Once Upon a Galaxy
Summary: In the kingdom of Albanero, a young princess searches for the answer to save her land. At the beginning of her journey she meets a man who travels in a blue box, and he agrees to help her with her quest. A fairytale starring the Tenth Doctor and Rose.
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. That all belongs to BBC.
Author's Note; I got inspired to write this after watching Once Upon a Time. I may pull ideas and influences from that show, as well as try to tie in subtle things from the Doctor Who franchise, but the majority of this story will be made up of my own accord, and will hopefully be a rather exciting adventure of love and magic. Enjoy!
Once Upon a Time
The doors to the TARDIS shut behind him. He turned back, almost hesitant to walk away from it, but there was something inside of him that was egging him forward, insisting he continue through the woods and find what awaited him. With a sigh the Doctor stepped on twigs and dirt. He heard the distant buzz of bees and the cooing of doves as he passed tree after tree, trying to figure out where in the world the TARDIS had landed him.
He was supposed to be in Fiendore – a planet known for its brilliant sunset and enchanted waters. The Doctor had planned on resting there after a particularly hazardous endeavor on a distant satellite two thousand years in the future. The TARDIS had almost been lost and he barely escaped unscathed, and he decided that, for once, he would rest for a day before continuing on and traveling amongst the stars.
This was most definitely NOT Fiendore. The forest alone told him that. It was sunset and it most definitely not brilliant, and the smell in the air was almost smoky. There was no water anywhere he could see. He wasn't sure why he felt so drawn to this place, and the logical part of him told him he should probably turn around. The adventurous idiot in him, however, was moving his legs further away from the blue police box and toward an unknown land.
A boulder stood in his path as he continued on. His brow furrowed and he thought about using his sonic screwdriver to just blow it up and make it easier for him to maneuver through, but the second he held it in front of him he was stopped by ten guards who had been hiding in the trees. They held bayonets and were dressed in chainmail, complete with a metal helmet and a beaver drawn to cover their faces. The Doctor's eyes widened as the men raced toward him.
"ARMS UP." One cried, and the Doctor knew he had to comply or he would be shot at. Reluctantly he raised his palms and gave the soldiers a cheeky grin.
"Hello!" I said. "I'm the Doctor, sorry to bother you but I was—" he began to say. One guard cut him off by raising his bayonet to the Doctor's throat and applying just enough pressure to his Adam's apple that talking became exceedingly difficult.
"Take him to his Majesty." Another commanded and all the guards let out a gruff noise as two of them grabbed hold of the Doctor's arms and began to drag him along. The one guard kept his bayonet placed securely on the Doctor's throat so he couldn't try to protest, but his mind was running at a thousand miles an hour trying to figure out how to work this out.
They traveled away from the forest in silence. The only noise the Doctor heard was the synchronized steps each soldier took, and the occasional clank of a bayonet against a stone or another soldier. He watched his surroundings carefully, noting each tree and each landmark as a way to get back to the TARDIS when the time came. As they continued on, however, the landmarks blurred together and the Doctor began to feel a fuzzy feeling cloud his train of thought. He was growing tired, something that never ever happened, and annoyance began to rise in his stomach as they approached iron gates fifteen feet tall.
Two soldiers dressed in military garb waited on either side of the gate door. Swords were enclosed in a sheath against their hip and they had a serious, if not mechanical, look plastered on their face as the other guards approached with the Doctor. One gave the soldiers a nod and pounded his chest, and the soldier stepped aside and allowed the group access to the gates. They swung open with a small creak and the guards led the Doctor down an abandoned street that smelled of urine and blood. The Doctor noticed the tavern lights were on and he could hear the shouts of drunken men from behind the walls. Children were carrying a bucket of brown water from the well back to their home, and the Doctor cringed when he saw how thin they were. An old butcher was tossing out so much rotten meat it began to give the Doctor a stomach ache, and he could see a group of prostitutes talking to a creepy old man by an alleyway. As they walked through the darkness the smell began to dilute itself. The Doctor realized they were moving away from the common part of the village and up through a small hill that had a church on one side of it. The bell rang against the silent air, echoing and alerting the people above and below that a new hour had begun. The Doctor waited and let himself continue to be dragged through the fields of grass up to the top of a hill, where an ominous castle prominently sat, overlooking the entire valley below.
