"I want to go see King Arthur."

Amy tugged at the Doctor's sleeve as he examined an ornate tapestry hanging in the corridor. They were currently exploring one of the inner courtyards, and while any other sane time traveler might have found endless amounts of entertainment to be observed here, Amy was having none of it. She'd quickly grown bored of watching servants going about their daily duties, and wanted to move on . The Doctor, however, was perfectly content to meander about the place and comment on every single detail, oftentimes comparing the decorations with their alien counterparts.

"We know, Amy." Rory sighed. "You've only mentioned it, I dunno, fifteen times by now."

"Fourteen." She muttered, leaning against a column and folding her arms. Rory immediately pulled her away from the pillar, wincing as a servant gave her a strange look.

"Amy," he hissed, "what do you think you're doing?"

"Pouting," Amy replied, giving him an irritated look. "Come on, Rory, you can't possibly find this exciting. I really did want to see all the glamor and finery of court life."

Rory frowned. "That's not what I meant, Amy. Did you even notice what you were doing a moment ago?"

Amy gave him a blank look. Rory tried again.

"You were leaning against that column, looking undignified and improper. Remember, the Doctor said that we look like nobility to these people. That's not enough though, we've got to act noble as well, not just look like it. In fact," he added loudly, drawing the Doctor's attention, "I should think that the aristocracy wouldn't be lounging about in the corridor like this."

"Right!" Amy exclaimed, her face lighting up. "So, lets go to the court."

The Doctor turned to face them, slightly bemused. "Oh, quit worrying, Rory. We've been to the past before—especially me—and we've done all sorts of weird stuff and almost nobody noticed!" He paused. "Well, actually it was more of that people didn't actually care, and the people who did care ended up being or allied with an alien race, or ended up being people we saved." He smiled. "Relax, Ponds! There's no time limit, is there?"

As the Doctor chuckled, Amy rolled her eyes and was about to forcefully interject when she remembered that there were people nearby.

"But Doctor," she peacefully interjected, "what about Merlin? He could see-"

"What did he see, really, Amy? As far as the people of Camelot are concerned, nothing. Who'd believe him?"

Amy faltered. "But—but I thought he was—wouldn't he be Court Sorcerer? Why wouldn't they believe him?"

"You know, I don't think he's anything remotely close to Court Sorcerer. Not that I'm saying he has magic or anything," Rory amended hastily, "but that man is definitely not in any position of power. Did you see his clothes, and what he was carrying, and who he was following? If you ask me, I'd say he's just a servant."

"If you ask me, I'd say that meeting a guy called Merlin who just happens to see our everyday clothes and who just happens to be accompanying a man called Gawain, and who just happens to be live in a city called Camelot warrants plenty of suspicion, Rory." Amy countered, her expression fierce and determined.

"Well, I—er...Amy," the Doctor brightened, as a counterargument had occurred to him, "we don't have any background to introduce ourselves with now, do we? No story to give—they'll know all the kingdoms nearby, and most likely the main houses and so on—and for all we know they might suspect us of being fakes! Imposters! Deliq-"

"So we don't introduce ourselves as aristocracy per say," Amy's eyes shone as she spoke, her fervor almost unnerving to the passers by. "Right, Rory?"

"I—ah, what?"

"Look, in all those two thousand years you spent watching over me, did you ever take up practice as a doctor?"

Rory flushed. "Not as a practice, but I did manage to study various procedures over the years..."

"Don't you see, Doctor? Rory can present himself as a prominent doctor from a far off land, who dominated and pioneered some practice or another, and who wanted to confer with the court doctor in Camelot! I'm his wife, and you can be...um..."

"Servant?" The Doctor suggested.

Amy was aghast at the very thought. "No! Maybe my brother or somethi-"

"-Hate to break it to you, Amy, but one, I'm too young to be thought of as a practicing physician. Two, I wouldn't be able to just wander about as I pleased, treating myself as nobility when physicians weren't considered of the higher class. Three, I didn't study too much of medicine in the middle ages, and what I did learn was over fifteen hundred years ago!" Rory hissed, interrupting the debate.

Amy clearly was at a loss for words, and when she did speak it was slowly and unsure of herself. They were her first thoughts at Rory's refute, and the thoughts themselves were rather selfish and crude. "Well—well, why didn't you study medicine then? It's not like you didn't have time to spare!"

