Chapter Two
The Rising Sun tavern was busy that evening, crammed with the usual locals as well as passing traders. The air was dark and thick with the heavy stench of ale and stale bodies. Laughter and cries rang out as money was won and lost at cards and other betting games being played at the various tables.
Over in the far corner, an arm wrestling match, which had now been going for some considerable time, remained in full swing with loud grunts and determined groans coming from both opponents. They seemed an unlikely pairing with one man being much smaller and leaner than his oversized, mammoth adversary.
"Come on, give in!" Jeered the smaller man, laughing. "You know you want to!"
"Never!" his opponent grunted. "Do you realise how much money you already owe me?"
"I know, I know," he groaned. "… A fair bit I admit … but how about double or nothing eh?" he smiled mischievously. "Best of three?"
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, something caught his attention. Momentarily, he lost all thought of the game. A wild chorus of raucous jeers erupted around him as his arm was smashed to the table.
"Double or quits eh?" the victor reminded him.
"What? Oh, come on, best of three – you agreed!" he protested innocently. "But first, if you'll excuse me gentlemen, duty calls." He stood, smoothed his hair with this hands and straightened his shirt.
Across the room, the Doctor and Donna stood at the bottom of the stairwell. On glimpsing Merlin through the crowd, they made their way across the dimly-lit room and joined him at one of the long wooden tables.
"You made it!" cried Merlin, smiling broadly. "Are the rooms OK? Probably a bit basic I know but … Do you want a drink? I'll get you a drink!"
"There you go Donna," the Doctor smiled, soaking up the atmosphere. "Arthurian life in all its glory!"
"Hmmm," Donna's brow furrowed as she made herself comfortable on the bench. "Shame they haven't invented soap yet! Why can't we ever go anywhere that doesn't honk?"
"Honestly, there's no pleasing you is there?" the Doctor mumbled sitting himself down.
"Mead!" Merlin announced, proudly presenting them with a tray of tankards. Donna thanked him and taking one of the tankards from him, she eyed the contents suspiciously. She sniffed at it before taking a small tentative sip.
"Mmmm!" she said pleasantly surprised and, on realising that she could quite easily develop a taste for mead, she proceeded to down the best part of the remainder in large, thirsty gulps. Over the brim of her tankard, she became aware of a small, slightly scruffy, roguish looking man approaching them from across the room. She stopped and eyed him warily.
"Hello, my lady," he said taking her hand and kissing it gently. "I'm Gwaine. Sir Gwaine. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Donna smiled tightly and pulled her hand away as quickly as she could. "Well, isn't that … nice? Thank you. Charmed, I'm sure." She turned her attention back to the Doctor and Merlin but was perturbed to feel Gwaine pushing his way on to the end of the wooden bench beside her.
"I'm one of the King's knights you know," Gwaine said smiling at her.
Donna looked him up and down for a moment, taking in his dishevelled, unshaven appearance. "Yeah?" she snorted disbelievingly. "Bully for you!"
"One of his most trusted knights actually," he continued, moving a little closer toward her.
"Is that a fact?" she replied thoroughly disinterested, but moving slightly up the bench away from him.
"And certainly one the bravest!"
Donna turned to face him. "I'm sorry," she said sharply, "I'm not sure what your game is, but are you trying to impress me or something?"
"Yes," Gwaine smiled simply.
"Oh!" Donna replied, taken back. "Well … stop it," she said, slightly more quietly than she had intended.
"No," he said, grinning at her. "So, what do you say then, my lady?" Gwaine moved closer so that his thigh was now brushed up against hers.
"About what … exactly?" Donna frowned.
"About you and me? I am a knight after all. I need a good woman to look after me when I come home, weary from battle -"
"- Yeah, no offence," Donna interrupted haughtily, moving further still up the bench. "But you can go and get stuffed Sunshine! I'm not looking after anyone and I am certainly not 'your' lady."
Gwaine, forever the ladies' man and not one to give in easily, again followed her up the bench. The Doctor and Merlin watched the comedic display with avid, morbid interest from the opposite side of the table.
"I wish you were," Gwaine continued, "because I'd …"
"Oi!" Donna snapped crossly, slapping away the hand that had just been delicately placed upon her knee. "Leave it out!"
"And," he whispered in her ear, "I am very good with a sword -"
"- Right! That's it!" With that, Donna walloped him hard across the face. Gwaine, losing his balance, toppled backwards from the bench, knocking over the table in the process and hitting his head as landed upside down in a twisted heap on the tavern floor.
"Thumping a knight of the Round Table … oh nice one Donna!" The Doctor muttered to himself. "So much for keeping a low profile!"
On hearing the commotion, two large gentlemen from Gwaine's table looked up and shook their heads.
"Oh no, not again!" they said almost in unison. They excused themselves from their group and made their way over to where Merlin and the Doctor were trying to free a giggling Gwaine from the tangled mess of the upturned table.
"Sir Leon of the King's guard, my lady," the first of the two men announced. "Please accept my apologies for this man's behaviour. He will be dealt with accordingly I assure you."
"I think he's probably just had a bit too much of the old mead that's all!" Donna snorted shuffling out of their way. "Poor bloke reckons he's a knight!"
Sir Percival, the second of the two men, a giant but gentle man, bent down to help his friend to his feet. "Knocked out by a woman eh?" he whispered as he took hold of his hand. "That's got to hurt!"
"Ohh, but what a woman!" laughed Gwaine righting himself and brushing the drops of mead and sawdust from his hair. "Still, you can't blame a guy for trying now can you?"
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The high spirits continued in the tavern as the evening went on and the patrons became more and more intoxicated. Merlin sat next to the Doctor, his mind full of questions for his new friends.
