Prologue

The office of the renowned Dr. John H. Watson was one of the few places that Amelia truly loved in London. It was a two story building of brick walls, handsome wooden floors and copper roofs that were gradually turning from warm bronze to elegant pale green. At first glance, the office was similar to most of the newer buildings that had been appearing all around the British Capital. Moreover, as a small medical practice, the office carried a stale and stodgy air that permeated through most of its rooms.

One room, however, was exempt from that dull fate and stoked Amelia's lively imagination: the private study of Dr. Watson himself.

That day, Amelia entered that study together with the clerk Ina. The young Watson felt like she was stepping through a portal into another world. Ina, on the other hand, tensed up as she entered the private realm of her boss. While the study was made of the same wooden floors and brick walls that would have bored Amelia to tears, the room was sprinkled with various trinkets and unusual furniture from Dr. Watson's many travels.

In one corner, there was a glass-cased, flat meteorite fragment from Egypt that supposedly broke off from a comet that sailed past the stars of Ursa Minor and sang as it hurtled down to the earth. Not far from that case was a wooden rack with a curious hooded tunic that was claimed to have been worn by Vlad III Dracula, the infamous impaler from Transylvania.

Draped on the wall was a tattered Jolly Roger flag that hung over a model galleon. That galleon was flanked by a framed collection of unusual preserved green butterflies and an ornate jester's hat that had been gifted to Dr. Watson from a traveling circus company.

The only true semblance of London stodginess that remained was the prominent portrait of Queen Victoria looking on from above the mantle of the fireplace. Nearly everything else seemed to have been oddities that simply would have been out of place in Dr. Watson's Baker Street flat. Nonetheless, those oddities transformed the private study into a tiny museum of the world that Amelia wholeheartedly adored.

Since Amelia only visited that office every other year, there was always something new in Dr. Watson's growing collection to greet her. True enough, Amelia eventually found the new addition to the curious collection: a figure of a blue-feathered bird. Amelia hummed a lively tune as she picked up the bird to have a closer look without hesitation - causing the newcomer clerk Ina to nearly have a heart attack.

The double doors of the study then opened behind them, causing Ina to fret even more. Amelia cradled the bird in her arms without turning around as she knowingly greeted the person who entered the room,

"Hey, uncle Watson. What's this new thing you brought back? It's cute!"

Ina turned around, hoping to apologize for Amelia randomly picking things up in the study room, but Dr. Watson smiled warmly.

"That, my dear, is a sculpture of a peafowl - an exotic bird indeed!" Dr. Watson explained, speaking with the poise of a well-traveled Victorian gentleman, "She is made of porcelain and lapis lazuli and was crafted in the Dutch East Indies. I had a feeling that you might enjoy it, young Amelia. After all - your second favourite colour is blue!"

Amelia finally turned around and grinned at her uncle. The two of them then shared a hearty laugh, putting the frightened Ina at ease. The clerk then started to give Dr. Watson and Amelia a deep, servantile bow that she was more accustomed to, but she caught herself and proceeded to do a courteous curtsy instead.

"Please excuse me. I shall go make tea for two." Ina announced as she made for the door, "I will prepare lunch for the two of you as well before I return to my post."

"Please, do make it tea and lunch for three, Miss Ninomae." Dr. Watson warmly countered, "We would like it if you joined us for lunch. As they say: the more the merrier. Is that not right, Amelia?"

"Yeah!" Amelia nodded eagerly as she hugged the peafowl, "Let's have lunch together, Ina."

Flustered, Ina bowed deeply instead of curtsying and left the door to fetch their lunch. Once they were alone, Dr. Watson turned to Amelia and spoke.

"I see the two of you are already acquainted." Dr. Watson chuckled and twirled his short moustache as he lectured, "In the Far East, where Miss Ninomae is originally from, addressing someone by their first name means that you are already close to that person. You have even gone so far as to make a nickname for her too."

"Ahaha~ is that so? I, uh, didn't know that." Amelia laughed with growing discomfort, "Well, Ina didn't… I guess she didn't mind too much."

"That is true." Dr. Watson concurred, "In any case, young Amelia, I would like you to continue to get along with Miss Ninomae. Her English may be impeccable, but the shock of culture is not limited to language alone. Having a friend might help her feel more at home here in London."

