"Hey."
The Doctor was down on the lower level of the console room, looking for a cd he swore he'd left there. He turned when he heard the Emissary's footsteps on the stairs.
"You go by John Smith when you need to pretend to be human, don't you?" she asked. He nodded. "I was thinking, if we have to give out fake names, call me Emily Harkness."
"Harkness?"
"Yeah," she said, taking a seat on the stairs. "After all, Jack was like my brother." The feeling of her eyes was nearly tangible as they settled on him, and he turned around to face the shelves again. "I didn't get the chance to ask before, but he wasn't with you and Rose when you came back." He flinched almost imperceptibly, pretending to be wrapped up in his search. "You never told me what happened to him."
"Oh, he had a lot to do," the Doctor brushed off. "You know, rebuilding the earth, and all that."
"You're a terrible liar," the Emissary said flatly. "He's dead, isn't he?" The Doctor didn't respond. "If he was alive, why would you leave him behind?"
"He's not dead," the Doctor answered after a moment. The Emissary was silent. "He'll never be dead again."
He turned around to face her when she didn't answer. Her head was tilted, expression pensive.
"Rose used the Vortex?" she asked. The Doctor nodded. The Emissary hummed. "Okay, I suppose I understand."
"You do?"
"Doctor, I hate to be the one to break this to you, but Jack is not the first person to be a fixed point," the Emissary told him. "It happened several times in the Sentry Division." She tilted her head. "Of course, that was usually solved by..." she trailed off at the raised eyebrows the Doctor was giving her. "Anyway, I get why you left him. I'm not saying that you were right — I mean, really? You just left him? — but I get it." The Doctor smiled tightly at her and turned back to the shelf. She stood and came up next to him. To his relief, when she spoke, she changed the subject. "What are you looking for down here anyway?"
"A cd," the Doctor answered. "Ian Dury and the Blockheads."
"70's rock?" she asked in amusement. "Wouldn't have pegged you as the type."
He threw a grin at her. "I was thinking we could go see him in concert, have an easy, fun adventure after New New York." He hit the shelf. "Only I can't find the cd."
She smirked as she caught sight of a plastic cd case, hidden under papers the Doctor had strewn around. She picked it up. "This cd?"
He grinned widely at her. "You're amazing," he said, taking her face in both hands and kissing her forehead, before grabbing the cd and bounding back up the stairs.
She laughed as she followed him. "All I did was find a cd, but okay, I'll take it."
~~~
"What do you think of this?" Rose asked as she entered the console room. The Time Lords looked up and she did a little twirl, showing off her pink tee, black tights, and denim jumper. "Will it do?"
"In the late 1970s?" the Doctor asked. "You'd be better off in a bin bag."
The Emissary smacked the back of his head as she passed him. "Be nice," she scolded, then smiled at Rose. "You look great."
Rose laughed at the Doctor's pout as she leaned against a column. The Doctor recovered quickly, and held up a cd.
"Hold on," he said, putting the cd into a player. "Listen to this." Upbeat music started playing loudly. The Doctor raised his voice. "Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Number one in 1979."
He danced around the console, pulling the Emissary into it as well. Rose laughed as she watched them. "You're a punk," she told the Doctor.
He smirked, singing along with the music, "It's nice to be a lunatic."
"That's what you are," Rose giggled. "A big old punk, with a bit of rockabilly thrown in."
The Emissary pulled herself from his hold and leaned next to Rose. Grinning, she nudged Rose's shoulder with her own. "Want to go and see him?"
Rose's jaw dropped as she looked between the grinning aliens. "How d'you mean? In concert?"
"What else is a TARDIS for?" the Doctor quipped, circling the console. Rose followed him curiously. "We 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." He paused, meeting Rose's eyes. "What do you think?"
Rose didn't even have to think about it. "Sheffield it is."
"Hold on tight," the Emissary quipped, throwing a lever and sending them off. When the TARDIS shook harder than usual, she looked up. Her eyes rolled. The Doctor had pulled out a hammer and started to bang the console, keeping in rhythm with the song. She reached over and pulled it out of his grip. "Stop hitting her," she scolded. "You know she doesn't like it."
The TARDIS jerked to a stop, sending all three travelers to the floor. The Emissary met Rose's eyes and both girls burst into laughter.
"1979," the Doctor announced, helping them both up. "Hell of a year. China invades Vietnam. The Muppet Movie."
"Loved that film," the Emissary interrupted. He grinned at her, taking her hand as they headed for the doors.
"Me, too," he said, then continued his list. "Margaret Thatcher, ugh. Skylab falls to Earth, with a little help from me."
"Why does that not surprise me?" the Emissary teased, smirking back at Rose. The blonde laughed.
"It nearly took off my thumb," the Doctor complained, pulling open the door. "And I like my thumb. I need my thumb." He stepped out, looking back at the girls. "I'm very attached to—"
Theta! the Emissary cried mentally. She pulled him back as rifles cocked around them. Slowly, the trio all raised their hands.
"My thumb," the Doctor finished lamely. He looked around at the surrounding soldiers. "1879." He shrugged. "Same difference."
"It really isn't," the Emissary sighed quietly. "This is because you keep hitting her." He didn't answer.
"You will explain your presence," the captain demanded. He waved his rifle at the girls. "And the nakedness of these girls."
The Emissary looked down at herself, wishing she had her jacket, then looked at Rose. The blonde looked confused. "1879, modesty is the name of the game," the Emissary whispered quickly, leaning over to her. "Our arms are bare and our clothes are form-fitting, we're naked by their standards." Rose nodded.
"Are we in Scotland?" the Doctor asked in a perfect Scottish accent.
"How can you be ignorant of that?" the captain asked.
"Oh, I'm, I'm dazed and confused," he said. "I've been chasing this, this wee naked child over hill and over dale." He gestured to Rose. "Isn't that right, ya timorous beastie?"
Rose glared at him. "Och, aye," she answered, putting on a terrible accent. The Emissary looked away, trying not to laugh. "I've been oot and aboot."
"No, don't do that," the Doctor told her, looking almost offended. Rose grinned.
"Hoots, mon."
"No, really, don't," he said again. "Really."
The captain didn't look amused by them. "Will you identify yourself, sir?"
