The group was all talking over one another, each person intoning what they'd read or discovered at once.
Cass rolled her eyes, fingers running over the words she'd just read slowly, carefully. She knew they were important, knew they were the key to solving this, but she'd already tried grabbing their attention three times, to no avail.
Huffing, she stood up, picking up a heavy stack of books, before loudly dropping them on the table, smirking when the group all jumped in surprise at the loud noise.
"If you're all done acting like children and yelling over one another, I do believe I might have something."
The Doctor grinned slightly at the annoyance in her tone, ambling towards her with a small grin, "What is it, then?"
She gestured towards the book she had open on the table, inviting him to lean over and read the information himself, which he did, slowly leaning from behind her, planting his chin softly on her shoulder as he read, "Look what your old dad found. Something fell to Earth."
Rose quickly approached the pair, hiding the small smile that wanted to erupt at their closeness, asking, "A spaceship?"
"A shooting star," Cass corrected softly, running her fingers gently over the page, reading the lines out loud, "In the year of our Lord, 1540, under the reign of King James the Fifth, an almighty fire did burn in the pit."
"That's the Glen of Saint Catherine just by the Monastery." The doctor nodded, informing them.
The blonde shook her head, "But that's over three hundred years ago. What's it been waiting for?"
"Maybe only a single cell survived," Cass murmured, fingers running through her hair as she thought out loud, "maybe it adapted and evolved through the generations, moving from human to human, using them as hosts, incubators."
"But why does it want the throne?" Robert interjected, worry in his voice.
Rose shrugged helplessly, "That's what it wants. It said so, the... the Empire of the Wolf."
"Imagine it... the Victorian Age accelerated..." the Doctor began, voice foreboding and dark. Noticing this, Cass reached over, lacing her fingers through his own, having noticed how it seemed to calm him down previously. He exhaled deeply, tightening his hold on her, before continuing, sounding less tense than before, "starships and missiles fueled by coal and driven by steam... leaving history devastated in its wake..."
From across the room, Victoria called out to Sir Robert, beckoning him closer, and Cass closed her eyes, tilting her head back and cracking her neck, a slight sigh of relief leaving her when the joint popped. Familiar hands dropped to her shoulders, massaging the tense muscles slowly, she withheld a groan, opening her eyes and saying, "If you don't stop, some very unsavoury noises are going to leave me, and I don't think your delicate Time Lord disposition could handle them."
To her surprise though, the man merely grinned deviously, pressing his fingers deeper into the muscle, "You'd be surprised at what I can or cannot handle, Cassie."
"At any rate, we've got a werewolf problem," she responded, hoping against hope her face hadn't reddened, "I'll have to test that out later, but for now," turning to face him, she bit her lip before finishing, "spoilers: sometimes the most seemingly useless things can be the most useful."
He nodded, a confused look on his face, "Couldn't you, just for once, give me a clear answer?"
"Would if I could Doc, but you know, timelines and all."
The two turned quickly around when they noticed the queen rifling through her back, Cass smacking the alien upside the head when he grumbled, "Hardly the time to worry about your valuables."
"Rude!"
The monarch simply levelled a dry stare at him, "Thank you for your opinion. But there is nothing more valuable than this." Before removing her hand Fromm the bag, the world's largest and most precious diamond in her grasp.
Immediately, the entire room gasped in awe, the Doctor and Rose hurrying towards it, while Cass simply stayed by her seat, not all that interested in seeing a highly pressurised piece of carbon, no matter how shiny it was.
Diamonds had never been her thing, after all. They were just rocks, rocks who often stood in place of things that should be said, not worn.
"Is that the Koh-I-Noor?" The younger's blonde's voice whispered in amazement.
The Doctor nodded, though his gaze had strayed to his tether, noticing how uninterested she seemed by the rock, "Oh, yes... the greatest diamond in the world."
"Given to me as the spoils of war. Perhaps its legend is now coming true. It is said that whoever owns it must surely die." Victoria nodded slowly.
From her perch, Cassandra couldn't help but chuckle softly, "Well, that could very well be true about anything if owned for long enough, your majesty."
The Time Lord grinned softly, beckoning the redhead closer, wrapping his arm around her waist when she approached. He could see the small smile on her face, could feel the way she relaxed slightly in his hold, and as much as he tried to remain unaffected, he wasn't.
