A/N: new chappie! enjoy!


Chapter 28: Kings and Queens, Knights and Wizards

The TARDIS appeared in a whirlwind of leaves it kicked up around it in the field, the whirring of its engine sounding through the clear, crisp, morning air of England. The light on its roof faded off one last time before the door opened and the Doctor poked his head out, looking around before stepping out and turning around to hold a hand out toward the opening, his other hand shoved in the pants pocket of his brown pinstriped pants.

"I welcome you, Lady Beverley, to Camelot," he grinned.

A hand set itself in his and Beverley regally stepped out of the TARDIS, flipping her hair before throwing her arms around his neck. He instantly pulled her against him, both laughing and he spun around, away from the TARDIS as Jack stepped out after them, shutting the door behind him.

"Is it just me, or is this morning mist a bit ominous?" he asked as the Doctor set Beverley back on her feet and the two frowned at him before looking around the field. "It's thick."

"Well, it's 12th century Britain, what'd you expect?" the Doctor retorted, shoving his hands into his pockets as he strolled back to him, Beverley latching onto his arm.

"Britain's always been foggy," she chimed in, looping one arm around one of Jack's to hold onto both of them.

"Still…" Jack mumbled, looking around the fog. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"Oh, don't be a spoil sport," Beverley smiled, trying to pull them both through the fog. "Lead the way, Doctor! Rule number three, right?"

"Wait," the Doctor replied, pulling Beverley back and pulling her behind him. "I hear something. Jack, stay with Beverley."

"You got it, Doc," he nodded, stepping next to her as they all looked ahead in the fog, all hearing what the Doctor heard before.

Hoof beats.

Jack slid one hand into his coat pocket. Beverley noticed and looked up at him with a frown but he only smirked down at her with a wink and before she had time to question him, a horse snorting shocked her back to the situation. Three men on horseback trotted out of the fog, two of them holding the reins of un-manned horses.

"Doctor," the lead man nodded respectfully as he brought his horse to a stop.

All three frowned and looked to each other.

"Lady Beverley and Captain Harkness," he nodded again, making the three look at him in utter confusion. "We've been expecting you."

"Come again?" the Doctor frowned. "We're expected?"

"The Wizard will explain all to you, Doctor," the lead knight explained, trotting closer as the three remained next to the TARDIS. "He said you wouldn't believe it. I'm Lancelot. I'm to take you to Camelot to meet the King and Queen as well as Merlin."

"No…way," Beverley breathed in awe and disbelief, shaking the Doctor's arm excitedly. "This is smashing!"

"The Doctor and the Captain will take the two horses," he instructed before looking to Beverley and holding out his hand to her. "Milady Beverley will ride with me."

"Not likely, Sir," the Doctor replied, taking Beverley's hand and pulling her toward one of the horses held by the knights.

"Don't worry, Lance," Jack smiled, stepping past him as Lancelot frowned to the Doctor, then to Jack. "He can be possessive."

"I see," Lancelot nodded before turning his horse to face his knights as the Doctor mounted one of the horses and pulled Beverley up onto it behind him. "With a beauty like that, Captain, I believe he should be."

"Glad to see we're all on the same page, then," Jack smirked, heading toward one of the other horses to mount it.

"Sir Lancelot, why exactly were you expecting us?" the Doctor asked as the group gathered, waiting for directions.

"The Wizard said that at the right time, you would come to our aid," Lancelot replied, heading into the fog. "If you follow me, I'll take you to him and he will explain everything."

"Well, I can cross this off my checklist," Beverley smiled, hugging the Doctor as he led the horse after Lancelot, Jack riding beside them on his own horse.

"What's that?" the Doctor asked, frowning at her over his shoulder.

"A pleasant ride in the countryside with my knight in shining pinstripes," she smiled, nuzzling his back and the Doctor couldn't help but grin, widely as he looked to Jack who scoffed and shook his head.

"How did you know who to look for?" Jack asked Lancelot.

"Merlin told us to find two men and a red haired woman traveling in a blue box," he replied.

"Well…red hair's not hard to miss," the Doctor shrugged. "So, what is this trouble you're having?"

