~revised~

Chapter VI

Doctor

He was following sir Roberts as they were running down a long corridor leading to the cellar. He had assumed that Mira had followed him, but as he had turned his head to look for her she wasn't there. Great. Had he forgotten to tell her not to wander off? Maybe. He had to put the thought aside for a while as they had finally reached the door to the cellar. He didn't bother to pull out the sonic screwdriver and instead kicked the door in. On the other side was Rose, yelling at him, "Where the hell have you been?" He noticed with relieve that she appeared to be fine, handcuffed though and only just a little bit angry. With her were a number of maids and a well dressed woman that looked like the lady of the house. But by far the most notable thing in this room was a wolf-like creature inside a small cage, struggling to free itself. Rather successfully, it wouldn't take it much longer to get out of that cage. Maybe the stories about werewolfs had some truth to them after all.

"Oh, that's beautiful," he managed to say, totally enthralled by the creature. As the bars of the cage finally gave in he yelled at the others to get out. He himself was still captured by the sight of the now free werewolf, standing at his full height in front of him. For a moment there eyes met, and hadn't the creature thrown the roof of its cage at him, he had probably been standing there for a while longer – maybe too long. He ducked and hurried to follow the others, slamming the door shut and locked it with his screwdriver.

They gathered in another room of the estate where a steward just handed guns to the other men. He used his sonic once more to remove the handcuffs from Rose's wrists.

"It could be any form of light modulated species triggered by specific wavelengths - did it say what it wanted?" he asked her.

"The Queen, the Crown, the throne - you name it," she replied.

Right when he had finally removed the handcuffs the nasty crashing sound of splintering wood came from the cellar. Despite knowing what that had been he stepped out into the corridor to see for himself. There it was. The door had proven no hindrance at all to the beast. For a moment he stood eye to eye with the creature before hurrying back into the room. Just in time to drag Rose behind the line of men who were awaiting the beast with their guns. He didn't quite believe that they could do any harm. He even hoped that he would be able to make some sort of agreement with the creature. He hated violence, but there was no way he could stop them now as the steward already gave the command to fire.

Rose twitched in his grip as the guns came to life with quite some noise. He took a quick look around, still no sign of Mira. Or the Queen for that matter. He just hoped that Mira had stayed with her and that nothing had happened to both of them. As the smoke from the guns had dissolved, the wolf was gone. Although not for good, he thought. He doubted if they had even manage to injure it.

"All right, you men, we should retreat upstairs, come with me," he said, taking command.

"I'll not retreat," the steward objected. "The battle's done. There's no creature on God's Earth that could survive such an assault."

"Yes. Sure. Must have vanished into thin air as it died. Now come upstairs!" he tried it again, now clearly angry.

"And I'm telling you, Sir, that I will sleep well tonight with that thing's hide upon my wall," the steward proofed to be really pigheaded. These humans. Couldn't they just listen to him? Just for once?

The steward was now walking towards the corridor to take a look for himself. The Doctor followed him with his eyes, anger and concern showing on his face.

"Nothing there," the steward said, as he was walking back. "Must've crawled away to die..." At that very moment he was lifted up and through the ceiling by the wolf, followed by some rather unpleasant sounds. It took him only seconds to gather himself.

"There's nothing we can do!" he said and grabbed Rose's hand once more.


Rose

The Doctor dragged her with him, Sir Robert right behind them. For a moment she wondered where he had left Mira, but being brutally honest, she really didn't care that much right now. She wouldn't be dead, would she? He would have told her if something hat happened to Mira, she thought. Besides, there was a werewolf at her heels, who had just killed a lot of poor men. Number one on her list of problems right now. The three of them hurried into a room and as soon as they were in it, the Doctor sealed the door with his sonic.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" she heard Sir Robert. He was really pleased to see his Queen alive and apparently unharmed. And with the Queen was - Mira. With a sword in her hand. Really? But somehow she gave the impression as if she knew how to carry a weapon like that.

