Eva walked out of the closet room a couple of minutes later, wearing a regal-looking green dress, not unlike the blue one she wore when the Doctor took her and Clara to meet Robin Hood.

"What do you think?" she asked the Doctor and Tegan as she walked out. "I'm not a fan of green, but all of the other dresses looked ridiculous."

"It's beautiful," Tegan told her.

"It really is," the Doctor said, pulling Eva into a kiss. "You look lovely."

"Can I ask you a question?" Eva asked him.

"Of course," the Doctor said. "Always."

"Promise you won't be offended, though."

The Doctor and Tegan exchanged looks. "Should I be offended?" he asked.

"No," Eva said quickly. "At least, I don't think so."

"Okay," the Doctor smiled. "Ask away. I promise I won't be offended."

Eva hesitated a moment before asking, "Why do you keep kissing me?" The smile slid off the Doctor's face and Eva shook her head. "No, no, no. See? You're offended now!"

"I'm not," the Doctor said. "Not offended, really. But... why wouldn't I be kissing you?"

"I don't know," Eva shrugged. "Why would you?"

"Well, we are dating," the Doctor said. "Isn't that what people do when they date? Kiss, and all of that?"

"We're..." Eva was shocked. "We're dating?"

"Yes," the Doctor confirmed.

"Why?"

"Well," the Doctor started, "I asked, and you agreed."

"Not that," Eva sighed, a blush starting to appear on her cheeks. "Why... Why would you want to date me?"

This time, the Doctor seemed surprised more than anything else.

"You really don't know, do you?" he asked. "You honestly believe there's no reason for me to date you."

"I'm nothing special," she mumbled.

"Only you are," the Doctor told her. "You're brilliant, you're clever..." He tilted her head so that she would look at him, rather than at the ground. "You're beautiful. So I kiss you, and I date you, and you kiss me back, and date me back, and make jokes about my celery stick... If you want to."

Eva smiled. "I'll always want to make jokes about your celery stick," she said teasingly.

"What about the rest?" he asked worriedly.

"I…" Eva hesitated. "I think I need to think about it, if that's okay."

"Of course it is," the Doctor said, though the smile on his lips looked forced and tense. "For now, though, we have other matters to think of."

"Like finding out why King John isn't King John?" Eva offered.

"You know me too well," the Doctor smiled, turning to Tegan. "Come on, then. We have a dinner to attend."

EMH

"Ah, demons," the King said as the trio walked in, curtseying in front of him. "Welcome. Come join us."

They nodded, moving to sit down besides Ranulf.

"Trust me," the Doctor told him, and Ranulf nodded nervously.

"What about Turlough?" Tegan asked, leaning over Eva to talk to the Doctor.

"Stop fussing," the Doctor said as a reply, faking a smile before leaning closer to Eva. "If he's not the King, who is he and why?"

"You know I can't tell you," Eva told him, drinking from her goblet.

"Why didn't he react like everybody else?" the Doctor went on. "Why wasn't he scared? And why are we his demons?"

"Could he be the devil?" Tegan asked, causing both the Doctor and Eva to look at her incredulously. "I only said 'could'."

As the King started singing, the Doctor leaned towards Eva once more.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Eva tried to ignore Sir Gilles' eyes on her. "Fine," she muttered. "You?"

"Could have been better," the Doctor replied. "Is Turlough safe?"

"Relatively," she replied. "He'll be fine once it's all over."

"And I don't suppose it will be over soon?"

Eva smiled grimly. "When are we ever that lucky?" she questioned just as Gilles stood up.

"And now, sire," he said, "For some... uh... additional entertainment."

He clapped his hands and four guards walked in, carrying an iron maiden. The crowd started muttering, wondering what was this all about.

"Bravo, our champion!" the King said in delight. "And who is to delight in her embrace?"

Gilles clapped again, and this time two guards led a chained man in.

"Geoffrey!" Ranulf said, standing up. "Sire, this is my cousin Geoffrey de Lacy, a loyal knight.
You summoned him to London but a week since to take the Crusader's Oath."

The King looked slightly surprised, but was quick to cover it up. "So we did," he said slowly. "Indeed we did. And he has seen fit to disobey that summons."