"Who are you Doctor, really?" he asked eventually. "I know you're not a sorcerer because I don't feel magic about you, but you know things, things that you can't know."
The Doctor looked about them. "OK Merlin. I'll tell you, but you can't whisper a word of this to anyone, do you understand?"
"Oh trust me," Merlin reassured him. "I know how to keep a secret!"
The Doctor leaned in towards Merlin and lowered his voice. "Donna and I, we're time travellers. We've travelled here from the future."
Merlin's face fell. "Well, if you're just going to take the mickey out of me," he said affronted. "There's no need to be rude." Disappointed in the Doctor, he collected his tankard and stood up to leave.
"What?" exclaimed the Doctor confused. "No! No, I wasn't!" He leaned up and grabbed Merlin by his arm and pulled him back into his seat. "Sit down! Merlin I'm telling you the truth!" he hissed. "We've travelled in time from the future."
"I don't believe you." Merlin replied flatly.
The Doctor's eyes widened. "Honestly, you people! You believe in magic and dragons but, oh no, can't possibly believe in fourth dimensional travel!"
Merlin, still slightly insulted, stared at him blankly. The Doctor may as well have been talking another language for all that he understood of his explanation.
"More ale Gentlemen?"
"Three meads please," Merlin replied to the landlord as he collected their empty tankards.
"Righto," he called out as he walked away. "I'll bring 'em over."
"Look," the Doctor sighed. "We travelled here in my time machine – you saw it! The blue box in the forest! She's called the TARDIS – it stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space. She's a time machine and she can travel anywhere in time and space. Except now she's developed some kind of fault and lost all power to her main energy turbines, which in turn has drained all the supplementary battery power supplies, leaving her powerless causing her to fall from the Time Vortex and …
Donna kicked him under the table. "What did we say about 'space babble'? It's not clever and it doesn't impress anyone!"
The Doctor huffed petulantly. "… She's broken and we've crash landed here in Camelot."
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From the other side of the tavern Donna's potential young suitor, Sir Gwaine of the King's knights remained utterly entranced by her. So, when he saw her leave the table, he seized his chance to talk with her male escort. Hurriedly, he crossed the crowded floor of the tavern and planted himself opposite the Doctor and grinned.
"Merlin!" he said breezily and slapping him on the back. "Aren't you going to introduce us?"
"I thought you'd already done that!" Merlin replied cheekily. "Gwaine, this is the Doctor, oh! And this is his travelling companion, Miss Donna Noble!" he added as she returned unexpectedly and resumed her place on the bench. Merlin chuckled to himself as he swore Gwaine was starting to blush.
"It is an honour to meet you, my lady," Gwaine said, completely ignoring the Doctor's outstretched hand and taking Donna's instead! He bent to kiss it, but stopped short, not wishing for another smack in the face. "I am truly sorry for my earlier behaviour towards you, my lady. I hope you will accept my humble apology?"
Donna glared at him for a second or two, but then her face softened and she smiled a little. "Alright, apology accepted. But keep your comments and your hands to yourself!"
Gwaine placed his hand to his heart and nodded respectfully before turning his attention finally to the Doctor.
"May I ask you Doctor, what are your intentions towards the Lady Donna?"
Donna choked on her mead, inadvertently spitting some of it across the table. "You what?"
"I'm sorry …?" enquired the Doctor slowly. "My what now?"
"Your intentions," repeated Gwaine. "After all, you travel alone with her, and yet you are not wed. I hope your intentions towards her are honourable Doctor."
Donna leaned forward trying to edge her way between the two men. "Erm, yes, excuse me!"
"Oh, no!" the Doctor laughed. "No no no!"
"No?" cried Gwaine, slamming down his tankard angrily and slopping ale over himself.
"What?" repeated the Doctor, slightly confused. "No! I mean yes! Yes they are, honourable. My intentions are completely honourable I assure you!"
Donna leant forward further. "I said 'Excuse me!' … I am here you know!" she said angrily. On finding herself ignored once again, she leant back on the bench and folded her arms defiantly. Donna was becoming decidedly cross!
Merlin fidgeted awkwardly. "I'm sure they are listening to you really. They are." He swallowed hard as Donna blinked slowly and switched her icy glare toward him. "Sorry … I'll just …. shut up now," he said nervously and took a long draught from his tankard. Donna turned back towards the Doctor and Gwaine.
"So then she is your betrothed Doctor?"
"His what?" Donna shrieked, causing Merlin to jump near out of his skin.
"My what?" asked the Doctor.
Gwaine's face darkened once again as he prepared to challenge his rival to a duel if he had to.
"Honestly, look it's not like that!" The Doctor attempted to explain. "We're just … friends. She's my …" he searched for the right word, not wanting to upset the knight any further, "… my associate, my companion … yes, that's it! Thank you Merlin, you said it! She's my companion. That's all."
Gwaine surveyed the Doctor for a brief moment, before he relaxed and a small smile hinted at his lips. "So," he ventured, "there is no…"
The Doctor's eyes widened in horror. "God no!"
"Oi!" Donna squealed. "I saw that, spaceman!"
Gwaine relaxed back on the wooden bench and grinned like a Cheshire cat.
On seeing the look on Gwaine's face, the Doctor quickly downed the remainder of his tankard. "Yeah … good luck with that one!" he muttered. He rose to his feet and, taking her gently by the elbow, the Doctor ushered Donna away from the table. "Come on you, time we left. I think you've caused enough trouble for one night!" He nodded to Merlin, "Night Merlin, I think it's about time I escorted the 'Lady' Donna back to her room!"
Gwaine immediately leapt forward, "Oh! I could always -"
"No!" the Doctor interrupted before he could continue any further. "Just … no."
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