Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, which is a real shame. Perhaps one day...well, a girl can dream.
The first time Essa saw the inside of the TARDIS was, in the Thorn's opinion at least, hilarious. Her mouth dropped to the floor and her eyes widened dramatically. All in all, she looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
"But, but, it's bigger on the inside." Essa said in wonder as she gazed up at the coral struts and the dome shaped interior. She walked dazed in the general direction of the console. All of a sudden the Thorn froze in her place.
"Oh my god… it really is. Thank you Essa so much for pointing that out, otherwise I would never have noticed. Wow… just, wow…"
"Shut up," mumbled Essa, blushing a deep purple (her skin was blue after all). The Thorn just grinned.
"This is my TARDIS. T. A. R. D. I. S. Stands for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. Basically, it's my time machine that can also travel in space, or my space machine that can also travel in time. Eh, Potato, potaato."
"What's a potato?"
"I tell you this is my spaceship, and you ask about potatoes, never mind that, where do you want to go? We've got all of time and space at our fingertips. Oh, I know, how about the crowning of the 24th Queen of Teragottle 6? Wait, no, you don't know who she is do you. How about the legendary dancing forests of Ripieno? No, I'm wanted for treason there. Wait, Ah, I got just the…" Essa cut her of.
"Can we go to your planet?"
"What? No, that's boring. My planet's boring, nothing fun ever happens there. Anyway, the people there don't think aliens exist, well except for special government agencies and nut jobs, so you'll stand out heaps. No, lets go somewhere different like the beginning of the universe, never been there before, or perhaps…" The Thorn continued talking, but Essa got the distinct feeling that she was avoiding something.
xxxxxx
They ended up going to the planet of the rainforests or Knella, as the locals knew it. The air was hot and heavy and both the Thorn and Essa wore tank tops and shorts, though the Thorn also wore a long coat from the 51st century which she insisted had inbuilt air-conditioning, which was specially fit to her biological signature.
They trekked up a large hill, or a relatively small mountain thought Essa, in an effort to reach what the Thorn described as "a worthy point of reference to perceive the landscape."
When they finally reached the top of the 'mountain' they could see all the way across the rainforest to the ocean, and it was indeed beautiful. The trees had a certain luminosity to them, which was visible even in daylight, and it made the whole forest have a soft sort of glow. The sea was the same colour red as the ones on her home planet Trietia, and the sky was the greenest green she had ever seen. Then of course, as it inevitably would, all hell broke loose.
Arrows flew through the air and spears punctured the ground, battle cries sounded from behind them and Essa ducked. The Thorn grabbed her hand and pulled her behind a rather large rock.
"What's going on? I thought you said this planet was safe?" Essa said panting.
"Well it generally is, but I think we might have accidently trespassed on some sacred land, if the sound of battle cries is anything to go by," the Thorn said while looking sheepish. Essa groaned.
"Only you…"
xxxxxx
They ended up being captured by Knella's native population called the Atrofii. They were tiny people covered in orange fur and the Thorn was distinctly reminded of Oompa Loompas. Apparently she and Essa had broken the holy circle of Zou, a religious ground meant for quiet worship, and must therefore face a public execution. The Thorn wasn't at all worried about their fate until she had her sonic screwdriver confiscated by the chief Atrofii. In the meantime, she and Essa were tied back-to-back on chairs in the middle of an interrogation room.
"What brings you outsiders into our sacred grounds? What gives you the right to walk upon them with your dirty foreign feet?" Asked a particularly nasty looking Atrofii elder. The Thorn just gave him a friendly smile.
"Oh, we're terribly sorry for trespassing, we were just passing through, honestly. We didn't know of your sacred grounds and if we had, we'd have been sure to avoid them. If there's anything we can do to make this better just tell us, we'd be happy to help." The Thorn said, smile unwavering. The group of Atrofii all looked at each other.
"Perhaps," the Chief said stepping forward, looking slightly nervous, "there is something that you could do, for us to release you of your charges."
"Oh, please tell," said the Thorn leaning forward slightly, looking intrigued.
"There is a cave," the chief stated, "just outside our village. People go in but they don't come out. My daughter…" his voice cracked. "She's was taken. Perhaps if you could return her, we would be willing to consider your release."
"Don't worry, we'll get your daughter back safely."
Twenty minutes later the Thorn and Essa stood in front of the entrance to the cave. The Thorn couldn't help but notice a coincidence. Essa was the first to speak.
"Well isn't this always the way. A dark cave and probably some sort of creepy alien monster thrown in for luck."
The Thorn cracked a grin. "Well, at least we've had plenty of practice. That creepy alien monster doesn't know what it's got coming. Ready?"
"Ready."
Together they ran into the cave. It was dark and moss grew up and down the walls. The whole thing smelt of rain and mould.
"Well," said Essa nervously, "if I was monster, this would be top of my list for accommodation."
"Oh Essa, don't ever change."
"I'm not planning to."
They continued to walk for ages though what felt like miles of tunnels. The further they got into the cave the darker and damper it seemed to become. They passed a wide crack in the ground, which seemed to lead down miles down into Knella, and they had to take another route to avoid it. After they turned yet another corner they froze. There, lying on the ground was a miniscule Atrofii girl. Her orange fur was all ruffled and dirty and she looked close to death. The Thorn immediately recognized her as the chief's daughter and ran towards her. She started checking her over with her sonic screwdriver, which the chief had given back to her.
"She hasn't got much time left, something's been draining her life force." Suddenly a large growl sounded from the corner of the room and out jumped an enormous beast. The Thorn recognized it immediately. It was a Tondol from the Helian star system. It generally lived in caves and it had no sight, therefore it found its way around by smell. It gained energy by feeding off the life force of other creatures.
"Essa, you know how I've told you, you should never run when you're afraid?"
"Yeah…"
"Well, this is not one of those times. Run!"
With the little girl in her arms the Thorn and Essa ran as fast as they could to the entrance of the cave. The Thorns heart dropped when they reached the huge crack in the ground. They were trapped. The sound of the beast was coming closer and soon it would be upon them. And then they saw it, running at full speed towards them, its short brown fur and small black eyes that didn't see. The Thorn suddenly had an idea. She threw her 51st century jacket in the crack in the ground and launched herself, the girl and Essa out of the way. The Tondol just kept running, relying on its sense of smell. It followed the Thorns jacket. Straight into the abyss.
Everyone took a deep sigh of relief.
"Come on," said the Thorn, "we have to get the chief's daughter out of here."
xxxxx
A while later, back on the TARDIS, Essa and the Thorn sat lounging round by the console. The Thorn was just happy the little girl was okay. They had finally made it out of the caves in time for her be given back to the chief and to get medical attention from the village's healer. She felt bad that the Toldol beast had to die, but otherwise more people would just end up getting hurt.
Essa, however was just marvelling at the excitement of the day.
"I'm never going stop travelling with you, I promise you, I'm here to stay. They'll be no getting rid of me. I'll be like a barnacle on your boat, or in this case TARDIS I guess," Essa grinned so widely. The Thorn's heart started to ache. She remembered the times when it was like that with her and the Doctor; she thought nothing would ever split them apart.
"Don't say that."
"What?" asked Essa, "Why?"
"Because you shouldn't make promises you can't keep."