I Am Sher-locked

32. One Step Forward

"Tell me, Irene Adler...", Eurus stood up slowly and walked up to the glass wall. "How does it feel to die?"

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Irene's lips curled up in a twisted smile. Hah. Eurus wanted to play a game. So be it, young Holmes. So be it.

"But soon I shall die and what I now feel be no longer felt. Soon these burning miseries will be extinct...", Irene recited with a snort. "Mary Shelley. Are you familiar?"

"Aha...", Eurus seemed genuinely interested now, her lips formed a faint smile. "Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. English novelist."

"Very nice", Irene inclined her head slightly. 

Eurus took a few steps closer and stood only inches away from the glass wall. Her breath was making the glass blur. Her gaze was burning holes right through Irene.

"So it is you...", Eurus almost whispered. "The Woman..."

"I am", Irene breathed confidently and straightened her shoulders. Her lips pressed in a thin line. "I suppose Sherlock talked to you about me."

"He rarely speaks of anything else", Eurus's lips twitched. "Irene Adler...", she whispered under her breath like she was testing Irene's name. "Now the woman got off the pedestal and was replaced by another woman..."

What was she talking about? Herself? Or Faith? Irene stepped closer but kept a safe distance from the glass. "There are no pedestals."

"You're short sighted, Irene", Eurus smiled slyly. "Why have you come to visit me?"

"Because I wish to expand my sight", Irene mockingly responded. 

Eurus let out a mirthless chuckle. "You're cunning and smart. I respect that."

"I wanted you to meet your niece but if you don't feel like it then--.."

"No, I want to meet the daughter", she cut her off. "But first... I want to know you."

 "What do you wish to know, Eurus?", Irene smiled.

"Smiling is advertising", Eurus pointed out. "You hear but don't listen. You look but you don't see."

"Is this some kind of a test?", Irene narrowed her eyes. 

"I take it back", Eurus' smile dropped. "You're not smart. You just don't know how to be stupid."

Surprisingly, Irene laughed. "You've become a prisoner of your own illusions - about yourself and about the world."

Eurus' face twitched in a grimace and she stepped away from the glass wall. "You know nothing of the world."

"And you do?", Irene cocked an eyebrow, smirking. "Try being a mother. Then you will know."

Eurus remained silent, observing Irene. "I will never be a mother", she eventually replied. 

"But you can be an active aunt", Irene tilted her head to the side. "Would you like that?"

"I can't be an active aunt", Eurus said. "The glass wall is the barrier between your world and mine."

"My daughter looks like you", Irene breathed. "She looks like Sherlock but you look like him as well."

The corners of Eurus' lips curled up in a slight smile. "You named her after me, didn't you?"

"I did", Irene nodded. "Faith Eurus Holmes."

"Faith...", Eurus leaned her head back, staring at the ceiling. "Faith Smith. The name I used when I presented myself to Sherlock as a client."