The next two months passed completely normally. Well, normally for three people who live on a sentient time traveling spaceship. We saved a few civilizations, bounced around for a bit, only got arrested twice, and generally had a good time.
This particular day, we'd attended a festival on a human colony of Peth. Peth only had two seasons, wet and dry, and the festival we'd gone to was supposed to ring in the wet season. It had. We'd all gotten soaked through in the first five minutes, and spent the run back to the TARDIS laughing.
Something, maybe the TARDIS, or maybe something more instinctual, told me an episode was coming up. After New Earth came Tooth and Claw, so I tried to dress appropriately. I'd never be caught dead in a corset, but at least I could wear a long skirt and wrist length sleeves. It was better than the denim cut-off overalls Rose had changed into.
"What do you think of this?" Rose asked, walking into the console room. "Will it do?" The Doctor looked up from whatever he'd been tinkering with.
"For the late 1970s? You'd be better off in a bin bag," he said. "Although, I'd say it's better than what Katelyn's wearing."
"I was cold!" I protested from the coral strut that was my designated seat now. The Doctor ignored me, as he was wont to do.
"Hold on, listen to this." The Doctor turned a knob on the console and a song came on. "Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Number One in 1979."
"You're a punk!" Rose laughed. After getting over the shock of his regeneration, she'd been having fun learning what made this Doctor different.
"It's good to be a lunatic," the Doctor sang with the song.
"That's what you are," Rose continued. "A big old punk with a bit of rockabilly thrown in." I rolled my eyes and climbed down from the coral.
"Would you like to see him?" the Doctor offered.
"How'd you mean? In concert?" Rose asked, looking delighted.
"What else is a TARDIS for?" the Doctor asked.
"A great many things," I deadpanned.
"Well, yeah," the Doctor said, throwing his tinker project onto the console. "I can take you to the Battle of Trafalgar, the first anti-gravity Olympics, Caesar crossing the Rubicon, or...Ian Dury at the Top Rank, Sheffield, England, Earth, 21st November, 1979. What do you think?"
"Sheffield it is," Rose said.
"Rose!" I whined. "Caesar crossing the Rubicon!"
"We can go back to Rome when it's your turn to pick," the Doctor said. I opened my mouth, and the Doctor put his hand on a lever. "Hold on tight."
The Doctor piloted to the beat of the music, being a bit more rough with the console than was called for. I don't think the TARDIS felt pain, but I can't imagine the treatment made her happy. That's probably why we landed so hard. I had a tight enough grip on the railing that I didn't fall, but Rose and the Doctor ended up on their backs. Not that this seemed to bother them, laughing as they were.
"1979!" the Doctor declared, jumping to his feet. "Hell of a year." He pulled Rose to her feet on his way to the door. We followed. "China invades Vietnam. The Muppet Movie. Love that film." The Doctor grabbed his coat and threw it on. "Margaret Thatcher. Urgh. Skylab falls to Earth, with a little help from me. Nearly took off my thumb." The Doctor opened the doors and walked out, still facing Rose and I. I grabbed a coat of my own I'd hidden a few weeks ago and pulled it on. "And I like my thumb. I need my thumb. I'm very attached to…" The Doctor stopped talking at the sound of rifles being cocked. "My... thumb."
We were surrounded by soldiers, most on foot, but a few on horses. Tucked behind them all was a coach, the driver being the only one unarmed. We raised our hands next to our heads. "1879," the Doctor whispered. "Same difference." Rose and I exchanged a look.
"You will explain your presence," the head soldier commanded. "And the nakedness of this girl." He gestured to Rose with his pistol. I congratulated myself on dressing enough to be considered clothed. "And the baldness of the other." Shit. I kept my hair as short as Jack had cut it nearly five months ago, which was too short apparently.
"Are we in Scotland?" the Doctor asked in the regional accent, delighted.
"How can you be ignorant of that?" the soldier asked.
"Oh, I'm, I'm…" The Doctor looked at us for a moment. "We're dazed and confused. My…my sister-" The Doctor gestured vaguely to me. I blinked. Sister? "-and I've been chasing this, this wee naked child over hill and over dale. Isn't that right, ya…timorous beastie?"
"Och, aye!" Rose tried. "I've been oot and aboot." Yikes, if her attempt was that bad, should I even try?
"No, don't do that," the Doctor whispered.
"Hoots mon," Rose continued anyway.
"No, really don't," the Doctor whispered again. When Rose opened her mouth again, the Doctor held out his hand. "Really."
"Will you identify yourself, sir?" the solder insisted.
"I'm Doctor-" He paused. "James McCrimmon, from the…township of Balamory. I have my credentials, if I may." The Doctor gestured to his pocket as best he could while still holding his hands over his head. The soldier nodded, but didn't lower his gun. Rose and I dropped our arms, and the Doctor pulled the psychic paper out of his coat pocket.
"As you can see, a Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh," the Doctor lied. "I trained under Doctor Bell himself." That was possibly not a lie. One could never tell with the Doctor.
"Let them approach," said a voice from the coach.
"I don't think that's wise, ma'am," the soldier said, not looking away from us. Really, how threatening could we look?
"Let them approach," the voice insisted. The soldier looked quite put out. The Doctor gestured in a 'what can you do' kind of way. I smiled in a way I hoped was comforting.
"You will approach the carriage," the soldier said, lowering his gun. "And show all due deference."
We approached (due deference was always up for debate with us). A footman opened the door of the coach to reveal the Imperial Widow herself, sitting primply and dressed in mourning clothes. Rose stopped dead, and I bumped into her.
"Rose, Katelyn," the Doctor said. "Might I introduce her Majesty Queen Victoria. Empress of India and Defender of the Faith."
"Rose Tyler, Ma'am." Rose curtsied. "And my apologies for being so naked."
"I've had five daughters. It's nothing to me," Victoria dismissed. "And you?" I opened my mouth to speak, but the Doctor jumped in first.
