Sophia Harris & Nancy Parker
Nancy had enjoyed training two Paradoxes at a time more than she had anticipated. The past four months of working with Faith and Bart allowed her to not only play them off against each other, but it was amusing to see their reactions to the various scenarios they were thrown into. While Bart had shown a proclivity for languages, Faith shined when it came to torture - no doubt analogous to their personalities in Nancy's opinion. She wore
a blue dress with a green, her cards currently stashed into a coin purse. By her feet were three sacks filled with clothing.
Sophia had enjoyed the last four months training with Gilbert finally getting used to handling things one handed which took sometime to get used to. She looked at the letter that was under the door and made her way towards it, it was going to be her first training session with Nancy which would be interesting. She got her all of her things and started to make her way towards the swamp where the letter was seeing Nancy there in her dress and gave her a slight wave.
"Good morning how are you doing this morning?" She asked as she made her way towards her seeing the sacks of clothes there.
Nancy gave Sophia a mischievous grin, before she side stepped to allow Sophia unhindered access to the clothing.
"Oh, I'm just brilliant," she said with a giggle, hardly able to contain her excitement.
"I'm guessing you've become accustomed to Emendators just throwing costumes at you and telling you to dress...So this time, you get a choice. Once you've found a get up you fancy, change into it and we'll be on our way." The first bag contained a dress similar to Nancy's, except for it was a muddled orange shade. The corset peeked out slightly from underneath the dress and it was partnered with sturdy shoes, along with a brown shawl, coin purse, and a concealed pocket knife. The second bag contained a lilac dress with a princess-line silhouette and a matching bonnet. There were lace white gloves as well, long enough to reach to the crease of her elbow. The final bag contained a
suit and a tall hat, along with the material to prepare a false beard.
Sophia raised an eyebrow slightly hearing Nancy giggle, she did like the idea of choosing the clothes but knowing Nancy a little bit as a prankster she probably had something up her sleeve.
"Having a choice certainly does help things thank you." She said as she knelt down and looked down at the three bags that were there. Seeing the first one seemed to be pretty much what Nancy was wearing just with a muddled orange color, and then the next one looked to be more elegant, and then the last one. When Sophia pulled it out seeing that it was a suit, her eyes turned towards Nancy when she pulled out a suit, and saw there was some stuff to make a beard.
She certainly didn't want to wear the suit, and she'd certainly feel very out of place as well, Sophia went with the lilac colored dress.
"Give me a second and i'll be ready." Sophia said giving Nancy a slight smile before heading off to get changed, a few seconds later she was finished and came back fully dressed.
Nancy couldn't help but be intrigued with Sophia's choice, but she shrugged. If Sophia complained, the Emendator would just point out to her that other options had been available and it wasn't her fault she wanted to dress with such class.
"Interesting taste," Nancy commented.
"What you're wearing now is proper evening attire for an upper class women in the late 1890's in London - perhaps a member of the gentry or the peers," Nancy added.
"While we're away, please refer to me as Miss Parker. As for yourself - well, if you want to pretend to be a peer, Lady Harris should do - Lady Sophia if you want to be particularly high up on the social scheme. If not, Miss Harris." She then gave her a smile, before she walked a bit further into the swamp to reveal a portal and she stepped on through.
Once on the other side, Sophia and Nancy would find themselves in the Whitechapel district of London on September 30th, 1888. It was barely the date in question, with the city shrouded in darkness. They were in an alleyway at the moment and Nancy couldn't help but grin with glee, looking at her charge. Disneyland had been fun, but even Nancy enjoyed a good thrill. She could already feel her blood pumping at an accelerated pace.
Sophia adjusted the elbow length gloves that she wore, she certainly wasn't used to wearing something this fancy except for her wedding day that was the only time she truly did dress up.
"Thank you." Sophia said giving Nancy a friendly smile as she listened to Nancy giving her a discerption on what she was wearing exactly.
"I'll go by Lady Harris then, lead the way Miss Parker." Sophia said as she followed alongside Nancy towards the nearby portal. Sophia stepped through the portal shortly after Nancy just did as she stepped through it Sophia looked around, it appeared to be night now where they were at.
"So what are we doing here exactly?" Sophia ended up asking looking around the alleyway that they were now in.
