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CHAPTER TWELVE:
KNIGHTS OF THE
ROUND TABLE

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IRIS rushed into the TARDIS, a fullness swelling deep in her when she spotted the familiar console.

"Finally," the Doctor remarked, looking up at her.

"Sorry, isn't my fault you dropped me off for Christmas with an older version of you." Iris scowled.

"Still an apology," he grinned. "How was Rose?"

"Fine," Iris shrugged, thinking of the blonde girl.

Her hands found the railing and she leaned back against it, watching the Doctor carefully as he observed her.

The Doctor hesitated, pat her head and walked downstairs. "I'm thinking about Pangea," he grinned up at her. "Beginning of Earth as you know it, what d'ya say?"

Iris smiled, shoving her curiosity from his previous words down, and rushed downstairs.

"Yes," she pointed to him, "but I need a shower. So...twenty minutes?"

The Doctor groaned in exasperation. "Hurry up, Holloway."

"Yes, sir."

—

Refreshed and changed, hair in two braids, Iris pat the TARDIS wall as she entered the console room, smiling brightly at the Doctor. He glanced over at her, grunting and she rolled her eyes.

"Don't tell me you're upset," she raised an eyebrow.

"Forty-one minutes," he countered. "You need a watch, Holloway."

"You're a time traveler," Iris sat on the captain's chair, waiting for him to set course. "Go back in time."

"You know that isn't how it—" He stopped, catching her cheeky grin and rolled his eyes. "Should've left you in 2005."

"You'd miss me."

"I have other friends," he countered.

"Ah, but I'm your partner."

His hands stopped on the lever, glancing at her. "You are." He nodded, a softer smile on his face.

"When can I meet your companions?"

"Soon," he glanced away again, flicking a switch. "You'll like her."

"Her?" Iris grinned. "What's her name?"

"Can't tell you that," he shook his head, "part of the fun." He frowned, looking down at a flashing light on his console. "Change of plans," he glanced up at her. "Distress signal. Up for some fun?"

Iris smirked. "When am I not?"

"That's my girl," he grinned, changing the coordinates. "We're going to Thrace, bring your coat."

Ivy looked down at her clothing, which consisted of her jeans, a tank top and her signature leather jacket courtesy of his ninth incarnation, she gave him a look. He blinked, nodded and landed the TARDIS.

Slinging her bag over her shoulders, she exited first, and the Doctor closed the doors behind them.

They landed on a green planet with lots of trees, sunny skies, and open land. Grass trailed for miles, endless vines cascaded from low hanging branches, and the air smelled clean. Fresh. Natural.

Iris was reminded immediately of Earth and wondered what the differences between this planet and hers were. Thrace, he'd mentioned. She'd have to look into it further later.

Iris sneezed, then thanked the Doctor at his 'gesundheit.'

"What happened here?" The Doctor frowned, hand grazing hers. She followed his gaze to a ship, which seemed to have crash landed, smoke erupting from one side, and pieces of metal splattered across the ground.

"Crash landing, but who crashed it?"

"Where's the pilot?"

The pair exchanged a look before walking towards the ship, keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of life. "Is this planet abandoned?" Iris asked.

The Doctor nodded. "The life forms aren't humanoid," he explained. "The trees talk to one another and the pollen travels from plant to plant to bring more life. There shouldn't be humans here, though it's not uncommon for travelers to visit the Waters of Eryi. They're said to cleanse the body of toxins and restart a person's life."

"Is that true?" Iris asked with wide eyes. "Seems a bit...magical."

"Of course it's not true," the Doctor rolled his eyes. "It's a legend, Holloway."

They approached the hull of the large ship, which seemed to tower over the pair, the lettering on the side of the ship only halfway filled. 'E' 'X' 'B' and 'R' were the only letters they could make out and entering the ship provided only more confusion.

"Ship is 51st century," the Doctor informed her. "If it's kept up to code, they shouldn't crash land anywhere. The engines were made to predict any atmospherical changes or temperature fluctuations to ensure a smoother landing."

Hanging wires, a distant radio playing music from the '40's, and blinking red lights. Iris bit her lip in thought as she glanced around, eyes catching odd paintings that looked as though they were far from the past, even her past, in medieval times, melted around the edges and singed in the middle.

"What happened here?" She asked him. "This is bizarre."

"It's unusual for a ship to crash here," the Doctor told her, "they have a runway a few kilometers to the left, and even then, the damage shouldn't be this specific."

Laughing sounded from further in the ship and the pair exchanged another look before breaking into a run towards the sound. They went down one hallway and took a left, and upon entering the room, were met with a group of men wearing...medieval armor?

