A/N: Hey everyone, sorry for the delay with this one. I won't go into details that you guys really don't care about. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Fingers crossed I found all the little mistakes, let me know if you find any more!
Kari's first night in Sherwood had been awful. The Doctor had spent all of his time constantly trying to find something that wasn't real, only to find out that it was. Clara was so entranced with Robin and his men that she stayed up the whole night talking to them, and listening to their stories. While Kari had ended up back in the TARDIS, a pounding head and a queasy stomach stopping her from enjoying anything. The Doctor told her that she would be fine, that it was just because she needed something decent to eat, however, she had seen the look on his face, the concern in his ancient eyes. He was worried about something, and it was something that was happening to her.
Even before they had arrived in Nottingham something had been wrong, and yet Kari had been absolutely fine before she had arrived with that Doctor. None of it made any sense to her, and so she had ended the day curled up in her bed in the TARDIS, with soothing hums and whirrs coming from the impossible machine itself. It seemed that even she knew something wasn't right and was trying her best to calm her and make her feel better.
She was actually rather reluctant to leave the big blue box the next morning. Kari had taken an extra long bath, picked through the wardrobe very carefully to find something to wear, had several cups of tea, and now she was trying to find something else to clean. The deep purple dress that she was now wearing had a silver embroidered pattern around it, but it still made her feel as uncomfortable as the blue one she had on the day before.
"Kari? Kari, come on, it's time to head to the contest." The Doctor's voice called through the space ship. "Clara has already gone ahead with that stupid man and his little band of idiots. We don't want to be late, do we?" Kari didn't really mind if they were late, in fact she was quickly losing interest in the whole adventure.
Even though she would have much rather stayed in the TARDIS and left them to it, she dragged herself to the console where the Doctor was waiting for her. "Okay, let's go." Kari said with very little enthusiasm.
Before she could get very far, the Doctor had lightly grabbed a hold of her hand. "What's wrong?" He asked her, frowning slightly.
"Nothing, everything's fine." Everything was far from fine, but she couldn't tell him that, because she couldn't even explain it all. "Now come on, we've got a contest to go and win." Kari expected the Doctor let release her, or at least walk with her, but he stayed firmly put, keeping her there as well.
"Kari, I know everything isn't fine. You've been trying to hide it but I can see straight through the mask you wear. You might be able to fool Clara, but you really can't fool me." What really set it off for him was how quickly she had put a smile on her face when she announced that they were to stay there for another day or so. The Doctor knew how she was feeling there, so why would she be happy about staying?
She wanted to let out a sigh, she really did, but Kari held it back. "I've already told you, this place feels strange. In my head I know it shouldn't be real, but here we are with Robin Hood. I know what is going to happen here, but something still feels… wrong." There really was no other way to describe it, she had no idea what was going on.
In her mind she could play out the whole adventure, and there was nothing that she could notice that could convince her that this wasn't the exact same place. So why was she getting that feeling in her stomach, the one that told her everything isn't what it seems?
There was still the worry on the Doctor's face as he looked at her, "That's why you wanted to stay in here, wasn't it? Every time you're out there, it all feels so wrong." She nodded her head at him, glad that he understood how she was feeling. "But it's not the same feeling that I have." He paused for a moment, drifting off into his own little world full of thought. "Come on, we need to get to that contest." Kari had expected him to say something more, such as why she feeling the way she was, but he had just jumped and changed the topic of conversation. That could only mean one thing, he was hiding something.
Although Kari wanted to question the Time Lord, she didn't. She let him lead her towards Nottingham Castle and to the area where the archery competition was being held. They could see Clara, Robin and his band of merry men but did not join them. Instead, the pair stood back a little, watching from out of the way. She knew that the Doctor would get involved much later in the competition, but for now they simply had to wait and watch.
