Merlin paced up and down. "I have to do something."

Gaius sighed. "You can't break every sorcerer out of the dungeon, Merlin. It's developing into a pattern."

"But it's my fault," Merlin despaired. "I brought him here, I thought... Oh," he sat on the bench and put his head in his hands. "I have to do something."

"Merlin—"

"I have to do something," he stubbornly repeated.


The cell was dark and musty, and smelled of old straw and human sweat. Rats scurried about; at first they were encouraged by the fact that the Doctor didn't bother to shoo them away, but when they realized he had nothing to offer them they left to bother prisoners in other cells.

The Doctor moved his head only to look down once at a curious rat that sniffed at his shoe for a while before deciding he was uninteresting. He watched detachedly. It was the most interesting thing that had happened in the hours he had been stuck there. He had decided that he liked nonlinear time travel much better than waiting and waiting. It was getting quite boring.

He could try to escape. He considered it. But that would prove his guilt, and besides, he'd need his Sonic for that, and it had been confiscated. Stupid humans.

And they would find the empty cell more easily after the ruckus he'd made for the first two hours. No, he'd have to think of something more clever than a jailbreak to escape this.

So he sat silently, patiently— well, outwardly patiently, inwardly screaming for boredom. Trying to think of something less obvious than picking the lock.


The outcome of the stranger's audience had been bothering Arthur. "But it was a box that appeared out of nowhere, how could it not have been magic?"

"I don't know," Merlin mumbled from the floor where he was busy scrubbing the prince's boots clean.

"We didn't even hear his explaination," Arthur mused.

"Why don't you go talk to your father?" Merlin suggested.

Arthur pondered this. Generally, once Uther made a decision, that decision was final, and anybody who questioned it was wrong, or at worst, treasonous. But Arthur's questioning came out of curiosity. This man, this Doctor, he was an oddity. It would bother him for the rest of his life if he didn't find out the truth.

Uther wouldn't take that excuse, though. "No, I don't think he'll appreciate that."

"I think Morgana's talking to him now," Merlin mentioned. "Maybe he'd be more open if you both cornered him."

Arthur snorted. "That's not likely to cheer him up."

"Just a thought," Merlin mumbled.

There was silence for another moment before Merlin jumped up, holding the boot. He gave one of his best dumb smiles. "Does this look clean to you?" He shoved it right in Arthur's face.

Arthur instinctively leaned back. "Merlin!"

"But does it? I think I might have—"

"Merlin get that out of my face!" Arthur slapped the boot out of his servant's hands. As it fell to the ground he thought he heard a jingling too, but that was probably the buckle.

Merlin broke out that innocently annoying smile again. "Just checking. Thanks."

"Next time, ask someone else!" Arthur slapped him upside the head as he turned to pick up the boot.

"Yep," Merlin nodded. "Will that be all, sire?"

Arthur sighed. "Yes, fine, get out."

Merlin left with a grin and a suspiciously jingly pair of boots.


Morgana enjoyed the proveledge of her rank as the King's Ward when she roamed the halls of the castle unhindered. No one dared question her when she wandered into more an more deserted areas. No one was there to see her approach the cloaked figure in the empty corridor.

"Sister," she greeted the woman in chain mail.

"Sister," Morgause'a brown eyes glittered with fondness as she beheld her little sister, whom she had finally been able to get to know over the past year. "What news?"

"You caught word of the blue box?" Morgana asked.

"I did," Morgause answered. "It is legendary, I did not even believe such tales until today."

"Legendary?" This was a part of the story she didn't know.

"Indeed," Morgause continued, "The man inside comes from beyond the stars. He brings with him danger and death." She smiled. "We can hope that the latter is dealt where we wish it."

Danger and death. Not what she had been expecting from her Doctor. But then, this did not seem to be her Doctor. "The man inside, is he called the Doctor?"

"Yes, always the Doctor. Why?"

"Uther has imprisoned him under suspicion of sorcery," Morgana explained.

"If any of the legends are true, not for long."


The Doctor glanced up at the inconsistency of the sounds. The guards, who had been playing some sort of betting game with a die, had suddenly fallen silent.

It was not long before the silence was shattered by the clattering of footsteps. And, to the Doctor's utter shock, Merlin came blinding around the corner.

Merlin had a look of determination in his face as he approached the Doctor's cell. "Shh," he cautioned. "I'm gonna get you out of here."

"You're telling me to be quiet?" The Doctor raised his eyebrows, standing up. "Could your footsteps be any louder?"

"Shh!" Merlin anxiously silenced him, bending over the lock. "Now hang on, let me see... Oh no."

"What's that?"

The boy glance up, and fear was in his eyes now. "I brought the wrong key."

"You did what?" The Doctor's jaw dropped.

Merlin glanced behind him. "I don't have time to get the right one. You got anything to pick it with?"

"Yeah, in my coat pocket, my sonic screwdriver. But they took that." The Doctor grumbled. "Can't be far, I think they just had it on their table. Run and get it?"

"Sure," Merlin ran back around the corner.

The Doctor gripped the bars if the cell. After about thirty seconds he began to worry. "Have you found it?"

"No," Merlin ran back. "Nothing in the pockets. Haven't got time. Stand back."

The Doctor stepped back, crossing his arms. He watched, impressed, as Merlin spoke, his eyes flashed, and the lock sparked, breaking.

"How did you do that?" The Doctor asked.

"Magic," Merlin explained tentatively. "Come on, we've got to— where are you going?"

"To find my sonic."

"It's not there, I already checked," Merlin hissed desperately as the Doctor rounded the corner. They really didn't have time for this, Merlin didn't know how long the guards would stay out, he didn't know how long it would be before they were discovered.

His heart quickened when he heard voices at the top of the stair. "Doctor!" He called.

The Doctor sprinted back, now donning the coat that had been taken from him. He grabbed Merlin by the shoulder as he passed. "They're coming. Run."


"Why do you think that?" Morgana asked.

"The Doctor never stays in one place very long," Morgause shrugged. "And if he is a powerful enough to control that magic box of his, the likes of Uther will not stop him."

Morgana opened her mouth to speak when the warning bells began to ring.

"What did I tell you?" Her golden-haired sister smirked.