"Mira! There you are!" the Doctor exclaimed cheerfully, rushed over to her and gave her a big hug, carefully avoiding the sword she held now to her side. Rose felt a sudden hint of jealousy creeping up from her stomach as she watched them. That wasn't right. She didn't even want to have Mickey along, not to speak of another woman. "Didn't I tell you to not wander off?" he asked reproachfully, letting go of her. Mira on the other hand seemed to be a bit overrun by sudden display of affection. But she had hugged him back with her free arm, Rose had clearly seen that.

"Uhm. No? Besides, it was you who ran off. Should I have left her majesty alone with that monk? Unfortunately, Reynolds was more brave than good at doing his job."

"What happened to the monk?" he asked.

"She took care of him," the Queen explained.

"What?" he asked, staring at her in disbelief, then looking down to the sword.

"I knocked him out," Mira answered, one brow raised. "With my hands. He is unharmed."

"And Reynolds?"

"Knocked out by the monk. Beginners Mistake," Mira replied.

"So what now?" Rose interrupted them. They couldn't stand here forever, catching up. The Doctor left for a moment.

"The front door's no good, it's been boarded shut. Pardon me, Your Majesty - you'll have to leg it out of a window," he said as he came back. He gestured through a door, the Queen walking ahead with her head held high.

"Excuse my manners, Ma'am, but I shall go first, the better to assist Her Majesty's egress," Sir Robert said, as they reached the next room.

"A noble sentiment, my Sir Walter Raleigh," the Queen answered. Rose just rolled her eyes. To her it all seemed rather ridiculous.

"Yeah, any chance you could hurry up?" the Doctor tried to speed things up. Sir Robert nodded, climbed onto the window sill and almost fell off as the monks outside opened fire. He hardly managed to get out of the way. Immediately, the Doctor - and Mira, of course – were at his side, peering out of the window.

"I reckon the monkey boys want us to stay inside," the Doctor stated the obvious.

"Do they know who I am?" the Queen asked now rather furiously.

"Yeah, that's why they want ya. The wolf's lined you up for a... a biting," Rose answered.

"Now, stop this talk. There can't be an actual wolf," the Queen said. Right at this moment they could all hear the howling of a wolf, as if mocking the Queen's words. In no time they were all out of the room, not one second to late as the wolf was already battering on the door.

"What do we do?" Rose asked the Doctor.

"We... Run!" he replied, a hint of fear in his voice which suddenly filled her with panic.

"Is that it?" Rose asked in disbelief. Great. They couldn't run forever, could they? They were trapped inside this house, a mad werewolf at their heels and no plan whatsoever.

"You got any silver bullets?" he asked.

"No, not on me!" she replied.

"There we are then, we run. Your Majesty, as a Doctor, I recommend a vigorous jog. Good for the health! Come on!" the Doctor said, taking the Queen by the hand.


Mira

There they were again. Running. Up the stairs, the werewolf following close, and with no adequate weapon. She had left the sword behind because it wouldn't be of much use against that creature anyway, and there seemed to be no more of these monks inside the building.

Finally they left the staircase, running along a corridor, the wolf getting closer with every passing second. She could almost smell the creature, not to talk about the waves of pure, beastly anger and aggression emanating from it and hitting her. All of a sudden Captain Reynolds appeared in front of them, shooting at the wolf. She was glad to see that he had managed to get away from the monk somehow. But his next sentence proved that he really hadn't learned anything.

"I'll take this position and hold it. You keep moving, for God's sake!" he yelled. "Your Majesty - I went to look for the property, it was taken. The chest was empty."

"I have it. It's safe," the Queen assured him.

"Bullets can't stop it. That's suicide!" she yelled at him. "I really admire your bravery, but-"

"They'll buy you time. Now, run!" he insisted.

"No, you-" She didn't manage to finish the sentence, as she was dragged away by the Doctor.

