It was just a regular morning for Sherlock and John. A coffee and newspaper in their hands and sitting in their respective armchair, both wondering what sort of day that day could be. It was a regular morning until a dazzling blue light encased the duo, blinding them. Today would not be a normal day…
"Stay calm and don't panic." A voice says above Sherlock. Slowly, the detective opens his eyes to reveal the world in a slight blur.
"Wait a few moments before you sit up." another kinder, feminine voice says as Sherlock's vision turns back to normal. He feels the cold hardness of the floor beneath him and the sight of a man with big ears, pale skin, black hair and a red neckerchief around his neck looming over him.
"Hello. Do you need some help sitting up?" the man asks and Sherlock nods slightly. The man assists him and as Sherlock sits up, his head begins to spin slightly.
"What happened? Where's John? Who are you?" Sherlock asks.
"I'm Merlin. Your friend is over there. Don't worry Gwen is helping him."
"Sherlock, where are we?" John asks placing his hand on his forehead.
"I have no idea…" Sherlock says and looks up at Merlin.
"Let's get you up first shall we?" Merlin looks at the woman tending to John. Gwen. "Gwen makes sure he is ok to stand." Merlin turns back to Sherlock. "Are you ok to stand?" Sherlock nods and Merlin assists him to stand. Gwen does the same for John.
Sherlock begins to scan his surroundings. 'This is no place from our time. But time travel is impossible! Let's see. Castle, not very old looking but back home would certainly be in ruins. Candle holders – far from the discovery of electricity. Long hall, perhaps the great hall – all castles had one to receive visitors. The woman – Gwen – quite finely dressed. Dress suggests noble from middle ages perhaps? Blonde haired man in background. Red cloak with dragon on the side? I haven't seen that crest before…'
"Where are we?" John asks Merlin. The blonde haired man steps forward and Gwen goes to him, threading her hand through his.
"Welcome to Camelot. I am King Arthur Pendragon and this is my wife, Queen Guinevere." Arthur says.
"I'm Merlin. Sorry about the journey here. I used my powers to asks for a detective of some sorts and then you appeared. Strange clothes I must say." Merlin says.
"Who are you?" Gwen asks. "I have never seen you before."
"Forgive me my lady." Sherlock says taking a step forward and John stands by his side. "My name is Sherlock Holmes and this is my friend John Watson." He inclines his head slightly in respect to the two royals before him.
"Wait a minute." John says. "You are King Arthur, beside you is your wife Guinevere and we are in Camelot."
"Yes…" Arthur says,
"So you have a round table, a magical sword called Excalibur and eventually your wife will run off with your best friend and knight Lancelot." John says.
Merlin and Arthur's eyes widen whilst Gwen's fill with tears. Her grip on Arthur's hand falters until it hangs limply by her side. Sherlock notices Gwen's reaction.
"John, step back a few paces." Sherlock says quietly. John does as Sherlock says and Merlin sighs.
"Lancelot is dead." Gwen says in a shaky voice. "He died a few years ago John. Yes, I may have had some feelings for him in the past, but my heart belongs to Arthur now. Has done for many years and will continue to do so until I die and my body grows cold in the crypts below us."
Arthur places his arm across Gwen's shoulders and draws her into his chest. She wraps her arm around his waist and Arthur kisses her head.
"Lancelot is a sore subject to us all, especially my wife." Arthur says. "I would appreciate if you refrained from speaking about him."
"Oh yeah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." John says.
Sherlock turns to Merlin. "So why did you use your magic to summon a detective. Something must be happening that even Merlin the most powerful wizard ever couldn't understand." He says.
"There have been strange occurrences in the town that cannot be explained. We have been down to investigate. Illness has spread and it is nothing myself and the court physician Gaius, can explain. It is nothing we have seen before and I cannot sense any magic being used within the 5 kingdoms." Merlin explains.
"Well, Sherlock is amazing at this sort of thing." John says. Sherlock turns his head towards his best friend.
"How does being a high functioning sociopath mean that my work is amazing?" Sherlock asks.
"Sorry Sherlock," Merlin says interrupting the strange duo. "But what is a high functioning sociopath?"
Before Sherlock can speak, John says, "It is fancy for detective."
Merlin nods and looks to his best friends. Gwen is still cocooned within Arthur's arms.
The doors suddenly open and a woman with a small 2 year old boy on her hip half runs in out of breath. The boy is crying loudly.
Gwen removes herself from Arthur's arms and runs towards the woman upon hearing the boy's cries. She quickly wipes her eyes with the back of her hand and takes the boy in her arms.
"What happened?" Arthur asks as Gwen tries to calm her son.
"We were in the town and as we were walking, someone just fell over next to Amhar. He just fell down dead! As soon as it happened, I grabbed the Prince and ran here. He has been screaming for you all the way." The nurse exclaims.
Arthur looks at Gwen who has now calmed their son and rests his head on her shoulder.
John leans towards Sherlock. "King Arthur and Guinevere never had children did they?" he asks.
"No. This is a legend so it must be pretty far back in time and been distorted along the way. That is human nature." Sherlock guesses.
Small "Mama, mama, mama" s are heard coming from the little Prince's mouth as he cuddles up against his mother. Gwen kisses his forehead and walks up to his nurse.