"I'm Doctor James McCrimmon," the Doctor said, "from the township of Balamory." He took the Emissary's hand and pulled her forward. "This is my fiancée, Emily Harkness."
"Pleased to meet you, sir," the Emissary said politely, adopting a Scottish accent like the Doctor's. Fiancée? she asked him silently. The Doctor just grinned at her.
"I have my credentials, if I may," he said to the captain. The captain nodded impatiently and the Doctor pulled out his psychic paper, flipping it open. He waved it around so all the soldiers could see. "As you can see, a doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. I trained under Dr. Bell himself."
Before the captain could say anything, an upper-class, English voice called out from the nearby carriage. "Let them approach."
The captain hesitated. "I don't think that's wise, ma'am."
"Let them approach."
The captain waved them forward, sternly instructing, "You will approach the carriage, and show all due deference."
Raising his eyebrows, the Doctor led the way to the carriage, where a footman opened the door. Eyes widening, the Emissary dropped into a graceful curtsy.
"Rose, may I introduce you to Her Majesty, Queen Victoria," she said as she rose back up. "Empress of India, Defender of the Faith."
Rose dropped into an awkward curtsy. "Rose Tyler, ma'am." She looked down at her clothes and winced. "And my apologies for being so... naked."
"I've had five daughters," Victoria waved off. "It's nothing to me." She looked to the Doctor. "But you, Doctor. Show me these credentials." He handed over the psychic paper. "Why didn't you say so immediately?" Victoria asked brightly as she examined the paper. "It states clearly here that you have been appointed by the Lord Provost as my Protector."
"Does it?" the Doctor asked, surprised. He felt the Emissary smack him mentally, and winced, correcting himself. "Yes, it does. Good, good." He took back the psychic paper. "Then let me ask, why is your Majesty traveling by road when there's a train all the way to Aberdeen?"
"A tree on the line," Victoria responded.
"An accident?"
Victoria sniffed. "I am the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland," she told him. "Everything around me tends to be planned."
"So, an assassination attempt, then," the Emissary concluded. Rose blinked.
"What, seriously?" She stared at Victoria. "There's people out to kill you?"
"I'm quite used to staring down the barrel of a gun," Victoria confirmed.
The captain joined them, looking in at the Queen. "Sir Robert MacLeish lives but ten miles hence," he informed the Queen. "We've sent word ahead. He'll shelter us for tonight, then we can reach Balmoral tomorrow."
Victoria nodded, gesturing towards the time travelers. "This Doctor, his betrothed, and their timorous beastie will come with us."
The captain didn't look as though he agreed with that idea, but he nodded. "Yes, ma'am. We'd better get moving. It's almost nightfall."
"Indeed," Victoria agreed. "And there are stories of wolves in these parts. Fanciful tales intended to scare the children. But good for the blood, I think." She leaned back in her seat, dismissing them. "Drive on!"
The Doctor, the Emissary and Rose fell back to walk behind the carriage, talking quietly so as not to disturb the soldiers.
"It's funny, though," Rose mused, "because you say assassination and you just think of Kennedy and stuff. Not her."
"By 1879, there were six attempts on her life," the Emissary said. Rose's eyes widened as she looked back up to the carriage.
"And I'll tell you something else," the Doctor added gleefully, lacing his fingers through the Emissary's. "We just met Queen Victoria!"
Rose laughed. "I know!"
"What a laugh!"
"She was just sitting there."
"Like a stamp," the Doctor agreed.
"I want her to say 'we are not amused,'" Rose told the Time Lords, putting on a fake posh accent. When the Emissary snorted, amused, Rose pointed at her playfully. "I bet you five quid I can make her say it!"
"Well, if we gambled on that, it'd be an abuse of our privileges as a traveler in time," the Doctor scoffed.
The Emissary shared a mischievous grin with Rose. "Ten quid, then."
"Done," he said instantly. The two girls dissolved into laughter.
~~~
When the convoy reached Sir Robert's estate, the Emisssary couldn't help shivering uncomfortably. The breeze that swept over her felt... foreboding, like something wasn't quite right. Almost instinctively, she reached for the Schism, trying to see what would happen here. She cursed under her breath when she hit a wall, the same wall that had blocked off her connection to the Schism since Gallifrey fell.
The Doctor glanced down at her in concern. What is it?
She shook her head, brushing the feeling off as coincidence. Just cold, she muttered. It wasn't even a lie. Her sleeveless top was thin, and did little to keep her warm.
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. Better?
Ignoring Rose's knowing grin, the Emissary leaned further into the Doctor, nodding.
"Your Majesty." A man who could only be Sir Robert came out of the house, followed by several servants.
"Sir Robert," Victoria greeted. "My apologies for the emergency." She looked around, frowning a bit. "And how is Lady Isobel?"
Robert hesitated. "She's indisposed, I'm afraid," he said finally. "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."
The Emissary frowned at him. Is it just me, or is he trying to get rid of us?
Well, his wife's gone, the Doctor reasoned. If she took the cook, maybe he just doesn't feel prepared to host royalty.
What kind of journey requires the cook to be taken? the Emissary pointed out. He didn't have an answer for that.
"Oh, not at all," Victoria dismissed. "I've had quite enough carriage 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."
Rose winced. "Sorry."
"My fiancée," the Doctor said, a protective edge to his voice as Robert looked over the Emissary. His arm tightened around her shoulders, though she didn't seem to notice. He waved his other hand at Rose. "She's my fiancée's adopted sister. She's always been a bit feral, we're trying to straighten her out."
Rose sent a quick glare, before glancing at Victoria. "Thinks he's funny but I'm so not amused," she tried. "What do you think, Ma'am?"
"It hardly matters," Victoria replied. "Shall we proceed?"
Rose turned back to the Time Lords, both of whom were suppressing amused grins. She leaned over and whispered, "So close."
The captain began giving orders. "Makerson and Ramsey, you will escort the property. Hurry up."
"Yes, sir." From the back of the carriage, the two soldiers retrieved a small wooden box and carried it carefully into the house.
The Doctor watched them curiously. "So what's in there, then?"
"Property of the Crown," the captain said shortly. "You will dismiss any further thoughts, sir." With that, he turned away and continued ordering his soldiers about.
Eyebrows raised, the Emissary looked at Rose and the Doctor. "I don't think he likes us."
Rose snorted. "Can't imagine why he wouldn't."
