He was nine years old when he first met Molly Hooper; she was seven. She was a wild beauty if ever he saw one, running around barefoot through the open field of daisies with nothing but a sundress and her chestnut hair in braided pigtails, a flower crown atop her head.
"Hey, why aren't you wearing any shoes?" he asked.
"Because the grass feels good between my toes!" she answered enthusiastically. "Try it!" Reluctantly, Sherlock slipped off his shoes and socks, scrunching his toes in the green blades.
"S'not so bad," he remarked.
"The flowers tickle too," she smiled. "What's your name?"
"William Sherlock Scott Holmes, at your service, madam," he bowed with a flourish, eliciting a soft giggle from her lips.
"Nice to meet you, William," Molly extended her hand. "I'm Margaret Elizabeth Hooper, but you can call me Molly."
"Do you wanna play pirates?" Sherlock asked.
"Sure! What's your pirate name?" she questioned.
"Yellowbeard," he answered. "What's yours?"
"Make one up for me," she insisted.
"Wild beauty," was his reply, making her blush. As Yellowbeard, he attempted to go after her treasure.
"If you want my treasure, then you must do a dare," she told him. "And I dare you to kiss me." Sherlock's eyes widened much to her amusement. He leaned in further to her already puckered lips, but Molly ran as he tried.
"Hey, that's not fair," he pouted.
"I'm a pirate; I'm not supposed to be fair," she teased. He couldn't argue with that.
The following weekend, they met up again to play pirates. This time they were working together, running from an imagined group of redcoats. All was fine until Molly had tripped over a tree root and caught herself with her left wrist, twisting it at a bad angle. Her tears came immediately and Sherlock rushed over to comfort her.
"Come on, my house is closer, my mum can fix you right up," he assured her. "Here, mum always says a kiss can make it all better." Without any hesitations, he kissed her wrist before helping her up and taking her to his mother.
"Okay, this time, I'm going to be Princess Molly who rescues her true love, the pirate, Yellowbeard!" she exclaimed.
"Pirates don't belong with princesses," Sherlock said, his arms crossed.
"Who says? Pirates deserve to be loved too," Molly told him. This made him smile.
For a year, they were thick as thieves, playing pirates in the field that separated their houses every weekend, up until the day she disappeared. He was sad to not find her waiting for him like usual, but he did find a treasure map drawn in her hand, held down by a heavy rock. Sherlock followed it to the willow tree that they used to sit under where an 'X' made of pebbles marked the spot. He dug through the dirt to find a small chest, and inside was a flower crown of daisies that his mum helped him press and he's kept it ever since.
Author's Note: You'll find out why Molly disappeared in the next chapter, when they meet again as teenagers.