His stomach was churning. He knew he should wait to be properly introduced before he tried to do anything by means of escaping. As the castle's moat was lowered and the iron bars with menacing teeth were raised to allow everyone inside, the Doctor felt his hearts quicken. He needed to meet the king they were taking him to, explain the misunderstanding, and be on his way. Although, he wasn't entirely sure what planet he was on, so there was a voice in his head telling him it might not be so black and white.
The stone ground was cold even through the Doctor's chucks, and that was the first time he noticed just how crisp the air was. His breath was almost ice as he exhaled, and his cheeks were beginning to feel the effects of the nipping of the air, and his hair was most likely frosted over at the tips. He smirked to himself, thinking this could be a new trend he could try and set once he left this place. Nothing lit their way but some lanterns that dangled from wrought iron hooks against the stone walls.
Seven of the ten soldiers took their posts along the hallway as they brought the Doctor closer to the King's meeting room. The marble doors seemed out of place against the stone walls, and one soldier gave a special code by tapping his bayonet against the doors and they swung open. Before him, the Doctor could see a man in a long ruby cape lined with soft fur sitting on a very extravagant throne.
"My lord," the soldier at the front addressed. "We have an intruder to our land." He said. The man, whom the Doctor could only assume was the King, raised his eyes very slowly and placed them on the Doctor. He remained calm and nodded his head, urging the soldier to continue speaking.
"He was found in the woods. Wandering around and heading toward our village." He said. Once again, the King nodded. "He says his name is the Doctor."
The King's mouth twisted into a sadistic smile.
"Doctor Who?" he asked. His voice sent a chill down the Doctor's spine. It was low and reverberated against the walls. Snake-like, that was the only way to describe it. The Doctor's face broke into a grin regardless. He loved when people asked him that question.
"Just the Doctor." He replied. The man in the cape smirked and sat up a little in his throne.
"Well, then, Doctor…" he began, making sure to put extra emphasis on his name. "What do you want in Albanero?" The Doctor's eyes widened.
"Albanero? What planet is that on?" he asked, very interested. The King gave him a quizzical look and relaxed in his seat.
"I ask the questions, Doctor." He said. The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "Now, what do you want with my kingdom?" he asked again.
"Nothing. I simply mixed up some things on my ship and am in the wrong place at the wrong time." He said, adding a wink at the end. Charm them into obliging, that was his philosophy. The King stared at Doctor again, and his mouth began to curve downward in a most severe frown.
"I made traveling by sea impossible in this realm." He bellowed, rising out of his throne and whisking down the stairs so he was face to face with the Doctor. The Doctor began to feel caution rise inside of him. Something about this man wasn't right, but rather than interrogate him he decided to play along, to test his bait and see where it would lead him.
"Noooooo!" he said almost mockingly. "I didn't sail on a ship. I came on my TARDIS, actually. If you let me go I will go back to it and get out of your hair." He promised. The King growled and turned his attention to the soldiers.
"Lock him in the dungeons." He commanded. The Doctor groaned.
"I promise if you just let me back to my ship I'll go." The Doctor urged as the soldiers reapplied their grip on his arms. The King was not listening. He was traveling back to sit down in his throne and gave a wave of his hand. The soldiers opened the doors and pulled the Doctor along with them. They took him down a series of old wooden stairs and threw him, quite literally, into a dank cellar with nothing but a small window so high up the Doctor could barely see out of it. There was nothing to light it but a torch, but its fire was nearly dead. The soldiers didn't say anything as they shut the cellar door and walked back up the stairs. The Doctor sighed.
"Dammit." He whispered. Something bad was happening here. He had never heard of the kingdom of Albanero before, and he certainly had no idea what kind of creatures lived in it. The King looked human, but then again so did he, so there was no telling what species he actually was.
The King, the Doctor had noted, was also not a very nice man. He was able to put two and two together, and it was leaving him with a sinking feeling in his stomach. The village was dark and under kept. It smelled horrid, and the only glimpse of life he had seen was not in good shape. Where was the food? Where were the people? It was a dark kingdom, the castle alone was enough to make that clear, and there didn't appear to be any hope of redemption so long as it was ruled by this man. There was something about this King that gave the Doctor an uneasy feeling. Somehow he doubted the exclusion of sea-travel in this realm was the worst thing he had done, or was yet to do.
Realm. The King had said this was a realm. There was only one planet the Doctor knew of that had multiple realms and that thought made his heart leap to his throat.
Earth.