"Katelyn-" He paused, lost for a moment in the tangle of the elaborate lie he'd been weaving. "McCrimmon. You'll have to excuse my sister, your majesty. She was caught up in a fire recently. It ruined her hair and her voice," the Doctor finished with a pointed look my way. My eye twitched, but I offered Queen Victoria a smile and a curtsey. Oh, the Doctor was gonna get it once this was over.
"And you, Doctor," Victoria said. "Show me these credentials." He handed her the psychic paper. Victoria read quickly, blinking hard once she was done. "Why didn't you say so immediately?" The Doctor looked a bit confused. "It states clearly here that you have been appointed by the Lord Provost as my Protector."
"Does it?" the Doctor questioned, taking the paper back and reading it. "Yes, it does. Good. Good. Then let me ask - why is Your Majesty travelling by road when there's a train all the way to Aberdeen?" Victoria's face turned grim.
"A tree on the line," she stated.
"An accident?" the Doctor asked in a way that said he already knew the answer.
"I am the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Everything around me tends to be planned."
"An assassination attempt?" the Doctor guessed.
"What, seriously?" Rose asked. "There's people out to kill you?"
"I'm quite used to staring down the barrel of a gun," Victoria answered.
"Sir Robert MacLeish lives but ten miles hence," the soldier announced. "We've sent word ahead. He'll shelter us for tonight, then we can reach Balmoral tomorrow."
"This Doctor, his sister, and his timorous beastie will come with us," Victoria announced.
"Yes, Ma'am," the soldier almost sighed. "We'd better get moving - it's almost nightfall."
"Indeed," Victoria said dramatically. I chuckled before I could stop myself. "And there are stories of wolves in these parts. Fanciful tales intended to scare the children. But good for the blood, I think. Drive on!" The footman closed the door and the coach lurched and moved again.
The Doctor, Rose, and walked with the soldiers behind the carriage.
"It's funny though," Rose said after we'd been walking for a few minutes. "Because you say assassination and you just think of Kennedy and stuff. Not her." Rose aimed a smile at me, teasing. I couldn't blow our cover, but that didn't mean I couldn't glare at her. Caesar was assassinated, I thought bitterly. John Lennon, Franz Ferdinand, Abraham Linc- Fuck!
"1879?" the Doctor began. "She's had, oh, six attempts on her life? And I'll tell you something else. We just met Queen Victoria!"
"I know!" Rose cheered.
"What a laugh!" the Doctor agreed. My forced silence was really getting on my nerves. So much sass I was being denied.
"She was just sitting there," Rose continued.
"Like a stamp," the Doctor agreed again.
"I want her to say 'we are not amused'. I bet you five quid I can make her say it."
"Well," the Doctor drawled. "If I gambled on that, it'd be an abuse of my privileges of traveller in time."
"Ten quid?" Rose offered.
"Done."
...
Torchwood manor loomed in a way that was probably only intimidating to me. Three stories of brick and stone stood out against the otherwise flat hills. There was a chill in the air I couldn't fully ascribe to the wind.
Creepy and high-causality adventure? I had my work cut out for me today.
Sir Robert came out to greet us. He looked nervous and extremely pale, but I understood how the others could chalk that up to the queen's presence. I chalked it up to the bald monks dressed in servants clothes trailing behind him.
"Your Majesty." Robert greeted the queen with a bow.
"Sir Robert," Victoria acknowledged. "My apologies for the emergency. And how is Lady Isobel?" Robert was almost shaking, the poor man.
"She's...indisposed, I'm afraid," Robert said. "She's gone to Edinburgh for the season." Robert stopped shaking. He had an idea, I could tell. I'd had a lot like them in the last few months. His was about to go as well as mine had. "And she's taken the cook with her. The kitchens are barely stocked. I wouldn't blame Your Majesty if you wanted to ride on." The Doctor watched the exchange with interest, trying to figure out why Robert was lying.
"Oh, not at all," Victoria refused easily. Robert's smile vanished. "I've had quite enough carriage exercise. And this is charming, if rustic. It's my first visit to this house," Victoria added. "My late husband spoke of it often. The Torchwood Estate. Now, shall we go inside? And please excuse the naked and bald girls." Victoria gestured to us.
"Sorry," Rose said. I signed 'sorry' just to remind the Doctor I knew ASL.
"She's a feral child," the Doctor said, nodding at Rose. "I bought her for sixpence in old London Town. It's was her or the Elephant Man, so…"
"Thinks he's funny," Rose said with her own nod to the Doctor. "But I'm so not amused." And I'm here too! I couldn't say, because of the Doctor's bullshit. "What do you think, Ma'am?"
"It hardly matters," Victoria dismissed. "Shall we proceed?"
Rose turned to us as Victoria walked away. "So close," she whispered. I gave her a 'were you, though?' look.
"Makerson and Ramsey, you will escort the property. Hurry up," the lead soldier commanded.
"Yes, sir." Two soldiers stepped forward, retrieving a box from the Queen's coach and following her into the manor.
"So what's in there, then?" the Doctor asked, following the box.
"Property of the Crown," the soldier said. "You will dismiss any further thoughts, sir."
...
Sir Robert gave us a tour of nearly the entire estate. By the end of it I was, as usual, so very glad I'd chosen not to wear period shoes. I made a mental note to ask the Doctor to take us to whoever had invented hiking boots. I needed to thank them personally.
The last room we were lead into was an observatory, the centerpiece of which was a massive Jules Verne-looking telescope.
"This, I take it, is the famous Endeavour," Victoria said.
"All my father's work," Sir Robert answered. "Built by hand in his final years. Became something of an obsession. He spent his money on this rather than caring for the house or himself."
That's not healthy, I signed.
"I wish I'd met him. I like him," the Doctor said. He was grinning like an idiot, a grin he reserved for either 'I love humans' or 'I love Rose'. "That thing's beautiful. Can I?" The Doctor gestured toward the telescope.
