Chapter Text
Entertaining a child as annoying smart as Melody was hard already, but putting her to sleep was almost impossible. Once, her parents decided to let her stay up as much as she wanted; she lasted two hours more than William and two days less than Sherlock, they all wondered when it became a competition. (William and Sherlock later had a rematch because William was convinced it was the coffee that helped. It wasn't, Sherlock still won)
"I don't like it," Mycroft says out loud. "You don't like what?" Sherlock's getting ready to go to bed all by himself. His husband just had to spend the night with his clingy brothers. It's... whatever. It's not like he's lonely or anything. "Why do I have to speak for her to fall asleep?"
"you're getting old and becoming boring. You might start losing hair if you're taken anything else from father." He laughs but stops when norices Mycroft isn't. "I'm just messing with you, she was already tired since we arrived. Believe it or not, she was excited when I told her I've never beaten you before. Get ready to be challenged by her." Mycroft looks directly into his little brother's eyes, too surprised to say anything. Was it the child? Was it William? He already knew Sherlock had changed quite a bit, had grown up. Somewhere away from him, while Mycroft wasn't there. Despite their relationship, his brother was truly dear to him and it was the first time he was realizing how much Sherly had moved away from the rude, careless child he once was.
The Holmes brothers aren't the only ones having a moment, the same thing is happening with the Moriartys, now changed into more comfortable clothes and sitting in Louis' new room. Louis had taken his time being angry with William, even started yelling at some point, but it all died down after mere minutes. William knows, Louis didn't mean anything and had a right to let out all the frustration of the years. Albert, on the other hand, wasn't as easy to deal with. "You know what I want to say," He starts calmly, but that's the scary part. "I know you're mad at me for... trying to die." Albert nods, and Louis follows with his head resting on William's shoulder.
"I... now realize I could've done better. I let my emotions control me and the guilt lead me. We could've done bigger and better, it's just that I-"
"William, that's not what we want to hear." Albert's looking at him with a hurt smile. His hair is let loose and he's not drinking any wine. Sober Albert is always the most honest and most emotional. "I'm sorry for making you worried, I'm back. I promise... I will do things right." He lets out. It's almost too small of a voice to be heard, but the tears that escape to his cheeks say enough. Louis hasn't seen William cry that many times, not even when he was hurt so badly he couldn't move for weeks. Not even when-
He cuts off his thoughts and only hugs his brother tighter. There is no reason to be reminded of that anymore.
William is always after forgiveness. It's to be expected, considering how he chose to live his life. He doesn't regret most of the things he's done, they're justified and necessary, even if not morally correct. But there are some things he can't defend. He realized the power of his brain early on and might have used it in petty ways as a child. His mother would've liked the chaos, though.
As Louis falls asleep on his shoulder, he's forced to remember their mother. A memory he tried to surpass, a face he wishes to forget. (It proved not to be so easy, as they both grew up to look just like her, his reflection in the mirror even more than anyone else.)
She was special, way too special to be living alone in the countryside with two children. She was the definition of freedom, without a care for what people thought, without a care for the future. "What's the point of tomorrow if I don't live today to the fullest?" She would say whenever she dragged her toddlers into dangerous situations. (Not anything that put them directly into harm, but stressful nonetheless.) She'd dress them all in the only nice set of clothes they had and walk to the festivities of the wealthy. Art shows, plays, even when a new dinosaur skull was discovered. They would walk for days and get free rides just to make it to those events. They traveled to cities William didn't even know the name of, some might have even been in other countries. (He had no idea how she got them there.)
"There's always a way," She would giggle. "You're a smart kid, Dahlia. You and Louis both take after me, you should put those little brains of yours to good work. education and knowledge never hurt anyone, it's just a shame that you can't have them easily." Dahlia William knew for a fact that she was born a noble, maybe she was from somewhere else, she did reveal an accent when tired. "I don't want you telling me how to use my brain." He did take all of the advice to heart but still acted as if he didn't.
"And what does that mean?"
"You named me Dahlia! Isn't that a common female name? I don't mind, I quite like it. But why did you give your own name to my little brother, Miss Louise?"
"The spelling is different!"
"Still sounds the same!"