Amelia's expression brightened up when she heard this and her bright blue eyes seemed to twinkle with delight. She then stood up with her back straight and gave Dr. Watson, a former surgeon of the British Army, a sharp salute as she promised,

"I won't let you down, uncle Watson!"

Dr. Watson smiled and returned the salute, "I will be counting on you, Amelia."

AlterMyth

Across The Pond

Third Scene - Sketchbook

Two days later, on the first day of the new semester, a sleepy Amelia, clad in the blue cardigan, red tie, tartan skirt and brown loafers of her college, managed to find her way from her dormitory to the campus grounds. She passed through the handsome wrought iron gate that bore the campus name, Occidental College for Young Ladies, and cut through the main quadrangle in a hurry.

Half a dozen small brick buildings with ornate copper roofs, refurbished remains of a trans-Atlantic shipping company that had gone bankrupt less than a decade ago, surrounded the quadrangle but Amelia paid them no attention. Under the overcast skies of London, the already stodgy buildings lost whatever little appeal they had left in Amelia's eyes.

Cradling her books for the morning class in hand, Amelia avoided the crowds and made a beeline for the lecture hall at the heart of the campus. All the while, her sky blue eyes regularly scanned her surroundings and her ears listened to the myriad of voices in the quadrangle.

Thankfully, she managed to reach the lecture hall without any incident and she heaved a sigh of relief. Amelia entered the hall and gravitated to her favorite seat in the room: an inconspicuous nook at the back corner of the hall that was beside one of the many windows. That corner was her quiet sanctum where she was far away from the gaze of most lecturers, allowing her to laze away, read a leisurely magazine or catch a few winks of sleep after a night of playing chess or cards.

When Amelia arrived to claim her sanctum, however, she soon found that someone had already beaten her to her favorite spot: the clerk Ina'nis Ninomae who was wearing the same uniform as her.

The girl from the Far East was looking out the window as she sat as her dark purple eyes seemed to search for something beyond the glass. Amelia stole a glance outside the window and saw a beautiful, albeit solitary willow tree at the heart of the quadrangle's small garden.

"Good morning, Ina." Amelia greeted as she approached, "What'cha looking at?"

"W-wah!" Ina piped up yet again.

The clerk was surprised by Amelia's voice once again, but she wasn't as startled as when they first met. Instead, Ina gingerly lowered her head.

"Oh, Amelia." Ina revealed with a voice that was barely stronger than a whisper, "I was just… getting references for my sketches. I like… drawing, you see."

"Ooh, you're an artist?" Amelia gasped as her sky blue eyes sparkled with amazement, "Can I see your drawings? Well, if you don't mind, that is!"

Sheepishly, Ina and reached into her school bag. She carefully searched through its contents and brought out a plain, garden-variety purple sketchpad. Ina's sketchpad, however, was skillfully decorated with stylish patterns that had been drawn with a fountain pen.

Amelia sat beside Ina, took the sketchpad from her and then proceeded to thumb through the well-worn pages. Every page contained drawings of all sorts - from landscapes to portraits to still-life sketches. They were drawn using various pencils, crayons and pens, but every drawing was remarkably beautiful. It didn't take Amelia long to realize that Ina had incredible talent.

When Amelia reached the last page, however, Ina's face suddenly grew pale. The shy clerk snatched the sketchbook out of Amelia's hands - but not before she caught a glimpse of the page.

It was a self-portrait of Ina herself, but something about the sketch was off. That Ina seemed to be wearing an odd tiara of some sort. The color of her foremost bangs of hair seemed to be lighter too and looked temptingly squishy. Furthermore, there seemed to be the beginnings of a halo that hovered above her head.

Was this how Ina saw herself, perhaps?

"T-that last sketch…" Ina started, bashfully holding her sketchbook close to her heart as she explained, "It's not yet complete. I'm sorry."

"Oh, I see." Amelia backed off. The smile on her lips didn't waver, however, as she proposed, "When it's finished, I hope you'll show it to me. You're really talented, after all!"

"You think so?" Ina answered with growing confidence, "W-well… if it's you… I'll consider it. Humu, humu ..."

"Great~! I'll look forward to it, Ina!" Amelia replied with an even brighter smile than before.

The two girls continued to chat after that as the rest of their classmates trickled into the lecture hall. Soon enough, Dr. Watson himself entered the hall to begin his lecture.