Tether bonds truly were as powerful as he'd been taught, and the urge, the need to keep her in his arms for as long as he could was only increasing in strength, and he knew she was beginning to feel it too.
It this adventure had shown them anything, it was that they were far too affected by one another to continue feigning indifference anymore.
Looking back at the stone, he gently held out his empty hand, "Can I?"
The queen hesitated, her own hand moving back slightly, as her gaze landed on the redheaded woman, nodding at her slowly, diamond-bearing hand moving towards her with certainty.
The Doctor had to muffle a laugh at Cassie's surprised face, as she gently accepted the diamond, holding it in her grasp carefully. Of course, out of all of them, the queen would only trust her, his tether truly was magnificent. His eyes, however, widened when she tilted her head towards him, and Victoria nodded in return, the Koh-I-Noor then being gently placed into his still open palm, Cass' chin leaning on his shoulder, as she watched him, watch the gem.
Glancing at her softly, he couldn't help but murmur in awe, "beautiful."
Rose nodded, misunderstanding his intention, while his Cassie merely blushed, "How much is that worth?"
"They say... the wages of the entire planet for a whole week."
"Good job my mum's not here. She'd be fighting the wolf off with her bare hands for that thing."
"And she'd win."
The redhead stepped back, once more feeling very out of place between the two who seemed so intent on laughing in the face of tragedy, shaking her head in slight disappointment at them, especially considering exactly what their lack of empathy would result in.
The sadness and absolute, soul-crushing grief it would later-on cause.
From beside her, she heard Sir Robert mutter worriedly, "Where is the wolf? I don't trust this silence."
Cass bit her lip in anticipation of the events to come, hands slowly reaching up to her head, pulling her mass of hair into a haphazard bun, one she secured into place with a wayward pencil, as the Doctor questioned the queen, "Why do you travel with it?"
"My annual pilgrimage. I'm taking it to Helier and Carew. The Royal Jewellers at Hazelhead. The stone needs recutting."
Rose gasped, "Oh, but it's perfect."
"My late husband never thought so."
The Doctor slipped his glasses off, eyes seeking his tether who stood across the room, hair pulled up, as though prepared to run, as he murmured, "Now, there's a fact, 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."
His eyes widened, "Unfinished..." he murmured, before small smile came upon his face, and he exclaimed, "oh, yes!" Running towards Cassandra, he grabbed her hand, and other thoughtlessly, pulled her into a happy kiss, lips slotting perfectly against one another.
It was fast, and quick, as though he hadn't even thought about it before doing it. It was so quick, in fact, that she hadn't had time to do anything, let alone respond to it, before he'd pulled back, cupping her cheeks with so much tenderness, "You...you really are a bloody genius Cassie!"
"Three months now I've been saying it, took you long enough to get there," she smirked back, fiercely aware of how red her cheeks were, or how her lips still tingled with him, as though wishing to slant across his own once more.
As he turned away from her, walking across the room, she found herself pulled behind him, their hands interlinked almost subconsciously, as though neither had truly wanted to let the other go just yet.
"There's a lot of unfinished business in this house. His father's research, your husband, Ma'am, he came here and he sought the perfect diamond, hold on, hold on..."
Sensing he was beginning to struggle, she softly ran her thumb over his knuckles, before adding, "All of these things, these seemingly random, separate-yet-not-really things...they're all connected."
"Yes!" He yelled, pressing another, smaller kiss to her forehead, before turning to the queen exuberantly, "What if, this house, it's a trap for you, is that right, Ma'am?"
"Obviously."
"At least, that's what the wolf intended. But! What if there's a trap inside the trap?"
"Explain yourself, Doctor."
Cass sighed, explaining quickly, "What if the trap was never built for you, your majesty, but rather for the wolf? What if your husband and Sir Robert's father had dared to imagine and dream, understood the tales as reality, and laid this trap, here...for the creature?"
Above their heads, pieces of plaster began to fall to the ground, and they all looked up, Cassandra's brows rising slightly at the sight of the wolf walking across the glass dome, growling when it caught sight of them.
"That's subtle," she mumbled under her breath, biting her lip to keep her smile at bay when she heard the Doctor's muffled chuckle. Immediately though, he began pulling her towards the door, ushering everyone to follow them, aware that she'd grabbed ahold of the younger blonde's hand, "Out! Out! Out!"
