"Come on," she said. "Let's go check in on Freya. See if she's identified what stabbed out victim." She turned and bowed formally to the old coroner. "It's been a pleasure as always William," then she swept out the door. Bailey gave a derisive snort. Merlin followed Iris out and hopped into the elevator.
They went up one floor and stepped off onto Freya's floor. The sounds of showtunes echoed down the hallway. They followed the noise to their source, Freya's lab. She was currently looking at something through a microscope and humming along to a song from Funny Girl.
"Hey Freya," Merlin said. The girl jumped and whirled around, wide-eyed.
"Why would you do that?" She exclaimed, clutching dramatically at her chest.
"If you didn't have your music so loud you would have heard us," Merlin replied, practically shouting over the song. Freya reached behind her and grabbed her phone, turning down the music to a volume that normal human ears could handle.
"I wasn't expecting you guys. I would have called when I was ready."
"We were on our way up from Bailey," Iris said, smiling. "Aren't you happy to see me?" Merlin rolled his eyes, but Freya was positively beaming.
"I'm always happy to see you." Iris returned the grin. They stayed staring at each other until Merlin finally cleared his throat.
"Right," Iris said, coming to her senses. "What do you have for us Freya?" Freya turned back to her microscope.
"Absolutely nothing. The shards of metal that Bailey sent up definitely came from a sword, but I'm gonna need more time for my machines to figure out the details. There is some kind of weird alloy on the metal though." Freya looked into the microscope again. "I told you I'd let you know when I had something. These things take time."
"What about the dress?" Iris asked, not being dissuaded.
"I haven't had a chance to look at it." Freya looked at them again and gestured to the evidence bag that held the black gown. "You're welcome to take a look. There are gloves over on that table." Merlin and Iris retrieved gloves and then Iris removed the dress from the bag, spreading it out over the table.
"Where would one even get a dress like this? It has to be custom made right?" Iris observed.
"It's hand stitched," Merlin replied before he could think better of it. Both Iris and Freya looked at him, surprised.
"How do you know?" Freya asked.
"It's obvious," Merlin said defensively. "Just look at it. Machine stitching doesn't look like this." Merlin examined the stitching closely. "Whoever did it knew what they were doing to."
"And how do you know what you're doing?" Iris asked. Being Arthur's servant for those years hadn't all been for nothing.
"I used to sew." This fact seemed to surprise Iris more than anything he'd ever said because her eyes grew wide and her mouth hung open slightly. "Now really, there's no need to gape. So I know how to sew. So what?"
"How did I not know this about you?" Iris asked incredulously.
"You never asked?" She snorted.
"Woah," Freya breathed. She had gone back to examining the shards. Merlin and Iris left the dress on the table.
"What's up?" Iris asked. Freya looked at them, then back through the microscope.
"There's something on here. An isotope I've never seen before, comprised of elements that don't exist." The excitement in her eyes was unmistakable.
YOU ARE READING
Something Old, Something New
FanfictionMerlin had long since given up that Arthur would return. He had moved on with his life, and was currently a detective in London. It was the year 2021, and Merlin was doing fine. He had friends. A best friend even, Iris, who was also his partner. He...
