Amelia turned a corner, huffing. Why wouldn’t the mob let up? She risked a peek around the corner and someone spotted her. Cursing her red hair, she spun around and scrambled, tripping over a sheep.

“Oh, forgive the little thing,” a shepherd started to say, as he caught a glimpse of Amy and his eyes went wide. “Please, you must wait.”

“No time, shepherd boy.”

Amy took off at a sprint. Why was everyone chasing her? She was going to try and backtrack to the inn she’d begun the chase at and see if she could lose them that way. Maybe there was a barn or a stable she could hide in until she figured out how to go about locating Rory or the Doctor.

The Fire-Haired One

Elam ran around the corner, almost knocking over Rory.

“Rory! Yeah, I found her, the fire-haired one. She tumbled over the little one I was chasing, and when I tried to stop her, she ran.”

“That is so like her. Which way did she go?”

Elam gestured, and Haran nodded. “Good, because that is where the star is heading. So our paths continue together.” Clapping his hand on Rory’s back, the shepherd led the way.

300 Cavalry Is Not an Escort

At the priests’ encampment, the Doctor leapt from behind Balthazar.

“You have an army!”

“Nothing of the kind. Simply an escort.”

“You call 300 heavily armed cavalry an escort? Blimey.”

“Balthazar, we did not protest when you brought him along. But who is he?”

Balthazar removed the parchment from his tunic and handed it over. Melchior and Gaspar looked at it, then up at the Doctor.

“By the very heavens. Forgive our impertinence, angel.”

“Now, now, stop it. I’m the Doctor. I’m not an angel, just a traveler from afar. What did that man want from you?”

“Only one thing. He asked us to point him toward the child you predicted would be marked by the coming of the star.”

“Predicted? Me? What star?”

Gaspar pointed, and the Doctor followed his arm till he saw it in the sky. Shining bright as any star, only lower in the sky, was the TARDIS.

“Uh oh.”

“That’s why it stopped. Don’t you see? You were lost searching for him, but he’s there.”

The King’s Soldiers

The Doctor stopped cold and slowly looked at Gaspar. “Are any of your cavalry on the move?”

Gaspar looked over at the others, who shook their heads no.

“So why do I feel the approach of soldiers?”

A cry went up from afar as a guard in Asian-influenced armor came running up to Melchior. “The king has sent a contingent from his palace. They will be here in moments.”

The Doctor spun around and looked toward the TARDIS star, and the city it was over.

“Balth, I need you to believe me. That’s not your proper king. He’s been possessed by a creature.”

Balthazar kissed his thumb. “A demon?”

“An alien. It seeks to kill the child you’re searching for.”

“Then we will go and draw them away.”

“Brothers, we are in the presence of an angel of the Lord. I will take the men and draw them away.”

“I’m not an angel.”

“We three shall ride onward into Bethlehem and find the child by his star.”

“Yeah, that star is the…” The Doctor caught himself in the expectant eyes of the three wise men. “Never mind. It’s a star. But we really should go.”

Fresh camels were brought in, and when Gaspar had said his final farewells, the wise men and the Doctor took off at a run. Behind them the cavalry, led by Gaspar, moved off in the opposite direction.

This is Part 12 of First Christmas, a Doctor Who Christmas story by Mr. Know-It-All. Where do you think Amy ends up hiding? The conversation lives in the comments on the video above.