"I'm bloody well 'ere ter 'ave myself a good time. Yer, 'owever, need ter survive the bleedin' next two 'ours wivout bein' exposed," Nancy explained, slipping into a rather thick Cockney accent. Not many knew how far back the particular accent group dated and it was one of her favorites to portray. She ducked her head out of the alley, looking down the moonlit streets.
"Lady 'arris, right, I need yer ter cop us from Berner Street ter Mitre Square. I'll follow yor lead. If anyone encounters us, right, yor'll need ter blend in. Uvverwise, right, well. Right...Oh, that'll just spoil the bleedin' fun. It'll be me secret for the bloody mument wot would 'appen uvverwise," she explained. She then handed Sophia a crudely outlined map of the area, with giant X's drawn on the starting and end points. In theory, it was only a twelve minute walk.
Sophia looked at her surroundings once more before her attention went back to Nancy noticing her accent changed drastically, it was a tad bit hard to understand at first.
"Alright then, just follow me Miss Parker." Sophia said as she took the crudely drawn map as she started to look it over before heading out to the alleyway that they were in. She took a look down at the map once more and eyed some of the people that were out in the streets before headed up Berner Street while remaining alert as she focused on the path ahead of them.
As they walked, Nancy let her arms swing at her sides slightly, watching the street ahead of them. It was a fairly nondescript street, with a few pubs and the likes along the way. Dutfield's Yard was at the end of the row and Nancy glanced at Sophia with a bit of amusement. She then counted to three in her head:
one...two...three...and....now. As if on cue, there was a scream that pierced the air, coming from the yard.
As she continued to go down the road Sophia would remain pretty quiet since no one had approached the two of them yet, she adjusted her dress ever so slightly. She was still very much used to wearing something other than a dress, but it certainly did beat having to wear a suit and a fake beard that probably didn't even make her blend in. She looked over her shoulder at Nancy seeing the amused look on her face, then out of random she heard a very loud scream which made Sophia stop instantly looking back at Nancy.
"What was that, sounds like someone is in trouble and should we go and check it out?" Sophia asked.
"This is yor challenge, Lady 'arris, right, not mine," Nancy pointed out, her tone a bit unsympathetic. She didn't appear to be phased at all by the sounds of the screams. There was a single man standing in the yard - Louis Diemschutz - looking down at something that Sophia wouldn't be able to make out just yet. The steward had a horse near him and it was whinnying. No one else was in the street at the time, with the nearest building adjacent to it, Workers' Club, being dark and boarded up for the night.
A part of her told her to not go and check it out, due to her time out in the wilderness back in her time, but she always wanted to see what was exactly going on there. Sophia closed her eyes and sighed slightly to herself before looking over at Nancy, it would probably put a lot of time on their little trip in the late 1880's.
"Lets check it out." Sophia said, before making her way over towards the man who was staring at something.
"Good evening, sir what happened here?" Sophia asked.
Diemschutz glanced over at her, the crumpled form at his feet illuminated by candlelight. It was the body of Elizabeth Stride, one of the victims attributed to Jack the Ripper. There was blood flowing from a wound in her neck and it was fresh; she had been dead for only a few minutes. "I don't know, miss...I just found 'er like this, 'orse got shy..." Diemschutz responded. His screams had attracted the attention of local police and a bobby was running over towards them. A few doors on the street opened up as people peeked out into the darkness, wondering what had occurred. Nancy had remained back in an alley not too far from the scene of the crime, just watching Sophia, curious to see what she would do. If she went much further with this, she'd have to stop her. This wasn't blending in - too much more of this and Sophia would be making a scene.
Sophia's eyes then turned over towards the body that was there, and backed away slightly she didn't expect to see a body there at all, covering her mouth. She watched as some of the local police started to show up, which was probably something that Nancy didn't want her to be around. But if she left it probably would look very suspicious as well to the locals, she looked away from the body and backed off some more seeing some doors opening. Sophia would look around for Nancy seeing she had gone off probably to watch her from a distance, she certainly did feel very out of place at the moment.
