"I'm sorry Elizabeth, but this is for your own good. You know how much you have irritated everyone in that school. I am not putting up with it anymore. You are going to London to live with your father and he is willing to accept you"
To Elizabeth, it was like her own mother was disowning her and giving her away to a 'Mycroft Holmes' as if she was an unwanted object. But she had to admit that there was nothing left for her in Cambridge, nothing at all. She had no friends during her childhood and most of her teenage life. London could be a fresh start for her, a chance to clear her life of the dark clouds. In the end she accepted the offer.
"When does he pick me up?"
"Tomorrow morning. Elizabeth, I am so sorry. Forgive me"
Her mother broke down in tears in front of her and all she could was grab her hand, with her mother replying to her gesture by squeezing her palm. She has lived with her mother for 15 years and is about to move in with her father who she has known for only minutes.
She left her mother to gather her senses and returned to her sanctuary, to others it was known as her bedroom. Gathering all of her cherished possessions and a change in clothing, she stuffed her bag so much that the zipper was starting to separate with the opposite side, but left out her laptop.
She decided to Google her father's name to get a bit more information so that she is prepared. She typed in 'Mycroft Holmes' into the search bar and got as little as two results. Instead, she deleted the first name and was left with 'Holmes' to search. The results were far more interesting. The first website was a blog called: The Science of Deduction. As she read through each post, she was fascinated by someone called Sherlock Holmes intelligence. This lead to a person called John Watson, who also had a bold which described Sherlock's cases. She was mind blown. She had so many questions. How is my father connected with Sherlock? How is Sherlock connected with John?
Elizabeth closed the laptop and packed it into the little space she had left in her bag. She needed to feel refreshed and presentable if she was going to meet this estranged man.
It was 8 o'clock in the morning when she woke from her slumber. Rubbing her eyes gently, she climbed out of the bed and got ready into the most formal clothes she had. After all, she wanted to make a good impression. Her hair was wrapped in a neat bun and her body was covered in a black dress with black heels. When she looked in the mirror, she analysed every single angle of her anatomy. She thought to herself: Did she have his eyes? His hair? His personality?
It was 9 o'clock in the morning when she walked down the stairs. As she lunged her bag towards the couch, the silence of the house was ruined by a knock at the door. Her mother appeared at the doorway from the kitchen, signalling Elizabeth to answer the door. She walked slowly towards the door, thinking about the conversation she would have with the person behind it.
It one sudden movement she opened the door as fast as she can to find herself in a vision of a woman, not a man, a woman.
"Who are you?" asked my mother as she appeared by my side.
"My name is Anthea. Elizabeth, I work with your father. Unfortunately, he was too busy to come to Cambridge and sent me to collect you. I am sorry if you planned a happy reunion"
As she spoke those words, she never looked up to face me. Instead, she was typing away at her blackberry as if it was a stress ball to her. Louise understood that Mycroft was a very busy man and noticed the car she used to drive in when she was an assistant. She didn't argue back. She trusted this woman on her doorstep
"Elizabeth-"Louise's eyes were flooded with tears as she grabbed her daughters shoulders "I want you to know that I love you. Oh so much, and I want you to promise me that you will be safe and accept everyone around you. Understand?"
Elizabeth couldn't find any words and only replied with a simple nod. She embraced the surprise hug from her mother, her mother has been strong, looking after a child on her own. She saved her mother the tears and grabbed her bags and made her way towards the car. As Anthea and Elizabeth settled into their seats, the driver started to put pressure on the pedal as the car made a forward movement. Elizabeth always hates goodbyes.
"Now I have to ask a favour from you Miss Holmes" she said as she passed over a fresh swab "Mycroft is still unsure about the information of the situation and would like me to get-"
"DNA tests, he wants me to do a DNA test. He doesn't believe that I am his daughter?"
This really hit Elizabeth hard. After finding out moving was the best option her mother could think of, she finds out that her father already doubts their family bond. But, it couldn't hurt to be sure. So Elizabeth accepted the swab and gave the DNA to Anthea.
"Your father only found out he had a child the same day as you found out. And the one thing you should know is that your father's side of the family are a dangerous group indeed. You need to prepare yourself" This time Anthea looked up to meet the teenager's eyes and that was when she knew. Elizabeth would be staying for a long time.