Chapter Nine

Gaheris, Dinadan, Patrise, Mador, and Galahad had changed into their ring-mail armour and were leaving the Great Hall to cross the lawn to the stables. Lancelot was still in his doublet and trousers. Rose was talking to Patrise and the Doctor was sharing a joke with Dinadan.

The morning air was cool as the sun had not yet raised above the wall of the bailey. Dew was still on the lawns and the breath of the horses could be seen as they were prepared for riding.

Rose looked back at the doors to the Hall and saw Arthur and Guinevere saying goodbye and kissing passionately. She realised how she longed for that kind of relationship with a certain someone.

In the stables, the horses were being saddled by the grooms while the Master of the Hounds brought Cavall and the other hunting dogs. The Doctor walked up to Lightning's Shadow, placing his hand on his forehead.

{Hello Old Shit, how are you?} the Doctor grinned.

{Ah, Long-Streak-Of-Piss, I am well, thank you for asking} the horse replied.

The Doctor and Lightning's Shadow exploded with laughter, which made everyone turn and look. Rose went up to them, laughing herself at the sight of them.

"What's so funny?" she asked him. The Doctor took one look at Rose and collapsed against the stable door holding his ribs, unable to breath through the laughter. Lightning's Shadow fell against the wall of his stable, his large chest shuddering from laughter.

{Oh I'm going to enjoy travelling with you} the Doctor said through hiccups of laughter.

{The feeling is mutual}

Arthur joined them and looked at his horse. "Is Hengroen ill?" he asked the groom.

The Doctor started laughing again. "Oh, stop it! stop it, please," he laughed, wiping tears from his eyes and trying to get back in control.

"Your horse is fine Sire. He just seems to have been enjoying a joke with Lord Doctor," the groom said.

"Very well then," Arthur said. "Let's mount up and move out." he commanded. "Doctor, Plantain has been saddled for you and Rose, you may ride Rowan."

Rose had her bottom lip in her teeth as she approached the horses.

"Doctor," she said hesitantly.

He looked at her and saw the trepidation on her face. "What's up Rose?" he asked her.

"I've never ridden a horse before," she confessed.

"What? Never?" He was stunned. Didn't everyone know how to ride a horse?

"I've ridden a donkey at the seaside when I was little, but horses and ridin' schools are few and far between in Peckham," she told him. "An' how would my Mum pay for ridin' lessons?"

"You have to pay to ride a horse?" he asked incredulously.

"Yeah you do. You still haven't got the hang of money an' payin' for stuff have ya?"

The Doctor scratched his head and rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess not," he admitted.

He slowly walked over to his horse. {Hello, I'm the Doctor and I would be grateful if you would let me ride you}

{My name is White Cloud, and it would be an honour to carry you on your journey}

{Thank you White Cloud. And Rowan, what is her real name?}

{She is called Morning Dew and is a gentle spirit}

The Doctor thanked his horse and went to Rose. He took her hand and walked over to Morning Dew.

"Rose, this is Morning Dew and I'm going to have a word with her," he told her smiling.

{Hello Morning Dew, I am the Doctor and this is Rose. She has never ridden before. Would you look after her please?}

Morning Dew slowly clip-clopped over to Rose and lowered her head to nuzzle Rose. Rose hesitantly raised her hand and stroked Morning Dew's forehead.

{I like her; she is both gentle and strong, fierce and compassionate. You have chosen your companion well Doctor. I sense you love each other very much}

{What?!} The Doctor was stunned by Morning Dew's insight.

Rose saw the startled look on the Doctor's face. "What's wrong?"

"Er, nothing... nothing. Morning Dew will look after you. Just sit on her and trust her."

Arthur and the knights mounted their steeds as the Doctor 'talked' to Cavall.

{Do you remember the smell of the beast from the lake?}

{Yes, it was so foreign to anything I had smelt before}

{If we go back, do you think you could find him?}

{Does a king wear a crown? Yes I will find him for you}

They did a low five. The Doctor stood and leapt up onto White Cloud's back.

The hunting party trotted through the arched passageway of the keep into the outer bailey. Market stalls had already been erected for the days trading as they passed by on their way to the barbican and the main entrance. Camelot was situated on a hill in the south-west corner of the walled City of Legions. The stone cobbled road from the castle led down to the main street which ran north-south through the city. The hunting party turned south and passed through the south gate and over the bridge spanning the river Dee.

The Doctor rode alongside Rose and leaned over to slacken her white knuckle grip on the reins.

{Thank you Doctor} Morning Dew snorted as the reins loosened around her mouth.

The Doctor smiled at Rose. "Hey, forget the reins," he told her. "Just hold onto the saddle until you get your balance. Morning Dew knows what to do, she doesn't need any help."

Rose visibly relaxed into the saddle and started to gently sway with the rhythm of the horse. She started to look around. They passed a few stone houses before entering farmland that bordered Mara forest.

By midday, the dirt road had taken them deep into the oak forest. The air was still and warm, and unusually quiet. Cavall lifted his head and sniffed the air, giving a low growl.

{Doctor, the smell of the beast is on the air}

{Which way?} the Doctor asked.

Cavall sniffed again. {East!}

"Arthur, we need to head east. Follow Cavall, he's got the scent."

The group followed the hounds along the road to the east for a couple of hours until they stopped and wandered around aimlessly.

Cavall walked up to the Doctor. {The beast is close}

The Doctor dismounted and helped Rose down from her horse. He had his hands on the top of her hips. her hands were on his chest. They stood there silently for a moment looking into each others eyes.