"Let go of me!" she yelled almost angry and finally managed to break free from his grip as they reached the library. Everyone was hurrying to get inside, but she just stood outside, right next to the door, staring at Reynolds. She knew she couldn't do anything for him now, it was too late. Nothing but standing there and not letting him die alone, paying him respect for this final act of braveness. But that wasn't the only reason why she stood here, pinned to the spot outside the library, away from relative safety, as she soon should notice.

Reynolds held his position without hesitation and fired at the wolf. Of course it had almost no effect, and soon the creature was over him.

Tears of pain – Reynolds pain - and despair filled her eyes, blurring her vision. She did not only see him die, she also felt it. Then the wolf turned his head to her. He stared right at her, and suddenly she felt the urge to jump at him. To attack him, to tear him apart and devour him, just like he had done with Reynolds. Just as he was about to do with her. With a rest of clear thinking she realised that this were just the feelings of the creature echoing in herself. But not even this knowledge could snap her out of this disastrous bond that had formed between her and the beast, leaving her frozen to the spot.

Right at this moment someone was grabbing her around the waist and pulled her inside. She struggled at first in order to free herself, but however held her was quite strong and now holding her by the shoulders, so she finally gave up. As she lifted her head, she looked straight into the concerned face of the Doctor.

"You're alright?" he asked softly.

She just nodded, blinking the tears out of her eyes and drew a shaky breath to gather herself.

"Sure? Look at me, Mira." He brought his face right in front of hers so that she had to look right into his deep, dark, almost hypnotising eyes. She clung to his gaze as to a sheet anchor, pulling her back into reality.

"Yeah. I'm fine," she finally said, still a bit shaky, but at least managing a little smile.

Although it was always hard for her to witness the dead of someone, she normally could handle it quite well. This time it had just been the mixture of Reynolds sacrificing himself and the wild emotions of the werewolf that had pushed her over the edge.

"Good." He let go of her and looked around. Meanwhile, the door had been shut and barricaded by Rose and Sir Robert.

"Wait a minute, shh, shh, wait a minute..," he told them to listen. As if the wolf had just waited for that sign they heard his howl through the night.

"It's stopped," the Doctor said after listening for a while. He climbed up a chair and pressed his ear against the wall. She herself could feel the presence of the beast right on the other side of the wall, and finally slowly moving away.

"It's gone," she said in disbelief, before they all heard the footsteps around the outside of the room. For a moment there was complete silence as everyone was trying to figure out where the wolf was heading.

"Is this the only door?" the Doctor whispered.

"Yes... No!" Sir Robert shouted. Instantly, they all followed him to the other door, blockading it as well. They were all listening again as the footsteps faded once more into the distance. After a moment, whilst sensing the wolf with closed eyes, she said, "It's gone now. Really. Can't feel it any more."

Rose looked at her suspiciously. "Feel? What do you mean?"

She sighed. Great. She had forgotten for a moment that Rose still didn't know about it. She didn't much care about the others as she wouldn't see them ever again when – if – they survived this night.

"I'm psychic. I can sense the wolf. Don't know where it's gone, but it's no way near us right now," she said as casually as possible.

Rose still looked at her with an expression of discomfort on her face.

"Never mind now," she hurried to say. "The more important question is: What's stopping it?"

"Something inside this room," the Doctor said. "What is it? Why can't it get in?"

"I'll tell you what, though..," Rose said with a shaking voice, but also somehow relieved.

"What?"

"Werewolf... !"

"I know!" he replied, before they hugged each other. "You're alright?" he asked.

"I'm okay, yeah," Rose answered. The Queen was staring at them out of wide eyes.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am. It's all my fault. I should've sent you away. I tried to suggest something was wrong, I... thought you might notice. Did you think there was nothing strange about my household staff?" Sir Robert suddenly raised his voice, full of guilt.

"Well, they were bald, athletic... your wife's away, I just thought you were happy," the Doctor said.

