Jace:

Rose and I were both in denim, though I had on shorts, a strappy top and my leather jacket, and she was in mini dungarees. "What do you think of this? Will it do? Jace looks amazing, you can actually see her legs." Yeah, and they weren't scarred any longer. I'd have to ask dad about that.

"In the late 1970s?" He scoffed, grabbing a CD and going to put it on. "You'd be better off in a bin bag. Hold on, listen to this." The music started playing and it bounced around the console room in blacks, blues and greens, and I loved it. "Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Number One in 1979."'

We both laughed at him, and he pulled me to dance with him. "You're a punk."

"It's good to be a lunatic." Well, I didn't get my voice from him...

"That's what you are, dad. A big old punk with a bit of rockabillly thrown in. Perfect Rocker dad."

He just grinned, pulled me close into a hug. It was him, a different him, but his hugs were still the best. "Would you like to see him, my Jacey Jacey Jay???"

Wait, what? "How'd you mean? In concert?"

"What else is a TARDIS for?" He laughed, letting go of me and turning the music up. "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?"

Rose and I grinned. "Sheffield it is."

"Hold on tight."

Dad started beating the rhythm of the song onto the console as we went, little gold bursts through the rest of the song, and the amber of the TARDIS. "Stop!"

And then we were thrown to the floor as we finished, and he just got right back up, hauling me with him. "1979. Hell of a year. China invades Vietnam. The Muppet Movie. Love that film. Margaret Thatcher. Urgh. Skylab falls to Earth, with a little help from me. Nearly took off my thumb." We were walking out of the TARDIS now and he was still going. "And I like my thumb. I need my thumb. I'm very attached to-" Rifles were cocked in our faces and he moved us behind him. "My thumb."

The light of the place around us was too dark, far too dark to be the 20th century. And we were surrounded by the red coats. "1879, Dad."

"Same difference." He shrugged.

"You will explain your presence. And the nakedness of these girls."

At which point he started speaking with a Scottish accent. "Are we in Scotland?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "How can you be ignorant of that?"

"Oh, I'm, I'm dazed and confused. I've been chasing this, this wee naked child over hill and over dale when she took my daughter to bargain. Isn't that right, ya timorous beastie?"

And Rose tried it. "Och, aye! I've been oot and aboot."

"No, don't do that." She tried again. "No, really don't. Really."

"Will you identify yourself, sir?"

"I'm Doctor James McCrimmon, from the township of Balamory. I have my credentials, if I may." He got out the psychic paper. "As you can see, a Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. I trained under Doctor Bell himself. This is my daughter Jaclyn, apprentice nurse." I didn't think so.

And then a strong, English voice came from the nearby carriage. "Let them approach."

The leader red coat hesitated. "I don't think that's wise, ma'am."

"Let them approach."

"You will approach the carriage, and show all due deference."

A footman opened the door to reveal the Imperial Widow as we approached. "Jace,Rose, might I introduce her Majesty Queen Victoria. Empress of India and Defender of the Faith."

Holy... I was wearing denim shorts and a thin top, and there she was... I used a quick sound manipulation on my voice so I sounded as Scottish as dad. "Jace Smith, Ma'am. And my apologies for being so naked."

"I've had five daughters. It's nothing to me. But you, Doctor. Show me these credentials." He held up the paper again. "Why didn't you say so immediately? It states clearly here that you have been appointed by the Lord Provost as my Protector."

Which was news to him. "Does 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?"

It looked like she was sucking lemons. "A tree on the line."

"An accident?" I asked her, frowning a little.

"I am the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Everything around me tends to be planned."

Dad raised an eyebrow. "An assassination attempt?"

"What, seriously?" Rose asked her. "There's people out to kill ya?"

"I'm quite used to staring down the barrel of a gun."

The Captain trotted nearer on his horse. "Sir Robert MacLeish lives but ten miles hence. We've sent word ahead. He'll shelter us for tonight, then we can reach Balmoral tomorrow."

"This Doctor and his timorous beasties will come with us."

He bowed slowly. "Yes, Ma'am. We'd better get moving - it's almost nightfall."

"Indeed." The Queen smiled. "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!"