"Not so!" Geoffrey called. "I left Your Majesty in London four hours since. You must remember!"

"Must?" the King questioned.

"You lie," Gilles said. "The King has been here since yesterday. Now, let the maiden reward such mendacity. Prepare her!"

"Sire, be merciful, I beg you!" Ranulf called.

"Your cousin is guilty of less majesty, my lord," Gilles sneered.

"Your Majesty!" the Doctor called out, standing up.

"Our demon," the King said. "You, too, would beg for mercy?"

The Doctor swallowed, looking at Eva who almost unnoticeable nodded him to continue. "Oh, indeed no, sire," he said. "But surely such a fate is too mild. Would not boiling in oil be a more fitting end?"

Tegan, Ranulf and Eva all turned their heads to look at the Doctor in disbelief.

"You do realize this is not better, don't you?" Eva hissed angrily.

"Ah!" The King smiled. "It must be a decade, our champion, since we boiled in oil. We accept your counsel, O Demon."

"I thank Your Majesty, but I was not suggesting alternative retribution," the Doctor said, stepping away from the table and towards Gilles. "My interruption was provoked by shock."

"Shock?" the King asked.

"Yes, I was quite shocked at Sir Gilles' monstrous lack of good taste," the Doctor said.

"Who dares to question my good taste?" Gilles questioned.

"Well," the Doctor said, "In my view, it is the worst possible taste to even think about following the King's own quite remarkable performance. One just can't follow that."

"I am insulted!" Gilles said, challenging the Doctor to a duel as the Doctor took off his coat, causing Eva, Tegan and Ranulf to stand up.

"Are you mad?" Ranulf asked. "He is said to be the best swordsman in France."

"Well, fortunately, we are in England," Eva commented, taking the Doctor's coat for keep.

"May I?" the Doctor asked, and Ranulf handed him his sword. "Thank you. I hope I don't disgrace it. In case of accidents –"

"Doctor, don't do it," Tegan all but begged.

"In case of accidents, find Turlough," the Doctor instructed, turning to Eva. "A kiss for good luck?"

"I'll give you one when you get back here safely," Eva told him.

"How about we make this even more interesting?" Gilles asked. "The winner gets to keep the lovely Lady."

"She is not an object to be passed around," the Doctor said.

"The winner gets the Lady!" the King called. "What a remarkable idea."

"Eva..." the Doctor started.

"You better win, Celery," she told him, smiling nervously. "I know you can."

"Are you seriously letting him do this?" Tegan questioned. "You must be mad!"

"I don't really have much choice unless I want to offend the King," Eva said. "Besides, I have seen the Doctor win a duel with nothing but a spoon in his hand, and I know he's going to win this one."

"Well!" the King called in delight as Tegan grasped Eva's hand nervously. "Our champion and our demon! Have a care, Sir Gilles. Has our demon mortal life to lose?"

"I fear no hellhound," Gilles growled.

"Then set to!" the King called, and Gilles stepped forwards and struck.

The Doctor backed away, blocking the strikes one after the other. He tried hitting Gilles but the latter pushed him back, about to stab him only for the Doctor to move just in time. He elbowed the Doctor, who grunted as his back hit the wall but managed to escape another blow, Gilles' sword hitting the iron maiden.

That didn't stop the knight as he pursued the Doctor once more, causing him to fall on the stairs. Tegan's hold of Eva's hand was stronger than ever, and Eva herself felt her heart clench but it wasn't long before the Doctor kicked Gilles back and stood up.

Gilles aimed three strikes in a row and the Doctor blocked them all, but then Gilles pushed him back, throwing him on the dining table. Gilles raised his sword to strike but the Doctor rolled away, causing the knight to fall forwards with the momentum of his own sword.

Gilles turned back to attack the Doctor but missed once and was blocked twice before the Doctor managed to step on his sword, pressing the blade of his own weapon to Gilles' neck.

Tegan and Eva let out a simultaneous exhale of relief, though only the latter knew it was far from over.

"Bravo, our demon!" the King called out, but the Doctor wasn't listening.

Sir Gilles took out a device of some kind and the Doctor took a step back as the other man's features changed to fit the Master's. The Master chuckled and the Doctor sent a worried glance at Eva's direction before looking back at him.

"You escaped from Xeriphas," he stated, shocked.

