It was a clear and starry night. The majestic palace banished the darkness around it with it's brightly lit windows and flames running along the main path leading up to it. Terrified screams, however, suddenly shattered the peaceful night as inside the palace the numerous occupants ran for their lives. Dressed in elaborate Regency style clothing with glittering masquerade masks covering their faces they ran down the many corridors of the palace in terror. Whatever was pursuing them was close behind as their shadows could be seen on the panelled wall behind them whilst and odd ticking noise could be heard growing louder. In an large and beautiful bedroom just off the main corridor a man and woman were taking temporary shelter.
"We are under attack! There are creatures! I don't even think they're human! We cannot stop them!" The man, who had short brown hair and was dressed in a red velvet tailcoat, insisted and looked as if he wanted to try and flee but at the same time didn't want to leave the woman. The woman, dressed in a white and gold ball gown with her blond hair held up in a bejewelled clip, didn't move.
"The clock is broken he's coming" She told him, looking at the large gold clock on the mantelpiece above the room's main fireplace. The glass casing covering the clock's face was smashed. More screams rand out. "Did you hear what I said?" The man said more urgently as he marched over to her. The woman turned to him and took hold of his hands.
"Listen to me there is a man coming to Versailles, he has watched over me my whole life and he will not desert me tonight" She told him determinedly.
"What are you talking about? What man?" The man asked.
"The only man, save you, I have ever loved," She told him. "No don't look like that there's no time you have your duties I am your mistress go to your queen" She ordered him as she went back to the over to the fireplace. Crouching down so that she was level with the fire she seemed to be looking past it as if there was something beyond the flames.
"Are you there? Can you hear me? I need you now you promised! The clock on the mantel is broken! It is time! Doctor! Doctor!" She shouted, not to the man, but to someone else not yet there.
Three thousand years later in another calm sky of stars was a large spaceship. It was hovering peacefully in the vastness of space in silence. That was until the faint whooshing noise of the Tardis landing filled the air.
As it finished materialising the Doctor stepped out, followed closely by Mickey, Rose and Peter, who shut the ship's door behind him.
"It's a spaceship! Brilliant I got a spaceship on my first go!" Mickey said excitedly as they looked around the vast and seemingly empty ship.
"Looks kinda abandoned? Anyone on board?" Peter asked.
"Na, nothing here well, nothing dangerous well, not that dangerous, you know what I'll just have a quick scan, in case there's anything dangerous" The Doctor said as he began fiddling with a control panel in front of him.
"So what's the date? How far have we gone?" Rose asked as she walked up to him.
"About three thousand years into your future give or take" The Doctor replied as he pulled a particular lever on the control panel which lit up the surrounding lights and opened up the metal shields of the roof above, leaving a large sheet of glass over it so that the sky above could be seen. It was a breathtaking view of stars and galaxies that were surrounding the ship. "Fifty first century Diamarg Cluster, your a long way from home Mickey, two an a half galaxies" He added as they all stared up at the view. Mickey then went over to a smaller window and stared out with a stunned expression on his face.
"Mickey Smith meet the universe" Rose told him as she stood looking over his shoulder with a grin as the Doctor looked around the rubbish that was littering the floor. near the Tardis. "See anything you like?" Rose asked Mickey as he got over his shock.
"It's so realistic" He replied as he glanced back at her for a moment before looking back as Rose turned and grinned at Peter, who smiled at Mickey's ecstatic reaction.
"Dear me there's been some cowboys in here" The Doctor said as he continued to look around. "There's a ton of repair work going on" He added as Rose, Mickey and Peter came over. "That's odd? Look at that, all the warp engines are going?" The Doctor continued, pointing at a screen with showed a 3D model of the ship which had a red pulse rippling over it. "At full capacity? There's enough power running through this ship to punch a hole in the universe and we're not moving?" He told them as he looked around, sounding confused.
"So where's all the power going?" Peter asked.
"Where'd all the crew go?" Rose asked too.
"Good questions, nothing on this ship could take that much power and no life readings on board" The Doctor answered as he looked at the screens and control panels.
"Well we're in deep space they didn't just nip out for a quick fag" Rose said sarcastically.
"Nope checked all the smoking pods" The Doctor replied, not catching her sarcasm.
"Can you smell that? Smells like someone's cooking" Peter suddenly asked as he sniffed the air. After a few moments everyone else picked up the smell too.