"Help yourself," Robert said. Team TARDIS walked over to the Endeavor, although neither Rose nor I really knew what we could be looking for.
Thank you, I signed.
"What did he model it on?" the Doctor asked.
"I know nothing about it," Robert admitted. "To be honest, most of us thought him a little, shall we say, eccentric." The Doctor chuckled, and crouched down to try and see through the 'telescope'. "I wish now I'd spent more time with him and listened to his stories."
"It's a bit rubbish," the Doctor announced. I smiled sheepishly at Sir Robert, since I was not able to say 'Please excuse my idiot friend. His tongue moves faster than his brain'.
"How many prisms has it got?" the Doctor asked, then answered "Way too many" before any of us could check him. "The magnification's gone right over the top. That's stupid kind of-" He finally noticed the look Rose was giving him. "Am I being rude again?" he whispered in his normal voice.
"Yep," Rose said.
"But it's pretty!" the Doctor said. Rose patted him on the shoulder. "It's very…pretty."
"And the imagination of it should be applauded," Victoria added, walking forward. I nodded, agreeing.
"Mmm. Thought you might disapprove, Your Majesty," Rose started. I rolled my eyes. Fondly, of course. "Stargazing. Isn't that a bit fanciful? You could easily not be amused, or something?" Victoria stared, blank faced. "No?" The Doctor shook his head with infinitely more fondness than I had rolled my eyes.
"This device surveys the infinite work of God," Victoria said. "What could be finer? Sir Robert's father was an example to us all. A polymath, steeped in astronomy and sciences, yet equally well versed in folklore and fairytales."
"Stars and magic. I like him more and more," the Doctor said, the first thing I'd agreed with him on all day.
"Oh, my late husband enjoyed his company," Victoria said, specifically to Rose and I. "Prince Albert himself was acquainted with many rural superstitions, coming as he did from Saxe Coburg."
"That's Bavaria," the Doctor whispered to us. The Queen turned back to Sir Robert.
"When Albert was told about your local wolf, he was transported."
"So, what's this wolf, then?" the Doctor asked.
"It's just a story," Robert dismissed with a not very convincing laugh.
"Then tell it," the Doctor insisted. Robert swallowed hard, and made a conscious effort not to turn around.
"It's said that-"
"Excuse me, sir," the monk-butler interrupted. "Perhaps her Majesty's party could repair to their rooms. It's almost dark."
"Of course. Yes, of course," Robert said, gesturing out the door.
"And then supper," Victoria said. "And could we find some clothes for Miss Tyler? I'm tired of nakedness."
"It's not amusing, is it?" Rose tried. Victoria gave her a look that said she was wise to the game, and would not be giving Rose what she wanted.
She knows, the Doctor mouthed to Rose. I took a moment to wonder if they were standing to close for polite, Victorian standards. I mean, any closer and they'd be occupying the same space.
"Sir Robert, your wife must have left some clothes. See to it," Victoria commanded. "We shall dine at seven, and talk some more of this wolf. After all, there is a full moon tonight." Robert looked again like he was going to be sick.
"So there is, Ma'am."
...
"I-I swear," I spat as soon as the bedroom doors were closed behind us. Rose had been given access to a guest room that was stocked with Lady Isobel's extra clothing, and I'd gone with her to 'help her get dressed'.
Rose was barely holding in laughter, now that the door was closed. I was fuming, trying to pretend I hadn't noticed she was laughing. "I swear with God as my witness as soon as we're back on the TARDIS, I am pushing his skinny ass into the nearest event horizon," I said.
"Well, what was he supposed to say?" Rose asked, diving into one of the closets.
"What was he su- hwa- Rose!" I sputtered. "Literally anything else? 'Yes, hello, this is my American friend. She's visiting. Don't mind her.' What in that massively stupid brain of his compelled him to say 'yes this is my mute sister whose hair all burned away recently'. I?" Rose wasn't hiding her laughter as she started pulling some dressed out. "Wha- I just?"
"I think it's sweet," Rose teased.
"Rose, not this again," I moaned.
"It's better than you two not talking," Rose said. I said nothing to that and sat on the bed. Just because she was right didn't mean I had to tell her.
After looking for a few minutes, Rose found a blue dress she liked. "Will this do?" she asked. I hummed.
"Probably need some underskirts to make it poof out appropriately." Rose huffed and moved to another one of the closets.
"Your skirt isn't poofed," she mumbled. I shrugged, obviously unable to say I needed her to look in that closest because a maid was in there. Rose opened the closest and jumped back, screaming. I shot to my feet. "He-hello."
Flora immediately burst into tears. Gently, Rose and I guided her until she was sitting on the bed. I put my arms around her shoulders. "Can you tell us what happened, miss?" I asked. Flora took a deep breath.
"They came through the house in silence," she whispered. "They took the Steward and the Master, and my Lady." Rose reached out and took one of Flora's shaking hands in her own.
"Listen. We've got a friend," she whispered. "He's called the Doctor. He'll know what to do." Rose grabbed Flora's other hand and tugged, but Flora stayed rooted to the bed. "You've got to come with us."
"Oh, but I can't, Miss." She was shaking with fear. I held her a little tighter.
"What's your name?" Rose asked gently.
"F-Flora," she whispered.
"Flora." Rose smiled. "We'll be safe. There's more people arrived downstairs, soldiers and everything, and they can help us. I promise."
"Come on," I said, pulling her shoulders as I stood again. Flora budged just a little.
It took some more coaxing, but we were able to get Flora to leave the room. Rose lead, holding one of Flora's hands. She hadn't said so, but I knew she was making a beeline for where she thought the Doctor was. In Rose's mind, there was no safer place than at his side.
That was slightly undercut by the unconscious soldier we found just around the corner.
