Disclaimer: Just borrowing a few tools, I'll put them back later.
This is tagged to between chapters 25 and 26 of "The Master's Rose".
"Lights, camera…oh no, wait – no lights. No lights."
Lying on the cold, hard ground, Tejana could make out the sounds of the men in the dungeon shuffling around in the darkness, arguing in whispers, each trying to secure themselves a spot in view of the cameras. As the Director raised his voice, the muttering grew more frantic, and eventually fell still, leaving the dungeon in almost complete silence.
"Places – and…action."
Now that the twenty or so extras that had been picked from the local villages had gotten over their initial excitement at appearing in a fanfiction – followed by star-struck incoherence, followed by stage fright, followed by camera-shyness – the take seemed to be running fairly smoothly. Tejana had the impression they had developed an almost zealous rivalry, each determined to out-compete the others for the chance to "make it big". While all around, they nodded and scowled, hoping to be caught a glimpse of when the lights turned on, she gripped Brandon's hand – sensible, reliable Brandon, content with his role – and continued her solemn dialogue.
"The Dark Lord…he steals the life energy of the men he takes for the Gift."
Matthias was the next to speak. Slightly further away than Brandon, and under strict instructions to keep his face half in shadow when the light came on, he was sporting an impressive black eye from a fist-fight with two Lordsmen outside the catering trailer that each insisted the other had started. An extra followed, voice dripping with grim sarcasm.
"In case you hadn't noticed, we're locked in a dungeon in the dark."
"Ah, you never know," came…not one, not two, but at least five voices simultaneously, seemingly from all around the dungeon. "Perhaps I could help with that." Startled, Tejana sat up straight, turning her head this way and that to see the separate glows of five wrist straps winking on, lighting up five identical faces in the blackness.
"CUT!" The Director's voice followed moments later, and two spotlights flickered on. Blinking in the sudden glare, the men and Tejana glanced around in confusion as five John Harts, leaning casually against the walls of the dungeon, lowered their wrist straps, grinning.
"Told you she was worth a look," said one – presumably their own – and Tejana scowled as five pairs of slate eyes moved appreciatively over her.
"All right, what's going on?" the Director demanded, snatching a key off a set supervisor, unlocking the dungeon door and throwing it open with a clang. "No – on second thoughts, I don't want to know. You've had your fun – now go on, clear off, the lot of you." Still smirking, the Harts made their way over to the door and filed out past the Director.
"Thought you liked a bit of action," one leered as he passed.
"I'll see you boys in the Rover's tonight, then," their own Hart called, and with four crackling surges of Rift energy, the surplus Time Agents had activated their wrist straps, waved and vanished back to their own fanfictions.
After a quick mental calculation of how many rules, codes of practise and by-laws had just been breached, the Director sighed and shoved his still-blank clipboard and the key into the hands of the set supervisor.
"They were never here?" Hart winked; the Director pointedly turned away and motioned for the lights to be extinguished.
"O.K., from your entrance, Brandon. Places? And…action."
Once again, Tejana found herself cloaked in inky blackness, fumbling for the comfort of the human man's large, warm hand. The murmur of fear that rumbled through the men when she broke the news about Corin was considerably quieter this time around, she thought – just a few scattered noises of consternation – and she wondered briefly whether the manuscript had been altered slightly when Brandon pulled away from her comforting embrace without a word.
"We have to get out of here," said Matthias urgently. "Before we all end up dead to-" Was it just her imagination, or had his voice cut off rather too abruptly? Just a fraction of a second too soon to sound quite…natural.
"In case you hadn't noticed, we're locked in a dungeon in the dark." It was a different extra that spoke this time, woodenly and barely managing to convey the sarcasm of the first. When there was no sign of an interruption from the Director, Tejana felt a shiver of apprehension run up her spine. All of a sudden, she was starkly aware of how complete the darkness was, how heavy the silence seemed to have become – she was sure she couldn't even hear the anxious breathing of the men around her any more. There was an interminable pause; she reached for Brandon's hand again but felt only cold stone beneath her fingertips.
And then, sending her hearts leaping into her throat, a husky voice spoke from close behind her, inside the cell, a barely passable mimic of an American accent.
"Ah, you never know, perhaps I could help with that." She whirled around and her mouth dropped open at the sight of a familiar pair of chocolate brown eyes in a sharp-featured, handsome face, white-blonde hair standing out clearly in the glow of the wrist strap in his hands.
"Oh gods – Koschei!" she gasped. "What are you doing here?"
"What does it look like?" he replied, shuffling closer and holding out the wrist strap to illuminate her face.
"Where's the Director?" She peered around, but could make out nothing in the darkness beyond the bubble of light that seemed to enclose the two of them. For a moment, she thought she might have caught sight of the booted feet of one of the men, but the Master quickly moved the light back towards his own face.
"Do you really want to know?"
Tejana considered this. It didn't take long. She hadn't seen the Master for over four chapters now, and she didn't think she would be far wrong in guessing that the same amount again lay ahead of her. The scenes with Kelios in between had left her feeling utterly drained, she was aching and tense, and something in the Master's eyes told her he hadn't fared much better.
"Turn that light back off, then."
Author's note:
There we go - even the Master is capable of a nice Valentine's Day surprise! :3
