Iris Blue, Am I In Love With You? (Childhood/Teens)

Christmas Special, Pt. 2

--------------------------------------------------------{Christmas Special}---------------------------------------------------------------

First Christmas (December 1866)

Anne's scream pierced the air before the two were underwater, feeling like they were being stabbed with thousands of needles. The icy water below the pond engulfed the two girls for what seemed like forever, before gravity pushed them back up into the warmer air for much needed oxygen.

"Help!"

Stella's cry came out as only a whisper, the shock of the cold water having taken her breath out of her lungs. Louder yells and shouts for help could be heard around her, along with a thrashing of the arms as both Anne and Stella struggled to stay afloat. Thank the heavens Stella had taught her and Sherlock how to swim that summer, or she would be trying to hold Anne up in this chaos as well.

"STELLA! ANNE!"

Her eyes flew open as she heard Jeremy's shout break open her thoughts, the sheer volume drowning out the other voice around them, and the panic that flooded her body. She darted her head around to see her brother nearby, Sherlock crawling beside him, the latter carefully feeling and inspecting the ice as he drew closer.

"Focus on us! Reach for us!"

Water began to soak into the two girls dresses and coats, Stella beginning to feel the weight shifting and dragging her down into the depths. Anne let out a squeak in panic, beginning to thrash even harder as she felt the same.

"Anne! Calm down and swim to me! Kick your legs! Stella, go to Sherlock!"

Stella grabbed the ice, positioning herself to not kick Anne before she followed Jeremy's orders. Her arms slipped around on the ice as she kept herself in position on the edge, catching a glimpse of Mycroft speeding up behind the two boys. He dropped to a slide as he neared them, scanning the ice around him before sitting, digging his skates in the ice, and grabbing one of each of the boys ankles.

Sherlock's eyes locked on Stella's as Anne finally caught her grip on the edge of her ice, all thin edges having fallen off in their chaotic attempts to stay afloat. Behind him, Stella caught a glimpse of others piling behind Mycroft, forming a human chain to help the boys pull the girls out.

"Anne, Stella, grab the scarves!"

Sherlock threw his looped scarf toward Stella after Jeremy shouted, watching carefully as she desperately grabbed the warm fabric.

"Loop your hand through it, it'll be sturdier."

Stella's eyes dropped to the scarf once more at Sherlock's words, and began to wriggle her right hand through the loop before grabbing the fabric on the other side. Sherlock darted his eyes to Anne for a split second before returning to Stella's.

"Now, swim toward me, Anne!"

"PULL!"

Mycroft's shout put the whole line into action, his skates scrambling for purchase on the ice each inch they moved. The two girls fought and pushed as hard as they could to get themselves free, eventually feeling their bodies slide onto the hard surface and out of the water. Both of Anne's hands stayed locked onto Jeremy's scarf until long after they were out of the water, but as soon as she could manage it, Stella wrapped her left hand around Sherlock's wrist and hung on for dear life.

"STOP! They're out!"

As soon as Mycroft let them go, the two boys scrambled over the girls and tugged them closer, even further from the gaping hole in the ice and into their warmth. Within seconds, Ivan and Pierre were both beside the children, pulling off their coats to wrap around the girls.