Arriving at Loch Mead, the starry skies above their guidance, the moon their light, not a creature stirs, the cold waters of the lake still, it was only the three as they walked through the beaten path to the shores.
With the light on his Sonic Screwdriver, Theodore didn't see any settlement, no camps, so it did appear that the baron lived in the cold waters below.
Don't even have to guess how he dresses.
A question arose how he kept his human form, as the waters of the loch would've shorted out his device, hidden under his clothing during his time in court, and thinking, Lila says that it's possible the baron kept it somewhere on land away from the elements until he needed it.
Why he didn't even have a waterproof cloaking device's anyone's guess, but it's ironic, considering.
"I don't understand why you had us come here," Catherine's confused on why they're at the loch, noting there's no one out here besides them, and there's no buildings that she sees where the baron could've stayed.
They hadn't gotten the chance to tell her that her persistent suitor's a fish monster, yet, on the account that they didn't know how to word it without looking like crazy people, though Catherine did run into the TARDIS, and handled it well, with all things considering.
"Ah, well, it was bound to come to this. Your grace, he's a monster… a fish monster to be precise… and we're in the thought that he wants to mate with you," Theodore essentially tells the bewildered princess that the suitor that hounded her hell and back's a fish monster that wanted to mate with her because of her royal blood.
The face on the woman's enough to get the point across that she's not happy with this, but Theodore insisted that he wasn't lying, and had no reason.
It wasn't the fact that he told her that the baron's a fish monster, it was the fact the baron's a fish monster that wanted to mate with Catherine.
"Are you insane?" Catherine pointedly asked Theodore directly if he's got any lemons in his brain of his and he admitted that on some days, he might as well be and Lila threw in a comment about Catherine's question.
"He did dress as a mad hatter one time," Lila noted that one day in the library, Theodore dressed as the Mad Hatter for the kids because they were reading Lewis Carrol's famous "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" complete with comically oversized shoes and hat.
Hammond had to play the King of Hearts because Bill was out sick and Lila was the March Hare, Theodore couldn't breathe half the time during the whole thing because the sight of a near forty-year-old man wearing an outfit that's outlandish even for him was almost too much for Theodore.
Not that Hammond wore a dress, lord, Theodore would've been on the ground with Lila having to call an ambulance because he turned blue!
Hammond, with time against him, had to make a Frankenstein of an outfit with what they had on hand, if not for the tissue paper used as the frills, it would've been fine, but on top of everything else, Theodore fiendishly took pictures for posterity when Hammond was too preoccupied with one of the librarians as Alice that he couldn't cover his face fast enough.
What a wonderful time it was!
… Except for poor, poor, Hammond.
"No one mates with me!" Catherine proclaimed that no fish monster's mating with her, even if he himself's royal, that just won't do, and she demanded Theodore and Lila rid him from her court.
Calming her down, Lila tells her that they don't instantly go to the permanent options unless they have no choice.
"No choice, what choice's needed to rid him?" Catherine gestured that she can't understand why the two wouldn't remove him permanently.
Theodore tells her that they don't want to do anything that drastic for safety reasons and that it's a tool in negotiations.
"Unless he's a Dalek, my hands are tied," Theodore summed that unless the baron proves dangerous, they're not going to kill him.
When he tries to kill them, then it's a matter of deciding what to utilize that's least likely to cause an adverse reaction that'll be felt for generations.
"Just shoot him!" Catherine poked Theodore in the chest several times as she emphasized that Theodore didn't need to come up with a convoluted plan.
Just shoot the baron!
Blinking as his mind caught up to him, Theodore bluntly told her that he doesn't condone that sort of violence.
"What he means is, we don't want to cause a scene that'll draw attention and cause more issues," Lila summed that they're avoiding unnecessary attention that a gunshot would certainly bring, especially close to the port as Catherine noted earlier.
Catherine's already on the wire, she needed proof of her father's murder, she wouldn't get the proof if they simply kill the baron with a gunshot.
At most, it'd make her a killer, and that'd mean she's disbarred from the throne.
Huffing, Catherine crossed her arms as she demanded them to find her the proof, she needed to convince her family's court of the baron's crime.