"Oh," Flora whimpered. "I did warn you." Rose ran forward and checked the soldier's pulse. I tightened my grip on Flora's hand, straining to see if I could hear the monk that I knew was approaching.
"He's not dead," Rose announced. "I don't think. He must be drugged or something."
Flora screamed, her hand ripping out of my grip. I turned, whether to try and defend myself or to save her, I'm not sure. One of the monks grabbed me from behind. I managed to swing my leg back and catch him in the shin, not that the pain seemed to affect him much. He hit me in a pressure point, and I passed out.
...
I came to in the rather uncomfortable position of having my arms shackled on the other side of the corner from where my hips were. I opened my eyes to the ceiling.
"Don't make a sound," Isobel whispered. "They said if we scream or shout, then he will slaughter us." I turned my head to the side to see the soon-to-be werewolf sitting, eyes closed, in his cage.
"But he's in a cage," Rose whispered back. "He's a prisoner. He's the same as us."
"He's nothing like us," Isobel whispered. "That creature is not mortal."
The werewolf opened his pitch black eyes. Everyone but Rose and I flinched back. Rose stood up and took a step toward the werewolf.
"Don't, child," Isobel warned,
"Come on, Katelyn," Rose said, still moving forward. I got to my feet as quietly as I could, ignoring the pain in my hips.
"Yes Rose, I'm fine. Thanks for asking," I muttered. We moved forward until the chains on our wrists stopped us.
"Who are you?" Rose asked.
"Don't enrage him," one of the chained men warned.
"Where are you from?" Rose continued. "You're not from Earth. What planet are you from?"
"Oh," the werewolf cooed. "Intelligence."
"Where were you born?" Rose asked more firmly.
"This body? Ten miles away," the werewolf answered. "A weakling, heartsick boy, stolen away at night by the brethren for my cultivation. I carved out his soul and sat in his heart." The werewolf barely moved as he spoke, using as little of his body as possible.
"All right, so the body's human," Rose said to me. "But what about you, the thing inside?"
"So far from home," the werewolf moaned.
"If you want to get back home, we can help," Rose offered, gesturing to me. "We have a ship-"
"Why would I leave this place?" the werewolf interrupted. "A world of industry, of workforce and warfare. I could turn it to such purpose."
"How would you do that?" Rose asked.
"I would migrate to the Holy Monarch," the werewolf said.
"You mean Queen Victoria?" Rose sounded shocked.
"Unless you're carrying another Holy Monarch in you overalls," I snarked, because, as previously noted, that's how I cope with fear.
"With one bite, I would pass into her blood, and then it begins. The Empire of the Wolf," the werewolf said. "So many questions." The werewolf lunged at the front wall of the crate. We all jumped back. "Look. Inside your eyes," the werewolf said quickly, sounding almost desperate. "You've seen it too."
"Seen what?" Rose asked. My heart pounded a little faster.
"The Wolf. There is something of the Wolf about you," the werewolf rushed.
"I don't know what you mean," Rose answered honestly.
The Doctor had said nothing to Rose about her whole 'Bad Wolf' episode, and so I'd said nothing either. It was a wonder she hadn't asked about it yet.
"You burnt like the sun," the werewolf said. "But all I require is the moon." The cellar doors were suddenly flung open, and the light shone in on the crate. I jumped back, shaking. All the things I'd seen, and this werewolf scared me as much as the Daleks.
The werewolf turned and pressed his face through the bar. "Moonlight," he moaned. He started pulling his cloak off to expose more of his skin. A wind that didn't feel entirely natural started blowing through the cellar.
Rose looked around, and spotted how the chain was attached to the wall. "Katelyn-"
"Got it," I shouted. I wrapped the chains around my hands and got ready to pull.
"All of you! Stop looking at it!" Rose commanded. Flora stayed frozen. "Flora, don't look. Listen to me. Grab hold of the chain and pull!" We could hear the werewolf's growls slowly turn less and less human. "Come on! With me! Pull!" We pulled.
Nothing happened. Rose looked around desperately. Only the servants had helped us pull. Everyone else was still frozen. "I said pull!" Rose screamed in frustration. "Stop your whining and listen to me! All of yous! And that means you, your Ladyship. Now come on, pull!"
The rest of the prisoners stood up, yanking randomly, desperate. I refused to look at the werewolf.
"One, two, three, pull!" I shouted. We pulled. Nothing happened. "One, two, three, pull!" Rose counted with me that time. The creature howled. I glanced over. He was fully transformed, staring at his hands. "One, two, three, pull!"
This time, the end of the chain snapped off the wall. A few of us lost our balance. Before we could get back up, there was a crashing noise. I looked over, but the cage was still intact. Someone pulled me to my feet.
"Where the hell have you been?" Rose shouted. I turned and saw her yelling at the Doctor. The door he'd come through was hanging slightly off its hinges. He looked around with wild eyes, and saw the creature.
"Oh, that's beautiful," he said.
"You and I have very different concepts of beauty," I said. I pushed person after person through the door, but never took my eyes off the werewolf. Said creature stretched, breaking the side of the cage.
"Out!" the Doctor shouted on repeat. I waited, despite his pushing, until everyone else was out. The Doctor stared at the werewolf in something like admiration, until it threw the roof of the crate at him. He pushed me out the door and soniced it locked behind us.
The next room was in chaos. The steward handed guns to all the men. Lady Isobel kissed her husband goodbye and ran off with the other girls. The Doctor grabbed Rose's hands and started sonicing the manacles off.
"Do werewolves actually exist?" Rose shouted.
"Well, it could be any form of light modulated species triggered by specific wavelengths," the Doctor sort of answered. "Did it say what it wanted?" Rose's manacles fell off, and the Doctor got to work on mine.
"The Queen, the Crown, the throne - you name it," Rose answered.
"The Empire of the Wolf, it said," I added.
