It's not exactly a yacht, like I know a yacht is supposed to be. The enormous golden sails don't catch the wind like most yachts do, but instead they catch something that the Doctor called solar turbulence which is just basically fancy sunlight. And we're not floating on any water either 'cause the yacht-that-isn't-quite-a-yacht is flying through the air. It's a little like when Peter Pan stole Captain Hook's ship, expect the Doctor says that Peter Pan was really an alien from the planet Barrie and he was using an anti-gravity field instead of pixie dust but Captain Hook was an escaped criminal and an alien too so it's not really stealing. I don't know how we're breathing but I bet the Doctor would call that science too. 'Cause we're not in Hawai'i or the Caribbean and it's definitely not sunny outside with lots of colourful drinks to sip.
This is outer space, like where the stars and the rockets and the planets are, and we can see them all. The Doctor says we're near Clom and the last place we left was Raxacorricofallapatorious-I-think, and we're on our way to Florana, which has seas that are like milk. Raxacorico-whatever had dark pink hills. The yacht is called Seren, which the Doctor says means 'Star' in Welsh. He doesn't know why a ship miles from Wales has a Welsh name but he's going to check a book when we get home. And we're stowaways which means we're not supposed to be on the not-yacht at all so the Doctor says if anyone asks, my names is Miss Smith. He looked very pleased with his idea and even happier when I said I should call him Dad if anyone asked too. I wonder if he's a Dad.
My name's actually Amelia Pond, and I'm seven years old. But I've done loads of things that seven year olds don't get to do. I come from Leadworth, which is in England, which is in Europe, and the Doctor would say that it's important that I say 'that's on Earth, twenty first century' too. I've got an aunt - but she's never at home - and I don't have a Mum or a Dad 'cause they disappeared, but I live with the Doctor in his big blue box that travels in space anyway so that doesn't matter. He's a bit crazy but he's more fun than an aunty who doesn't sound Scottish like I do. He doesn't sound Scottish either, but he's not an imaginary friend. The Doctor's box - he calls it his TARDIS - travels in time too, and he told me I could have one journey to anywhere I wanted - anywhere at all - but one journey turned into more. I don't really want to go home yet, and I don't think the Doctor remembers I'm supposed to go home. I bet my aunt doesn't miss me. I'm grown up for my age; I know these things.
We stowed away on the space-yacht 'cause the Doctor got a message from the future saying that he should be on the ship because something's going to happen. We don't know what that something is - the Doctor called it a fixed point - but he knows when it's going to happen - he's silly but he's good at saving the day - so we parked the TARDIs on the storage deck and pretended to be passengers on the tour. The Doctor says I don't need to worry about anything but be careful anyway, 'cause this isn't really a holiday. He's promised to take me to Space Florida one day instead; the book he showed me says it has automatic sand and that at Disneyland Mickey is a Mamot (that's an alien). It's been two days since we got on the yacht and the Doctor keeps on showing his psychic paper to people so we can buy food and stuff but nothing's happened yet. I think the Doctor's starting to get bored too. But he has to be here to save the day. And like I said, he will.
The problem is right now, although nothing's happened yet, I think it's about to happen. 'Cause the man in front of me, he's holding out something that looks like the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, 'cept it doesn't look as safe. And I think I'm in trouble. To be honest, I'm not scared, but I kind of wish the Doctor was here too.
"You're Amelia Pond? I knew he liked blonds but, well, this is getting ridiculous!" He grinned, and came closer. "You're just a kid!"
I swallowed, and tried to take a step back without him noticing. How did this man know my name? I hadn't spoken to him. Not 'cause I'm not supposed to speak to strangers, but 'cause I don't like the look of him. He looks human but then so does the Doctor. At least the Doctor looks friendly. I lifted my chin, staring - glaring - into the man's laughing eyes, and stood on my tiptoes to show him I wasn't scared. I wasn't.
"The Doctor will save me."
"Oh he will, will he Miss Pond?"
