She was nothing less than destroyed. Shattered. Aching. And then, numb. Nothing in exchange for nothing. Tears falling like ghosts caressing her cheeks.

Natalia Rhodes is a shell of who she was when she thought that she had a love meant for forever. And she does not yet see a way out of this darkness that she is sinking into. But time is a remedy best served with love, and that is exactly what the Rhodes siblings gave to their sister.

Luther was good about bringing her new books to read, she had always been fond of reading, especially when he had access to his school's library. He made sure that she had something to distract herself with, even if it was just letters from their brothers.

Callum and Vanessa insisted that she join them at their home outside of London every so often. They let their children drag their aunt out into the garden where she would laugh and smile for hours on end, something that had been a rarity for the past few months.

Harris was a nervous wreck when he confessed to his little sister that his wife might be pregnant. Yet as Natalia let herself be consumed by the joy of yet another addition to her family, Harris could only share a knowing smile with Amelia at the perfectly, unplanned distraction.

Zachery brought news to distract his sister with as well, and he also begged her for advice. He had fallen head over heels in a matter of months and with slow coaxing her brother was due to be married.

The three new women of the Rhodes family learned, oh so quickly just how tight the Rhodes siblings all were (a strange occurrence in the world they lived in). There was nothing that they couldn't ask of Natalia that she wouldn't follow through with. All of the brothers depended on each other with pride. And they found themselves in a group of people who felt like more than family. They found themselves with people who cared, especially Natalia Rhodes.

Natalia Rhodes, to be frank, knew exactly what her brothers and sister-in-laws were doing. She played along, even letting herself fall into the overwhelming happiness that they surrounded her with. It was hard not to collapse in their embraces and just let it all go.

A part of her screamed that she couldn't, shouldn't.

That part of her were the pieces that spent time at the Holmes' home. In the overrun gardens and book filled hallways, always smiling alongside Mrs. Holmes and little Enola.

In the place that she had been to so often as child, in the place that she had fallen in love — Natalia finally started to bloom again. Filling in the emptiness that had been building in her heart. Allowing herself to grow into someone without a lover. She began to heal.

Almost a year had flown by since Natalia found her heart again. And then, there it was, the news that threatened to send her back over the edge.

An interest. A merger. A boy who belonged to one of her father's business partners. A boy that she despised more than anyone else. A boy that they were going to force her to marry.

Gerald Crowell. The second son of the Crowell's. A trust fund bastard who made Natalia's skin crawl whenever he got too close.

Her mother refused to listen to reason, and her father refused to hear her at all. Her brothers became furious as she began to slip. Callum threatening to kill him and Luther warning her whenever their parents made plans.

Another year races by them, and Natalia is stuck in a relationship she despises, that she avoids in the countryside at every opportunity. Even Eudoria Holmes decides to teach the young woman skills that she hadn't dared to before. Everyone except her parents seem to see the fear building in her bones, shining in her eyes.

And Natalia's heart resurfaces feelings that she has long pushed away. The rage that she once held against Sherlock comes rushing back. The anger and the hurt becomes blame. Blame for what she is being forced into. Blame for what she has been forced to become. Blame for what she has been through.

She decides to avoid Gerald at all costs. She decides to stop acting like the girl her parents want her to be. She decides to snark and speak her mind at every opportunity. She decides that she will take her fate in own hands if she must. She decides that she will be brave.

Natalia Rhodes swiftly discovers that she was not the only one acting in this agreement. That Gerald Crowell is an actor himself. That he has plans that make her sick to her stomach. That he treats her the same and worse every time she puts her foot across the line that's been drawn.

She decides that she must stand up for herself, even if her knees are barely holding her up. Even if she's dangerously close to breaking. Even though she's absolutely terrified.

Even after all this time, she still yearns for the man that she finds herself blaming for this pain.

And even after all this time, she finds that maybe she can not truly hold these things against him.

Carina Lauder has never been a sickly child. She has been a picture of perfection and as obedient as a dog. She is separate from her family, and there are two people that she can blame for that.

Her stepmother is not who the young Carina thought her to be. She expected a mother, someone she had never had before Lucinda walked into her life. Instead she received a woman who pushed her to her limits and whispered that she wasn't doing enough.

Carina slowly shrunk from her father's side. She caved away from being the curious, out-going girl that her father had been raising. Carina becomes a young woman that prays that her father is proud of her. That she is enough.

Carina Lauder has long been parted from her voice. One that once demanded stories and lessons from her father. One that once told everything exactly as it was. One that she once loved expressing.

Carina's latest mistake, according to her stepmother, is that she managed to catch a flu going around her school and had to be sent home. Now that a week or so has passed and she is just well enough to be sent back, her bags are packed and a train ticket prepared. Her father had asked her if she was ready to go back so soon. She had simply looked to her feet and nodded. Didn't he want her gone anyways?

And so Carina Lauder is due to return to her finishing school in a few days time. But she will soon learn, that maybe plans are better if they go sideways. Or maybe, that a boy and a girl dressed like one are exactly the people she needed in order to find her voice, and herself, after all these years of not knowing where she was.

08.20.2022 /

hello loves!! so this was meant to be a chapter, but I discovered that I still needed to explain a bit more to preface the story because I want to begin at the beginning of the movie.

Natalia has a very rough time that I will slowly be showing as the plot moves forward. Carina has a slightly less hard plot than Natalia for the reason that she's still a child and her arc is supposed to be a lot happier.

The difference in Natalia and Carina is that Natalia's arc is a complicated plot that follows through both of the movies. Natalia's character is fully developed for now, but her arc and relationship with Sherlock still need completing. She will deal with hard and complicated adult things, she will find love, and her character will still grow.

Carina's arc is more simpler. She finds love and a good friend, but she also rediscovers herself. It's a hard road of close calls and quick-choices, but in the end, Carina gets a smooth ending to her character arc that I'm so excited to write!!

I hope that your enjoying the fic <3