Even though the class had started, however, a mild smile remained on Ina's lips for the rest of the day.

Fourth Scene - Neighbors

After meeting again in the lecture hall, Ina and Amelia gradually built up a routine.

Whenever they had a class together, they met in the lecture hall half an hour before class and they would sit at the same corner by the window without fail. They would accompany each other to the restroom even if only one of them had to go. Then, when class was done, they would go together to the cafeteria for either lunch or dinner.

Days turned into weeks and the two girls started looking forward to the next time they would cross paths. Ina's voice grew slightly stronger with every encounter with Amelia and her guarded tone relaxed into a friendly warmth. Before they knew it, Ina and Amelia became inseparable on campus.

During these times, the girls talked about a great many things. They started with mundane things like the weather and life in Britain, but they eventually shared more about themselves as they got comfortable with each other.

One night, after finishing their midterms for Dr. Watson's class, the inseparable pair had dinner together in the cafeteria and chatted by the fireplace with cups of hot chamomile tea.

"When I was growing up in the countryside, I tried to become a detective of my village." Amelia started with great pride and made gestures with her teacup, "Dr. Watson is my mother's brother and I was envious that he got to work with the great Sherlock Holmes - and travel the world as he pleased too! Meanwhile, I'm stuck in boring old Bedfordshire when I'm not in school."

"That sounds rough, Amelia. I know what it's like to live under a shadow." Ina sympathized in between bites of her cucumber sandwich, "How are your investigations then, Detective Watson?"

"Ahahaha~ not great. I'll be honest." Amelia laughed with growing discomfort as she set down her teacup, "My village is peaceful, so there's hardly any crimes to be solved - not even a bicycle thief! Locked-door mysteries and murders most foul are out of the question. The yard of my house has nothing to do with Scotland - and my neighbor whose dad actually works for Scotland Yard hates my guts!"

Amelia heaved a sigh and then glumly continued, "Whenever I do get leads, they turn out to be hoaxes - and I've gotten into trouble with my neighbors more than once."

Ina wore a complex expression when Amelia said this. Perhaps she wasn't surprised that someone as reckless as Amelia would get into trouble even in a peaceful town.

"That's probably why my family sends me off to college here in London under uncle Watson's watch." Amelia admitted with a halfhearted smile, "Uncle Watson says that I have the potential to be a great veterinarian or a marine biologist… but something deep inside me wants to solve mysteries like Uncle Watson and Sherlock Holmes, you know?"

" Humu, humu . I understand what you mean." Ina nodded appreciatively and finished off her sandwich. She then picked up her teacup and looked at her reflection in the tea as she spoke, "Some dreams will never die. It's good that you're keeping your dreams alive, Amelia."

"Hehehe~ I guess I can be pretty stubborn." Amelia chuckled. Then, she turned to Ina with a bright smile, "What about you, Ina? Tell me about yourself too!"

"My father is a diplomat who works at my home country's consulate in Ottawa - the capital of the Dominion of Canada." Ina explained as she took a sip of tea, "He and Dr. Watson became friends in the golf course and we hosted your uncle at our house many times."

"So that's how the two of you met." Amelia hummed as she took a sandwich this time, "And that's why your English is really good too!"

" Humu, humu ." Ina nodded in agreement with a hint of pride in her voice. Then, she continued, "In any case, I always wanted to be a librarian. I believe there is a lot of ancient knowledge and wisdom hidden away in old books. When I told this to Dr. Watson, he said that this school can give me a strong librarian accreditation recognized throughout the Empire!"

"I guess uncle Watson would do that." Amelia mused sympathetically. Her eyes then wandered to a portrait of Dr. Watson, so she wondered out loud, "If that's the case though - why are you working at his medical practice then? You seem like a really smart person. Uncle Watson surely offered you a scholarship too!"

"Dr. Watson did offer me a full scholarship, yes. However, I couldn't help but feel like I would be taking advantage of his kindness." Ina admitted, pausing to take a sip of her chamomile tea, "That's why I offered to work at the practice on top of being a student. This is my way of repaying Dr. Watson's kindness."

Ina then turned to Amelia and happily added, "And besides - working that clerk job was how I came to meet you, Ame!"

'Ame?'