Rory stilled. "It's hard to get my memories sorted, sometimes-" he said uneasily, "Around 1066 I was a general at the Battle of Hastings, and from then on I had to disappear from the surface for a while, popped up a bit to grab a few books here and there, see what was happening, then the Black Death occurred for two years in the mid fourteenth century and I couldn't even leave the place I was hiding the Pandorica in, because God knows what they would have done to someone entirely unaffected by the disease or taking no measures to prevent it. I mean, I suppose I did have time in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, but that was almost a thousand years ago, Amy!"

Amy wilted a bit, an apologetic look on her face. Rory softened. "Look, knights were common in the medieval ages, yeah? So I can pass myself not off as a knight looking to join his service-" At Amy's questioning look he explained "because we can't exactly stay here forever, now, can we? -But as a traveling—er, lord or something who has taken a keen interest in various fighting techniques and wanted to observe the knights of Camelot. Due to their, um, legendnariness. Or something."

"The last I saw you attempt to duel, you were using a broom and the broom broke," Amy giggled a bit at the thought of Rory holding a sword.

Rory flushed again. "I was a soldier in the Roman army, Amy, and a general at Hastings, and I did study fighting over those two thousand years—I think I've improved since the days of the vampire Renaissance."

Amy let out a huff, a smiling gracing her features. "Well then, Rory Williams, we've got a back story, fake documents, and the clothes...I think, Doctor," here she raised her head and looked triumphantly at the Timelord, "that we are ready to see the court."

The Doctor pursed his lips, hesitating. "Are you sure you don't want to discuss the influences of Abraxian culture upon Medieval tapestr-"

"We're positive." Amy insisted, and with that she turned away from the Doctor and raised her voice imperiously. "Oh, boy? Could you perhaps announce to the court that the Lords and Lady Pond are seeking an audience with the king?"

[][][][][][]K[][][][][][]

"Show them in." Arthur nodded to the page before him, sitting upon his throne with Gwen beside him. He was in the process of granting petitions to the general public, yet, as his father had informed him, the aristocracy was to have the highest priority in times of peace. And so, when the young boy had informed him of the "Lady and Lords Pond" requesting to meet him, he would duly greet them as was proper of a king.

The page returned, followed by two men and a woman, all dressed in fine, well-fitting clothes. There seemed to be no clear leader of the three, (though the women had a dominating look about her, and the tall, smooth featured man seemed to radiate confidence) and their conduct seemed a bit stiff and unnatural—as if they were trying to move as one of the higher class would typically do.

The woman, upon seeing Arthur and Gwen, beamed in delight, and whispered something to the rather ragged looking man beside her, who said nothing in response.

"Welcome to Camelot." Arthur rose in greetings, as did Gwen. "I confess that I've never heard of the Pond family till now. Where do you hail from?"

After a brief pause, the ragged-looking man answered. "From—from Sussex. We have a very small estate down near the south of it, it is not of a grandeur that such a king as yourself would notice."

Arthur was taken aback—normally, nobles would not emphasize the weaknesses of their land. "I see. And why have you traveled to Camelot?"

"I am a student of the sword," came the reply, "and I've heard of your knights. They are renowned for their skills, and I wished to study your methods..." the man trailed off, looking to the woman for support.

Arthur considered the noble for a moment. "You must understand, I would rather you become a knight or not join my knights at all in their training. I cannot allow the possibility of weaknesses being discovered or certain...techniques compromised."

The man nearly lost his composure. Arthur thought he would have crumpled if not for the woman (who he was fairly certain was the man's wife), who supported her husband's weight, and sent him a look that seemed to strengthen the man's resolve.

"But I wouldn't, your majesty!" The man exclaimed. "Er, that is, I'm more of a historian of the sword. My own in fact is of the Roman empire." He gestured to his scabbard.

Arthur's interest grew. "Show me." He commanded.

The sword was drawn and placed into his hands. Arthur tested the weight of it, swung it a few times and examined its hilt. "It is certainly of the era," he acknowledged, returning the sword to its owner.

"I would never betray your secrets, I am merely comparing styles of sword fighting throughout the ages and...don't really take sides in conflicts."

Arthur briefly wondered as to the education of the man, for he spoke strangely and without the air of a bred noble. But the man certainly had the clothes, which were so well fitted that Arthur doubted they were stolen, and he did seem to be well-meaning.