However, the Doctor was not good at waiting, and quickly found himself something to do. "Doctor, are you really going to do that?" She asked him, watching as he plucked his sonic screwdriver out of his jacket pocket and began to scan the things around them. "You're not going to find anything interesting, trust me. The best thing to do is just waiting until this contest is over and then go ask questions." While Kari knew that he would end up disrupting the contest later on for information, she didn't know what he was planning on doing up until that point. Now she had a rather good idea and was not impressed by it.
"There's no point in just standing here. We might as well do something to pass the time." He grabbed her hand tightly and pulled her away through the crowd. He needed to talk to her, he needed to find out exactly what it was that was bothering her. It wasn't just how things felt wrong, there was something else as well, he knew that, he could see it on her face.
Kari didn't bother to fight with him, she knew that it would do her no good. All she could do was let him lead her away and let him get on with whatever it was until he was needed to take part in the archery contest. Clara would be safe, the woman probably wouldn't notice that the pair of them were missing since she was far too engrossed with Robin Hood and his merry men. Just the thought of that man and his group made her stomach turn over for some reason.
Once they were far enough away from the crowd, and hidden away from everyone else, the Doctor stopped and turned to face Kari. "Tell me what you know. About this place, about that man. It is very important that you tell me, Kari."
That wasn't exactly what she was expecting from him. "What? Doctor, you know that I can't…"
"Yes, yes, yes. You can't tell me what's going to happen. I'm not asking about what is going to happen, I'm asking about that man, Robin Hood. What do you know about him, and Sherwood. If it really is Sherwood." He wasn't being pushy, and he knew that she wouldn't tell him more that she could, but he did seem pretty desperate to know what was going on.
It took a moment or two before her brain decided to kick in. "Uh, well… he's just… I don't know, nothing like I imagined. He seems like a complete and utter fake, like he has literally been picked up out of the book." Kari didn't really know how to answer him, she was kind of being put on the spot.
"Yes, what else?"
"Happy! This place is far too happy." Kari cried, feeling the pressure that he was putting on her. "The Sheriff is taxing the people to death, he is killing them, and Robin Hood, this great big hero, is the spitting image of the cover of a book." Now that she had started, she didn't know if she was going to be able to stop. "Everywhere is green, and it is always sunny. Nottingham really isn't like that, it rains, the leaves fall from the trees, it's Nottingham, not a hot and sunny holiday destination."
The Doctor couldn't help but smile at her. "Oh, you are brilliant!" He said, before kissing the top of her head. "Too happy, too sunny, too much like a storybook. So, the question is, how can any of this be real?" For some reason, he seemed rather happy, and Kari wasn't entirely sure that was a good thing. "Now come on, we need to get back. We need to put a stop to all of this before it's too late."
They had actually walked further than Kari had thought they did, and by the time the returned to the castle they were just about to start with the final round. "In the contest for the golden arrow, after ten rounds, the battle is betwixt our Lord Sheriff." The man speaking paused and some cheering came from the crowd. "And the stranger know as Tom the Tinker." He received a much bigger reception from the audience than the Sheriff had, which the man, who was seated up on a rather comfy looking chair, seemed unhappy about. "Take your places."
The Sheriff stood up and made his way down from his high platform where he could watch over the crowd. "Shall we make the contest a little more interesting, my Lord?" Robin asked as the man gathered his bow and arrows. "The targets seem a little close. What say you? Another twenty paces?" Robin was very confident, and the Doctor and Kari could both see that, while Clara was still entranced by the man.
"Why not." The Sheriff replied, signalling to one of his servants to move the target back some more. He pulled back his black feathered arrow, which matched the rather large amount of black clothing that he was wearing. The only part that wasn't black was the gold chains he had hanging around his neck. He released it from the bow and it flew at the target, happily planting itself into the bullseye. "Now, Tinker, let us see thy true face." The Sheriff was now very confident, but that quickly faded.