We walked with the rest of the people behind the carriage, dad holding my hand and Rose linking arms with him the other side. "It's funny though, because you say assassination and you just think of Kennedy and stuff. Not her."

He considered something for a moment. "1879? She's had, oh, six attempts on her life?"

"And I'll tell you something else." I laughed, looking at them both. I'd grown, I was the same height as Rose now, I hadn't realised. "We just met Queen Victoria!"

"I know!"

"What a laugh!"

Rose grinned. "She was just sitting there."

"Like a stamp." Dad and I said together, and he kissed my head.

"I want her to say we are not amused." Oh, this wasn't going to end well. "I bet you five quid I can make her say it."

Dad made a pained face. "Well, if we gambled on that, it'd be an abuse of my privileges of traveller in time."

"Ten quid?"

"Done." Brilliant.

DW

We reached the house and then a man came out to meet the Queen. "Your Majesty."

"Sir Robert." She nodded her head a little. "My apologies for the emergency. And how is Lady Isobel?"

Robert hesitated for a moment, and I could see the worry in his voice. He was hiding something. "She's indisposed, I'm afraid. She's gone to Edinburgh for the season. 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."

"Oh, not at all. I've had quite enough carriage exercise." Because sitting on your arse was really called exercise. "And this is charming, if rustic. It's my first visit to this house. My late husband spoke of it often. The Torchwood Estate. Now, shall we go inside? And please excuse the naked girls."

"Sorry." We muttered.

"She's a feral child." The Doctor said, patting Rose's shoulder. "I bought her for sixpence in old London Town as my daughters hand maiden. It's was her or the Elephant Man, so"

Rose sent him a look. "Thinks he's funny but I'm so not amused. What do you think, Ma'am?"

But she was having none of it. "It hardly matters. Shall we proceed?"

"So close."

We were then waiting as the Queen went inside and then two of the red coats, similar to red shirts, took a small, locked box from the carriage and carried it to the house. "So what's in there, then?" I asked, brushing my still colourful hair out of my face as they passed me. I probably should have waited, Dad was really not amused.

"Property of the Crown. You will dismiss any further thoughts, ma'am. The rest of you go to the rear of the house. Assume your designated positions."

They all listened, and did as they were told. And I could see dad wishing that his companions did that. Then we were given a tour of the house, leading right up to the massive observatory all the way up the top of the house. "This, I take it, is the famous Endeavour." The Queen asked, looking at the massive bronze telescope.

"All my father's work." Sir Robert agreed. "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."

Dad smiled. "I wish I'd met him. I like him. That thing's beautiful. Can I?"

"Help yourself."

"What did he model it on?" He asked, and pressed his eye to the scope, looking through.

But Robert sighed. "I know nothing about it. To be honest, most of us thought him a little, shall we say, eccentric. I wish now I'd spent more time with him and listened to his stories." Everyone wished that once it was too late to be changed.

"It's a bit rubbish. How many prisms has it got? Way too many. The magnification's gone right over the top. That's stupid kind of-" He broke off and lent over to Rose and I, who were turning our shut up glares to eleven. "Am I being rude again?" We nodded emphatically. "But it's pretty. It's very pretty."

"And the imagination of it should be applauded."'

So Rose tactfully tried again. "Mmm. Thought you might disapprove, Your Majesty. Stargazing. Isn't that a bit fanciful? You could easily not be amused, or something? No?" Seriously? Well, she wasn't using a sound manipulation field to change her accent. Thanks for pretending to be Scottish, dear father.

But Victoria was still having none of it. "This device surveys the infinite work of God. 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."

And that made me grin. "Stars and magic. I like him more and more."

"Oh, my late husband enjoyed his company." Queenie nodded, looking at it carefully. "Prince Albert himself was acquainted with many rural superstitions, coming as he did from Saxe Coburg." Bavaria then. "When Albert was told about your local wolf, he was transported."

"So, what's this wolf, then?"

Robert looked sheepish. "It's just a story."

So do what a story is supposed to do. Continue. "Then tell it."

"It's said that-"

And then one of the servants interrupted. "Excuse me, sir. Perhaps her Majesty's party could repair to their rooms. It's almost dark."

He looked relieved. "Of course. Yes, of course."