~~~
Robert led the group into a large observatory. In the center of the room was a large bronze telescope.
"This, I take it, is the famous Endeavour," Victoria remarked as she regarded the telescope.
Robert nodded. "All my father's work. Built by hand in his final years. Became something of an obsession." His expression turned a little bitter. "He spent his money on this rather than caring for the house or himself."
"I wish I'd met him," the Doctor said. "I like him. That thing's beautiful." He glanced at Robert. "Can I?"
Robert nodded, waving him forward. "Help yourself."
The Doctor nearly bounced over, pulling out his 'brainy specs' and slipping them on. "What did he model it on?" he asked.
"I know nothing about it," Robert shrugged. "To be honest, most of us thought him a little, shall we say, eccentric." He looked down at the floor. "I wish now I'd spent more time with him and listened to his stories."
The Doctor wasn't listening, busy examining the telescope. "It's a bit rubbish," he announced. "How many prisms has it got?" He ducked down to look. "Way too many. The magnification's gone right over the top. That's stupid kind of—"
"Darling," the Emissary interrupted. Rose snorted quietly when the Doctor jerked up, staring at the Emissary with a surprised, pleased expression. "You're being rude." She turned to Victoria and Robert, smiling politely. "I'm sorry, he just gets so invested in things, he forgets other people are listening."
The Doctor was still staring at the Emissary when she turned to him expectantly. When she gave him a prompting look, he blinked and looked at the Queen and Robert sheepishly. "But it's pretty. It's very pretty."
"And the imagination of it should be applauded," Victoria said sternly.
"Mmm," Rose started. "Thought you might disapprove, Your Majesty." When she only got a blank look, she elaborated. "Stargazing. Isn't that a bit fanciful? You could easily not be amused, or something?" She winced at Victoria's silence. "No?"
"This device surveys the infinite work of God," Victoria replied. "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."
"Mmm, stars and magic," the Emissary mused. She smiled softly, eyes darting to the Doctor as he came back to her side and took her hand. "Reminds me of someone."
Victoria smiled as she watched the young couple. "Oh, my late husband enjoyed his company," she said. "Prince Albert himself was acquainted with many rural superstitions, coming as he did from Saxe Coburg."
"That's Bavaria," the Doctor said quietly to Rose. The blonde nodded.
"When Albert was told about your local wolf, he was transported," Victoria told Robert.
"So, what's this wolf, then?" the Doctor asked curiously.
Robert shook his head. "It's just a story."
The Emissary raised an eyebrow. "Then why don't you tell it?"
Robert sighed. "It's said that—"
His servant stepped forward. "Excuse me, sir. Perhaps her Majesty's party could retire to their rooms." His voice took on an odd emphasis. "It's almost dark."
"Of course," Robert agreed quickly. "Yes, of course."
"And then supper," Victoria said decisively. She looked over at the two girls. "And could we find some clothes for Miss Tyler and Miss Harkness? I'm tired of nakedness."
Rose seized the opportunity. "It's not amusing, is it?"
The Emissary suppressed a laugh at the unimpressed stare Victoria leveled at Rose. When Victoria turned away, Rose's elbow met the Emissary's ribs. "I was close," she insisted.
"Keep telling yourself that," the Emissary whispered back.
"Sir Robert, your wife must have left some clothes," Victoria continued. "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 nervous as he nodded. "So there is, Ma'am."
~~~
"So," Rose said casually as she sorted through a closet. The Emissary had taken one look at the dresses, made a face and sat on the bed. "Fiancée, huh?"
"I think he panicked," the Emissary dismissed.
Rose rolled her eyes. "Really? That's your excuse?"
"It's not an excuse," the Emissary insisted.
"Well, he didn't hesitate to call me beastie, and a child, and feral," Rose pointed out. She spun to face the Time Lady. "I have another explanation." The Emissary raised an eyebrow as Rose came over and placed both hands on her shoulders. "He likes you."
"What?" the Emissary laughed. She brushed Rose's hands off. "No."
Rose rolled her eyes and went back to the cupboard, pulling out a pretty blue dress. "He likes you, and you like him, and it is so obvious to everyone except you two." She met the Emissary's eyes. "Are Time Lord emotions different to human emotions or something?"
"Not really," the Emissary admitted. "You're surprisingly similar as a species."
"Right. Okay," Rose nodded. "Then both of you are either blind or too stubborn to admit you have feelings for each other."
"Rose," the Emissary said seriously, a disbelieving laugh coloring her voice. "The Doctor does not have feelings for me. We're just friends."
"He stares at you like you're his whole world when he thinks no one's looking, and he holds your hand constantly," Rose said exasperatedly.
"This regeneration is just more... affectionate than the last."
"Affectionate only with you," Rose deadpanned. "And, no, he was like this in his last body. He liked you then, and he likes you now, and..." She went over to the next cupboard. "I'd bet you anything that if you put on one of these dresses and went out there, he wouldn't be able to keep his eyes off of you." She reached for the cupboard handles, muttering to herself, "He barely can as it is." She pulled open the cupboard and shrieked.
A young maid tumbled out of the cupboard.
"They came through the house," she said shakily once she was sitting on the bed. "In the excitement, they took the Steward and the Master, and my Lady."
The Emissary frowned, sharing a worried look with Rose. Maybe that foreboding feeling she'd had wasn't just coincidence after all.
"Listen," Rose told her. "We've got a friend. He's called the Doctor. He'll know what to do. You've got to come with us."
The maid shook her head. "Oh, but I can't, Miss."
"What's your name?" the Emissary asked her softly.
"Flora."
"Flora, we'll be safe," Rose assured her. "There's more people arrived downstairs, soldiers and everything, and they can help us. I promise. Come on. Okay?" Flora nodded and Rose helped her up. "Come on."
The Emissary led the way out of the room. They didn't get very far before they found a soldier laying on the ground. The Emissary dropped to her knees beside him.
"Oh, Misses," Flora cried in a whisper. "I did warn you."
"Is he dead, Emissary?" Rose asked.
The Emissary shook her head as she stood. "No, he's just knocked out. Drugged, maybe."
Flora yelped.
As the Emissary turned to look, she felt a hand wrap around her mouth. When she broke away and turned to see one of the servants, a hand wrapped in her hair and smashed her head into the wall.
Two servants dragged her body away.
