Cheshire was squished between Sherlock and the back of his chair. Her older brother was thinking about a human trafficking case. John was with his baby on a vacation out of the country in Italy. After Mary and Eurus, Sherlock could understand that the man needed a bit of alone time. Mycroft went on a vacation because everyone was forcing him to. He was sending them a photos of his time in beautiful Peru. Cheshire was pressing everyone to take her to Japan or India to take in culture and try new foods. Sherlock wanted to go to Romania to look into the legends of vampires and the history. Of course, they didn't have the money like John having an army pension and checks from working in a hospital. Sherlock leaned back, squishing his sister, and sighed. Well, they were bored and they both predicted that nothing would happen for weeks. John was allowed a month's vacation and Mycroft was gone for two months to tour parts of South America. From what they were told, both vacationers were having a blast.
"Sherlock. Bored." Cheshire whined.
"I know, sister mine." Sherlock groaned.
Mrs. Hudson made them clean the flat and they oddly did as they were told. That worried the old woman and she called John about it and then Mycroft. She was on a conference call with them for hours even after the cleaning.
"Lisa even did her laundry! That's how bad the crime rate dropped. Both are bored and I even saw Sherlock have a bag of crisps!" Mrs. Hudson exclaimed.
"I think this might be a good thing. They're so bored that they're taking care of themselves." John commented.
"I agree. Are they treating each other well? They used to prank each other whenever they had nothing better to do." Mycroft asked.
"No, Cheshire's between Sherlock and the back of his chair. He's doing something in his Mind Palace and she's whining that she's bored. I think she doesn't even have anything to think about!" The old landlady said incredulously.
The two asked for her to update them and she told them to wait. She went up the stairs and saw Cheshire asleep and Sherlock looking ready to pass out. Mycroft sighed and said he had an idea. He texted Sherlock and told him he would fund a trip, but his siblings would have to either do something to choose where and tell him what they wanted to do. When Sherlock told Cheshire his idea about Romania, she was on the boat from the beginning. They packed their things, gave their goodbyes to Mrs. Hudson, promised her gifts, and left soon after they actually had dinner. Cheshire forgot her phone and ran back to get it before running after her big brother. Mycroft got them a private plane and soon they were trading legends they heard. Cheshire had Bram Stoker's Dracula even though Sherlock rolled his eyes and told her about Vlad the Impaler. They kept talking and planning a vampire hunt. It was Cheshire's idea if they got bored at one point.
It was cliché when it started to rain when they landed. They were put into a private cottage Mycroft rented for them. Cheshire claimed the master bedroom for the master bath. Sherlock as content with that because in her excitement she didn't realize there were two of them. The cottage was cozy and a fire was lit for them when they had first arrived. They were close to Vlad Draco's castle. Vlad Draco was known as Vlad the Impaler and Sherlock smiled when he saw it.
"He knows us so well." Cheshire giggled as she came over. She saw a bowl of garlic and wooden knives.
"I know. Think we can take a night tour?" Sherlock inquired.
"A stupid common one or a private one to see if we can find an actual vampire?" Cheshire deadpanned.
"The fun one." Sherlock grinned.
They got torches and decided to heed the legends and take the garlic with them. They walked to the castle and kept an eye out for things that would get in their way. Sherlock felt like they did this before. Well, he and Mycroft when they were children. They found an abandoned house and searched around it for any 'treasures' that were left behind. They were spooked when a mirror snapped and they ran off as quick as foxes in a hunt. This was years before Cheshire and they hadn't told her a thing about it. They didn't because they didn't do anything to break a mirror that was in a bathroom they hadn't passed. They returned what they took which was just some small toys and a necklace they wanted to give to their mother. This little ghost hunt was with his little sister and he was more than happy to play her hero if something came up and attacked them. Sherlock liked being a big brother and visited Eurus a few times. He even took Cheshire once and the two girls started to hit it off quickly. Cheshire taught Eurus sign, so they were able to communicate even when she didn't want to talk. Sherlock and Eurus would play their violins and Cheshire would just write a story. Her latest one was about her siblings. Except, Mycroft and Sherlock were girls and Eurus was the older brother.
At the moment, Cheshire jumped high into the air when a twig snapped under her foot. Sherlock smiled and laughed as quietly as he could. They felt giddier than they ever had in years, so this felt nice to laugh at each other. Cheshire got her revenge by grabbing a stick and poking her older brother's back. He was too tense with adrenaline to not take account of the action, so he jumped as well. They felt like children and they wouldn't have it any other way if it meant they weren't bored. Also, they were out of a boring city where no one was doing anything interesting enough. Cheshire didn't feel easy. She grabbed Sherlock's hand and was paranoid as she looked around. Sherlock smirked and held her hand back.