"And then supper." Vicky smiled slightly. "And could we find some clothes for Miss Tyler and Jaclyn?"' For gods sake, I hated that name. "I'm tired of nakedness."

Rose was relentless. "It's not amusing, is it?"

She altogether ignored her. "Sir Robert, your wife must have left some clothes, some may be small enough of the Doctor's daughter as well. See to it. We shall dine at seven, and talk some more of this wolf. After all, there is a full moon tonight."

Robert looked so, so sad. "So there is, Ma'am."

DW

Rose and I were left to work on our clothes, alone, but I just grabbed a long flowing underskirt from the first one and wore it with my top, and shoved the jacket on again. They'd be damned if I was wearing a corset. Rose was having more fun choosing, so I left her too it and was lead back to dad in the dining room, where I was to be sat next to him.

"Your companion begs an apology, Doctor, Miss Jaclyn. Her clothing has somewhat delayed her." We were told when we'd been waiting a while and the food was being brought out.

The Doctor smiled slyly, stroking my hair absently and I rested my head into his hand. "Oh, that's all right. Save her a wee bit of ham."

Vicky smiled. "The feral child could probably eat it raw."

"Very wise, Ma'am. Very witty."

We looked at her Captain of the guard. "Slightly witty, perhaps. I know you rarely get the chance to dine with me, Captain, but don't get too excited. I shall contain my wit in case I do you further injury."

He blushed a little. "Yes, Ma'am. Sorry, Ma'am."

"Besides, we're all waiting on Sir Robert." I smiled, nibbling on the veggies. "Come, sir. You promised us a tale of nightmares."

Vicky nodded a little, smiling. "Indeed. Since my husband's death, I find myself with more of a taste for supernatural fiction."

"You must miss him."

"Very much. Oh, completely. And that's the charm of a ghost story, isn't it? Not the scares and chills, that's just for children, but the hope of some contact with the great beyond. We all want some message from that place. It's the Creator's greatest mystery that we're allowed no such consolation. The dead stay silent, and we must wait. Come." She looked at Robert and he looked like he wanted hide. "Begin your tale, Sir Robert. There's a chill in the air. The wind is howling through the eaves. Tell us of monsters."

But he took a deep breath and started. "The story goes back three hundred years. Every full moon, the howling rings through the valley. The next morning, livestock is found ripped apart and devoured."

Reynolds just shook his head, tucking into his dinner. "Tales like this just disguise the work of thieves. Steal a sheep and blame a wolf, simple as that."

"But sometimes a child goes missing. Once in a generation, a boy will vanish from his homestead."

Oh, wow... "Are there descriptions of the creature?"

"Oh, yes, Miss Jaclyn." Robert nodded, looking at the both of us. "Drawings and woodcarvings. And it's not merely a wolf. It's more than that. This is a man who becomes an animal."

Ah, we'd reached the modern craze of Twilight, Vampires and Werewolves. "A werewolf?"

"My father didn't treat it as a story. He said it was fact. He even claimed to have communed with the beast, to have learned its purpose." Well, that was interesting. "I should have listened. His work was hindered. He made enemies. There's a monastery in the Glen of Saint Catherine. The Brethren opposed my father's investigations."

Victoria just shrugged. "Perhaps they thought his work ungodly."

The man didn't look up from the table. "That's what I thought. But now I wonder. What if they had a different reason for wanting the story kept quiet? What if they turned from God and worshipped the wolf?"

"And what if they were with us right now?"

What? "What is the meaning of this?"

The Captain of the guard stood up, staring at the man, hand on side arm. "Explain yourself, Sir Robert!"

"What's happening?" I asked, dad getting to his feet before pulling me with him.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, they've got my wife."

Oh my God. "Dad, Rose! Where's Rose? Where is she? Sir Robert, come on!"

Captain REynolds kept his gun trained on the chanting monk. "Tell me, sir. I demand to know your intention!" Nope, still speaking Latin. "What is it that you want?"

"The throne." And then we were running after the Queen, and I followed the sound of people to where the others were, finding Rose and a lot of servants.

"Where the hell have you been?" Rose demanded, staring at all of us as I sent a sonic wave through all of the chains, letting everyone run free.

