Chapter 10
Hope is afraid, her petrified silence once again taking control as she stares at the man she knows to be her father.
She remembers the violence, the screaming, his maniacal laughter as he pushed her mother down the stairs, daring her to even try to take his child away from him. His cold, satisfied scowl when he convinced himself that he had broken her spirit as her mother stared down at the cold marble floor, a plan already whizzing frantically through her brain in order to save her precious Hope from being hurt from by this lunatic she had made the mistake of giving her heart to.
And now she (Irene) had to pay for her sins.
Even if it cost Irene her very life.
And so she waited until nightfall before gently cradling her precious bundle to her chest and slipping outside to the unknown, knowing good and well of the pain that would inevitably befall her if she were caught. But, regardless of the agony that would come to her, she had to spare her only child.
Irene took a deep breathe, and hopped into the vehicle. Shakily putting the car into drive, she left without so much as a backward glance. To look back would be to hesitate; to hesitate would be to die.
And then something horrible had happened.
A large brown deer jumping into the road, ears flicking heavenwards in surprise.
The jerking of the wheel, the screaming of the tires.
The shattering of the windshield as they flew into a tree.
The next thing Hope knew, she was homeless, looking frantically for her mother. She wandered for days through the crowded streets of London, not once seeing a single trace of her. Then it had started to rain. Sobbing in desperation, she huddled against a trash bin in a futile effort to escape the cruel droplets as deafening thunder roared all about her.
And then a crack of light as a door opened slowly and a very concerned Mrs. Hudson was ushering her inside and she met her new family and caught her first glimpse of a better life. Hope then felt a feeling she had not felt for years: safe. She remembered curling in Sherlock's chest when she woke up in the middle of the night, crying from the lingering memory of the horror that was her life for years. She remembered him singing to her and telling her stories about princesses and being saved. Hope remembered smiling when Sherlock's bow danced across the strings of his violin. John pulling her into his arms and his laughter as he threw her lightly into the air and catching her again. Them going to the park to watch the ducks float swiftly and effortlessly across the still surface of the pond. Her running quickly from store to store with John as they picked out dresses, shirts, pants, and shoes for her to wear. And then going to the toy store where she picked out a plush panda bear with pink and white markings.
But there was none of that now. Only cruelty as Moriarty plotted to kill the first person to ever care for her.
"Where is she?" He purred.
Brown eyes glaring into her hazel ones.
She lifted her chin up in silent defiance and earned a smile from him.
"You're stubborn, you know, just like her." His smile dropped off his face, "But, apparently, not quite as wise as I am. Defiance is futile—do you know what that means, Hope? 'Futile'?" He watches her shake her head slowly and he smiles again, pleased to be teaching her something new, because that is what fathers do, right? Teach their children? "'Futile' means that it won't work, silly. No matter what you do, I will win." He glances at the clock lazily, "It is growing late. It is time for you to go to bed." He motions to a kindly and elderly butler, Alfred, who immediately moves forward to scoop the girl up into his arms and carry her to her chambers.
She falls asleep before his feet even hit the bottom step, her head cradled on his shoulder, her panda bear clutched gently to her chest.