A/N: Hiddenfilly, thanks for the suggestion. I hope you like it.
502. Camelot. 2:21 pm.
The TARDIS landed in a small clearing in a lush forest. The Doctor stepped out and he paused to inhale the sweet air as a warm breeze washed over him. He pulled out the sonic, waved it in the air, checked the display and tucked it away. Now that he knew which direction to go, he began pushing his way through the thick underbrush and thankfully, found himself on a well maintained, cobblestone path not too far from the TARDIS. He looked back toward his ship and once satisfied that she couldn't be seen from the path, he headed toward his objective.
.
.
It was just another day for Gwen. The life of the blacksmith's daughter wasn't really as bad as it could be, she enjoyed not only learning her father's craft, but working as a hand maiden for Lady Morgana. Today, Gwen stacked recently chopped logs against the wall in her father's forge. When she turned to the cart to pick up another log, she stopped and held her breath as she beheld the gorgeous man walking toward her. Gwen could feel her face flush as he flashed a smile at her and when he reached her, he took her hand into his own.
"Hello there, beautiful. Captain Jack Harkness," the man said with confident charm as he bent over and kissed the back of her hand.
Gwen's cheeks felt like they were on fire. "Gwen," she whispered.
"No kidding." Jack seemed pleasantly surprised. "That is a beautiful name. So how would you-"
"There you are!" A shout interrupted Jack, much to Gwen's dismay for she really wanted him to ask what she knew he was going to ask. When Jack whipped his head around, Gwen looked past him at a strangely dressed man in a blue uniform of some sort with a tan cape flowing behind him as he ran.
Jack turned back to Gwen and leaned in close. "I've got to go, gorgeous." With no warning, he abruptly kissed her on the lips. Gwen closed her eyes and relished the firm yet gentleness of it that made her heart pound in her ears. Then with a brush of his coat, he was gone from her. She opened her eyes and watched Jack sprint down the street with the man in blue running after him. As she watched Jack run away with longing in her eyes, she realized he was strangely dressed as well. Who were those men?
"Sheesh, Doc!" Jack shouted as he ran. "Can you give a guy just a few minutes?"
"How can you think about that when we're in the middle of a game?" the Doctor yelled back.
Jack suddenly stopped and spun on his heel to face the pursuing Time Lord. He pulled out his sonic gun and aimed it above him. "I always think about that," he said with a wink and fired the gun. The Doctor skidded to a halt as the sonic pulse struck the stone archway above. A huge wooden gate fell down its guiding tracks and slammed into the ground successfully blocking the Doctor on the other side. Jack grinned wide as he strutted over to the gate and peeked at his friend through the bars. "So close, Doctor, you almost had me," Jack gloated.
The Doctor laughed. "Temporary setback is all this is," he said with a cheeky grin as he shoved the sonic through the gate and activated it. The sonic gun in Jack's hand sparked and crackled forcing Jack to toss it to the ground. "Hey! That's not fair!" Jack exclaimed while the Doctor laughed.
"Sorcerers!" The gathering crowd behind the Doctor and Jack brandished swords, pitchforks, and various other not-so-friendly weapons as they repeated the cry of sorcery.
The Doctor and Jack looked at other and frowned. "Uh oh." They said together. Jack picked up his sonic gun and escaped through the nearest door in the castle wall. The Doctor, with his back against the gate, faced the angry and frightened mob. There were no doors nearby for him. He smiled. "Hello," he said with a small wave that complimented his worried expression. Through the crowd, he could see a group of fully armored knights with swords in hand running toward him. He turned back to the gate and quickly climbed up. The knights reached the gate too late; the Time Lord was out of their reach. The Doctor grinned down at them a moment, and then tried to figure out how he was going to get himself out of this one.
He spied a small ledge in the stone at the top of the gate and he climbed. He grabbed the ledge and swung his leg up to it. He never thought of himself as any sort of climber, but he had to admit, he wasn't so bad at it. Once the Doctor hooked his foot on the ledge, he used his superhuman strength to pull himself up, grab the top of the stone railing and climb onto the walkway above the gate. Of course he had to look down at the crowd with a smug smile that turned into a frown when he saw the knights run toward a door further down the castle wall. He didn't have much time, so he bolted for the only door on the walkway.
