Something Old, Something New

4

The sword clattered as Merlin dropped it on the table none-to-gently.

"Shouldn't you be more careful with that? It's over a thousand years old isn't it?" Freya asked, wincing at the loud sound that the metal on metal made.

"It's survived this long," Merlin replied. "Just make your comparison pleas." Freya looked a little bit hurt about his snippy tone, but he would apologize later.

"So, we're not gonna talk about why you have a medieval sword lying around?" Iris asked. She was leaning against the counter. 

"No we are not." Freya and Iris exchanged a look. 

"But-" Iris started.

"Drop it." She opened her mouth but Johnson stepped in.

"Perhaps we should focus on the sword right now." Merlin sent him a grateful look, and Iris looked livid. Merlin thought that this case might well be the end of their friendship. Oh well. It would have to happen eventually. He'd move on from the job, possibly the entire country, then he'd stop talking to her. She'd be mad, and hurt, and sad, and then she'd move on and forget about him. 

"Fine," Iris said, and Freya stepped forward. She looked at Merlin.

"May I?" Merlin shrugged.

"It's not made of glass." Freya sighed and picked up the sword by the hilt. From the moment that Merlin had met Freya, he hadn't been able to help comparing her to the girl he had known earlier in his life. They looked similar. This Freya also had caramel brown hair and tan skin, but they acted completely different. The Freya that Merlin had known was sad, and damaged, and ready to die. This Freya was light and bubbly and excited about life. Aside from their similar looks, they were completely different people, and Merlin was glad for that. He didn't need any connections to his old life, especially coincidental ones. 

Freya looked it over carefully, then placed the blade back on the table. She took a magnifying glass and examined every inch of it. Her lips were set in a thin line.

"There's that weird glowing stuff on this too." Merlin had been afraid that she would notice that. 

"Maybe it's just something they used to use to make swords," he suggested weakly. Freya looked like she didn't believe him for a second. Iris picked up the magnifying glass.

"I don't see anything." That was interesting. 

"You don't?" Freya asked. Iris shook her head. 

"Huh. Maybe I've just been staring at those shards for too long." Iris seemed to shake it off. She went back to look at the shards. "Well, it looks like these swords are definitely from the same time period." Merlin nodded. He had feared as much. There had been one other sword like his, forged in a dragon's breath.

"I have to go," he said suddenly. 

"What?" Iris exclaimed at the same time as agent Smith. She looked furious that she and the agent had been on the same page.

"I'll be back." He practically sprinted out of the room. He vaguely heard Smith telling Johnson to follow him. He didn't care. He ran into the elevator, and the doors closed before Johnson could get to him. He caught his breath and managed to walk out of the precinct at a normal pace, right to a trash can, where he promptly threw up. Merlin wiped his mouth on his shirt and caught his breath again. 

"Are you alright?" Johnson asked. Merlin had sensed him walking up behind him. Whatever had shielded the druid from him before apparently didn't work now that Merlin knew about him. 

"The only other sword like Excalibur was Morgana's. It's the one that Mordred used to kill Arthur." Johnson's mouth made a little 'o.'

"What are you going to do?" Merlin took a deep breath and collected himself.