~~~
"Your fiancée and her sister beg an apology, Doctor," the butler said as he came into the dining room. "Their clothing has somewhat delayed them."
The Doctor nodded and waved it off. "Oh, that's all right. Save them a wee bit of ham."
The Queen laughed. "That feral child could probably eat it raw."
"Very wise, Ma'am," the captain chortled. "Very witty."
"Slightly witty, perhaps," Victoria allowed, frowning at the captain disapprovingly. "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."
The captain swallowed his laughter and schooled his features. "Yes, Ma'am. Sorry, Ma'am."
The Doctor frowned when he felt the Emissary's mind vanish. He reached out mentally as he smiled cheerfully at the table. "Besides, we're all waiting on Sir Robert." Robert looked on the verge of a nervous breakdown. "Come, sir. You promised us a tale of nightmares."
"Indeed," Victoria agreed. "Since my husband's death, I find myself with more of a taste for supernatural fiction."
The Doctor smiled sympathetically. "You must miss him."
"Very much," Victoria said quietly. "Oh, completely." For a long moment, she appeared lost in memory, before she looked up at Robert, smiling like nothing was wrong. "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. Begin your tale, Sir Robert. There's a chill in the air. The wind is howling through the eaves. Tell us of monsters."
~~~
The Emissary came back to herself with a start. The floor under her was cold and rough. Stone. She was in the cellar. Her hands were shackled to a long chain.
"Oh thank god, you're awake," Rose's voice whispered from behind her. She looked back to see Rose, Flora and several others shackled to the same chain. In the center of the cellar, a cage held what looked like a normal human boy.
Rose stood when the Emissary did, moving to the Time Lady's side. Before the Emissary could move towards the door, the Lady Isobel gestured for her to stop.
"Don't make a sound," she whispered urgently. "They said if we scream or shout, then he will slaughter us." She nodded toward the caged boy.
Rose looked between the cage and the Lady confusedly. "But he's in a cage," she pointed out. "He's a prisoner. He's the same as us."
Isobel shook her head. "He's nothing like us," she spat. "That creature is not mortal."
As the Emissary watched, the boy opened his eyes, revealing solid black. She nodded sharply.
"Right. Time to get out," she stated. She stuck her hand in her pocket, sighing in relief when her fingers closed around her sonic.
"How do you propose we do that?" Isobel asked. "We're all chained."
"Easy," the Emissary quipped, twirling her sonic. "Universal key."
~~~
"The story goes back three hundred years," Robert told the table. "Every full moon, the howling rings through the valley. The next morning, livestock is found ripped apart and devoured."
The Doctor was only half listening. The Emissary and Rose had never come back. He couldn't remember either girl ever taking so long to dress, even on period adventures. On top of that, he still couldn't feel the Emissary. Either she was unconscious or actively blocking him out. Or she was dead, but he preferred not to entertain that idea.
"Tales like this just disguise the work of thieves," the captain said. "Steal a sheep and blame a wolf, simple as that."
"But sometimes a child goes missing," Robert countered, drawing the Doctor's attention back. "Once in a generation, a boy will vanish from his homestead."
~~~
As soon as the Emissary had sonicked her shackles off, Rose had moved cautiously towards the cage. The Emissary, moving on to the Lady and the staff, glanced at her over her shoulder.
"Be careful, Rose," she told the blonde.
"Don't, child," Isobel said at the same time. Rose ignored her and stopped a few feet away from the cage.
"Who are you?" Rose asked the boy.
"Don't enrage him," the steward begged.
"Where are you from?" Rose continued when she got no answer. "You're not from Earth. What planet are you from?"
"Oh, intelligence," the boy breathed in a sneering tone.
"Where were you born?" Rose asked.
"This body?" the boy asked looking down at himself. "Ten miles away. A weakling, heartsick boy, stolen away at night by the brethren for my cultivation. I carved out his soul and sat in his heart."
Rose blanched.
~~~
"Are there descriptions of the creature?" the Doctor asked.
Robert nodded. "Oh, yes, Doctor. Drawings and woodcarvings. And it's not merely a wolf. It's more than that. This is a man who becomes an animal."
In the back of his mind, the Doctor felt the Emissary's mind open. Relief washed through him.
"A werewolf?" he asked, hiding his relief as intrigue. To the Emissary, he quickly asked, Are you alright?
~~~
"Alright," Rose swallowed. "So the body's human. But what about you, the thing inside?"
"So far from home," the creature sighed.
The Emissary stepped up next to Rose. "Identify yourself," she said coldly. "Planet and species, according to the universal ratification of the Shadow Proclamation."
"If you want to get back home, we can help," Rose added. "We just need to know where you came from."
"Why would I leave this place?" the creature laughed, not answering the Emissary's demand. "A world of industry, of workforce and warfare. I could turn it to such purpose."
"And how do you plan to do that?" the Emissary asked.
"I would migrate to the Holy Monarch."
Rose blinked. "You mean Queen Victoria?"
"With one bite, I would pass into her blood, and then it begins," the creature confirmed. "The Empire of the Wolf." He shook his head. "Many questions." Rose took an involuntary step back as he lunged at the bars of the cage. "Look. Inside your eyes. You've seen it too."
"Seen what?" Rose asked, looking to the Emissary for an answer. The Time Lady didn't know either.
"The Wolf," the creature snarled. "There is something of the Wolf about you."
"I don't know what you mean," Rose denied, even as the Emissary gave a hum of sudden understanding.
"You burnt like the sun," the creature told her, "but all I require is the moon."
~~~
"My father didn't treat it as a story," Robert said. "He said it was fact. He even claimed to have communed with the beast, to have learned its purpose. I should have listened. His work was hindered. He made enemies." The Doctor's eyes narrowed as Robert glanced quickly at the butler. "There's a monastery in the Glen of Saint Catherine. The Brethren opposed my father's investigations."
The butler moved to the window, staring out at the full moon and chanting. The Doctor frowned, watching him for a moment before turning his attention back to Robert.
"Perhaps they thought his work ungodly," Victoria remarked.
"That's what I thought," Robert told her. "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?"
The butler's chanting grew louder. "Lupus deus est. Lupus deus est."
The Doctor turned suspicious eyes on the butler again. "And what if they were with us right now?"