Going from bright and sunny outside to dark and darker inside blinded the Doctor. He blinked the sparkles out of his eyes and ran down the stairs, jumping three steps at a time. He reached the bottom in no time, but was faced with two doors. Behind one he heard the clamoring of running knights coming closer, so he opted for the other door. He sprinted down the corridor and when he reached the door at the end, he looked back to see that the knights had just entered the corridor after him. He stepped though the door and used the sonic to lock it tight.
Now he was somewhere in the castle. Mostly likely underground, but after a long staircase up and a few more doors, he wound up on a promenade overlooking the castle courtyard below. He made it half way across when a group of knights appeared at the end in front of him. The group was led by a young blonde-headed man with a clinched jaw and fancier garb then the knights. "There's the sorcerer! Seize him!" He cried and aimed his sword toward the Doctor.
"Blimey, you really don't give up, do you?" the Doctor asked rhetorically as he quickly surveyed his options and chose the door to his immediate left. Once through that door, he waved the sonic over the lock until he heard a satisfactory click. Thank goodness for good old fashioned medieval iron locks. The Doctor glanced around the large hall he now stood in. Left or right. He chose right and started a jog that turned into a run when he heard the knights kicking in the door.
He rounded the corner of the hallway and slammed full force into someone that was also running full speed. Both the Doctor and the man he crashed into fell backwards to the floor landing on their bums. "Ow," the Doctor moaned and rubbed his head. He froze when he realized he faced Captain Jack Harkness. The Doctor pointed at Jack. "Tag!" He cried in victory. "I win!"
"That doesn't even count!" Jack protested.
"Why not? I tagged you fair and square!"
"Fair and square? You didn't even know I was there!"
"Neither did you!"
At the sound of heavy booted footfalls, Jack and the Doctor fell silent. Jack turned and looked behind him, while the Doctor did the same. Large groups of knights marched toward them from both directions, trapping the 'sorcerers' in the corner of the hall.
"Looks like we're trapped," Jack said evenly.
"Yep," the Doctor replied in the same even tone. "You have any ideas?"
"No. Do you?"
"Not a one."
Just like that, Jack and the Doctor had too many to count sharp sword tips aimed at their throats. The Doctor raised his hands and Jack looked at the young man in the fancy garb. "Heellooo, gorgeous," Jack purred.
.
.
The knights dragged the Doctor and Jack by their arms through large wooden double doors into a large room, the audience hall of the king. The Doctor quickly studied the details of his surroundings. Everything was as he expected of the era, except something about the castle seemed familiar to him, as if he'd been there before. Jack glanced over the faces of the knights and nobles of the court and tossed winks and smiles. When they reached the king sitting in his throne, the knights threw the Doctor and Jack onto their knees at the king's feet.
The king kept a steady gaze on him when the Doctor looked up. "Hello," the Doctor said in a cheery voice. "Hi," Jack said as he sized up the king and nodded with approval. He also winked at the young man standing next to the king, the prince obviously, who looked at Jack with disgust.
The king's frown deepened and he leaned forward. "How dare you bring magic to Camelot," the king snarled.
"Camelot!" The Doctor's face brightened. "Oh, this is brilliant! No wonder this place looked familiar. Hi, Arthur." He greeted the prince as if he were an old friend. "No magic, right? Yeah, good thing I'm not a sorcerer. Just brilliant is all."
"Oh you're not a sorcerer, are you?" The king smirked. "The both of you were seen blatantly using magic out on the streets and even in this very castle!"
"What? I didn't do anything in the castle," the Doctor raised an eyebrow and shot a look at Jack.
"Oh, I might have," Jack blushed, "used my gun to shot down a chandelier in front of the knights chasing me."
"You did what?" The Doctor looked shocked at first, but then became excited. "And it worked?"
Jack smiled wide. "It did! I've always wanted to do that and it was perfect!"
"Enough!" The king bellowed. "Take them to the dungeon. They will be executed tomorrow at noon."
.
.
Jack and the Doctor stood in front of the TARDIS enjoying the pleasantness of the forest for a moment.
"Well, that was fun," the Doctor said with a smile.
"Good ol vortex manipulator," Jack beamed. "Hey, Doc," he started as he carefully programmed the device without the Doctor noticing.
"Hm?" the Doctor replied as he unlocked the TARDIS.
Jack's grin grew wider and he rested his hand on the Doctor's shoulder. "Tag! You're it!"
.
.
To be continued.
