Elemental Magic

AN: For some reason, the thought of Morgana facing Sherlock Holmes really got under my skin and gave me an itch to write a fanfiction, which I have not done in a while.

For this story, Morgana is played by Katie McGrath and Sherlock Holmes is played by the late, great Jeremy Brett.

I do not own Merlin. That right goes to the BBC, I believe. Sherlock Holmes however, seems to be owned by everyone, but it uses the series made by Granada Television.

I'm sorry if Morgana may seem a bit OOC to true Merlin fans, but this fiction came to me on a whim and I wanted to give it a go.

Thanks and enjoy.

It felt familiar.

That was all Morgana Pendragon aka Morgan Lefae could think about as she walked across the cobblestones of London; approaching her destination.

The fog settling down around her sent her back to the dark forests near Camelot, where she was forced to live. It seemed second nature to her. But, unlike in those times, there was also a sense of personal foreboding.

Her magic had grown rusty over the years. Oh sure, she dabbled in certain spells and incantations; but not at a consistency that resulted in her sharpness. Yet beyond that, she was the same Morgana that brought fear to the land, through beauty and sheer force of willpower.

She kept a low profile in the recent years. She figured that he would still be looking for her and trying to stop her. Yes, she was certain that he was still alive and trying to stop her from doing any evils or misdeeds.

He needn't have worried.

She did not see this world as fit to rule. The concepts that were ingratiated into society back when Uther and Arthur occupied the throne were nearly nonexistent in this madcap bustle of a city and society

That was another reason why she had not been able to practice her craft. It simply was not required. She could get what she wanted based on her incredible beauty and will. She was able to use the simple men of London without digging into her "bag of tricks"

So when she received a message asking her to come to a certain 221B Baker Street (a curious address by her thinking), she thought this was just another one of her many suitors around town begging to give her something of value so that they could bed her or even just be seen in her company, as that seemed to carry a real status marker in this world.

Even as the foreboding sense grew a little stronger, she shook it off as simple misgivings as she came to the door. She was slightly taken aback that an elderly woman answered and showed her up the stairs to a small sitting room, but still, men were simple in these days.

"Your visitor, Mr. Holmes." Said the elderly woman and shut the door behind Morgana.

Morgana surveyed the room. It was little, by the standards of her courtiers, and simple. Two big windows and a fireplace that was lit and giving off light into the dim room. She looked to the side and saw a table that seemed to be used for experiments and chemicals. At that point she began to wonder if maybe she had misunderstood the reason for the invitation.

And then, the voice came.

"Good evening, Miss Lefae"

It was a low voice, charming but grounded. Morgana instantly turned to the door next to the table and she saw him standing there, almost appearing out of nowhere.

He stood there, watching her with piercing eyes that seemed bent on studying her every move and characteristic. His face was like a hawk that she had been accustomed to seeing all the time in the forests. It rattled her for a quick second, but she recovered.

"Good evening, Mister…..Holmes, was it?" she said in her disguising Irish lilt.

He nodded and swiftly moved his hand, open palmed, towards a chair. "Please, take a seat."

She moved demurely towards the seat, still trying to get a read on this strange man. He then seemed to move like a floating cloud towards his seat, with smoothness and speed. He sat down, leaned forward, and moved his hands up to his face and shaped them like he was in prayer. All the time he was watching her, still studying her. My, was this man fascinating to her! But, all the same, she knew she had the upper hand.

"And what can I do for you?" She said teasingly with a smirk. The men all liked that. And apparently so did he, for he smiled in return. But it wasn't a smile rooted in being allured. It was a smile that seemed more to show confirmation and acceptance. As if he had expectations and they were confirmed by what she said. And then he let out a short chuckle.

"My dear lady, I think you must be mistaken" he waved his hand abruptly. "It is more about what I want to give you rather then what you might want to give me. And even then, it may seem that I have somewhat confused you. Anyway…" he leaned back "you should have at least come in a cab. I don't know why anyone of your nature would want to walk in this dank fog."