That was the first time that someone made a nickname for her, so Amelia was taken by surprise at first. Not to mention, it had a nice ring to it too. Ina realized her slip of the tongue too, making her cheeks flush red as she rushed to apologize. However, Amelia beat her to the punch and wholeheartedly accepted it with a smile,

"'Ame', huh? That's a cute nickname you made for me, Ina. I like it, heeheehee~!"

"Y-you do?" Ina heaved a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness. I didn't know how you would react to it. I thought that it might have been… Ina-propriate."

When Ina said this, the table went silent. Ame blinked. Then, Ina followed suit.

Moments later, the two girls burst out in laughter. Once Ame managed to catch her breath, she turned to Ina with a smile.

"Say, Ina." Ame proposed, "When summer break comes - do you want to go on a trip together? Outside of London, that is. There's a lot more to see outside this big, smoggy city after all!"

Ina's dark purple eyes seemed to sparkle and she nodded eagerly. The two girls then started chatting about what plans Ame had in mind for their summer break.

However, those plans would not come to fruition.

At least, not in the way that either of them expected.

Fifth Scene - In For A Penny

It was an unusually sunny morning when it happened.

The chilly Springtime winds were starting to grow warm and the allure of summer break was on the minds of just about everybody in the Occidental College for Young Ladies. Ame, too, couldn't help but look forward to summer break as she sat in her favorite nook in the lecture hall that morning.

Despite all of this hopefulness welling in her heart, however, Ame couldn't help but feel uneasy. She looked away from the sunny scene outside the window and stole glances at her golden pocket watch again. Class was about to start soon, after all, and her usual companion Ina was nowhere to be found.

Just the night before, Ame and Ina talked in length about their plans for summer break in the cafeteria, so Ina's sudden absence didn't sit well with her at all. The two of them also always came to the lecture hall thirty minute early when they had classes together too - especially ones where Dr. Watson was their lecturer.

Then, Amelia saw it.

Her sky blue eyes wandered back to the window beside her nook and she saw a crowd gathering at the quadrangle. There seemed to be a commotion under the shade of the willow tree where three girls cornered another student. Even from that distance, Amelia could tell that the cornered student had her back pressed up against the bark of the tree - and that the student had beautiful, flowing black hair.

There was only one student from the Far East in the Occidental College for Young Ladies, Ame thought. So, without saying a word, Ame set down her school book, closed her pocket watch and then stood up from her desk. Dr. Watson entered the lecture hall from the front door just as Ame marched out the back, but that wasn't enough to stop her.

Amelia Watson marched through the corridors with heavy, purposeful steps. She pushed open the double doors of the main building and then burst into the courtyard menacingly. Even though the sun shone brightly in the cloudless sky, Amelia's blue eyes were shrouded in shadow under her brown, ribbon-topped hat.

The gathered crowd of students parted like the biblical sea when Amelia approached them, letting her through to the heart of the quadrangle garden. As Amelia drew closer to the willow tree, she saw the torn remains of Ina's school bag and its soiled contents were scattered on the muddy garden soil. Even the purple sketchbook that Ina loved was soaking wet.

Amelia picked up the soiled sketchpad and turned to the last page. There, she saw the sketch of Ina'nis Ninomae blurred beyond recognition. Water mixed with ink seemed to form tentacles that grew from behind her back, turning the beautiful, albeit unfinished picture into an eldritch horror. All the while, the real Ina was begging the three girls for forgiveness as tears formed at the sides of her frightened purple eyes.

That was all that Amelia needed to see.

Amelia set down the soiled sketchpad on the bench and continued approaching the willow tree. The cornered Ina saw her friend approaching and cried out,

"A-Ame!"

The three girls who had been cornering Ina turned around to face the brave soul that dared to cross the gap. The tallest girl at the center, a haughty brunette with honey-brown eyes saw Amelia and smirked,

"Well, if it isn't the little stinky, sketchy wannabe detective from Bedfordshi…"

Before the girl could finish her sentence, Amelia cut her off and threw a haymaker punch. The punch connected with the girl's jaw and knocked her down to her feet, drawing gasps from the gathered crowd. One of the tall girl's companions rushed to her aid while the other one raised up her fists to face Amelia.

"In for a penny…" Amelia started angrily as she squared off with the companion, "In for a POUND!"

To Be Continued