"What the...?" Iris trailed off, confusion filling her face.

They were on a fairly abandoned planet with a ship that sent a distress signal that seemed to have different pieces of time meshed into a ship from the fifty first century.

What happened here?

"Good morrow, kind lady, good sir!"

Iris blinked at a dark-haired male's greeting. He stood from a long metal table, walking over to she and the Doctor in a clunky manner, the armor bulky and uncomfortable.

"I am Ser King Arthur," he bowed to them, "and these are my knights. Who might you be?"

"The Doctor," he replied stiffly, eyeing the man. "This is Iris Holloway."

"Ah, a man of healing!" Arthur exclaimed. "And a woman of such beauty with a man of such...age. How...interesting."

"How'd you crash land this ship?" The Doctor asked, jaw tightening with frustration at the man's words.

Iris glanced up at him, heart clenching at the furrow of his brows. She knew they ended up together eventually, he'd already confirmed it, and she didn't exactly appreciate a strange man like 'Arthur' insinuating anything about her relationship with the Doctor.

Taking his hand, she intertwined their fingers, leaning a bit closer to him. He glanced down at her, frown unyielding on his face, but his eyes softened.

"A ship?" Arthur asked in confusion. "Why, this is Camelot, good sir! Welcome to my castle."

Iris' confusion deepened at his words. "Sorry...Arthur, I'm confused. This is your castle? This...ship that's crash-landed is your castle?"

"'Tis true, my lady!"

"His dialect is off," the Doctor muttered to her. "So many things about this are wrong."

"And, uh," Iris glanced behind Arthur. "Why don't you introduce us to your friends?"

"But of course!" Arthur exclaimed, swiftly turning and bounding over to the table. Iris and the Doctor followed, his thumb stroking her wrist gently. "These are my good knights. Ser Lancelot, my trusted confidant," he pointed to a blonde man, "Ser Gawaine, Percival, and Kay," he pointed to three more and then Iris' mouth nearly fell open at his next introduction. "And my lady Guinevere, the apple of my eye."

He pointed to a skeleton.

A human skeleton.

Iris looked up to the Doctor with wide eyes and found him staring at the skeleton in genuine confusion. He looked around the group of men, pulled out his glasses and slipped them on, flicking the control on.

"Guinevere looks...healthy," Iris remarked, smiling tightly to Arthur, a bad feeling settling in her stomach.

"Not the word I'd choose," the Doctor muttered. "She looks dead. She is dead. Your wife is dead. Is she even your wife?" He pulled away from Iris and walked around, examining things with his sonic glasses. "Where'd you get this armor from?" He knocked on Kay's armor, frowning at the sound it made. "It's not even real. It's stage armor. Why've you got stage armor on a 51st Century ship on Thrace? How'd you end up here?"

"Sir?" Arthur looked affronted by his words. (This was not an unusual reaction, she'd learned, when travelling with the Doctor.) "I do not appreciate such words of my Guinevere! Now, I must ask how it is you have entered my castle. Surely, my knights would have halted your efforts to enter?"

"She's—" The Doctor sighed, running his hand through his hair and pulling his glasses off. "Holloway, with me."

He quickly moved past her, leaving the strange group of men behind and Iris trailed after him.

"Something is very wrong," he shook his head. "None of this should be happening."

"Maybe it's—" Iris stopped mid-sentence, sneezing into her arm. "Sorry, allergies. Why would they dress up in armor? Maybe they are doing a real show?"

"That's a dead woman," he told her firmly. "Her body's been decimated for three hours and twelve minutes. What are they doing with a dead woman? What happened to her? Why do they think she's alive?"

Iris mulled over his words, sneezing again and then sniffling, shaking her head in annoyance. She tried to come up with a reason, an explanation, but none of their surroundings seemed to make sense.

"Why come to Thrace?" He asked. "If we can figure out why they were intending to land, we can see what happened after."

"Split up?" Iris suggested but the Doctor shook his head.

"No," he replied sharply. "Bad idea. Not this time, we're missing something, and I can't risk it."

"Doc, I'll be—"

"—I said no, Iris." He gave her a serious look and she stilled, taking his words in.

He knew something she didn't, and the knowledge that he wasn't telling her sent a chill in her spine.

Something was very, very wrong.

—

short chapter and noootttt very happy with it sorry but i think the next one should be better? hopefully you guys liked this ugh and when we get to chapter 15 it's definitely a chapter with the 15th doctor because ummmmm OBSESSED fully. thanks for readinnnggg<3