He was a supervillain, brilliant and ruthless. For James Moriarty, fortune and power had become so easy, it was boring. But not for long. Now the Great Game was getting interesting.
Annabelle Watson didn't have a clue how important she was in his p...
Getting up from the sofa, she walked over and lifted the lid of the phonograph. Touching the arm of the machine, an almost euphoric rush came over her. It was fixed! No longer did the arm hang uselessly to the side, but now sat snug in its proper place. Excitedly, she retrieved one of her favorite records and carefully laid it on the turntable. She gently positioned the needle on the first groove. As she listened to the music, thoughts of Sherlock danced in her mind.
As the music filled the flat, Annabelle grabbed her bag, deciding to get more comfortable in her pajamas. Finding her way to Sherlock's bedroom, she flicked on the lamp. Her eyes widened as she looked down.
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There on the bed lay the most beautiful black dress, matching heels, and handbag. A program for the London Symphony Orchestra lay on top of the dress. In shock, Annabelle picked up the program and read that the performance was scheduled for the next evening. Annabelle couldn't breathe as she thought about her first date with Sherlock. He must have had Mrs. Hudson leave it for her as a surprise.
Slipping off her top and jeans, she put the dress on, but no matter how she tried, she couldn't reach the zipper at the back. With a frustrated sigh, Annabelle went to the washroom to see how she looked in the mirror. She was stunned by her reflection as she turned this way and that. Other than the unzipped back, the dress fit her perfectly as if Annabelle had chosen it herself. She hurried to retrieve the black heels. She slid her feet into them and like the dress, they were the perfect size. She was wobbly as she had never worn heels before, but after walking up and down the hallway a few times, she decided they were tolerable.
Looking again at her reflection with a smile, she picked up the program and studied each page, so excited to be going to her first symphony in years.
~~~~~~~
At last, it was 5 o'clock. Annabelle felt like the workday would never end.
"Okay, Annie. Get outta here!" Mike laughed as he swept the floor of the cafe. "I couldn't help noticing how many times you looked at that clock. Big date tonight?"
Annabelle grinned at him, surprised at how intuitive he was. "You know me better than that, Mike."
Mike smiled. "Whatever you're doing tonight, Annie, have a great time. You deserve it."
She returned his smile, "Thanks, Mike. I know I will." She grabbed her bag and started for the door.
"Oh, by the way, I meant to ask you. Why aren't you wearing your glasses today?"
Annabelle contemplated why she hadn't thought about her glasses. "Maybe," she sighed, "they needed me more than I needed them." She smiled at him. "Bye, Mike. See you on Monday."
Annabelle had a spring in her step as she left the cafe and took the remaining few steps to her flat. She lingered at her door wondering if she should risk going in by herself. She needed some items to take back to Sherlock's to prepare for her evening. She shook her head, chastising herself for being such a coward and entered her flat. She turned on the light and checked each room. Everything looked in order. She went to the window with the broken latch and saw that no one else had tried to enter, but it remained unfixed.
Finding a bag, she quickly filled it with everything she would need for her night out. Satisfied, she locked her door and proceeded to Sherlock's flat.
She spent the next hour excitedly getting ready for her evening. She had never really cared before how she looked. In fact, she much preferred to go unnoticed; perhaps the reason she hid behind her glasses most of the time... but tonight was different.
Annabelle looked in the mirror and pinned up her hair, coaxing some mahogany tendrils to fall on her shoulders. She highlighted her green eyes with a few waves of eye shadow and liner, then finished off with a hint of lip gloss to make her mouth glisten.
Carefully, she put on her dress and once again struggled with the zipper.
"He's going to think I've left it open on purpose," she huffed. What could she do? Mrs. Hudson! It would only take a minute to scoot downstairs to get her help then she could finish getting ready.
Hurriedly, Annabelle put on her heels and practically ran to the door. She opened the door and slammed right into her nightmare come true. Annabelle would have fallen back had strong hands not reached out quickly to stabilize her.
"Look at that, I'm saving you again, Annabelle."
Annabelle couldn't speak as James Moriarty's eyes roamed over her from head to toe. He smiled, appreciating the transformed beauty before him.
"I knew the dress would fit you," he said, admiration sparking his voice. He smiled knowingly. "But you obviously haven't figured out the zipper."
~~~~~~~ Hey! How do you like the story so far? I'd love to know what you think. Oh, and a vote would be awesome! Thanks for reading.