He hadn't been to Earth in years. It wasn't a choice he consciously made, he had just been preoccupied with other planets and other grand adventures. But he had always had the best adventures on Earth, and the thought of being back gave him a giddy rush of adrenaline despite the circumstances he found himself in.
If this was Earth, then most likely the King and everyone else here was human. If this was Earth, it wasn't the ninth dimension, where his past companions like Sarah Jane lived. This was a different world entirely, and most likely a world the Doctor knew nothing about. This made him groan. He still had his sonic and he knew that meant he could easily escape this cellar, go back to the TARDIS and leave before he has a true problem on his hands, but he is the Doctor. He can sense danger a mile away, and there is something telling him he has to stay here. If he doesn't, innocent people could suffer because of this King.
He needed a plan. He needed a way to get back to the TARDIS and look up as much as he possibly could about Albanero. He felt his hearts race against his chest as he paced the cellar, and ultimately he decided some of his best plans aren't planned at all. Sometimes he just had to wing it, and everything fell into place. He clenched his jaw as he held out his sonic screwdriver and lit the tip of it. The wooden board that held the door in place fell off and the Doctor easily pushed open the cellar. He took one look left and right before he stepped out and, sonic in hand, and crept up the stairs to try and find out some useful information.
There was no one in sight, however, and the pink rays of dawn began to seep their way through the cracks in the castle walls. From outside he could hear a chaotic bustle of noise, and the Doctor made his way to one of the cracks. He used his sonic screwdriver on one of the stones and was able to safely remove it and peer down into the front of the castle by the moat and iron toothed gate.
The King sat in a different throne on a balcony to the right of the moat. It appeared to be the backdoor of his chamber, with gray curtains blowing softly in the icy breeze behind him. The Doctor's gaze looked down, where a guillotine he hadn't noticed the night before was stretching its long neck up toward the sky, the blade at the end casting a dangerous shadow over the bench beneath it. A scream was heard, a woman, and the Doctor watched as two guards brought her toward the guillotine and threw her down on her knees. Her hands were bounded with rope, and the Doctor felt a fury build inside of him. The Bailiff addressed her.
"Mary Elizabeth Wright, you have been summoned to appear before his Majesty, King James of Albanero. You have been sentenced to execution for your crimes against the crown, which include forgery, prostitution, and foul play with a local sheriff by the court of law in the name of his Majesty, King James." The Bailiff read from a scroll. The Doctor wasted no time. He knew what came next, and the only way to stop it. As fast as he could he ran toward the entrance, ready to interrupt.
Mary Elizabeth wept as the Bailiff read the words to her. Her hands were shaking violently and she curled into a ball as the tears formed a pool on her dress.
"I-I-have d-d-d-one n-no such th-thing." She whimpered, and the King cleared his throat. The Bailiff took notice and held his hand up to silence her.
"You may be allowed one minute for any final words." He said. The woman screeched out a sob and began to swear, screaming and writhing within her constraints. The guards lifted her off of the ground and placed her firmly by the bench, struggling with her to lower to head on it and await death.
"STOP." The voice of the Doctor sounded through the walls. The King tensed and rose. Three guards tried to grab hold of the Doctor but he threw them off of him with ease, his eyes burning into the eyes of the King. "Stop it all." He said. The King hissed in response. More guards came and the Doctor took care of them too, and after a few minutes he ran to Mary Elizabeth and unbounded her hands. She was about to thank the Doctor when he felt a blow come to his head and he stumbled forward. She caught him and screamed, sending his head spinning even more, and when he finally looked up he saw the King and one guard who had stood back up staring at him. The King nodded, and the guard picked up the Doctor and led him toward the guillotine. The Doctor's mind was swimming in plans, and just as the guard was about to place his head on the bench, he managed to push aside all the dizziness and pull the guard's arm behind him. He cried out in pain and the Doctor threw his head down on the bench and looked back at the King.
"Impressive." He told the Doctor, whose grip on the guard tightened.
"I have some questions for you, your Majesty." The Doctor said, sarcasm lining each word. The King frowned.
"Alright." He said slowly. If only the Doctor knew the fear that was gripping him. This was the man he was always afraid would come.
"When was the last time you visited the village in your kingdom? My guess is it's been a while, because let me tell you it's nearly impossible to live in." He sneered. The King stayed silent. The Doctor felt his rage boil over. If he was going to save these people, he needed to be the Oncoming Storm. Something told him this King wasn't one to negotiate. He waited but the King continued to say nothing. The Doctor decided to take it one step further.
