index fingers pointing upwards almost in a right-proving fashion. Whoever it was she wanted to prove right about whatever needed to be proven right at that moment...
"Ah."
She uttered shortly before she decided to walk in on the other person beside her in the flat and let her slim feet lead her way to the direction in which other, louder footsteps landed on the cork-wood floor.
"Mrs. Hudson, there you are."
She stated matter off-factly to no one in particular and slightly loosened the woolen leaf-greenish scarf around her neck and angular chin so it wasn't covering her sharp jaw line anymore.
"Oh dear."
A much lighter and more surprised voice sounded along with the sight of the 'supposed to be' kitchen, in which a petite lady in her late fifties – maybe early sixties stood with an expectant look on her elegant face.
"It's been a while hasn't it? How did you even – never mind."
The lady muttered with her expression changing after every sentence she said to the person in front of her, who only gave her a nonchalant look at her still expecting gazes.
She knew that the lady was eyeing her coat in a way that told her she was wondering when or if her visitor would take it off to get more comfortable for she could easily make herself at home since she was here already and all.
The younger of them only gave her a rejecting look accompanied by an almost non-existent shake of her head before she closed her eyes almost apologetically in front of her former landlady's slightly disappointed frown, which she showed her quite obviously.
Still eyeing the younger woman's matte, army-green zipped up slim fit duffle coat, Mrs. Hudson replied to her brief look around the room since her 'visitor' wouldn't bother asking the question directly herself.
"Oh dear-"
The lady started and caused an almost knowing frown to irk on her visitor's face as she paused while taking off the latex gloves –which she obviously wore for the purpose of doing some cleaning- before she continued, now directly facing the younger woman.
"I'm afraid he's gone out. I don't now where to – and when he planned to come back – if he even plans something though."
She had gotten distracted by her own thoughts and snapped out of it again at another look of the woman still standing in the doorway.
"He might not make it by tonight."
The lady continued since she already knew the other's question and simply went ahead to answer it for her on the spot.
"I'm sorry, dear."
Mrs. Hudson sincerely added repetitively at the visitor's sightly let down frown.
The woman walked up to the kind lady and handed the package –which was meant for her to receive- and nodded Mrs. Hudson's thank you-smile off with a don't mention it-look, before she walked past her and opened the fridge casually.
-No reaction.
She closed it immediately at first glance inside and turned back to face the elderly lady again.
There was nothing special in it.
No extraordinary bloody body parts and chemicals, neither remnants of his latest 'experiments', nor anything edible.
"Alright."
She loosened the tense silence and hence broke it as she continued properly talking to the petite landlady now.
"It's my turn this month, might as well go buy some other stuff like tea – for instance-"
She added with a look of a speedy idea shooting up behind her dark eyelashes for the breach of a second before she continued.
"Anything you need?"
The landlady thought about her offer for a moment and gave a reply to her inquiring look that seemed slightly out of place on the woman's young face.
"I'm fine, thank you. But how about some tea indeed? I'm sure Sherlock would treat you to some if he wasn't –you know- strolling around the city doing god knows what."
The younger of them silently nodded in agreement about that last part and looked at Mrs. Hudson again.
"I'm sure he wouldn't."
She let her first attempt of an actual smile flash her face and only earned a sadly understanding nod.
"So sorry to bother you with all this, if he only knew how much you went out of your way every time..."
Mrs. Hudson stopped midway shaking her head in disapproval at the thought of her 'little boy'.
"It's fine."
The short reply of the younger woman caused the heartwarmingly smile on the lady's face to grow even further.
"We agreed to this and it's my turn this time around. It's not like I could change it anyways-"
She waved it off with her eyes confidently closed and cut the other off while she was taking her breath to speak against her.
"He's not earning money and it doesn't bother me actually."
She reassured the other, not really convincing her though.
"Oh dear, have you been working overtime again?"
Mrs. Hudson's kind words shortly let the confident look on her visitor's face fade into a surprised chuckle, before she spoke up more enthusiastically.
"It's alright, I got a bit left over, so I might as well go buy Sherlock his tea."
Avoiding her question skillfully, she made her way out of the kitchen again. Not able to say anything to the younger female's kind 'order' not to dig deeper into that matter, Mrs. Hudson watched her leave the way she came.
"Do bother dropping by every one in a while, would you."
Her kind offer was underlined with the sadly demanding look only a grandmother could show their grandchildren when she saw them off.
The woman turned around to her in the doorframe and shook the lady's hand after giving her a reassuring smile behind closed lips as she tightened the scarf around her collar.
"Thanks for the package-"
Mrs. Hudson let out after her as the door fell shut behind her visitor and cut off the soft chuckle with the sound.
A deep sigh escaped the elderly lady as she took a last glimpse of the woman's gracefully wrapped back with her own hand still reaching out after the polite, yet cold gesture of a mere handshake, before the door separated her lean silhouette from the older lady's concerning look.
The young female only walked her way down the 16 steps, the same way she had come skidding up a few minutes prior.
Not taking them two at a time now though.
Her heels were clacking on the corridor once again as she left the building to leave it behind with her hands deeply stuffed into the pockets of her perfectly fit coat and headed for the closest supermarket nearby.
She knew all too well what it was like to be the one being left behind at home with the door falling shut right in someone's face.
And she knew how it had to have felt for Mrs. Hudson at this moment.
She avert her cautious gaze off the street and looked up and watched her breath rise up and form a white cloud as it floated up to the pearl white sky in midwinter over London.
/ PROLOGUE – END /
And here I am again, might just be another story I start writing all eager to continue, but then drop it once again.
Feels like that's becoming another nasty habit of mine...
Anyway- I do hope you liked this one and are ready for at least a few more chapters coming up in this month -or so.
This time, I found myself being unable to type the word 'door' correctly.
Resulting in a few (countless) errors saying the expression dorr could not be found in any dictionary in that context...Well- props to you, Word Office.
With your heart open wide - A.N ~