"Yeah, that was what I tried to tell you all along," she said to the Doctor. No more need to hide and trying to be subtle. "I felt it. But saying it in front of all others - and the household staff - would probably have escalated it even more... Or it might have helped. Maybe I should have told it. I'm sorry. I just didn't want to mess things up, you know?" She was sure he would get the hint what she meant by that.

"No, no. It's okay," the Doctor reassured her with a soft smile.

Maybe they should rely more on telepathy in the future, she thought. She had even tried that – thinking as clearly as she could what she was trying to tell him, but obviously in vain. Plus, there had hardly been time to really concentrate. She still didn't even know exactly what sort of psychic or telepath he was. She only was quite certain that it was something with telepathy. But to what extent?

"I'll tell you what though, Ma'am, I bet you're not amused now," Rose said.

Really? She couldn't stop it even now?

"Do you think this is funny?" the Queen said to her angrily.

"No, Ma'am, I'm sorry."

"What, exactly, I pray someone please - what exactly is that creature?" the Queen demanded.

"You'd call it a werewolf, but technically it's a more of a lupine wavelength haemovariform", the Doctor said, scratching his head.

"And should I trust you, Sir? You who change your voice so easily? What happened to your accent?" the Queen said to the Doctor, and then, turning to Mira, "And you? Fighting like a man and stating to have the second sight? Why should I believe you when you say this beast is not here any more?"

"Oh... right, sorry..," the Doctor said whilst she herself remained silent. There was nothing she could say right now anyway.

"I'll not have it. No, Sir - not you... not her... not that thing... none of it. This is not my world," the Queen finally said.

"Mistletoe... Sir Robert, did you father put that there?" the Doctor said, seemingly complete out of context, pointing at some herbs.

"I don't know, I suppose..," Sir Robert answered. Mira looked at it too. Indeed, mistletoe.

"On the other door, too... a carving wouldn't be enough... I wonder..," the Doctor murmured, and the, all of a sudden and to everyone's surprise, or rather, disgust, licked at the woodwork. "Viscum album, the oil of the mistletoe - it's been worked into the wood like a varnish! How clever was your dad? I love him!" he exclaimed. "Powerful stuff, mistletoe. Bursting with lectins and viscotoxins."

"And the wolf's allergic to it?" Rose asked.

"Well, it thinks it is. The monkey monk monks need a way of controlling the wolf, maybe they trained it to react against certain things," the Doctor replied.

"Nevertheless, that creature won't give up, Doctor, and we still don't possess an actual weapon," Sir Robert insisted.

"Oh, your father got all the brains, didn't he?" the Doctor frowned, making Mira grin. He was right though... The mistletoe-thing was a start at least.

"Being rude again," Rose remarked.

"Good. I meant that one," the Doctor stated, before walking over to the bookshelves. "You want weapons? We're in a library. Books! Best weapons in the world," he continued, pointing at the books and putting on some old fashioned glasses. He looked just adorable with them, Mira noticed. "This room's the greatest arsenal we could have."


Doctor

He had literally thrown the books at them and now they were browsing through them, all talking over one another.

He suddenly jumped down the ladder he had been standing on. "Look what your old dad found. Something fell to Earth," he said to Sir Robert. On the page he had opened was a drawing of some sort of shooting star falling down to Earth.

"A spaceship?" Rose asked.

"A shooting star," said Sir Robert.

"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," Sir Robert read out loud.

"But that's over three hundred years ago. What's it been waiting for?" Rose wondered.

"Maybe it was damaged. Injured. And needed some time," Mira said to her.

"Yeah, could be it. Maybe just a single cell survived. Adapting slowly down the generations. It survived through the humans. Host after host after host," he said.

"But why does it want the throne?" Sir Robert asked.

"That's what it wants. It said so, the... the Empire of the Wolf," Rose said.

"Imagine it... the Victorian Age accelerated... starships and missiles fuelled by coal and driven by steam... leaving history devastated in its wake..," he said grimly.

"Sir Robert!" the Queen suddenly spoke. "If I am to die here..."

"Don't say that, Your Majesty."