The group ran collectively down the corridors, he hollered, "Gotta get to the observatory!"
She was drawn to a stop however, when the creature growled a menacing, "Oracle..."
Cass turned to it, eyes transfixed upon the wolf, as it continued hissing her name, lowly...menacingly.
It approached her, prowled in her direction, and she whispered, "How do you know my name?"
"The Oracle has forgotten, the Oracle cannot remember, and even the Doctor couldn't save her if he tried."
She flinched, pain reverberating through her head at the words, eyes closing involuntarily. Unfortunately, the creature had noticed her weakness, and had jumped at her, only to be thrown off by a pan filled with mistletoe and water, its skin sizzling angrily at the contact.
Cass' eyes opened suddenly, and she found the Doctor's arm wrapping around her waist, pulling her towards him ad he yelled at the women who'd saved her, "Good shot!"
"It was mistletoe!"
He nodded, before pulling his tether across the corridor, shielding them from view as he suddenly cupped her face, thumbs rubbing over the tops of her cheeks bones tenderly, asking, "What happened?"
She shook her head, mumbling a quiet, "nothing," only for him to lean down, their foreheads touching softly, brown eyes boring into green, "Cassie, love, what happened? You just stopped. One second you were beside me, the next I turn around the wolf's about to jump on you, and you're just standing there."
"It knew my name," she whispered, fear lacing through her words, "Doctor, it knew my name, only it wasn't really my name, since it kept calling me the oracle." She flinched again, one of her hands reaching for her temple, rubbing softly, "And every time I hear that, or say it, my head hurts, like something is trying to crawl its way out of my thoughts. Something I've forgotten, something really important."
He nodded, a small, nearly impossible idea coming into his mind, but he pushed it away immediately, seeing as it was futile to think of it in the first place. They were all dead, after all.
Pressing his lips tenderly to her forehead, he whispered, "We'll deal with that once we are back on the TARDIS but for now, do not leave my side, especially since the wolf seems to have taken a particular interest in you. I just found you Cassie, I'm not willing to let you go just yet."
And with that, their hands weaved together, and he pulled her back towards the observatory, intent on keeping her safe and sound, by his side.
They could hear Sir Robert leading the fray, yelling, "The observatory's this way!" As he ran up the grand spiral staircase, everyone following him. Rose slowed to their sides, shooting the redhead a concerned look, to. Which Cass simply gave her a strained smile and a mouthed, "I'm okay," back.
When her gaze turned to the Doctor, she found his brows furrowed in thought, hand gripping Cass' tightly, as though fearful she might dissipate from his grasp at any moment.
They finally reached the observatory, the Doctor pushing both of his companions inside determinedly, followed by the queen, before turning to Robert and stating, "No mistletoe on these doors, your father wanted the wolf to get inside! Get inside I just need time! Is there any way of barricading this?!"
The man sighed resolutely, "Just do your work and I'll defend it."
"If we could bind them shut with rope or something!"
"I said I'd find you time, sir." Robert insisted, "Now get inside."
Unbeknownst to all of them, Cass had already set the plan in motion, not intending on allowing this brave man to die.
She knew how the events were supposed to play out, and if the contempt the queen held for both the Doctor and Rose already held, then the Torchwood enterprise and all the bullshit and heartache it would cause it the future was sure to come.
Surely saving this one man, this one man who'd do anything for his beloved wife wouldn't change much, right?
Running to. The telescope, she ignored the commotion behind her and she touched its surface, fingers gripping for any openings, until she found the right one.
Glancing behind her, voice heavy with urgency, she ordered, "Your majesty, I apologise, but we must make haste. Could you hand the Doctor the diamond please? Rosie, I need to turn that lever over there, hard as you can, we must get this thing up and running." Meeting the Doctor's eyes, she finished, "It's a light magnifier, that's why the prism didn't work properly. I need you to aim it at the ceiling, and on my command, open the flood gates, okay?"
They all complied, but as she began heading towards the door, a familiar hand grabbed her own, the Doctor's worried voice asking, "What are you doing?"
The redhead turned to him, confidence in her gaze, "Just trust me, Doc. I know what I'm doing, and I simply refuse to let another innocent person die for nothing."