As Sophia backed away, she walked into a rather plump woman two doors down from the Workers' Club. With beady eyes and an unusually long neck, as if she existed to eavesdrop and spy on people, the woman looked at her with a scowl. However, once she took in Sophia's apparel, the scowl melted away. "Oh, I'm so sorry, miss...I could 'ave sworn you were one of those harlots for a moment," she apologized. "Come inside, ya must be so shaken..." However, a large part of her sympathy came from a burning curiosity to know what was going on.
Sophia jumped slightly when she accidentally bumped into someone, when she turned around she looked up at the plump woman.
"I am so incredibly sorry I wasn't paying attention where I was going.." Sophia apologized as she looked back towards the crime scene and then back at the woman, she felt a bit awkward when the woman thought that she was some kind of harlot, but ignored the comment. She knew that they had about two hours, for Nancy's little test to try and blend in.
"I don't want to intrude or anything." Sophia said as she looked back at her, then over to where Nancy was.
"I insist, miss - it ain't proper for a pretty thing like yerself to be out at night," the woman said, opening the door and ushering for Sophia to go inside. As Sophia looked into the alleyway, she'd see Nancy shaking her head at her, before Nancy traced her finger across her throat.
Sophia stared at Nancy for a moment seeing that gesture, she wasn't sure if she was telling her to play around or not she turned to look at the portly woman as she was ushered inside of the house.
"I really cant stay long though and I don't want to trouble you at this late hour." Sophia softly said as she entered the house. She rubbed her arm slightly as she looked around it, she was starting to feel like she was screwing everything up right now.
Nancy nearly hit her palm against her forehead, seeing Sophia enter the home. She thought it had been a clear gesture, but maybe the undead infested Georgia didn't know that sign. It was her fault if that was the case and Nancy shook her shoulders, symbolically shaking off the blame. Sophia had just made her training harder than it had been intended to be and she was completely fine with that. If she hadn't been able to pull off an upper class British accent before this, she'd become an expert in it.
"Nonsense, it's just me and m' husband," the woman explained, closing the door behind her. "Mr. Mortimer - e's upstairs, kipping. I can make ya some tea if ya like," she then offered. She must have been Mrs. Mortimer. But it seemed that Sophia's luck wasn't changing as there was a knock at the door and Mrs. Mortimer opened it up, only to find a constable. There was a bobby at the scene with the body, but more were coming into the area and this one was going around to get statements.
"Good evenin', madams," the constable greeted, looking at the two as he took off his hat. "I'm afraid there's been some trouble up the street...Did either of you see anythin'?"
"Trouble?" Mrs. Mortimer asked, looking at Sophia.
"Some tea would be great.." Sophia said as she gave the woman a friendly smile, as she stood there she wasn't going to turn down tea she assumed that Mr. Mortimer was either her husband or some kind of caretaker for the man. She thought about just leaving the house when the woman turned to get the tea for her. That's when she heard the knock on the door, as she turned around to face the door as it opened seeing a local constable in front of the door. "Good evening sir." She said giving him a slight smile, as she looked over towards where the body of Elizabeth Stride was located.
Sophia quickly started to think of a story, as to what had happened.
"I was just walking along the streets when I heard a scream. I came over to see what it was, and that's when I saw the body of that poor woman.." Sophia said softly.
"And did ya happen to see anyone, miss?" the constable asked, not even bothering to ask if Sophia knew the woman. There was no reason, in his mind, for a member of the upper class to be consorting with that sort. He found it slightly odd that she was with Mrs. Mortimer, someone that struck him as middle class, but he figured they could be distant relatives or something of the sort. It would explain how Sophia's accent struck him as strange.
Sophia shook her head towards the constable.
"I did not, i'm sorry if i'm not being much help." Sophia said towards the man, as she rubbed her arm slightly. She started to feel a little bit nervous she had a feeling that Nancy was standing nearby watching from a distance, she shifted slightly where she stood.
The constable nodded, before going over and speaking with Mrs. Mortimer. From the way he was standing, he actually blocked Mrs. Mortimer's view of the door. If there was ever a moment for Sophia to escape the house unnoticed, this would be it. Mrs. Mortimer was already talking the constable's ear off, being a gossip herself and enjoying the attention.
