Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I do not own any of it, nor do I get paid for it.
A/N Sorry for the delay on this but uni's started and I have been busy as hell. Good news is, I have reclaimed my muse who had wandered off briefly. I'll definitely update more often from now on.
Happy Reading!
The Wizard of Camelot: Venenum
Previously
"King Arthur, the real King Arthur, yes," he said and then nodded at her to look in front of them. They had emerged through the forest and were looking upon a magnificent town in front of them.
"No way," gasped Rose, looking at the castle that stood tall and proud.
The Doctor beamed at her. "Rose Tyler, welcome to Camelot."
Camelot was every bit as majestic and beautiful as the legends of her Earth had described. They rode through the lower town, towards the castle, and Rose looked around with wide-eyed fascination. The Doctor had been right; the medieval appearance were indeed just appearances. Beneath it lurked a highly sophisticated civilisation.
She could feel the Doctor's smiling gaze on her as she tried to soak in every bit of Camelot as they rode through it.
"Not far now," said Ancelyn, or Sir Ancelyn, as Rose knew he would most likely be called.
The rode through the gates of the castle into a large, sunny courtyard and came to a halt. A young squire ran towards Ancelyn, who disembarked quickly and handed over the reins of his mare to him. "Inform the Queen that there is a new healer on his way, Evan," Ancelyn told the squire. "And tell Sir Percival that I have found the owner of the blue box."
"Yes, Sir Ancelyn," nodded Evan.
The Doctor hopped off the mare with surprising grace and then lifted Rose down onto the ground. She winced when her injured foot touched the ground, realising that the Doctor had never got a chance to numb the pain as he said he would.
"Do you wish to be taken to our court physician, Lady Rose?" asked Ancelyn in concern.
Rose shook her head quickly. "I'll be fine," she said, mustering up a small smile. "Really," she added to the incredulous looks from Ancelyn and the Doctor.
The Doctor shook his head and lifted her into his arms, cutting off her protests with a beseeching look. She huffed and looped her hands around his neck, feeling ridiculous as she was carried up the steps into the castle. Ancelyn led them up the stairway and into the main wing of the castle, and just like the rest of Camelot that they had seen before, the castle contained technological equipment that Rose had never seen the likes of before.
"In here," said Ancelyn as he opened the grand double doors at the top of the stairway.
Rose craned her neck and saw a large four poster bed in the spacious bedchamber. A blond man lay unconscious in the middle of it, while a dark-haired woman in a flowing red gown sat by his side, holding one of his hands between both of hers. She looked up when they came in, and Rose could see the exhaustion in her very bones and bags under her eyes.
"Ancelyn," she managed a small smile when she saw him.
Ancelyn sank into a bow. "My Queen," he said respectfully. He stood up and nodded towards the Doctor and Rose. "He claims to be a healer, my lady. May I present, Lord Merlin and Lady Rose."
The Queen looked at them both curiously. "Forgive me if I do not rise," she said. Her eyes drifted to Rose's foot. "You are injured."
"Oh, it's nothing, really," said Rose hastily, not wanting to make a fuss.
"Ancelyn, fetch Renard to have a look at Lady Rose's foot," said the Queen imperiously.
"At once, my lady," said Ancelyn as he bowed and left.
"Thank you, my lady," said the Doctor, setting Rose down into an empty chair by the King's bedside. "May I examine the King?" he asked politely.
She sighed and nodded. "You may try," she said, sounding very much like she was trying not to get her hopes up.
Rose smiled sympathetically at her as the Doctor took off his coat and approached the King. The King was pale, and had visible dark circles under his eyes. The Doctor scanned him with his sonic screwdriver and then frowned.
"What's wrong?" asked Rose, noticing the worry in his eyes.
The Doctor didn't answer, but glanced at the Queen for permission who nodded. He gently pried the King's mouth open and gave it a quick look. His frown became more pronounced as he closed the King's mouth. "I need a mass spectrometer. I assume you have one in the castle?" he asked.
