Horatio was feeling damn right confused. And that was an understatement. He felt so confused that he forgot to call Hamlet,"my lord"(which made him happy) and said,"Hamlet,what is happening? Who are these people and why do two of them look like you?"

Hamlet sighed,"That's what I would like to know as well,Horatio. Sit down and let's hear their tale."

Yes,hear. This might save your life one day.

The three strangers introduced themselves and began to explain. Said explanation took an hour.

"So we decided to take a vacation and ended up here."

Hamlet blinked slowly and leaned against the tree.

"So you people have come to take a vacation to a place where you could be hanged for sorcery?"Horatio said incredulously.

"They won't be,Horatio. I will make sure of that." Hamlet finally said. "However,Horatio,would you mind accompanying me to the palace to bring suitable clothes for them? Otherwise Father**** might find the entire thing fishy."

Yeah,good thing that this prince has a talent for acting too.

Horatio nodded. He perfectly well knew that Hamlet wanted to go in the palace to discuss with him the entire situation and make up a cover story while they were at it. Now the question was where the hell would they get those clothes? Hamlet assured him that it would be easy enough.

Once the Prince and his best friend were out of earshot,John sighed and said,

"This was so damn weird."

"That would be an understatement." Strange said wryly.

Sherlock was unresponsive as he had gone into his mind palace. The other two talked for quite some time before Sherlock heaved a sigh.

"What's wrong?"

"Everything."

After that they could not get a single word out of him.

This was completely out of character for the world's only unofficial consulting detective but maybe the new surroundings had thrown him off.

Actually,Sherlock was thinking how it could never have been a coincidence and was trying to figure out who was trying to play this prank on them. He however lacked one thing. Knowledge on the people whose magic was powerful enough to manipulate Strange's portals. This was frustrating him to no end and that was the main reason for his bad mood.

Well they had warned me that this Holmes was too smart for his own good but he is a valuable asset.

This thought had crossed John and Strange's mind as well but they had dismissed it in the favor of accidental magic.

John asked Strange,"So you really bargained with a megalomaniac Dark deity?"

Strange raised an eyebrow,"Why would I lie?"

That's a touchy subject.

John scratched his head trying to think of a proper reply when Strange said,"And did you really run around London in pursuit of a cab?"

John flushed and nodded.

They continued talking which eventually ended up in medicine.

So this is what happens when two doctors meet... Hmm....

Sherlock was ready to tear out his hair in frustration when Hamlet and Horatio returned panting. Their hair was tousled and both looked as if they had run a marathon.

Probably they had.

Hamlet threw the clothes to them and said,"Follow me. You should not get discovered."

Strange said,"I can cast an invisibility spell if you want."

Hamlet and Horatio exchanged a look(they did that quite often) and Hamlet nodded(Strange remembered Hamlet talking non-stop in the play but here he seemed to be a man of few words). Sherlock got up and bade them follow as Strange made them invisible.

Smart move.

They trekked through the castle and changed their clothes just as the lunch announcement was made. Well...

Its fancier back home. With escorts.

Hamlet sat on the right side of his father,King Hamlet. Horatio sat beside him,looking incredibly uncomfortable(Hamlet had said,"You are my best friend and are going to sit beside me,not any lord.") and Sherlock,Strange and John stood, looking out of place despite their medieval outfits.

King Hamlet said,"Who are these strangers,my son?"

"Friends of mine from the university,father."

King Hamlet looked skeptical,"And may I inquire why haven't I heard of them before?"

Queen Gertrude nodded,"The only friend you do talk about is Horatio and mention Rosencrantz and Guildestern in the passing."

Horatio wanted to disappear then and there when all the hall's eyes fell on him.

Hamlet spoke up,wishing to spare Horatio the embarrassment and said,"I met with them this semester."

"And became good friends enough to invite them over?"Claudius's skeptical voice could be heard.

"Yes,"Hamlet replied forcefully.

"And amusingly two of them look quite similar to you."

Well in another universe the three of them are played by the same actor.

" Anyways,it does not do well to have our guests standing. Pray sit down."

Yes do,you need to be well fed to do what you have to do.

They sat down, still looking quite a bit out of place.

King Hamlet said,"And what might your names be?"

They said their names. Well...

Disaster struck when Ophelia entered the hall*. Sherlock took one look at her and fainted.** John looked incredibly pale while Strange gulped(Well he loved to gulp).

Ophelia said,"What's wrong?"

John and Strange began,"Sherlock has the..."

"Falling sickness,"finished Horatio.

Claudius inquired,"Like the great Caesar?"

"I played Caesar in my college." Polonius was being Polonius and no one but Claudius paid him any attention.

The queen said,"Oh my God. And he took this long journey just to see you,son. He must really love you."

The good news was that they got a sufficient cover story. The bad news was that Hamlet started coughing without stopping. Horatio patted him on the back while biting his own lip to refrain from laughing.

John said,"Indeed he could not wait for two months to see Hamlet,his best friend. He kept bugging our parents until they agreed to let him go."

Claudius said,"So you are siblings?"

Strange said,"Yes,Sherlock and I are twins and John is a year younger than us."

"I see."

Hamlet's coughing increased,while Horatio wondered whether it was possible to burst from suppressed laughter. The situation was funnier than any comedy he had ever watched.

Ophelia looked from Hamlet to Sherlock to Horatio. She took a glass of water and sprinkled the water on Sherlock,who regained consciousness.

Can't really blame him. Who expects to see his psychopath sister's lookalike on a vacation and that too in this era? I would have fainted had it been mine.

Sherlock looked around wildly when Strange shook him and said,"Ah,good to see that you have recovered. Your falling sickness needs immediate treatment." Sherlock blinked once and then said,"It does but I haven't found a good doctor until now."

"Ah,you can visit our palace physician. We would be happy to help such a good friend of Hamlet." Queen Gertrude said kindly.

Sherlock said,"Ah that is very kind of you but I do not mean to impose...."

"Nonsense,we are honored that Hamlet is so loved." King Hamlet said evenly. Ophelia sat down between Hamlet and Horatio and whispered in Hamlet's ear,"I demand a full explanation,Mr."***Hamlet immediately stopped coughing and nodded. Ophelia looked satisfied but Polonius went and ruined the moment.

That meddling man.

"Ophelia,why are you sitting beside the Prince? Come and sit by me." Polonius called out.

Ophelia sighed but followed his orders.

Seriously this man is so annoying and he doesn't even think how much he is controlling his own daughter and preventing her happiness.

When Strange lifted his hand after the formalities were done,Claudius noticed that it was trembling a bit. He wondered what was wrong with it.

There was no more trouble during lunch but when the King and his entourage had exited leaving Hamlet,Horatio,Sherlock,John,Strange and Ophelia behind,Hamlet smacked Sherlock on the back.

"What?"

"This is the payment for making me cough like an idiot."

*I perhaps overdid Sherlock's reaction a bit but I think that he really would get a shock.
**Ophelia is played by Sian Brooke who also played Eurus Holmes in Sherlock.
***Okay,I was a bit miffed with the treatment of women in the play so I gave Ophelia this kind of a personality.... Really,what else would you expect from a girl who made Cassius terrified of his wife and heights?
****In case it hasn't been clear,this story takes place before the play Hamlet:Prince of Denmark.