Every time Rose looked into those brown eyes, time seemed to stand still. She wondered if it was a Time Lord thing. The Doctor seemed to suddenly remember where his hands were and removed them as though he had received an electric shock.

Everyone else had dismounted and they gathered together. He took out his sonic screwdriver and started to scan as he turned in a circle. Lancelot took out his 'book' scanner and did the same.

They came together face to face and grinned at each other, turning to look at a small hillock nearby.

"The other side?" Lancelot asked with a sideways nod of his head.

"Yep!" the Doctor replied. "Right! You lot wait here while I go and have a chat with the Craigon." He turned and started to head off through the trees.

Rose and Lancelot looked at each other, rolled their eyes and laughed as they set off in pursuit.

"DOCTOR!" Arthur called after him. "You have no weapon!"

"I know!" he announced, turning around. "The last thing I want to do is go into a negotiation all tooled up!" It was his turn to roll his eyes when he saw Rose and Lancelot standing in front of him. "And where do you think you're going?" he asked.

Rose smiled at him "We're on the negotiatin' committee. You comin' or what?" she said as she walked past him to head up the hill.

Lancelot watched her go and looked at the Doctor. "I like her!"

They both set off up the hill.

They pulled themselves up to the top of the hill using branches and roots in the undergrowth. The Doctor led the way, single file through the trees to a steep bank on the other side. Hanging on to a branch he leaned over and looked down.

"Bingo!" he whispered. At the bottom of the bank he could see freshly disturbed earth. Something had been digging. He led the way diagonally down the steep bank to the bottom of the hill.

There at the bottom of the curved bank, was a hole.

A big hole.

It was several feet in diameter and appeared to go deep into the hill with a gentle downward slope. The Doctor touched the wall of the tunnel to discover that the soil had been heat sealed. He took out his sonic and switched it on to emit a bright blue light.

He looked right and left at Rose and Lance in turn. "I don't suppose it's any use telling you to stay here is it?"

"Nope!" they said together, and all three set off down the tunnel.

A few yards down the tunnel, there was a small chamber on the left.

"Doctor, look!" Lance whispered. There was Saxon leather studded armour, shields, swords and battle axes scattered about.

"Well, it looks like he takes the wrappers off his snacks," the Doctor said without humour.

"That is in such bad taste," Rose chided.

They came to a 'Y' junction. The Doctor sniffed the air and headed to the right.

"This way," he said.

"Why this way?" Rose asked him as she and Lance followed him.

"Sniff, what do you smell?" he asked her in reply. Rose sniffed the air.

"Ugh! Rotten eggs!" she said, screwing up her nose.

"That's hydrogen sulphide, one of the gases produced by the Craigon's rumen. Bacteria break down vegetation and produce it, along with methane and hydrogen, which are odourless.

Lance had his 'book' scanner out and was waving it about as they approached the end of the tunnel.

"Doctor, the methane concentration is 10% of the atmosphere," he quietly announced.

He stopped at the entrance to a large chamber, where the Craigon was curled up on a bed of grass and moss.

"10%? Oh dear, I think I've made a serious error."

Khysssh Shhrysshk slowly lifted his head off his crossed arms and opened his yellow eyes. His pupils were vertical, oval slits.

"Who dares disturb my slumber?" his deep, rumbling voice asked.

Rose whispered to Lance. "What's so special about 10%?"

"At 9.5% concentration of methane to air, it doesn't just burn, it becomes a powerful explosive gas," he told her.

Rose swallowed hard. "Oh!"

"I seek audience with the Craigon under peaceful contract according to convention 15 of the Shadow Proclamation," the Doctor stated.

Rose was hit by a wave of nostalgia as she remembered those words. His earlier self had said them to the Nestene Consciousness on their very first adventure.

"Ah, an off-worlder," Khysssh Shhrysshk hissed.

"Yes, I'm the Doctor, a Time Lord of Gallifrey. If I might have permission to approach?"

"Time Lord! I thought your race was a myth. Please approach, I want to get a better look at this myth."

The Doctor stepped forwards. "Am I addressing a Craigon?" he asked.

"Yes, my name is Khysssh Shhrysshk, Arcane Lieutenant of the Firebrand Legion."

"Greetings Khysssh Shhrysshk. If I might observe, you are stranded here having destroyed your vessel. Did you manage to call for a ride home?" the Doctor asked.

Khysssh Shhrysshk grumbled. "Why would I go home? Did you not hear me? I am an Arcane Lieutenant. I am disgraced by being outwitted by a Tezzaran warrior bitch!" He spat the words out.

The Doctor looked both surprised and worried as he ran his hand through his hair. "Ah, right. So you don't want me to phone home then?"

Khysssh Shhrysshk smiled. "Why would I want to leave? I have food, I will have slaves, and I will shortly be moving into more comfortable accommodation."

The Doctor's face became stern. "What do you mean?" he asked with a hint of threat in his voice.

"The castle in the walled city to the north-west looks very... inviting."

Rose and Lance had come to stand beside the Doctor. He looked at Rose. "This is bad. This is very bad," he told her. He turned back to the Craigon.

"I came here with an offer of help, a chance for you to leave peacefully. But if you choose to refuse my help then I will stop you. There will be no second chance."

Khysssh Shhrysshk started to chuckle.

"Can you hear his stomach rumbling?" Rose asked.

The Doctor reached out and held Rose's hand. There was that nostalgia again.

"Time to do what we do best," he told her with a wink. "RUN!"

They turned and ran out of the chamber into the tunnel as Khysssh Shhrysshk belched.

Lance dived and grabbed the Doctor and Rose in a group hug as the tunnel system exploded.