"Yeah Sunday roast definitely" Mickey added as the Doctor flicked a switch on the control panel, causing a door behind them all to slide open. "Now, there's something you don't see in your average spaceship" He said when they all saw what was in the room behind the door. On one of the walls was a beautifully decorated wooden and lit fireplace with a large golden clock on it's mantelpiece.
"Eighteenth century, French, nice mantle" The Doctor said as they walked up to it before he started scanning it with the Sonic Screwdriver. "Not a hologram not even a reproduction this is actually an eighteenth century French fireplace, double sided there's another room through there" He added as Rose looked out of a small window on the same wall as the fireplace and saw nothing but the starry space sky outside.
"Can't be? That's the outer hull of the ship look" She told him. But something else had distracted the Doctor.
"Hello" He suddenly said cheerily.
"Hello" A young girls voice replied.
"What's your name?" The Doctor asked as he looked past the fire. Crouching down besides him Peter and Mickey saw, much to their amazement, a young girl with long blond hair dressed in a white night gown kneeling down opposite them on the other side of the flames.
"Reinette" She replied.
"Reinette that's a lovely name, can you tell me where you are at the moment?" The Doctor asked as Rose also bend down and saw her.
"In my bedroom" She replied, sounding a little confused.
"And where is your bedroom? Where do you live Reinette?" The Doctor asked.
"Paris of course" Reinette said, making it sound obvious.
"Paris right" The Doctor replied with a smile.
"Monsieur? What are you doing in my fireplace?" Reinette asked, sounding both confused and intrigued at the same time.
"Oh just a routine, fire check can you tell me what year it is?" The Doctor asked back.
"Of course I can, seventeen hundred and twenty seven" Reinette said brightly.
"Right lovely one of my favourites, August is rubbish though stay indoors, ok that's all for now thanks for you help and enjoy the rest of your fire night night" The Doctor replied as he and the others stood up.
"Good night Monsieur" Reinette's voice was heard to say as the Doctor turned to face Rose, Peter and Mickey.
"You said this was the fifty first century?" Mickey said, sounding confused.
"I also said this ship was generating enough power to punch a hole in the universe I think we've just found the hole, must be a spacial hyper time link" The Doctor replied as he considered what was going on.
"What's that?" Mickey asked, sounding as though it could be a bad thing.
"Don't know just made it up don't want to say magic door" The Doctor replied.
"And on the other side of the, magic door, is France in seventeen twenty seven?" Rose asked. The Doctor nodded.
"Well, she was speaking French, right period French too" He told them as he walked back over to the control room to take off his coat and setting it aside before coming back over to the fireplace.
"She was speaking English I heard her" Mickey insisted.
"That's the Tardis it translates for you" Peter explained. .
"Even French?" Mickey asked.
"Yes even French" Peter sighed. The Doctor seemed to be looking for something on the fireplace as he ran a hand underneath the mantelpiece.
"Got ya!" He suddenly exclaimed as he seemed to hit a hidden switch which caused the fireplace to rotate around, taking the Doctor with it.
"Doctor!" Rose called out as she, Peter and Mickey ran up to it. But it was too late as the opposite fireplace clicked into place. As the Doctor came to a halt he found himself in a richly decorated child's bedroom. Reinette herself was asleep in her bed in the dark peace of the night, interrupted only by a loud clicking of a nearby clock. The Doctor walked over to the window and peeped out. He saw a snowy eighteenth century Paris with Notre Dame Cathedral visible in the distance as the sounds of horses and carriages found it's way through the windows. As a particularly loud whinny from a horse sounded the Doctor heard a gasp from behind him and turned to see Reinette sitting up in bed looking fearfully at him.
"It's ok don't scream! It's me it's the fireplace man look" He told her as he lit a nearby candle with the Sonic. "We were talking just a moment ago I was in your fireplace" He reminded her.
"Monsieur, that was weeks ago that was months" She replied, still sounding a little spooked and confused.
"Really, oh" The Doctor said as he walked back over to the fireplace. "Must be a loose connection," He said as he bent over and tapped on the wood of the mantelpiece. "Need to get a man in" He added as he looked back at her.
"Who are you? And what are you doing here?" Reinette asked, sounding scared. But the Doctor didn't answer her, instead he seemed very interested by the large golden clock on the mantelpiece. He noticed for the first time that it had a smashed face and was not working.
"Ok that's scary" He said quietly as he stood looking at it.
"Your scared of a broken clock?" Reinette asked.
"Just a bit scared yeah just a little tiny bit cause you see if this clock's broken and it's the only clock in the room," The Doctor began as he glanced around the room for a moment. "Then what's that?" He asked, indicating the ticking sound that was still making a noise.