In the far too close distance, something wood shattered. Everyone fell silent. The Doctor stepped toward the entryway, holding an arm behind him to keep anyone else from advancing. Rose and I followed anyway, just far enough behind him that he wouldn't tell us off (We'd memorized the distance). We couldn't see the werewolf that we both knew was at the other end of the hall. What else could have made that noise?
There was a growl, and a gasp, and the Doctor flew back into the room. He snagged Rose and my hands on the way, pulling us back and away from the doorway.
"Fire!" the steward commanded as soon as we were behind him. The line of men fired once. The creature recoiled. "Fire!" They shot again. The werewolf retreated out of the room.
"All right, you men. We should retreat upstairs," the Doctor said. "Come with me."
"I'll not retreat," the steward growled. "The battle's done. There's no creature on God's Earth that could survive such an assault."
I dashed around him and blocked the man's path to the werewolf. "And what if the creature isn't of God's Earth?" I challenged. He hesitated, and that pause was enough for him to hear the werewolf growling.
"Retreat!" I shouted. The line of men listened, dashing past the Doctor and Rose. I ran after them, nearly tripping on my damned skirt.
Screams sounded behind us as some of the men were not fast enough to escape the werewolf's first assault. By some miracle, however, the werewolf turned away from our hunt, and ran down a different hallway.
All told, four of the servant men, Sir Robert, Rose, the Doctor, and I were the only ones to escape. I hadn't managed to save the steward. I hadn't learned his name.
"Your Majesty?" Sir Robert called as soon as the wolf wasn't directly behind us. "Your Majesty!" Queen Victoria came down the stairs, not moving nearly as quickly as we needed her to.
"Sir Robert?" she asked. "What's happening?" I turned to the four men trailing behind.
"Ok, you lot-" I started.
"Fifteen," the Doctor interrupted as he walked past. I swung to hit his arm and missed. He'd been keeping a running total of all the times I slipped into the wrong slang, and was getting increasingly insufferable about mentioning it.
"You men," I started again. "You can come with us, but my personal suggestion would be you go to the kitchen with the girls."
"I'll not run away!" one of the men protested.
"Maybe not, but those girls need protection, don't they?" I asked. It was an offering, a way they could save themselves and not be labeled cowards. All four took the opportunity and ran off. I sighed in relief. Four less people to keep track of.
"The front door's no good, it's been boarded shut," the Doctor said, running back into the room. "Pardon me, Your Majesty. You'll have to leg it out of a window." The Doctor gestured to a window. Victoria made her way over, so slowly, Robert right behind her. I trailed in last, watching behind me the whole time. It was almost worse to not be chased.
"Excuse my manners, Ma'am," Robert said, marching in front of the queen, "But I shall go first, the better to assist Her Majesty's egress."
"A noble sentiment, my Sir Walter Raleigh," Victoria praised.
"Yeah, any chance you could hurry up?" the Doctor said, voicing the thoughts I was expressing with anxious bouncing.
Robert opened the window and the monks outside opened fire. He jumped back just in time to avoid getting shot. We all ducked on instinct. I heard a bullet lodge itself in the far wall. The Doctor walked to the window and looked out.
"I reckon the monkey boys want us to stay inside," he said.
"Do they know who I am?" Victoria asked, scandalized.
"Yeah, that's why they want you," Rose said. Victoria turned around, shock written all over her face. It took all my effort not to roll my eyes. "The wolf's lined you up for a... a biting."
"Now, stop this talk. There can't be an actual wolf," Victoria scolded. No sooner had the words left her mouth than the werewolf howled. We ran back into the hallway we'd come from. The wolf was slowly clawing the door down.
"What do we do?" Rose asked.
"We... run," the Doctor answered.
"Is that it?" Rose cried.
"You got any silver bullets?" the Doctor asked sarcastically.
"Not on me, no," Rose sassed back.
"There we are then, we run." the Doctor turned to Victoria. "Your Majesty, as a Doctor, I recommend a rigorous jog. Good for the health." He held out his hand, which Victoria took We ran up a staircase at half the speed Team TARDIS usually ran, which was not at all helping my anxiety.
The door smashed open beneath us, and the werewolf pounded its way up the stairs. It caught up much too quickly for my liking, being nearly on my heels when we rounded a corner and a gun went off. I yelped on instinct and crashed into wall. Someone (Rose, I think) grabbed my arm and pulled me upright again.
"I'll take this position and hold it," the soldier from earlier said. He reloaded his gun. "You keep moving, for God's sake!" We stayed still for a moment, all catching our breaths. "Your Majesty, I went to look for the property and it was taken. The chest was empty," the soldier added.
"I have it," Victoria panted. "It's safe." The soldier smiled, just a bit.
"Then remove yourself, Ma'am." He turned to the rest of us. "Doctor, you stand as Her Majesty's Protector. And you, Sir Robert, you're a traitor to the crown." He raised his gun.
"Bullets can't stop it!" the Doctor shouted.
"They'll buy you time," the soldier shouted back. "Now run!"
Never ones to turn down good advice, we all took off down the end of the hallway. There was an open door, and we ducked left into it. Rose hesitated in the hallway, watching the soldier. I stood, barely breathing, listening to the revolver fire until it was empty, the sounds turning to the crushing of bones and screaming.
The Doctor noticed Rose was still standing in the hallway. "Rose?" She didn't move. He ran out and dragged her into the room by her waist.
Robert and I slammed the doors as soon as they were inside. "Barricade the door," he commanded. We all scrambled to grab the nearby furniture, shoving it against the door at whatever angle seemed to stay.
"Wait a minute," the Doctor said. I put down the chair I'd been holding in front of the second door. "Shush, wait a minute." The wolf howled once, then fell silent. "It's stopped," the Doctor whispered. He stepped onto the percauaily stacked barricade and pressed his ear to the door. A few moments passed where I felt paralized by the stillness in the air. Then the wolf growled and padded way. "It's gone," the Doctor whispered.