"Just remember, they're not going to believe us that he's a fish monster, so be a dear princess, help us sell the truth," Theodore politely asked Catherine if she can sell the truth once they find the proof of the wrongdoing, because there isn't a chance anyone in her family court's going to believe a word they're saying to them, and they'll likely see chains and maggot infested bread for the rest of their days.
Catherine insisted that they'd believe her, but she couldn't deny that they'll use the fish monster as pretense that she's unfit to rule the kingdom.
"If we find proof. I don't think he wrote everything on a manifest before going on this little plot of his," Lila brought up that there's a chance that they won't have written proof of the crime, which Theodore assured Catherine that they'll find something.
To which Theodore had them splinter off looking for any area that the baron might've dug out for use when he's not on land, needing to protect his cloaking device from the elements, somewhere close to the shores of the loch.
Even if they don't find the cloaking device, they'll know where he hides it, and Theodore had a plan in mind.
The baron doesn't have kin, he's alone, he's self-serving, and he won't want to risk a fight if it risks his chances at populating Scotland with his ilk.
Out of his element, he has his cloaking device, he knows if it gets wet or ruined, it'll be the end of his ruse.
Perhaps, this'll be easy.
"You really are mad!" Catherine shouts at Theodore as they're standing near the site that Catherine found that looked fresh, a strange container embedded into the ground with strange lines and texts that Catherine can't read.
Gesturing as he tells her to keep her voice down, Theodore swears she won't be hurt or turned into a fish monster herself.
"If we threaten him enough, he'll cave," Lila tells her as she stood next to Theodore.
Her hazel eyes blinking, Catherine hesitates at the thought of herself being the bait.
Theodore's bright idea involved Catherine luring out the baron, with Al's help, he'll be able to hold the cloaking device hostage, and see where it takes them.
"You want to prove to your court that you're capable as their queen, yes, surely you're willing to brave this little ruse of ours for a short while, show them that when it comes down to it, you're not afraid of getting creative," Theodore swayed Catherine into agreeing with the plan, reminding her that she needed to prove to her court that she's capable and adaptive, even under duress.
Seeing his point, Catherine agreed with his plan, but not before threatening him if he failed.
His icy blue eyes moving towards Lila, Theodore tells her that they'll have to set up a camp and wait for the baron to return to the loch.
He suspects the baron won't spend much time on land since Catherine ran for the moors rather marry him, so if he isn't hunting her down, he'll come back here to collect his thoughts, or rethink his plan.
"Come, come, let us not dawdle further," Theodore implored the women as they prepped the camp, out of sight of the shores, close, while Theodore prepped Catherine on what to do.
Al's got a lock on the device, he's tracking the baron, and says the baron's on the move, going by what he sees, Al suggests the baron's coming back to the loch.
Going by the geographical map and what Al filtered, he stayed near the castle, probably thought Catherine would've gone back to it at one point, but since she didn't, he's going back to the loch, and fast.
It's going to rain in the next couple of hours, going by the farmer almanac that Al dug out.
"And if he doesn't bend the knee, then?" Catherine finished her speech after the dozens of times she practiced.
Summing, the two told her that they'll deal with him in the matter that prevented the world at large knowing what transpired.
"And then when everything's said and done, you get your proof that the baron killed your dad, your family court's on your side, you become queen, ba-da-bing," Lila summed the concept for Catherine.
Seemed simple enough, but there's something going on behind those hazel eyes and it seemed like Catherine showed inner disappointment.
She even asked Lila what she and Theodore do for a living, which Lila responded haphazardly that they adventure anywhere, really, any place that needed them, they went, adventures big and small, death-defying stunts, trying to not die, it's a miracle, honestly.
For once since they've known the princess, she took interest in the adventures, imploring for more details on them, that Lila nearly talked herself blue in the face!
"And, being commoners has no bearings?" Catherine asked her as they waited by the large trees.
Thinking to herself, Lila says that it's never an issue, it doesn't have much bearing on their adventures. The people they've helped have all been grateful for their help, even those royal, like Catherine.
"Fascinating," Catherine mused, a twinkle in her eye.