"If you don't answer me I will drop this on his head." He said, and looked up toward the guillotine before looking back down at the guard. The King nodded.
"That is not necessary." He muttered. The Doctor looked at him for a moment, and then it clicked.
"NO!" He shouted, but the King was already on it. He snapped his fingers and the guillotine flew down, slicing the guards head clean off. The Doctor stared at the scene in shock and Mary Elizabeth cried again. The Doctor looked at the King slowly. His insides were beyond enraged, and all he wanted to do was figure out a way to get rid of him. As he tried to lunge toward him, the King snapped his fingers again and vines appeared out of thin air. The Doctor flew back against the wall as the vines wrapped themselves around his arms, and with a clenched jaw he looked directly into the King's eye.
"Magic." The King boasted, and snapped his fingers again. The vines tightened their grip and the Doctor knew struggling could possibly make him suffocate himself so he stayed still, eyes glued to the King as he gave an evil grin. With a wave of his hand the decapitated body of the guard was raised and tossed aside, and the King never took his eyes off of the Doctor when he waved his hand again, binding Mary Elizabeth's neck to the guillotine. The Doctor shook his head.
"Wait, stop." He begged. Mary Elizabeth continued to scream, and the Doctor continued to plead with the King. "Listen to me. Don't do this." He said. The King cocked his head to the side.
"Show me that ship you came on, and she goes free." The King bargained. The Doctor pursed his lips as the vines tightened their grip again. What would the King possibly want with the TARDIS? Whatever it was, it couldn't be good. The Doctor knew more than him though, about Time and Space and everything in between. He knew that he could make the King play the fool, and so he nodded his head. There was no way anyone else was going to die if he had anything to say about it.
"Okay." The Doctor said. "Let her go."
The King grinned diabolically at the Doctor once he got the answer he wanted. Then, in a twisted turn of events, he snapped his fingers and the blade fell once more. The screaming ceased instantly and the Doctor felt his hearts nearly burst in rage.
"NO!" He cried. The King hissed and let go of his hold on the vines. The Doctor fell to the ground. Before he could stand, the King placed his boot on his hand and stomped down. Pain shot through the Doctor but he clenched his jaw to stop from letting out a noise. He glared at the King as he stood up. He was shaking he was so angry.
He had no idea what was going on in this kingdom, but they clearly need help. King James was a monster. As the Doctor looked at him, he began to wonder just how many decapitations this man had ordered, and that made his blood boil even more. The fact that he was able to use magic added fire to the flame already burning in the Doctor, and there was a desire inside of him now to save this land. To destroy this King. To avenge any deaths he may have caused.
He had to play the cards right, though, or it was all fall to pieces. So when the King requested once more to be taken to the TARDIS, the Doctor knew what his only option was.
And it was the biggest mistake he could have made.
It had been two days since he arrived in Albanero, and the Doctor awoke with a throbbing headache. Which was strange to begin with, considering he is a Time Lord and illness rarely affected him. Nevertheless, the more the Doctor sat up the more severe the throb in his head became, and he had to lie back down to try and sooth it.
It all came flooding back to him at once, and the Doctor let out a cry of pain as the memories took over, reminding him of the throb and of the danger he was facing.
The King, the horrid and despised King of Albanero, had abducted the TARDIS using magic. Magic that was unstoppable, even with the sonic screwdriver and the Doctor's superior knowledge. It was something he had never seen before, a dark purple swarm of something evil that encased the TARDIS inside and in a moment, made it disappear. The Doctor had tried to attack the King, to find out where his ship had been taken, but the moment he tried to take one step the King managed to use more magic to repel him backwards, cause him pain, and then provide him with a reason for his throbbing headache.
The King dove into the Doctor's memories. In a matter of two minutes and by the use of dark magic more powerful than anything the Doctor had experienced, he relived his entire 903 years of life. His birth, his childhood, his first journey away from Gallifrey, his marriage, his children. He relived the Time War, the destruction of his home, the pain and guilt knowing he was the only one left, and every journey and loss in between. Every regeneration, every tear, every cut, scrape, bruise, everybody he had ever known and lost all came flooding back to him like a train stopping at a depot .
The sensation ended as quickly as it began, and the Doctor's mind went fuzzy afterwards. Sitting in that cellar was the first thing he was able to remember since having his mind raped, and now he felt the bitter sting of despair.