"Thank you Alice for bringing him to me. You can go, he is very clingy and will be for a while."
The nurse bows to both her King and Queen then leaves.
"Would you like me to take a look at things in your town?" Sherlock asks. "Perhaps I may be able to come up with some solutions."
Arthur places a protective gaze over his family then nods. He walks up to Gwen and places a hand on the back of his son's head which causes him to look up towards his father.
"I'm going to take Sherlock and John to the town, maybe they may know what is happening." Arthur says.
"Be careful Arthur." Gwen says and Arthur smiles in reply. Arthur looks to his son.
"Will you look after mama for me Amhar?" Arthur asks softly.
"Dada. Amhar protect." The two year old says.
"That's my boy." Arthur kisses both Amhar and Gwen's foreheads then leaves the great hall with Merlin, Sherlock and John in tow.
Sherlock examines the body lying in the street. 'No smell of intoxication so he wasn't drunk. Simple villager, simple clothes. But traces of red around his lips.' Sherlock snaps on the spare pair of latex gloves he keep in his pocket and wipes his finger across the corner of the man's lip. The red liquid stains the glove and Sherlock lifts his finger to his nose.
'Smell is similar to berries.' Sherlock thinks. He stands and faces Arthur and Merlin whilst John examines the body further.
"Have there been any new varieties of berries around here at all?" Sherlock asks Arthur and Merlin.
"Well, a man said that he found a new berry in the woods that looked similar to a strawberry. His had eaten a couple and is still alive." Merlin says.
"Where is he?" John asks after he has finished his examination. Merlin turns and points to a man standing at his stall arranging a collection of berries.
"That's him over there." Merlin says.
Sherlock runs over to the man and takes one of the berries despite the protest of the man.
"Where did you get these berries from?" Sherlock asks.
"Excuse me? Who are you?" The man asks Sherlock looking at his 'funny' clothing.
He sees the King making his way over and her bows dramatically. "My lord."
"Please answer this man's questions my good Sir. He is here to help us all." Arthur says.
"I was scouting along the edge of the woods near the city walls Sir. I spotted a large patch of the berries and tried one myself. I felt fine and collected most of them. After a day or two and not feeling any different, I started to sell them. Strawberries are hard to find this time of year and they look similar enough." The man explains.
"Where abouts on the edge Peter?" Merlin asks.
"Go straight from the city gates Merlin. That is where I found them." Peter – now named to Sherlock, John and Arthur – says.
"Thank you Peter. Also just to be on the safe side, could you not sell these berries any more." Arthur says this time.
"Of course my lord."
Merlin then leads the way with Arthur in front of Sherlock and John.
"Do you think these berries are the cause?" John asks Sherlock quietly.
"I do. This is the problem with these times John," Sherlock says quiet enough so Merlin and Arthur don't hear. "They don't have as much knowledge as we do with poisons in our time. They are only just starting to grasp the concepts."
"Here we are!" Merlin announces suddenly.
Sherlock crouches down and looks at the area surrounding the plant which is currently carrying more of the possibly poison berries. He notices blue roots sprouting out from around the leaves.
"This is the cause, I'm sure of it." Sherlock says.
"How can you tell?" Merlin asks crouching beside Sherlock.
"See these." Sherlock says pointing to the blue roots. "No plants if they are not poisonous will ever have blue roots. This is the cause of the suffering in the town my lord. Make sure that Peter doesn't come here to pick his berries again and you will all be fine."
Sherlock gets up and Arthur shakes his hand. "Thank you so much!" Arthur says gratefully. "You should come to the castle with us and dine with my family and I for lunch. Please, it is the least I can do." He adds seeing Sherlock ready to make a comment.
"That is a very kind offer my lord." Sherlock says. "John and I shall accept. Will we go back to our time afterwards though?" he asks, directing the question towards Merlin.
"Of course." Merlin says.
Lunch was plentiful for Sherlock and John resulting in very full stomachs.
"Thank you for your hospitality your majesties. I am glad to have been of service to you." Sherlock says as he bows.
"It is no problem at all." Gwen says with Amhar in her arms wiggling around. "Arthur and I are extremely grateful for the help you have given towards our kingdom."
"Mammmaaaa." Amhar whines reaching for Sherlock.
"It seems you have a fan there Sherlock." John says laughing slightly.
Sherlock takes a step forward. "May I?" he asks Gwen who smiles.
"Of course."
Amhar is transferred into Sherlock's arms. The little Prince pats Sherlock's cheeks and gurgles happily. John stares on in astonishment.
'Travelling in time has done wonders for Sherlock.' He thinks. 'Never in his life would he offer to hold a child.'
"Ank oo." Amhar says to Sherlock making him smile. Amhar turns his head and reaches out his arms towards Gwen. "Mama?"
Sherlock hands Amhar back to his mother and bows to all three royals.
"Thank you once again, both of you." Arthur says.
"Not a problem." John says. "But one thing Merlin, will we experience the same feeling when we return to our own time?"
"Sorry but I have no idea." Merlin says with a smile. His eyes turn golden and the dazzling blue light that encased John and Sherlock earlier on, appears again and transports them back to where they belong.
221B Baker Street, London in 2013.