~~~
The Emissary had to raise a hand to cover her eyes when the cellar doors above them opened, the light of the full moon too bright after the darkness of the cellar. When she could see properly again, the wolf had turned his face to the sky as an unnatural breeze blew around the room.
"Moonlight," he breathed. He shrugged off his robe.
"Door, now," the Emissary said, backing up. She handed Rose her sonic. "Get it open and get out."
Rose nodded and turned to the huddled staff and lady. "All of you!" she barked. "Stop looking at it! Flora, don't look. Listen to me. We've got to get out of here." She led the group to the door and frowned. The door was wood, and she couldn't see any lock. Rose pressed the sonic against it anyway. Nothing happened. When she looked back at the Emissary, the Time Lady was watching the wolf transform, hands lit blue though they hung at her sides. Rose sighed and looked around for something to use. She spotted the chain. Quickly, she used the sonic to unlock the chain from the wall. Hurrying back to the door, she looped the chain through the handle.
"We're going to have to pull," she told the group, handing them the chain. They took it hesitantly, the maids whimpering as they stared at the wolf. "I said pull" Rose snapped, getting their attention. "Stop your whining and listen to me! All of you! And that means you, your Ladyship." Isobel took hold of the chain. "Now come on, pull!"
~~~
Bald servants entered the dining room quickly, surrounding the group at the table.
Werewolf, Theta, they've got a werewolf! The Emissary's voice rang through the Doctor's mind, faintly excited. He didn't bother asking who, glaring at the butler. He had a pretty good idea.
"What is the meaning of this?" Victoria demanded. "What's happening?"
"Explain yourself, Sir Robert!" the captain said, leveling his sidearm at the still chanting butler.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, they've got my wife."
Where are you, Ali? the Doctor asked. He backed towards the door as he waited for her answer.
The cellar, she said a moment later.
"Sir Robert, come on!" the Doctor shouted as he ran out of the dining room. Robert followed quickly, leaving the Queen and captain behind.
~~~
"One, two, three, pull!" Rose shouted. The entire group heaved to no avail. The door wasn't budging. She panted a bit, looking back to see the wolf fully transformed. The Emissary had placed herself between it and the group, her hands raised in preparation. Rose turned back to the door, face set. But before she could even begin to pull, the door flew open. The Doctor and Sir Robert stood on the other side.
"Where the hell have you been?" she demanded of the Doctor, dropping the chain as Isobel flew past them into Robert's arms.
The Doctor didn't answer, having gone straight to the Emissary's side, staring up at the wolf. "Oh, that's beautiful."
"Isn't it?" the Emissary agreed.
Rose rolled her eyes, starting forward to pull her idiot friends out of the cellar. She flinched as the cage splintered and broke. Quickly, she backed towards the door.
"Out!" the Doctor shouted. "Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out!"
From the door, Rose waited anxiously for the Time Lords. "Come on."
For a moment, the two of them stood still, admiring the wolf, before it threw a chunk of wood at them. The Doctor grabbed the Emissary's hand and ran, pulling her out of the room. When they were out, she slammed the cellar door shut, holding it closed as the Doctor locked it.
"It could be any form of light modulated species triggered by specific wavelengths," the Doctor said a few minutes later as they gathered in the gun room. He held the Emissary's face in his hands, examining the cut and bruise on her forehead.
Rose had watched, amusement and worry mixing, as the Emissary's protests that she was 'fine, Doctor, promise' had died at the dark look on his face. It was the same look he'd had when Cassandra had possessed her. After a moment, the Doctor apparently came to the conclusion that the Emissary was, indeed, fine, because he let his hands fall.
"Did it say what it wanted?" he asked. Around the trio, soldiers and servants both were gathering weapons and leaving to face the wolf.
Rose shrugged as she watched. "The Queen, the Crown, the throne - you name it."
"The Empire of the Wolf, it said," the Emissary added.
Something crashed in the hallway. Cautiously, the Doctor approached the door and stepped out into the hall, before freezing in place. The wolf stood at the end of the hall, wood surrounding it from where it'd broken through the door. The Doctor ran back inside, grabbing Rose and the Emissary and pulling them behind the line of men.
The wolf crashed into the armory, and the men opened fire.
"Bullets aren't going to stop it," the Emissary told them. They ignored her and kept firing. After a moment, the wolf ran back the way it came.
"All right, you men," the Doctor said to the staff. "We should retreat upstairs. Come with me."
"I'll not retreat," the steward snapped. "The battle's done. There's no creature on God's Earth that could survive such an assault."
"It's not from Earth," the Emissary pointed out.
"I'm telling you, come upstairs!" the Doctor said.
"And I'm telling you, sir, I will sleep well tonight with that thing's hide upon my wall." The steward stepped out into the hall, looking around, gun hoisted. When he didn't see anything, he turned back to the Doctor, smiling smugly. "It must have crawled away to die." He was jerked into the air.
Before the Emissary could get past the line of men to try and save him, the Doctor was pulling her back by the hand. He closed the door to the stairwell as the wet sound of flesh tearing echoed through the hall. Rose turned a bit green at the noise.
"There's nothing we can do!" he told them, leading them to the stairs.
"Your Majesty?" Robert shouted as they ran up. "Your Majesty!"
"Sir Robert?" Victoria came into the stairwell, followed closely by the captain. "What's happening? I heard such terrible noises."
"Your Majesty, we've got to get out," Robert told her. Victoria and the Captain turned and joined the group in running up the stairs. "But what of Father Angelo? Is he still here?"
Victoria shook her head. "Captain Reynolds disposed of him."
"The front door's no good, it's been boarded shut," the Doctor informed them as they entered a drawing room. "Pardon me, Your Majesty. You'll have to leg it out of a window."
"Excuse my manners, Ma'am," Robert said as he pushed past the Queen to the window. "But I shall go first, the better to assist Her Majesty's egress."
"A noble sentiment, my Sir Walter Raleigh," Victoria replied.
"Yeah, any chance you could hurry up?" the Doctor prompted, his voice losing the Scottish accent. Robert opened the window and ducked as the monks guarding the gate opened fire. The Doctor sighed. "I reckon the monkey boys want us to stay inside."
"Do they know who I am??" Victoria demanded.
"Yeah, that's kind of the problem," the Emissary told her.
"The wolf's lined you up for a, a biting," Rose explained.