The Queen nodded. "Yes, of course," she said and then nodded sharply at one of the guards who hurried off at once. "Have you discovered what ailment he is suffering from, Merlin?" she asked, feeling slightly more hopeful than before.
"I think so, yes," said the Doctor. "I need to do a hair sample analysis to be certain, but I am positive that His Majesty has been poisoned."
"Poisoned?" asked the Queen, incredulously. "But his blood has been analysed, and it showed no toxins."
"I suspect that is because the toxin is a heavy metal. It would not show up on an ordinary blood analysis," he said.
"Are you certain?" asked the Queen sharply.
The Doctor nodded. "His symptoms seem to match, not to mention these…" he pried the King's mouth open again. "...black spots on his gums."
The Queen peeked in and then sat back. "Can it be cured?" she asked.
"I will have to analyse the amount of poison in his system," said the Doctor carefully. "Prolonged heavy metal poisoning is known to cause severe damage."
The Queen fell silent at that, but they were interrupted as Ancelyn returned with Renard, the elderly court physician. Renard immediately knelt in front of Rose and started to undo the bandages on her foot. "Ah, a nasty rosebush, I gather?" he asked with a kindly smile.
"Yeah, rather ironic," said Rose.
"Ancelyn," said the Queen, her voice lighter than before. "Merlin knows what ails the King."
"I will have to do a few tests to be certain," the Doctor interrupted quickly, his eyes fixed on Renard's work as he applied a poultice to Rose's foot and bandaged it with clean bandages.
"But that is excellent news," said Ancelyn, sounding just as happy as the Queen. "I shall inform the knights at once."
"See to it that arrangements are made for Merlin and Lady Rose to stay here in Camelot as our royal guests," said the Queen.
"Of course, my lady," said Ancelyn, and left quickly with a grateful nod at the Doctor.
Renard stood up, having finished treating Rose's foot. "My lady, I must beg you to get some rest yourself," he said to the Queen. "You have not left the King's side for weeks."
The Queen's eyes narrowed. "I shall be by his side until he wakes, Renard," she said stubbornly.
"I must concur with Renard, if you don't mind, my lady," said the Doctor gently. "The King isn't in any immediate danger. I shall stay here and perform my tests. If it is indeed what I think it is, I shall start treating him at once. Perhaps, Renard could stay and assist me."
"I would be honoured, Merlin," said Renard, his eyes shining.
The Queen looked between them and nodded. "Very well, I shall retire," she said. "But not until I show Lady Rose to her chambers and help her freshen up. How is your foot now, my dear?" she asked Rose.
"It's great," said Rose as she stood up. "Can hardly feel the pain," she added with a quick grateful smile at Renard.
"Wonderful," said the Queen. "I leave my husband in your hands, Merlin."
The Doctor bowed to her. "He will be safe, I promise you," he said, and glanced at Rose who nodded at him as she left with the Queen.
The guards brought in the mass spectrometer into the King's chambers mere moments after the two women had left. The mass spectrometer was not as big and bulky as it would be in Rose's time, but it still needed two guards to carry.
The Doctor pinched a hair sample from the King's head, and turned to Renard. "Shall we?"
"It might be a little long, but it should fit well, I expect," said the Queen as she handed Rose a delicate pink gown.
Rose took the silky gown with a bright smile. "It's beautiful," she said, and went behind the screen to change. "How long has the King been ill?"
"Few weeks now," said the Queen. "I am ashamed to say that I may have begun to lose hope before you and Merlin had arrived."
Rose peeked over the screen and smiled at her. "Don't worry," she said. "The Doc-Merlin, he'll make sure to do everything to help the King."
The Queen smiled back gratefully. "I feel hopeful already," she said sincerely. "You call your beloved 'the Doctor'?" she asked, almost as an afterthought.
Rose blushed a little. "It's his name," she said. "He has quite a few of them."
"I don't doubt it," said the Queen with a nod. "Traversing the stars as you two do, I trust that you have both garnered a few names." Rose's eyes rose in surprise, and the Queen laughed a little and tapped the side of her head. "I may be tired, but I am still the Queen."