Robin set free his own white feathered arrow, which flew with a true aim and split that of the Sheriff in half. "Ye gads! He has split the arrow!" The herald cried, surprised and shocked at what had just happened. "Truly he is the finest archer in all England. Come forward, Tinker and claim your prize." The crowd were going absolutely mad, cheering and celebrating that he had won.
However, before he could claim the golden arrow that was resting on a plush red pillow, another arrow with multicoloured feathers flew through the air and split that of Robin Hood. Everyone was shocked for a moment, before the clapping and cheering began, their eyes now focused on the Doctor who had Kari standing beside him. "I'm the Doctor. My skills as a bowman speak for themselves. I claim my reward." The man with the arrow knelt down to allow the man to claim his prize. The Doctor picked up the shining arrow and passed it to Kari without even looking at it. "A mere bauble. I want something else." It was Kari who tossed it away and towards the merry men, who happily snapped it up.
"Name it." The Sheriff replied, rather interested in what was going on.
The problem was that neither of the men were paying any attention to the other archer who was now pulling back the string of his bow, an arrow ready to fire. Seconds later the crowd were on their feet and roaring once more. The arrow he had released had split the Doctor's in half.
The Doctor let out a sigh as Kari handed him his bow and another arrow for him to fire. She also gave him an encouraging smile, because she knew that he could do it, he could beat Robin Hood. The Time Lord let his loose when he was aiming at one of the heavily armoured guards, the arrow ricocheting off metal and flying at the board. It finally stopped when it split the white feathered arrow into two, which resulted in another round of cheering.
While the Doctor thought that was the end of it all, Kari knew it wasn't, and she watched as Robin looked at Clara, smiled, and then let his arrow fly. The cheering started again, meaning that he had also split yet another arrow. "This is getting silly." The Doctor exclaimed, before whipping out his sonic screwdriver and setting the target ablaze. It exploded into a ball of fire, splinted of wood shooting into the air and frightening people.
Yet he had not thought of the repercussions from his action, as the Sheriff quickly called for him to be seized. Panic followed, the people of Nottingham scattering, screaming and crying in fear, while the guards drew their swords and headed for the Doctor and Kari.
They watched as Clara grabbed large and heavy halberd from the rack. It was clearly far too heavy for her, she couldn't even hold it upright, let alone use it. "What are you doing? Put that down." The Doctor ordered, tugging Kari out of the way and placing her safely behind him.
"I'm fine." The woman in the red dress protested. "I take year seven for after school Taekwondo."
Before the Doctor was able to say another word, the man he had been competing with was standing in front of him, his own sword drawn. "Don't worry, Doctor. I'll save you." He announced, while the armoured men approached them. From all directions.
"I don't need saving." The Doctor responded, now taking a tight hold of Kari's hand.
Robin was just ignoring him and simply carried on speaking. "Your honour is safe. For I am Robin." He announced, before whipping off the large brimmed hat that he had been wearing. "Robin Hood!" Of course, the crowd that was still hanging around all cheered for the man, which only inflated his ego some more.
"This is not going to end well, you know that, right?" Kari whispered to him, while they watched Robin battle one of the guards. "And things are about to take a twist." She received a strange look from the Doctor, and all she did was nod to the fight before them. The moment he turned back to observe what was happening, Robin sliced off the guards arm, which sparked and hissed.
It only took him a few seconds and he was picking up the arm and inspecting it. "Robot." He looked back up at the body with one less arm and the metal helmet suddenly hissed open, revealing a robot face behind it. "Now we're getting somewhere."
Unfortunately for them, the Sheriff was not pleased that his robots had been discovered. "Take them." He ordered, pointing to the Doctor, Kari, Clara, and Robin. "Kill the rest. Kill them all!" He couldn't leave witnesses, and he didn't care about those people and their lives.
Most of what happened next happened in a blur for Kari. Her head had started spinning uncontrollably and she felt as if she was going to be sick. She wanted to do something to help, to save the people that were in danger, but instead she was wishing she had stayed inside the TARDIS and left the Doctor and Clara to get on with it on their own. Instead she found herself on the lush green grass with the Doctor crouching down beside her, calling her name.