"I like to walk on these types of….. Wait a minute?" She now was confused and on the alert. "How did you know that I walked here? You couldn't have seen me coming through the fog…"

He grinned. "The same way that I know that you have recently been to the Italian concerto at the Albert Hall and that you have been in Paris within the last year."

Now he had her attention. "Why, Mister Holmes? What kind of sorcery is this?" she groaned inwardly at the pun.

He sighed "It is no sorcery, Miss LeFae. The ticket stub to the concerto at the Albert Hall is still located in the cuff of your jacket."

She looked down and it was so. She looked back to him, still puzzled.

"As for Paris, well…. Expecting this evening to take a more intimate turn, the perfume you are currently wearing was only introduced in Paris last spring. Judging from the spread rate of perfumes throughout the continent, it would surely not arrive for sale here for another month. I've recently done a monograph on perfumes and scents, if you are interested…"

"No. Get on with it."

"Ah, you're like…..anyway, to the lack of a cab. You have dirt on the right side of your dress that could only have happened if you were walking alongside the road and a cab coming splattered it on. The dirt appears to not be dried so it must have happened very, very recently.

He sat back and seemed to wait for her reaction.

He was good. Very good. Perhaps the finest intellect she had seen in this era. But Morgana knew that she had tricks up her sleeve.

"Well Mister Holmes, you certainly seem to know a lot about me. But I wonder if I can return the favor." She leaned in to him this time, her eyes beginning to flash gold.

And then she was completely taken aback.

He leaned in and stared at her, like he had before, with piercing eyes intending to study. But it was not that which shocked her.

It was what she saw.

She saw a clock. A ticking clock. That was it. The inner workings of a clock moving in synchronization.

She tried again, but she saw the same thing. She gasped and leaned back.

He turned his head. "Is something wrong?"

She stammered "N-nothing. Tell me, though, why did you send for me?"

He sat back again and completely floored her.

"It was ironic that you mentioned sorcery before given who you are."

She snapped up. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you are Morgana Pendragon, the powerful sorceress from legend, are you not?"

She stood up suddenly and began to mentally recite an enchantment that would bring this man to his knees. But he simply sat there and waved his hand "No."

She stopped. It had been a very long time since a man had told her no. It was a shock to her system. This shock and her lack of practice nullified her powers. She was helpless. And she took to it like a bath in an icy lake.

He pointed her finger at her. "Sit down." She did helplessly.

She stared at her hands and then back at him in amazement. The Irish lilt in her voice disappeared and for the first time in a long time, Morgana Pendragon began to speak.

'What's the use of hiding? You seem to know all about me"

"Why indeed? You had not been in the room for more than 15 seconds before I confirmed to myself that I was speaking with Morgana Pendragon.

She looked at him and then suddenly a thought occurred to her.

"Merlin? Is that you? Ha. I knew you were something different. Where are you?" She started looking around for him and trying to sense him, but there was nothing.

He looked at her bemused, but then acquiesced. "No madam; Mr. Emrys is not here and I am not he."

She turned back to him. "How do you know that name? Wait… did he put you up to this?" She began to laugh, as her confidence returned slowly. "Imagine Merlin, the great sorcerer having to call upon the services of a mere commoner to locate me. He might as well have gone to the local constabulary."

Her mention of the police instantly aroused him and he leaned forwards very suddenly. It shocked her back on the defensive.

"Madam, do you know who I am?" She shook her head. "My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other people don't know. I have not only chosen my own profession, I have created it. I am the only unofficial consulting detective in the world. I am the last and highest court of appeal when it comes to detection. And I would APPRECIATE…" his sudden outburst of that word made her hair stand on end, " a little respect given the fact that I have located you, the great "sorceress" in a matter that proved child's play. Frankly, I am rather disappointed in you, Miss Pendragon. When Mr. Emrys came to me with this task, I thought it to be near impossible, like finding a needle in a haystack. Yet here we are." He held up both his hands as to present the surroundings.

"What did he tell you?" she asked.

"Enough".

"Mr. Emrys, this agency stands flat footed upon the ground and there it must remain. The world is big enough for simple man. No witches and warlocks need apply."