Rose laughed and nodded. "Yeah, I suppose you are," she said and emerged from behind the screen, dressed in the pink gown.
"Oh, you look positively beautiful," said the Queen, smiling widely.
Rose beamed at her. "Thanks," she said.
There came a knock on the doors, and the Doctor entered moments later. "My lady," he said, looking surprised to see the Queen.
"How is my husband?" asked the Queen at once.
"Resting, and asking for you," said the Doctor with a smile.
"He is awake?" asked the Queen, her eyes wide.
The Doctor nodded. "He is still a little disoriented though," he warned her. "Renard and I made a clay poultice in the tub and are keeping him submerged to draw out the metal toxins from his systems."
The Queen gave a sob of relief. "Thank you, Merlin," she said. "Thank you so much."
"It was nothing at all," said the Doctor modestly. "I was only too happy to help."
"Do excuse me, I have to see him," said the Queen. "Please enjoy Camelot's hospitality, Merlin, Rose. We are all very indebted to you."
Without waiting for their modest denial that she knew was coming, the Queen all but rushed back to her husband's chamber. The Doctor smiled at Rose who grinned at him. "The King is going to be alright, then?" she asked.
"Yes," said the Doctor. "I hope so, at least. He isn't as young as he used to be, and healing takes time."
Rose nodded and busied herself with trying to shake her partially dry hair from her ponytail. "So, what now?" she asked, combing her fingers through her hair.
"I have to go investigate the source of the King's poisoning," said the Doctor absently.
"He's still being poisoned?" asked Rose, tucking the pendant under her gown's neckline.
The Doctor nodded. "I need you to talk to Ancelyn, while I do some investigating of my own. Ask him if there have been any recent threats to the King," he said.
"Sure," said Rose and pecked his cheek quickly.
"I'll start down in the kitchens," he said, smiling at her. "And I think Ancelyn's squire may be able to help me."
"Is everything to your liking, Lady Rose?" asked Ancelyn with a bright smile, when Rose walked up to him in the rose gardens.
"Yes, thanks," said Rose, sitting down on a stone bench. "You really didn't have to do that for us, you know. We could have slept inside our ship."
Ancelyn shook his head at once. "Merlin has all but cured the King," he said. "There is not a way that such an important debt goes unrewarded."
"About that," said Rose. "How exactly did the King get so ill?"
Ancelyn's brow furrowed. "We are not certain," he said reluctantly. "We had a signed a significant truce unifying the five kingdoms just days before he got ill. At first, we thought that he had simply collapsed due to exhaustion following such a monumental occasion."
"Do you think someone might have done it deliberately to sabotage the truce?" asked Rose.
"Impossible," said Ancelyn at once. "We have worked tirelessly for this peace, and no one will gain anything by poisoning the King. You do not have to worry, Lady Rose, I know exactly who poisoned the King."
"Who?" asked Rose, looking wary at the way Ancelyn was gripping the handle of his sheathed sword.
"Someone who wants the throne of Camelot for themselves," he spat. "Morgaine."
"Are you certain about this, Merlin?" asked Evan.
"Certain enough," said the Doctor. "Do you remember what you have to do?"
Evan nodded, his curly brown hair flopping up and down at the action. He entered the kitchen, with all the confident grace of a squire. "Stop what you are doing and step up here," he ordered sharply.
The kitchen staff looked surprised but obeyed him, albeit a bit suspiciously. "Is there a problem here, squire?" asked Neve, the main cook, crossing her arms in front of her.
"Silence!" snapped Evan. "Lord Merlin is a sorcerer who comes from beyond the five kingdoms. Now, someone here has been poisoning the King."
"Preposterous!" declared Neve as the staff looked shocked. "I assure you, squire, none of my staff would ever do such a thing. I demand that this matter be brought to Sir Ancelyn."
"Lord Merlin is here at the behest of Sir Ancelyn and the Queen," snapped Evan. "Now, you shall do as he says or suffer the consequences."
"That will do, Evan," said the Doctor as he entered the kitchens. "No need for threats," he added gently, smiling at the staff. "I am simply here to find the culprit, nothing more."