Sophia returned the nod towards the constable, and took a step to the side so that he could talk to Mrs. Mortimer she stood there for a few seconds. Seeing that the moment was now for her to sneak out of the house Sophia quickly and quietly left the small house, and quickly walked her way across the street. Seeing the alleyway that Nancy was at previously she quickly made her way over towards the area, where she last saw Nancy.
"Ya must've done better than I'd thought ya woulda, Lady 'arris," Nancy said with a smirk, but internally she was relieved to see Sophia come back in one piece.
"But lesson number one, alright? Finger on the throat means death." Sophia quietly sighed to herself seeing Nancy was still there and smiled slightly.
"I certainly screwed up, sorry I shouldn't have followed her inside and stuck closer to you." Sophia said, as she looked back towards where the body was, and then started to realize where they were now.
Nancy followed Sophia's eyes.
"'Ave ya figured it out then, luv?" she asked. They had about half of Sophia's time remaining in order to reach the destination. Not only was it the goal of the task, but it was also near where she had arranged with Giouse to have the portal be kept. She was certain that Sophia would be able to make it on time - and if not, well, London was lovely this time of year in Nancy's opinion.
Sophia took out the makeshift map that Nancy had made, and then looked at the closest street sign and at the body as she started to remember a little bit of something in history class.
"This is the Whitechapel District, the scene of one of Jack the Ripper's victims right?" Sophia asked, as she turned back to face Nancy.
She nodded, grinning at the young Paradox.
"Spot on, Lady 'Arris. Tonight is the night of the double murder - every bobby cop in this area is on patrol. And less than twelve minutes away, Catherine Eddowes is gonna be the next, ya see." She then made a slight shooing motion, indicating for Sophia to get a move on. Even though she'd successfully navigated the area so far, she still needed to get to the end point on the map.
Sophia smiled and nodded towards Nancy.
"Thank you Miss Parker." She said, as she looked down at the map once more, she didn't want to go towards the next scene of the murder, she then went forward with the map still out in the open as she continued down the path for the trail.
"Is there anything else I need to look for or stay away from while we are here Miss Parker?" Sophia asked, she didn't want to screw up anymore than she already had this evening.
"Ya really think I'm abouts to tell ya that?" Nancy asked with a laugh, following Sophia. There was a side road that allowed them to not be seen by the various constables in the area, but given that they were women, they were largely ignored and allowed to pass by peacefully. They received a few odd looks as to the locals, it seemed a lady was walking with a prostitute, but it wasn't the strangest thing to occur that night.
"Listen up, lady, when ya goin' out and about on missions and all, ya won't know all the time what to watch out for." Sophia smiled slightly and shrugged it was worth a shot trying to find out what, but she certainly wouldn't be able to get it out of her it seemed.
"Sorry I thought it was worth a shot on asking." Sophia said as she continued to follow the map, eventually heading down a small side road seeing some people stare at her, had made her feel a bit awkward. But she didn't say anything about it either, then Nancy spoke up again looking back at her and nodded. She was used to having to deal with the unexpected, it was what caused her to lose her hand as well.
"So always expect the unexpected and blend in with the locals then correct Miss Parker?" Sophia asked as she made it out of the side road.
"Don't apologize t' me. I'd ravver yer stand by yor actions than just default ter agreein' wiv wotever I say," Nancy explained, her voice still thick with a cockney accent. She was becoming a bit irritated with it herself. Her adopted accent of choice, at the moment, was that of a New Yorker. There was just something about that city in the 1940's that put a spring in her step.
"Do yer think that's correct, Lady 'arris, luv?" Nancy then asked pointedly. Mitre Square wasn't too far from their starting destination and the delay with Mrs. Mortimer had actually worked in Sophia's favor. The next Ripper killing had already been discovered and she didn't need to hear the screams from that loss of life.
Sophia smiled and nodded towards Nancy, as she continued to walk along the pointed trail aside from the Ripper Killings the night did seem to be fairly nice. It was certainly better than being nearly dropped twenty feet from her very first training session with Evelina, she looked back towards Nancy and then the map when she questioned.
"Yes I believe so Miss Parker." She said as they made it towards their destination finally, as Sophia noticed the portal back to Ville au Camp.
"Well tonight has been very interesting, thank you for everything." Sophia said giving Nancy a friendly smile, and then stepped through the portal once more and back to where they all currently lived.
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