Running to the door, she took stand by it, ear trained precisely to the sounds beyond, and she quickly counted the minutes down, until finally, she heard the growl, louder than it had ever been, and knew it was time.
Jerking the door open, she pulled Robert by the back into the corner, the man falling on top of her, as she yelled, "Now!"
The group aimed the lens at the creature, who slowly began to float, caught in the moonlit beam. It slowly began shifting back to. Its human form, and they could all. Hear it as it. Pleaded, "Make it brighter. Let me go."
The Doctor complied, walking swiftly to the light chamber and flicking switch, watching as the prism grew impossibly brighter. With one final howl, the creature firmly disappeared, the light shutting off.
Pure relief was the only way to. Describe the atmosphere in the room, which was only broken when Cassandra's amused voice droned, "Sir Robert? I'm sure you appreciate my help, but could you maybe allow me to get up and breathe? I'm getting slightly light-headed beneath you."
The man laughed in disbelief, jumping to his feet, before pulling the redhead up to her own, bowing and pressing a single kiss tower knuckles, "You've saved me, Lady McCrimmon. I shall never be able to thank you."
She smiled gently, nodding, "You needn't to. Just go live you life, be happy with your wife, and.." She didn't know how she knew, but it was almost though a part of her could feel him, something that had awakened in her when he'd so casually pressed their lips together earlier, something she was only fully noticing now. Moving her gaze to him, she smiled in slight confusion, before finishing on a chuckle, "I do believe if you don't let go of my hand soon, my husband may prove to be very cross. He's a bit of the jealous sort, I'm afraid."
The man nodded happily, bowing once more as he let her go, "As he should be, a lady of your kind is very hard to come by indeed."
Cass giggled, winking happily at him, before a pair of warm arms tugged her into a deep hug, the scent of motor oil, amber and bananas invading her nostrils. Nuzzling happily into him, she glanced up, chin resting against his chest, before smirking, "Have I impressed you yet, Doc?"
The Doctor shook his head, a small, disbelieving smile on his face, "There's very little about you that doesn't constantly blow me away, Cassie." Leaning down, he pressed their foreheads together, exhaling sharply, as the tension between them mounted. She wished he'd kiss her then, really and truly. Not a kiss where she was possessed, and not one when he clearly wasn't thinking, but a real one.
Maybe if he kissed her, then she'd actually begin to somewhat understand what was going on between them.
Instead, he moved his lips to the tip of her nose, kissing it lovingly, smiling when he heard her giggle, relishing in the sound.
Their moment didn't last all too long though, as another pair of arms wrapped around her form behind, and she found herself immersed in Rose's floral perfume, the blonde's happy voice saying, "I knew it! You are so much smarter than him!"
She chuckled happily, nodding, "Of course, why would you ever think otherwise? Just cause he like to wear his nerdy specks, and parades around like he knows everything doesn't mean he's actually all that intelligent, you know?"
"Oi!"
Both girls giggled at him happily, though their attention was soon drawn to the queen, who was holding her wrist thoughtfully. The Doctor approached her slowly, his girls following him, "Your Majesty? Did it bite you?"
"No, it's... it's a cut." She denied firmly.
"If that thing bit you..." the Doctor began, only for Victoria to cut him off, "It was a splinter of wood when the door came apart."
Still, he insisted, reaching out for her hand, "let me see."
"It is nothing." She commanded, pulling her hand sharply back towards her chest.
—————
The next morning found the three travellers all kneeling before the queen, as she dutifully knighted them.
"By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee: Sir Doctor of TARDIS." She began with the alien, who smiled at her gratefully.
Then, her sword moved to the blonde's shoulders, "By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee: Dame Rose of the Powell Estate."
And then finally, they came to rest upon Cass's, "By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee: Dame Cassandra of TARDIS."
"You may stand."
Slowly, they stood as one, Cass immediately dropping into a curtsy of gratitude, as the Doctor said, "Many thanks, Ma'am."
"Thanks! They're never going to believe this back home." Rose added happily.
Cass raised her eyes, smiling gently at the queen, "It has been the greatest honour and pleasure, your majesty."