"And how will you do that?" asked Neve, narrowing her eyes.
"The King was poisoned using Maridium. It is rare and virtually undetectable unless you are looking for it," said the Doctor. "However, Maridium has a nasty side-effect on the hands of the person handling it. I just need to see your hands and scan them with my...erm, wand," he waved the sonic screwdriver at them. "If you are innocent, the results will tell me so. If not, well, then it is up to the knights and the Queen to see what is to be done."
Neve eyed the sonic screwdriver, before looking back at the Doctor. "Will it hurt?" she asked.
"No," said the Doctor reassuringly. "You won't feel a thing."
Neve nodded. "Fine," she said. "Show him your hands," she ordered her staff.
"Thank you," said the Doctor as he started walking down the line, scanning each person's hands. He got through most of them fairly quickly, none of them having any traces of Maridium on their hands.
Only three more remained, including Neve and two of the other cooks. The Doctor scanned Neve's hands slowly. "Well?" she asked impatiently, when he was done.
"You're clean," he answered with a smile.
Neve nodded firmly, but before the Doctor could scan the remaining two men, one of them pushed the other into the Doctor and decided to make a run for it. Fortunately, Evan had anticipated this and had drawn out his sword, stopping the cook in his path.
"Baynard!" snapped Neve. "Why are you running?"
"Oh, I suspect it was because Baynard here is the one poisoning the King," said the Doctor as he walked up to the man being held at swordpoint by Evan. "Aren't you?"
Baynard sneered at the Doctor. "I don't care what you do to me, Merlin" he spat. "I am loyal to Mordred!"
"Morgaine?" asked Rose curiously.
"She was on our side before she betrayed the King, and wanted Camelot for herself," said Ancelyn. "The King was heartbroken. Fortunately, he met the Queen not long after, and he has not looked back ever since. Morgaine, on the other hand, has never given up hope of gaining Camelot for herself. Her magic is evil. Just like her."
Rose nodded along to that information, hardly noticing when Ancelyn's head snapped towards the castle.
"Something's wrong," said Ancelyn. "I must see what has happened."
"Right, yeah," said Rose. "You go on, I'll follow," she added, knowing that she would slow him down if he waited for her.
He nodded gratefully at her and took off into the castle. Rose gathered up her skirts and turned to follow Ancelyn, when she heard a small giggle from further down in the rose gardens.
Brow furrowing, she glanced around the garden which went on for several yards until the low wall led to the forest beyond. The growing darkness made it difficult to see, but Rose caught a glimpse of curly blonde hair among the trees beyond the garden wall.
"Hello?" she called, moving towards the wall. "Is anyone there?"
A little girl peeked her head out from the side of a tree, and giggled adorably. Rose laughed and stepped over the low wall towards her. "What are you doing here out so late?" she asked.
The girl didn't answer, just giggled again and darted behind another tree. Rose chuckled in surprise and went after her into the forest. "You really shouldn't be wandering off into the woods now, you know," she called, hoping the girl would come out. "Your mum will be worried."
The girl poked her head out from behind a bush, and giggled again, and Rose stifled a gasp as she realised that the girl looked very, very familiar. Before she could try and remember who she reminded her of, the girl ran deeper into the forest. With a sigh, Rose ran after her, hoping that she wouldn't get lost.
"Hello?" she called again when she realised that the girl had all but vanished again. "Where did you go now?"
"She's gone."
Rose whirled around and gasped when she saw a beautiful, redheaded woman standing in front of her. She was dressed in grey knight's armour with a golden crown on her head, and a rather sharp smile on her face that didn't reach her eyes.
"Who are you supposed to be then?" asked Rose, sounding a lot braver than she was feeling at the moment.
"I am Morgaine," said the woman, her smile widening. "The once and future ruler of Camelot. And you, Rose Tyler," she added as she touched Rose's forehead, and caught her unconscious form before it hit the forest floor. "You shall come with me."
A/N End of Part 2. Let me know what you thought.
Part 3 will be up soon. See you then!