Doctor Who_ Earthworld - Jacqueline Rayner [81]
‘Frequency47twistandpoint!’ gabbled Anji, waving the sonic screwdriver at him. The knight stopped, frowned and shook his head.
‘Knight! How dare you speak to your queen like that! It is I, Gwinnyveer!
Now take me to Sir Lancelot. Let. Take me to Sir Lancelet.’
The knight shook his head bemusedly again. Anji lowered the sonic screwdriver and put it in her kirtle pocket. ‘Knight! Did you hear me?’
The knight fell to one knee. ‘Please forgive me, My Lady! I know not why I spoke so.’
‘We-e-ll. . . ’ said Anji – then decided not to push her luck. ‘You’re forgiven,’
she said. ‘So. . . ?’
‘I shall take you to Sir Lancelet this instant, My Lady!’ the knight declared, jumping to his feet.
So Anji followed him down the stone corridor.
It turned out that Lancelet was still in the round-table room, with the triplets.
There was no sign of Hanstrum or Xernic. One of the girls – the one in the blue dress – leapt to her feet when she saw Anji. ‘What are you doing?’ she screeched at Anji’s accompanying knight. ‘You were supposed to have killed her!’
As the knight looked puzzled, Lancelet jumped to his feet and unsheathed his sword. ‘Never fear, My Ladies, I shall rid you of this sorceress!’
Anji crossed her fingers, and pulled out the sonic screwdriver again. This Nights at the Round Table
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time she was more careful. This was the big one, the one that counted. ‘Frequency 47. . . twist and. . . point!’
Sir Lancelet staggered backwards. ‘I. . . I. . . ’
‘My love,’ said Anji, trying not to think about what she was saying – because she didn’t mean it, but it was still difficult – ‘it is I, Gwinnyveer. I have come to rescue you from the dread enchantment placed upon you by these enchantresses, Morgan, Leigh and Fay.’
‘Don’t listen to her!’ yelled blue-dress. ‘She’s not Gwinnyveer! There isn’t a Gwinnyveer! We never made one! She’s the enchantress!’
But Lancelet was looking at Anji. ‘Gwinnyveer? My love?’ He sheathed his sword and scooped Anji up in his arms.
‘Stopitthekingmightseeus!’ hissed Anji, desperately. She couldn’t bear to be embraced by another man, even if he was made of plastic. Luckily there was a fictional justification for that.
‘The King is away, My Lady.’ He smiled at her encouragingly. Anji wondered if that was in his programming. According to the Doctor’s guidebook there was a King Arthur android around here, it was just that the triplets probably hadn’t resurrected him, so Sir Knight here had to be trying to pull a fast one.
Adulterous androids – now there was a thing. She briefly wondered if, for example, her kettle had a bit on the side with her toaster when the percolator was switched off, something like that. She’d never look at her appliances the same way again. If, of course, she ever got to see them again full stop.
The blue-robed triplet had come over and was pulling on Lancelet’s arm.
‘She’s enchanted you! Can’t you see it? She’s cast a spell on you! She’s evil!
What are you doing?’ This last was squeaked at Anji, who was waving the sonic screwdriver at Lancelet again.
‘They’re the evil ones!’
Anji insisted.
‘They’re Morgan, Leigh and Fay!
Lancelet – darling!’ she added with difficulty, taking his other arm herself.
‘You have to believe me!’
‘I would never doubt you, sweet lady of my heart,’ he declared, and called out, ‘Knights! To me!’
The girl in the blue dress seemed to have realised she wasn’t winning. She let go of Lancelet’s arm – but he grabbed hers. ‘Where do you think you’re going, sorceress?’ he said, menacingly.
The other triplets – one in green and one in orange – had obviously sized up the situation too. They were almost at the door when a horde of knights arrived. ‘Stop them!’ roared Lancelet, and the knights, in some confusion, did so.
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Lancelet turned to address them all. Anji waved the sonic screwdriver at them, just in case. ‘My brothers,’ he declared, ‘we have been under the most terrible enchantment from these evil sorceresses, Morgan, Leigh and Fay. But thanks to our good lady Gwinnyveer –’ he gestured