"It's better if the Wizard explained that, as well," Lancelot answered. "I'm no good with this sort of thing."

"What sort of thing is that?" Jack couldn't help but wonder.

"Magic in any form," Lancelot replied, making the three frown at each other.

"Magic?" the Doctor murmured, looking ahead again. "Or alien?"


Later...

"Doctor…!"

"I know," he smiled back at Beverley as she clutched his hand excitedly, both looking around the halls of the castle. Jack strolled behind them as Lancelot led them through the castle.

"Merlin instructed me to bring you to him immediately after finding you," he explained as they approached a small, closed staircase. "His rooms are up here."

"Told you something was wrong," Jack sang softly at the Doctor who sneered at him before leading Beverley up the stairs, Jack chuckling behind her.

Lancelot pushed the door open at the top and stood aside, entreating them to go first. The Doctor nodded and pulled Beverley with him into the room, Jack following, almost bumping into the red-head as they stopped inside. The three caught the sight of a figure in a long, purple robe, looking out of the window he stood in front of. He held a looking glass toward the sky for a moment before lowering it and turning to the doorway. His graying, full beard and mustache almost hid his mouth completely as he smiled and his dark eyes seemed to glitter when he caught sight of the three.

"Doctor, Beverley and Jack," he greeted, stepping away from the window and toward the three, grasping the Doctor's free hand. "I'm glad to finally meet all three of you together. You said you would have a different face, Doctor, but I never thought your eyes would look so much younger."

"Oh! I see!" the Doctor nodded hugely, shaking Merlin's hand as Beverley and Jack frowned at him. "My future told you my past was going to come here! My lord, it's Queen Elizabeth and Brannigan all over again."

"Oh, that's right!" Beverley realized as Merlin let go of the Doctor's hand. "Your timeline is mixed up!"

"Time traveling can be confusing, can't it, Doc?" Jack smirked as the wizard nodded to Lancelot who bowed out and shut the door behind him.

Merlin looked to Beverley, who glanced to him, making a double take with a frown when he only stared at her, his smile dropping, slowly.

"The famous Beverley Gilmore," he breathed, making Jack and the Doctor frown at him as he took Beverley's free hand into both of his, still staring at her. "He spoke highly of you."

"Well, at least I've made an impact," she smiled, glancing slyly at the Doctor who still frowned at the wizard in wonder. His gaze and tone seemed filled with…sorrow.

"So," the Doctor chirped, drawing Merlin's attention back to him. "What's this problem Lancelot said you had?"

"The weather, Doctor," he replied, releasing Beverley's hand and the three frowned at him again as he turned to head toward the window again. "Isn't it beautiful today?"

"Jeez, he's worse than you," Jack muttered at the Doctor, making Beverley giggle, but the Doctor ignored them both as he let go of her hand and stepped toward Merlin. They both looked out the window and the Doctor frowned deeper still as he leaned on the stone sill.

"A beautiful day indeed," the Doctor nodded, "a day that's about to be ruined, I think."

As if on cue, the sky darkened and a heavy rain poured from the sky.

"Whoo!" the Doctor cheered, standing tall and grinning as he turned to Beverley and Jack, waving them toward him, calling, "Hurry up and have a look at this, you two!"

"What? Like we haven't seen rain before, Doc?" Jack shrugged, strolling toward him as Beverley hurriedly rushed toward the Doctor and nearly shoved her head out of the window.

"Oh, Jack, why do you have to disappoint me?" the Doctor frowned. "All that time in Torchwood and you don't think instantaneous weather change is worth looking into?"

"It doesn't look like rain," Beverley breathed, catching everyone's attention. "It's sort of…glittery."

"Ooh, glittery rain," the Doctor nodded, pulling his glasses from his jacket pocket and slipping them on before leaning a hand out the window. "Good set of eyes you've got, love."

"And pretty, too," Jack chimed in with a smirk as the Doctor pulled his hand back in.

"As I thought," he murmured, examining his hand as he rubbed his fingers against each other. His hand glittered with a pale blue glow, the light dancing on his face as he moved his fingers. Jack and Beverley stepped to either side of him as he held his hand out a little farther for them to see, Merlin stepping toward the table in the center of his room and leaned over it. "Pretty, isn't it?"

