[Sherlock Holmes] The Legend of the Nightingale

(God's perspective)

When Nightingale saw the sun again, she no longer had any emotions. She didn't think it was relief, nor did she feel that the previous experience was torture.She just finds all of this boring and meaningless.After a period of acclimatization to the normal light, she was pushed back to "her room" to be cleaned up by Elena.Of course, due to the assassination not long ago, the maid remained expressionless towards her in a short period of time, and she felt that her efforts to open up the conversation so easily and hope to get closer to the maid would come to an end.But she didn't want to talk to anyone at all, didn't want to see anyone.She could just sit by the window and watch for a day, until she saw Moriarty walk in and stand at the door in the reflection of the window.At this time, she suddenly had the desire to speak again, although some intuition told her that she should put on a posture that she didn't want to talk to anyone now, or maybe she was tired just thinking about talking.After several efforts, she finally suppressed the urge to find something to say to break the silence.She has nothing to say.

Moriarty paused, and without waiting for any response, he continued to approach, holding an object in his hand, stopped behind her, and handed the object to her over her shoulder:

her glasses.

Nightingale didn't follow right away.

"I think you need this," Moriarty said. "You should have given it to me long ago, but that grumpy fellow Moran never thought of giving it to me. I thought he lost it."

Nightingale thought carefully about the credibility of this statement.He took off her glasses himself, and then pretended to be a good person and returned them to her.But now these little tricks were as boring and exhausting as the process of her analyzing them.She took the glasses, didn't put them on, but pinned them to her collar as before.At this time, Moriarty calmly said something that made her heart stop for a short time:

"I'll take you this afternoon to meet an acquaintance we both know."

Nightingale subconsciously pressed her hand on her heart before she could let go.There was no reason, no evidence, no logic, and the first name that popped into her head took her breath away.She looked up at Moriarty, and by the time she realized she shouldn't have reacted so obviously, it was too late.

Moriarty smiled.

"Who do you think it is? No, let's not say it and see if you guess right. We don't have many friends in common, so it should be easy to guess."

Nightingale's heart was beating wildly, and even if he couldn't see her, he knew that his face must have turned pale in an instant.What is he going to do again?Do you want Holmes to see her current situation?Did he admit that he kidnapped her?Was he trying to use her to confuse Holmes, as he had done before?Better not to be like this.But her heart beat almost faster than natural science can explain.Noticing that her hands were shaking, she put them down.She doesn't want to lie to herself.She wants to see Holmes.She wanted to see Holmes more than ever.For a moment she believed that she would never see the outside world, nor Holmes.She didn't even expect him to figure out a way to save her right away, but as long as he could see her, there was hope.Whatever malice Moriarty harbored.

God, she's about to fall apart.

The professor remained silent until Nightingale's eyes returned from trance to sobriety.

"We're leaving at one o'clock, Elena, get her ready."

These were his last words before leaving the room.The maid came in, closed the door, pressed her on the chair in front of the vanity mirror, added the color of her hair, and added a layer of dark color to the exposed skin, covering the pale complexion that had been lacking in light for a long time, which made her They look like two different people.When Elena packed up her things and was about to leave, Nightingale saw the maid looking around vigilantly from the mirror, then leaned into her ear and said in a very low voice:

"Be very careful not to make the professor angry. Just get through the day."

The sluggish Nightingale looked back at her in astonishment.Elena gave her a positive look, then left the room with a straight face.Nightingale did not dare to stop her.The ban has not yet been lifted.

Then she found that her tears were already falling.

Nightingale didn't know how he got through it.She was a little aware of the absurdity of her own wishful thinking when bumping on the opaque carriage.Moriarty had no reason for her to see Holmes.But she suppressed this doubt against reason.Just make me feel like I'm going to see him soon, she thought, just for a moment.

Then the carriage stopped.When she got out of the car, she saw that this was the back door of an old building. She was puzzled for a while before she figured out that it seemed to be a church hospital or something.Watson was probably the only person she knew who could have a relationship with the hospital, but Moriarty and him were hardly acquaintances.Nightingale looked suspiciously at the old building, the cross and the iron fence.Moriarty pushed her from behind.

"Let's go, Miss Nightingale. You can't hide."

She felt a little creepy when Moriarty casually put his hand on her shoulder as she stepped onto the backyard path.

The door opened, and a middle-aged nun dressed in black ushered them in.She looked tired and tired, but her expression was peaceful.Moriarty seemed to know her very well, and he didn't even need to declare his home, saying that although he didn't have an appointment, he passed by and wanted to visit the patient.Mammy sighed.

"You are very kind, Professor," she said. "Even relatives are reluctant to visit them on New Year's Eve. But we believe that God will take care of every child. May God bless you, Professor."

"Thank you, Sister," replied the professor, saying nothing more, for he was not himself a Christian.