"Kari? Kari, can you hear me?" There was a hint of desperation in his voice, and even though she tried to reply to him, she couldn't.
"Doctor, what happened? Was she hit by one of those robots?" Clara asked, she was roughly grabbed by one of the robot guards.
The Doctor quickly put his arms around Kari and lifted her up. There was worried etched all over his face, he didn't know what had happened, and he didn't like it when he didn't know something. He just had to keep a tight hold on her as they were pushed and shoved forward, being taken to some dark and damp dungeon where they would eventually be shackled.
Once they had made it to the dungeon, a human guard took Kari away from the Doctor and gently placed her down in a corner of the cold room, the only light, in the shape of a cross, coming from a single window. The Doctor, Robin, and Clara were all forced to sit on the floor, before shackles were placed on their wrists and looped through metal hoops that were fitted in the solid floor.
"Splendid. Enchained." Robin moaned as they sat there in the dark. Clara made a slight remark of agreement, while the Doctor stayed silent. "Trussed up like turkey-cocks. Thanks to your friend." He was referring to the Doctor, who was the one who made them all surrender.
"Shut it, Hoodie. I saved your life." The Doctor snapped, his eyes focused on the unmoving form of Kari.
"I had the situation well in hand." Robin protested, totally oblivious to the emotional battle that was brewing within the Doctor.
The Doctor was ready to snap straight back at him. "Long-haired ninny versus robot killer knights?" He reminded him. "I know where I'd put my money." It would not have been on the long-haired ninny named Robin Hood.
"If you had not betrayed me, I would be been triumphant." Clara actually let out a sigh, she was stuck there while the pair of them argued.
"You would have been a little puff of smoke and ashes." Robin scoffed at this remark from the Doctor. "You'd have been floating around in tiny little laughing bits in people's goblets." Once again, the archer scoffed before starting to laugh. "Oh, right, here we go. It's laughing time."
It just wasn't going to stop, and Clara actually envied the fact that Kari couldn't hear all the madness. "Well, you amuse me, grey old man."
Now it was that Doctor who had really had enough. "Guard! He's laughing again!" He shouted, hoping to grab someone's attention. "You can't keep me locked up with a laughing person."
"Oh, I find that… I find that quite funny. Do you know, I feel another laugh coming on." Robin said, before letting out some very fake laughs.
"Guards, I cannot remain in this cell. Execute me now." The Doctor called, before having the other man agree with him and calling him an old fool. "No, hang on, execute him. I'd like to see if his head keeps laughing when you chop it off!"
Clara rolled her eyes before glance over at Kari. She was certain she had just seen her moving a little on the ground. "Oh, Robin Hood always laughs in the face of death."
"Yes, rolling around the floor laughing, I would pay good money to see that." The Doctor said, before both of the men started calling for the guard, over and over again.
By now Clara had really had enough of it all. She was surprised that Kari hadn't woken up due to all the bickering and noise that was going on around them both. "Oh, you two, shut up!" She finally shouted. "Do either of you understand, in any way at all, that there isn't actually a guard out there?" However, that seemed to do nothing but cause them to argue some more. "I said, shut up. The Doctor and Robin Hood locked up in a cellar. Is this seriously the best that you can do? You're determined to starve to death in here squabbling."
Before either of the men could respond to her, they all heard a slightly groaning. "Oh, my head." Kari moaned, finally starting to come back to reality. "Why did we have to come here? Oh that's right, because Clara wanted to meet that idiot Robin Hood."
"Kari? Kari, hey, you okay?" The Doctor called to her, wishing he didn't have those stupid things around his wrists so that he could reach her and check that she was all right.
Slowly she sat up and looked over at the three people that were chained together. "Thrown in the dungeon by the Sheriff?" She asked, getting a round of nods. "Non stop bickering between two grown men?" Neither of them said anything, but Clara did call out a yes. "And the Robots of Sherwood."