"Listen," Rose whispered. We could hear the wolf padding around, looking for a way in and growling when it found none. I moved slowly, grabbing the lance off the suit of armor in the room, and wedging it sideways across the second door.
"Is this the only door?" the Doctor whispered.
"Yes," Robert whispered back. "No!" He turned quickly, but I was already moving the last piece of furniture in front of the door. Robert stared. I locked eyes with the Doctor.
I'm sorry, I didn't say. I've seen this before. The Doctor offered me a tiny nod in return.
The werewolf snarled and padded away.
"I don't understand," Rose said quietly. "What's stopping it?"
"Something inside this room," the Doctor realized. "What is it? Why can't it get in?" I shook my head.
Can't talk, I signed, both to remind the Doctor of his dumbassery, and also because I didn't really trust my voice not to squeak at the moment..
"I'll tell you what, though," Rose prompted.
"What?" the Doctor asked, turning to her.
"Werewolf."
"I know," the Doctor said. Rose breathed a nervous laugh, which the Doctor echoed. They shared a quick hug. I finally managed to smile a little. "You all right?" he asked, still holding her closer than was strictly necessary.
"I'm okay, yeah," she responded. "Katelyn?"
I gave them a shaky, very convincing thumbs up.
"I'm sorry, Ma'am," Robert said suddenly. "It's all my fault. I should have sent you away. I tried to suggest something was wrong. I thought you might notice." He paused, and I got the feeling he would have glared at the Doctor if he hadn't been so defeated. "Did you think there was nothing strange about my household staff?"
"Well, they were bald, athletic," the Doctor said. "Your wife's away, I just thought you were happy." I swung for his arm again and didn't miss this time. "OW!" I glared.
"I'll tell you what though, Ma'am," Rose said, shaky. "I bet you're not amused now." I leaned forward to glare at her too. C'mon Rose, you're better than this.
"Do you think this is funny?" Victoria snapped.
"No, Ma'am. I-I'm sorry," Rose said.
"What, exactly, I pray tell me, someone, please, what exactly is that creature?" Victoria asked. Rose and I both opened our mouths, but the Doctor was faster.
"You'd call it a werewolf," he said. "But technically it's more of a lupine wavelength haemovariform."
"And should I trust you, sir?" Victoria asked, starting to sound hysterical. "You who change your voice so easily? What happened to your accent?"
Really? After he'd quite clearly saved your life at least twice? Really Victoria?
"Oh right, sorry, that's-" the Doctor started.
"I'll not have it," Victoria snapped. The Doctor shut his mouth. "No, sir. Not you, not that thing, none of it. This is not my world." I snapped, the anxiety and fear and disappointment all converging into anger.
"With all due respect, your Majesty," I spat. Everyone turned shocked eyes on me. "Whether that creature-" I pointed out the door. "-insults you sensibilities is irrelevant to reality. It's here, and it's dangerous, and people have died, and allowing yourself to refuse that reality is a disservice to them. So please, Victoria, do try to remain on this plane of existence."
Victoria did me the courtesy of stepping back. "You-you-" she started.
"Mistletoe," I announced pointing at the door. "The monks were wearing mistletoe and its there again on the door."
"How dare you-" Victoria started.
"Please, your majesty," I sighed. "I'm American, Irish, and French. I am genetically hardwired to disrespect you." I turned to Robert. "Robert, did you father put that there?"
"I-I don't know," he stuttered, apparently also shocked I'd sassed the queen. "I suppose."
"On the other door, too," the Doctor realized. "But, a carving wouldn't be enough. I wonder." He climbed the barricade again, and licked the door. Rose looked disgusted, although not shocked. "Viscum album, the oil of the mistletoe," the Doctor announced. "It's been worked into the wood like a varnish. How clever was your dad?" the Doctor said to Robert. "I love him. Powerful stuff, mistletoe. Bursting with lectins and viscotoxins."
"And the wolf's allergic to it?" Rose realized.
"Or, it thinks it is," the Doctor agreed. "The monkey-monk-monks need a way of controlling the wolf. Maybe they trained it to react against certain things."
"Nevertheless," Sir Robert said, getting his voice back "That creature won't give up, and we still don't possess an actual weapon." The Doctor groaned.
"Oh, your father got all the brains, didn't he?" he complained.
"Being rude again," Rose teased.
"Good. I meant that one," the Doctor said.
"Also the more accurate insult would be that his father didn't pass on any brains," I added, just to be a little shit. The Doctor glared accordingly.
"Really?"
"I have been mute for nearly six hours, you brought this upon yourself," I said. "You want weapons, Robert?" I back up until I could grab a book from behind me. "We're in a library. We've got all the weapons we need."
"This room's the greatest arsenal we could have," the Doctor agreed, slipping his glasses on. He picked a book off the shelf and threw it at Rose. "Arm yourself."
The Library took about a minute to dissolve into utter chaos. We ran around, grabbing random books off the shelf, announcing ideas and genres to each other, although not making any significant progress. I did learn ancient Greeks believed that if someone ate meat from a wolf-killed lamb, they ran a high risk of becoming a vampire, which was vital information for my everyday life, but did not help here.
Eventually, the Doctor 'ooh'ed and set a book down on the table. "Look what your old dad found. Something fell to Earth."
"A spaceship?" Rose guessed.
"A shooting star," Robert corrected, reading from the book. "'In the year of our Lord 1540, under the reign of King James the Fifth, an almighty fire did burn in the pit.' That's the Glen of Saint Catherine just by the monastery."
"But that's over three hundred years ago," Rose protested. "What's it been waiting for?"
"Maybe just a single cell survived," the Doctor guessed. "Adapting slowly down the generations, it survived through the humans, host after host after host."
"But why does it want the throne?" Robert asked.
"The Empire of the Wolf," I said.