Their bickering was fine and light-hearted. Louise wouldn't get angry even when he stole a book or said something rude, maybe her patience was the reason William was so patient with Melody. "I was a trouble maker myself, you know?" She once said after Louis went to her, crying and apologizing because he broke something important and she only laughed it off. "You know how much expensive stuff I broke just because I wanted to learn sword fighting? Your grandmother would get so angry at me, I wore my brother's old clothing and played with the knights, only to bump into someone and break something." She looked almost distant as she said it. "Maybe this is payback! You're quite the gentleman, taking revenge for your grandmother! Aren't you, Louis?" Afterward, though, she still made sure to put other breakable stuff out of the child's reach.
They used to live in a small house right outside of a small town, with lovely people and delicious bread. William remembers some people were scared of his mother, they called her some awful stuff since she walked around with a child and no husband. But he also remembers kinder people, they were the ones who knew his mother and talked to her. She helped a lot of women with things the only doctor of their town (a tall, skinny with little regard towards other genders) just couldn't, even gave relationship advice when necessary. There was a time, right after Louis' third birthday (and their travel to a certain summer festival), that a pregnant woman painted in blood was brought to them. She was clearly beaten harshly and couldn't even scream as Louise tried to help her give birth to the child. In the end, the baby had to be sacrificed for the mother to be saved. Maybe seeing things like that was the reason William was tolerant of violence and blood. It was a sad scenery he couldn't look away from, and all parties present were too busy to move him away.
The woman woke up two days later. Her eyes were filled with horror as she realized how much time had passed and tried to leave, but her body proved too weak and Louise couldn't let someone in that state just walk out of the door.
She talked about what happened after an hour of crying. Her name was Barbara, she had married a wealthy man about a year back to save her family. She never wanted love but she expected to be respected, she tried to do everything so that her family could live comfortably and respected her husband no matter what. But both parties disregarded and abused her, leading her to lose weight and become weak. The doctor had suggested aborting the child and that had her husband furious, he'd started beating her for being an 'ungrateful wrench' and she did the only thing she could do. Running away to her childhood friend, the young man who brought her to Louise. William knew the man, he was one of the first people to start acting nice to them. His name was David, he was a baker and almost definitely in love with Barbara. (Not that Dahlia back then could tell, but William now had more than enough experience with people to know what certain looks meant)
Louise had fled to the said man after hearing the story. Dahlia remembers getting suddenly worried, he left Louis and Barbara to David (who arrived ten minutes later) and ran after his mother. When he arrived at the town center, he saw a Louise he never knew. Sitting on a guy's stomach and beating him; she seemed furious, so furious that none of the guards were capable to overpower her. It was the first time she proved to have formal training, and the first time looking crazy. She stopped for a moment, slowly brought up the guy's hand, and took all of his big rings, putting them all on her fingers and beating him with it! It was a violent scene, but Dahlia only thought he deserved it. He went back home after she got tired and let herself be dragged by the guards.
The next weeks were only disastrous. Louise was sent free because of her small children but there were people constantly keeping an eye on them. The husband wanted to bring her to court and she had agreed to it (not without cursing and insulting him in front of everybody present). Women started gossiping about her again and the men were clearly threatened by her. Nobody until then knew she held so much power, she hid all of the well-trained muscles under layers of clothing and had even started exercising more after giving birth to Louis, clearly not happy with her body.
But there were two people most threatened by her. The doctor, who had gone through her collection of books and medicine and for the first time had to acknowledge how much more educated she, probably, was; and the judge. The only noble family present in the small town was a baron with his gossip-loving wife and he just happened to be the judge. He seemed to know something about Louise, the exact thing William never went along to investigate, wanting to respect his mother's privacy. Whatever it was, it got him determined to get rid of her.
It didn't go as planned, though. Two weeks later Louise, who now had her head cleared after getting scolded by her four-year-old, spoke to the husband and somehow convinced him to drop everything and even divorce Barbara, who immediately flew the city with David. Even so, the townspeople had started to turn their backs on them. The whispers of the witch living with her demon spawns roamed through the town and Louise only laughed it off. Dahlia also thought it didn't matter as long as it was safe.
Six months later, it stopped being safe.
