Later on that evening, Enola and Y/N sat on the single bed that was in the lodging house Enola rented. "It's uh....cozy?" Y/N said as she looked around the room.
Enola snorted. "Please. It's not close to cozy." Enola laughed. They were both sat in their undergarments with a blanket wrapped around them.
"Anyways, it's time for Phase Four of my plan." She said, grabbing a little brown bag and emptying it out. A bunch of little plastic squares with letters on the them poured out.
"I thought it was phase six?" Questioned Y/N.
Enola looked at her and nodded. "I've entirely lost count." They both laughed.
"It is time to find my mother." She said as she spread out the plastic squares. Y/N thought back to when she got knocked down on the street. Eudoria Holmes. "Eudoria." Y/N whispered. "Huh?" Enola said. "How do you know my mothers name?"
Y/N looked at Enola with surprise. "Oh! Well, um, earlier I think I may have seen her?"
Enolas eyes widened, "Yes!" She said, pulling Y/N into a hug. "Thank you, Y/N!"
Y/N, extremely confused, hugged her back. "You're welcome?"
Enola cleared her throat and realized what she had done. "My apologies. It's just, this means, she's definitely in London!" Enola exclaimed.
"Well, that's brilliant, Enola." Y/N said, smiling.
Enola smiled back, they held eye contact.
"Um," Y/N interrupted. "So...what's the plan..?"
"Oh, right. To find Mother, the first thing I need to do is leave a cipher in every newspaper she might read." Enola said, as if she was talking to somebody behind else, like an audience.
"Thank you, my chrysanthemum. Are you blooming? Send Iris, please." She read out.
Y/N looked at her confusedly. "Iris means message." Enola explained.
"Now, we have to disguise them." Enola said with a smirk. "Mother can untangle anything so I need to make it most devious!" She said as she swapped letters around.
•••
The very next morning Enola took Y/N to the same dress shop she went too. "If we want the message to get published in the newspaper we better be looking out best!" She exclaimed as she dragged her across the street.
The wandered inside the shop. "Oh!" The shop lady exclaimed. "You're back, again." Enola nodded.
"I'd like to purchase a dress for my friend."
Y/N shook her head. "Enola, no way! Have you seen how expensive these are?"
Enola rolled her eyes and pulled Y/N in to whisper. "I've got money. My Mother left me a fortune." The parted from each other.
"Well, if your sure." Y/N said, unsurely.
"I am!" Enola chirped and pulled Y/N to a rack full of beautiful dresses.
They both searched through them. Enola pulled out an extremely ruffled dress with a massive bow on the front. "Are you being serious right now."
"No!" Enola laughed and put it back. They continued searching when Enola squealed with excitement. "Y/N, this is the perfect one for you, trust me!"
Y/N looked at the dress. It was her favorite color, Y/F/C. "Wow..." Y/N took it from Enola. "Should I put it on then?"
•••
Fifteen minutes later, "Y/N, what's taking you so long?" Enola called out. A grunt came from the dressing room. "Sorry, I've never worn a corset before!"
Soon enough, Y/N came out, the dress fitting perfectly on her, the color made her eyes look like perfection.
"....wow." Enola whispered, her face going pink.
"You like it?" Y/N asked with a smile.
"Absolutely!" She exclaimed and grabbed her hand. "Come on, let's pay and go!"
•••
An hour or two later, Y/N and Enola walked out of the publishers office. Enola finally had courage she was going to find her mother again. "Happy?" Y/N questioned.
Enola looked at her and nodded. "Hopefully she receives the message."
"Where are we going now?" Y/N said. The busy streets of London were extremely busy at this hour, eleven am in the morning. People rushing to work, delivering packages, window shoppers, and more.
Enola pulled Y/N into a quiet alleyway. "Okay, so, I have an idea that may lead me exactly to my mother." Enola spoke. "My mother only corresponded with one address with regularity. And believe me, I know it was wrong of me to look where it was addressed to, and entirely wrong of me to have memorized it. But when growing up in the countryside, there is little excitement. So, I clung to whatever narrative I could get!"
Y/N nodded, impressed. "Is this address nearby?" She asked. A big smile grew on Enolas face. "It is."
Enola grabbed Y/N's hand and pulled her back out onto the busy streets. They both ran up the cobblestone paths, dodging people.
"Oi! Watch yourselves!" A man yelled.
Y/N giggled and looked back. "Sorry sir!" She laughed. Enola stopped running and spun around, causing Y/N to fall straight into her arms. "Oh!" Enola squeaked.
They distanced from each other. "My apologies." Enola said, brushing herself off.
Y/N smiled shyly. "No, I should've been looking where I was going."
They both looked at each other in silence.
But, it wasn't awkward. It felt...normal? Maybe. Suddenly, Enola cleared her throat.
"So, this is it." Y/N looked at the little tea shop they were stood in front of.
The two of them stepped inside. The waitresses were busy at work, serving the customers. The customers were chatting and laughing. It was a nice atmosphere. "Afternoon, girls." One of the waitresses said.
"Afternoon." They both replied.
They walked through the cafe.
"Enola-" Suddenly, there was thud from the floor above them. The chandelier rattled. "What's up there?" Enola asked one of the waitresses.
The waitress looked up at the ceiling and rolled her eyes. "Noisy bloody women!" She spoke.
Enola and Y/N laughed quietly.
"Do you think..?" Y/N asked and Enola nodded. "I do think."
They both made their way up the stairs. At the top of the stairs there was a small wooden door. The sounds of people yelling were coming from the other side. Enola took a deep breath and pushed it open.
Inside, there were women training with each other and more or less on each other. They were practicing self-defense. "No, harder. Don't be afraid of her!" A woman, who seemed to be coaching them, exclaimed.
Y/N and Enola stepped inside. "Good afternoon, ladies." The coach said walking up to the girls. "You looking to be recruited?" "Uh, no." Y/N said, shaking her head.
"We're looking for Eudoria Vernet Holmes." Enola said hopefully. The lady's eyes squinted. "Enola?" She asked. "Enola Holmes. It is you, isn't it? Who is this then?"
Enola and Y/N looked at each other in a panic.
"I'm Enolas-" "Cousin!" Enola exclaimed. "Y/N Holmes." Y/N nodded and looked at Enola.
Y/N Holmes.
The lady nodded and raised her eyebrows.
"Why are yous dressed like powder puffs?"
Y/N laughed and Enola looked down at her dress. "Oh." She muttered.
"You look the spit of her!"
"You recognize me?"
"Of course I do! I was your first teacher. Don't you remember?"
Suddenly, the lady grabbed Enola by the arms and pulled her down. Enola wrapped arm around her neck and flipped her over her body.
Y/N stood there, eyes wide.
"You progressed nicely, I can see." The lady said, as Enola hovered over her.
•••
The lady, who turned out to be called Edith, brought the both of them into her office, the sounds of ladies grunting and yelling cloud be heard next door.
"You two are alone? In London?" She questioned. "Yes." They both spoke.
"There was a useless boy, but he's gone now."
Enola said. "He wasn't useless!" Y/N defended.
"He was very helpful, in my opinion."
Edith looked at Y/N, "Ah," she said with a knowing look. Y/N realized what she meant. "What!? No! He's my friend."
Enolas eyebrows furrowed, that same jelous feeling coming back. Enola cleared her throat. "I have money, lodgings. I just need to find my mother."
"What makes you think she wants to be found?" Edith asked. "Eudorias been hiding all her life. If she wants to stay hidden, she will. And besides, she has work to do."
"What work?" Questioned Enola.
"I cannot say." Edith spoke.
WORD COUNT : 1420