Although the Doctor was relieved that she was awake once more, she still hadn't answer his question. "Kari, how are you feeling?" He needed to know, he needed her to tell him what had happened.
She looked over at him with a hint of confusion etched on her face. "I don't know what happened, Doctor. As soon as that robot began to charge it's laser, my head started spinning and my stomach was turning over. There's something here that really isn't right, and I really don't like it."
He knew her, and the Doctor could see the hint of fear in her eyes as well. Whatever happened, even he couldn't explain it. "We can talk about that later, right now we need to work out how to shut this ridiculous laughing man up."
"No, what you need to do is stop talking and listen for a moment." Kari announced, starting to feel a little better. Her eyes were adjusting to the darkness now and she was able to see that Clara was looking bored, the Doctor was irritated, and Robin was acting like nothing was wrong. "Is there anyone here in this wretched room that actually has a plan?"
"Yeah, of course I have a plan. You know me, Kari, I always have a plan." The Doctor replied quickly, making sure that he spoke before Robin did. But then the other man announced that he too had a plan.
Clara ended up rolling her eyes while, Kari made herself a little more comfortable. She wondered if any of them had realised that she was the only one not to have been shackled. "Right, come on then, Mr Hood. What is this oh so great plan that you have? Doctor, not a word from you." She knew he was about to speak, about to butt in and ask why Robin Hood got to speak first.
The man who was constantly smiling and laughing looked at her, a grin on his face. "I'm biding my time." Kari knew what that meant, it meant that he didn't really have a plan.
"Fantastic, thank you oh Prince of Thieves. Come on then, Time Lord fiancé, you have a plan?" Even though she was asking, she knew what the answer was going to be. Which was why she added a little more. "But before you explain this grand plan of yours, I do hope it does not refer to sonic screwdriver, as I am fairly confident that the Sheriff would have confiscated that from you since you decided to used it to start blowing things up. And since when did it work on wood?"
Silence fell around them, and Kari knew that the Doctor had nothing. "Ah, well…"
"Yeah, that's exactly what I thought. You two have spent all that time bickering when you really should have been working on a plan. This is not a competition of any kind, do you both understand me? You are not children so stop acting like it."
Suddenly the door was unlocked, and a guard wandered into the room. "See? There was a guard. There was a guard listening the whole time, I knew it." Robin announced, before he started laughing once more.
"The Sheriff himself commanded me to listen, to find out which of you is the true ringleader." The man, who had no real teeth left at all, told the group. It was then followed by Robin and the Doctor battling it out once more over who was going to be taken and who was not going to say a word. Neither of them realised that he had gone straight over to Kari and helped her to stand, before going over to Clara and releasing her as well.
Kari looked at them both, and saw their stunned faces when they finally understood what was going on. "Try not to kill each other while we're gone, will you?" She informed them, before grabbing a hold of Clara's arm and leading her out of the cell.
Not long later and both of the women were sitting at a grand table with the Sheriff, who was happily eating the enormous feast before them. "Eat, my Ladies, eat. Let it not be said that the Sheriff of Nottingham is a poor host." He offered, tucking into his meal.
At the opposite end of the table sat Kari, with Clara to her right. "I'm not hungry. Went to this amazing diner before I came here, the food is out of this world." Clara couldn't help but chuckle a little, she understood why Kari had called it that.
"Your words are strange, fair one." The Sheriff replied, really tucking into the food on the table.
"Of course they are, I'm as strange as they come, can't really get any stranger than me." She stopped and thought for a moment. "Actually, if you want strange then you need to meet my family. The whole lot of us are strange."
The Sheriff smiled at her. "But I like you, both of you. You're refreshingly direct." He said, before he started to pick things up from the table to show it to them. "Taken from your friend's strange tunic. An intriguing gallimaufry." Kari spotted the cheese sandwich wrapped in clingfilm and wondered why the Doctor even had that, and how long he had had it for. The next thing he picked up was the spoon, given to him by none other than Arthur Pendragon, or at least him claimed. "Including this wand." He was now referring to the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. "Evidently a thing of awesome power. Tell me, are you from beyond the stars?"