Dahlia never understood why they didn't leave the town the moment all the harassment started. William knew it had something to do with his mother's mysterious past, a reason she couldn't leave or go somewhere else. She once dropped hints while drunk. Dahlia should've been asleep, but he just sat there and listened. "I ran away from my wedding because I wanted to do something more. I don't know if I've done something more. Was it better if I stayed there, looking pretty and being the wife he wanted? Could I protect you guys if I'd done that? Probably not... people still wanted to kill me." She chuckled. "Why am I telling these depressing things to a toddler? It's weird how you're so smart, Louis' also smart. Oh boy, your lives gonna be even harder than mine."
"You know, I always wanted to live in London. It's so corrupted but there's significant beauty to it. It's not like my home, the dirt isn't buried under festivals and celebrations, they celebrate the dirt the town has and embrace it. Can you imagine living in a chaotic place like that? I would thrive!" William could laugh, she was probably right. "I wanted to change the world when I was a child, but I don't have the... attention span? I can't even follow a recipe without getting distracted!"
"One day, when we're able to leave this town, I'll bring you guys to London, to an expensive restaurant. I always mess food up, I think you guys deserve to eat something actually delicious." She played with Dahlia's hair until he fell asleep. He remembers dreaming of three of them, traveling like before this all started.
And a year from the first incident, as Louis was learning to write his name and Dahlia was helping with the kitchen chores, a voice was heard from outside. It called for the witch to surrounder and step outside. Louise grabbed the children and hid them in the secret closet they kept their money in, a door you wouldn't find unless you already knew it existed. "You guys have to promise to stay quiet, do NOT step outside until you're sure everyone's gone! If I'm not back after two days, you have to run away." Dahlia remembers her last look being full of regret. It was the first time she looked like that, like she wanted to cry.
She stepped outside and was taken away. the brothers were careful not to make a sound as the knights looked through their things, definitely looking for the boys. They waited until the dawn before coming out and didn't light any candles. None of them even had any energy to talk. Louis eventually fell asleep, but Dahlia was too scared to close his eyes, fearing what the morning might bring to them. Knowing full well what happens to women who are called witches.
As the morning came, Dahlia started looking around for something to eat. What he found in the secret closet, though, had his attention drifting to it. A box full of letters, written to a girl named Faye and never sent. As he read through them, she not only proved to be their other parent but also most definitely dead. Louise's give for her was heartbreaking, and the reason they didn't seem to be able to flee. She was buried somewhere here and Louise was waiting for someone, someone who was dear to Faye.
The last letter was written only days before.
"I always wanted to become someone. I wonder if you remember, you used to get mad at me for wanting things without working towards them. You said the only part of me that actually works is my muscles and nothing else. I know you were just mad that I beat you in a sword fight, but I wonder if you were right.
Faye, I'm scared for our children. Dahlia, especially, is holding together and acting like he doesn't know what's to come. He knows, I know he does. I also know they're coming for me and I still can't run away. I can't leave you to rut here! I have to wait for him to come and get your stuff. I always wondered if it was better if I had replaced you. You had the courage to run away and leave them all behind. You had the courage to prioritize the children.
I wish to wake up tomorrow to see you lie next to me like before. Remember when we could barely deal with Dahlia's cries and then I got pregnant again? We just lied down on the bed, with Dahlia sleeping in between us. We joked about what to do if they both grow up like me, thoughtless and reckless. You made me the best tea possible after that and read Dahlia a book. His eyes sparkled as if he understood what was going on.
My life is full of regrets, I never even properly apologized to you. I would tear my heart out of my chest and give it to you, I want you sitting here next to me, I want you to watch me get executed as a witch and suffer. I want to go back to when we were children, a time where we had nothing to run away from. If we meet again in the next life, I wonder if you'll remember my name. This time you have to ask for my hand first!
I wish it would snow, Dahlia sneezes just like you.
I really want to see you."
Maybe the woman named Louise wasn't as free as people thought her to be.
Dahlia left the house after telling Louis to stay no matter what. He didn't expect anything, he truly didn't, but he had the obligation to watch.
And there she was, bond to a cross as the fire was slowly reaching her body. She seemed numb until her eyes caught Dahlia, who was working hard to keep from crying. His mother wasn't crying either. She smiled instead and her dry lips moved. "Cry, you idiot" Were the words she couldn't speak. He watched, not once looking away, as she was turned to ashes in front of the people she used to help. He made sure to watch until the very last second, he had to remember her. He had to keep remembering her.