AlterMyth - A Hololive Fanfiction

Across The Pond

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."