Snakes and Ladders

[smallhobbit]

Fandom: Sherlock BBC
Characters: John Watson, Sherlock Holmes
Rating: G
Word Count: 235
Notes: Written rapidly for the third day of the July Writing Prompts on watsons_woes
I have now decided to write the first few prompts as a linked fic, so we shall see where this goes
Part One: Feeding the Ducks
Part Two: The Rain It Raineth on the Just
Prompt: Games

Sherlock looked at the picture on John’s phone and then transferred it to his laptop so he could study it more carefully.

“There must be some significance to the watermark,” he said.

John peered over his shoulder.  “It looks like part of a snakes and ladders board.”

“A what?”

“Don’t tell me you never played snakes and ladders as a kid?”  Sherlock looked blankly at him.  “If you land at the foot of a ladder you climb up it and if you land on the head of a snake you slide down it.”

“How do you make sure you win?”

“You can’t; it’s entirely a game of chance.”

“In which case Mycroft would never have played it with me.  As far as he was concerned the only games worth playing were the ones he could guarantee to win.”

Sherlock returned to looking at the picture.  “Oh, now that is very interesting.”

John reread the wording on the flyer:  LET ME SHOW YOU MY NEW SNOW GLOBES.  GUARANTEED TO MAKE YOU SMILE.

“I can’t see anything worth noting.”

“What would happen if you were to slide down one of those snakes whilst I climbed up the ladder?”

“You would be a long way ahead of me in the game.”

“Correct.  Now look at the words on the heads of the two snakes and at the foot of the ladder.”

John read out loud, “SHOW, GLOBES, SMILE.  Oh!”