"What?" the Ponds were shocked, after all, Camelot was supposed to be a myth. It was just an old child's story.
"Yep, that's right, Camelot." The Doctor was clearly enjoying himself; it was obvious by the look on his face. He seemed about ready to jump out of his shoes in excitement. It was like he was doing all he could just to keep from running out the door, trying to get to the palace gates as fast as possible. Amy could just imagine him running up a street, picking up random bits and bobs in his haste to reach the castle. "Well? What are you waiting for? Stop standing there like bone idle fish and let's go!" He didn't wait for them to answer. The Doctor jumped through the doors, pulling the Pond's along behind him as he did so. They both turned back as he closed the door. It clicked to a shut and the TARDIS turned invisible, as if sensing where it was. Amy raised an eyebrow.
"Does it always do that?" She sounded unsure, her worried tone shining through with a sharp accent.
"Well, not always." Said the Doctor and he walked away. It was like he thought those few words explained everything. Amy and Rory looked around and finally took in their surroundings. They were in a forest, tall trees being the most dominant feature of the landscape. Amy gazed upwards and caught her first glimpse of the majestic castle that loomed above the tree-line.
"That's it, isn't it?" Rory said beside her. "That's Camelot!" He didn't need an answer. They could faintly hear the clanging of metal bells in the distance. Nine, ten, eleven. Twelve O'clock.
"How long will it take to get there?" Amy asked absentmindedly.
"About ten, maybe fifteen minutes, give or take." The Doctor estimated as he glanced at his watch. "We should get walking." He trudged off towards the castle and the Pond's followed along eagerly.
They spoke quietly as the distance grew shorter. Most silences were filled with either the Pond's panting or the quiet sounds of nature. The Doctor tweaked and fiddled with the sonic screw-driver as the pair asked the usual questions that accompanied each new place.
"Aww-oo. My feet are killing me. Why did I choose to wear heels? That was so stupid and given our normal circumstances, I'm probably going to be running around mad half the time anyway!" Amy sighed. "May as well go bare foot from here." She was about to slip off her shoes but the Doctor stopped her.
"There's no point in taking them off now, we're almost at the gates. It wouldn't be a good thing for a women looking like you are now, to come strolling into town with no shoes on." Amy sighed in exasperation after he said this, but nodded in acceptance.
Amy vaguely wondered what King Arthur would look like. Hopefully he wasn't too old, that would be a downer. Something that had never occurred to her before popped into her head.
"Where are we going to be from?" The logical question was asked by Rory but he didn't get the quick answer he was hoping for, thanks to Amy.
"What does Arthur look like? Are we going to get to meet him? Are we going to meet Merlin? Has Arth-" Amy's sudden jumble of questions were cut off abruptly. As far as she could tell, the Doctor had made a weird shushing sound and Amy had felt compelled to be quiet.
"How are we going to explain the fact that we don't have any luggage?" The Doctor shushed Rory as well when he continued to ask questions.
"Do you want me to actually answer some of your questions? Or would you just like to keep babbling?" Amy remained silent. "Ok. As for the luggage problem, we can say we had to sell our horses and spare clothing for supplies. We're going to be from a faraway place called Thetford that very few people will have heard of but they shouldn't to many questions anyway. As for your next question, I have no idea what King Arthur looks like seeing as every myth describes him differently." They were inside the Kingdom's lower gates by now and were now making their way the busy streets. "I don't know if we'll get to meet any of them, but I'm pretty sure we'll get to see at least Arthur in passing. We're getting closer to the palace, so we'll find out what happens soon enough. Now we have to work on not acting out of their ordinary."
"But I have a question." Rory protested.
The Doctor sighed. "What is it Rory?"
"Will we get to see the sword in the stone?" The Doctor hesitated.
"I wouldn't think so. But it is possible…" He left the sentence hanging.
They tried to blend in as much as possible but it really was no use. People skirted around them like they were contagious. Some bowed their heads in respect and a few others ran off in the direction of some knights. Mostly they didn't have any trouble, but Amy and Rory were somewhat uncomfortable with all of the attention. Every now and then they saw a couple of knights who looked like they wanted to approach but they all kept to themselves. "Um, Rory?" The Doctor asked hesitantly. "You should probably walk behind us, it might not be normal for 'servants' to walk beside their, ah, 'masters', or ah, 'upper-class' people. We wouldn't want to arouse suspicion." Rory looked like he wanted to argue with the Doctor, but he dropped back behind the pair.
The market place bustled with movement despite the amount of attention the trio was getting. From up and down the street men and women could be heard bartering and shop owners advertising their products. The three time travellers looked around in wonder and for once, even the doctor was speechless. "Amazing…" Rory breathed. They were nearing the courtyard gates now and from across the square they could see someone in the stocks. Amy and Rory looked concerned but the Doctor reassured them.
"Don't worry," He said. "He's probable some lowly peasant or servant who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, no big deal. History probably won't even remember his name. Quite sad really…" He trailed off, not paying attention to the other pair.
"I wonder if we'll get to meet Guinevere." Amy said absentmindedly. Meanwhile Rory was still marvelling at the scenery.
