One of the Monks drags the guard away. The Father steps over his body and goes through a door into the dining room.
I cautiously follow him, peering into the cracked door.
"Your companion begs an apology, Doctor. Her clothing has somewhat delayed her." He says, stiffly.
"Oh, that's all right. Save her a wee bit of ham." I hear the Doctor's happy voice
"The feral child could probably eat it raw." Jokes the Queen
"Very wise, Ma'am! Very witty!" laughs the Captain's voice
"Slightly witty, perhaps. I know you rarely get the chance to dine with me, Captain, but don't get too excited... I shall contain my wit in case I do you further injury." The Queen says, with dignity
"Yes, Ma'am. Sorry, Ma'am." The Captain's meek voice apologizes.
"Besides, we're all waiting on Sir Robert! Come, Sir! You promised us a tale of nightmares." Calls The Doctor.
"Indeed. Since my husband's death, I find myself with more of a taste for supernatural fiction." Adds the queen
"You must miss him." The Doctor notes, a touch of sadness in his voice
"Very much." She answers, thoughtfully, before her voice brightens again "Oh, completely. And that's the charm of a ghost story, isn't it? Not the scares and chills, that's just for children, but the... hope of some contact with the great beyond. We all want some message from that place... it's the Creator's greatest mystery that we are allowed no such consolation. The dead stay silent. And we must wait." The Queen explains "Come! Begin your tale, Sir Robert. There's a chill in the air. The wind is howling through the eaves. Tell us of monsters!" She cries. I hurry down the hall the way the men took Rose and follow the echoes of voices until I reach a small shed in the back. I peek through a keyhole. There is a shadowy figure in a cage on one end and on the other, a mistress-looking lady and many maids are huddled, chained together, along with Rose.
"Don't make a sound. They said if we scream or shout, then he will slaughter us." Whispers the woman
"But... he's in a cage. He's a prisoner. He's the same as us." Rose's confused voice whispers back.
"He's nothing like us. That creature is not mortal." The woman hisses, and The creature raises his head slowly and opens his eyes...which are completely black. Lady Isobel and her household staff whimper, and Rose stares, scared.
Rose stands. She's going to approach the Host.
"Don't, child." Urges the woman, but Rose ignores her. She edges slowly towards the Host, chains rattling slightly. When she's as close as the chains will allow her, she kneels.
"Who are you?" she asks, kindly
"Don't enrage him." Whispers a strong, masculine voice, most likely a guard from out of my range of vision.
"Where are you from? You're not from Earth. What planet are you from?" she questions
"Ohhh... intelligence..." the creature hisses with a voice like nails on a chalkboard.
"Where were you born?" asks Rose
"This body... ten miles away... a weakling, heartsick boy. Stolen away at night by the brethren from my cultivation. I carved out his soul and sat in his heart." The voice sounds pleased with itself.
"All right... so the body's human... but what about you? The thing inside?"
"So far from home." It mutters
"If you wanna get back home, we can help."
"Why would I leave this place? A world of industry, of workforce and warfare. I could turn it to such purpose." The beast responds,
"How would you do that?:" Questions Rose
"I would migrate to the Holy Monarch." It says, matter of factly
"You mean Queen Victoria?" gasps Rose
"With one bite, I would pass into her blood. And then it begins. The Empire of the Wolf! So many questions..." He suddenly lunges forward, making the prisoners, including Rose and I, jump and gasp.
"Look! Inside your eyes! You've seen it too!" It growls
"Seen what?" demands Rose
"The Wolf! There is something of the Wolf about you!" It answers, and I freeze.
Rose stares at him, breathing heavily.
"I don't know what you mean." Rose answers, weakly
"You burnt like the sun, but all I require is the moon." It snarls
I glance up at the sky and see the full moon rising. As I turn, I see dark shapes moving towards the main cellar doors.
Running, I duck behind a hay bale, where I am still in view of the entire cellar.
The men come closer and throw open the doors of the cellar, and the moonlight floods in, over the creature's cage. He presses his face against the bars with a blissful smile.
"Moonlight..." he snarls
The prisoners shift around uncomfortably, not knowing what to make of this. The creature sheds his cloak. A wind blows through the cellar. The creature grasps the bars of the cage.