"Stop this talk," Victoria ordered, marching past Rose and the Emissary into the hall. "There can't be an actual wolf."
A howl echoed through the house.
"What do we do?" Rose asked the Time Lords.
"We run," the Doctor said simply.
Rose's jaw dropped. "Is that it?"
"Do you have any silver bullets?" the Emissary pointed out.
"Not on me, no," Rose relented.
"There we are then, we run." The Doctor turned to Victoria. "Your Majesty, as a Doctor, I recommend a vigourous jog. Good for the health. Come on!"
The group took off at a run. A few flights up, the wolf crashed through into the staircase below. Rose nearly stopped before the Emissary grabbed her hand and pulled her along. "Keep moving!"
Unfortunately, the wolf was faster than the group could move. They were almost to the library when it caught up to them. Reynolds stopped and turned around, shooting to hold it off.
"I'll take this position and hold it," he told the Queen. "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," Victoria assured. "It's safe."
Reynolds nodded. "Then remove yourself, Ma'am. Doctor, you stand as Her Majesty's Protector." He glared at Robert. "And you, Sir Robert, you're a traitor to the crown."
"Bullets can't stop it!" the Doctor argued.
"They'll buy you time," Reynolds snapped as the wolf came crashing back down the corridor. "Now run!"
The Emissary stepped away from the group as they backed down the hall, ignoring the Doctor's protest, and stood next to Reynolds. He gave her an odd look.
"I can double that time," she explained shortly. He nodded, handing her his pistol. As the rest of the group ran, the two of them opened fire on the wolf. Reynolds' bullets didn't do much, and the Emissary's, infused with the Artron energy that wreathed her hands, were only a bit better. The wolf lunged at her.
Reynolds' body slammed into her side, tackling her out of the way of the wolf. He screamed shortly as the wolf tore into him. Using his death as the distraction it was, the Emissary scrambled to her feet and booked it down the hall at full speed, skidding to a stop inside the library just after the rest of the group. As the doors to the library slammed shut behind her, she looked to Victoria sadly.
"He gave his life so I could get away," she told the queen, answering the unasked question in her eyes. The queen nodded, turning away from her. The Emissary sighed. She had barely taken a step before she was pulled into a tight hug. "Wha..."
"Don't put yourself in danger like that," the Doctor said as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Before she could say anything, he was pulling away to help barricade the door. When they were done, the Doctor paused, head tilted. "Wait a minute. Shush, shush, wait a minute." The wolf howled once, long and loud, and then nothing. The Doctor leaned his head close to the door. "It's stopped. It's gone."
"No, wait," the Emissary said quietly. "Listen." All around the library, they could hear the wolf snuffling and growling. The Emissary turned to Robert, whispering, "Is that the only door?"
"Yes," Robert nodded quickly, then immediately shook his head. "No!"
In a matter of moments, the group had the other door blocked off. Rose looked around as the wolf circled the library again.
"I don't understand," she said. "What's stopping it?"
"Something inside this room," the Doctor answered. He was back at the Emissary's side in seconds, lacing his fingers through hers. He met her eyes, seeing the same lost look that he felt. "What is it? Why can't it get in?"
Rose shrugged, grinning. "I'll tell you what, though."
"What?"
Her smile grew. "Werewolf."
"I know," the Doctor agreed, hugging her with his other arm. "You all right?"
Rose nodded. "I'm okay, yeah."
"I'm sorry, Ma'am," Robert apologized to Victoria. "It's all my fault. I should have sent you away. I tried to suggest something was wrong. I thought you might notice." He looked at all four of them. "Did you think there was nothing strange about my household staff?"
"Well, they were bald, athletic," the Doctor shrugged. "Your wife's away, I just thought you were happy."
"Really? That was your theory?" the Emissary said, giving him an weird look. She turned back to Robert. "He's not wrong, though, the bald servants were a little weird."
"I'll tell you what though, Ma'am," Rose started, "I bet you're not amused now."
"Not the time, Rose," the Emissary admonished gently.
"Do you think this is funny?" Victoria snapped.
Rose faltered back, looking a little ashamed. "No, Ma'am. I'm sorry."
"What, exactly, I pray tell me, someone, please," Victoria asked. "What exactly is that creature?"
"You'd call it a werewolf, but technically it's a more of a lupine wavelength haemovariform," the Doctor rattled off. The Emissary winced, finally noticing that he'd dropped the Scottish accent.
Victoria noticed as well. "And should I trust you, sir? You who change your voice so easily? Or your fiancée, with her unnatural ability?" The Time Lords looked at each awkwardly. "What happened to your accent?"
He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Oh right, sorry, that's..."
"I'll not have it," Victoria cut him off. "No, sir. Not you two, not that thing, none of it. This is not my world." She walked away from them and sat on a chair.
"What's this carving of?" the Emissary wondered aloud as she examined the door. The Doctor came over to look, pulling on his specs. "I can't quite tell."
"Mistletoe," the Doctor realized. He turned to Robert. "Sir Robert, did you father put that there?"
Robert shrugged. "I don't know. I suppose."
"On the other door, too," the Doctor said as he ran over to look. "No, a carving wouldn't be enough. I wonder..."
"Please do not lick the wood," the Emissary said almost immediately.
He licked the wood.
"Viscum album," he confirmed, making a disgusted face. "The oil of the mistletoe. It's been worked into the wood like a varnish." He looked at Robert. "How clever was your dad? I love him. Powerful stuff, mistletoe. Bursting with lectins and viscotoxins."
"And the wolf's allergic to it?" Rose asked.
"Probably not," the Emissary mused. "But it's certainly been conditioned to think it is."
"Exactly," the Doctor said. "The monkey monk monks need a way of controlling the wolf, so 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," Robert pointed out.
"Oh, your father got all the brains, didn't he?" the Doctor complained.
"Being rude again," Rose told him.
"Good," the Emissary snorted. "He deserved that one." She spread her arms. "You want weapons, Sir Robert? We're in a library." Robert just looked at her blankly.
"Books!" the Doctor sighed exasperatedly. "Best weapons in the world. This room's the greatest arsenal we could have." He pulled several books off the shelf closest to him and tossed them to Rose. "Arm yourself."
~~~
"Biology, zoology," Rose read off books as she pulled them off the shelf. "There might be something on wolves in here."