"Alright." Arthur conceded. "My manservant will show you to your chambers. In the meantime, I will inform the knights of your intent. May I suggest you visit the library while you're here? There may be texts that will interest you."

"That would be gre—most satisfactory, your highness." The man sagged in relief. His wife smiled and once again whispered something in his ear.

"May I ask if you came for the same reason?" Arthur asked the other man, who throughout their conversation had been unfocused, surveying the chamber and the people inside it.

"Me? Well, not exactly, though you could say I'm a bit of a historian as well, came here for the art, to look about. I sort of meander about life, you know. I'm sure I can entertain myself while Rory is off with the knights." He flashed a brilliant grin at Arthur. Beside him, the first man—Rory, winced.

"I...I see." Arthur murmured. "What is your name?"

"Well, I'm the brother of Rory here, and this is his lovely wife Amelia, and you can just call me... 'Physician!'"

"Ah, so you practice medicine by trade?"

"No, not exactly." The man admitted.

There was a prolonged silence during which Arthur waited for the rest of the explanation. When there was none forthcoming, he glanced at Merlin standing a ways to the the left of his chair.

"Right, well, Merlin can take you to your chambers, now. Once you're settled, why don't you join the queen and I for dinner?"

"That would be wonderful." The lady Amelia replied this time, her accent catching Arthur off guard.

He blinked, and then looked to Merlin again, wondering why he hadn't moved.

Merlin was squinting at the nobles, blinking constantly. His brow was furrowed, and he seemed tense.

"Is there something wrong with your eyes?" Arthur hissed.

Merlin started, alarmed. "What? No. Nothing at all."

"Then get moving!" Arthur growled, indicating the waiting Ponds. Merlin nodded and bowed to the three before leading them to the doors. Once they were gone, Arthur looked to Gwen in exasperation. Her lips were quirked in amusement.

"They seemed a bit...unusual," she offered.

Arthur scoffed. "That 'physician' is certainly a mystery. I mean, physician who?"

Gwen laughed and took his outstretched hand. "I can't wait for tonight. They'll be the most interesting dinner guests we've had in weeks!"

[][][][][][][]M[][][][][][][]

The trip to the guest chambers was...awkward, to say the least. The couple Amy and Rory spoke to each other in hushed tones, the 'Physician' was incessantly chatty and Merlin was determined not to speak to them until they reached the privacy of the chambers.

When Merlin led them to their chambers, he stood in front of two doors side by side. Tartly, he informed them that the one on their left was to be for the husband and wife, and the one on the right was to be the physician's and if they needed anything they need only call for the servants in the antechambers and if they wouldn't mind he'd just open their doors and be off. So saying, Merlin pushed open the door on the left. Lady Amelia flounced through at once, her husband following her more slowly.

Upon opening the door on the right, Merlin beckoned the 'Physician' in.

"We need to talk," he breathed, and followed the man inside, shutting the door behind them.

Once the door was firmly shut, Merlin whirled around to face the strange man, who had cheerfully sat on the bed, bouncing on it slightly. "Ooh, very nice, very comfy. What is this made of, feathers? The room is a bit musty, though, when was it last aired?"

"I want an explanation." Merlin said loudly, causing the man to cease prattling. "You're the real leader of the group, I can tell that. Now, who are you, and where did you come from?"

The man opened his mouth to speak, but Merlin barreled on. "Where did you get those clothes from? I don't believe those materials exist, and I've never seen the style anywhere else. And," he said, intently staring at the 'Physician' before him, "are you magic? Are you druids? I really won't tell Arthur, I swear I won't," he repeated his promise with fervor, desperately wanting some answers from this strange man.

The man shook his head slightly. "You're really not going to let this go, are you?" A pause. "First of all, what's this about magic? Magic doesn't really exist now, does it?"

Merlin gaped at him. "Of course it does! And if the disguising of your clothes isn't magic, then what could it possibly be?"

"Perception filters! Didn't really ever have them upgraded till recently, we just tended to wander around willy-nilly in our normal clothes and nobody noticed no matter the time period, but I figured, well, was convinced, that they'd be a good idea in the long run, especially since Amy's in shorts and this is the medieval period and you don't really understand anything I'm saying, do you?"