This realm, whatever it may be, was going to be impossible to maneuver using the tactics he had grown accustomed to. The TARDIS was somewhere in this castle, he just knew it, and he would do whatever it took to retrieve it. At the moment, however, all he could think about was his past and the fact that doing whatever it took to get the TARDIS back would not ensure he would be successful. It could be burned, or altered by the magic the King will most likely inflict on it. He felt his pulse quicken. He had to get out here.
The Doctor tried to sonic the door, but it was gone. Of course. He was unconscious for hours if not days, of course they would have checked his pockets. He frowned and ran his hand through his hair, deciding his best choice would be to try another way. He grabbed the small cot in the corner and turned it on its side. He secured it with some stones that were lying on the ground and then very carefully climbed on top of it. He was high enough now to peer out of the window easily and he looked around, trying to get a feel for what his chances were. His eyes scanned the ground, the stairs, the balconies and the stone walls inch by inch.
Something caught his eye. In a tower across from his cellar, high up and almost not visible since he was looking at it from underground, was a girl. He watched her watch the soldiers carefully, and he realized she was doing exactly what he was. She appeared to be waiting for something. Her stance was tense, her eyes were moving about rapidly, and the Doctor could tell she was afraid someone might notice her in the window. As soon as he thought this he saw the girl duck behind the wall and wait there for a moment before slowly reappearing. Her blonde locks were braided and pinned up in a most elegant bun, and she was dressed in a plain white dress that made her look heavenly. The Doctor felt his throat tighten, and then he was confused. Who was this girl? And why in Rassalion's name was she having this effect on him? A few moments passed and he saw the girl disappear again. The sound of footsteps behind him sent a wave of panic through his body and he jumped off of the cot in seconds, threw the stones to the side with his feet, and quickly put the cot back in the corner. He barely managed to sit back down on the ground when a soldier appeared. He opened the door to the cellar and marched inside.
He grabbed the Doctor by the arms and yanked him up. Neither said a word, but the Doctor knew wherever this soldier was taking him was not going to be good. As they approached the stairs, the Doctor braced himself and did what any gentlemen would do. He elbowed the solider in the gut, twisted his arms behind him, kicked him to the ground and knocked him out cold.
As quickly as he could, the Doctor assumed the garments of the soldier and closed the beaver so his face wouldn't be seen. He walked up the stairs slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible, and formed a plan in his head.
He had to get out of the castle and find someone who knew more about the King. He needed to figure out a way to strip him of his magical capabilities, get his TARDIS back, and overthrow him so the Kingdom of Albanero could thrive. It was the only way he seemed fit, and he was also at a dead end. He knew nothing about this land or its people, and he certainly knew nothing of the magic that was here. Even so, he knew if he remained a prisoner he would most likely just be killed, and what good would that serve anyone? He crept up the stairs and found himself in a long hallway. No one paid him any sort of attention since he was dressed in the soldier's gear, and suddenly the answer came to him.
The girl. She must know something. He saw it in her behavior. As quietly and nonchalantly as he could, the Doctor made him way across the castle halls and toward the tower across from his cell. He was expecting to be overwhelmed with the amount of doors and not know where to even start looking for her, but his eyes were drawn to a single door at the top of a flight of stairs. Somehow he knew this is where the girl was, and with a glance behind him to make sure no one was following him, the Doctor tip toed up the stairs, twisted the doorknob open, and walked inside.
The girl turned around immediately, and the Doctor was surprised to see she was no longer wearing the flowing white gown but brown breeches, a billowing white blouse with a leather vest laced tightly in the front. On her feet was a pair of sturdy boots and behind her back was a bow and a case of arrows. She also had a dagger tucked in her shoe he didn't know about, and a rapier strapped to her hip. Her eyes met his widely and just as she was about to reach for the blade and stab him through the heart, the voice of the Bailiff came sounding through the open window.
"ATTENTION: THE PRISONER KNOWN AS THE DOCTOR HAS ESCAPED. ALL PERSONNEL BE ON THE LOOKOUT IMMEDIATELY." He said.
The girl went to draw her rapier when the Doctor raised the beaver and his eyes met hers. She opened her mouth to say something and he reached out his hand. It closed over hers and with a twinkle in his eye he said the only word that came to mind.
"Run!"
A/N: So, this totally went a different direction than I had planned. As I was writing it things just happened that I wasn't expecting. Hope you enjoyed, next chapter will be up soon.