"Imagine it. The Victorian Age accelerated," the Doctor said. "Starships and missiles fueled by coal and driven by steam, leaving history devastated in its wake." We were only allowed a moment to ponder how horrible that was, when Queen Victoria shot to her feet.
"Sir Robert. If I am to die here-" she started.
"Don't say that, Your Majesty," he protested.
"I would...destroy myself rather than let that creature infect me," Victoria said firmly. I was a little impressed by that. "But that's no matter. I ask only that you find some place of safekeeping for something far older and more precious than myself." She started digging in her little purse.
"Hardly the time to worry about your valuables," the Doctor said.
"Thank you for your opinion," Victoria lied. "But there is nothing more valuable than this." She pulled out a clear diamond, easily the size of my fist. It was so large, it didn't look real.
"Is that the Koh-I-Noor?" Rose asked, sounding fairly breathless.
"Oh, yes," the Doctor breathed. "The greatest diamond in the world."
"Given to me as the spoils of war," Victoria explained. "Perhaps its legend is now coming true. It is said that whoever owns it must surely die."
"Well, that's true of anything if you own it long enough," the Doctor said. "Can I?" He reached out. Victoria reluctantly laid the diamond in his hand. I took a step back, just to be safe. Maybe I didn't believe in curses, but I was currently being hunted by a werewolf, so why take the chance? Would you step in a faerie circle?
"That is so beautiful," the Doctor breathed, clearly not agreeing with my 'better safe than sorry' mentality.
"How much is that worth?" Rose asked.
"They say the wages of the entire planet for a whole week." Rose huffed a laugh.
"Good job my mum's not here," she said. "She'd be fighting the wolf off with her bare hands for that thing."
"And she'd win," the Doctor added.
"Where is the wolf?" Robert asked, walking around again. "I don't trust this silence." I had to agree with him.
"Why do you travel with it?" the Doctor asked.
"My annual pilgrimage," Victoria answered. "I'm taking it to Helier and Carew, the Royal Jewellers at Hazlehead. The stone needs recutting."
"Oh, but it's perfect," Rose protested.
"My late husband never thought so," Victoria said.
"Now, there's a fact. Prince Albert kept on having the Koh-I-Noor cut down," the Doctor explained. "It used to be forty percent bigger than this. But he was never happy. Kept on cutting and cutting."
"He always said the shine was not quite right," Victoria said with the tiniest of fond smiles. "But he died with it still unfinished."
"Unfinished," the Doctor whispered. It was kinda fun to watch his brain put it all together. "Oh, yes!" He threw the diamond back to Victoria, and stepped back. "There's a lot of unfinished business in this house. His father's research, and your husband, Ma'am, he came here and he sought the perfect diamond. Hold on, hold on." He started messing up his hair in that way Ten did when he was thinking really hard. "All these separate things, they're not separate at all, they're connected. Oh, my head, my head. What if this house, it's a trap for you. Is that right, Ma'am?"
"Obviously," Victoria deadpanned.
"At least, that's what the wolf intended. But, what if there's a trap inside the trap?" the Doctor offered. Victoria looked more confused.
Oh, trap. I walked over to the less barricaded second door and slowly started removing the barricade.
"Explain yourself, Doctor," Victoria demanded.
"What if his father and your husband weren't just telling each other stories?" the Doctor continued. "They dared to imagine all this was true, and they planned against it, laying the real trap not for you but for the wolf." Plaster dust fell from the ceiling, stopping the Doctor's speech. We looked up to the domed skylight. The wolf had climbed his way up there, and was slowly pushing to break the glass. "That wolf there." The glass in the skylight cracked. "Out!" the Doctor shouted.
"This way!" I shouted, yanking the second door open. Ok, so I'd bought us about ten seconds. Would that mean anything?
The Doctor slammed the door behind us, effectively trapped the werewolf for a few more moments. "Get to the observatory!" he commanded.
We made it around a corner when the wolf screeched in pain behind us. We slid to a stop and turned around. Lady Isobel was standing in the corridor, holding a now empty pot.
"It was mistletoe," she explained.
"Isobel!" Sir Robert came over and kissed his wife twice, then pushed her in the direction of the stairs. "Now, get back downstairs."
"Keep yourself safe," Isobel pleaded. I reached into the pocket on my coat.
Don't worry, I thought. I planned for this.
Isobel left at Roberts urging, and I took some pride in the four men I saw trailing with the girls behind her. I suppose five saved lives out of seven was would have to be good enough.
"Come on!" the Doctor said, running again.
"The observatory's this way." Robert lead us through his house again, although faster this time, up another set of staircases and into the last room we'd seen on our tour.
"No mistletoe in these doors because your father wanted the wolf to get inside," the Doctor observed. "I just need time. Is there any way of barricading this?"
"Just do your work and I'll defend it," Robert said. I pulled him in the room, much to his surprise, and slammed the doors shut.
"If we could bind them shut with rope or something," the Doctor said, looking around.
I pulled a length of steel cord out of my pocket. The Doctor blinked, but left me to tie the door shut, deciding, wisely, to ask questions later. "Robert, go help the Doctor!" I shouted when he didn't move. He scrambled over to the others.
I had been carrying this rope around for weeks. It was gratifying to finally get to use it.
"Your Majesty, the diamond," I heard the Doctor say.
"For what purpose?" Victoria demanded.
"The purpose it was designed for," the Doctor said. Victoria handed over the diamond just as I turned around from the door. The Doctor tossed it to me. "Set it up, Katelyn," he ordered. "Rose, Sir Robert, with me." They went to the wheel on the side of the Endeavor while I sat on the ground and tried to line the Koh-i-noor with where the light would come out.
"Lift it. Come on," I heard the Doctor say.
"Is this the right time for stargazing?" Rose grunted.
"Yes, it is," the Doctor insisted.
The Endeavor was about half-way to where it needed to be when the wolf arrived and banged on the door. I swore, but the steel held. Victoria lifted her cross and started praying.