"Mr. Holmes, I come to you, not as a sorcerer, but as a man. My sorcery will do no good here. She has not practiced in a long time and I can't trace her. I need to make sure she is still alright and well. That's why I come to you. This is your jurisdiction. You know the lay of the land much better than I do. If there is a way that you can find her and give her a simple message, that will be enough for me.

"You do realize that in as big of a city as London, including the surrounding areas, that it will be near impossible if she doesn't want to be found?"

"I understand. But again, that is why I have come to the best."

"You see, Miss Pendragon that was my mistake. I believed that you did not want to be found and thusly, combining your magic, would make finding you impossible. Except…" he put his finger to his mouth and stared at her. "I do think deep down, you did want to be found."

"How did you find me, then?"

He leaned back, putting his hands behind his head; eyes still boring into her.

"Well, he gave me your description and I set off to the local hot spots of the high end. I figured that coming from a royal background, you would not want to spend eternity as a mere pauper. I also believed that you were relatively new into town, given that the season for debutantes had just recently begun and where else to conspicuously hide yourself in London society but as a young ingénue."

And then he looked up and sighed.

"And then your name was brought up as having recently been attending certain functions. I did background on you and you fit the description of Mr. Emrys relatively well. I also noticed the name "LeFae" as having been related to the so called "Legends" of Camelot so that made the connection even more plausible."

He paused and lowered his tone.

"And it also made me wonder why a sorceress would hide under such a name closely related to the Arthurian legend if she did not want to be found. That and your social activities with the gentry in public led me to the conclusion that secretly, you did want to be found. You were just doing it subconsciously."

Morgana began to cry as she herself came to that realization. It seemed so logical and yet….

"Anyway, I sent you a note. You came here, and instantly, I recognized the air and the stature of a figure with royal ties and connections. And since I am familiar with most of the Royal Houses in Europe and never crossed your path before, I knew that my deductions were correct."

He sat back as she continued to slightly sniffle. This man had laid out his reasoning like a spell. Only instead of magic, he was fighting with logic and knowledge. She knew that knowledge was important in the world. But she did not realize that it could be used with such an accuracy and swiftness. She not only respected Sherlock Holmes now, as opposed to before, but she also was a little afraid of him. Such a weapon stored in a man with movements like a snake could bring the downfall of several nations. But he had used his skills for the good of the people. Kind of like another man that she secretly feared and…..

"Do you love him?"

His voice brought her back to the room.

"What?"

"Do you love Mr. Emrys?"

She thought about it, and internally denied it, but the evidence was there. She thought about him most of the time. And even Mr. Holmes presented the concept of "wanting to be found." It seemed to be an internal struggle, which Holmes watched intently.

"Yes" a small voice came out.

Holmes smiled.

"That is very fortunate. Because that is the message that he wanted to give to you. That he loves you and wants to see you"

"Where is he?"

Holmes handed her a slip of paper. "He's been staying at the Diogenes Club, under my direction. I have….strong ties there. When you get there, ask for Mycroft. He will show you to Mr. Emrys. Good day, Miss Pendragon."

With that, he turned his face back to the fire and watched it intently. She wondered what kind of demons he was viewing through the flames. She said thank you to him, but he was not listening. He was in his own mind and in his own counsel.

As she headed towards the club, she suddenly heard the sound of a violin playing coming from the apartment she had just left. She just shook her head and chuckled at the marvel of a man she had just encountered. And the one that she was about to encounter.

End Notes:

Miss LeFae and Mr. Emrys were married and lived in an estate on the outskirts of town. Some people say that they had barely aged a day from the moment they moved in there.

Incidentally, Holmes was wrong about one thing. Morgana did have a bit of magic left in her. During her initial struggle with Holmes, she placed a latent dream spell on him that enabled him to see personal nightmares and nightmares to come in dreams. A spell which would, incredible enough, help him solve a case that was just about to come.

AN: For those wondering about the "spell" Morgana put on Holmes, all you need to do is to view this clip from "The Eligible Bachelor" Fans of Brett and Holmes will probably already know it.

watch?v=-XgRcjqy1M4

I hope you enjoyed this tale as I did in writing it. Please leave reviews and let me know what you think. Thank you very much.