Sherlock and Mycroft wandered through the market, their parents somewhere ahead of them, but they had no idea where. "We lost them, Myc..." Sherlock moaned.
Mycroft sighed and held his little brother's hand. "They'll find us. Sooner or later they'll realize we got caught in the crowds of Christmas shoppers and come back for us."
"I have some walnuts for when you start to get hungry," Sherlock offered.
"Ha. Ha ha. I'm laughing so hard." Mycroft sighed. "Look, we'll be fine. I promise."
An older kid with a flute in hand ran right in front of their path. Sherlock fell on his face into a mud puddle. Mycroft laughed and helped the boy up. Sherlock pouted. Mycroft rolled his eyes and continued their search for their parents. "They can't have just gotten into Santa's sleigh and flown off?" Sherlock queried.
Mycroft was about to say Santa wasn't real when he realized who he was talking to. "No, Santa's probably still at the North Pole; he needs to pack all the presents, after all."
Sherlock nodded. A dove flew overhead and a man chased it with a sword, screaming that he was going to kill it. Mycroft looked after him and shook his head. "There are all sorts of people 'round here, we need to find Mummy quickly."
"Yeah, or we might get trampled. Right, Myc? ...Myc?"
Mycroft didn't hear what his brother said. He was too busy looking at a leather bound journal in a nearby stall. "How much for the journal?" he asked.
The woman behind the stall looked at him and laughed, her voice like bells, but harsher and disbelieving. "You don't have the money for it, sweetheart," she sang.
"How much?" Mycroft insisted.
The woman sighed, "10 pounds."
Mycroft took out his allowance and groaned. "I only have 7!"
The woman sighed. "Well, then, I guess you won't be getting it, will you?"
Sherlock came up. "Wait!" he handed 3 pounds-half of his allowance-to his brother. "I got the other 3."
Mycroft smiled at Sherlock, gave the woman the money, and grabbed the journal, hugging it close. "Thanks, Sherlock. I owe you one," he grinned.
"You can pay me back by taking the blame for getting lost in this crowd when we find Mummy and Father."
Mycroft nodded. "It's a deal."
The two set off back in the crowd, determined to find their parents before their parents found them in an effort to get out of trouble for being lost.
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