Bending down to touch Jack, Lancelot felt his neck for a pulse. Turning to Rose he looked grave.
"I'm sorry, but your friend is dead."
Mere seconds after he had finished his statement Jack gasped. Eyes popping open he sat up and drew in big gulps of air.
Looking round at the wide eyed knights the Doctor wore a sheepish smile.
"Ahh. About that."
The crowd surrounding Jack was shocked into silence only to be brought back to life upon hearing a groan from across the clearing.
"Merlin!" Gwaine exclaimed before the knights began rushing off across the space to find a badly injured Merlin lying unconscious on the forest floor.
"We need to get him to Gaius." Lancelot spoke as Percival gently lifted the young manservant into his arms.
"Arthur!" Gwaine bellowed back to his King who had remained with the travellers. He was staring at Jack who, with the help of Rose and the Doctor was making his way back to his feet.
"How'd you feel?" Rose asked as she helped Jack regain his balance.
"Been better." Jack replied in his usual upbeat tone. "Not my best, but definitely not my worst."
"No that would have to be the time in Tortuga-"
"Sorcery!" The Doctor was interrupted by the King's yelled declaration which was quickly accompanied by the drawing of his sword.
"Let's all just stay calm" the Doctor declared as he raised his arms in an 'I surrender' position which Rose and Jack quickly copied.
"Quiet!" Arthur demanded as he raised his sword to point at Jack's chest.
"Oi he saved your life!" Rose yelled, trying to put herself between Jack and the blade only to be pulled back by the Doctor.
"She is right, Arthur." Gwaine spoke up as the Knights re-joined their King, a moaning but still unconscious Merlin in tow.
"He is a sorcerer!" The King refused to back down.
"No he's not!" Rose responded feeling just as stubborn, if not more so.
"Then how would you explain what we saw?" asked Lancelot in a much gentler tone then that being used by the two blondes.
"Well…umm…you see it's hard to…" Rose looked to the Doctor for help but he looked just as lost. How could they come up with an explanation that would be believed? "Fine," Rose sighed. "He's a witch!"
The Doctor groaned.
"What? I couldn't very well tell the truth!" Rose responded in an angry whisper. "And you weren't coming up with anything were you!"
"You could have avoided telling the King that Jack is witch." The Doctor pointed out as he raised a hand to his forehead in exasperation.
"Well you could have come up with something!"
"Uh guys?" Jack interrupted. "Could we get back to the more pressing issue of the sword about to impale me?"
Looking sheepish Rose turned back to Jack just in time to see another Knight approach from behind and knock him unconscious.
"Jack!" she cried about to move towards his prone body only to be stopped once again by the Doctor.
"He'll be fine" he whispered so that only she could hear. "He's Jack." The familiar words brought a small smile to Rose's face. The smile soon disappeared though upon hearing Arthur's cold words.
"Captain Jack Harkness has been found guilty of sorcery. Our laws decree only one punishment. Death."