User:Morwen/Kingmaker

Kingmaker synopsis

no really, i mean it there are horrible horrible spoilers. don't read this.

1
Peri and Erimem are watching a performance of William Shakespeare's Richard III, which disintegrates due to heckling.

Meanwhile, the Fifth Doctor is ranting at himself about Shakespeare, who has just been drinking and arguing with. A robot arrives in the TARDIS and tells the Doctor that he has missed the deadline for a manuscript, and that "your contract has been violated", and proceeds to give the Doctor a warning that if he does not provide the manuscript, he will be eliminated.

Peri and Erimem arrive back at the TARDIS and notice the robot. The Doctor explains that, after the events of Terror of the Zygons, he became a minor celebrity for a while and wrote a series of children's books (intended to be "The Doctor, who discovers" series, but due to a graphic design error, being the "Doctor Who discovers" series). The robot has come from a distant future (64th century) where there is a single publishing company that has bought out all others, and has started to use time travel to enforce contracts with long-dead authors. The Doctor has one book remaining in his contract to write: "Doctor Who Discovers Historical Mysteries" - which is why he is researching the mystery of the Princes in the Tower. XXX He'd travelled back in time to ask Shakespeare for his sources for the play Richard III, but it turns out that Shakespeare had in fact just made up what didn't come from Thomas More, and had given him a piece of his mind after drinking with him. He explains that in the 20th century, suspicion had arisen that Richard III did not kill the Princes in the Tower (his nephews), and that Henry Tudor had been fingered as a possible candidate. The Doctor resolves to travel to 1485 to find out first-hand.

In 1483, Richard, the Duke of Gloucester (Richard III, the Lord Protector) and Henry Stafford, have found the party of Earl Rivers and the princes Edward and Richard, at Buckinghamshire (Stony Stratford). Richard III suggests that he take the princes into his care, but this is refused. They decide to stay at the nearby "inn" (the Rose and Crown?). Gloucester and Buckingham hear the sound of a TARDIS landing.

The Doctor lands in 1485, and leaves. He arranges to meet Peri and Erimem (who decide to instead change costumes), at The Kingmaker on Fleet Street, near St Paul's Cathedral in three hours time. Soon after he leaves, Peri and Erimem notice that Tardis making a landing sound again, and then leave. They note that it doesn't look like London outside, and there is no sign of the Doctor. "It's gone wrong, again". They discover a body in some trees.

Meanwhile, a Mr. Seyton, claiming to be a time travelling sorceror, comes out of the TARDIS, and is apprehended by Buckingham, and requests to see Gloucester. Gloucester asks him if he is the Doctor - Seyton knows him and asks more but Gloucester quickly denies this. Seyton tries to persuade Gloucester, by telling him of a play William Shakespeare will write in the 16th century, which sees Gloucester faithfully protect his nephew, Edward V, and ultimately executed, leading to the downfall of the English monarchy. Seyton says that this may be averted if Gloucester kills the young princes.

The Doctor arrives at the Kingmaker, and enters into conversation with Susan and Judith, sisters and "serving-wenches" at the Inn. He asks how Edward V is doing, and Susan tells him he was deposed, but that the young princes are fine, in the Tower. The Doctor asks to be shown the princes, and Susan and Judith take him to see them playing tennis by the Garden Tower. The Doctor is rather confused as the last sighting of the princes in the historical record was in 1484, but here they are, alive and well, in 1485.

Peri and Erimem are waiting for the Doctor in the Kingmaker, being three days late. Peri notes that they will not tell the Doctor who they found in the forest, or who they met in the inn, but that they will probably have to tell him that the TARDIS is missing. Erimem hopes they didn't change history with their actions in those three days. Peri assures her it should be fine, and consults her historical notes, but then realises but then discovers that all the events they witnessed took place in 1483, rather than 1485.

The Doctor is still waiting at the Kingmaker, but Peri and Erimem have not yet turned up. He chats with the inn-keeper, Clarry, and discovers in conversation that he had met Erimem, a couple of years ago.