"All of you! Stop looking at it! Flora, don't look. Listen to me. Grab hold of the chain and pull!" orders Rose as she pulls on the chain. "Come on! With me! Pull!"
There are growling sounds emitting from the cage, and Lady Isobel is just staring at it in horror.
"I said pull! Stop your whining and listen to me! All of you! And that means you, your Ladyship! Now come on, pull!" orders Rose, and I fight a strong feeling of pride.
They all stand and help Rose pull on the chain, trying to free it from the wall.
I watch in terror as the creature is slowly transforming into a wolf. He screams in pain as his skin bulges horribly. His screams turn into growls as he begins to look more and more like a wolf.
"... three... Pull!" cries Rose and they all tug on the chain, desperately trying to free themselves. The transformation is all but complete.
"One... two... three... pull!" Yells Rose again.
The werewolf's transformation is complete. It growls and flexes its claws as the prisoners scream.
"One, two, three, pull!" Rose yells again, and finally, the chain comes free.
The Doctor kicks down the other door to the cellar.
"Where the hell have you been?" demands Rose
The Doctor turns and stares at the werewolf with wide-eyed awe as it grabs hold of the bars of the cage.
"Oh, that's beautiful!" he gasps
"Get out!" cries Sir Robert
The wolf begins the bend and break the bars, throwing the cage off. The household staff are all clamoring to get out of the room. The Doctor suddenly remembers the urgency of the situation and turns back to them. "Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! " He cries, shoeing them out towards me.
"Doctor!" I cry, hurrying out of my hiding place, but all of my skirts of the dress are tripping me up.
"Come on..." Rose yells
The werewolf stands tall, free of the cage. He throws the top of it across the room, narrowly missing the Doctor who finally stops staring and makes a run for it. He slams the door behind him and locks it with his sonic screwdriver. The wolf stretches up and howls at the moon.
The Doctor scoops me awkwardly in his arms as we follow everyone into the hall of the house. The Steward hands guns to all the men.
"Arms... and your strife... ready everyone?" asks Sir Robert, before turning to his wife.
"Take the girls. Get them out through the kitchen."
Lady Isobel approaches her husband "I can't leave you. What will you do?" she begs
" I must defend her Majesty. Now, don't think of me, just go." He says "and take the young girl with you." He indicates to me
"No!" I cry, clinging to the Doctor. "I can be of some help!"
"But wolfe you would be safer-" The Doctor starts,
"I must stay with you." I beg, looking into his deep brown eyes.
"So be it." He says.
Lady Isobel kisses Sir Robert and then gathers her maids.
"All of you at my side, come on!" She pulls them through to the kitchen.
The Doctor puts me down before using the sonic screwdriver to relieve Rose of the handcuffs.
"It could be any form of light modulated species triggered by specific wavelengths. Did it say what it wanted?" He frantically asks Rose
"The Queen, the Crown, the throne... you name it." I respond to him There is a thumping sound from the direction of the cellar and we look around. The Doctor ventures out into the corridor to investigate, and I follow, peeking behind him. The wolf has managed to knock down the door and is stood at the other end of the corridor. He and the Doctor stare at one another for a few moments before the werewolf growls and the Doctor runs back into the room. He scoops me onto his back, grabs Rose's hand and pulls her behind the line of men with guns poised and ready.
"Fire!" someone cries
They shoot at the wolf, who stumbles back a few steps.
"Fire!"
I see Rose flinch as they fire again.
After a few more rounds, there is no sign of the wolf
"All right, you men, we should retreat upstairs, come with me." Orders The Doctor
"I'll not retreat. The battle's done. There's no creature on God's Earth that could survive such an assault." Responds the Steward
"I'm telling you, come upstairs!" orders The Doctor
"And I'm telling you, sir, that I will sleep well tonight with that thing's hide upon my wall." He strides across the room to look down the corridor, checking of the wolf. The Doctor watches him, looking extremely angry and concerned. Apparently seeing nothing, the steward strides back looking mildly triumphant. "Must've crawled away to die-"
He is lifted clean through the ceiling by the wolf and we hear him being devoured.