When he just entered the door, Nightingale, who was not mentally prepared at all, was almost blown away by the noise in the hospital.Some wards were dead silent, while others were terribly noisy, with the cries of women, the roars of men, the screams that were neither human nor ghost, hoarse singing, and the sound of kicking and fighting like a gang fight.Occasionally, a nun pushed a cart through the corridor, and someone carried an unconscious patient and passed them by.There was a strange smell in the whole hospital.Nightingale immediately realized where they were, and could not help but shudder.Mammy led them down a long corridor, turned up stairs, and stopped in front of a few wards.At this time, one of the doors suddenly opened, and a man stumbled out from inside, screaming and flailing his teeth and claws. Several medical staff in black chased after him, and finally caught him and held him down. on the ground.This sudden situation caused the professor and his party to temporarily hide aside.

"Wait a minute, professor, there is a patient who is not in good condition today and needs additional medicine." Mammy said flatly, "I'm very sorry for frightening you."

"It's nothing, Mammy," said Moriarty understandingly. "It happens every day. Besides, if you don't take care of them, who will? Let them sleep on the streets in the cold." Starve to death?"

This was very pleasing to say, and Mammy smiled.

"Professor, this is the ward. Whether you like to listen or not, I have to remind you to pay attention to safety. If the patient loses control of his emotions, don't force the conversation to continue, because she can't understand, she must..."

"I know, Mammy. It's not my visit today, but this young lady."

Moriarty pushed Nightingale over.Not only did she wear makeup, but with her different attire and panicked demeanor, it was difficult even for acquaintances to recognize her immediately.Even if Mammy described her to others in the future, it would be difficult to expose her.

"Is this your friend, Professor?" Mammy looked her over.

"A relative of mine." The professor answered for her. "It turns out that I have a deep friendship with the patient. Because of some misfortunes, we haven't seen each other for a long time. So she hopes to avoid outsiders for a while."

"It's not difficult, Professor, but you must keep the lady safe. Don't let the patient get emotional. Call me if anything happens, and you must lock the door when you leave."

"I understand, don't worry about it."

The professor's composed demeanor looked quite believable.Mammy found one out of a large bunch of keys and opened the door, then handed the key to the professor, and walked away emphatically.It is said that this is a serious violation.Nightingale stepped back bewildered but wary.

The professor put his hand on the doorknob and looked in through the small window with the iron bars on the door.

"Haven't you not seen her for a long time? You can't forget her so quickly, can you?"

When the professor spoke the word "she" poetically, Nightingale understood everything.She jumped up and wanted to escape from the stairs, but the professor quickly grabbed her shoulder, and Nightingale grabbed his wrist with his backhand and tried to tear it down.

"You probably don't know, Ann," said the professor, as he dealt with her, "that it's not a good idea to lose your temper in a madhouse, because if you make any noise, someone will lock you up indiscriminately, and when you can be released depends on the God knows. Not to mention you already have a file in this hospital."

Nightingale stopped what she was doing.

"That's right." The professor pushed her away, and gently wiped the thin sweat on his forehead, "An Heize, 19 years old, congenitally insane, and his condition has been getting worse recently, and his family is unable to take care of him. London treatment. Even if they investigate your parents, they'll find someone out there in some country town. Nobody knows who you are. They'll just lock you in a ward, sedate you at regular intervals, and if you resist You will be beaten. No matter how you explain and how you accuse me, they will only think that you are seriously ill. Let me say from the bottom of my heart, compared with the situation here, I have not treated you badly."

Nightingale glanced at the ward with the door ajar.The professor pushed her in from behind and locked the door from the outside.She failed to pull the door in time, grabbed the iron grille on the door and shook it desperately a few times, and then smashed the door with her fist, even though she knew it was useless.

"What do you want? What do you want to do?"

Moriarty didn't answer.Her growl elicited an echo from another person in the room—a clear whimper.

Nightingale turned sharply and leaned against the door.

The ward was better than she had imagined, with light and cleanliness.A woman was sitting on the bed, her clothes were neatly arranged by Mammy, but her flaxen hair was a mess.She should have turned her back to Nightingale, but when she heard a sound at the door, she turned around and stared at Nightingale.

Nightingale held his breath.The woman stood up, walked towards her with a little curiosity, and suddenly stretched out her hands to press her shoulders.The woman's bony fingers almost penetrated the clothes and sank into her shoulders.

"Open the door! Let me go! Why are you doing this!"

Nightingale cried out.She heard her cries drowned out in the noise of the madhouse.A long, pale face was visible from under the woman's tousled hair, and green, catlike eyes stared at her cloudily.There is no doubt that she knew from the beginning that this was——

— Hattie Dolan.

The author has something to say: Guys, this is the last round, after a chapter or two, you will be able to see Sherlock Holmes again~ (I mean we saw... not the heroine saw...)