Chapter Four
"Can you believe it?" The Doctor laughed as he and Donna strolled slowly through the lower town of Camelot. They meandered their way through the small market stalls, stopping every now and then to look at the various goods and trinkets. They turned their noses up at the smells from the cattle pens and generally soaked up the atmosphere of Arthurian life!
"We're actually going to meet Prince Arthur! The Prince Arthur. The future King Arthur. The King of all legends!" He skipped excitedly. "Except Elvis of course!"
Donna put on her sunglasses against the bright morning sun, only to have them whipped off her face as soon as they reached her nose.
"Oi! Stop it!" cried the Doctor. "These haven't been invented yet! This is one point in history that we definitely can't start mucking about with."
"It's weird …" said Donna, reluctantly putting her sunglasses back into her satchel. "I didn't even think that all of this was real! This is all so odd! I mean it's always odd wherever we land. It can never just be normal, but, I didn't think that 'all this' was real!"
"Ha! Neither did I!" laughed the Doctor taking her by the shoulders. He pointed animatedly as a small parade of knights marched by them led by Prince Arthur himself, breathtakingly smart in his shining armour and red robes emblazoned with the gold Pendragon crest. "But look at them Donna! They're all here – Merlin, the Knights of the Round Table, King Arthur –"
"- Yeah, one day maybe!" Merlin interjected as he appeared behind them. "Not if the dollop-head carries on the way he's going. He won't live long enough! Honestly, sometimes I wonder how he's stayed alive for so long … I tell you, if it wasn't for me …"
"Well, one day he will be king and it will be all thanks to you!"
"Really?" asked Merlin quickly.
"Look at them!" the Doctor continued. "I was beginning to think that they really were just myths and folklore, all just lost in the legends of … time. And yet here you all are," he turned to Merlin. "In glorious technicolour! I've been here before you know, didn't meet all this lot though! They thought I was you! They thought I was a magician!"
"And everyone thinks I'm a physician!" Merlin chuckled. "Well, training to be anyway! Which reminds me, I need to get back to Gaius – he'll have me scrubbing the leech tank all afternoon if I'm late again. Let's get this over with, and remember no mention of anything … strange! Magic, sorcery and well, basically anything out of the ordinary is banned in Camelot. Prince Arthur is the King's son and … well that makes it dangerous … for you."
"And you … I should imagine?" Donna smirked.
Merlin shuffled awkwardly. "I'll … run ahead – let him know you're here."
"Doctor, I'm confused," Donna suddenly piped up as they crossed the cobbled courtyard towards the castle.
"Doesn't take much!" he joked.
"Thanks!" she replied sarcastically. "But the thing is Doctor, I just don't know who's real and who's not anymore! If he's Merlin, then that means that he's a magician, who can do magic and perform spells and stuff, right? I didn't even know magicians existed! And wasn't there a dragon in that legend somewhere? So, dragons are real too? Dragons actually exist?"
"Oh come off it Donna! You take everything so literally! Of course magic and dragons aren't real! Blimey, you and your imagination!"
"Oi! Pack it in!" she said slapping him playfully on the arm. "You'll be saying Robin Hood's real next!"
"No! No. You're right on that one. Robin Hood's definitely not real!"
"You sure about that?"
"Oh yes. I'm definitely sure of that one. Very sure." The Doctor frowned and nodded. "Well, pretty sure anyway. Sort of. Alright look, if he is real, I haven't met him yet, and if he does turn out to be real, well then, well, I'll admit I was wrong. Possibly." The Doctor cleared his throat, shoved his hands deep into his pockets and walked off towards Merlin who was making his way over to them with Prince Arthur at his side.
"Arthur," announced Merlin as they approached. "I'd like you to meet my friends - the Doctor and the Lady Donna."
"The Doctor?" Arthur enquired casting a sideways glance at Merlin.
"It means 'physician,'" explained Merlin. "It's a very honourable title, sire." He glared at Arthur. "Be nice!" he hissed.
"Of course!" replied Arthur gallantly. "I'm very pleased to meet you Doctor; my Lady. You are most welcome to Camelot." Donna blushed as the prince took her hand and lightly kissed it. She curtseyed as best as she could in her tight jeans.
"Thank you, sire," replied the Doctor trying his best to keep a straight face. "We are very honoured to be here."
The group made their way across the castle courtyard and Merlin did his best to usher them towards the training ground so that Arthur wouldn't stay too long with them. As far as he was concerned, the sooner this was over the better it would be for all of them.
"And what is your business here Doctor?" The prince asked. "Is Gaius trying to secure you a place within the royal household, to perhaps join him as court physician?"
"Oh no my lord, we're just passing through, my …"
Merlin shifted uncomfortably and tripped on a loose cobble. He cast a warning look at the Doctor.
"… my mode of transportation has … broken," the Doctor said choosing his words carefully.
"Your horse is sick?" Arthur replied.
"Um ..." The Doctor pondered this for a second. "Yeah … close enough, that'll do."
"Then you must take one of ours from the stable to help you on your journey."
"Oh, I couldn't poss … oh alright then, if you insist!" The Doctor grinned at the possibility of having another horse aboard the TARDIS. "Thank you my Lord."