"Oh, my dear Doctor," the Master said, "You have been naive."

"Not at all," the Doctor said. "You may disguise your features but you can never disguise your intent." He glanced at Eva before adding, "Either of them."

"And you can't approve," the Master stated.

"You know I can't," the Doctor replied.

Tegan gasped and rushed towards the side of the table, Eva's hand still clasped in hers.

"Tissue Compression Eliminator," she muttered, looking at the Master's device.

"You've always been my greatest stimulation, my dear Doctor," the Master said, ignoring her. "But now, you inspire me."

Tegan threw a knife at the Master, but he caught it without even looking. Slowly, Eva let her hand slip away from the other woman's grip and walked closer to the Doctor.

"Your first slip, my dear Doctor," the Master said, before presenting the Doctor with both the knife and the Eliminator. "Would you care to make a second?" The Doctor hesitated before taking the Eliminator and the Master called out. "And now a third! This is useless in your hands. You have moral scruples."

"Come!" the King called out. "What is this discourse? Consummate the victory."

The Master let the knife drop from his hand. "Come, kill me," he dared the Doctor. "Fault my little game."

"Kill him!" the King called out.

"It is sufficient, Your Majesty, that your champion is disarmed," Eva stated, standing by the Doctor.

"Not for us," the King stated, looking at the Doctor's unwillingness to kill the other Time Lord and noting his and Eva's intertwined hands. "In sooth this is but a puny demon that has no stomach for it. So be it. Let the maiden embrace the vanquished."

"Your Majesty, no!" the Master called as a couple of guards grabbed him and led him in. "Have mercy! I beg you! No!"

"Sire!" the Doctor said, stepping forwards. "I must intercede. As victor, I beg you to be merciful."

"We are not merciful, our demon," the King stated.

"Your Majesty!" the Doctor called out.

"Hold!" the King say. "We give you the choice, our demon. But the choice is presented to your beloved." Eva swallowed hard, knowing what's coming next. "The maiden shall embrace this snivelling wretch," he said, marking at the Master, who was by now pushed into the iron maiden, "Or Sir Geoffrey. Choose, she-demon." Ranulf stood up and stepped closer to the couple, who was looking at the King. "Come, the lady waits, impatient to lavish her warm favours. Come, she-demon."

"I'm sorry," Eva whispered to the Doctor before taking the sword away from him and handing it back to Ranulf.

She buried her head into the Doctor's shirt as the Master's screams echoed in the background, and he held her tight, closing his own eyes. Suddenly, a whooshing sound was heard and the Doctor's head turned to see the iron maiden disappear.

"Behold, our demons," the King said. "We, too, have tricks."

"You knew he wasn't going to die, didn't you?" the Doctor asked Eva quietly as he stepped to where the Master's TARDIS once stood.

"I did," Eva nodded. "But more than that, I knew that was the choice you would have done."

The Doctor wrapped his arm around Eva, letting her rest her head on his chest. The crowd was still murmuring but the Time Lord and the Time Jumper were silent, knowing it was far from being over.

"What is the Master up to?" Tegan asked.

"He's using that impostor to bring the real King John into disrepute," Eva said, still tucked into the Doctor's embrace.

"And now he thinks he's trapped us into doing his dirty work for him," the Doctor muttered.

"Our demon shall be our champion," the King stated. "Accoutre him."

Eva stepped away from the Doctor so that he could dress in proper champion attire.

"Do you trust me?" she asked Tegan.

"What?" Tegan asked.

"Do you trust me?" Eva repeated. "Do you trust that I know what I'm doing?"

"Only about fifty percent of the time," Tegan replied.

"Fair enough," Eva sighed. "I'm going to do something that would more likely than not turn out to be incredibly stupid, and I'm going to need you to lie to the Doctor about it if he asks. Tell him I've gone back to the TARDIS."

"Why?" Tegan asked. "Where are you going?"

"I can't tell," Eva replied. "But there's a fairly big chance of the Master coming after me."

"Why?" Tegan questioned. "What does he want with you?"

"Not a clue," Eva replied. "But it can't be good."

Before Tegan had the time to ask anything else, Eva sneaked out of the room, using the Doctor's momentarily distraction to get past without him noticing.