"I would destroy myself rather than let that creature infect me. But that's no matter. I ask only that you find some place of safekeeping for something far older and more precious than myself."

"Hardly the time to worry about your valuables," the Doctor said from the table without looking at her.

"Thank you for your opinion. But there is nothing more valuable than this," the Queen cut him off. Then she pulled something out of her bag and held it in the palm of her hand.

"Is that the Koh-I-Noor?" Rose asked, making him finally turn around to see what the Queen was holding.

"Oh, yes... the greatest diamond in the world," he said in amazement.

"Given to me as the spoils of war. Perhaps its legend is now coming true. It is said that whoever owns it must surely die," the Queen told.

"Well, that's true of anything if you own it long enough. Can I...?" he asked, holding out his hand. She gave the diamond to him, and he looked at it closely, the glasses down on his nose. "That is so beautiful."

"How much is that worth?" Rose asked.

"They say... the wages of the entire planet for a whole week," he answered quietly.

"Good job my mum's not here. She'd be fighting the wolf off with her bare hands for that thing," Rose said.

"And she'd win," he said. He could hear Sir Robert saying in the background: "Where is the wolf? I don't trust this silence..." He looked at Mira, who shook her head. Good, no wolf near right now. He focused on the diamond again. "Why do you travel with it?" he asked.

"My annual pilgrimage. I'm taking it to Helier and Carew. The Royal Jewellers at Hazelhead. The stone needs re-cutting."

"Oh, but it's perfect," Rose said, bewildered.

"My late husband never thought so."

"Now, there's a fact - Prince Albert kept on having the Koh-I-Noor cut down. It used to be forty percent bigger than this. But he was never happy. Kept on cutting and cutting," he said.

"He always said... the shine was not quite right. But he died with it still unfinished," the Queen explained.

Suddenly, it hit him. "Unfinished... oh, yes!" and he tossed the stone back to the Queen.

"There's a lot of unfinished business in this house. His father's research - your husband, Ma'am, he came here and he sought the perfect diamond - hold on, hold on", he said, whilst ruffling his hair. It was right in front of his eyes, he could clearly feel it. "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."

"At least, that's what the wolf intended. But! What if there's a trap inside the trap?"

"Explain yourself, Doctor."

"What if his father and your husband weren't just telling each other stories. They dared to imagine all this was true. And they planned against it. Laying the real trap not for you... but for the wolf."

"Oh shit!" Mira suddenly yelled, followed by a shocked and disapproving look of the Queen in her direction. She had been quiet for a while now, he noticed.

"The wolf?" he asked with wide eyes.

"No. The telescope. It's not rubbish. It was never meant to be a telescope in the first place. With all these prisms. Well, not really. It is indeed a magnifier. But not for looking at something with it. It's more a collector. A ray-gun if you want to call it that. But not for the sunlight, it would only head up and the prisms would break in no time. And probably set the whole house on fire." She stopped and looked at him, as if to make sure that he was still following. He nodded at her. Exactly his thoughts. She was good. "More likely for something much weaker. Moonlight. Werewolfs are known to change with the full moon. We currently have a full moon. So exposing it to magnified moonlight must have some sort of effect on it. At least I hope so. Change it back or... Oh." She stopped suddenly and looked up. "It's up there." All heads turned up. Moments later crumbs of plaster fell down from the ceiling. Now they could see the wolf walking over the glass dome, causing it to crack and splinter.

"Out! Out! Out!" he shouted, gesturing to the door. He was the last one in the room as the beast broke through the ceiling and smashed a desk. The Doctor slammed the door shut and followed the others down the corridor.

"Gotta get to the observatory!" he exclaimed as they were running, the wolf coming closer and closer. He could see Rose turn around and stare at the wolf, screaming. But then out of nowhere, Lady Isobel appeared and threw a bowl of liquid at the creature, causing it to bound back in agony.

"Good shot!" he told her.

"Was that mistletoe?" Mira asked her.

"Yes. We made it in the kitchen, after we saw the monks with it."