They'd been reading for at least half an hour and had found nothing useful. Sighing, the Emissary pushed a book on plants away and pulled the next off of her pile.
"Hold on, what about this?" the Doctor said. "A book on mistletoe."
"A book on magic," Rose tossed another book aside.
"Some form of explosive," Robert said, holding up his book.
"Wolf's bane, what about that?" Rose asked.
"I think I found it," the Emissary said. The Doctor and Rose were leaning over her shoulders in an instant, Robert coming over as well. She showed them the illustration on the page. "Look what your father found. Something fell to Earth."
"A spaceship?" Rose asked.
"A shooting star," Robert said, reading the page. "In the year of our Lord 1540, under the reign of King James the Fifth, an almighty fire did burn in the pit." He pointed to the picture. "That's the Glen of Saint Catherine just by the monastery."
"But that's over three hundred years ago," Rose remarked. "What's it been waiting for?"
"Maybe just a single cell survived," the Doctor theorized. "Adapting slowly down the generations, it survived through the humans, host after host after host."
"But why does it want the throne?" Robert asked.
Rose shrugged. "That's what it wants. It said so. The, the Empire of the Wolf."
"Can you imagine?" the Emissary thought aloud. "The Victorian Age, accelerated. Starships and missiles fueled by coal and driven by steam." Her eyes darkened. "It would devastate history."
"Sir Robert," Victoria interrupted. The four of them all turned around to see her approaching them. "If I am to die here."
"Don't say that, Your Majesty."
"I would destroy myself rather than let that creature infect me," Victoria assured them. "But that's no matter. I ask only that you find some place of safekeeping for something far older and more precious than myself."
"Hardly the time to worry about your valuables," the Doctor scoffed.
"Thank you for your opinion," Victoria said, "but there is nothing more valuable than this." From her purse, she brought out a sparkling gem.
Rose gasped. "Is that the Koh-I-Noor?"
"Oh, yes," the Doctor breathed. "The greatest diamond in the world."
"Given to me as the spoils of war," Victoria confirmed. "Perhaps its legend is now coming true. It is said that whoever owns it must surely die."
"Well, that's true of anything if you own it long enough." The Doctor reached out a hand. "Can I?" Carefully, Victoria handed him the diamond. He held it up to the light, watching it sparkle. "That is so beautiful."
"How much is that worth?" Rose asked, awe struck.
"Around 400 million pounds?" the Emissary answered. "Some say up to 2 billion pounds."
"They say the wages of the whole world for a week," the Doctor added.
"Good job my mum's not here," Rose remarked. "She'd be fighting the wolf off with her bare hands for that thing."
"She'd win, too," the Emissary laughed.
"Where is the wolf?" Robert asked. "I don't trust this silence."
"Why are you traveling with it?" the Emissary asked Victoria.
"My annual pilgrimage," Victoria said. "I'm taking it to Helier and Carew, the Royal Jewellers at Hazelhead. The stone needs recutting."
Rose shook her head, still staring at the diamond. "Oh, but it's perfect."
"My late husband never thought so," Victoria shrugged.
"Now, there's a fact," the Doctor quipped. He looked at Rose. "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." He tossed the gem back to Victoria, who fumbled quickly to catch it. She glared, but the Doctor was already spinning away. "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." He paused, shaking his head. "Hold on, hold on. All these separate things, they're not separate at all, they're connected. Oh, my head, my head."
Eyebrows raised at him, the Emissary picked up his train of thought and turned to Victoria. "The house is a trap for you, ma'am, that much is clear."
Victoria nodded. "Obviously."
"That's the wolf's plan," the Emissary continued. "But what if this house is also a trap for something else?"
"Explain yourself," Victoria demanded.
"What if his father and your husband weren't just telling each other stories?" the Doctor asked. "They dared to imagine all this was true, and they planned against it, laying the real trap not for you but for the wolf."
Plaster dust rained down on their heads, making them all look up. The wolf had climbed to the roof and was now staring down at them through the skylight.
"Right on cue," the Emissary sighed. The glass started to crack. "Time to go!"
As the wolf crashed through the ceiling, the last piece of the barricade was removed and the group ran out of the library. The Doctor slammed the mistletoe doors shut in the wolf's face.
"Get to the observatory!" the Doctor ordered.
The wolf didn't take long to catch up. It was almost on Rose when the Emissary yanked her out of the way and behind her. As Rose shrieked, water arched over both girls, splashing the wolf in the face. It howled and ran off down the hall.
The Emissary turned to see Lady Isobel, Flora and several maids standing there, holding a still steaming pot.
"Good shot," the Doctor told them.
"It was mistletoe," Flora said.
"Isobel!" Robert kissed his wife soundly before pushing her towards the stairwell. "Now, get back downstairs."
"Keep yourself safe," Isobel ordered him.
"Now go," Robert replied, smiling at her.
As Isobel gathered her skirts and led the maids away, the Doctor ushered the group on. "Come on!"
Robert hesitated briefly, staring after his wife. Finally, he turned and went to the front of the group. "The observatory's this way."
~~~
When they reached the observatory, the Doctor pushed open the doors, looking them over as he entered.
"No mistletoe in these doors because your father wanted the wolf to get inside," he said quickly. "I just need time. Is there any way of barricading this?"
"Just do your work and I'll defend it," Robert told him.
"Is there rope in here?" the Emissary asked, looking around. She found papers, but no rope. "We could bind them shut."
Robert shook his head. "I said I'd find you time, sir, miss. Now get inside."
The Emissary looked between Robert and the Doctor, then pushed past Robert, pulling a sword off the wall. "Back inside, soldier," she told Robert. "I've got a better chance, and you have a wife to get back to."
The Doctor stared at her in horror. "What? Ali, no!"
"No time to argue," she said, and pulled the doors shut behind her. Taking a deep breath as she heard the wolf get closer and closer, the Emissary let her hands light. The sword in her hands lit up blue as well, growing brighter as she poured more energy into it.
She glanced back at the door with glowing blue eyes, and fell into a ready stance.
~~~
His hearts tight with worry, the Doctor turned to Victoria. He couldn't focus on what Ali was doing right now, not while she was buying him time.
"Your Majesty, the diamond," he prompted, holding out a hand.
"For what purpose?" Victoria asked skeptically.