Merlin numbly indicated no.

"No matter, it doesn't really matter anyway, though matter is essential to it. The point is, you think that it's magic and why would you think that?"

"Because magic's real!" Merlin jumped to his feet. "Why else would Uther have led the great purge and caused so much misery if magic wasn't real? Magic's real!" Merlin stopped short, his chest heaving. "...How can you not know that magic exists?" He gasped for breath, leaning against a wall servant behavior be damned. He felt tired, as if a heavy weight were pulling at his very soul.

The 'Physician' cocked his head. "Okay...obviously there's something very big, something very huge at work here. You wouldn't be so convinced if there wasn't something very convincing...hm." He took out a strange device and fiddled with it. "But there's no signs of alien anything nearby..."

"Alien what?" Merlin had never heard of the term before. The man looked up from the object.

"Have you ever seen any examples of magic firsthand?"

I could show him, Merlin thought. I could show him my magic-

Idiot. Arthur's voice scolded him him faintly. That was impossible, of course.

"Can I trust you?" Merlin asked slowly, fiddling with his hands and not looking the other man in the eye. "You really aren't planning to take over Camelot? You won't...turn me in?"

"Turn you—why would I...Merlin," the man put his device on the bed beside him, and approached Merlin, coming closer until they were only a foot apart from each other. "I promise, swear on my home planet, that I will not betray your trust. My companions and I have no interest in taking over Camelot, and I will never, ever turn you in."

Merlin rubbed at his eyes, thinking. "I suppose there's no harm in telling you that I have seen it," Merlin said, finally. "Any citizen of Camelot could tell you that, what with the dragon and the undead and the griffins and Morgana and..."

He sighed, trailing off. He then peered up at the 'physician', who gazed at him anxiously.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled. "There's been so much happening lately, and I've made so many mistakes and it's just all..." He squeezed his eyes shut, composing himself.

Merlin opened his eyes. "Sorry again," he said, much more forcefully and controlled than before. "I'm just...tired." He looked directly into the man's eyes, which were brimming with curiosity.

"Okay," the 'Physician seemed to be judging him, looking him up and down with a critical look. "Okay. I'll tell you everything. Well, almost everything." He amended. "Well, more like some things. Never mind. Ignore that. Where was I? Right, storytime."

"But first, call me the Doctor." With that, the man shot Merlin a brilliant smile and began his tale.

[][][]*Cue Theme Music*[][][]

And that's where I picture the episode ending. At least on a commercial. I immediately heard the theme music in my head and saw the credits rolling after the Doctor said that to Merlin, and felt like it'd be a good place to end the chapter on. (Nine pages folks!) I am, by the way, so sorry for not updating in such a long time. I had AP's, final projects, exams, then three auditions (not counting the solo audition), and now I have to memorize fourteen pieces of choral music before the 29th of June. This story is not abandoned.

Hope you like the chapter, sorry if it's a bit tedious. It did take me a bit to come up with a plausible backstory for the DW characters, as Arthur would have extensive knowledge of the surrounding families and kingdoms. Sussex was around during the Middle Ages! I decided it would be safer to not have Rory as a practicing physician, especially as they were dressed in finery, and hope the 'student of the sword' thing won't be questioned by you lot very much. Also, I was about to let Merlin reveal his magic to the Doctor, but grudgingly acknowledged that Merlin's much too careful by the end of season four to reveal his magic that easily.

Finally, the thing with the perception filters...I was basing the clothing filter off the episode "The Fires of Pompeii" (10th Doc)...well, this chapter I actually looked up the episode and to my dismay they weren't actually using filters—you see, since the Tardis translated the languages both spoken and written, I thought it was doing the same for clothes. Turns out, as the Doctor explained to Donna, Rome was like Soho, so no, they wouldn't stand out because of their clothing. I figured that somebody would have convinced him to upgrade his perception filters for the clothing, because Amy going around in tiny shorts would not have gone over well in medieval England. (To all those Amy fans: Sorry if she comes off a bit nasty here, I just don't think she's that nice of a person).

I did look up Rory's history as an auton, and he was a general at Hastings. Although the Doctor looks more like Amy than Rory, I made him Rory's fake brother because one) Their accents are more similar, and two) their fake professions kind of coincide.

Advice/criticism is greatly appreciated. And as you can tell by the quality, sorely needed.