The Doctor and Rose followed the wolf down the corridor, making sure it was gone. As they returned, Sir Robert had sent his wife and her maids away for their own safety. He was looking after her as if not to sure he would ever see her again, the Doctor thought.

"Come on," he pushed them, there was no time to lose.

"The observatory's this way!" Sir Robert led the way down another bunch of corridors.


Rose

They had finally made it to the observatory. She didn't really get what the Doctor and Mira meant earlier on with the telescope, but she hoped it would work.

"No mistletoe on these doors, your father wanted the wolf to get inside! Get inside I just need time! Is there any way of barricading this?! " the Doctor said to Sir Robert.

"Just do your work and I'll defend it," Sir Robert answered seriously.

"If we could bind them shut with rope or something!" the Doctor ignored him.

"I said I'd find you time, sir," Sir Robert insisted.

"You know what happened to Reynolds?" Mira said, with one hand on Robert's shoulder. Then she took a step back, after she had looked deeply into his eyes, and lowered her hand. What was that now? She was a bit creepy, wasn't she, Rose thought.

"Now get inside," Sir Robert said determined. Was it all about making right what he thought he did wrong earlier on? It wasn't really his fault, Rose was convinced. The monks had surely threatened him.

"Good man," she heard the Doctor say to Sir Robert, before closing the door. So he just left him outside to die?

"Your Majesty, the diamond," the Doctor said to the Queen.

"What's it with the diamond? I still don't get that part," Mira wondered. Rose shot her a triumphant glance. Not that bright after all, huh? Not that she had figured it out herself, but still.

"It's an modulator for the wavelength. The final piece to make it work," the Doctor explained quickly as he took the stone and rushed over to the telescope.

"Mira! Rose!" he called them. "Lift it! Come on!"

"Is this the right time for stargazing?" Rose asked sarcastic whilst straining to move the wheel. She still didn't really know what it was all about. Did they plan to shoot the wolf with moonlight? Great plan. Not.

"Yes, it is," the Doctor just answered.

Right at this moment she could her terrible screams from outside. Sir Robert's screams. She turned to Mira. She had seen how she had freaked out earlier, and hoped that it would not happen again. She was a bit to sensitive for her taste. But the other woman did not even flinch this time.

"You said this thing doesn't work!" she made another attempt to understand it.

"Oh, come on! Mira had just explained it in the library. Didn't you listen? How did you get the idea, anyway?" he answered, but for the last part, he had turned his head to Mira. All three of them were still trying to get the angle of the telescope right.

"Was all about the moon. Beat him with his own weapons. Sort of. You gave me the final hint with talking about traps and unfinished things. Just didn't see the connections before that. I was just wondering about this weird and rather useless telescope," she answered. "Especially as it would have been so easy to fix with removing some prisms. But no-one ever bothered."

"It doesn't work as a telescope because that's not what it is! It's a light chamber! It magnifies the light rays like a weapon. Ray-gun. Mira said it. We've just got to power it up!" he finally explained to Rose.

"Moonlight!" she finally got it. She really hadn't been listening that well to Mira earlier she had to admit. "But it needs moonlight! It's made by moonlight!"

"You're seventy percent water but you can still drown. Come on!" he said to her.

Finally the telescope was aligned with the moon. They all stepped away from the device, just as the werewolf broke through the door. The Queen was standing in front of the creature, holding up a cross she was wearing around her neck. Quite fearless and brave, Rose thought. Or plain stupid.

A beam of light shot out of the telescope, right at the floor. The Doctor hurried to throw the diamond into the beam of light. It was deflected and shot directly at the werewolf, who was about to bite the Queen. The wolf was lifted off the floor, hovering above the ground surrounded by moonlight. Slowly it changed back into his human form.

"Make it brighter. Let me go," Rose heard him saying. The Doctor went over to the telescope and flicked a switch. The light grew even brighter and the creature finally dissolved.

"Poor soul," Mira said with compassion in her voice.

