A Game Of Hearts And Minds

CHAPTER XX - A game of hearts

After saying goodbye, we all left back to London with the helicopter. When we arrived back at Mycroft's mansion again and we got inside, Mycroft spoke. "Go back to the dressing room, you'll both be made ready." 

"Mysterious.." I joked and smirked at Mycroft as I ascended the stairs. When I rounded the corner into the dressing room, I stopped dead in my tracks as I saw all the people in the dressing room, four of them total, besides Mycroft, Sherlock and I. What the hell?

A professionally dressed woman with brown hair stepped forward and extended her hand for me to shake. From the way she carried herself and how she looked at Mycroft, it was easy to tell that she was in charge here, and that she worked for Mycroft for a little longer already. "Anthea." She introduced as I shook her hand.

"That's not your name." I deduced.

"I know." I chuckled at her casualness - yep, she clearly worked for Mycroft. She turned, gesturing to the other three in the room. She gestured to the first one on the far left, a tall, lanky man with blonde hair. "This is Claude - he'll be doing hair for the gentlemen.'"  The man nodded as 'Anthea' gestured to the other two. "And this are May and Lindsey - They'll be doing your hair and makeup!" The two girls smiled at me. 

I raised my eyebrows in suprise. I knew that Mycroft was dramatic, but I definitely hadn't expected a prep team. This must be one hell of a ball, but just exactly how high-scale? "Let's get the two of you seperated, shall we?" Anthea's said as she motioned between both me and Sherlock. Sherlock was led to another room by Claude and Mycroft, while me, Anthea, May and Lindsey stayed in our room. 

"Now that the gents are gone, let's take a look at your outfit." Anthea said while she winked at me. She walked over to the door to a walk-in closet and pulled it open. As the door opened, my jaw dropped to the floor in shock. Behind it, was a mannequin with the most stunning and elegant dress I had ever laid my eyes upon. It was blood red mixed with black, and floor lengh. It was a mermaid style and it would hug my figure in the most effective places. The whole dress was lightly beaded and draped in some areas. The top was low-cut and sleeveless, and the V-neck traced down all the way to the middle of my torso. Paired with it, were a set of polished, black heels with a red sole and there were blood-red earring paired with the dress. "You approve, I hope?" Anthea asked.

"Y- Yeah." I stuttered, still a tad bit shocked and still with my jaw basically dropped to the floor. 

About an hour later, I was basking in the glory that was me. The dress hugged my figure prefectly, and my makeup and hair were perfection. The eyeshadow om my eyelids was the exact same color as my dress, as was my lipstick and my hair was curled. Frankly, I was sure that I had never looked this good in my life. Now I know who I'll give a call the next time I need my makeup and hair done..

Then there was a knock at the door. My heart jumped in my chest, either because of excitement or because of random anxiety. "Lauraine?" Sherlock called out. " Lauraine, I'm done. Mycroft is waiting for us. We can leave!"

I smoothed my dress down and slipped my heels on. "Okay, coming!" I called out and hurried to the door, unlocking and opening it. I froze in place when I saw Sherlock, he seemed to freeze in place too. "Whoa." Was the only thing I could bring out. I allowed myself a second to take it all in. He looked absolutely amazing. His suit was completely black, and all of that made his pocket handkerchief stand out - it was the same blood-red as my dress. I moved my gaze to his hair, which had been thoroughly combed and styled so that his curls looked even more perfect that they normally did. 

"Enjoying the view, are we?" Sherlock joked, snapping me out of thoughts. I slapped him on the shoulder playfully. "Oh, shut up!" 

Sherlock chuckled and moved aside, gesturing for me to walk ahead of him. I see what you're doing there, Mr Holmes. As I passed, he leaned in and whispered in his baritone voice. "You look stunning, darling." For a moment, I thought that I was going to pass out. Fuck, that was hot. With that, he fell into step beside me, his hand on my lower back. The nerves tingled in my stomach. This could just be the most important night of our lives.