2
The Doctor learns more of Peri and Erimem: they had worked at the Inn for about 6 months ago, but had had to dismiss them to provide room and board for his two nieces (Susan and Judith) as a family favour.

Peri decides to write a letter to the Doctor, leaving it with Clarry to deliver after the Doctor arrives, asking what they should do.

Meanwhile, back in 1483, Peri & Erimem wonder how the Doctor is to reply, then suddenly Clarry remembers a "northern chap with big ears" left them a letter in about 1481. The letter tells them to return to the TARDIS and to operate an emergency switch he described, and also encloses a note to give to his future self to remind him to give it to Clarry when he next passes through the 15th century. They reply, saying "the TARDIS has vanished. is it alright to panic now?" The Doctor replies again saying to "keep your heads down" and that he is on the 1st August, 1485, and that he'll try to find them in 1485. He warns them not to try to find out the identity of the Princes in the Tower, but suggests they could work at the Inn for a while.

The Doctor, having searched in the city for his companions and the Tardis, returns to the Kingmaker late at night, and takes a room. After a while with his thoughts, he notices Clarry leave the inn in the middle of the night, and decides to trail him. Clarry leads the Doctor into a trap, meeting up with King Richard III, and Sir James Tyrell knocks the Doctor out.

The Doctor wakes up in a cell, with one other occupant: Henry Stafford, who has been imprisoned due to a small rebellion he led against the king. The Doctor mentions that he's lost his friends Peri and Erimem - Stafford notes he has met them, 18 months ago, in Stony Stratford.

Back in 1483 (in the missing 3 days), Peri and Erimem find a body... a boy. He is alive.

Buckingham asks Gloucester what Mr. Seiton had said: Gloucester is vague. Seiton will come with the party, and his travelling machine will be placed on a cart. News arrives that the Prince has gone missing, out of the window, but before they are able to arrange a search, Peri and Erimem arrive, with boy they'd found in the forest (the young King Edward V). They are left alone to tend to the boy, and realise his identity.

Gloucester and Buckingham discuss this incident - if Edward had made it back to London it could have been a good deal of trouble for Gloucester.

Peri and Erimem attempt to make the prince comfortable, before they head to London to meet the Doctor. After examining him they come to the conclusion that the young prince is in fact a robot.

Peri and Erimem vanished the next morning. Buckingham explains that nobody really noticed, as Richard was behaving unlike himself. After checking on the prince, he'd had several people randomly arrested and released, and executed Hastings. He also declared the princes to be illegitimate, explaining only that "information has come to light that changes everything", and soon took the Crown himself, with Mr. Seiton acting as his public relations officer.

Richard asks after Peri & Erimem, who have not been seen since they left the party at Stony Stratford. He says he would like them to become maids to the princes, and for Buckingham to find them. Buckingham and Tyrell discuss Seiton, the new advisor to the king, with Buckingham thinking about a revolution to remove Seiton. Meanwhile, Seiton advises killing the princes in the Tower, in case they were rescued, and could be used as puppets by their mother's family.

Back in the cell, the Doctor attempts to escape from his chains, and realises the identify of Stafford, seeming rather surprised. King Richard III enters, noting that the Duke of Buckingham, in the original timeline was killed in November 1483. Richard III knows a lot about the Doctor, from Mr. Seiton, including that he travels in time and space in a machine, and also that he is finding out whether he kills the princes or not.

Buckingham continues his story, claiming that Richard has killed Peri & Erimem.

Back in the pub in 1483, Peri & Erimem are working as serving wenches. Buckingham discovers them there, [...]

3
Peri & Erimem made to pretend to be the princes in the Tower, playing tennis etc

The Doctor and Richard talk, Richard notes he is a kind of temporal tourist attraction and has learned of the Doctor through encounters with aliens. He played along with Seiton at first in order to get more information about the Doctor and now seems very well briefed. He notes that in recorded history, the princes died, and offers the Doctor the choice of ordering the execution of the occupants of the tower himself, or set them free. The Doctor sees through this, and asks Tyrell to set his companions free.

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4
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