Ella woke up bright and early to prepare for her first day of work at Speedy's. She washed up and put on a modest dress. She walked down the stairs and turned left to enter the cafe. After 2 hours of working, Belle Baratheon entered Speedy's. "Belle!"
"Ella, I knew I'd find you here," Belle smiled beautifully. The two ladies hugged one another and Ella offered fresh baked bread for her favorite cousin. "I'm so glad you moved closer, Ella. It's been too long since I've seen you. How is your family?"
"Everyone's the same. I think Uncle Tyrion might be planning to propose to Shae soon, and I'm really happy for him."
"And your grandfather?"
"Well...he obviously doesn't like their relationship, and I hope he doesn't interfere with this one. I really like Shae, and I know she and Uncle Tyrion are madly in love with one another. What about your family? How is Uncle Rob doing?"
"He's doing what he always does. Go to work, drink, sleep. Mother is...surviving." Ella nodded, not wanting her cousin to feel uncomfortable because of family issues. "Listen, I have to go to work but let's get dinner sometime this week."
"How about tomorrow?"
"That sounds perfect. I'll come to you when I'm done with work."
"Alright, see you then, Belle." The two cousins hugged one another goodbye and Ella watched her cousin grab a taxi. Ella worked until her lunch break, and she decided to bring some fresh baked bread to Mrs. Hudson. She put the bakery in a little box and opened the door to her apartment complex. She went to Mrs. Hudson's apartment and knocked.
"Oh, Ella, deary! What is that lovely smell?"
"I brought it for you, Mrs. Hudson. I thought you might like it."
"Oh Ella, this is so kind of you. Come in, dear, come in. I'd like you to meet your downstairs neighbor." Ella stepped into Mrs. Hudson's apartment and she saw a kind looking man sitting at the coffee table. The man quickly bolted on his feet, mouth slightly agape at Ella.
"H-H-Hello," the man greeted with a stutter.
"Hello," Ella smiled. "My name is Ella." She made very sure not to mention her last name.
"I-I'm John. It's very nice to meet you, Ella."
"Same here, John. Where can I put this down, Mrs. Hudson?"
"Oh, right there at the coffee table, dear," Mrs. Hudson said preparing tea for her 2 guests. Ella put the box of baked goods on the coffee table and sat next to John, who was still staring at her.
"So, you're the one who lives in complex B?" Ella asked tucking her hair behind her ear, feeling a bit flushed at the way John was looking at her.
"Y-Yes, yes I am with my roommate. His name is Sherlock, Sherlock Holmes." Ella nodded with a genuine smile. "S-So, so you work at Speedy's?"
"Yes, I do."
"Do you, uh, like baking?"
"Yes, I do," Ella smiled. "And what do you do, John?"
"I'm a doctor, an army doctor. I, uh, came back from Afghanistan a while ago."
"Oh, how interesting. What kind of place is Afghanistan like?" John tried to get his thoughts together because they were all scrambled, and Ella felt embarrassed for asking such a question. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. It must've been difficult for you."
"Yes, it rather was, but don't be sorry for asking. It's uh...it's not a pretty place to be."
"Oh? I hope you don't mind me asking but how so?" John described his experiences in Afghanistan to Ella, and she seemed truly intrigued by all his stories. It made him feel good inside, especially when Sherlock showed him the complete opposite reactions to his stories. After every story, John immediately recalled another one to see Ella's reaction. It was so genuine and beautiful, indescribable to John. Ella glanced at the clock and it had been over her hour lunch-break. "Oh dear, I've overstayed my welcome."
"W-Where are you going?" John asked, very disappointed that she was leaving so soon.
"I have to go back to work. Well, it was very nice to meet you, John. I hope I see you soon."
"I hope so too," he smiled uncontrollably.
Ella smiled and nodded. "Goodbye, Mrs. Hudson. Thank you for the tea."
"And thank you for the delicious bread, deary. Visit soon."
"I will. Goodbye." John watched Ella leave the apartment complex and Mrs. Hudson nudged John.