But dad was looking at the werewolf as it was splintering the cage. "Oh, that's beautiful."

"Come on, go. Get out!"

And then it was out and I grabbed him, shouting to the others. "Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out!" We made it to the gun store and then the Stewart started handing them out to all the men. Sexist.

"It could be any form of light modulated species triggered by specific wavelengths." Thanks, dad. That made sense. "Did it say what it wanted?"

"The Queen, the Crown, the throne - you name it." Well, that was good.

But then the wolf was out and we were running again, away from the men who stayed to shoot repetitively at it. "All right, you men. We should retreat upstairs. Come with me." I told them, hearing the thrumming heartbeat of the creature burning through the entire place in a dark red. Blood red.

But the man glared at me. "I'll not retreat, not at a woman's request, or a girls for that matter. The battle's done. There's no creature on God's Earth that could survive such an assault." Yes, because firing lots of lead and pewter bullets would stop a creature from the stars.

"I'm telling you, come upstairs!"

"And I'm telling you, Miss, I will sleep well tonight with that thing's hide upon my wall." He stepped back into the corridor. "It must have crawled away to die."

And then he was hoisted away, and dad yanked me back to run as the sounds of ripping wet meat resonated bright pink and yellow followed us, turning my stomach to acid like eating meat itself. "There's nothing we can do, Jacey!"

We found Sir Robert and Vicky in the dining room again. "Your Majesty, we've got to get out. But what of Father Angelo? Is he still here?"

She paused a moment. "Captain Reynolds disposed of him." Then why was the trail of the gun leading to your purse, dear?

"The front door's no good, it's been boarded shut." I told her, kicking off the heels that I'd put on and dropped the skirt so I could move better. "Pardon me, Your Majesty. You'll have to leg it out of a window."

"Excuse my manners, Ma'am, but I shall go first," Robert told her. "The better to assist Her Majesty's egress."

She smiled a little. "A noble sentiment, my Sir Walter Raleigh."

I got fed up with my voice changer and dropped it. "Yeah, any chance you could hurry up?" But they opened fire when he tried to leave. "I reckon the monkey boys want us to stay inside. Dad, can I-"

"Jace, don't even try it." Great.

Vicky really didn't look amused. "Do they know who I am??"

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

"Stop this talk." She snapped. "There can't be an actual wolf."

And then it howled and we started running again. "What do we do?"

"We run."

Really dad? "Is that it?"

"You got any silver bullets, Jaclyn?"

"Not on me, no. I can always-"

"There we are then, we run." He told me, pulling me along with him. "Your Majesty, as a Doctor, I recommend a vigourous jog. Good for the health. Come on!"

"Come on! Come on!"

"I'll take this position and hold it." Reynolds told us, stopping as we went up the stairs. "You keep moving, for God's sake! Your Majesty, I went to look for the property and it was taken. The chest was empty."

"I have it. It's safe."

He nodded little at the Queen. "Then remove yourself, Ma'am. Doctor , you and your child stand as Her Majesty's Protectors. And you, Sir Robert, you're a traitor to the crown."

How stupid yet brave could you get?! "Bullets can't stop it!"

"They'll buy you time. Now run!"

We did, hearing him empty his revolver into the wolf before it ripped him apart as we reached the library. "Barricade the door."

"Wait a minute." I told them, seeing too much colour for anything to make sense. "Shush, shush, wait a minute. Hold your breath, everyone!" They all did and there was a single, lonely silver howl that jigzagged to the moon and back. "It's stopped."

Dad nodded, checking me over quickly. "It's gone. Is this the only door?"

"Yes." Then saw the other one. "No!" And then we barricaded it and I deadlocked the door.

"I don't understand." Rose said quickly and quietly. "What's stopping it?"

I took a deep breath at the same time as dad. "Something inside this room. What is it? Why can't it get in?"

But our friend just gave us a smile. "I'll tell you what, though. Werewolf."

"I know. You all right?"

She nodded, giving me a quick hug. "I'm okay, yeah."

And Robert was grovelling. "I'm sorry, Ma'am. It's all my fault. I should have 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?"

"Well, they were bald, athletic. Your wife's away, I just thought you were happy." I laughed, shaking my head a little.

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

"Do you think this is funny?"