"The purpose it was designed for," the Doctor said impatiently. She handed him the diamond reluctantly and he promptly handed it to Rose, instead going to the telescope. "Sir Robert, that wheel there. Lift it. Come on."
Rose watched, a little skeptical, as the Doctor and Sir Robert slowly raised the telescope to the observatory's skylight.
"Is this the right time for stargazing?" she asked.
"Yes, it is," the Doctor grunted.
The sounds of fighting and the wolf's growls filled the room from outside the door. Victoria held up a small cross and started praying.
"You said this thing doesn't work," Rose reminded the Doctor. She kept glancing back at the door worriedly. The sounds of fighting hadn't stopped, which she supposed was good. That meant the Emissary was still alive.
"It doesn't work as a telescope because that's not what it is," the Doctor explained. "It's a light chamber. It magnifies the light rays like a weapon. We've just got to power it up."
"And how do we power it up?" Robert asked.
"Moonlight," Rose realized as she looked out the window, then frowned. "But the wolf needs moonlight. It's made by moonlight."
"And you're seventy percent water but you can still drown," the Doctor snapped. He glared at the slowly lifting telescope. "Come on! Come on!" With one last push from the men, the telescope finally locked into place. Moonlight hit the floor in front of the telescope in a concentrated beam.
Ali, now! the Doctor shouted mentally. The door was blown open by Ali's blue energy, and the woman herself dove into the room with it. Above her, the wolf lunged at Victoria.
The Doctor slid the Koh-I-Noor across the floor and into the beam of moonlight. The diamond refracted the beam, catching the wolf in its light and holding it in place, slowly turning it back into a boy. Ali gently guided Victoria away from the wolf.
"Make it brighter," the boy begged. "Let me go."
Silently, the Doctor reached over and adjusted the magnification. The moonlight grew brighter and brighter until the boy was was no longer visible. There was one last mournful howl, and the boy was gone.
"Your Majesty?" The Doctor looked over when he heard Ali's quiet voice. Victoria was holding her wrist, staring down at a scratch. "Did it bite you?"
"No, it's, it's a cut, that's all," Victoria denied.
"If that thing bit you," the Doctor began as he walked over.
"It was a splinter of wood when the door was blown apart," Victoria snapped. "It's nothing."
"Let me see," the Doctor insisted, reaching for her wrist.
Victoria pulled away. "It is nothing."
~~~
The next morning, the Doctor, the Emissary and Rose were all kneeling in front of the entire household. Victoria stood in front of them, holding a sword.
"By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Sir Doctor of TARDIS," she said solemnly, touching him on both shoulders with the top of the sword. She repeated the process on both girls. "By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Lady Emissary of TARDIS. By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Dame Rose of the Powell Estate. You may stand."
"Many thanks, ma'am," the Doctor said as they got to their feet.
"It is an honor," the Emissary added, inclining her head slightly.
"Thanks," Rose said, smiling happily. "They're never going to believe this back home."
"Your Majesty, you said last night about receiving no message from the great beyond," the Doctor said softly. He glanced at the Emissary, wrapping her hand in his before he continued. "I think your husband cut that diamond to save your life. He's protecting you even now, ma'am, from beyond the grave."
"Indeed," Victoria accepted. She looked between the three of them, her face stern. "Then you may think on this also. That I am not amused."
"Yes!" Rose exclaimed quietly, grinning.
"Not remotely amused," Victoria snapped, glaring at the blonde. Rose's smile fell. "And henceforth I banish you."
"I'm sorry?" the Doctor asked.
"I have rewarded you, Sir Doctor, and now you are exiled from this empire, never to return," Victoria told him. "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 these 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 may survive this terrible life." Her eyes seemed to linger on the Emissary as she finished and stepped back from them. "Now leave my world, and never return."
~~~
The cart ride to the TARDIS was long and quiet. The Doctor still hadn't let go of the Emissary's hand, glancing at her every few minutes as if he was afraid she'd run off after another wolf. The Emissary didn't notice, lost in thought remembering the way Victoria had stared at them, like she was afraid of them. She couldn't shake the feeling that that would come back to bite them.
"No, but the funny thing is, Queen Victoria did actually suffer a mutation of the blood," the Doctor told Rose as they walked to the TARDIS. "It's historical record. She was haemophiliac. 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?" Rose asked.
"Victorians do love their euphemisms,"
the Emissary shrugged. "Maybe haemophilia's one of them."
"For werewolf?"
"Could be," the Doctor said.
"Queen Victoria's a werewolf?"
"Could be," he said again. "And her children had the Royal Disease. Maybe she gave them a quick nip."
"So, the Royal Family are werewolves?"
"Mmm, probably not yet," the Emissary said, tilting her head. "A single wolf cell could take a hundred years to mature. Wouldn't be ready until the early 21st century at least."
"Nah, that's just ridiculous!" Rose laughed. She paused, thinking. "Mind you, Princess Anne."
"I'll say no more," the Doctor said.
"What about Princess Anne?" the Emissary asked, confused.
Rose didn't hear her. "And if you think about it, they're very private. They plan everything in advance. They could schedule themselves around the moon. We'd never know." She gasped as the Doctor unlocked the TARDIS. "And they like hunting! They love blood sports." She laughed in disbelief. "Oh my God, they're werewolves!"
~~~
Victoria stood in the courtyard of the Torchwood Estate, surrounded by soldiers. Sir Robert and Lady Isobel were standing in front of her, waiting to see her off.
"What happened here must never be spoken of," Victoria told the couple sternly.
Sir Robert looked at his wife, then back at the queen. "I don't believe we could explain it to people if we tried."
"Although we may not speak of these events in public, they will not be forgotten, I promise you that," Victoria continued, nodding at Robert. "Captain Reynolds' sacrifice, the ingenuity of your father, they will live on."
"But how?" Isobel asked.
Victoria paused, looking up at the stars. "I saw last night that Great Britain has enemies beyond imagination, and we must defend our borders on all sides," she said after a moment. "I propose an Institute to investigate these strange happenings and to fight them. I would call it Torchwood. The Torchwood Institute." She turned back to a surprised but determined Robert and Isobel. "And if this Doctor and Emissary should return, then they should beware, because Torchwood will be waiting."
Far above the earth and in the Vortex, the Emissary shivered, the feeling of someone walking over her grave running down her spine.