Arthur stopped in his tracks and looked the pair up and down for a moment. "Tell me are you of noble blood Doctor?" he asked.
"I'm sorry?" The Doctor was confused and looked to Merlin for help. Merlin tilted his head toward him.
"I am," Donna muttered, grinning to herself.
"He wants to know if you have a title," Merlin explained quietly.
"Because if you wish to fight in the tournament next week," Arthur continued. "I'm afraid the laws of Camelot state that only those of noble blood may fight. Are you of noble blood?"
"Actually sire," the Doctor smiled. "I am!"
Donna and Merlin looked up in joint surprise.
"And, so am I, actually! Since you didn't ask!" Donna retorted, louder this time.
"But as I said, I'm not here to -" The Doctor stopped short and stared for a moment as Donna's words filtered into his brain. He glanced sideways at her.
"What?" Donna exclaimed, now aware that everyone was staring at her.
"- Anyway," the Doctor continued, deciding to let the comment pass. "Sir Doctor of TARDIS, at your service my Lord," he grinned, turning to Donna. "That's the first time I've ever used that!"
"Tardis?" Arthur repeated. "I've never heard of Tardis."
"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me," the Doctor replied, dismissing the prince. "It's a tiny little place, miles away, most of the time!"
"Is part of Cenrid's land?"
"No!" Merlin interrupted quickly, turning to the Doctor. "Because Cenrid is Camelot's enemy and that would be a bad thing. Very, very bad."
"Oh quite right!" said the Doctor. "No, this is a very small place although … surprisingly big once you get there."
Arthur gave a confused frown, but continued regardless not wanting to appear thick in front of his guests and particularly in front of Merlin.
"You are both dressed so … strangely!" he said brightly, changing the subject completely. He surveyed Donna closely for a moment. "I've never seen a woman quite like you before."
Donna's jaw dropped, mortified at the prince's remark. Merlin kicked him swiftly in the shin.
"Oww!" Arthur cried. "I mean … dressed like you, I've never seen a woman dressed like you before. Very … modern. Anyway, I should go … I have training with the men this afternoon. Mustn't be late!" He turned to Merlin. "Do that again and I will stick you in the stocks for a month!" Arthur walked off towards the armoury, desperately trying to disguise his newly acquired limp.
"'Sir Doctor of TARDIS'?" Donna asked slowly.
"Oh yes!" the Doctor smiled proudly.
"…'Sir Doctor' … of 'TARDIS'" she snorted. "Not very original is it?"
"Oi! Queen Victoria gave me that!"
"Oh stop just making stuff up!" she chided.
"She did!" he cried. "I saved her life and then she knighted me! And then she banished me from the planet. She was very fickle!"
- 0 - 0 - 0 -
King Uther Pendragon lifted his head wearily as he sat at the large wooden dining table. His plate of food remained virtually untouched. These last few months had taken a huge toll on the king's health. The ultimate betrayal by his ward, the Lady Morgana had shattered him both mentally and physically, slowly turning him into a ruined man, a shadow of his former self. His royal tunics no longer fitted and he looked somewhat small and lost, almost child-like, within them. Most of his waking hours were spent alone in his chambers, tormenting himself with fluctuating bouts of torrid grief and anger. He was hardly capable of running the Kingdom, and Arthur being only just of age, could not do it alone. Lord Agravaine, Arthur's uncle, had offered to help where he could. The three sat together in subdued silence.
"So who are these friends you've invited to the court?" the King asked quietly.
"I met them today father," Arthur explained. "They're friends of Merlin."
"And why would I be the slightest bit interested in meeting the friends of your manservant?"
"They are travellers and I thought it would be nice to welcome them officially to Camelot. And they are of noble blood Father."
Lord Agravaine looked up from his food and leant back in his chair. "Oh really!" he asked, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "From where?"
Arthur drank from his wine. "A place called Tardis," he replied after a moment.
"Never heard of it!" Agravaine barked, dismissing Arthur with a wave of his hand.
King Uther smiled weakly, "But they are of noble blood you say?"
"Yes father," Arthur replied, turning his attention back to the king. "Although, I must say, they are very different from us. But, there's just something about them. They seem … very interesting."
"In what way?" Uther asked suspiciously.
"Difficult to say! From what Merlin has told me, they seem to have a vast amount of knowledge and experiences of things and places far away from Camelot." Arthur paused for a moment. "I thought that they might be able to help us in the search for the Lady Morgana."
"I fail to see how!" Agravaine interrupted. "I mean, the Lady Morgana would be far from here by now and besides, we have the guards searching for her and her accomplice, the Lady Morgause as we speak. However, I do agree that these … outsiders … may be of interest to us. Perhaps we should see them in the court my Lord, if only to assess the risk for ourselves."
Arthur's eyes widened. "No, my lord, you misunderstand me!" he said desperately. "I simply meant that it could prove to our advantage to befriend them. I don't believe they pose any risk to Camelot at all!"
"I agree," replied Uther, "with Lord Agravaine. Summon them to the court. I will meet with them and decide for myself, but tomorrow perhaps. For now I grow weary. I must return to my chambers."
Lord Agravaine and Arthur stood as the king departed. Agravaine, turning his attention back to Arthur, smiled slowly and raised his glass.
- 0 - 0 - 0 -