Not the best timing. "No, Ma'am. I'm sorry."

Vicky still wanted answers. "What, exactly, I pray tell me, someone, please. What exactly is that creature?"

"You'd call it a werewolf, but technically it's a more of a lupine wavelength haemovariform."

"And should I trust you, Miss? You who change your voice so easily, as does your father? What happened to your accents?" Ah... "I'll not have it. No, sir. Not you, not that thing, none of it. This is not my world."

And I left it at that, sniffing the door and seeing there was a light green glow to it, with white flecks. I always saw that at Christmas. "Mistletoe." I frowned, looking back over at dad and Rob. "Sir Robert, did you father put that there?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I suppose."

"On the other door, too. No, a carving wouldn't be enough. I wonder." Dad then licked the door, though I could have told him that there was mistletoe there. "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. Powerful stuff, mistletoe. Bursting with lectins and viscotoxins."

OK, what was he on about now? "And the wolf's allergic to it?"

He shook his head. "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."

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

Dad wasn't exactly taking any crap much at the moment. "Oh, your father got all the brains, didn't he?"

"Being rude again, dad."

He didn't care. "Good. I meant that one." Then dad turned away from us and faced the bookshelves, putting on his glasses. I didn't need mine any more, I could turn it on and off now. "You want weapons? We're in a library. Books! Best weapons in the world. This room's the greatest arsenal we could have." He threw one to me and Rose. "Arm yourself."

And then we were reading, though I was just skipping over a lot as I could see what was useful just if I opened the book. And then I read aloud when I found what we wanted. "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 said, looking at the page as I moved back to let them. "What's it been waiting for?"

He was pacing again. "Maybe just a single cell survived. Adapting slowly down the generations, it survived through the humans, host after host after host."

Robert frowned a little. "But why does it want the throne?"

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

Dad was playing with my hair again, something he'd started doing since he changed face, and he used this to try and calm himself. "Imagine it. The Victorian Age accelerated. Starships and missiles fueled by coal and driven by steam, leaving history devastated in its wake"

"Sir Robert. If I am to die here."

We all glanced at the Queen. "Don't say that, Your Majesty."

But she was serious. "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."

Seriously? Now?"Hardly the time to worry about your valuables."

"Thank you for your opinion, young lady, but there is nothing more valuable than this."

Then she took out a massive diamond as big as my fist. "Is that the Koh-I-Noor?" Rose asked, walking like a zombie towards it.

Dads face lit up. "Oh, yes. The greatest diamond in the world."

"Given to me as the spoils of war." Victoria sighed, looking at the carbon in her hand. "Perhaps its legend is now coming true. It is said that whoever owns it must surely die."

I gave her a small smile, seeing something in it and moving closer. "Well, that's true of anything if you own it long enough. Can I?" I took hold of it, pressing a small amount of sound into it, and it hummed in a way only dad and I could feel, sense. "That is so beautiful. Its perfectly resonating, singing."

"How much is that worth?"

"They say the wages of the entire planet for a whole week."

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

Now that I would pay to see. "And she'd win."

"Where is the wolf? I don't trust this silence."

I glanced back at the Queen, stopping the vibrations to conserve my energy. "Why do you travel with it?"

"My annual pilgrimage." She told me, taking it back. "I'm taking it to Helier and Carew, the Royal Jewellers at Hazelhead. The stone needs recutting."

What, why? "Oh, but it's perfect."

Vicky gave it a small smile. "My late husband never thought so."

"Now, there's a fact." Dad told me, still playing with my hair. He secretly liked the colour. "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 always said the shine was not quite right. But he died with it still unfinished."

"Unfinished. Oh, yes." And now he was pacing again, brilliant. "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, on that resonates and hums. Hold on, hold on. 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."

And I got where he was going. If the man became wolf to the certain frequency of the moon, and the diamond was able to match this, you could put them together and aimed at the wolf it would transfer him into pure moonlight. "At least, that's what the wolf intended. But, what if there's a trap inside the trap?"

"Explain yourself, Jaclyn."

"My name is Jace, and I'm more than just a kid. 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." I thin yellow cracks fall down with the plaster dust from the skylight. "That wolf there." And then it started to shatter.