The man walked forward, and it reminded me of the big dog down the street, the one that always slobbered. I hadn't seen it since the old man who owned it had gone into hospital. I fell off of my tiptoes and stepped further back, getting ready to run. Even a brave girl has to run when a big man comes towards her. Stranger danger, according to my teacher. And the Doctor. He told me if I see anything scary, run behind him, 'cause the monsters are scared of him not the other way around. And then if has to run I'm to hold his hand and not let go and run as fast follow him and run as fast as he can. I took a deep breath as I reached the door that led back up to the deck, where I'd only just left the Doctor, then quickly turned and grabbed it with both hands and yanked it open. the man shouted angrily, but I did my best to slam the door shut behind me, and kept on running even when he followed me.
I had to find the Doctor. That was obvious. It was just difficult, with only the light of the stars and the funny big blue thing that shone on the left that the Doctor called an asteroid, and lots of sailors with too many arms or orange slime or lots of spots. one even had a parrot with pink feathers, but the passengers weren't meant to be on deck, so the Doctor said it didn't matter how they looked. I think it was fun and people should have been more brave and come to have a look. But I had to be brave now, dodging sailors, desperately trying to find my raggedy Doctor in his tweed and bow tie. He had to be here somewhere, he had to -
The stranger grabbed my arm, and spun me around. He looked furious, and a little out of breath, but delighted to have caught me. I didn't like that look in his face; happiness. It seemed out of place. He fiddled in his black suit and tie - the way Rory had on photo day and he'd said it was choking him like a boa constrictor - then poked his screwdriver into my chest, so hard that it hurt. My back bumped into one of the masts, and a sailor came over to see if I was okay when I cried out, but one glare from the man and he left in a hurry. I glared at the sailor's back then scowled at the bad guy. He was probably the reason the Doctor and I were here at all. At least the Doctor would be happy I'd found him.
"Who are you?"
"Oh, hasn't the doctor told you? Poor Amelia...!" He pouted, and a shiver ran down my spine like a wet ice cube. I tried not to cry. "I'm the Master." He grabbed the front of my red coat like a bully, lifting me right off my fee. I struggled, and he laughed again, and I did the only thing that I could do as I grabbed onto his arm. "Say goodbye to your precious Doctor, Miss Po-aargh!"
I bit him. He dropped me, but I didn't have far to fall, and as he wrapped his hand around the torn skin I ducked under a sail to run. The Master growled, and turned to chase me, but he didn't duck under the sail like I did. He ran into the wood, and hit the deck with a loud thump, and I slid across the ground to turn around and see what had happened to him. I slid into the Doctor, too, who must have heard me shouting and come running. He took one look at me, then one at the Master lying with his eyes shut on the ground, then raised one eyebrow and folded his arms. He crouched down to my height.
"What did you do, Pond?"
"I bit him."
"You bit him?" The Doctor blinked, then chuckled, rubbing his neck and making his purple bow tie sit even more squint than usual. Then he put his hand on my cheek and rapped his knuckles on my forehead. "How sharp are your teeth, Pond, if you knocked him out?"
"He hit the sail!"
"Of course he did." The Doctor winked as though I'd just told him a secret, then picked me up, putting me on his back and crouching down in front of the Master. He put one hand on one side of the Master's chest, and then the other, then sighed sadly. "He's alive." He stood up straight and made sure I was steady, and I snuggled my face into the Doctor's neck. I was allowed to be scared, if even the Doctor was scared of the Master. The Doctor turned his head to look at me, then bounced once, turning back towards the stairs. A few of the sailors - including the one who had seen me, ran over to the Master, picking him up and tying his hands. The Doctor carried me down the stairs as I yawned deeply, moving me into his arms. "Come on Pond. Let's tell the Captain you caught a dangerous stowaway!"
"Aren't we stowaways?" I yawned, and held onto the Doctor's front. Fighting bad guys makes you sleepy. The Doctor nodded, and leaned in to whisper in my ear.
"Oh yes. But we're the good kind."