Warm, familiar fingers weaved with her own, as the time lord stated, "Your Majesty, you said last night about receiving a message from the great beyond; I think your husband cut that diamond to save your life. He's protecting you even now Ma'am, even from beyond the grave."
She nodded solemnly, and the redhead internally sighed, knowing exactly what was about to occur, "Indeed. Then you may think on this, also: that I am not amused. Not remotely amused."
She could hear Rose huffing proudly from beside her, and shook her head, warning the younger blonde to remain quiet, because this...this was most definitely NOT a good thing.
"And henceforth... I banish you. Apart from Lady Cassandra."
At this, all three stared up at her in pure confusion, the first two for their banishment, the last for her...not being banished?
"I'm sorry...?" The Doctor mumbled.
"I rewarded you, Sir Doctor. And now you and Dame Rose are exiled from this empire, never to return. I don't know what you are, the two 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! Only Lady Cassandra has shown empathy and heart, only she was able to tell what was right from wrong, whilst you two made a mockery of tragedy and pain. You will leave this shores and you will reflect, with your wife's help I hope, on how you managed to stray so far from all that is good. And how much longer you will survive this... terrible life."
Victoria turned her gaze to Cass, before adding, tone much gentler than it had been, "And if you ever feel the need to escape, know that you shall always be welcome at the palace, Lady Cassandra."
"Or at the Torchwood Estate," Sir Robert added, bowing to her slightly.
She nodded, still slightly stunned, watching as the two turned to leave, the monarch commanding one final time, her back to them, "Now leave my world. And never return."
—————
The Doctor had managed to hitch them a ride on the back of a farmer's cart, though apparently, due to a lack of space, she'd been firmly placed on the Time Lord's lap...not that she was complaining, exactly.
He'd wrapped his arms firmly around her, his face nuzzled into the crook of her neck, hand running tenderly along her side, and she'd had to bite her tongue to keep from sighing in slight pleasure. Every time he touched her, this cursed fucking alien, he triggered the same reactions.
Reactions which weren't all that easy to produce from her previously, if any of her past bed partners had been asked.
So much for being cold and frigid, in his arms, she tended to melt like a snowflake under the sun.
And somehow, someway, she could tell he knew exactly what he was doing. Could almost feel his amusement dancing across her skin, and so, she decided to tease him a little, lest he start believe he was winning this little game of theirs.
Running one of her hands tenderly through his glorious brown hair, she tugged lightly, soothing the slight sting immediately by scratching his scalp softly with her nails, dropping the action down the back of his neck, fingers teasingly slipping beneath his collar to stroke the top of his spine.
He didn't say anything, but she could feel him tensing beneath her, and realising that must've done something, she quickly repeated the motion, only stopping when Dougal, their driver, announced they'd arrived to their destination.
Before she could climb off, however, he held her back, he lips pressing a sultry, open-mouthed kiss to her pulse, climbing up until her ear, where he whispered, "You're not going to win, if that's the best you've got, love."
Turning her face, she allowed their noses to touch, pressing their foreheads together until their lips were merely an inch apart, breathing, "Game on, Time Lord." Before jumping off his lap, heart thundering in her chest, the feeling of his soft lips climbing up her neck zinging through her skin.
He joined them, arm wrapping around her waist as he waved at the farmer, before beginning to walk, explaining to the blonde, "You know, the funny thing is, Queen Victoria did actually suffer a mutation of the blood! It's historical record haemophiliac. It used to be called 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?"
Cass shrugged, smirking at them, voice finally sounding like her normal, American self, "Well, maybe haemophilia is just another victorian euphemism."
"For werewolf?"
"Could be!" The Doctor grinned, sharing an amused look with his tether.
"Queen Victoria's a werewolf?"
"Could be! And, her children had the Royal Disease. Maybe she gave them a quick nip."
"So, the Royal Family are werewolves?"
The redhead shook her head slowly, musing, "Well, it would take a single cell hundreds of years to evolve to that point. So, theoretically speaking, it would be fully mature by...early twenty-first century, maybe?"
Rose's eyes widened, loud giggles escaping her lips, "Nah! That's just ridiculous! Mind you... Princess Anne...!"
"We'll say no more," the Time Lord smirked, pulling the laughing Cassandra deeper into his hold, both of them watching as Rose came up with more and more theories, the TARDIS slowly dematerialising around them, sending them back into the vortex.