Dad leaped to action and dragged me out, and everyone else followed. "Out! Out! Out! Get to the observatory!" It caught up with Rose, but one of the maids turned up with a bucket of something and it retreated as it was doused with the strong amount of mistletoe. "Good shot."

"It was mistletoe." No kidding.

"Isobel!" Rob and Issy kissed. "Now, get back downstairs."

They went back to hide in the kitchens and we were left running back to the observatory. "No mistletoe in these doors because your father wanted the wolf to get inside." I shouted, starting to pace myself now, and Dad waited outside with Robert a moment before coming in and closing the door. "Your Majesty, the diamond."

"For what purpose?"

"The purpose it was designed for." She handed it to me and I put it where it was supposed to be, and started charging it ready as dad and Rose wheeled the telescope ready.

"You said this thing doesn't work." Rose asked him, looking between us. "What's that light, Jace?"

Well, I would have though that it was obvious. "Moonlight. 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. We've just got to power it up. And the diamond needs to hum with perfect energy to project it."

"It won't work. There's no electricity." And then she replayed what I'd said. "Moonlight. But the wolf needs moonlight. It's made by moonlight."

"You're seventy percent water but you can still drown. Come on! Come on!" The moon shone down into the telescope lens and bounced between the prisms, magnifying as it went, and I could hear the humming of the light as the wolf got in, going for Vicky. Then I managed to get the light to hit the diamond and it hit the creature, lifting it and held it half turned, both man and animal.r

He looked right at me, and I saw the pain in his eyes. "Make it brighter, please. Let me go."

I glanced at dad and he nodded before I upped the frequency slightly, letting it magnify further, and it disappeared into pure moonlight. And Victoria was looking at her wrist. "Your Majesty? Did it bite you?"

"No, it's, it's a cut, that's all." Liar. But we couldn't exactly call her out on that, so we all turned in, and mourned the dead.

DW

In the morning, we were called to the drawing room, where dear old Vicky was waiting with a sword. Were were being knighted. "By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Sir Doctor of TARDIS. By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Dame Rose of the Powell Estate. By the power invested in my by the Church and the State, I dub thee Dame Jaclyn of TARDIS, Defender of the Light." Oh, wow... That was a hell of a title. "You may stand."

"Many thanks, Ma'am." Dad and I smiled, wrapping his arm around me.

"Thanks." Rose grinned after. "They're never going to believe this back home."

And I wanted to tell Vicky just how much her husband loved her. "Your Majesty, 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."

She nodded a little. "Indeed. Then you may think on this also. That I am not amused."

Oh, come on! That meant she won and dad would never live it down! "Yes!"

"Not remotely amused. And henceforth I banish you."

We all stared at her. "I'm sorry?"

"I rewarded you, Sir Doctor, Dame Jaclyn, 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 came to stray so far from all that is good, and how much longer you will survive this terrible life. Now leave my world, and never return."

There wasn't really much we could do there, so we just hitched a lift with a guy called Dougal back towards the TARDIS. "No, but the funny thing is, Queen Victoria did actually suffer a mutation of the blood. It's historical record." I told them, walking backwards to look at them. "She was haemophiliac, read about it when I was stuck in that library. 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?"

Dad smiled a little, giving me a high five. "Well, maybe haemophilia is just a Victorian euphemism."

Rose didn't quite believe us. "For werewolf?"

"Could be."

"Queen Victoria's a werewolf?"

Dad nodded again. "Could be. And her children had the Royal Disease. Maybe she gave them a quick nip." I mock bit him and he pushed me away fondly. "Get out of it, love."

Our friend was still having trouble getting to grips with it. "So, the Royal Family are werewolves?"

He considered it. "Well, maybe not yet. I mean, a single wolf cell could take a hundred years to mature. Might be ready by, oh, early 21st century?"

"Nah, that's just ridiculous!" And now Rose paused. "Mind you, Princess Anne."

"We'll say no more."

"And if you think about it, they're very private." I told her, knowing how everything was organised. "They plan everything in advance. They could schedule themselves around the moon. We'd never know. And they like hunting!"

We went into the TARDIS and Rose had a thought. "They love blood sports. Oh my God, they're werewolves!"