"Says the man with the robot arm in Nottingham." Kari wasn't going to tell him that she was, in fact, from 'beyond the stars' as he put it. She was from Wales, sort of.
It was clear that the man had not liked her answer as he rose from his seat and began walking towards the two women. "But enough of tawdry matters. Let us talk of softer, sweeter things." On the way he stabbed a piece of food with a long dagger, before placing it in his mouth. Clara was sitting there ridged, evidently uncomfortable with the whole situation.
"I would much rather hear a story, the one about the mysterious light in the sky, a great and powerful man who was destined to change the world." Kari was doing pretty well at acting her part, at getting the man's attention and leading him into what she wanted to know. "A very brave and very clever man who meets strange mechanical men, and the promises they came with."
He seemed rather eager to respond to her request, a large smile taking over his face. "Once upon a time, there was a brave and clever and handsome man. Unappreciated by his royal master." Kari nodded at him, knowing that he was talking about Prince John. "The skyships came to Earth in a fury of fire. A craft from the heavenly spheres, bedlight with twinkling lights and miracles beyond imagining. The most beautiful thing the brave and handsome man had ever seen."
"And these mechanical men looked upon you to be their leader, as such a man like you should be." Kari replied, while Clara looked on in utter confusion.
"It was I and I alone to whom the mechanical men then imparted their secrets. Shortly, I shall be the most powerful man in the realm. King in all but name, for Nottingham is not enough." Now the man was leaning on the chair that Kari was sitting in, but she was not as uncomfortable as Clara, because she knew what she was doing.
A small smile slipped onto her face as she looked over to him. "No, a man like you will aim high, you shall aim for the world." He seemed to like the fact that she understood him. "But forgive me, my Lord, why bother with these peasants when you have that skyship ready and waiting for you?"
"So many questions from such a beauty." He said, lightly stroking her cheek. It actually sent a shiver down Kari's spine, it was bad enough that his silly beard reminded him of a past version of someone, but his actions reminded her of him as well. "Such strange and beautiful eyes, the colour of gold."
She shifted in her seat a little, and Clara gave her a worried look. The other woman had been oddly quiet, but that was because Kari was going most of the talking. "There are two things you should know about me, my Lord Sheriff, I am the strangest and most unique person you shall ever meet."
"Indeed you are. You'll do very well, for every king requires a consort." The man went to kiss Kari, but she quickly put her hand out, stopping him with her fingers. He seemed bemused by her actions.
"Forgive me, but I am promised to another. One who has more than just the world, he can give me the universe." She actually enjoyed say that, it made his face turn red with anger. Kari also would have loved for the Doctor to see how well she had played her character to get the information that they needed, even if she did already know it all.
For some reason, the Sheriff didn't seem to think that was a problem. "That is easily rectified. It is easy to dispose of people."
A smug grin spread across Kari's face, and Clara just looked worried. "Trust me, is really isn't easy to get rid of him. Kill him, and he will just come back and haunt you. Touch a hair on his head and you will have to deal with me, and I can be much more dangerous than your pathetic robots." It wasn't so much a threat, but a promise. Kari was protective of the Doctor, of every single version of him, and if someone threatened him, they would have to deal with her fury.
A/N: well, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, yes, it has turned into a 3 parter but I don't think that is a bad thing. I've got so much going on in my head that it has been a nightmare fitting it all in.
Anyway, I would just like to say an absolutely massive thank you to all you lovely people who continue to review. I know there are times when I start slacking, losing my joy and motivation for this story, but you guys are always there. Thank you.
I'm not going to ramble on, I'm going to go and finish off the next chapter so we can move on to the next adventure with the Doctor and Kari.
Until then...
Pippa.