"You said this thing doesn't work," Rose shouted.
"It doesn't work as a telescope because that's not what it is," the Doctor explained, grunting with the effort of moving it. "It's a light chamber. It magnifies the light rays like a weapon. We've just got to power it up." I settled the Koh-i-noor in what I was pretty sure was the right spot.
"It won't work," Rose protested. "There's no electricity." The Doctor made a frustrated noise and nodded out the ceiling.
"Moonlight," I said as if I was only realizing it now.
"But the wolf needs moonlight," Rose protested. "It's made by moonlight."
"You're seventy percent water but you can still drown," the Doctor snapped.
One more push and the Endeavor was at the right angle. Moonlight shot through it, and down onto the diamond. I had put it in exactly the right spot. The door snapped off their hinges. The werewolf barreled in the room, and ran right into the light beam. It raised off the floor with the force of the light, which didn't really make any sense.
The wolf turns back into the young man. "Make it brighter," he begged. "Let me go." The Doctor adjusted the magnification on the eyepiece. The man shifted again to the shadow of a wolf, howled, and vanished.
All fell silent, save for those of us still catching our breath. I picked the Koh-i-noor back up and handed it back to the queen. She was looking at a small scratch on her wrist.
"Your Majesty? Did it bite you?" I asked, because that was the line.
"No," she dismissed. "It's, it's a cut, that's all." It really did look like a cut, so I took her at her word. Besides, it's not like Victoria was having anymore children anyway.
...
Morning rose on a house that wasn't quite sure what to do with itself. There were bodies to bury, the living to celebrate, and heroes to reward.
Queen Victoria, probably wanted to get rid of us as quickly as possible, decided rewarded came before even breakfast.
In the presence of all us survivors, the Doctor and Rose knelt before Queen Victoria, who was holding a sword. I had expected not to be knighted (since non-citizens couldn't really be), but after my outburst last night, I was just glad I was allowed in the room.
"By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Sir Doctor of Tardis." Victoria moved the sword from one shoulder to the other, and I could feel the Doctor's smile from the other side of the room. "By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Dame Rose of the Powell Estate." I could feel Rose holding in a giggle. "You may stand." Both rose to their feet.
"Many thanks, Ma'am," the Doctor said.
"Thanks," Rose agreed. "They're never going to believe this back home." I smiled, imagining Jackie's face when we told her. Something to look forward to.
"Your Majesty," the Doctor began. "You said last night about receiving no message from the great beyond. I think your husband cut that diamond to save your life. He's protecting you even now, Ma'am, from beyond the grave."
"Indeed," Victoria agreed, with the last small smile we'd ever see on her face. "Then you may think on this also. That I am not amused."
"Yes!" Rose cried. The Doctor sighed and shot me a 'can you believe' look. I shrugged with a fond smile.
"Not remotely amused," Victoria continued. Our smiles faded. "And henceforth I banish the three of you." It took a second for that to register for the others.
"I'm sorry?" the Doctor asked.
"I have rewarded you, Sir Doctor, and now you are exiled from this empire, never to return," Victoria said. The Doctor looked a little bit like he knew he'd fucked up pretty bad. Rose looked like she was trying to figure out how being banished before she was born was supposed to work.
"I don't know what you are, the three of you-" Victoria turned a glare to me. "-or where you're from, but I know that you consort with stars and magic and think it fun. But your world is steeped in terror and blasphemy and death, and I will not allow it. You will leave these shores and you will reflect, I hope, on how you came to stray so far from all that is good, and how much longer you may survive this terrible life. Now leave my world, and never return."
"Drama queen," I whispered.
...
Thankfully for my legs, one of the men I'd saved offered us a ride back to the TARDIS. Mind you, we had to sit on the back of a hay wagon, but it was still better than walking a couple of miles. Again.
We jumped off the cart as soon as it stopped moving, said our thanks, and started walking toward the TARDIS. I was very ready to get out of this skirt and maybe sleep for a week.
"No, but the funny thing is, Queen Victoria did actually suffer a mutation of the blood," the Doctor said, apropos of nothing. "It's historical record. She was haemophiliac. They used to call it the Royal Disease. But it's always been a mystery because she didn't inherit it. Her mum didn't have it, her dad didn't have it. It came from nowhere."
"What, and you're saying that's a wolf bite?" Rose asked. The Doctor shrugged.
"Well, maybe haemophilia is just a Victorian euphemism," the Doctor offered.
"For werewolf?" Rose asked.
"Like consumption for tuberculosis," I added.
"Could be," the Doctor shrugged.
"Queen Victoria's a werewolf?" Rose asked again, just to make sure we were on the same page.
"Could be. And her children had the Royal Disease. Maybe she gave them a quick nip," the Doctor said. I rolled my eyes. Rose laughed.
"So, the Royal Family are werewolves?" she asked.
"Well, maybe not yet," the Doctor said. "I mean, a single wolf cell could take... hundred years to mature. Might be ready by, oh, early 21st century?" Rose laughed again.
"Nah, that's just ridiculous!" she dismissed. "Mind you, Princess Anne."
"Who?" I asked.
"What!" Rose said. "Everyone knows the royal family."
"Mm, ok," I deadpanned. "Can you tell me who the 38th US president was?"
"Gerald Ford," the Doctor said. I punched him again.
"I wasn't asking you and you know it." The Doctor unlocked the TARDIS and piloted us quickly into the Vortex.
...
"You know what?" I asked, a few hours later. We were relaxing in the Library, all in our pajamas, Rose using the Doctor as a pillow. They turned to me. "Sit up, I'm teaching you two ASL."
(A/N I's say sorry that this is late, but I did warn you. Anyway, no chapter this upcoming Saturday. I simply don't have the time. Sorry. Next Saturday, there will be a chapter, so don't worry!
Btw, that fact about the Greeks is true, and ASL stands for American Sign Language.
Thank you for reading. Reviews give me life.