"If it's not water, what is it?" Beverley frowned.

"That, Beverley Gilmore, is a very good question," the Doctor commended in a murmur, still examining his hand as the glow started to fade from it. He turned to Merlin who was looking over a piece of parchment and asked, "How long has the rain been like this?"

"A month ago today," he replied as the Doctor approached him and looked over his shoulder at the parchment. "It's not just the rain. The plant life in the forest has become a wild jungle that cannot be navigated through. Tunnels of wind blow through the fields and take our livestock with them. And worst of all, when a fire is started, it is hard to put out and cannot be controlled."

"Well, that is a problem," the Doctor mumbled, pulling off his glasses and tucking them away again. "And this is the timeline, yes?"

"Yes," Merlin nodded as Beverley and Jack came up to look over the parchment as well, Beverley nearly pressing herself against the Doctor to do so. He swallowed as Merlin asked, "Do you see the pattern?"

The three examined the parchment and the Doctor's eyes instantly widened.

"Oh, that's brilliant!" he cheered, excitedly.

"What?" Beverley urged. "What is it?"

"See the first day it started," he explained, pointing to a spot of writing, drawing hers and Jack's attention to it and they followed his finger as it moved across the page, explaining, "It started with an unexplained fire, then, the next day, there was a savage tornado, and then an overgrowth in the forest, and lastly, the rain. Instant and hard that was followed by shining dew."

"Alright, but where's the pattern?" Jack wondered with a frown.

"I see it!" Beverley breathed through a grin, pointing to the next day. "The rain came two days in a row, then the fire, then the tornado, then the overgrowth."

"I get it!" Jack smiled, noticing it as well. "Then overgrowth again, then the rain, then fire, then the tornado!"

"This is no magic," the Doctor determined. "It's far too organized, and I've seen this kind of rain before, but not on Earth."

"Then where?" Merlin asked.

"Another world, far from this one," the Doctor replied, standing tall from the table. "Which is why I can't understand why they would be here."

"What, Doctor?" Beverley wondered, standing tall next to him, but he looked back to Merlin.

"Have there been any dragon sightings around the time these things started happening?" he asked.

"As a matter of fact, there have been several," Merlin replied.

"Of course," Jack breathed in sudden realization, drawing Beverley's frown to him.

"What?" she asked before turning to the Doctor. "What's this got to do with dragons?"

"They're not dragons," Jack replied and she looked to him with a frown.

"But he just said—"

"Listen," Jack cut in, turning her toward the Doctor again and patting her shoulders.

"They're not dragons, Merlin, they're Drigons, from the planet Thacool," the Doctor explained. "Virtually harmless, but if I'm correct about this, they're preparing this land for themselves. A habitat. They look like dragons, but they're not, and by the looks of it, only four of them are here." He leaned over the table again, looking over the parchment. "The question is why?"

"I'm sure you'll find the reason soon, Doctor," Merlin guessed. "In the meantime, I will take you to see the king and queen. You can explain what you have so far discovered to them. They will be most grateful."


The Throne Room...

"Your Majesties, I could find out what the Drigons want if I could only find where they nest," the Doctor explained as he, Jack and Beverley stood in front of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere sat regally at their thrones. "They are a long way from home, but I can get them back to their own planet if only I could speak to them."

"And you shall, Doctor," Arthur nodded. "Lancelot will give you the map to guide you to the nest which you found the last time you were here."

He lifted his hand to the knight to his left where he stood and Lancelot approached the three to hand the Doctor a scroll he'd been holding. The Doctor instantly took it with a nod of thanks before he opened it to examine it, Jack and Beverley looking over his shoulders.

"Oh, bloody hell," he muttered.

"Your future is unfair," Jack agreed as Beverley frowned at them.

"For those of us who haven't been here…" she trailed off, waiting for an explanation.

"All this area, here," the Doctor began explaining, circling the huge 'X' over a certain area. "It's all marsh lands. Swampy, hot and very dangerous."

"Well then," Beverley smiled, drawing both men's attentions as she grinned, "What are we waiting for?"


A/N: reviews?