The Doctor on the other hand walked over to the Queen. She was staring at a wound on her wrist.

"Your Majesty? Did it bite you?" he asked.

"No, it's... it's a cut."

"If that thing bit you… ", he continued.

"It was a splinter of wood when the door came apart."

"Let me see," he insisted.

"It is nothing," the Queen said sharply, pulling her hand away.

...

At the next morning the were all kneeling in front of the Queen.

"By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee: Sir Doctor of TARDIS," the Queen said to the Doctor whilst touching him on each shoulder with a ceremonial sword.

"By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub the: Dame Rose of the Powell Estate," she repeated it with Rose herself.

"By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub the: Dame Mira of Terrania," she said at last to Mira.

Terrania. Did that even exist? She had just made it up, hadn't she? Or was that where she came from?

"You may stand," the Queen finally said.

"Your Majesty, you said last night about receiving a message from the great beyond; I think your husband cut that diamond to save your life. He's protecting you even now Ma'am, even from beyond the grave," the Doctor said to her after they all had thanked her.

"Indeed. Then you may think on this, also: that I am not amused."

Rose couldn't help but smile. Yes. Finally. She grinned at the Doctor who just groaned.

"Not remotely amused," the Queen continued. Rose tried to stop smiling.

"And henceforth... I banish you."

Now all three of them looked stunned.

"I'm sorry?" the Doctor finally said.

"I rewarded you, Sir Doctor. And now you are exiled from this empire, never to return. I don't know what you are, the three of you, 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 this shores and you will reflect, I hope, on how you managed to stray so far from all that is good. And how much longer you will survive this... terrible life."

She stepped away from them, distaste on her face. "Now leave my world. And never return."

Now it was Mira who seemingly had trouble to stay serious.

...

As they were out of the estate and on a farmer's cart at their way back to the TARDIS, Rose asked her: "What's so funny now?"

"Nothing, really. Actually I think the Queen is right – we should reflect on our lives. That was a mess. It's just, I have been banished from so many places over the years due to things I've done. But never from a country on my own homeworld until now. Well, once I've been banished from Earth itself, but that wasn't my fault at all. And now I've upset the Queen herself. And technically this isn't really my homeworld, but still..," she chuckled.

Rose just looked at her, obviously not understanding. Yeah, Got it. You've been around a lot and did a lot of things, she thought, slightly annoyed.

"I am from Earth," she explained. "But from another Earth in another universe."

Now it made sense. She's really stuck, she thought. Suddenly she remembered Mira being psychic and she tried to think about something else. Was she a telepath? They continued their short travel in silence, and as they hopped of the cart, the Doctor said, "You know, the funny thing is, Queen Victoria did actually suffer a mutation of the blood! It's historical record haemophiliac. It used to be called 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.

"Well, maybe Haemophilia is just a Victorian euphemism."

"For werewolf?" Rose wondered.

"Could be!"

"So, Queen Victoria's a werewolf now?" Mira fell in.

"Could be! And, her children had the Royal Disease. Maybe she gave them a quick nip," the Doctor said enthusiastic.

"So, the Royal Family are werewolves?" Rose couldn't believe it.

"Well… maybe not yet. I mean, a single wolf cell could take... a hundred years to mature... might be ready by… oooh… early 21st century...?" the Doctor said.

"Nah! That's just ridiculous! Mind you… Princess Anne...!" Rose joked.

"I'll say no more," the Doctor said.

"And if you think about it... they're very private. They plan everything in advance. They - they could schedule themselves around the moon - we'd never know! ", Rose said as they made it into the TARDIS.

"They like hunting! They love blood sports!"

The Doctor and Mira started to laugh.

"Oh my God, they're werewolves!" Rose finally exclaimed as the TARDIS slowly vanished from the surface of the planet, leaving behind just the faint sound of her engines for a few more seconds.


So, that was the last part of Tooth and Claw. Hope you enjoyed it. :-) And, again, thanks to all of you who read, liked or followed my story. :-)