"Are we staying in the castle?" He asked the Doctor.
"Certainly!" He exclaimed. "Where else do you expect us to stay? In the Tavern? That would end very badly. Besides, this way we're more likely to meet Arthur. Now, M'lady Amelia, would you please accompany me through the gate, and Rory, just try to be inconspicuous."
They had reached the palace gates now and the Doctor quickly explained to the guards that they wanted an audience with the king. They advanced through the court yard, taking a few minutes to look around. They were escorted by a few nights through the castle to what they could only assumed was the throne room. Numerous servants ran about in a mad rush to complete their chores. As they approached the throne room the chaos died down and the corridors became deserted save for a few guards.
They waited outside the door for a few minutes until they received permission to enter from the guards. "Ready?" The Doctor asked. The Ponds nodded, not willing to admit that they had no idea what to expect. "That's good, cause I'm not." He stated blandly.
The doors opened at that moment and they found themselves before a crowd of people. It was clear who they thought was in charge. A man with blonde hair was sitting on the throne. It appeared he had just been talking to the man at his right but at hearing the doors open he stopped speaking. He turned towards them.
Whilst looking around, the Doctor caught a servants' eyes. He recognised him as the boy who had been in the stocks not ten minutes ago. Amy, Rory and the King seemed oblivious to the fact that the boy was too old for his age and his wise eyes were hidden behind a mask of ignorance. The Doctor looked away, now knowing that this young man was more than he seemed.
He looked to the king. He quickly explained where they were supposedly from and who they were. He had expected something like this. He'd figured the whole kingdom would be on alert after the death of their former ruler. So he wasn't surprised when the king didn't look impressed. He tried to make himself look tired when he replied.
Amy had stepped forward when they were offered accommodation, wanting to show herself off to the young king. But before they could get settled in, the King spoke again. He clearly did not want to ask, but he wanted to know if they had any identification.
He pulled out his psychic paper, ignoring the worried glances that he got from Amy and Rory. He strode to the nearest knight and handed it to him to pass to the king. It would appear out of turn for him to approach the man himself. He wondered absentmindedly what the king would do if their qualifications didn't check out. He'd probably question us, banish us, and threaten to kill us if we dared to return. Oh well, he thought, it wouldn't be a first.
Arthur took the wallet and looked it over. He looked convinced but just as the Doctor was about to step forward to take it back, Arthur gave it to the man on his right. "Like we discussed." The man nodded whilst taking the wallet, understanding completely. The King looked back to the trio, about to explain. "Like I said," He started. "I really do hate to do this but, in the past, we have had trouble with people using magic to conspire against us. For all I know, you could all be sorcerers." He chuckled merrily, as if thoroughly amused. The three travellers followed his lead, laughing nervously. "But I, unlike our court scribe, do not have a practiced eye. My servant is just taking that certificate of yours to him. He should be back soon."
"In the meantime there are servants setting up your quarters. Do you have any horses or luggage that need to be brought up to the castle?" He looked at the Doctor expectantly.
The Doctor spoke again. "We do not have any horses with us anymore. We had to sell them for supplies. As for our luggage we chose to travel lightly so as to make our journey quicker. We have only what is in this room and that wallet." The king nodded.
"We have some spare gowns that I'm sure that your lady can have." He started. "And I'm sure we can find some spare clothes for you and your manservant to wear." The King glanced at the door on his right, becoming impatient.
Merlin dashed to the library, rushing through corridors and hallways until he came skidding to an abrupt stop in front of the door that lead to an enormous amount of books. They swung open quietly as he pushed the frame forward.
He slid in and strode straight to the front desk where Geoffrey was waiting. The young warlock handed the wallet to him. Merlin had decided that it was best to keep up all pretences. He would do as Arthur wanted him to do and deal with the imposters themselves when they thought they were safe from suspicion. The older man looked it over quickly. Finally he looked up at Merlin. "Thetford, eh? We don't normally get visiting nobles from such distances. Everything seems to be in order. Sir Doctor of Thetford, the first son of William and his Lady Amelia. You can tell the King that they are who they say they are. Master William was an old friend of Arthur's Father." He spoke as he walked around the table to give the wallet back to Merlin, his aged voice croaky but firm. The young warlock nodded in thanks and ran off towards the throne room.
When he reached the large hall, Arthur and the three travellers were the only remaining occupants. Their attention was drawn from their aimless conversation as he entered and he nodded to Arthur, conveying the message that everything was in order. Merlin walked to Sir Doctor and handed him the wallet. "My apologies for the inconvenience, m'lord." He said quietly. Merlin had always tried to blend in with the crowd. It meant that people rarely suspected him of any meddling.
Just as Sir Doctor was taking the wallet back, the man's fingers accidentally brushed against the back of Merlins hand. As he registered the touch, Merlin felt as if he'd lost a great deal of energy. He recoiled as he felt a rush of information flood through his mind and he felt the understandable desire to collapse, or to throw up. But either way, they both meant the same thing; bad.
Four words, just four words, echoed through his mind.
The last Time Lord.