"Oh you like her," she giggled. John was embarrassed and all he could do was smile. "She is very beautiful, isn't she?"
"She is."
"Just remember, deary, she's a Lannister."
"She's...she's a what?"
"She's a Lannister. Daughter of Sir Jaime Lannister, granddaughter of Sir Tywin Lannister, niece of Lady Circei Barath-"
"Yes, yes, I've heard about the whole...family...feud thing going on." John needed another moment to collect himself from this new information. He felt as if Ella was now too far out of his reach.
Belle arrived at her laboratory, working on forensics from multiple police cases. The one she was working on specifically was Graham's family homicide case. She entered her lab room and saw Sherlock Holmes already there looking into a microscope. "Holmes."
"Baratheon. You're a bit late, aren't you?"
"I met with my cousin this morning, but you don't really care, do you?"
"Not the slightest bit," he said briefly writing something in his notebook. He briefly sniffed the air and looked at Belle saying, "Bakery from Speedy's?"
"Yes. A cheese danish and a fruit tart with-"
"But you never go to Speedy's." Sherlock opened his mouth to loudly deduce why she went to Speedy's, but Belle found his loud deductions to be very annoying especially when she was trying to do her own deducing in her head.
"My cousin works there. Ella." Sherlock glared at Belle, knowing she interrupted him on purpose. "Oh don't give me that look, Sherlock. You know I can't stand your deducing, and you can't stand my beauty. We're just perfect for each other." Sherlock was taken aback and he felt his cheeks getting hot. Belle glanced at Sherlock, and he immediately focused back to his microscope. She smirked and set up her compartment.
"So tell me, is Ella as charming as you are?" Sherlock asked it in a sarcastic tone.
"Even more so. It's why my mother despises her."
"Baratheon or a Lannister?"
"Lannister."
"Ah, as fair as a lion then."
"Fantasizing her in your head already, are you?"
"Just trying to fathom a beauty that can surpass yours." Belle giggled and Sherlock smiled to himself, happy to hear the beauty laugh.
"If you're so curious, why don't you meet her? I'll introduce you two."
"If you haven't noticed, Belle, not many people tend to like me."
"Oh, I've noticed alright. But she's not like many people. If you're looking for a friend, Ella will be more than you ask for." Sherlock looked back up at Belle and she was busy focusing on setting her compartment. "Besides, when do you care about whether people like you or not? I'm just introducing you two, not setting you up on a date."
"You just have a way with words," Sherlock replied rolling his eyes at the beauty.
"And you swoon too easily from a beautiful girl's words, Sherlock." He looked back up at Belle and she looked at him. "Stop swooning. It's not attractive on a man."
"I am NOT swooning."
"Yes you are." Belle walked towards Sherlock who was still sitting on his stool. His eyes were locked on the brunette beauty walking his way with a naughty smile on her face. "You swoon, you sigh, why deny it? Do you have an image to keep up?" Belle was getting too close to Sherlock and he hopped onto his feet. He backed away from Belle as she kept walking closer, still with a naughty look on her face. "Has the famous Sherlock Holmes become celebritized? Worried about your image, what people think of you." Sherlock's back was to the wall and he looked down at Belle standing chest-to-chest with him now.
Belle looked up at Sherlock with her olive eyes, and she looked into his icy blue eyes. Sherlock saw for a moment the weakness of Belle. He saw her swoon as she looked into his eyes. Belle knew Sherlock would never make a move, and she became curious. She leaned forward and settled her hands onto Sherlock's chest. She felt his uneasy breathing on her skin, and she could feel his heart beating out of his chest. Belle went on her tiptoes and the moment her lips could've brushed against Sherlock's lips, he looked away. "What are you afraid of, Sherlock? Falling in love?"
"I am not afraid of anything," he replied looking back into Belle's eyes with a fire in his eyes.
"You think you look as cold as an ice slate, but I can see right through it all." Belle went back on her heels and Sherlock finally felt like he could breathe again. "And if I can, Ella can." Belle walked back to her compartment and Sherlock watched.
"You make her sound like a goddess," Sherlock scoffed.
"She's a Lannister."