"Vampires aren't real, Chessie." Sherlock teased.
"Then why are we here?" She asked. Cheshire couldn't help the shake in her voice.
"Curiosity? Who knows what archaeologists missed searching these grounds." Sherlock chuckled.
"I call a shiny thing." Cheshire said as she shivered. "I feel like we went through a cold front." Sherlock stopped with a sigh and put his coat on his baby sister. Cheshire put the collar of it on her head and put her torch light on her face. "Where too, brother mine?" She mocked Igor's voice.
"This way, sister dear." Sherlock mocked Count Dracula.
They laughed a little and kept searching. Cheshire adjusted the coat and felt like she was wearing a cape. They wondered through the halls and used their phones to take pictures with the flash on. They had the brightness on their phones high and that's when Sherlock saw something on the top of one photo. Cheshire shivered when he showed her the ghostly face. Cheshire squeezed his hand. Sherlock hummed. He had a bad feeling, but he wanted some sort of thing for his fire mantel back in the flat. His stubbornness one over his bad feeling, so they continued. Cheshire heard something bang and jumped. Sherlock squeezed her hand and then his torch went out. He took Cheshire's and lead them through. He felt something touch his arm.
"Cheshire, did you touch me?" He asked.
"No, but it looks like there's a spider on your shoulder." Cheshire said as she flicked the bug off his shoulder. It wasn't the shoulder he felt touched. Cheshire felt something move her hair behind her ear. "Sherlock… Something just moved my hair."
Sherlock put his arm around her and she hugged her close. Even he was getting freaked out. They kept going around and saw very little. It wasn't until Cheshire found a little silver crucifix that she started to hug that made them leave. Sherlock made her put it back just in case. He wasn't superstitious. He made up something to get her to put it back and feel safe about it. They got back to the cottage and went to bed soon after. Cheshire couldn't sleep. She wrote fiction and lived for the supernatural or anything that involved research and mythology. She got up and crawled next to her brother who was watching the living fire in the fireplace. She got under his arm and fell asleep feeling comforted as Sherlock played with her hair fondly.
In the morning, Cheshire made herself a hot chocolate as Sherlock made tea. She had used a permanent marker and drew a cross on her left wrist and over her heart. She made Sherlock wear one too over his heart and on the back of his neck were his curls could hide it. He explained to her about all the facts that vampires and other supernatural creatures couldn't exist. Especially vampires considering where they were.
"Whatever was touching us last night could've followed us since I held the crucifix for a bit. I want to keep you protected, big brother." Cheshire sighed.
"I won't believe you, but I'll humor you." Sherlock groaned. He got a relieved smile at that, so he kissed the top of her head and got ready to go out. "Come on. You wanted to find some gifts and take in the culture."
Cheshire got dressed in something that showed off her figure: skinny jeans, a dark blue v-neck, and slightly heeled booties. They walked to a nearby town and the older watched the younger marvel at the difference in London, American, and Romanian cultures as she compared them together. Sherlock tried some sweets and found he liked mere coapte, a baked apple stuffed with almonds. Cheshire found the recipe and decided to see if Mycroft would eat them and Mrs. Hudson could try something new with her sister. She got little dolls for Rosemund, Eurus, and Mrs. Hudson. Sherlock decided to send Mycroft his thanks and got him a couple wood carvings that looked like something he'd like. He got a custom job of a pack of four wolves curled together and an owl in a tree. Cheshire saw a little silver necklace and admired the dark red stone stuck in the middle of a silver bat. It was spread out and looked like it would attack with its mouth open to show fangs. The eyes were mad and were also rubies. Sherlock saw how she eyed it and decided to purchase it.
"Good choice, sir," the merchant said in his thick accent, "the little one will love her gift."
Sherlock smirked and took the little box the bat necklace was stowed away in. Cheshire was too busy trying new sweets and teas to notice. They kept mulling about until about late afternoon. Sherlock decided that it was the best time when the light will permeate the castle and they could feel a bit safer. Cheshire was more eager knowing that second adventure wouldn't be in the dead of night. The older brother would show her the necklace after she had dinner. He noticed she was trying to eat more than usual, so he decided to help her out a bit with that. Cheshire also wanted him to figure out how to cook on his own, so she helped with that. They went to a highly rated local restaurant and tried new dishes. Since they were tourists, the owners decided to flood them with food to help them get a taste of Romania. Cheshire couldn't stop eating the stufat de miel, a lamb stew and the owners, silently keeping to themselves, kept feeding her. They thought she and Sherlock were too skinny and that was typical since everyone thought the same no matter where they were. Sherlock couldn't eat another meatball even if his life depended on it. Cheshire made him eat, so the owners wouldn't feel disrespected. One bite and his body betrayed him by making him stuff himself full.